wuxianovels18 Chapter 93 : Chapter 93
Chapter 93 : Chapter 93
Chapter 93: To Break Through, Use Your Full Strength
The corridor outside the large conference room of the Pearl Military District’s Major Categories Cultivation Art Department was packed with people.
They were all assistants and adjutants to various leaders, standing in neat lines along both sides.
As Li Mu followed Wang Longcheng past them, all of them cast puzzled and astonished looks his way.
When he pushed open the door and entered the conference room, the room glittered with generals’ stars.
Several powerful middle-aged men in military uniform sat at the table.
The atmosphere in the room was rather strange.
People were talking and laughing, but Zhang Qing and Liao Feng were standing off to the side as they chatted.
On the Pearl Military District’s side, only Liang Huajun and Professor Xu of the Cultivation Art Department were seated at the conference table.
Aside from the uniformed middle-aged men, there were also several elderly men Li Mu had never seen before seated there.
They too were wearing the robes of the Cultivation Art Department, but the insignia on their clothes belonged to the Northern Frontier Cultivation Art Research Bureau.
The moment Li Mu entered, the room fell silent.
Wang Longcheng hurriedly saluted and said in a clear voice, “Junior Wolf Guard Li Mu reporting as ordered! Awaiting instructions, sir!”
Everyone present turned to look at Li Mu.
Especially the old men from the Cultivation Art Research Bureau. Every one of their aged eyes was shining.
The uniformed middle-aged man seated at the head of the table smiled faintly.
He laced his fingers together, leaned back slightly, and asked with a smile, “You are Li Mu?”
“Yes.”
Li Mu nodded, his tone respectful but unflinching.
In truth, he was more than a little nervous inside.
He had already seen the man’s rank.
Junior Dragon General!
The highest rank in the Pearl Military District belonged to Liang Huajun, a Tiger Marquis.
And the three uniformed middle-aged men beside this Junior Dragon General were all Tiger Marquis as well.
“Was it you who revised the Falling Leaf Saber Art?”
One of the old men cut in and asked first.
“Yes,” Li Mu answered with another nod.
The looks in everyone’s eyes changed again.
Suspecting it was one thing. Hearing him admit it with his own mouth was another.
He was far too young!
They had thought some old monster had revised it, yet it turned out Professor Xu and the others had really been telling the truth.
“I heard you also improved the Flowing Cloud Five Tremors?”
Another old professor asked.
“Yes.”
Li Mu nodded. This was not the time for false modesty.
“Young man, would you mind giving us a martial demonstration with the Falling Leaf Saber Art?”
One of the Tiger Marquises beside Su Qianyuan asked.
A martial demonstration meant that Li Mu would personally perform the Falling Leaf Saber Art once.
In truth, this was a way of verifying his identity. It could not simply be a matter of the Cultivation Art Department claiming it was him.
If Li Mu had truly rewritten the Falling Leaf Saber Art, then the way he used it would be entirely different from everyone else. Any martial artist could tell at a glance.
“That’s fine.”
Li Mu did not object at all.
This was a normal procedure.
Just think about it. If Minister Song, Professor Xu, and the others had been bad people today and had found some official’s son to steal his credit, then would the higher-ups really award merit and hand out rewards without even verifying the person’s identity?
“Good. Then let’s go outside and have a look.”
Su Qianyuan immediately nodded with a smile and rose to his feet, taking the lead as he walked out.
Everyone else followed in a great wave, leaving the Cultivation Art Department and instinctively forming a large open space in front of the entrance.
As Li Mu stepped into the center of the grounds again, he suddenly felt a little dazed.
It had only been a month or so since the last time he had given a martial demonstration here, had it not?
And yet the status of the spectators had soared in a straight line.
They had gone from a group of martial-obsessed teachers from the Cultivation Art Department
to a gathering of top generals from the Military District and six or seven Profound Rank martial artists.
As for Yellow Rank Eighth and Ninth Grade martial artists, there were too many to count.
“Qin Zhanye!”
Liang Huajun called out to the crowd, and Qin Zhanye, the Military District’s head instructor, stepped out.
Once again, he stood opposite Li Mu.
Li Mu smiled at him, and Qin Zhanye smiled back. The opponent was still the same old opponent.
Qin Zhanye pulled two sabers from his Storage Ring and tossed one to Li Mu.
“Use my spare saber. No need to hold back.”
The moment Li Mu caught the saber, his heart stirred.
“Then I really won’t hold back.”
While fighting those two people last night, Li Mu had already vaguely sensed the signs of a breakthrough.
And now that he had such a rare chance to spar with Qin Zhanye, Li Mu intended to give it a try.
Qin Zhanye nodded at him irritably.
That little brat truly did not stand on ceremony with him at all. If not for all these important leaders being present, Qin Zhanye would have taken the chance to give him a good beating.
“Here I come!”
Without wasting any more words, Li Mu gave a loud shout and unleashed the Falling Leaf Saber Art, sweeping toward Qin Zhanye like a whirlwind.
The moment an expert made a move, the real thing was obvious.
The instant Su Qianyuan and the others from the Cultivation Art Research Bureau saw the power of Li Mu’s saber art, they became completely certain that Li Mu truly was the one who had improved the Falling Leaf Saber Art.
That saber technique flowed as smoothly as drifting clouds and running water, with terrifying speed and viciously tricky angles.
Combined with Li Mu’s footwork, which was equally suited to both close-range and long-range fighting, the efficiency of his attacks was unbelievably high.
Even Qin Zhanye, at Ninth Grade strength, found that defending with nothing but a long saber was already starting to strain him.
He had to supplement it with his own protective cultivation method.
One had to remember that Qin Zhanye was an instructor, a man whose sole duty was to train martial artists in combat.
He was a teacher among teachers!
And yet a single saber was not enough to guard his entire body, allowing Li Mu to seize openings against him.
Of course, that was under the condition that Qin Zhanye was not counterattacking.
Before long, Qin Zhanye had no choice but to strike back as well, having judged that he should not be able to injure Li Mu.
Every so often, he swung his saber in offense to force Li Mu back.
To his surprise, Li Mu only grew fiercer and fiercer as the fight continued. His saber even began to carry the Iron-Cleaving Form!
Qin Zhanye did not feel too pressured, but he could not understand what madness had possessed the boy.
In truth, Su Qianyuan and the others had long since confirmed that Li Mu was the one who had improved the technique.
The purpose of today’s martial demonstration had already been fulfilled.
But all of them had become so absorbed in the match that no one called for it to stop.
Li Mu’s fighting could genuinely be described as beautiful!
Whether it was his offense, defense, movement, or use of True Qi, one could see in him not only the shadow of the Falling Leaf Saber Art, but also the traces of many different cultivation arts and martial techniques perfectly fused together.
For these old monsters from the Cultivation Art Research Bureau who dedicated their lives to studying cultivation arts, watching Li Mu perform martial arts was simply a pleasure.
Clang!
Li Mu’s fierce slash was blocked by Qin Zhanye. In the next instant, Qin Zhanye’s saber sheared through Li Mu’s weapon, snapping it apart and sending the pieces flying.
Qin Zhanye was just about to shout for them to stop, when he realized that Li Mu had not hesitated in the slightest. Li Mu released the broken saber at once, flung it away, and with a muffled puff, the silver Ghostface Cudgel appeared in his hand.
Li Mu swung it in a full arc and swept it straight at Qin Zhanye.
“Watch out!” Li Mu shouted.
Qin Zhanye also sensed the danger in that strike. He stamped hard with his right foot, and a faint breeze brushed past.
The aura around Qin Zhanye suddenly turned utterly still!
It was as if the gale around him had frozen solid.
Then Qin Zhanye reversed the saber in his hand and raised it to meet Li Mu’s Ghostface Cudgel. The motion looked slow, yet was swift in truth, light as though weight meant nothing at all.
Li Mu was startled. He had thought Qin Zhanye had grown careless.
His cudgel weighed a full ton. With the Iron-Cleaving Form added on top of that, Qin Zhanye would suffer if he treated it the same way he had treated the saber just now.
Li Mu inwardly blamed himself for being too impatient.
If he wanted a breakthrough, he could have just gone into the Abyss and killed monsters.
Why had he chosen Qin Zhanye?
If that cudgel actually struck him, and in front of so many leaders at that, Li Mu would feel guilty to death.
But Li Mu’s wild thoughts did not last long.
The moment his cudgel collided with Qin Zhanye’s saber, Li Mu felt as though he had smashed into a cargo truck charging straight toward him!
Qin Zhanye’s strike, which had seemed slow yet was fast in truth, was at least twice as powerful as Li Mu’s blow!
With a thunderous clang, Li Mu nearly lost his grip on the Ghostface Cudgel. His whole body was shaken so hard that he staggered.
Qin Zhanye gave his saber a couple of elegant twirls, then raised his left hand and crooked his fingers at Li Mu.
“If you want to break through, use your full strength!”
By now, Qin Zhanye had finally seen through it. Li Mu had switched to the cudgel to fight him, which meant he had already touched the threshold of advancement.
The boy wanted Qin Zhanye to help him cultivate.
Although Li Mu was extraordinarily strong and could practically be called invincible within the same rank, in the eyes of the people around them, he was still just a little brat.
Everyone above the Seventh or Eighth Grade could already tell what Li Mu was trying to do.
Wang Longcheng also called out, “Li Mu, fight without worry. Give it everything you have. Instructor Qin’s Wind-Subduing Saber is not something just anyone can force out!”