Eternal Life Begins with Learning

BANG!

He had used nearly all his strength. His broken saber shattered and flew from his grasp, and Chu Mu himself was sent flying, tumbling across the ground.

He had only barely blocked the fatal blow.

But in the blink of an eye, another slash was already upon him.

’My Long Saber is shattered, I’m already on the ground, and my arm is numb. How can I block this?’

’How can I survive?’

Staring at the cold blade drawing ever closer, Chu Mu’s eyes bulged in horror. Under the threat of death, a torrent of emotions flooded his mind.

"Die, you scoundrel!"

Just then, a booming shout erupted, and Chu Mu clearly saw it all unfold.

The sturdy man in Iron Armor who had come crashing through leaped high into the air. His chain-wrapped fist shot like a cannonball toward the man swinging the saber before him.

The man quickly rolled to evade, and the chilling killing intent that had enveloped Chu Mu vanished in an instant!

A narrow escape from death. A true, narrow escape. Chu Mu gasped for air, but when he tried to get up, he found his arm had no strength.

After struggling for a moment, Chu Mu barely managed to climb to his feet. He picked up a dead Inspector’s Sword, then immediately turned his wary gaze to the clash unfolding right before him.

A fist, a saber. There was nothing flashy, just simple, ordinary moves. But... every strike aimed for a vital point, every attack intended to be lethal.

Vicious and brimming with killing intent!

Initially, the two seemed evenly matched. Chains and saber clashed with a piercing shriek of metal, spraying sparks like fireworks.

But as time went on, the burly man in Iron Armor’s superior stamina began to show. His wide, sweeping iron fists forced the man in black back step by step, and it was clear the man was struggling to defend himself with his Iron Saber.

Seeing this, Chu Mu couldn’t help but let out a big sigh of relief. He glanced around. The scattered formation had apparently been somewhat effective; he could faintly hear shouts and the clash of weapons nearby.

Clearly, they weren’t the only ones fighting for their lives in the dense woods.

"You’re courting death!"

Just as Chu Mu’s attention was diverted, a sudden, explosive roar instantly pulled his gaze back.

A single glance was enough to make Chu Mu’s heart leap into his throat.

He saw that the man in Iron Armor, who had just had the upper hand, had somehow made a mistake. His Iron Armor had been split open by a large gash. Blood seeped out like a stream, and as the big man continued to swing his fists with wide, sweeping motions, droplets of blood splattered across the surrounding snow.

With such a grievous wound, the scales of victory had undoubtedly tipped in an instant.

The sturdy man in Iron Armor, who originally had the upper hand, had now become the one struggling to defend himself!

Chu Mu’s brows furrowed tightly. He subconsciously looked around. There was activity everywhere, but in the pitch-dark night, it was clear no one would be coming to help anytime soon.

Not far away, Xu Yuan and a young Inspector stood side by side, both trembling as they clutched their sabers, their faces deathly pale.

Behind a nearby tree, three more Inspectors were huddled together, shivering uncontrollably. Clearly, if the consequences for desertion weren’t so severe, the three of them would have already fled.

His squad of over a dozen men had left the mine, but now, only a handful remained.

Under these circumstances, Chu Mu couldn’t help but consider retreating.

As he hesitated, Chu Mu subconsciously summoned the Light Curtain Panel.

He saw that his Spiritual Radiance Value, which had been a little over fifty percent, had already reached the one hundred percent limit in just a few hours.

’A bit fast...’

Chu Mu was slightly stunned. Based on his normal accumulation rate for Spiritual Radiance Value, the most he could gain in a single day was just over thirty percent.

But now, in the few short hours since entering the mountain, it had risen by more than forty percent...

’Could it be... that the focused tension of a life-or-death situation speeds up the growth of my Spiritual Radiance Value?’

At this moment, Chu Mu didn’t have time to think any further. Reality didn’t allow him the luxury.

’Retreat, or stay...’

He had to make a decision. Now.

Finally, Chu Mu took another look at his accumulated Spiritual Radiance Value and gritted his teeth.

’There’s still a chance. I can’t retreat!’

’If I retreat, I’ll be cutting off any hope for the future!’

"Xu Yuan, go get reinforcements!"

"Everyone else, with me!"

Chu Mu shouted, no longer hesitating. He raised his saber and charged toward the aggressive man in black.

Hearing Chu Mu’s cry, the sturdy man in Iron Armor’s eyes clearly lit up. While struggling to block the man in black’s attacks, he also shouted out.

"Do as he says!" 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"If anyone dares to retreat, their entire family will die!"

Compared to Chu Mu’s shout, the voice of the sturdy man in Iron Armor was clearly more intimidating.

The Personal Guard of a Thousand Households. That status meant his words carried absolute weight for an ordinary Inspector.

When the sturdy man in Iron Armor’s voice rang out, even the few Inspectors shivering behind the tree had to steel themselves, pick up their sabers, and step out.

It’s normal to be afraid of death, but when your own cowardice could bring disaster upon your entire family, that was a consequence few could bear.

Seeing this, the man in black’s expression clearly changed. He hadn’t come here for a life-or-death battle with a bunch of Inspectors.

With this change of heart, the man in black’s urge to retreat intensified. He forced the man in Iron Armor back with a single slash and was about to pull away.

A cold blade suddenly appeared at his side, heading straight for his neck with obvious killing intent.

"You again!"

Seeing Chu Mu swinging his saber at him, the man in black couldn’t hide his fury. The blade that had been aimed at the man in Iron Armor instantly refocused on Chu Mu.

Under the man in black’s furious assault, after just a few slashes, the feeling of being unable to resist once again surfaced in Chu Mu’s mind.

His Sword Technique was clearly not yet at a level where it could compensate for the disparity in strength.

’Spiritual Radiance!’

As another slash came at him, Chu Mu recited the word in his mind. His eyes instantly became as deep as the vast, starry sky. The ferocious slash, in his eyes, was now completely different from what he had seen before.

In that instant, numerous ways to counter the attack flooded his mind.

It was like a precise mathematical formula. At what angle, with what force, and at what position should he block to maximize the effect of his own strike?

After his clash with that young man in black, Chu Mu had considered these things, but the reality was that neither his body nor his mind could support so much thought and consideration during a fight.

But now, under the enhancement of the Wisdom of Spiritual Radiance, everything seemed to fall into place, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

He swung his saber. The same piercing clang of collision rang out, but the Power transmitted through the blade was nowhere near as overwhelming or difficult to resist as before.

This overwhelming Power couldn’t have just vanished into thin air. Instead, after the blades collided, he had used a precise angle and posture to deflect the Power.

One strike, two strikes, three strikes...

Where before he had struggled to defend and was on the verge of being overwhelmed, now, although Chu Mu was still being forced back step by step, there was a clear sense of composure to his movements.

...