Da Xuan Martial Saint

Chapter 79: Chapter 77: Year of Disaster

[Black Jade Tendon Changing Method (0%)]

[Experience: 11 points]

What surprised Chen Mu was that the progress of the Tendon Changing Method in the system panel was no longer distinguished by Minor Achievement and Major Achievement, but had become a more explicit set of data.

Chen Mu surmised that perhaps at this stage of Tendon Changing, every small step appeared more noticeable, unlike during Skin Toughening and Body Refinement, where only a jump from Minor to Major Achievement marked a significant increase in strength.

He had learned this from Hongyu.

Although Tendon Changing was generally divided into Minor Achievement, Major Achievement, and Perfection, the whole process was a smoother and steadier enhancement without overly abrupt steps.

How one judged their progress depended on certain characteristics, such as a mild burst in the body's main tendons producing a clear sound indicated the start of Tendon Changing Minor Achievement.

When swinging the limbs and moving the arms could produce a sound as sonorous as a long whip, that was the Tendon Changing Major Achievement.

Chen Mu looked at the system panel and, after a brief contemplation, moved his thoughts and attempted to advance.

[Black Jade Tendon Changing Method (1%)]

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[Experience: 1 point]

Enhancing the Black Jade Tendon Changing Method by one percent had instantly used up 10 experience points, but the effect it brought was remarkably noticeable.

Chen Mu felt an intense heat originating from within the main tendons of his body, radiating outward, scorching and forging every major tendon, sending a tingling and numbing sensation throughout his body. For a while, he couldn't muster any strength, and his body felt limp as he sat back down in the wooden barrel.

After about a quarter of an hour, the intense heat and tingling sensation gradually receded, and his strength slowly returned.

When Chen Mu stood up again, he immediately noticed a distinct difference; it felt as if the main tendons throughout his body had undergone some change. Stretching his limbs, he felt as if all the muscles and membranes across his body were more tightly interconnected.

"Is this the entrance to Tendon Changing?"

Feeling the changes in his body, Chen Mu showed a thoughtful expression.

Many people seek without success, exhausting the medicinal power of a Tendon Changing Pill without making any progress, remaining at 0%.

While 1% was just the very beginning, its substantive impact was revolutionary because it equated to crossing that most difficult threshold. Chen Mu could continue to make steady advancements even without relying on the system panel, until he perfected the Tendon Changing.

This step could be said to have crossed.

It was a radically different watershed, one that numerous Martial Men in the Inner City were pursuing.

Meanwhile, on the system panel, it was merely a light tap.

Chen Mu glanced at the dark water in the barrel, got out, and grabbed a towel to briefly dry off, then he went straight out the door.

He didn't call Wang Ni to heat the water again, but instead directly broke the ice on the water tank and washed himself off with the ice water. Then, he returned to the room and put his clothes on again.

Next.

Chen Mu picked up a Black Jade Tendon Changing Pill and carefully weighed it in his hand.

"If I perform Tendon Changing once daily and gain 11 experience points, I might only need one month to reach the Tendon Changing Minor Achievement. The progress is not too slow,"

Chen Mu pondered.

At this step of Tendon Changing, the Body Tempering Method, regardless of which phase, focused more on the digestion and absorption of medicinal power. In fact, the fixed postures in the Tendon Changing Method were mainly to guide the body's main tendons to absorb the medicinal power better and accept the tempering.

The Body Tempering Method emphasized more on the 'tempering' process.

Martial Arts Techniques focused more on 'practice' and 'understanding'.

"I wonder what stage Hongyu has reached now?"

Chen Mu suddenly thought of Hongyu. During the battle with the Black Crow Sect, Hongyu had displayed the Tendon Changing Major Achievement, but now there was likely still some gap from Perfection.

When he first met Hongyu, he had not yet started practicing the Body Treasures Way of Cultivation. Ironically enough, he had already stepped into Tendon Changing. Although it had taken almost a year and a half, the progress could only be described as startling.

Now,

With such a pace in Body Tempering, it might not take long before he could catch up with Body Treasures Way of Cultivation. At that time, it might still be uncertain who would reach Tendon Changing Perfection first.

Thinking of this, Chen Mu couldn't help but show a slight smile.

He held no ill will towards Hongyu, after all, he was the first woman with the highest Martial Arts Realm he had encountered. Although he had long surpassed her in terms of techniques, now that he was catching up in Body Treasures Way of Cultivation, he naturally felt an unusual sensation. For a moment, Chen Mu just wanted to see what kind of expression would appear on Hongyu's cool face.

In fact, he didn't know much about Hongyu, and they had minor contact. Unlike with Xiaohe, he never harbored any improper thoughts towards Hongyu in the past.

Upon deeper reflection, being cold also had its own beauty, but ultimately it lacked a sense of vitality. It would be more interesting if there were some contrasting changes.

Well.

That went a bit off track.

Chen Mu regained his senses, laughed to himself, and refocused his thoughts. Then, he went out to the courtyard, casually picked up a bamboo stick, and started practicing.

Now that he had grasped the Artistic Conception, he no longer needed to practic

Until the scattered snowflakes gradually melted into countless raindrops, these raindrops were still swept by the invisible wind raised by the bamboo branches, following the turnover and adjustment of the bamboo branches.

Finally, Chen Mu abruptly thrust the bamboo branch forward in his hand.

Crack!

The fragile bamboo branch forcibly pierced into a large stone placed in the corner of the courtyard for practicing, entering three inches into the stone!

…

Time flew by.

In the blink of an eye, more than a month had passed.

The cold of winter had not become warmer but had become even colder instead, causing the overall situation in the Outer City to continually decline.

The severe cold itself was manageable, as every household had stored firewood for the winter; in the bitterly cold late winter, everyone shut their doors and huddled around the stove. Those with insufficient firewood also huddled together for warmth; as long as there was a place to lean on, one was generally not frozen to death.

However, the problem was that the prolonged severe cold, coupled with heavy snow, caused many old and dilapidated houses that were in disrepair to collapse under the weight.

On the streets.

In the thick snow, amidst the snowstorm, several figures walked forward, each step sinking deep to the knees.

The person in the lead wore a wide bamboo hat and dark green prefecture uniform; it was the Prefecture Chief of the Wutong Grove District City Defense Division, Chen Mu.

Following by his side were Shang Qinglai and other head constables.

The group passed through the streets and alleys to a slightly more dilapidated district. Amidst the wind and snow, one could faintly hear wailing.

Looking forward, one could see that in the rundown old houses, sections of them had collapsed, and in the corners where the remains of bricks and tiles piled up, people could be seen huddled in quilts, trembling from the cold.

Shang Qinglai stepped quickly across the street alley, leaped onto an external wall, surveyed the surroundings from a high position, then came back to report,

"Sir, the snowstorm last night was fierce. Sanhuai Alley was severely damaged. From a rough estimate, at least a hundred households are affected."

"…"

Chen Mu did not speak and walked further along the street alley.

Next to a collapsed old house by the roadside, a little girl in patch-covered worn cotton clothing and disheveled hair, was curled up into a ball in a corner.

Apart from her, no other people were visible, but under the debris of the old house, one could faintly see a piece of tattered clothing.

Chen Mu walked up, reached out to touch the little girl's heart, feeling a bit of warmth, then lifted her entirely into his arms, held her close, and said, "Bring some medicinal soup."

"Yes."

Shang Qinglai acknowledged and quickly exited the street alley.

The little girl was only about six or seven years old. Chen Mu opened his uniform and buried her completely in his embrace to warm her. After a while, Shang Qinglai brought a bowl of steaming medicinal soup, pried her mouth open and poured some down; a bit of life finally returned to that gray face.

"Sir, the initial count of affected people in Sanhuai Alley is over one hundred and twenty households, with two to three hundred people either frozen to death or buried last night, and roughly another three hundred survivors,"

Zhang Tong came over and reported on the investigation.

Chen Mu pondered and said, "What about other places?"

Zhang Tong replied, "Other areas are slightly better, but apart from the main street and back street, almost all have been affected. The total number of disaster victims could multiply several times over."

Thousands of people — not a small number, considering the entire population of Wutong Grove District was only about twenty to thirty thousand households, totaling around a hundred thousand people.

"How much space is left in the City Defense Division's office?"

Chen Mu asked.

Half a month earlier, as the disaster situation gradually worsened, he had ordered that most of the City Defense Division's courtyards be cleared to temporarily accommodate the disaster victims.

Zhang Tong replied grimly, "At most, a few dozen more can be accommodated."

Chen Mu looked at the distant disaster scene and thoughtfully said, "It seems we'll need to build some temporary shelters."

Zhang Tong's face showed a hint of difficulty. "Sir, recently, the public treasury has spent a lot due to accommodating those disaster victims. Although there is Silver Coin from the previous Zheng Family confiscation, if we take in this batch of victims, I'm afraid it won't last half a month."

"You don't need to worry about that."

Chen Mu indifferently said, "Go contact the leaders of the Flowing Sand Gang, Thief Gang... all six gangs for me. Tell them I need to see them, right after noon at Heavenly Arrival Restaurant on Main Street."

Zhang Tong, upon hearing this, paused, said, "Sir, are you thinking of..."

"Go."

Chen Mu did not elaborate further.

Zhang Tong immediately understood, nodded, and left.

At that moment, Shang Qinglai came closer and whispered, "Sir, making those gangs contribute might not be easy. Perhaps we could ask the Nan Family to exert some effort."

Chen Mu gently stroked the forehead of the girl in his arms, feeling the warmth slowly return, then glanced at Shang Qinglai and said, "There's no need to negotiate with the Nan Family; they will contribute on their own. As for the six gangs... let me ask you, if they are unwilling to contribute at a time like this, then what is their purpose of existence?"

His tone was flat, but mixed in the winter chill, it seemed to make the air even colder, causing Shang Qinglai to feel a chill in his heart and lower his head without speaking again.