Absorbed in the world of martial arts, Mu Zi didn't notice how time flew. In a flash, a whole month had passed.
This day, on the outskirts of the Mu clan, she dedicated herself to her daily training.
"Whirlwind Legs!"
"Wind-Slicing Palm!"
"Collapsing Mountain Fist!"
"Iron Mountain Strike!"
Her figure seemed to dance, executing one technique after another, each one brought to perfection.
Pausing, Mu Zi spread her arms, simultaneously using two techniques—one with her left hand, one with her right.
"Falling Stone Fist!"
"Eight Desolations Palm!"
Such a division of attention and simultaneous execution of techniques was no trouble for her.
Then it was the turn of the third-rank techniques.
"Returning Wind Light Hands!"
"Traceless Claws!"
"Shadowless Sword!"
Mu Zi moved swiftly among the trees, her silhouette flitting between the trunks. Sand and stones flew into the air, and gusts of wind swirled around, stripping leaves from the branches.
Each third-rank technique was perfected by Mu Zi. With barely a touch, she reached heights that were inaccessible to ordinary people.
By this time, Mu Zi had already flawlessly mastered more than a hundred of the Mu clan's martial arts. Thanks to her accumulated experience and daily training, her control over techniques had risen to a new level.
This allowed Mu Zi to gain a deeper understanding of the martial arts she had already learned.
With a light touch of her toe, she activated the Wave Steps.
Her movements were as swift as a flying duck and as elusive as a deity. She glided with the grace of a startled swan and the elegance of a soaring dragon.
Her silhouette moved with effortless ease, as if she were strolling through a garden, without the slightest strain.
Mu Zi nodded to herself: the energy consumption of the Wave Steps had once again decreased. Even among second-rank techniques, their consumption was now one of the lowest.
Movement arts usually require less energy than offensive techniques of the same level. Thus, the Wave Steps now used less energy than some first-rank techniques.
Before, Mu Zi couldn't use them without a second thought, but now the limitations were gone. This art had become suitable even for long-distance travel.
The progress wasn't limited to the Steps; it also affected the Guiding Spirit Sword.
The improvement of this technique manifested in the speed of its execution.
Previously, using the Guiding Spirit Sword required some time to build up energy. Although Mu Zi controlled this process, it wasn't instantaneous.
Now, after meticulous refinement, the technique had become instantaneous. Although this slightly reduced its destructive power, the frequency of attacks had significantly increased.
The former, accumulative version of the Guiding Spirit Sword remained untouched—a new option had simply become available.
Mu Zi began to train.
She effortlessly performed the Wave Steps, her figure seemingly dissolving among the trees like a ghost. Simultaneously, she waved her hand, releasing beams of power from her finger one after another, which accurately pierced the trunks, leaving chains of deep, neat holes.
A big tree.
Mu Zi stopped and, with slight surprise, took in the scene before her.
The Wave Steps beneath her feet and the Guiding Spirit Sword in her hand—this combination gave her a sense of déjà vu, but she assured herself that it wasn't intentional!
Unlike a certain unnamed successor of Dali, her Wave Steps really allowed her to glide on water.
A certain Duan: That might be painful.
After refinement, both techniques continued to shine with new light.
However, the "Nine Claps" fist was no longer keeping up with Mu Zi's progress.
Although its multi-layered power was not inferior to third-rank techniques, it was merely spectacular, not practical.
Using it was cumbersome, and the energy consumption was high.
If so, wouldn't it be better to use third-rank techniques directly?
Nevertheless, Mu Zi was in no hurry to abandon the "Nine Claps" fist. She extracted its essence and adapted it for her own needs.
Her hands quickly formed a seal, and Yuan Li surged like a tide, forming a translucent light seal in front of her.
A moment later, she changed her gesture, and at the same instant, two more light seals appeared.
Then the last two seals, like streams of water, flowed into the first, merging with it into a single whole.
Gradually, the translucent light seal solidified, taking on a mysterious pale white hue and radiating powerful waves of energy.
Mu Zi abruptly swung her palm, and the pale white seal shot forward, hitting a large tree. A deafening roar resounded, and the trunk broke in half.
The tree: "Well, thank you!"
"The power is impressive!" Mu Zi nodded in satisfaction, looking at the result.
This attack was her main achievement lately.
Third-rank technique: The Heavy Yuan Seal.
When creating this art, Mu Zi used elements of several third-rank techniques and traits of the Guiding Spirit Sword. This allowed her, while remaining within the third-rank, to achieve a rare effect—releasing Yuan Li beyond her body.
Crucially, she absorbed the essence of the "Nine Claps" fist, skillfully weaving the principle of layered power into her technique.
A single seal, while standing out among third-rank techniques, still didn't measure up to a fourth-rank.
However, when three seals were layered, the power of the Heavy Yuan Seal became truly terrifying, likely surpassing even the best fourth-rank techniques.
Perhaps in terms of piercing power, it was inferior to the Guiding Spirit Sword, but in overall destructive power, it significantly surpassed it.
Most importantly, this technique, created based on the Rebirth Seal, retained its key feature: low energy consumption with high power.
Even with a triple layering of seals, the energy consumption didn't exceed the level of third-rank techniques. This was astonishing! Usually, the Body Tempering level couldn't withstand the consumption required to use fourth-rank techniques, but the Heavy Yuan Seal was an exception, allowing for the use of an art comparable to the fourth rank at this level.
After a month of in-depth study of martial arts and persistent training, Mu Zi, although she had not reached the eighth level of Body Tempering, had significantly increased her strength. Even three Mu Gangs together couldn't defeat her!
However, this power came at a high price. The energy accumulated in the Rebirth Seal was completely exhausted due to constant use.
Mu Zi had already long since gathered the local spiritual herbs, and although the Mu clan had allocated resources to her, they were not enough to meet even her minimal needs. The Mu clan's resources turned out to be too meager to cover her needs.
Fortunately, Mu Zi was now strong enough to fend for herself. It was time to make some money.
During her time studying martial arts, she didn't just master the "Heavy Yuan Seal." In the process of creating it, Mu Zi applied many different approaches, which yielded unexpected results. In a month, she developed more than a dozen new techniques, some of which reached the third rank.
However, these techniques were ordinary and couldn't break the boundaries of their rank like the "Heavy Yuan Seal." After the success with the "Seal," they became useless to Mu Zi.
Why not exchange them for cultivation resources? It would be a reasonable way to get rid of them. The nearest place for trade near the Mu clan was the market in Qingyang.
"I'll head to Qingyang tomorrow," Mu Zi decided.
...
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