Da Xuan Martial Saint

Time flew by.

In the blink of an eye, five months had passed.

The war in Ice State was still raging fiercely. Although the Seven Profound Sect had never reached a unanimous decision, and the Supreme Elder had not intervened, due to their interests, they were passively involved in the local conflicts of Ice State.

It's said that interests motivate people. In times of chaos, the noble cause of fighting the Foreign Race and rescuing the people was hardly enough to prompt action from deeply-rooted major powers. It was more of a slogan; rather, the gradual revelation of numerous resources and benefits during the great battle in Ice State enticed the Seven Profound Sect to make their move, thus gradually engaging with Heavenly Demons, Heavenly Corpse, and even the Foreign Race.

Furthermore,

According to Chen Mu's knowledge, although the major sects and forces of the Cold North Path maintained a wait-and-see attitude towards Ice State, they actually had agents in Ice State seizing opportunities to plunder resources. The situation was a complete mess, just as it had been in North State and Han State previously.

In a courtyard within the Inner City of the State Government Office of Yu State, Chen Mu was instructing Chen Yue in her cultivation.

Chen Yue wielded a sword, with sword lights flying incessantly, attacking Chen Mu repeatedly. Each strike wrapped in a fierce whistling sound, with great momentum. She had already reached the level of the Bone Tempering Realm, on par with some of the outstanding inner sect disciples of the Seven Profound Sect.

Ding!

Chen Mu used his finger as a sword, continuously flexing and tapping, breaking each of Chen Yue's sword techniques. He stood still, unmovable at his spot while guiding her,"Be as resilient as a mountain; when it's time to move, move, and when it's time to stop, stop, unmoved."

"The words in the books sound mystical, but they actually point to the essence. When the mountain's momentum dictates to advance, you advance; to retreat, you retreat. It's not about clashing head-on with your opponent all the time, but rather not to hesitate or falter during your strikes, without varying twists and turns."

Then,

Chen Mu pointed again, flicking Chen Yue's sword away. The force traveled through the blade reaching her wrist and arm, causing her to stagger back several steps. Her forehead was coated in fine beads of sweat, and she was slightly panting.

"That's enough for now. You've caught on quite quickly. You can now employ about eighty to ninety percent of the strength of Minor Achievement in Bone Tempering through your swordsmanship. When you can grasp the Artistic Conception of Gen Mountain, you'll be considered an expert at Bone Tempering Realm. Placed within the inner sect of the Seven Profound Sect, you could compare to many of the top-ranked inner sect disciples."

Chen Mu nodded slightly towards Chen Yue, stopping her from continuing her assault.

Chen Yue took a deep breath, steadying her breathing, then sweetly said, "Thank you for the guidance, brother."

Chen Mu shook his head and chuckled, "What's there to thank? Go meditate for a while, and ponder on it well."

"Okay."

Chen Yue nodded, then stepped back a few steps, removed her shoes, sat down on the clean pear wood corridor, and closed her eyes to reflect and comprehend.

Seeing Chen Yue's actions, Chen Mu also turned and walked out, quickly returning to his own yard, entering his bedroom, and took out a stack of booklets from a chest, which turned out to be a collection of intelligence reports made up of different types of paper.

As a Sect Protector of the Seven Profound Sect, although he currently did not hold an official position in the State Government Office, he could still freely enter places like the Inspectorate of the State Government Office, so accessing various intelligence from across Yu State was not difficult at all.

Chen Mu pondered for a moment, then started from the first page.

'Iron Hand Group'

Controls dozens of small-to-large boat gangs along the Usha River basin, handling Usha's output and benefits, and also connected with numerous banditry incidents, acting ruthlessly. To ensure the boat gangs followed orders, they once slaughtered over a hundred members of a boat gang, hanging their heads along the shore to terrify all parties. Since then, no one has resisted. The State Government has attempted to eradicate them several times but always failed to find their traces. The whereabouts of the plundered Silver Coin every year remain unknown.

'Cuiyan Mountain Villa'

Manages the mining of a large-scale emerald Spirit Ore within the Cuiyan mountain range, offering a substantial amount of Silver Coin to the Fang Family of the State Government annually, gaining its protection. Its power is substantial, rampantly unbridled in the locality, oppressing the County Government to obey its commands. In recent years, it has been suspected of abducting young women from various areas, who, upon falling into Cuiyan Mountain Villa, disappear without a trace.

...

That's right.

The stack of intelligence in Chen Mu's hands related to the many dark forces within Yu State.
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These forces, which had long existed in Yu State, acted unbridled and ruthlessly across the region. They were, to various extents, either linked with the Seven Profound Sect that governed Yu State—relying on offering Silver Coin to one of the six major families of the State Government, like the 'Fang Family,' for a certain degree of protection—or they were outright external forces cultivated by such a family.

He hadn't gathered this intelligence because he was particularly indignant and wanted to purge these unsightly corrupt entities; rather, he planned to randomly select some 'lucky ones'—because he was running short on money.

It had been five months.

The various resources he had previously managed and obtained had essentially been exhausted, exchanged within the Seven Profound Sect for nurturing type Spiritual Objects to boost his own Six Viscera Realm cultivation. Now, the remaining resources, which were useful to him, were temporarily not to be touched.

[Six Viscera Sutra (72%)]

[Experience: 0 points]

Five months later, his degree of Six Viscera Tempering had astonishingly reached 72%!

Just as he had anticipated, the cultivation of Six Viscera, after surpassing the 60% threshold, became like his previous practice of Tendon Changing and Bone Tempering—as the further tempering requirements increased. After he had consumed all the nurturing type Spiritual Objects acquired from the Seven Profound Sect, the progression of his Six Viscera tempering ultimately halted at 72%.

This was still because he opted for a more stable foundation, not harming his own Six Viscera, and digested the nurturing type Spiritual Objects intermittently with gentler methods; otherwise, the efficiency could have been even higher.

Of course.