Eternal Life Begins with Learning

CRACK...

The faint cracking sound was nearly imperceptible, but the sensation his toes felt as he took that small step back made the sturdy man’s disdainful expression suddenly freeze.

"Die!"

Chu Mu leaped high into the air, completely disregarding the fatal opening he would expose.

Using the momentum of his descent, he brought his saber down in another vicious slash.

With Chu Mu’s strength, even a full-power strike would normally pose little threat to the sturdy man before him.

But now, this strike had become the final straw.

The cracking sound grew clearer. The snow on the ground gave way, and the sturdy man’s foot plunged into the pitfall beneath.

"No!"

The sturdy man roared in defiance, but as the saber came down, the surging Power sent the already off-balance man tumbling uncontrollably into the pit.

The sharpened bamboo stakes inside the pit—a deadly trap meant to claim the life of an Inspector—now posed a fatal threat to the sturdy man himself.

THUD!

A dull thud echoed as the sharp bamboo stakes instantly pierced through him in several places. The blood-and-flesh-stained tips emerged from his body, pinning him inside the pit like a series of long nails.

The fury in his eyes visibly dimmed as blood oozed uncontrollably from his mouth, a gruesome and jarring sight.

In that instant, a life that had been so vibrant was clearly coming to an end.

Chu Mu’s face was flushed. He stood at the edge of the pit, panting heavily.

"Die!"

Just as Chu Mu was breathing a sigh of relief, a sudden roar made his heart, which had just begun to relax, leap into his throat.

In the pit, the sturdy man, who had been on the verge of death, suddenly roared as if in a final burst of life.

Immediately after, a flash of steel appeared. The blood-stained Long Saber shot toward Chu Mu like an arrow released from a bowstring.

One second he was celebrating his survival, the next... the scales of life and death reappeared!

It was too sudden, completely unexpected. Chu Mu didn’t even have time to raise his saber to block; he could only manage to shift his body slightly.

Then, an excruciating, twisting pain shot from his abdomen and spread through his entire body, completely overwhelming him.

"Hnngh..."

The searing pain instantly contorted Chu Mu’s face. He staggered a few steps, nearly collapsing to the ground.

"Brother Mu!"

Xu Yuan ran over frantically and caught Chu Mu, holding him steady.

"Hsss..."

Only then did Chu Mu have the strength to look down at his abdomen. He saw a large gash torn in the side of his Inspector Armor, and a startling crimson was seeping out like a spring.

His gaze shifted. Next to the pit, the Long Saber the sturdy man had thrown in his final counter-attack lay on the ground, already stained with blood.

"Tear off a piece of cloth for me!"

Supported by Xu Yuan, Chu Mu staggered and slumped down at the base of a tree, speaking with difficulty.

"Right... right..."

Xu Yuan was clearly in a panic. He fumbled with his own Armor, ripped a strip of cloth from his clothes, and immediately tried to bandage Chu Mu’s wound.

"I’ll do it myself!"

Chu Mu gritted his teeth. Despite the biting winter cold, sweat dripped from him like rain. He snatched the cloth strip from Xu Yuan, wrapped it around his torso, and temporarily bandaged the endlessly bleeding wound.

Every movement pulled at the wound, intensifying the excruciating pain. Chu Mu felt like he was about to shatter his own teeth.

"Brother Mu, the wound is here. It shouldn’t have hit anything vital."

Xu Yuan forced down his fear and observed for a long moment before looking at Chu Mu and speaking.

Chu Mu glanced down again. He wasn’t familiar with human anatomy, so he couldn’t be certain if the wound had missed his vital organs or not.

But one thing was undeniable: this was a serious injury.

It was a gash at least ten centimeters long on his stomach; he could even see his intestines.

If it weren’t for the bit of Defense his Inspector Armor provided, that single strike would have likely cost him his life!

’Well, now the set is complete!’

Chu Mu grimaced. Since entering the mountains, he had gone through one real battle after another. His mentality and his Sword Technique had both been thoroughly honed and improved. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

The only thing he was missing was getting injured.

’And now, it’s finally reached Perfection.’

’Am I really going to die in these mountains?’

Staring at the cloth strip, which was already soaked crimson, Chu Mu couldn’t help but feel a surge of panic.

The blood seeping from the cloth even dripped down his Armor onto the ground. The spot where he sat was already dyed red.

An injury this severe, while not immediately fatal...

But deep in these old, snow-locked mountains, any delay...

Not to mention, the battle before them wasn’t over yet. The outcome was still uncertain...

A glance around at his surroundings, however, put his mind at ease somewhat.

For a last-ditch counter-attack to end in a stalemate was a failure in itself. But now, it wasn’t just a stalemate; the Inspectors had begun their own counter-offensive.

Seeing this, Chu Mu felt a bit more relieved.

His gaze shifted, and then his pupils suddenly constricted as if he had seen something.

"Xu Yuan, you..."

Before Chu Mu could finish, Xu Yuan raised his saber and brought it down, hacking directly at the neck of the unconscious, white-haired old man.

After a few hacks, a bleeding head was in Xu Yuan’s hand.

"Brother Mu, what’s wrong?"

Xu Yuan looked at Chu Mu in confusion, holding up the bleeding head. "Brother Mu, I’ve taken the head for you. Wait a second, I’ll go get the one in the pit for you too..."

Chu Mu opened his mouth, but the words caught in his throat. He didn’t know what to say.

"Brother Mu, you wouldn’t believe it. That old bastard wasn’t completely dead. His eyes shot open, scared the hell out of me..."

Soon, Xu Yuan walked over to Chu Mu’s side, carrying two heads, and spoke casually.

After saying this, he placed the two heads beside Chu Mu and changed the subject. "Brother Mu, how are you feeling? Are you okay?"

"I’m okay for now..."

Chu Mu shook his head. He glanced at the old man’s head with its wide-open eyes and sighed inwardly.

Since it was already done, there was nothing more Chu Mu could say.

Besides, his current injuries didn’t allow him to speak much anyway.

Likely from the blood loss, Chu Mu now felt weak. His body, which had been surging with Qi Blood from the fight, was growing cold, and his mind felt hazy.

"Kill them!"

"Don’t let them escape!"

"After them!"

From the woods, the increasingly chaotic shouts grew clearer, signaling a shift in the battle.

Slumped at the edge of the battlefield, Chu Mu could clearly see figures scattering and fleeing into the dense forest.

The failure of their final, desperate counter-attack had undoubtedly exhausted the last of the Qili Village mountain folk’s will to resist. All that remained were the old, the weak, the women, and the children, who had no power to fight back.

And now, those scattering and fleeing were mostly them.

As for why these people hadn’t fled earlier and had instead remained here, it wasn’t hard to understand.

If this final counter-attack failed, even if they ran, how far could a group of the old, weak, women, and a child get in these vast, deep mountains?