Da Xuan Martial Saint

After dealing with Tuguhou,

Chen Mu efficiently handled the corpse. After a search, he found no Spiritual Objects, but he did discover a beast skin in the belongings of the deceased.

The beast skin featured many human anatomical drawings and some Foreign Race languages. It seemed to be a type of Martial Arts Technique. Chen Mu surmised it was likely the same kind of 'Shamanic Barbarian' method that the other had deployed.

The Shamanic Barbarian Method is actually also a kind of Martial Arts.

Compared to the present Martial Arts, the Shamanic Barbarian Path is more primitive, imitating the moves and energy flows of top-level mythical beasts that once existed, learning directly from them, much like the Tiger Demon Bone Tempering Fist, etc.

This kind of technique, in comparison to the various Martial Arts circulated in Da Xuan, such as Falling Flowers without Trace or the Heaven and Earth Wheel Seal, can't be said to be inferior; it's just more primitive, making it harder to learn and more challenging to master to extreme levels.

At the pinnacle of Martial Arts, a hundred paths converge.

No matter what technique one cultivates, once it is practiced to the extreme, what is cultivated is the 'Three Feet Forbidden Domain,' signifying a masterful control over Yuan Gang. Only then does one complement it with Martial Body Techniques tailored for the Martial Body cultivation.

Chen Mu didn't really need to draw on these, because his Heaven and Earth Wheel Seal, having been originally created by him, now encompassed everything from Yuan Gang Techniques to Martial Body Techniques, representing a complete set of offensive and defensive Martial Arts Techniques. Although within the Seven Profound Sect, only the first few layers of practice methods exist, and none beyond the seventh layer were recorded, the presence of the system panel meant he was not restricted.

As long as his Realm was sufficient, he could use the system Experience to directly advance.

Of course.

Without the corresponding techniques, the efficiency of gaining Experience might be slightly slower, but that was not crucial.

The final two layers of the Heaven and Earth Wheel Seal's techniques would inevitably only be recorded in the Great Da Xuan Imperial Court. Should he need to increase the efficiency of some cultivation techniques in the future, he would consider whether to make a trip there. For now, it wasn't necessary. Continue your adventure with My Virtual Library Empire

"This does have some value, after all,"

After carefully studying the beast skin scroll for a while, Chen Mu eventually put it away. Coming from a Grandmaster, this artifact was not an ordinary technique; it had its value. After returning to the Seven Profound Sect and translating it from the Foreign Race language, it could be a worthy addition to their records.

Apart from the beast skin scroll, there was nothing of value left on Tuguhou, and after Chen Mu thoroughly searched and ensured there was nothing left, he rubbed his hands together, and blazing flames spurted out, quickly incinerating Tuguhou's body to ashes. He then scattered the ashes with a gust of cold wind, truly erasing any trace of existence.

Afterwards,

only then did Chen Mu turn back to pick up Tuguhou's Crescent Moon Saber.

This too was a Spirit Weapon, valuable by virtue of being a Spirit Blade, not to mention that it was wielded by a Grandmaster. When Chen Mu held it, he could feel strands of a sinister aura flowing through it.

"Sinister Crescent Saber? Its quality is roughly on par with the Cold Soul Spirit Blade,"

Chen Mu scrutinized it carefully and nodded in satisfaction.

Sinister-type Spirit Blades weren't widely used in the Seven Profound Sect; instead, they were more aligned with the types favored by the Heavenly Sword Sect and the Blood Hidden Pavilion. Nevertheless, they were still very valuable.

There was an extremely precious 'Divine Soaring Stone' in the Seven Profound Sect that he had never exchanged until now because many things he owned were still useful, like the Cold Soul Spirit Blade, the Evil-Breaking Thunder Spear, and so on. Now, he could consider exchanging this Spirit Blade for it.

As for the Tai Qing Qi, South Ming Fire, and the Sea Calming Pearl, that would depend on whether the sisters Hua Nongying had any information.

Finally,

after sorting everything out, storing away the Crescent Moon Saber, and making sure nothing was missed, Chen Mu took a step, and the frozen ground rumbled and churned. The cracked earth buried any remaining traces.

Then, he stepped away, heading in the direction where Xiahou Yan and the others were located.

In the distance,

Xiahou Yan and more than a hundred elites were leading thousands of women and children, moving at full speed.

Xiahou Yan had been constantly sensing the movements behind him, but ever since a quartern of an hour before, when two pressures exploded in the distance, possibly Chen Mu and someone else engaging in combat, it quickly became deathly silent, with no further activity.

This situation was very peculiar, and even though he was somewhat worried inside, he knew he couldn't go back to investigate. He was completely powerless to intervene in a conflict of a Grandmaster's level, and the only strategy was to lead the people as far away as fast as possible.

"If the person who came was Tuguhou alone, junior brother Chen should have no problem holding him off,"

Xiahou Yan reassured himself in his mind.

But this deathly silence with no further disturbances always made him uneasy, even more so than a battle.

And so,

he continued to lead the group forward, and after an undetermined amount of time, Xiahou Yan suddenly looked taken aback. As he cast a sidewards glance, he saw a figure quietly appear by his side, in a simple Commoner's attire, cloaked with a cape – it was indeed Chen Mu.

Unbeknownst to him, Chen Mu had already caught up to the group.

"Junior Brother Chen?"

When Xiahou Yan's gaze fell upon Chen Mu, he was initially startled, then he immediately let out a sigh of relief. Since Chen Mu had caught up unharmed, there was a high probability that the situation was under control.

However, he was also somewhat astonished. From the time Chen Mu had crossed hands with the Grandmaster of the Wumeng tribe until now, it had only been a little over a quarter of an hour. Battles between Grandmasters with similar strengths often dragged on for several days and nights without a clear victor, yet Chen Mu had managed to free himself from the entanglement so quickly, and it appeared that the Tuguhou from the Wumeng tribe had not continued the chase either.

Upon further thought, it wasn't really surprising.

After all, if Tuguhou was alone, he would definitely have difficulty dealing with the current Chen Mu. After a prolonged battle without progress, it was mostly likely that he would not engage in further futile struggles. Considering that their group had not yet returned to Sha Prefecture, it would make more sense for Tuguhou to go back and call for other Grandmasters from the Wumeng tribe to join forces. This was evidently better than engaging in a fruitless tussle with Chen Mu.

"Was that Tuguhou from the Wumeng tribe just now?"

Sensing that there were no longer any Grandmasters pursuing them from behind, Xiahou Yan asked Chen Mu.

By this time, Chen Mu had a calm expression and had already slowed down, rejoining the back of the column and walking alongside Xiahou Yan. He said, "Yes, it was him."

Upon hearing this, Xiahou Yan couldn't help but laugh and sigh, "That Tuguhou has quite impressive strength, not inferior to Elder Feng Hongsheng of our sect. Junior Brother Chen, in just a short moment, you've made him retreat and flee. Once this battle is spread, I'm afraid your third place on the Wind Cloud List will be undisputed."

After the battle in Frost North County, Chen Mu soared to the third place on the Wind Cloud List, nudging the original third place, 'Heartless Sword' Lin Han, down a rank. Many people were still discussing this, especially those junior members of the Heavenly Sword Sect who felt that even though Chen Mu was strong, he might not necessarily be able to defeat Lin Han. Thus, the slot for third place was still quite contentious.

But if the news of Chen Mu forcing Tuguhou to retreat within a quarter of an hour spread today, then there was likely to be no more controversy. Even if Hua Yunsheng, the Free Wanderer who was ranked first on the list, were here, his performance would probably be the same.

"These Grandmasters from the Foreign Races do indeed each have their own methods, and Tuguhou was indeed reasonably strong,"

Chen Mu responded in an even tone after listening to Xiahou Yan.

Xiahou Yan nodded, then with a more serious tone, said, "However, we are still within Han Prefecture's territory. If Tuguhou goes back to the Wumeng tribe and calls for reinforcements, then we will be in danger. Junior Brother Chen, do you think we should continue on a straight path back to Sha Prefecture, or should we temporarily change our route to take a slightly longer detour?"

"Just continue forward. The Wumeng tribe won't be sending anyone else for now,"

Chen Mu said with a calm demeanor, shaking his head, "For the time being, they probably won't know of Tuguhou's death."

"Okay, that's good then,"

Xiahou Yan nodded slightly.

But immediately after, his expression turned to astonishment, and he froze in place, his movements suddenly stiffening, his eyes revealing a hint of shock... Wait, news of Tuguhou's death?!

He looked at Chen Mu in utter astonishment, a trace of disbelief in his eyes.

But Chen Mu merely nodded at him and said, "Please, Brother Xiahou, let's not spread the word for now."

He had taken the Spirit Weapon from Tuguhou, and it was only a matter of time before the Seven Profound Sect would learn that Tuguhou died by his hand; there was no need to deliberately hide it from Xiahou Yan. However, there was no immediate need to broadcast it widely.

Even if the Foreign Races discovered that Tuguhou was dead, they wouldn't readily suspect he perished at the hands of a single person. They would most likely suspect that he fell into an ambush set by the Seven Profound Sect and was killed in a coordinated attack. This would make Chen Mu's subsequent movements more convenient.

Moreover,

Merely slaying Tuguhou, even if others were aware, wouldn't immediately lead them to conclude that he had cultivated to a Grandmaster. At most, they might speculate whether he had mastered the Qiankun Domain or some other method.

Given his current third position on the Wind Cloud List, he was more or less on par with Tuguhou.

"...Okay,"

Xiahou Yan initially widened his eyes in shock. If it had been anyone else saying these words, he might have thought it was a joke or false military intelligence. But Chen Mu's serious and calm narration was undoubtedly the truth.

He quickly suppressed his emotions and regained his composure, although the shock in his eyes lingered. The look he gave Chen Mu was full of ripples.

Tuguhou!

That was a Grandmaster on par with Feng Hongsheng and Shi Zhenyong, a figure with a formidable reputation in the present Ice State.

Chen Mu had fought against him and not only won but ultimately killed him. Such news was shockingly significant—imagine that Hua Yunsheng, currently the first on the Wind Cloud List, might not be able to defeat Tuguhou either.

Forget the third on the Wind Cloud List.

Having slain Tuguhou, Chen Mu's strength was likely already superior to Hua Yunsheng's, who was first on the list!

But how did Chen Mu achieve this... Qiankun Domain? Impossible, Chen Mu's Artistic Conception was deep, but he shouldn't be able to touch the Domain yet. As for the Qiankun Grandmaster, that was even more improbable. It hadn't been long since Chen Mu had cultivated to the Six Viscera Realm, and considering he had also fallen victim to Mysterious Mechanism Pavilion's schemes, such an idea was utterly fanciful.

After a wave of shock, Xiahou Yan could only conclude that the Qiankun Martial Arts was the strongest in the world, and Chen Mu was indeed a peerless genius in cultivating the Qiankun. Perhaps Tuguhou underestimated him as a junior, which ultimately led to his death by Chen Mu's hand.