A-Ning's Whereabouts, Azure Dragon Secret Teachings

"Speak. What exactly did you find?"

Chen Mu could not wait any longer. He seized Liu Meng by the shoulder and demanded an answer.

But he failed to rein in his strength, nearly crushing Liu Meng's shoulder bone.

"Wait, wait, wait! Senior Brother, let go!"

"Listen to me, let me explain slowly..."

The fellow grimaced in agony and begged repeatedly for mercy. Only after Chen Mu came to his senses and released him did he spill everything in one breath.

Chen Mu frowned after hearing it, then his gaze turned ice-cold.

The news was half good, half bad.

From Liu Meng's description, an old woman, a young girl, and a pretty lady traveling together—

They were unmistakably Granny Li and A-Ning!

Chen Mu's basis for that judgment was what Liu Meng had mentioned.

Of the three people leaving the city, one was a pretty girl in a goose-yellow dress!

She was around Liu Qingluo's age, fifteen or sixteen.

The trait was far too obvious. She had to be Granny Li's granddaughter, Li Susu.

That discovery confirmed for Chen Mu that A-Ning was safe for the moment.

But being safe did not mean nothing was wrong.

"North of the city... the Li Family Caravan..."

"Where is she taking A-Ning?"

Chen Mu waved Liu Meng away to continue investigating while he stood there with a deep frown.

The most crucial clue Liu Meng had brought was that Granny Li's group had not left the city alone.

They had departed through the north gate with the Li family's caravan from the eastern district, seemingly bound for a long journey.

Chen Mu's heart tightened.

Though he and A-Ning had known each other for less than half a year, they had survived several life-and-death crises together. They had long since become each other's only bond.

A-Ning would never leave him for no reason, travel north alone, and not even leave behind a word.

She had to have been coerced, unable to act of her own will!

Chen Mu reached that conclusion almost instantly!

A-Ning had most likely been coaxed out of the city by Granny Li through a mixture of coercion and threats. He had no idea where she was being taken.

It made him deeply anxious, but Chen Mu knew that charging around like a headless fly would accomplish nothing.

The northern frontier was vast beyond measure. He had to follow the clues.

As long as he tracked the Li Family Merchant Association's destination in the eastern district, he might still be able to intercept A-Ning's group!

Chen Mu did not dare delay. He was just about to turn and leave.

But before departing, he slapped his forehead, recalling what Liu Qingluo had said as she left.

"Father's gift for you is on the table! Look at it yourself!"

She had shouted those words in too much of a hurry. Chen Mu had only just emerged from his sudden enlightenment and had nearly forgotten them.

With matters so urgent, he could not spare much attention for it. He picked up the booklet on the table, and his pupils instantly contracted.

"Azure Dragon Body Tempering Method"

It was a stitched martial arts manual with a blue cover. It appeared to be a copied edition, and the paper was very new.

Yet the large characters on its cover danced like dragons and flew like phoenixes, their bearing magnificent and imposing.

The moment Chen Mu saw them, he seemed to glimpse once more Liu Qingcang's domineering combat art from that night—his fists moving with his body, a coiling dragon wrapped around him.

"Could this be the true inheritance martial art of the Azure Dragon Martial Academy?"

Unable to resist, he opened it on the spot and swiftly examined it.

The book was only as thick as a little finger. Most of it contained formulas for breathing and circulation routes for cultivating qi.

It recorded a great many strange stances.

Some resembled a fierce tiger crouching on the ground, some an old bear hunkering down, and others an azure eagle spreading its wings.

A rough count showed no fewer than a hundred such diagrams.

Chen Mu had no time to study them closely. He flipped through the book quickly once, then closed his eyes.

Those diagrams flashed through his mind like strips of film.

"What an Azure Dragon Body Tempering Method..."

Chen Mu opened his eyes, and the dark gleam in them surged. Excitement welled up in his heart beyond restraint.

This was actually a domineering Yellow Grade High-Tier fist scripture!

The manual contained one hundred and eight stance diagrams!

Every single one was a powerful body-art killing move.

It centered on fist arts, but palm techniques, finger techniques, and joint-locking grapples were all included.

No wonder neither Qin Tieya nor Liu Qingcang used weapons. With the Azure Dragon Body Tempering Method, every part of the body became a lethal weapon!

It also recorded several secret methods for dietary tonics and medicinal baths!

Combine those secret methods with stance training.

Not only could one greatly strengthen the physique, rapidly increase one's vitality and blood, and raise one's Body Tempering cultivation.

If one's comprehension was sufficient and one circulated the art correctly, one might even grasp the artistic conception of fist intent from it. When striking to kill, it would be as if dragons roared, terrifying the hearts and souls of one's enemies!

"What a pity. It requires demon beast blood essence and potent medicines for nourishment. Looks like I'll have to find a way to buy them."

Chen Mu suppressed the excitement in his heart and restrained the urge to begin cultivating immediately.

The book stated that cultivating this art required bathing the body with demon beast blood essence and potent medicines.

Otherwise, even if he used points to break through realms and raise his cultivation, his physique would not receive enough nourishment.

Not only would his vitality and blood fail to increase, it might instead cause his heart meridians to burst, killing him.

"Perfect. I'm leaving the city for patrol anyway. I'll find A-Ning first, then check out that Ghost Market on my way back."

Chen Mu put away the secret manual and came to a decision.

He planned to first find out where A-Ning was.

If it lay along the route back, he would visit the Yin Mountain Ghost Market he had memorized from the Waterway Map.

He had saved up quite a bit of silver by now. It was not easy to spend through ordinary channels, so if the Ghost Market had anything good, he could put it to use there.

Before he knew it, Chen Mu had already left the martial academy. After asking for directions, he had Liu Meng lead the way toward the Li Residence in the eastern district.

The Li Residence stood at the far end of Caiyi Street, separated from Heaven-Bearing Street, where the martial academy was located, by two wards.

"Senior Brother, the people of the Li Residence have always looked down their noses at everyone. We probably won't get anything good by going up to them like this," Liu Meng said quietly.

Standing outside the grand and imposing Li family estate, Liu Meng spoke in a low voice.

Chen Mu raised a brow at his words and looked ahead.

The estate before them had high walls and deep courtyards. Two savage and towering stone suanni statues stood before its gates.

Even the black-clad servants guarding the entrance radiated the vigorous blood aura of the Body Tempering Realm.

"What background does this Li Residence have? Do they dare refuse to show the Azure Dragon Martial Academy respect?"

Chen Mu was somewhat surprised.

By now, he had arranged the notable figures within the city into several tiers in his mind.

Liu Qingcang, who concealed Innate Realm cultivation, was unquestionably in the first tier.

Next came Qin Tieya, who should possess mid-to-late Meridian Opening Realm strength.

Chen Mu could tell from Liu Qingcang's arrangements.

Qin Tieya, the second disciple, could associate with Zhao Dong as an equal.

That showed that figures such as Zhao Dong and the Red Whale Gang's leader also possessed Qi Accumulation Realm peak strength, or even Meridian Opening Realm cultivation.

As for the Li family before him, Chen Mu knew very little. In the past, his activities had been limited to the western district.

He was completely in the dark about what major figures existed in the eastern district.

Fortunately, Liu Meng was there. He had been mixed in with the academy for nearly a year and knew every twist and turn around here.

"Senior Brother, you may not know this, but the Li family's eldest daughter is Commander Zhao's equal wife."

"They say she is beautiful as a flower, skilled in poetry and martial arts, and exceptionally favored in daily life."

"Even her birth family, the Li family, has gained Commander Zhao's favor and received quite a few benefits..."

With Liu Meng's few words, Chen Mu suddenly understood.

So they were a pack of bloodsuckers who sold their daughters. There had been no shortage of such people in his previous life either.

It was even more so in these chaotic times. Zhao Dong, when all was said and done, was merely a commander in charge of a battalion of soldiers.

But because the war on the northern front was urgent and the position of Everlasting Prosperity Town's chief official, the "Town Guard," stood vacant, he had gained power and drawn others to cling to him.

Chen Mu did not want to stir up unnecessary trouble either. The Li family's business was vast, and a caravan left the city almost every few days.

Suppressing the impatience in his heart, he intended to step forward politely and ask where that morning's caravan had gone, so he could trace A-Ning's whereabouts.

But at that very moment, the Li Residence's vermilion-lacquered gates burst open.

Two white horses galloped out, charging headlong toward Chen Mu, who had just stepped near the stairs.

"Where did this stinking slave come from? How dare you block this young lady's path?"

"Get out of the way already?!"

A red-clad girl on the leading white horse shouted sharply. Her riding whip cracked through the air with a howl of wind, lashing toward Chen Mu's face.