Chapter 14: Breakthrough Again—Postnatal Triple!

Moonlight bathed the earth.

In Wulong Fucheng, most of the outer city districts were silent.

The East District was the same—apart from a few market streets, everywhere else was dark and quiet.

Chen Mu moved swiftly through the alleys, using the moonlight to guide him.

With "Celestial Wolf Sniffs the Moon," there was no need to worry about getting lost—just keep going straight ahead.

Very quickly.

Chen Mu arrived outside a sizeable residence, stopped at the gate, and using the moonlight streaming down from above, saw a plaque hanging at the top of the main door—his pupils contracted.

Falling Cloud Martial Hall!

The thick smell of blood was actually coming from inside Falling Cloud Martial Hall…

The place where Huang Feiyang trained in martial arts!

"…"

Not rushing inside, Chen Mu stood at the tightly shut gate, tilting his head to listen.

After quite a while, he heard no movement within.

Only then did he tap lightly with his toes, stepping on the wall, and climbed up onto the tall courtyard wall.

Dropping down from the wall, the stench of blood hit him even stronger.

Before Chen Mu had taken a few steps, he saw a corpse lying on the ground at a corner.

He approached slowly…

【Corpse discovered. Pick up?】

"Yes!"

He kept walking.

【Corpse discovered. Pick up?】

"Yes!"

【Corpse discovered? Pick up?】

"Yes!"

……

Corpses! Corpses!

Corpses everywhere!

Chen Mu walked forward while keeping a wary eye on his surroundings.

In the end, apart from corpses, there was not a single living person.

In the vast martial hall—inner courtyard and front courtyard—thirty-nine people, all dead.

Among them was even Falling Cloud Martial Hall's master, Luo Zhongyun!

As well as his four disciples, every one of them a martial artist.

Luo Zhongyun himself was a Postnatal Eightfold expert!

Who would have thought he was dead too. His death wasn't particularly gruesome—just his chest pierced through, a great hole torn open, the bones, organs, and flesh within faintly visible.

Killed by a single fist through chest and back?

What cultivation would that require?

'Luo Zhongyun was Postnatal Eightfold. Even if his martial techniques weren't at the pinnacle, they were at least at the realm of mastery. Whoever could kill him with one strike—Postnatal Ninefold probably couldn't manage it either…'

'Innate?!'

Chen Mu's heart gave a jolt.

With an Innate expert's strength, it was indeed possible to punch straight through a person's body and kill Luo Zhongyun on the spot!

The killer was Innate?

Chen Mu decisively turned and left.

Luo Zhongyun had somehow offended an Innate martial artist, who came to his door, and the whole household perished.

Chen Mu dared not get involved—and couldn't even if he wanted to.

Who knew whether that Innate martial artist might suddenly come back?

Because of this, even though there were plenty of good things inside, Chen Mu didn't linger for a single moment—leaving was the best strategy!

……

Leaving the martial hall, he hurried on his way.

He wound through the alleys, turning several times, and only after confirming no one was following did Chen Mu head back toward his lodging.

He arrived home.

Miao Xiuxiu had already put Huang Feiyang to bed; the latter was snoring like thunder.

Chen Mu didn't disturb them and went into his own room.

Without even lighting a lamp, he reached out and took out the several dozen cards he had picked up.

Energy cards! Energy cards! Stamina cards! Stamina cards!

Power cards! Energy cards…

If it wasn't an energy card, it was a stamina card; power cards were few.

After checking them all, Chen Mu left five cards on the table.

Of these five cards, two were skill cards and three were internal force cards.

The internal force cultivation on the cards was four and a half months, two and a half months, and one month respectively.

Four and a half months of internal force cultivation?

This card was definitely picked up from Luo Zhongyun!

Only Luo Zhongyun at the Eighth Stage of Acquired could possess such a vast amount of inner force.

From this point one can also see that the higher the cultivation, the more powerful the card's effect when picked up—at least that's how it is with inner force cards.

The two skill cards recorded respectively the internal cultivation method "Coiling Cloud Art" and a supportive technique called "Scattering Cloud Art."

The former can generate inner force and Breakthrough Realm; the latter conceals one's aura and hides one's cultivation.

Both are good things!

"Coiling Cloud Art" is the signature martial art of Falling Cloud Martial Hall, something Huang Feiyang had always wanted to cultivate.

However, to learn it, one not only had to spend a great deal of silver, but also needed Luo Zhongyun's approval.

Only when Luo Zhongyun said he could teach and impart "Coiling Cloud Art" would Huang Feiyang be able to learn it.

Moreover, even if he could learn it, he could at most learn the first three layers of "Coiling Cloud Art."

Unless he was formally accepted as a disciple by Luo Zhongyun!

Only then could he learn the later internal cultivation methods—for instance, the skill card currently in Chen Mu's hand, picked up from the corpse of one of Luo Zhongyun's disciples, which contained all six layers of "Coiling Cloud Art."

"This 'Coiling Cloud Art' is far stronger than 'Evergreen Art.' Should I switch to cultivating 'Coiling Cloud Art'?"

Chen Mu used the card, comprehended the profound mysteries of the six layers of "Coiling Cloud Art" that had appeared in his mind, and murmured as he spoke.

"'Evergreen Art' and 'Coiling Cloud Art' not only don't conflict, but also have a stimulating effect?"

Comparing the two internal cultivation methods, Chen Mu discovered to his delight.

Then what was there to wait for? Switch cultivation!

Switching cultivation methods most fears conflict, because that would mean having to start cultivating all over again from the beginning.

As it turned out, the balanced and gentle nature of "Evergreen Art" allowed it to merge perfectly with most internal cultivation methods, and could even stimulate improvement.

This saved Chen Mu a great deal of time.

……

Said and done.

Immediately, Chen Mu simultaneously circulated both internal cultivation methods, replacing "Evergreen Art" with "Coiling Cloud Art."

In his dantian, all his inner force was mobilized, wandering along the meridians in every direction.

Switching cultivation methods was a complete replacement; during this process, his meridians were stretched taut, aching faintly.

Sweat quickly broke out across Chen Mu's face and head.

He sat cross-legged motionless, his aura around him in disarray, mist rising from the top of his head.

One quarter-hour, two quarter-hours, one hour, two hours……

After nearly three and a half hours, the aura on his body shifted from chaotic to steady.

After another half hour, Chen Mu opened his eyes and exhaled a sharp arrow of breath from his mouth.

"Success!"

The switch of internal cultivation method was smoothly completed.

The inner force in his body had all been replaced with the attributes of "Coiling Cloud Art"—shifting and elusive, endless and unbroken.

It could be hard, or soft; heavy, or cool.

A perfect embodiment of the ever-changing nature of clouds.

"After switching to 'Coiling Cloud Art,' the inner force needed for a breakthrough should be less, right?"

Taking a deep breath to steady his mind and spirit, Chen Mu took out the inner force card with the highest cultivation and silently willed it to be used.

Swoosh~

The inner force card dissolved into flowing light and surged into his body.

Feeling the inner force that had appeared out of thin air within his body, Chen Mu circulated "Coiling Cloud Art," working backward to slam against the bottleneck.

From the Second Stage of Acquired, charging toward the Third Stage of Acquired.

Swoosh swoosh~

The blood within his body flowed rapidly; Chen Mu seemed to hear the sound of flowing water.

Vast streams of inner force drove the circulation of the art, stimulating skin, flesh, tendons, bones… every corner, every cell.

Over and over, over and over.

Suddenly, Chen Mu's body jolted; every pore across his entire body opened wide, and a great surge of aura blasted out from within, merging into a single mass of mist that swirled around him.

Hoo!

Chen Mu rose and performed "Shattered Gold Palm" three times in the room; as inner force was mobilized, the mist around him churned and surged, condensing into clumps—visible to the naked eye, thick as balls of blood fog.

Crack~

Chen Mu withdrew his art, slowly exhaled a sharp arrow of breath from his mouth that pierced through the thick mist and blasted out more than three meters away.

Blood flowing like a river, Qi condensing like blood.

Third Stage of Heaven!