Starting with The Eagle Shooting Heroes: I gain a year's worth of skill every day.

In the blood-soaked valley, the girl's clear voice echoed in the deathly silence.

Shen Mo looked down at the small hand that was clutching the hem of his clothes.

He was thin, yet incredibly strong; his knuckles turned white from the effort.

The surviving members of the caravan huddled in the distance, staring intently at the Taoist priest in the green robe with a gaze that was a mixture of awe and extreme fear.

In their eyes, the Taoist priest who easily slaughtered the bandits of Black Wind Pass was no different in essence from the one-eyed dragon who had tried to wipe them out earlier.

They are all demons who can control their life and death.

Just then, a middle-aged man dressed in brocade, with a slightly plump figure, tumbled and crawled out of the crowd.

He rushed to Shen Mo without hesitation, his knees buckled, and he knelt down, bowing deeply to Shen Mo.

"Master! Thank you so much for saving my life! I will never forget your kindness!"

His voice trembled violently with excitement and fear.

Shen Mo ignored him, her gaze remaining fixed on the little girl at her feet.

Upon seeing this, the middle-aged businessman quickly explained, "Master, this is my daughter. She...she's terrified and talking nonsense. Please don't take it personally."

He paused, then added in a strained voice.

"Her name is... Li Mochou."

Li Mochou?

The name did not stir any emotion in Shen Mo's heart.

He just felt that the name didn't quite match the girl in front of him, who was covered in blood and clutching his clothes, trying to learn how to kill.

Seeing that Shen Mo remained unmoved, the middle-aged businessman steeled himself and kowtowed deeply to Shen Mo once again.

"Master! Please, please take my daughter away!"

This move stunned everyone.

The wealthy merchant, however, paid no heed, weeping and screaming, "Taoist Master, you've seen it for yourself! In this world, human life is worth less than a dog's! We merchants, even if we survive today by sheer luck, what about tomorrow? What about the day after?"

"My Li family has some wealth, but in this chaotic world, it's a death sentence! I don't want... I don't want to see Mo Chou... being violated and killed one day!"

"Rather than let her die a humiliating death in the future, it's better for her to follow the Taoist priest! Learn some skills, even... even if it's learning to kill, as long as she can survive! As long as she can survive, that's enough!"

The wealthy merchant's head slammed against the blood-stained stone ground with each thud.

He was risking his life to plead for a bleak future for his daughter.

Shen Mo finally spoke, his voice flat and without any inflection.

"I am not a good teacher."

He pulled his clothes back.

"I have no intention of taking on apprentices."

"My path is not suitable for a child to follow."

After saying that, he turned around and started to leave.

There wasn't the slightest bit of lingering affection.

There are too many pitiful people in this world. He is not a bodhisattva who saves all sentient beings; he cannot manage them all, nor does he want to.

Behind him, the wealthy businessman's cries abruptly ceased, turning into a desperate sob.

That little hand finally let go.

Li Mochou neither cried nor spoke again.

She simply watched Shen Mo's departing figure, and then, facing the ground stained with blood and bits of flesh, she knelt down straight.

Boom!

The first head was kowtowed heavily.

His forehead was instantly covered in slippery mud and dark red bloodstains.

Boom!

The second head.

Boom!

The third head.

Three deep, resolute kowtows.

She stood up, her small body standing straight in the bloody mountain wind.

Shen Mo's footsteps stopped.

He had his back to the crowd and didn't turn around.

Why come down the mountain?

His masters said that he had 32 years of skill, but he was like a child wielding a giant hammer, unable to grasp the proper technique, because he "had not yet awakened the secret."

They need to descend the mountain and enter the world to find their own "destiny".

Is it karma...?

In Shen Mo's mind, the image of the little girl's lifeless eyes and the stubborn flame hidden beneath the coldness flashed by.

Perhaps this is part of the law of karma.

"I don't accept apprentices."

His calm voice rang out again, clearly reaching everyone's ears.

"But I will allow you to follow behind."

"Whether one lives or dies, it is up to fate."

As soon as he finished speaking, he didn't linger. With a few leaps, he disappeared at the end of the mountain path.

Behind him, the middle-aged businessman was stunned for a long time, then burst into a joyful wail, and kowtowed desperately in the direction Shen Mo had left.

"Thank you so much, Daoist Master! Thank you so much, Daoist Master!"

Li Mochou remained silent, only giving her father a deep look before turning around and taking small steps to chase after the figure in the blue Taoist robe without hesitation.

……

a few days later.

On the official road.

Shen Mo walked slowly ahead, his blue Taoist robe swaying slightly in the wind.

His steps were sometimes light, sometimes heavy, revealing a sense of awkward contradiction, as if he were taming a wild beast.

Li Mochou followed silently behind him, always keeping a distance of three steps.

She changed into clean, coarse cloth clothes, and washed her face, revealing delicate features. However, the coldness and deathly stillness that seemed out of place for her age remained undiminished.

Shen Mo didn't teach her anything, and didn't even say a word to her.

He's just following his own path and honing his own skills.

He possessed thirty-two years of refined internal energy, yet he was unable to master the exquisite and superior martial arts of the Quanzhen Sect.

The Seven Masters of Quanzhen asserted that he "had not yet awakened his potential." Although his meridians were open, his qi circulation was sluggish, and he could not even begin to learn martial arts.

Among the many martial arts of the Quanzhen Sect, Shen Mo did not hesitate to choose the most basic introductory light skill, "Golden Goose Skill," to practice diligently.

This was not a random choice.

Shen Mo knew very well that he was about to embark on a journey through the martial world, and in that world, the most important thing was not killing, but surviving.

If you can win a fight, you must be able to pursue; if you can't win, you must be able to escape.

Only by mastering the art of lightness and agility can one seize the initiative in life-or-death situations.

He has been practicing diligently for over a month.

At dusk, the setting sun was like blood.

The two walked to a stream.

Shen Mo stopped and began his final, exhausting practice session at dusk each day.

He channeled the 32 years of internal energy he had accumulated, practicing the footwork of the "Golden Goose Skill" over and over again.

Its figure flashed repeatedly on the open ground by the stream, creating gusts of wind.

Sweat soaked through his Taoist robe, his muscles ached and groaned, and the sluggish feeling in his meridians almost drove him mad.

But Shen Mo persisted.

Even with external advantages, Shen Mo was not one to be complacent or think he could rest easy and be invincible. He knew that relying solely on his profound inner strength would not make him invincible.

Without becoming invincible, Shen Mo's dream cannot be realized!

and so……

Once, twice, a hundred times...

Finally, in the last breath, just as his body was about to collapse from exhaustion, he breathed his last.

Within Shen Mo's body, a faint current of energy suddenly broke free from invisible shackles and pierced through a tiny meridian that had always been extremely stagnant!

hum!

A deafening roar erupted in my mind, like a thunderclap in a dry land!

The previously stagnant internal energy flowed freely at this moment!

Shen Mo, whose body was already exhausted, subconsciously took a step forward.

Swish!

His gait instantly changed completely.

With a mere blink, he silently appeared on the opposite bank of the stream, three zhang away.

It landed silently, as light as a goose.

After a month of arduous practice, I have finally… mastered the basics of the Quanzhen beginner's light-body skill, "Golden Goose Skill"!

It was at this very moment that he began to master the basics of light-body kung fu.

In Shen Mo's mind, the ancient, still, and mysterious mirror that had been silent for a month suddenly revealed clear writing on its surface for the first time.

[Complete Authentic Lightness Skill for Beginners: Introduction]

Beside this line of ancient characters, a tiny "+" sign, made of pure gold light, is shimmering slightly.

coming!

At this moment, the calm and undisturbed state of mind was stirred up into a raging storm!

His mind instantly focused on the golden "+" sign.

The information on the mirror changed again.

Good/Evil Points: 100

In an instant, a flood of information rushed into his mind, making him understand everything.

Killing over a hundred bandits at Black Wind Pass was judged as a "good deed" by the mirror, thus earning one hundred points.

These points can be used to improve one's martial arts level!

So this is my true destiny!

Shen Mo's consciousness was fixed on the words "[Quanzhen Elementary Lightness Skill: Beginner (+)]" on the mirror.

He no longer hesitated; only one thought occupied his mind.

"Add some points!"

The moment the thought crossed his mind, the golden "+" sign on the mirror surface vanished.

Immediately afterwards, the words "Entry" began to distort and blur violently.