Da Xuan Martial Saint

Inner City.

Chen Residence, Outer Yard.

Meng Danyun, dressed in a grey Taoist robe, stood with her hands clasped behind her back in the courtyard. It was not until she heard footsteps approaching from behind that she turned around.

Looking at Chen Mu, who had changed into light clothes and carried a not-so-large bundle on his back, Meng Danyun appeared to ponder something before teasingly saying, "Shall we wait for you a little longer? You may be staying at the Seven Profound Sect for quite some time."

The previous evening, after being busy with her affairs, she had come to find Chen Mu. Upon entering the courtyard, even though they were quite far apart, she, who had mastered the second step of the Xun Wind Artistic Conception, still detected some activity. After listening carefully for a while, she realized there wasn't just one voice, which made her look at Chen Mu rather oddly now.

What's so good about such activities that deplete Qi-Blood? One wasn't enough and there had to be two. Although reaching the Five Viscera Realm means that a little loss of Qi-Blood truly has no noticeable impact, this is still a waste of time that could be spent contemplating Martial Arts.

However.

Chen Mu did not linger, finishing all the trivial matters, and came over.

Although Chen Mu's strength surpassed hers, she was still older than him by a few years. Once they got to the Seven Profound Sect, she had to take extra care of him, trying to ensure that Chen Mu could dedicate all his time to Martial Arts cultivation.

With Chen Mu's comprehension and talent, going to the Seven Profound Sect meant he would definitely cultivate either Qian Heaven or Kun Earth Artistic Conception. With his mastery of the Three Phases of Wind, Thunder, and Fire, the probability was high that he would choose Qian Heaven.

The Qian Heaven and Kun Earth Artistic Conceptions are far more difficult to comprehend than the other Six Phases. Even just to grasp the first step, to preliminarily integrate the powers of the various Artistic Conceptions perfectly, the difficulty is greater than advancing any one of the other Six Phases to the second step.

As for reaching the second step of Qian Heaven, that's even less to say.

Zhou Hao of Great Profound Peak!

Nearly the same age as Chen Mu.

He tempered his bones at twenty-two and comprehended the Gen Mountain Artistic Conception, then successively comprehended the Dui Ze and Kan Water Artistic Conceptions at twenty-three, advanced to the Five Viscera Realm at twenty-four, and within a short year brought both Gen Mountain and Dui Ze to the second step. At twenty-five, he brought both Kan Water and Xun Wind to the second step, but since then, for over two full years till now, he only barely mastered the Kun Earth Artistic Conception.

Even Zhou Hao, a peerless genius of Yu State, one in a billion, appearing every three to five years, was stuck on Kun Earth Artistic Conception for over two years, and it is estimated that his time spent practicing Kun Earth Artistic Conception is already two and a half years now.

But he still hasn't reached the second step.

This shows the difficulty!

Moreover, Chen Mu will not only have to cultivate Qian Heaven; there are many Artistic Conception Techniques he lacks that he needs to learn, which will certainly take a very long time... But if Chen Mu truly succeeds in cultivating Qian Heaven, that will make a dramatic difference. He could enter the top ten of the new talent ranks!

It's just that Chen Mu is already twenty-seven years old, and the new talent ranks only list the young prodigies under thirty. With only three years to go, it's uncertain whether Chen Mu can catch up in time. But as long as he can cultivate Qian Heaven before the age of thirty-one or thirty-two and then step into the Six Viscera Realm, he will basically have no major issues with his progression in Martial Arts and will be able to keep up.

The future.

Even if he cannot break through the Mysterious Pass and step into the Marrow Cleansing Realm, soaking in the Six Viscera Realm for some years and bringing the cultivation of the Six Viscera Realm to its peak, while mastering various Artistic Conceptions to their apex, will also suffice to reach the level of the Wind Cloud List. If he can further master the 'Martial Arts Domain,' he will be a true powerhouse who can traverse a State or a Region without fear, even if he did not enter the Marrow Cleansing Realm.

"No need, let's go."

Chen Mu looked at Meng Danyun and shook his head slightly.

At this moment, he had no mind to jest about Meng Danyun's teasing. The love of a gentle home is the grave of heroes; these past few days, he had indeed been tempted to stay in Yu County, to always remain here.

But ultimately such thoughts were suppressed by him.

The current him.

Had already realized the direction of his own heart, having tentatively solidified his own Martial Arts willpower. No temptation could sway him; he must cultivate the Qiankun Artistic Conception and grasp the strongest Martial Arts in this world!

"Alright."

Meng Danyun nodded slightly, then walked up to Chen Mu, and whispered, "A Sect Protector has come along from our sect, who will travel with us but won't appear. Just knowing he is there is enough; you don't need to seek him out."

Chen Mu glanced at Meng Danyun, nodding slightly at her, while his eyes subtly darted to a distant corner.

A Sect Protector, the Seven Profound Sect had indeed given much importance to this.

Protectors rank above Stewards and exist within the Six Viscera Realm; half of them are past, either previous generations or generations before, True Disciples. They may not reach the level of the Wind Cloud List, yet they are much stronger than ordinary Six Viscera Realm practitioners, forming the core strength of the Seven Profound Sect.

As for the higher-level Marrow Cleansing Grandmasters, in terms of both identity and status, they belong to an entirely different concept compared to the Six Viscera Realm. In some sense, Grandmasters of the Marrow Cleansing Realm and those below the Wind Cloud List are living in two different worlds.

Grandmasters have their own battles amongst each other.

To the secular world, they are akin to dragons; you may see their heads but not their tails.

And each one who has cultivated to be a Grandmaster has followed their own Martial Arts will, honed their path, and carved out a unique journey for themselves. All of them were once unmatched geniuses, each with their own pride. Apart from the figures on the Wind Cloud List, hardly anyone else can catch their eyes. Those below the Wind Cloud List simply don't exist in their field of vision.

"As expected, you noticed."

Meng Danyun noted the direction of Chen Mu's glance.

She whispered to Chen Mu also because she knew that, like her, he had mastered the second step of the Xun Wind Artistic Conception. Even a Six Viscera Realm being, if they don't practice the Xun Wind lineage or specialize in concealing their presence and figure, would have a hard time evading their detection at a close range.

"Yes."

Chen Mu nodded slightly and then left the Outer Yard together with Meng Danyun.

And in the distance,

behind a locust tree, within the shadow cast, stood a figure. Watching the backs of Chen Mu and Meng Danyun as they walked away, a flicker of light passed through his eyes as he murmured, "They are quite vigilant, just a little closer and they would have discovered me. Meng Danyun should be able to pull him onto Spirit Profound Peak. It's good that the next generation's true disciple of Spirit Profound has been found, it's just uncertain how far this junior brother Chen will be able to go."

His name was Chu Jingsui. Though a Sect Protector of the Seven Profound Sect, he also hailed from Spirit Profound Peak, once the true disciple of the peak two generations back. Now, although he's not listed in the Wind Cloud List, he remains one of the top figures just beneath it. It was about a month ago that he received a letter from Meng Danyun; he happened to have business with Yan Jingqing, which conveniently coincided with escorting Chen Mu and Meng Danyun on their journey.

A moment later,

Chen Mu and Meng Danyun, dressed in plain clothes and wearing conical hats, silently left Yu City without any notice. Chu Jingsui, who had come to meet with Yan Jingqing and discussed some matters, also quietly followed them.

...

In the back courtyard of the Chen residence,

"Miss, Miss?"

Xu Hongyu stood still, her gaze fixed on the courtyard outside, until Xiao He softly called out to her a few times beside her, gradually bringing her back to reality as she turned to look at Xiao He.

Though after marriage Xiao He should address Chen Mu and Xu Hongyu as the master and the madam, she occasionally still slipped out the old address 'Miss'. However, Chen Mu and Xu Hongyu did not mind such formalities.

"The master should have already left the city by now,"

Xiao He whispered.

Looking out at the courtyard, she too felt a sense of longing. But like Xu Hongyu, she understood they couldn't hold back Chen Mu's progress; Chen Mu needed to go to the Seven Profound Sect, where he could grow better.

"Mhm,"

Xu Hongyu nodded lightly, the confusion in her eyes slowly dissipating, "Xiao He, let's go back to training."

Chen Mu had gone to the State Government Office of Yu State, to the Seven Profound Sect, and when he would return, his martial arts would surely have improved. She, too, could not stand still; she had to continue her Bone Tempering, striving toward the Five Viscera Realm.

If she could step into the Five Viscera Realm, even after many years, she would still maintain her current appearance, be able to give birth to children with higher talents for Chen Mu, and accompany him further on his journey.

"Alright,"

Xiao He responded softly.

Her talent was not as good as Xu Hongyu's. Although she was younger than Xu Hongyu, the future seemed unlikely for her to reach the Five Viscera Realm. Even if she could enter Bone Tempering, she could maintain her current appearance until her forties, but then she would still age.

So she had to work hard on her cultivation as well, at least to stay younger longer and accompany Chen Mu further on his path.

...

In another part of the courtyard,

Chen Yue and Yu Ru were each holding a wooden sword, sparring against each other.

To call it sparring, however, was more about Chen Yue playing the role of Yu Ru's training partner. Chen Yue had achieved Sword Momentum, and even reached Body Refinement Perfection. In a few days, she would begin to attempt breaking through to the Tendon Changing Realm, already having surpassed Yu Ru by a significant margin.

But as they practiced, their movements became less precise; even Chen Yue's Sword Momentum began to waver.

Crack!

With the wooden swords clashing once again, neither managed to rein in their strength, and the two ended up tangled together as their swords simultaneously snapped.

Chen Yue glanced at the broken wooden sword in her hand, the corners of her lips twitching, then looked over at Yu Ru and saw she was in the same predicament. Dropping the broken sword, she walked over to her.

Big brother has left.

Though she had been apart from Chen Mu while in Yu City before, it was only ever a matter of crossing from the Inner City to the Outer City.

Whenever Chen Mu left the city on errands and various missions, she knew he would soon return, typically within a month or two.

But this time was different.

Chen Mu was heading to the distant State Government Office, leaving Yu City, leaving Yu County, parting from this secluded corner to a vaster world, the true Martial World she'd heard about in stories.

Chen Mu hadn't told her how long he would be gone, but she knew that, without a specified time frame, it certainly wasn't a short period. Furthermore, he was heading to the Seven Profound Sect in pursuit of higher martial arts, a path known not for swift achievement but for accumulation over time, inevitably long.

She wrapped her arm around Yu Ru's shoulder.

The two simply leaned on each other, remaining like that for quite some time, before Chen Yue took a deep breath.

"Yu Ru, let's continue training. The region of Yu County isn't as isolated as it used to be; maybe after some time, we'll hear big brother's name in the tales of the Martial World."

Chen Yue said this, yet she herself didn't know how long this 'period' might be—whether it was one year, two, or even three.

"Mhm,"

Yu Ru looked at Chen Yue and nodded vigorously.