Da Xuan Martial Saint

It was deep winter.
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Beneath the eaves, droplets of water had frozen into a line of smooth icicles, and the roof was covered with thick white snow, as if it were wearing a hat of snow color. From a high viewpoint, one could only see a vast expanse of white throughout the city.

In the cleared area of the backyard, Chen Mu stood in the center, wearing only a short-sleeved shirt, his arms bare, but his body showed no signs of coldness. Instead, he kept emitting a steaming white heat.

This heat slowly melted the nearby ice and snow.

"Fierce Bull Tossing Horns," "Fierce Bull Trample."

As Chen Mu breathed in and out, the hot breath turned into thick white mist spewing from his mouth and nose. He resembled a fierce bull charging through the snow, robust and heavy, each movement filled with a sense of power.

When he stood still, his muscles were tightly bound by the tough skin, hardly showing any significant change in shape, just slight muscle bulges, seemingly only the stance of an ordinary household. However, once he moved, his muscles tensed upon exertion, and a buzzing sound could faintly be heard, stretching the firm skin as tough as copper steel.

Suddenly.

Chen Mu's technique changed, from the original heavy and steady Fierce Bull stance, it abruptly shifted, turning agile and keen, his head raised towards the sky, in one pounce he was nearly two yards off the ground.

"Sky Wolf Wail at the Moon," "Sky Wolf Chase Sun."

This was another Body Refining Method called 'Sky Wolf Body Refinement,' mimicking the mythical creature, the sky wolf. It was said that with one pounce and bound, a sky wolf could easily leap ten yards high, freely moving between cliffs.

At night, running as if stepping on the moon, and by day, chasing as if circling the sun, the body refined in its likeness, although not as heavy and mountainous as the Fierce Bull, was agile and could move about freely.

It had been nearly five months since the eradication of the Black Crow Sect.

Currently, Chen Mu's Fierce Ox Body Refinement Method had reached perfection; occasionally practicing a few moves was only to better integrate it with the Sky Wolf Body Refinement Method. Now, the focus was more on the latter.

During this period, Chen Mu had attempted to gather the Tendon Changing Method, but no matter the type, the method was easy to find, but the medicine was hard to obtain.

The Tendon Changing Method was even simpler than Body Refinement, hardly considered a technique. Thus, its core was not in the method but in the corresponding 'Tendon Changing Pill,' crucial for entering the first realm of cultivation.

According to Chen Mu's knowledge, no matter the type of Tendon Changing Pill, the required medicinal ingredients varied, but they all needed one crucial main ingredient, named 'Jiao Blood.' Currently, this main medicine was distributed annually in a certain quantity only by the City Lord.

Jiao Blood!

It was said to come from a very powerful mystical creature, the Jiao, ranked at least seventh rank or higher in the Da Xuan Dynasty, far surpassing the Fierce Bull and Sky Wolf.

Chen Mu had flipped through some records, real or fake, of Da Xuan Dynasty events where the Imperial Court, to eradicate a Jiao, had mobilized its most elite Sky Dragon Guard. In the end, nearly a thousand were killed or injured before it was subdued.

The small amount of Jiao Blood the City Lord released annually was from an unknown source.

"Huh..."

After nearly two hours of practice, Chen Mu slowly stopped.

He turned and walked inside the house.

Inside, Wang Ni was huddled by the stove for warmth. Seeing Chen Mu come in, she quickly ran over to help, but as soon as she left the stove, she couldn't help but shiver.

As she helped Chen Mu change his clothes, her small hand touched his body and instinctively jerked back.

"Big brother Mu, your body is even hotter than the stove."

Chen Mu listened and laughed heartily, taking the towel from her hand and wiping himself off before sitting down lazily by the stove to warm himself by the fire, meanwhile calling up his system panel to check.

[Martial Arts: Raging Wind Blade Technique (Perfection), Gale Blade Technique (Perfection), Spirit Wind Sword Technique (Perfection), Chasing Wind Blade Technique (Major Achievement)]

[Experience: 2825 points]

...

[Sky Wolf Body Refinement Method (Major Achievement)]

[Experience: 4 points]

Now, compared to five months ago, his strength had taken a significant leap forward. Although he hadn't yet reached the Tendon Changing Level, he had perfected the Fierce Ox Body Refinement Method and nearly achieved major accomplishment with the Sky Wolf Body Refinement Method.

Cultivating two body refining methods had made him far stronger and more agile than a regular martial man skilled in body refinement.

In terms of skills, he had achieved perfection in three momentums, including one sword technique. Though both sword and blade stem from the same family, in the realm of 'Momentum', using the blade as a basis could similarly execute sword techniques, what mattered were not the weapons themselves, but the realm of 'Momentum' he had comprehended.

The Chasing Wind Blade Technique was the fourth skill he found, belonging to the lineage of 'Xun Wind', and with accumulated experience, he was not far from reaching perfection.

"I'm almost capable of harnessing Quadruple Momentum."

Chen Mu shook his head.

In truth, very few people possess Quadruple Momentum. This isn't to say that cultivating four types of momentum is particularly difficult, but typically, those capable of mastering three types of momentum would start to delve into comprehending Artistic Conception through diagrams, rarely cultivating additional types.

Chen Mu's choice was motivated by the absence of the 'Xun Wind Diagram', and since the system panel couldn't generate something from nothing, without a diagram, he was obliged to use a rather rigid method—cultivating multiple sword and blade techniques from the lineage of Xun Wind, integrating them, and tracing back to their origins.

Of course.

The method was somewhat rigid, but now possessing three types of momentum, and nearly a fourth, Chen Mu could say he had deeply comprehended the Xun Wind lineage, far from his initial naive understanding.

He was certain that this method of cultivating multiple types of momentum to trace back to the origins was one correct approach, though compared to direct comprehension using the 'Xun Wind Diagram', it was a roundabout way. But with the system panel, when it came to speed, the difference was negligible.

He anticipated that upon mastering the fourth type of momentum, the system panel should be able to extrapolate the Artistic Conception based on that.

This judgment wasn't baseless; relatively speaking, he could feel that integrating the three types of momentum was already brushing an extremity. If he could cultivate the fourth type, even he would slowly deduce some aspects of 'Artistic Conception'. For the system panel, it was even simpler.

"Compared to that, entering the Tendon Changing Stage is a higher threshold,"

Chen Mu contemplated.

Body Refinement Realm and Skin Toughening were different. By his estimation, perfecting the Sky Wolf Body Refinement Method was about the limit of the First Realm of body refinement. It seemed unlikely to cultivate three body refinement methods simultaneously. To further enhance his power, the only step remaining was the third phase, Tendon Changing cultivation.

And entering the Tendon Changing Level required Tendon Changing Pills. Although Xu Hongyu had promised him a share for next year, in half a month it would be next year, and there would definitely be none at the beginning of the year. It was dubious if he could obtain it when the Sky Wolf Body Refinement Method was perfected.

As for other sources...

The City Lord's place would provide direct access, but that required Merit; the sole source of Merit involved hunting demons outside the city and exchanging their parts. Money alone couldn't make the purchase.

Of course, if one were to speak hypothetically, with an unlimited amount of gold and silver, one could hire manpower to form teams to hunt on one's behalf, and then make the exchanges themselves, but that would be too costly.

The share of the major families within the Inner City, the City Lord's rewards for Merit... Beyond these, there were only the occasional glimpses in the black market. Firstly, their authenticity was uncertain; secondly, the source was unknown; thirdly, their emergence would surely trigger a bloody storm, with factions fighting fiercely, something not resolved by money.