Chapter 78: Chapter 78: Lying in Wait
"It’s a shame. With your talent, if you had been able to start a Body Tempering Technique earlier, your current achievements would certainly be no less than mine."
Luo Anning fell silent for a moment before speaking.
She started practicing the sword at five and bathed in Spiritual Medicine from a young age. At twelve, when her body could withstand it, she began Skin Tempering. Now, she was only at the Fourth Stage of Body Tempering, and in terms of martial arts, she had only cultivated one Sword Technique to Perfection.
Although she was about to cultivate another Sword Technique to Perfection, she was still outshone by Su Mu.
Su Mu’s background was far inferior to hers, yet he had already mastered two types of momentum.
With such perception and talent, it was likely that no one in Wuling City could surpass him.
Unfortunately, he started Body Tempering late. If he couldn’t reach the Fourth Stage of Body Tempering before the age of twenty, he would be eliminated by the Taiping Bureau. From then on, one step behind would mean always being behind.
However, with Su Mu’s talent and the Luo Family’s resources, there was still a sliver of hope that he could achieve blood exchange before thirty and body shedding before fifty.
If so, that would be enough to protect the Luo Family for decades.
’I already valued him highly enough, but it seems that’s still not enough,’ Luo Anning thought to herself. ’Should I pick a suitably aged woman from the family to betroth to him?’
"Miss Luo, do you know Peng Li’s whereabouts?" Su Mu asked. "When do we make our move?"
Setting aside the fact that Peng Li was on the wanted list, just mastering the Wind-Breaking Sword Momentum was reason enough for him to die. ’I have to kill him before the Hu Family does.’
"The next time you return to the Taiping Bureau, if you happen to run into Lord Lin Qi Huan, you should tell him that you’ve mastered two layers of saber momentum."
Luo Anning didn’t answer Su Mu’s question, instead speaking with a serious expression.
To have completed Skin Tempering, reached Extreme Flesh Tempering, and even comprehended two types of saber momentum on his own.
Luo Anning knew exactly how astonishing such talent was.
It wasn’t even impossible that the Taiping Bureau would make an exception and grant Su Mu a permanent position.
If she were only thinking of herself, Luo Anning could have chosen not to tell Su Mu any of this.
But she couldn’t bring herself to deceive him deliberately.
"Lord Lin might be able to get you some special support," Luo Anning said.
"I understand," Su Mu nodded. "But Miss Luo, you still haven’t answered my question."
’Lin Qi Huan is as elusive as a ghost; who knows when I’ll see him again.’ he thought. ’Speaking of which, my direct superior is pretty irresponsible. This hands-off approach is a bit too much.’
"Don’t call me Miss Luo anymore. Just use my name," Luo Anning composed herself and said.
’Strength and talent are a form of status, too. Su Mu has now earned the right to be my equal.’
"I don’t know where Peng Li is right now, but I know a place he will definitely go."
Luo Anning’s serious expression returned, making her look like a straight-A goddess tackling a difficult math problem—calm and composed.
"Where? Let’s go now."
Su Mu picked up his saber and made to leave.
Luo Anning blinked her big eyes.
’All my life, people have told me I’m diligent. But now, it seems I’m still a step behind Su Mu.’
She had long known that Su Mu was a hardworking constable who never slacked off, but she hadn’t expected him to be the same way with his cultivation. The moment they talked about real combat, he didn’t want to delay for a second.
"Alright," Luo Anning said.
’Su Mu has already mastered two layers of saber momentum. You have to work harder, An Ning!’
She mentally pumped her little fist.
......
"Peng Li will come here?"
Su Mu stood on a cliff, looking down at the deep valley below as he spoke in a low voice.
This was the edge of the eight-hundred-li Daxing Mountain.
Daxing Mountain stretched for eight hundred li, teeming with demons and fraught with peril.
Although this was the periphery, it wasn’t an absolutely safe place. Occasionally, demons would wander out from the mountains.
A large part of the Taiping Bureau’s duty in Wuling City was to prevent the demons of Daxing Mountain from escaping and wreaking havoc on the city.
Back when Su Mu was still a Woodcutter, he would sometimes venture near the Daxing Mountain Range to chop more firewood, but even on his furthest trips, he was still more than ten li from this spot.
This was the deepest he had ever gone into the mountains.
If he weren’t aware of Luo Anning’s identity, Su Mu might even suspect that she had deliberately lured him here.
"Demons could show up here at any moment. What would Peng Li be doing here?" Su Mu asked, confused.
A Body Tempering Martial Artist might be powerful to an ordinary person, but to a demon, they were just chewier food.
"This is the outermost edge of the Daxing Mountain Range. Demons don’t usually appear here, and even if they do, they won’t be too strong," Luo Anning explained. "Below this cliff is a Yin Spirit Grass that is about to mature."
"Not long ago, in Purple Stone City, Peng Li obtained a technique called the Yin Sha Qu Bone Technique.
To cultivate the Yin Sha Qu Bone Technique, Yin Spirit Grass is an essential ingredient.
Therefore, I concluded that he came to Wuling City for this very Yin Spirit Grass."
"If he really came for the Yin Spirit Grass, then why hasn’t he taken it yet?" Su Mu asked.
"Yin Spirit Grass has a unique nature. If you pick it before it matures, its yin energy will immediately dissipate, and it will wither, completely losing its medicinal properties.
So, it must be picked only after it has matured," Luo Anning explained. "Peng Li must be waiting for the Yin Spirit Grass to mature.
After I happened to discover the Yin Spirit Grass, I noticed traces of human activity nearby.
The Yin Spirit Grass will mature in the next few days. As long as we wait here, we will definitely be able to catch Peng Li."
Su Mu leaned halfway over the cliff.
Through the thin white mist swirling in the air, he could vaguely make out a plant as black as ink. That must be the Yin Spirit Grass Luo Anning mentioned.
"This Yin Spirit Grass must be quite valuable, right?" Su Mu mused. "Since Peng Li knows about it, there’s no guarantee others don’t know as well.
What if it’s not just Peng Li who shows up when it matures?"
"You just worry about Peng Li. I’ll handle everyone else," Luo Anning said, patting her chest.
Su Mu’s gaze followed Luo Anning’s hand to her chest.
’Hmm, reliable.’
Since they had decided to lie in wait, Su Mu and Luo Anning each found a hiding spot to avoid scaring Peng Li away.
Hiding in a large tree with dense foliage, Su Mu took a manual out from his robes.
"Heavenly Dragon Eight Sounds Marrow Tempering Technique".
He began to read it seriously, his expression growing more and more grave.
He hadn’t realized the severity of the problem when Luo Anning said the Heavenly Dragon Eight Sounds Marrow Tempering Technique was extremely difficult to practice.
’I had thought that as long as I could get a basic grasp of the Heavenly Dragon Eight Sounds Marrow Tempering Technique, I could use my system panel to quickly raise it to the Perfection Realm. But the system panel couldn’t create something from nothing. Whether it was a Cultivation Technique or a martial art, I had to completely practice it once, or even several times, before the corresponding entry would appear on the panel. Simply put, I had to learn how to practice it first.’
This Heavenly Dragon Eight Sounds Marrow Tempering Technique was different from the Skin Tempering Technique and Flesh Tempering Technique he had practiced before.
To cultivate the Heavenly Dragon Eight Sounds Marrow Tempering Technique, one first had to apply a special Spiritual Medicine all over their body, then use musical rhythms to resonate with the body’s major tendons, allowing them to absorb the medicine’s power and achieve the tempering effect.
According to the manual, it was best to use a stringed instrument; a guqin or a pipa would do.
The problem was, Su Mu didn’t know how to play either.
’I have to learn a musical instrument just to practice martial arts? Talk about the importance of extracurricular activities.’
Just as Su Mu was complaining in his head, a soft voice suddenly reached his ears.
"Someone’s coming."
It was Luo Anning’s voice.
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