Chapter 76: Chapter 74: Cold Winter
Xu Hongyu is still quite strong.
Chen Mu hadn’t become arrogant just because he had grasped the Artistic Conception; after all, Xu Hongyu was one of the outstanding members of the fourth generation of the Yu Family. At under 26 years of age, she had already reached Major Achievement in Tendon Changing and had mastered two types of Sword Momentum.
With a bit more time, there would be nothing to hinder her from achieving Perfection in Tendon Changing. At this age, the possibility of breaking through to the Bone Tempering Realm was quite significant, and purely in terms of strength, she would become a core member of the Yu Family in the future.
Chen Mu thought for a while and then summoned the system interface.
All the various skills listed under the martial arts category had disappeared and were replaced by a new description.
[Martial Arts: Xun Wind Artistic Conception]
[Experience: 11 points]
[Number of Deductions Available: 0 times]
The description ‘martial skills’ was replaced by ‘Martial Arts’, indicating that the previous Blade Techniques and Swordsmanship still fell within the category of martial skills, while reaching Artistic Conception meant entering the domain of Martial Arts.
Chen Mu also tried and found that the number of deductions was exchanged for Experience Points, with one deduction requiring a total of ten thousand Experience Points, which was much higher than the previous requirement.
“Ten thousand points, I’ve got to accumulate them slowly again,” Chen Mu shook his head.
Artistic Conception is not the endpoint.
As far as he knew, Artistic Conception itself had three levels, the first step being ‘seeing’ it as he was doing now.
The second step is ‘touching’ it.
He had attempted to touch and grasp the threads of a thousand winds between heaven and earth, but he couldn’t catch them at all, which was because his Realm was still one level short. If he could hold all the threads of the winds in his hands, that would be the second step of Artistic Conception.
The last is the third step of Artistic Conception ‘Body-Mind Union’.
Not only seeing and touching it, and being able to grasp it, but also integrating oneself into it seamlessly and flawlessly. It is said that at this level, one could even directly harness The Power of Heaven and Earth with a simple gesture, a nearly legendary technique.
And as far as Chen Mu knew at present, no one in Yu City had reached this level; even whether the City Lord had stepped into the second level of Artistic Conception remained unknown, let alone the third step, which was nearly mythical.
“It’s also about time to enter the Tendon Changing Realm,” Chen Mu whispered to himself.
His Sky Wolf Body Refinement Method was just a bit away from reaching Perfection, at most a matter of a few days. Now that he had mastered the Artistic Conception, once his Body Tempering Method also stepped into Tendon Changing, his strength would leap forward significantly.
By then, there would hardly be an opponent under Bone Tempering that could challenge him, and he would have a certain capability to protect himself within the entire Yu City.
…
In the courtyard.
Shirtless, Chen Mu stood at the center, constantly exerting force in his arms and legs. With each stamping motion, the heat visibly radiated off his body as if waves of white heat were dispersing, which melted the nearby snow into water.
Wang Ni, wearing a cotton-padded jacket with her small face flushed, huddled behind the bedroom door, leaning against the stove. The occasional cold wind that blew through the door crack still made her rub her small hands together from time to time.
It was almost the coldest time of the year now.
The icicles hanging from the eaves of the wall had formed long lengths, and the white breath exhaled quickly turned into ice crystals.
“Master is really amazing; it’s so cold, and he can still practice boxing without wearing any clothes,” Wang Ni, with her face flushed and looking slightly heated, watched Chen Mu practice his punches in the snow.
Soon she would be twelve years old, and girls of her age generally start understanding more, especially in a world where it’s common to marry at the age of thirteen or fourteen.
Ku’er, the little maid one ‘size’ younger than Wang Ni, didn’t understand much yet. She watched with adoring eyes for a while and then, as a gust of cold wind made her shiver, said softly, “Speaking of which, this year’s winter seems much colder than in previous years.”
“Yes,” Wang Ni said, her gaze fixed unblinkingly on Chen Mu. Even she couldn’t help but rub her hands together at that moment.
Indeed, this year’s winter was much colder than before. The last two or three years had not been this cold, and she hardly dared to stay outside the house for long, because her hands would freeze stiff in just a short while and become unresponsive.
The whispering of the two servant girls was almost entirely audible to Chen Mu, but he continued to focus only on practicing his punches, not minding the girls sneaking peeks. When Wang Ni was a bit older, he would also allow her to practice some martial arts.
After all, a servant girl couldn’t be too frail.
He practiced for a while longer.
Then, Chen Mu stopped and walked toward the house.
Wang Ni and Ku’er hurriedly poured the hot water from the kettle into the basin and brought over a towel, busily attending to Chen Mu as he entered the house. Chen Mu let the two servant girls serve him, and he walked over to the table and sat down, drinking a cup of hot tea.
Speaking of which, this winter was indeed much colder than in previous years. In this world, there was no such thing as a ‘thermometer,’ but by his estimation, the temperature had dropped at least ten degrees more than in past years, and it felt like it was continuing to drop these days.
“The weather is severely cold. Perhaps there is a reason for it,” Chen Mu mused to himself.
If it were in his previous life, he would most likely consider it a climate issue and move on quickly, but this world was, after all, different, with many extraordinary things.
According to the City Defense Division’s records, there had been instances of extreme cold or heat before, and these atmospheric changes often brought nothing good, such as reduced crops making it harder for the poor to survive, and sometimes even leading to monster disturbances.
While Chen Mu was pondering this,
Suddenly the voice of a servant reached him.
“Master, Miss He has arrived.”
“Mm.”
Chen Mu nodded, put down his teacup, simply threw on a long gown, and then went outside.
At the entrance, he saw Xiao He wearing a bamboo hat standing in the snow, wearing a light yellow dress. In Chen Mu’s memory, Xiao He always wore modest casual clothes and hardly stood out next to Xu Hongyu, rarely wearing silk or gauze dresses. This time was an unusual sight, but he had to admit that she looked charming in the dress.
“What’s the matter?” he asked when he saw Xiao He’s gaze linger on her.
Xiao He asked with a smile, “Why, can’t I come to see you if there is no official business? You even said last time that you would prepare a feast to apologize to me…”
Chen Mu chuckled and extended his hand in welcome, “I will have someone take care of that right away.”
Xiao He waved her hand dismissively, “Never mind that. I came to tell you, there’s been monster activity in the Green Lotus Mountain Range outside the city. The City Lord and various families have sent people to deal with it. Miss Xu will be going too, so she will have very little time in the city recently. You should be more cautious these days to prevent anyone from causing trouble during this period.”
Hearing Xiao He’s words, Chen Mu was not too surprised. Just now, he had been considering the abnormal weather and whether it could lead to any monster disturbances, which were often recorded in the City Defense Division’s logbook.
“Alright, I understand,” Chen Mu nodded to Xiao He.
Xu Hongyu needed to leave the city, which meant that the He Family might take the opportunity to cause trouble. In the past, he would indeed need to be more cautious, but now, he was not too concerned.
With his current strength, it no longer was easy to mess with him, especially since his mastery of Artistic Conception was still unknown to others. If someone thought to take advantage of the chaos to strike at him, they were definitely mistaken.
“There’s no need to worry too much. I will stay at the City Defense Division during this time, temporarily taking care of the Miss’s affairs. If you need anything, just come find me directly. I am now a high-level expert of the Tendon Changing Realm as well,” Xiao He winked at Chen Mu.
“Congratulations,” Chen Mu said, smiling at the news, and gave her a respectful bow as a gesture of congratulations.
Xiao He had followed Xu Hongyu for many years, and her talent was good. She undoubtedly had access to the Tendon Changing Pill, so it was not surprising that she could cross the threshold of Tendon Changing, although it was still no easy feat to do so. With the foundation of Tendon Changing and possession of a Sword Momentum, she could hold her own from now on.
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