Eternal Life Begins with Learning

Chu Mu found it hard to breathe.

’What had he just seen?’

’Superpowers? Magic? Sorcery?’

In that split second, a torrent of thoughts flooded Chu Mu’s mind.

But the scene before him, so far beyond his comprehension, continued to unfold.

The white-robed man was clearly surprised when his attack came to nothing. But then his eyes brightened, and as he looked at the boy, his expression turned to one of pleasant surprise.

"Rise!"

With a wave of the white-robed man’s hand, the sword hanging at his waist shot out of its scabbard. Like a streak of light, it flew toward the boy in the blink of an eye.

But the boy, standing on the roof ridge wreathed in golden Runes, showed no intention of fighting back against the approaching Flying Sword. He leaped off the roof and vanished from sight.

The Flying Sword shot onward. The white-robed man tapped the ground lightly with his toes and, like a soaring immortal, rose unnaturally into the air. He strode through the empty air, chasing after the fleeing boy.

He too vanished from Chu Mu’s sight in the blink of an eye.

The courtyard fell silent once more.

If not for the gaping hole in the roof proving that the fantastical scene had truly happened, Chu Mu would have thought he was hallucinating!

’Resentful Soul... Fireball... Flying Sword... Runes...’

As the scenes that defied comprehension flashed through his mind, Chu Mu’s eyes grew brighter. An indescribable excitement surged within him.

If the existence of the Resentful Soul had confirmed for him that a higher level of mysterious, Extraordinary power existed...

...then the scenes that had just played out before his very eyes had ripped the mysterious veil away from the Extraordinary completely.

’Fireball, Flying Sword, Runes...’

Chu Mu had no doubt that even if he cultivated his Body Refining Technique to Great Success, reaching the point where his body was as hard as iron and stone, impervious to blades...

...when faced with the methods of an Immortal Family like these, he would be no better than an ordinary person and would be crushed without question.

Chu Mu had yet to compose himself, but in a place like Nanshan Town, which was run like a military encampment, a disturbance this large was bound to draw attention.

Accompanied by the sound of hurried footsteps, a large detachment of Inspectors rushed to the gate of Chu Mu’s courtyard. If not for the fact that Chu Mu had some small reputation at the Inspection Office, they likely would have barged straight in.

"What’s going on?"

The lead Inspector stepped forward and questioned Chu Mu, but his eyes were constantly scanning the courtyard. His voice took on a graver tone, especially after he saw the hole in the roof ridge.

"There was a Rebel hiding in my room. A man claiming to be from the Nanshan Li Family found him... The Rebel fled in that direction..."

Chu Mu looked at the Inspector before him. The man’s suit of Iron Armor clearly marked him as a member of the Thousand Households’ Personal Guard. An identity like that saved Chu Mu the trouble of a lengthy explanation.

Upon hearing the name of the Nanshan Li Family, the man’s expression immediately turned grave. He looked to an Inspector beside him and said urgently, "Quick, go report to Lord Thousand Households!"

Without another word, the man led the Inspectors away in a rush, heading exactly in the direction Chu Mu had pointed.

’Let the bigwigs handle the big problems... And it looks like a bigwig actually showed up...’

Chu Mu shook his head with a light chuckle. The anxiety he’d been carrying ever since the incident with the Resentful Soul at Fengyue Tower finally eased.

No matter how powerful the techniques passed down by the old man from Qili Village were, the boy was still only about ten years old. Not long ago, even he, a martial arts novice, had been able to barely hold his own against him.

Although the boy now wielded Extraordinary methods that had set all of Qinghe County on edge...

...an expert from an Extraordinary Clan like the Nanshan Li Family had appeared, so there was clearly nothing left to worry about.

If nothing else, judging from their brief confrontation, the boy was clearly no match for the white-robed man.

For all he knew, the white-robed man might have already captured him.

’But still... why did that white-robed man from the Nanshan Li Family suddenly show up in Nanshan Town?’

Chu Mu was puzzled. Even if Li Jinghong had felt things were precarious and sent someone to notify the Nanshan Li Family, how much time had really passed?

The incident happened last night, and it was now only noon—all told, it hadn’t even been a full day.

’They react that fast?’

And not only that, he showed up and came straight to my house, pinpointing the boy’s location with perfect accuracy.

’That’s ridiculous!’

Lost in thought, Chu Mu walked straight into his bedroom. The gaping hole in the roof, the state of the bed, the shattered tiles and dust on the floor—all of it spoke volumes about what had just happened.

Chu Mu paced around the bedroom, then went out into the courtyard. After scanning his surroundings, he finally stopped at one of the courtyard walls.

In the muddy ground, several footprints, some deep, some shallow, were perfectly clear.

Evidently, this was where the boy had climbed over the wall and into his home.

With a leap, Chu Mu grabbed the top of the wall, hoisted himself up, and landed in a crouch. What greeted his eyes was the neighboring courtyard, just on the other side of the wall.

As far as Chu Mu knew, this residence had been vacant for some years. He had even considered buying it, knocking down the wall, and expanding his own small property.

But a little over a month ago, the house had been rented out. On top of that, his martial arts and studies were a huge financial drain, so Chu Mu had given up the idea.

Now, however, the residence was completely silent. The family who had rented it...

In the vegetable patch at the corner of the yard, a desiccated corpse lay sprawled on the ground. In front of the main hall, another body was visible lying on the ground.

The fate of this family was painfully clear. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

It was quite obvious that even the other family that had been discovered earlier was likely just found by chance.

The boy had likely infiltrated Nanshan Town by sneaking from house to house, killing as he went.

Against a Resentful Soul, ordinary people stood no chance of resisting.

If he had been home earlier, his fate would likely have been no better than theirs.

Chu Mu frowned. It wasn’t that he pitied the lives of these common people; he was simply recalling his confrontation with the boy in the mountains.

At such a tender age... in his previous life, a boy like that would have been nothing more than a naive student, ignorant of the world. But now...

’This world...’

’It’s a tough world...’

Chu Mu sighed softly, his thoughts inevitably turning back to his own situation.

The current situation was undoubtedly clear.

Barring any surprises, the threat from Qili Village should be eliminated with the arrival of the white-robed man.

After this, the Qili Village disaster would be over, and life would return to normal.

’This seems like a good thing...’

After all, without a life-or-death threat hanging over his head, he could go back to peacefully practicing his martial arts and studying, slowly enriching and strengthening himself as before.

’But...’

’He’d witnessed true Extraordinary power...’

’Right before his eyes, close enough to touch!’

For some reason, Chu Mu felt a complex mix of emotions.

Part of him hoped the white-robed man would resolve everything quickly and cleanly, allowing his life to return to normal.

Yet another part of him hoped the white-robed man would be thwarted... Even though the threat of death would loom over him again, at least there would still be a sliver of a chance, a fantasy he could cling to.

’Even if... that possibility was incredibly slim.’

’But if this sliver of a chance disappears, where will I ever find another?’

...