Chapter 34

"Acquired sixth level..."

"Sun Jindong, just you wait!"

Chen Mu took a deep breath, calming his state of mind.

Then, he exhaled a breath of turbid air, which transformed into an arrow of air and shot out for several meters.

Of the twenty-five internal power cards, three remained, each containing half a month of cultivation.

The internal power required to break through to the sixth level was nearly double that needed for the fifth level.

For subsequent breakthroughs, such as hitting the seventh level of the Acquired Realm, the internal power required would only be greater—more than double.

This was because the second threshold of the Acquired Realm lay between the sixth and seventh levels.

However.

Crossing this threshold required not only a large number of internal power cards but also the subsequent cultivation techniques!

Chen Mu only possessed the first six levels of the Cloud-Rolling Art.

He had already successfully cultivated the sixth level.

Yet, he did not know the content of the seventh level.

The path ahead was gone!

To continue breaking through, he first had to obtain the final three levels of an internal cultivation method.

This would require luck.

The skill cards he picked up not only needed to be complete, but they also could not conflict with the Cloud-Rolling Art.

Once there was a conflict, Chen Mu would be unable to use them at all, or would he have to start from scratch?

That would be too slow and a waste of a great deal of time!

Even so, Chen Mu was not discouraged.

With his current strength, he was no longer confined to Nanyun Prefecture.

He could go to other places to wander!

The population of Nanyun Prefecture reached hundreds of thousands.

Every day or two, people died, but among the dead, there were not many martial artists.

The probability of picking up a complete skill technique up to the ninth level of the Acquired Realm was too small.

Going to other places, especially where there was much killing and fighting, would yield a relatively higher probability.

Previously, his strength was limited, so he dared not go far.

Now he could!

Thinking of this, Chen Mu stabilized his mind, finished his cultivation, and stood up.

With a flick of his hand, an extra card appeared.

The second storage card!

He silently recited to use it, and the card turned into a stream of light, sinking into his left palm to form an alien space three meters in length, width, and height.

Storage space!

Both palms now contained storage spaces.

These two spaces could only hold inanimate objects.

Functional cards were naturally included.

Originally, Chen Mu kept the cards he picked up in his pockets; although others could not see them, they were cumbersome when the quantity increased.

Now it was better; he could put them in the storage space at will.

After all, the volume of a functional card was truly small.

Swish~

With a flash of light, ten cards appeared in Chen Mu's hand.

These ten cards were all cultivation cards!

The time limits varied.

As Chen Mu walked down the mountain, he used the cultivation cards to begin training specifically for the Cloud-Swinging Sword!

The Cloud-Swinging Sword, tenth sword, reached the pinnacle of perfection—an Innate martial art!

Chen Mu wanted to see what this tenth sword was actually like.

Everyone wanted a glimpse of the splendor of Innate martial arts.

Even if he could not perform it for the time being!

Thus.

He walked and stopped by turns.

By the time he reached the mountainside, the Cloud-Swinging Sword had been elevated from "thoroughly mastered" to the "pinnacle of perfection" realm.

It was still not enough to reach the "divine and marvelous" realm!

It required more cultivation cards, with a time limit starting at ten years.

Where could he get internal power cards, skill cards, and cultivation cards?

Little Liang Mountain!

Chen Mu had not forgotten that the "Red Scarf Bandits" on the mountain had not been wiped out, and the government troops from the three counties below were still surrounding them.

Sure enough.

As soon as day broke, the coalition forces of the three counties charged up the mountain to attack the remaining "Red Scarf Bandits."

"Kill!"

"Go to hell!"

"Kill them all!"

"..."

The shouts of the government soldiers and constables, and the unwilling roars of the "Red Scarf Bandits" in a desperate counterattack.

The two sides fought everywhere—on the mountain paths, in the grass, in the woods, and on the cliffs.

The "Red Scarf Bandits" were already at a disadvantage in numbers, having lost over a hundred to the two giant snakes last night, and their leader, Zhao Jinhu, had also perished with the snakes.

At this moment, facing the encirclement of the government troops, who outnumbered them several times over, and lacking an advantage in the number of experts, the "Red Scarf Bandits" fell into a disadvantageous position shortly after the battle began and kept retreating.

However, although Little Liang Mountain was seven or eight hundred meters high and had steep terrain, it was not connected to other peaks, so no matter how far they retreated, they could not get off the mountain.

They could only fight desperately in despair.

As for surrendering?

The joint suppression of bandits by the three counties was not only to remove the scourge of the "Red Scarf Bandits" but also to earn merit for the county soldiers.

The duty of the county soldiers was to maintain peace in the county territory.

The existence of the "Red Scarf Bandits" only highlighted the incompetence of the county soldiers.

Of course, whether they were playing the game of "nurturing bandits for self-importance" was something only the county soldier Captains knew.

On Little Liang Mountain, they were locked in a chaotic battle, blood flowed like a river, and corpses covered the ground.

Chen Mu naturally followed them up.

He stripped the clothes and shoes off a fallen government soldier, put them on, and then walked up the mountain, bringing up the rear.

He walked among the corpses.

[Corpse discovered, do you wish to loot?]

"Yes!"

[Corpse discovered, do you wish to loot?]

"Yes!"

Card after card was looted and stored in his palm space.

By the time Chen Mu arrived at the bandit stronghold he had visited last night, the battle was over.

All the "Red Scarf Bandits" had been killed.

Including the second and third leaders.

Dozens of government soldiers had also died, and with those seriously and lightly wounded, the total was over three hundred.

Overall, this battle was a great victory.

The supplies, money, and grain left on the mountain by the "Red Scarf Bandits" were divided into three parts by the government soldiers of the three counties.

Then, one-tenth of each part was distributed to the county soldiers, with an extra share for those who had died.

Although it was not much for each person—a dozen silver taels—it was still a nice extra income.

Chen Mu, the imposter, also received a share.

That's right, after the tally, it was distributed on the spot.

This gesture immediately brought cheers across Little Liang Mountain.

In fact, the most valuable treasure on the mountain was not the legacy of the "Red Scarf Bandits," but the corpses of the two giant snakes!

Both giant snakes were exotic beasts.

Exotic beast meat was a highly nourishing substance!

It was comparable to a Foundation-Cultivating Pill!

Or rather, the internal organs and flesh of exotic beasts could be refined into great elixirs.

The skin, tendons, and bones could be crafted into weapons.

Unfortunately, the giant snake corpses were too large, and Chen Mu could not take them away, so he could only cut off several large pieces when others were not paying attention and store them in his palm space.

Then, while others were collecting the corpses, he slipped into the grass, used his light-body technique, and left quickly.

He exited Little Liang Mountain.

He took off the government soldier's clothes and changed back into his own.

On the way back to Nanyun Prefecture City, he checked the cards he had obtained.

He gained three more cultivation cards! The time limits varied.

He gained nine more internal power cards!

There were those with half a month and one month of cultivation, and even one with a month and a half.

There were five skill cards, but unfortunately, no internal cultivation methods, only martial techniques, and they were not even top-tier.

There were several energy cards and stamina cards, which were the most numerous.

There were seventeen strength cards, which was not bad.

What made Chen Mu most happy, even excited, was a new card.

Martial Exercise Card!

Martial exercise, martial exercise.

This new card, as the name implied, could deduce martial arts!

It could deduce based on existing foundations, or it could deduce self-created techniques.

What did that mean?

Self-deduction referred to having comprehended a large number of martial arts, having new ideas, and then putting those ideas into practice, ultimately succeeding.

Simply put, it was creating one's own martial arts!

This required a vast amount of martial arts knowledge.

Chen Mu did not possess this for the time being.

However, he could do it based on existing foundations.

Because this path was to carry out subsequent deductions based on the existing path!