Da Xuan Martial Saint

Chapter 58: Chapter 56 Comparing Skills

The option to leave the Inner City to hunt demons in exchange for merits was immediately ruled out by Chen Mu.

On one hand, it was too chaotic outside the city, with extremely low safety, and on the other, it took too long and was not worth the effort. Moreover, if he had truly relied on his Body Refinement Realm to earn merits by slaying demons in order to exchange for a Tendon Changing Pill, it would have been too shocking and unconventional.

Because such tasks were typically carried out by warriors above the Tendon Changing level from the Inner City, individuals like Xu Hongyu would occasionally go outside the city to hunt demons in exchange for merits.

“Let’s consider it further, there’s no hurry for now, I can still practice the Sky Wolf Body Refinement Method for at least two more months.”

After all, even in the worst case, he had Xu Hongyu’s baseline support; it would just be a waste of time, but his strength wouldn’t stagnate. In terms of skills, he could also make rapid progress, as he was not far from the Artistic Conception.

As Chen Mu was pondering this, an old servant suddenly came to report.

Little Lotus has come.

Chen Mu immediately got up and went out to meet them.

If it were Min Baoyi coming to find him, he might be invited for drinks and music, and it might not be anything urgent, but if Little Lotus came looking for him, it was highly likely a message from Xu Hongyu, and usually not a trivial matter.

When Chen Mu arrived at the door, he saw Little Lotus clad in a grey commoner’s garb, with a bamboo hat standing there. If one did not look at her delicate face, but only at her silhouette, she was the very image of an old farmer.

Chen Mu greeted Little Lotus and invited her in.

Little Lotus usually delivered a message and left, but this time she did not refuse. Following Chen Mu inside, she took off her bamboo hat at the door, shook off the snow on it, and then spoke seriously, “You should prepare for your appointment.”

“Appointment?”

Chen Mu’s expression shifted slightly, “Wasn’t it supposed to wait until next year?”

Speaking of the appointment, it naturally referred to replacing Xu Feng to assume the position of Prefecture Chief of the Wutong Grove District Division of the City Defense. It was supposed to be a matter for next year, but apparently, something had changed.

Wang Ni came over with a teapot to pour tea. Little Lotus took the tea cup and while looking at Chen Mu said, “The Deputy Chief Officer also wants to place someone to replace Xu Chasi. If we wait until next year, there might be many unforeseen complications.”

“I see,”

Chen Mu nodded and replied, “I don’t have any problems with that.”

Little Lotus looked at Chen Mu and blinked, “Even though Wutong Grove District isn’t a great posting, it’s still a promotion to become a Prefecture Chief. Why do you seem like you’ve been demoted?”

Chen Mu chuckled, stood up, and made an insincere bow towards the direction of the City Guard General, “Thank you, Chief Officer Xu, for cultivating me, and thank you, Sister Little Lotus, for recognizing my worth. I am eternally grateful and will certainly not disappoint your expectations…”

Chen Mu chuckled.

Little Lotus couldn’t help but laugh out loud, her expression turning coy as if ice and snow were melting, “A bit overdone, but it should be enough to fool the young lady.”

After briefly jesting, Little Lotus returned to a serious tone, “You’ll probably receive your official appointment in a couple of days. However, the Wutong Grove District is quite different from Ninth District. Ninth District is more remote, essentially Min Baoyi’s territory, and although the Red Gold Gang is backed by an Inner City power, they don’t have significant conflicts with the Yu Family, so it’s quite stable.”

“Wutong Grove District is closer to the center of South City District and is much more prosperous than Ninth District. There are six or seven more influential gangs, and their connections are intricate. When you first take office, it’s best to proceed with caution.”

With that,

Little Lotus conveyed to Chen Mu a general overview of the situation in Wutong Grove District and the interrelationships between the various gang powers.

Chen Mu memorized the details and assessed the threat levels, ultimately concluding… there was no one worth fighting.

Although the gang influences in Wutong Grove District were complex and many had various background relationships, none of those mattered as much as his direct connection as a Prefecture Chief of the City Defense Division.

In public, the Prefecture Chief of the City Defense Division is officially under the Da Xuan Dynasty Court, a ‘Eighth Grade’ government official of integrity.

In private, he was a subordinate of Xu Hongyu and a part of the Yu Family’s forces. Regardless of any internal or external troubles the Yu Family faced and their waning influence, they were still one of the largest family powers in Yu City, not someone any tom, dick, or harry could easily provoke.

In terms of strength, although each gang was similar to the Red Gold Gang in numbers and had many skilled fighters, the best of them only reached Body Refinement Perfection, which posed no threat to Chen Mu’s current level.

In conclusion.

He was going to Wutong Grove District to do three things… Oops, got sidetracked.

“Thanks for the guidance.”

Having listened patiently to Little Lotus’s explanation, Chen Mu thanked her.

His current interest was only in martial arts; once he arrived in Wutong Grove District, as long as those various forces didn’t act rashly, he would mostly refrain from getting involved. But if anyone became too arrogant and decided to misbehave, challenging his authority, then they could come and test whether his Servant’s Knife was sharp enough.

After finishing her speech, Little Lotus looked at Chen Mu, blinked, and observed, “Seeing your confidence, it seems your Body Refinement has progressed well. Why don’t you let me test your level?”

“Okay.”

In the past few months, Chen Mu hadn’t had much opportunity to spar with others, so he was feeling a bit restless. As soon as he heard Xiao He speak, he readily agreed and added with a smile, “Sister Xiao He, you’ll have to go easy on me.”

“Come on then.”

With a smile, Xiao He walked into the courtyard.

Indeed, her visit this time was also to test Chen Mu’s strength. After all, the position of Prefecture Chief couldn’t be held without real power. Although five months were enough for Chen Mu to reach Minor Achievement in Body Refinement, coupled with his extreme Skin Toughening, his strength was certainly not weak. Nevertheless, it still needed to be tested.

Chen Mu stood across from Xiao He and then drew his Servant’s Knife, waving it lightly. It seemed feeble, but the pieces of snow falling from the sky were caught in the induced gust of wind, turning into a wild torrent that surged forward.

Clang!

Xiao He, with a flick and a tap of her soft sword, struck straight at the tip and middle of Chen Mu’s knife. These two moves were as fast as lightning, and the metallic clangs almost overlapped, merging into one long sound.

The surging snow caught up in the momentum of the knife dissipated in the air instantly.

“That’s not quite good enough,” Xiao He said with a teasing smile.

Seeing Xiao He’s reaction, Chen Mu laughed and suddenly added more force to his knife. This time, it wasn’t just the falling snow that was swept up by the wind; even the accumulated snow on the ground was caught in it, creating a massive surge that moved with the blade’s momentum.

Chen Mu had previously used less than one-fifth of his strength, which was about the full strength of a typical Martial Man with Minor Achievement in Body Refinement. He had now increased his force a bit more, to about one-third, comparable to Major Achievement.

This time, Xiao He found it not so easy to deal with.

Her gaze grew more intense, and with a swing of her soft sword, she created a myriad of sword lights formed by rain droplets. The sword light collided with the snow swept up by the blade wind, shattering massive chunks of snow.

“Pushing Skin Toughening to the limit and stepping into Body Refinement is indeed different; the strength is much stronger than average. If I hadn’t reached Body Refinement Perfection and mastered the Dripping Rain Sword Momentum, it would’ve been quite difficult to fend off,” she mused.

“Your strength is indeed quite impressive now,” Xiao He said, while parrying attacks.

Upon hearing her comment, Chen Mu laughed and said, “What about this, then?”

This time, he didn’t increase his strength but, as his Servant’s Knife flipped and flew, it suddenly transformed from wild chaos to fierce intensity. The chaotic wind, now with the infusion of fierce, raw momentum, melded together, turning the situation completely upside down.

The snowflakes that were already wild now moved even faster, adding three parts of fierceness to the chaos, resulting in the Dual Momentum formed by the merging of Raging Wind Blade Momentum and fierce Blade Momentum!

“Eh?”

Surprised flickered in Xiao He’s wide eyes as she recognized that this was no longer a single blade momentum, but a skill that blended two similar Blade Techniques.

Caught off-guard, and with no time to inquire further, the combination of Dual Momentum was nothing to trifles with. The pressure from the technique suddenly increased by who knows how much. Although Chen Mu’s applied force on the Servant’s Knife was still less than hers, the gap in skill widened, and she had to go all out, no longer able to handle it with ease as before.

Can she still block this?

Seeing Xiao He still managing to fight him to a draw, a thought flickered through Chen Mu’s mind, and he altered his knife technique. If his previous technique had added three parts of fierceness amid the chaos, this time, it included three parts of agility!

The already chaotic and fierce technique, carrying countless snowflakes, surged and fluttered like a torrent. Suddenly, amidst the surging, it gained some flexibility, making those currents of snow seem like agile living creatures, like snowy dragons twisting and turning.

Crash!!!

This onslaught of momentum, carrying along the pervasive snow, proved too much for Xiao He to block. She was engulfed by the surge, entirely submerged in it, and from within came a startled cry of ‘Ah!’

Chen Mu quickly stopped swinging his knife and shook his head inwardly, wondering why he let Xiao He stir up his competitive spirit. Why did he feel the need to beat her?

As the knife momentum ceased, so did the snow.

It was then revealed that Xiao He had become a snowman, covered in snow from head to toe, with only half a face and a pair of somewhat confused eyes visible; she stood there looking dazed.

“Ahem.”

Chen Mu gave a cough.

Only then did Xiao He seem to snap back to reality. She shook her body fiercely a few times to shake off all the snow and stared at Chen Mu with eyes as if she had seen a ghost, her words stuttering, “You… you… ”

What had she just witnessed?

Three different Momentums?!

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