Chapter 80: Zhao Fuzhou

Puff~!

Blood sprayed.

A hole appeared between Zhou Shaoan's eyebrows; his body froze in place, pupils dilated, eyes still holding disbelief.

【Corpse detected. Collect?】

"Yes!"

The card in hand, Chen Mu checked it immediately.

Four months' worth of Qi card!

Not bad…

Discarding the damaged iron-core bow, Chen Mu walked slowly toward Zhou Shaoan, who stood motionless, eyes wide open in death.

This bandit chieftain who had seized Wujī Ridge—when Chen Mu left Wulong Fucheng, he had specifically gone to the Inner City's "Hero Hall" to buy information, and knew Zhou Shaoan's realm was Second Stage of Heaven.

If Zhou Shaoan had been Seventh Stage Innate, no, even Fourth Stage Innate, Chen Mu would never have come to Wujī Ridge to hunt bandits.

Like the Postnatal Realm, the nine stages of the Innate Realm have a threshold every three stages; crossing each threshold greatly boosts power.

A Fourth Stage Innate fighting a Third Stage Innate—ten of the latter together might still not defeat one of the former.

If the Postnatal Realm is the continuous accumulation and eventual refining of internal force,

then the Innate Realm is the continuous accumulation and eventual refining of true Qi.

True Qi has infinite applications; in terms of power tier, it is utterly incomparable to internal force.

Ninth Stage Innate grows stronger the further one progresses.

The First Three Stages are average.

Of course, if engaging Zhou Shaoan in close combat with fists, blades, or swords, Chen Mu—having just broken through and not using Spirit Blade—would find it hard to land a one-hit kill.

But using hidden weapons is different!

That's right—the cold light piercing Zhou Shaoan's forehead was the Spirit Weapon, Willow Leaf Darts!

Seven Willow Leaf Darts formed a shuttle shape; with Qi enhancement, when launched, they unfurled into a spiral, spinning at high speed—penetration and lethality were self-evident!

Chen Mu had kept shooting arrows, avoiding close combat; to Zhou Shaoan's eyes, his power was limited.

Even not Innate.

Overconfident, his vigilance was low—and the result was a hole drilled through his skull!

…

Arriving before Zhou Shaoan, Chen Mu searched his body and found several silver notes totaling around five thousand taels.

Nothing else.

As for hidden stashes, Chen Mu searched the house and found some jewelry, a few silver ingots.

No martial arts manuals, no Spirit Weapons, no pills.

Bandits' lives are hard indeed.

After all, an Innate Realm cultivator without a sect is still just a lone cultivator.

Perhaps Zhou Shaoan had a hidden identity, but it no longer mattered.

The bandits who fled Wujī Ridge had no known destination.

Chen Mu did not stay to wait for their return.

That same day, he left Wujī Ridge and rushed back to Nanyun Prefecture City.

…

Back in the Fucheng, he first returned home to report his safety.

Then he headed straight to the Inner City, holding his wooden token, entering the Zhenwu Bureau headquarters.

When he found Zhao Fuzhou, the latter was discussing matters with Yan Qingyuan, Peng Wu, and others.

Seeing this, Chen Mu waited outside the door.

Half an hour later, Yan Qingyuan, Peng Wu, and the other Innate Realm cultivators exited the room.

Seeing Chen Mu, wearing a human-skin mask, waiting outside, Peng Wu's eyes lit up and he waved, calling out, "Brother, good day! Have you advanced in cultivation?"

Yan Qingyuan said nothing, only regarded Chen Mu with suspicion.

Just days ago, Chen Mu was Postnatal—now Innate? Had he been hiding his realm?

"Not bad."

Chen Mu nodded, bowed, and without waiting for Peng Wu to speak, strode into the meeting hall.

"Heh~"

Peng Wu shook his head with a smile and murmured, "This guy's cautious—he's been wearing that human-skin mask all along."

"Who is this guy?" asked a burly man beside him.

"Don't know. But he's one of ours—Lord Zhao said so," Peng Wu replied.

"One of ours?" The burly man frowned. "A 'one of ours' who wears a human-skin mask inside the Zhenwu Bureau? Why hide like this… hss~!"

Suddenly, the burly man realized something, sucked in a sharp breath, and lowered his voice: "Could he be a Patrol Envoy?"

"This…"

Peng Wu, Yan Qingyuan, and the others froze at those words, their expressions turning Grave Demeanor.

Patrol Envoys supervise Zhenwu Bureau personnel for corruption, betrayal, or misconduct.

Every Patrol Envoy—even the lowest-ranked Ding Zi Patrol Envoy—holds higher status than they do.

Even Zhao Fuzhou, the head, though holding the same official rank as a Patrol Envoy, must obey their orders, for Patrol Envoys hold authority one rank above any official.

Realizing this, Peng Wu, Yan Qingyuan, and the others fell silent and quickly departed.

…

Inside the council hall.

Chen Mu had just walked in when Zhao Fuzhou, who had his head lowered and was just picking up a teacup to drink, suddenly raised his head to look at Chen Mu. The next instant, his pupils shrank and astonishment flooded his face.

"You... not bad, very good, excellent!"

As he spoke, Zhao Fuzhou set down the teacup, stood up, walked over to meet Chen Mu, looked him up and down, and said with feeling, "Not bad, not bad, you really are full of surprises. An Innate Realm cultivator at sixteen — remarkable!"

According to the original body's birth date, Chen Mu had turned one year older last month, so he was now sixteen!

An Innate Realm cultivator at sixteen — Zhao Fuzhou could not help but sigh in admiration.

When he himself was sixteen, he was only at the eighth layer of Acquired Realm, and even so he had been called a genius.

If Chen Mu had the backing of a major faction, he would not have been so surprised.

But Chen Mu's background — Zhao Fuzhou knew it better than anyone.

Any so-called Innate Realm master was simply fake, fabricated by Chen Mu himself!

In less than half a year, rising all the way from Acquired Realm into the Innate Realm — even if Chen Mu had secrets, this kind of talent was the genuine article.

Zhao Fuzhou's eye for such things was nothing like what Yan Qingyuan, Peng Wu, and the others could match.

At a single glance he saw that Chen Mu's Innate Realm foundation was extremely solid.

It was not the kind of rapid breakthrough from cultivating a demonic art, where one's aura was unstable.

A solid foundation — that point was extremely important.

The more stable the foundation, the farther one could go in the later stages!

"Brother Zhao, you're exaggerating. I just got lucky and broke through to the Innate Realm."

Chen Mu gave a modest smile, then asked for guidance. "Um, Brother Zhao, I've now broken through to the Innate Realm, so my application for Patrol Inspector..."

"I'll process it for you right now. As for the letter of recommendation, I wrote it long ago." Zhao Fuzhou smiled. "But given your current state, walking the streets will easily draw attention. Better not wander outside."

Having just advanced to the Innate Realm, the aura fluctuation was far too intense; the Dispersing Clouds Art could no longer contain it.

After all, the Dispersing Clouds Art was merely an Acquired Realm martial art; against the Innate Realm, it had no effect.

"Understood."

Chen Mu nodded. "For the next stretch of time, I'll stay inside."

In his heart he muttered: don't go out during the day, go out at night!

"Mm, having just broken through to the Innate Realm, consolidating the realm is unavoidable."

"Right." As he spoke, Zhao Fuzhou seemed to remember something, pulled out a small porcelain vial from his robe, and handed it to Chen Mu. "These are Return-to-Origin Pills. Taking one will suppress your aura and conceal your cultivation level. There are three inside; each pill lasts seven days."

"Seeing you don't like to reveal yourself, take these three Return-to-Origin Pills and use them for now."

"... Thank you, Brother Zhao!"

Chen Mu hesitated for two seconds, then thanked him and accepted it.

The Return-to-Origin Pills were nothing special in Zhao Fuzhou's hands.

But for Chen Mu, they were a rare and precious pill!