Eternal Life Begins with Learning

’I survived?’

Chu Mu stood rooted to the spot, dazed. He stared at the jagged nicks marring the blade of his sword, his mind still replaying the scene of clashing steel.

His improvised Hanging Ball Array had been child’s play against such a furious, storm-like assault.

Chu Mu could hardly believe he had actually managed to survive an attack like that!

Looking again at the chaotic, noisy scene in the dense woods, Chu Mu was suddenly struck by a feeling of dissociation, as if a lifetime had passed.

"Brother Mu, Brother Mu!"

Xu Yuan hurried over, sword in hand, his face etched with worry.

"I’m fine."

Chu Mu’s gaze remained fixed on the heavily nicked long saber in his hand. He counted them: eight nicks.

That meant that in the space of a few short breaths, he had exchanged eight blows with that young boy!

To say they "exchanged blows" wasn’t quite accurate. It was more like he had barely managed to block eight of the boy’s attacks and, with the support of the other Inspectors, had been extremely lucky to survive.

Terrifying!

That was the only feeling in Chu Mu’s heart right now.

Chu Mu even felt that if the boy hadn’t been so young, his body not yet fully developed and his strength lacking, he probably wouldn’t have been able to block a single strike!

That boy definitely possessed True Martial Arts.

Chu Mu was certain of it.

As this thought crossed his mind, Chu Mu’s pupils suddenly constricted.

’No, it seems it wasn’t just the boy who had True Martial Arts. The other attackers I saw were all agile and skilled too.’

Chu Mu scanned his surroundings. The Inspectors had suffered heavy casualties in this wave of attacks, but the results of the battle...

Everywhere he looked, there were casualties. It seemed their achievements were few and far between.

’Are the Hunters from the mountains all this strong?’

"Kid, when did you learn Martial Arts? Your Sword Technique is pretty good!"

As Chu Mu was lost in thought, a clearly surprised voice sounded beside him.

"Squad Leader, Captain."

Chu Mu cupped his fist in salute.

Wu Shuo looked Chu Mu up and down. "You hid that quite well!"

"I just practiced on my own. I haven’t been at it for long."

Wu Shuo praised, "It’s already impressive. If you polish that Sword Technique of yours a bit more, you’d rank among the best in our Inspection Office."

Li Gang interjected with a cold, ill-timed remark, "The Sword Technique is decent, but your strength is too weak. Otherwise, you could have tied up that little Rebel and not let him get away."

Wu Shuo’s expression flickered, but he quickly recovered and laughed heartily. "Captain Li, your standards are too high. Not everyone in the Inspection Office has skills as good as yours."

With that, Wu Shuo glanced at the head in Li Gang’s hand. "A few more kills like that, and we’ll have to start calling you Squad Leader Li."

Li Gang’s gloomy expression immediately brightened, and he began to chuckle.

Chu Mu, meanwhile, studied the severed head in Li Gang’s hand. The face was just as young, looking to be twenty at most.

A chill went through Chu Mu’s heart. He asked tentatively, "May I ask, Captain, how were that Rebel’s Martial Arts?"

"Strange you should ask. The Martial Arts of those few Rebels just now weren’t weak at all!"

Li Gang frowned. "I’ve never heard of any experts in Qili Village..."

Hearing this, Wu Shuo’s expression changed as well. "This information needs to be reported to the Thousand Households immediately."

"Right. I’ll go at once."

Li Gang’s eyes lit up. He took the head and strode off quickly.

Watching Li Gang hurry away, then glancing at Wu Shuo, whose face had darkened, Chu Mu pressed his lips together and said nothing.

"Looks to me like you’ve only practiced the Sword Technique forms taught at our Inspection Office, right?"

Wu Shuo’s sudden question made Chu Mu’s heart tremble. He looked at his superior’s superior, unable to hide his anticipation.

"Hahaha..."

"You kid!"

Wu Shuo laughed heartily, but then his tone suddenly shifted. "Speaking of which, I’ve known your father for a long time. You could say you’re half a nephew to me."

"It’s just a pity..."

"Never mind, let’s not talk about that."

"This was a reward from the previous Lord Thousand Households. Unfortunately, I have no talent for Martial Arts. After so many years of practice, I haven’t achieved much."

"You, on the other hand, seem to have some talent. You even managed to make something of the basic forms from the Inspection Office. Giving this to you feels like giving it to the right person."

As he spoke, Wu Shuo pulled a booklet from his robes and tossed it into Chu Mu’s hands.

"Practice hard. In this world, practicing Martial Arts offers a much better future than studying."

Patting Chu Mu’s shoulder, Wu Shuo left him with those words and walked away.

Chu Mu stood there dumbfounded, clutching the booklet. This sudden, immense surprise had left him completely stunned.

’Why had he wanted to take a risk and fight?’

’For power and status?’

’No, he wanted power and status because without them, a person like him had no way of coming into contact with True Martial Arts!’

’But now... he had obtained True Martial Arts just like that?’

Chu Mu found it hard to believe, but the distinct feel of the booklet in his hand was clear proof that this was no illusion.

"Brother Mu, you should get a new sword."

Another voice rang out, finally pulling Chu Mu back to reality.

Following the voice, he saw that this time it wasn’t Xu Yuan, who usually followed him around like a shadow, but another Inspector with an equally young face.

If Chu Mu remembered correctly, his name was Li He. He had also recently joined the Inspection Office after his father died in the line of duty.

Chu Mu took the long saber he was offered and gave it a couple of swings. It was a standard-issue Inspector’s sword, no different from his own.

Chu Mu asked, puzzled, "Where did you get this sword?"

"I saw your sword was nicked, Brother Mu, so I picked this one up over there."

Li He pointed to a corpse not far away, then quickly added, "The sword I gave you is my own, Brother Mu. The one I’m holding now is the one I picked up."

"It’s fine."

Chu Mu swung the long saber again, then looked at the few Inspectors from his own squad who had gathered around. Without exception, their gazes now held a clear trace of fawning and fear.

Chu Mu raised an eyebrow but then felt a sense of understanding. Soon enough, however, his attention was completely captivated by the booklet in his hand.

True Martial Arts!

The True Martial Arts he had dreamed of!

The first thing that caught Chu Mu’s eye was the title written in large characters: "Body Refining Technique."

Chu Mu carefully opened the cover. His eyes were met with line after line of densely packed small text, interspersed with diagrams of the human body’s Meridians. There were also written annotations on the diagrams.

After flipping through a few pages, Chu Mu carefully closed the booklet and tucked it into his robes.

His current situation was clearly not a good time or place for a detailed reading.

Besides, it contained many Meridian diagrams. This kind of knowledge was beyond his current scope, and it probably wasn’t something he could figure out in a short time.

After carefully stowing the booklet, Chu Mu finally looked around at the dense forest again.

The sudden clash had long since ended.

The dozen or so attacking Rebels had retreated the moment they struck, showing no desire to prolong the fight.

What they left behind, naturally, was a complete mess.

Within Chu Mu’s line of sight alone, he could see nearly ten corpses. The wails of the injured were endless.

In Chu Mu’s squad, however, there were no casualties this time, which was to be expected.

After all, from what Chu Mu had seen, this attack was completely different from the ambush at the foot of the mountain.

This time, spurred on by the promise of a hefty reward, the Inspectors had mounted an effective counterattack.

Most of those who died were the Inspectors who had rushed to the front, hoping to take a gamble for glory.

Even someone like him, who had charged in from the rear, would likely not have escaped unscathed if his colleagues hadn’t provided timely support.

...