Chapter 1 Life-Saving Martial Arts

Collapsed tables and chairs, muddy earthen walls, and bright red bloodstains...

Chen Mu opened his eyes, feeling a throbbing pain from the back of his head as he surveyed his surroundings.

As the memories in his mind became clearer, after a long while, Chen Mu finally accepted the fact that he had transmigrated.

He had transmigrated from being a Corporate Slave on Blue Star to becoming a lowly soldier in the Demon Suppression Division of Yunmeng Town in Great Wu.

The majestic Great Wu was a place where martial arts flourished.

Demons and monsters plagued the world, and evil spirits were rampant!

In this world, gods and demons manifested, Demonic Qi spread for three thousand miles, and creatures devoured five or six cities' worth of people in a single day. There were also martial arts masters who could shatter mountains and rocks with their bare hands, or sever rivers and fill seas with a single sword strike!

Martial arts was the mainstream of this world!

Moreover, it seemed the death of the original owner of this body was related to this.

"You... you're actually not dead yet?"

A voice rang out, and a man with a broadsword at his waist appeared at the door. He had a rugged appearance, an open chest, and four hideous scars.

At this moment, he held a bucket of kerosene in his left hand and a torch in his right.

Chen Mu touched the back of his head, which was throbbing with intense pain, and his thoughts returned to the scene before his memories cut off.

He recognized the man before him; his name was Li Feiyu. He had started practicing martial arts at the age of thirty and played the broadsword with consummate skill. Because he had performed acts of chivalry by killing powerful bullies who oppressed the common people, he had fled to Yunmeng Town. Seeing his situation, the original owner of the body couldn't bear it and took him in.

During his recovery, Li Feiyu taught the original owner the Broadsword Technique in the name of repaying his kindness, helping him successfully cross the threshold of the Demon Suppression Division.

Upon entering the Demon Suppression Division and gaining a government position, every member had one opportunity to freely select a martial art.

The martial art the original owner chose was called Taibao Horizontal Training. This was a form of Hard Qigong; when practiced to a high level, one could Cultivate a Protective Aura, making the body impervious to blades.

On the night he entered the Demon Suppression Division, Li Feiyu used the excuse of celebrating to get the original owner drunk. He then struck the back of the owner's head with a palm and snatched the Taibao Horizontal Training technique from his robes...

Recalling all that had happened, perhaps on the day Li Feiyu first met Chen Mu and checked his skeletal structure, he had already set today's trap!

Because while Taibao Horizontal Training might be a common technique that anyone could practice in the Demon Suppression Division, among the common people, such a technique was a highly coveted treasure.

"Big Brother Li? What are you doing?"

"Weren't we just drinking?"

"What are you doing with a torch?"

Chen Mu knew Li Feiyu had committed murder for the treasure, but he couldn't expose him and turn hostile just yet.

For no other reason than he had only possessed Taibao Horizontal Training for a day; he had merely memorized it and hadn't even reached the most basic Entry Level. As for the Broadsword Technique he was best at, he had learned it from Li Feiyu. In terms of strength, he was simply no match for Li Feiyu.

"Brother Chen, I brought the torch, of course, to destroy the evidence and the body!"

Li Feiyu gave a fake smile. The next moment, he threw the torch directly at Chen Mu, and then the broadsword at his waist suddenly cleared its scabbard.

With a jolt, Chen Mu instantly felt things were bad and hurriedly drew his own broadsword.

"Bang!"

The sound of clashing weapons rang out. Chen Mu was directly sent flying, his arms trembling, and the webbing between his thumb and index finger was torn open, leaking bright red blood.

He had only studied martial arts for a year or so; in contrast, Li Feiyu had over a decade of cultivation. He simply couldn't block him.

Just as Chen Mu felt despair rising, a Panel suddenly appeared before his eyes.

[Chen Mu: Seventeen years old. Remaining Lifespan: Thirty-seven years!]

[Mastered Martial Arts: Broadsword Technique (Minor Achievement)! Taibao Horizontal Training (Not yet initiated)!]

[You can inject Lifespan into martial arts to improve your martial attainment!]

[Note: When Lifespan is less than one year, it cannot be injected!]

Seeing this Panel, in an instant, Chen Mu was like a drowning ant seeing the final life-saving straw.

Currently, he only mastered two martial arts.

The Broadsword Technique was Li Feiyu's main Cultivation Technique. With over a decade of cultivation, there was no telling to what level Li Feiyu had pushed it. Even if Chen Mu pushed it to the Major Achievement Realm, he might not necessarily be able to defeat him steadily.

As such, Chen Mu had only one choice.

"Inject Lifespan into the martial art Taibao Horizontal Training!"

[Injecting...]

[Your talent is extraordinary. In less than a year of practicing Taibao Horizontal Training, you have already reached the Entry Level!]

[Seven years passed in a flash. You realized that Taibao Horizontal Training requires slow, painstaking work. You have finally reached the Minor Achievement Realm!]

[Thirteen years passed in the blink of an eye. Training in the coldest days of winter and the hottest days of summer, through bit-by-bit painstaking effort and your deepening understanding of Taibao Horizontal Training, you finally broke through to the Major Achievement Realm!]

[Fifteen years have passed. You are now intimately familiar with Taibao Horizontal Training. Every Move and stance has been practiced tens of thousands of times. You no longer wish to be confined by forms and seek to innovate and find a new path. Finally, one day you have a flash of inspiration: Taibao Horizontal Training: Perfection Realm!]

Almost in an instant, having consumed thirty-six years of Chen Mu's time, Taibao Horizontal Training finally reached the Perfection Realm.

Though those thirty-six years were but an instant, Chen Mu felt as if he had been a pilgrim.

Thirty-six years of time, thirty-six years of light and shadow, with only Taibao Horizontal Training in his heart.

"Your Moves were all taught by me. Die obediently and stop resisting!"

"I will help you carry on your Taibao Horizontal Training; I will definitely not let it be disgraced!"

As he finished speaking, Li Feiyu attacked again.

Seeing this, Chen Mu looked at Li Feiyu. His gaze was no longer filled with the previous panic and helplessness, but only with calm composure.

"Bang!"

A violent collision sounded, and in the next moment, Li Feiyu was directly sent bouncing back.

"How... how is this possible?"

Li Feiyu looked at Chen Mu, his expression full of disbelief.

Just now, Chen Mu hadn't even raised his blade. His own broadsword was seven inches from Chen Mu's body, but no matter how hard he pushed, it was difficult to advance even half an inch.

"Protective Aura? The Protective Aura belonging to Taibao Horizontal Training?"

"You've had Taibao Horizontal Training for less than a day, and you've already practiced it to the Perfection Realm?"

The next moment, Li Feiyu suddenly thought of something.

"Chen Mu, you're finished!"

With those words, Li Feiyu prepared to bolt out the door and run.

How could Chen Mu not know what Li Feiyu was talking about? Reaching Perfection in Taibao Horizontal Training in a single day was a cultivation speed that simply couldn't be achieved by human effort.

As such, there was only one explanation: he possessed a Rare Treasure that could accelerate martial arts cultivation.

As the saying goes, 'An ordinary man is innocent, but possessing a jade treasure makes him guilty.' A Rare Treasure that could help someone deduce martial arts would attract countless people.

And he, a person with no name, no status, and no background, would inevitably be eaten alive by those powerful figures until not even scraps remained.

However, Li Feiyu was overthinking it, because Chen Mu had no intention of letting him go.

With a single thought, Chen Mu moved rapidly toward Li Feiyu.

Having practiced Taibao Horizontal Training to the Perfection Realm, besides the Protective Aura, it also provided bonuses to various parts of his body.

Before long, Chen Mu blocked Li Feiyu's path.

Seeing this, Li Feiyu raised his blade again and slashed at Chen Mu.

However, within a few Moves, his broadsword was shattered by the Protective Aura.

"Chen Mu, let me go! I was just momentarily blinded by greed to covet your martial arts!"

"I taught you the Broadsword Technique and let you enter the Demon Suppression Division. Think about it, besides this matter, I to you..."

Before he could finish, Li Feiyu's head was directly cut off by Chen Mu.

The 'Chen Mu' who trusted him was already dead!

And he, the Corporate Slave Chen Mu from Blue Star, didn't have the slightest bit of sentiment for this Li Feiyu!

Just after Chen Mu killed Li Feiyu, in an instant, a cold mechanical voice rang out in his mind again.

"Slayed a martial arts Cultivator, seized martial arts Lifespan: Thirteen years!"