Chapter 77: Chapter 75: The Limit
No wonder Xiao He had changed into a skirt and blouse she rarely wore. It was much more convenient to wear plain clothes during chaotic times, but now with the strength and confidence of the Tendon Changing Level, these concerns were trivial in the Outer City. Wearing the attire of a young lady posed no issue.
“I looked over the records of the City Defense Division, and it seems that disturbances by monsters occur every few years. Has it always been like this in past years?”
Chen Mu led Xiao He into the courtyard, ordered people to prepare some tea and pastries, and then sat down with her beside the stove.
Although he had been in this world for a few years and retained memories from the past, he had not been exposed to matters at this level before.
Xiao He took a seat gracefully and said, “Essentially, yes. Monster disturbances are both a trouble and an opportunity. With more monsters emerging, the threat increases, but so do the chances of obtaining various demon bones and demon blood.”
“Even though there are elite troops guarding the most important locations outside, and the Inner City has the dedicated ‘Demon-Slaying Office,’ families still dispatch people to get their share of the action during monster disturbances.”
Xiao He explained.
Around Yu City, vast estates and farmlands lay outside, most of which were owned by Inner City powers. Almost none belonged to the farmers themselves anymore; instead, they were typically operated by tenant farmers and servants who specialized in cultivation.
For this reason, these estates and farmlands were generally guarded by people from each powerful family. In addition, there were elite troops stationed outside the city. Normally, no monster could invade and wreak havoc, being blocked far beyond the vast mountains.
However, when monster disturbances occurred, the number of monsters in the mountains would suddenly increase. Even though elite troops guarded some crucial places, a considerable number would still infiltrate.
At such times, families would generally send out forces to purify the monsters outside the city—both to protect their lands and because the monsters themselves were valuable resources worth hunting in abundance.
“I see.”
Chen Mu nodded slightly.
From Xiao He’s description, it was clear that not only did families send out many individuals above the Tendon Changing Level, but also many private soldiers who had achieved Body Refinement Perfection.
Xu Hongyu was strong and, as the Chief Constable of South City District, naturally led a group into the fray. However, he, the Prefecture Chief of Wutong Grove District, wasn’t included in her group.
The reason was simple. Hunting monsters outside the city came with both rewards and risks. In Xu Hongyu’s view, Chen Mu was still better off staying in the safer city to slowly cultivate for the time being, still within the category of those needing protection.
For this purpose, she had specifically left Xiao He, who had broken through to the Tendon Changing Level, in the city. One reason was to control the situation in the City Defense Division while she was away, and the other was to take extra care of Chen Mu’s side.
“I wonder how long it will last.”
Chen Mu picked up the tea cup and took a sip.
Indeed, he had little interest in demon slaying. So far, the farthest he had ventured outside the city was to transport corpses to the Mass Burial Mound.
Rather than deal with such troubles, he would prefer and was happier to stay in the city and continue practicing his martial arts.
“The shortest would be a month, the longest several months,” Xiao He said. “But Miss will still come back regularly. She won’t stay outside the city all the time.”
“Mm-hmm.”
Chen Mu nodded.
He then asked Xiao He about some other matters, and she answered them all one by one.
After sitting for a while, Xiao He stood up to take her leave of Chen Mu. As she reached the courtyard, she suddenly smiled and said, “Do you want to spar again?”
But before Chen Mu could reply, she walked out of the courtyard with a smile, saying, “Never mind, let’s wait until you’ve reached the Tendon Changing Level. Right now, it would be too much of a bullying.”
Seeing this, Chen Mu chuckled inwardly.
Little Lotus seemed to have a bit of “the wind stopped, the rain ceased, and I went on my own” about her, but Chen Mu didn’t think of bullying her again this time. He just smiled and showed Little Lotus out the door.
Once back in the courtyard, Chen Mu summoned the system panel.
[Sky Wolf Body Refinement Method (Major Achievement)]
[Experience Points: 1001]
Today was, in fact, his last day of vigorous Body Refinement training because, having accumulated enough experience points for a breakthrough to Body Refinement Perfection with the Sky Wolf Body Refinement Method, he was next to step into the Tendon Changing Level.
He had already gathered the necessary number just before, and if it weren’t for Little Lotus’s sudden visit, he would probably have started practicing the Tendon Changing Method by now.
At that moment,
Chen Mu didn’t waste more time; with a thought, he spent the experience points to elevate the Sky Wolf Body Refinement Method to Perfection in one go.
Hum!!!
A surge of dense energy exploded deep inside his body and then permeated every muscle, deeply ingraining into them, scorching hot as if it were lava, refining each and every muscle fiber.
His muscles, already hardened like iron under the perfection of the Fierce Ox Body Refinement Method, now reached the perfection of the Sky Wolf Body Refinement Method. The two refinement methods complemented each other, making every muscle more perfect and flawless, a hundred times refined into steel.
Chen Mu just stood there, barely moving, as continuous white heat waves surged from his body. Visible to the naked eye, they dispersed in all directions, melting the snow that had just frozen again.
No one knew how long had passed.
Chen Mu stretched his body forcefully, straightened up again, and practiced a set of the Fierce Ox and Sky Wolf Body Refinement Methods. With a light tap of his right foot, he made the ground in the courtyard buzz with a dull hum, shattering layers of ice and snow in the distance, causing rows of icicles hanging from the eaves to fall off by seven or eight.
“Body Refinement has also been pushed to its limits,” Chen Mu said.
Feeling the changes in his body, Chen Mu exhaled a white heat wave, which shot straight out for three feet, like a white Qi Sword.
The Fierce Ox Body Refinement Method emphasizes strength and explosive power, while the Sky Wolf Body Refinement Method values agility and flexibility. Now having the effects of both, his muscles had become like a membrane, tempered to the hardness of steel.
It could be said,
even if someone had brought the Skin Toughening Method to Perfection, as long as they had not entered Body Refinement, even their full-strength strike would struggle to break through Chen Mu’s defense.
Even more, as his muscles expand and contract, they could offset the force and even shatter the attacker’s blade!
His muscles, hammered to steel-like resilience and paired with his copper skin, underwent a transformation far more complex than simply adding one plus one.
After all, if one only had copper skin, a slash from a sword might not leave them entirely unharmed, but with muscles as hard as steel and with added flexibility, their strength would increase manifold.
“With this copper skin and steel muscles alone, I’m afraid I could even compete with the average Tendon Changing practitioner,” Chen Mu clenched his fists.
For him, raising both the Skin Toughening and Body Refinement to their limits through the system panel presented benefits beyond mere enhancement of his strength; once he transitioned to Tendon Changing, the power that his steel-like body could unleash would also far exceed that of an ordinary person.
“It’s time,” Chen Mu said,
He returned to his bedroom and cautiously took out the Black Jade Tendon Changing Pill he had obtained not long ago.
Having reached the limits of Skin Toughening and Body Refinement, naturally, the next step was to embark on the path of Tendon Changing.
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