Chapter 21: Rich Lady, Please Accept My Bow

If we hadn't met yesterday.

This little rich lady didn't even blink, and flung a Second-grade Po Yuan Dan at herself.

Li Mu probably thought the other side was simply trying to tease him!

"Exactly!"

Seeing Li Mu clearly show interest, Yao Mengzhen's peach‑blossom eyes lit up slightly, and then she blurted out.

"As long as you're willing to teach me blade technique, everything else is negotiable!"

Having said that, Yao Mengzhen looked at the silent Li Mu.

For a moment, his heart felt uneasy.

And to be honest, one can't blame Yao Mengzhen for being overly eager.

It's not as if, after their last duel, some strange quirks in Yao Mengzhen were triggered by Li Mu.

Purely!

After yesterday's battle, Li Mu, at the peak of Fifth Grade Qi Refining Realm, crossed four minor realms and defeated himself!

Using the most barbaric, most domineering method, he completely snapped Yao Mengzhen out of the comfort zones of 'First person of Outer Peak' and 'Yao family eldest daughter'!

At the same time.

He reflected on the words he had said to Li Mu yesterday.

This also made Yao Mengzhen deeply realize.

How arrogant and self‑righteous he had been back then!

Not to mention Li Mu!

Yao Mengzhen pressed his heart and asked himself, even if he met someone like this, he probably couldn't help but strike with a heavy punch!

And in the previous battle, what Li Mu shattered wasn't just Yao Mengzhen's arrogance and self‑righteousness.

It also made Yao Mengzhen keenly aware of his own shortcomings.

He found why, despite being only half a step away from Qi Refining Realm Great Perfection, he could never cross it.

That is...

His martial will was simply too weak, too shallow!

Such a mismatch between martial will and realm might not be evident when breaking through those minor realms.

But once faced with a bottleneck, the mismatch is magnified infinitely.

Yao Mengzhen's current situation is like Zhao Kuo of the 'talking about warfare on paper', a typical sand‑table war god.

Theoretically, unrivaled in the world!

But once in actual combat, he would be smashed by Bai Qi in minutes, another solid 'concept god'!

Precisely because of this, the small hurdle from Qi Refining Realm Great Completion to Great Perfection.

One block!

It blocked Yao Mengzhen for a full half year.

And when it comes to the person who understands martial will and Blade Intent most thoroughly.

Yao Mengzhen searched among all his peers and found none could surpass Li Mu.

"Is that okay?"

Having asked that.

Under Yao Mengzhen's watery, hopeful gaze.

Li Mu took a deep breath and finally gave his answer.

"All the pills from me to the Concentration Realm, you've taken them all?"

"I've taken them all!"

"Yao Mengzhen!"

"I will train you to become the Ziyang Sect's second blade master!"

"……"

In the training arena.

"First, demonstrate your most frequently used blade technique for me."

While saying that, Li Mu took a long sword from the weapon rack and tossed it to Yao Mengzhen, saying lightly.

"Let me get a more direct, clear understanding of your current blade technique realm."

Collecting money, doing favors for others!

Since he decided to take Yao Mengzhen as a disciple, Li Mu would naturally be diligent.

"Alright!"

Hearing that, Yao Mengzhen readily agreed.

At the same time, a small hand brushed the slender, willow‑like waist where a jade pendant hung, and gave it a gentle swipe.

Accompanied by a purple glow, a Jade Slip soon appeared in Yao Mengzhen's hand.

"Space Artifact?"

Seeing the exquisitely shaped, antiquated aura jade pendant hanging at Yao Mengzhen's waist, Li Mu drooled with envy.

Space Artifact!

This item was crafted by a distinguished artificer of the Qian Kun Realm, using a Heavenly Treasure called Space Stone.

On the Space Stone, intricate, repeating spatial pattern formations were engraved, creating a space‑storage artifact.

Inside, it forms its own little world, convenient for cultivators to store items.

It's the trendy item for home travel, killing and looting!

Rich lady!

A definite rich lady!

"This is the sword technique I'm currently cultivating, the Xuan Tier Middle-level Technique 'Purple Thunder Sword Technique'."

"Although I keep all the moves of the Purple Thunder Sword Technique in mind, once I'm in a high‑intensity battle like yesterday's with you,"

"I can clearly feel that my ability to counter and adapt on the fly with the Purple Thunder Sword Technique is far behind yours."

"In the end, although my realm is far superior to yours, the entire battle's rhythm remains under your control."

"I can only be led by you, fighting very passively!"

While speaking.

Yao Mengzhen then handed the 'Purple Thunder Sword Technique' in his hand to Li Mu without any hesitation.

"After all, the Purple Thunder Sword Technique is a Xuan Tier Middle-level Technique, and its moves and variations are far more complex than any Yellow Rank Martial Art."

"The Purple Thunder Sword Technique consists of eighteen moves in total; during its connections the sword is supremely strong and rigid, gathering substance into void, with countless variations."

"If I go back first, could you familiarize yourself with the sword moves first?"

Yao Mengzhen blinked, and, being very considerate, proactively gave Li Mu a foothold.

Although.

Li Mu's talent and comprehension regarding the sword technique repeatedly displayed astonishingly outstanding aptitude.

But when you flip through the mental methods and martial arts Li Mu has cultivated before,

Either they're introductory mental methods without even a rank.

Or they're Yellow Tier High-level Sword Techniques.

In terms of move variation and complexity, these two are like heaven and earth, with absolutely no comparability.

Take the Seven-Absolute Sword Technique as an example!

The Seven-Absolute Sword Technique is already the most complex and highest‑cultivation‑threshold martial art among Yellow Tier sword techniques!

Yet even so, the Seven-Absolute Sword Technique has only seven moves in total, whereas the Xuan Tier Middle-level Technique Purple Thunder Sword Technique contains eighteen moves!

With such myriad variations and intricate complexity, even someone as perceptive as Li Mu would still need to chew on it for a while.

"The Four Peaks Grand Competition still has some time left."

"Actually…"

"It's not particularly urgent…!"

"The Four Peaks Grand Competition is still a month away!"

"But the Xuan Yue Feng martial discussion summit is right before us, isn't it?"

"For this martial discussion summit, others can skip participation."

"But as the First person of Outer Peak from Longtan Peak, you must attend!"

Li Mu, while casually perusing the 'Purple Thunder Sword Technique' cradled in his hands, spoke casually without even looking up.

"Find a place to sit casually, and let me first see what exactly this 'Purple Thunder Sword Technique' is about."

While speaking.

Li Mu's mouth corner lifted slightly as he listened to the system prompt sound in his mind, and his mood brightened.

【Ding!】

【Identified that the host studied the 'Purple Thunder Sword Technique' attentively once, triggering Heavenly Dao's Favor!】

【Congratulations host, obtained Twentyfold Harvest!】

"Is this possible?"

"I haven't even started cultivating, just casually looked and triggered Heavenly Dao's Favor!"

Li Mu was stunned.

Then he quickly recovered.

Why not?

Reading a book is also a diligent cultivation process!

The next second.

A flood of move information related to the 'Purple Thunder Sword Technique' suddenly surfaced in Li Mu's mind.

Even though he only skimmed through it, he had already firmly memorized the eighteen‑form combinations and variations of the 'Purple Thunder Sword Technique'.

Without any omission, as if it were etched into his brain.

Moreover, Li Mu could even extrapolate from the Purple Thunder Sword Technique moves to derive his own insights.

This gave him a relatively deep understanding of the 'Purple Thunder Sword Technique'!

"Junior Li Mu, this Xuan Tier martial art is not comparable to the Yellow Tier; it's truly not that easy to pick up."

Yao Mengzhen's expression was somewhat complicated, and he gently advised from the side.

"When I first cultivated the 'Purple Thunder Sword Technique', just the eighteen move variations and combinations took me over half a month to comprehend, yet I was still clueless."

"If it weren't for guidance from senior clan members, who knows how long it would have taken to get started."

"As for the opponents in this martial discussion summit,"

"Xuan Yue Feng won't send any of the Outer Peak's four‑year Personal Disciples."

"Even if Blade Intent hasn't temporarily improved, with my current Ninth‑Grade Qi Refining Realm Peak cultivation I can still handle them."

"Also,"

"My grandfather taught me since childhood!"

"Cultivation is hard, harder than reaching the heavens!"

"The Way of Heaven diminishes the excess and supplements the lacking."

Practicing the Dao is inherently going against heaven.

It is defying Heaven's will, so one naturally encounters all kinds of terrifying things in cultivation.

Junior Brother, although your comprehension is divine, the difficulty and complexity of Mysterious Rank Martial Arts are far beyond the Yellow Tier you previously trained in.

Therefore, Senior Sister still advises you to hold the most basic reverence for Mysterious Rank Martial Arts.

Yao Mengzhen directly recited it verbatim.

She took out exactly what her grandfather had taught her back then and began speaking to Li Mu.

She tried to make the youth change his mind.

Li Mu slowly set down the Jade Slip in his hand, his sword brows furrowing.

"You now have two choices!"

Saying this, Li Mu slowly raised two fingers toward Yao Mengzhen, his tone calm.

"First, go outside and wait."

"Second, shut your mouth."

"Which one do you choose?"

"The second……"

Yao Mengzhen hastily lowered her head, sensibly saying no more.

In the training ground, it instantly became quiet.

Only the two of them softly panting, echoing in this vast space.

He averted his gaze from the youth's serious, focused profile.

Bored, Yao Mengzhen couldn't help but start surveying the surrounding environment.

Yao Mengzhen's training ground is not much different from Li Mu's; both enjoy the top-tier resources of Longtan Peak.

All the necessary facilities are, of course, fully equipped.

If one must point out a difference,

It seems……

Perhaps……

Maybe……

It seems Li Mu's training ground lacks puppet dolls.

Logically, there should be!

In my own training ground, puppet dolls are standard equipment—how could they be missing at Li Mu's?

Could it have been forgotten?

Just as Yao Mengzhen felt puzzled about this, she caught sight of an inconspicuous corner in the training ground from the corner of her eye.

At first, she didn't pay much attention!

But when she saw clearly what was piled in that corner, Yao Mengzhen froze, her pupils even contracting slightly.

What caught her attention was not only the shocking hole in the wall and the dense, web-like deep cracks on the floor!

But rather, piled in that corner lay the puppet dolls, disassembled into a heap of parts and completely scrapped!