Martial Arts Sainthood Begins with the Tiger-Taming Fist

After handing over the sword to Yun Zan, Chen Mo received his mission for the following month from Tang Tian.

He bid farewell to Yun Zan and Yun Heng, and returned to Nine Swords Mountain with Xu Yan.

Halfway there, Xu Yan suddenly said, "Junior Brother, after much thought, I've finally decided to bestow upon you a great fortune."

Chen Mo was taken aback, his mouth slightly agape.

"What good fortune?"

Xu Yan took out a parchment book from her person, waved it in front of him, and said:

"My Xu family is a family of sword forgers. Although we have declined now, our past glory has been written into a book. This book records a sword forging technique that is not to be passed on to outsiders, but I have decided to lend it to you to take a look because I am very kind."

"What... is this sword-forging technique?" Chen Mo asked, puzzled.

Xu Yan explained, "The sword-forging technique is a technique aimed at improving sword-forging skills. It's similar to ordinary techniques, except that it doesn't improve fighting ability, but it does improve sword-forging ability."

Chen Mo suddenly realized that any cultivation technique could enhance comprehension by nurturing one's skills through natural landscapes, so this sword-forging technique should also be included.

If one can cultivate and refine one's sword-making comprehension through the mountains and rivers, then the threshold for the sword-making master's rank will be meaningless to him.

The grade depends solely on the refining time.

The stronger one's forging skills, the faster the tempering and refining process becomes, and the two complement each other.

Thinking of this, he immediately straightened his expression and asked, "Senior sister, would you be willing to lend me your family's secret technique?"

Xu Yan also became serious for once, "It is precisely because the Xu family has declined that I need to recruit talents. In my eyes, you are no different from those sword-making geniuses, and may even have more potential."

As she spoke, she handed over the sword-forging manual, revealing the gilded characters on the cover: "A Marvelous Forging Technique in the World."

"A masterpiece of the world." Chen Mo took it and read it aloud.

He immediately clasped his hands in a fist salute to Xu Yan, "Thank you for your generosity, Senior Sister. Please don't hesitate to ask if you ever need my help!"

"That's exactly what I wanted to hear," Xu Yan said, crossing her arms. "But for now, I don't need you to do anything. Just repay me by getting into the top ten of the Sword Forging Competition."

Afterwards, the two chatted along the way and became much more familiar with each other than when they first met.

After returning to Linzhi Peak, Chen Mo went to the mine, went into the newly built simple house, took out "The World's Most Extraordinary Castings", and read it in one go.

Instantly, crimson text appeared in my mind:

[Refined through countless trials, nurtured by mountains and rivers]

[Successfully bound to a world-renowned masterpiece, requiring the refinement of mountain and water spirits: Black Gold]

Polishing this material will unlock its inherent potential and enhance your martial arts comprehension.

"Black gold... The black gold in the Sword Forging Pavilion's Item Hall can only be purchased by a second-grade swordsmith, while the price of black gold in the market is extremely high..."

He then gritted his teeth; to improve his sword-making skills, he had no choice but to invest heavily…

……

Life in the mountains, spent practicing martial arts and forging swords every day, passed by quickly.

More than a month has passed in the blink of an eye.

Various martial arts and sword-making techniques have been significantly improved.

[Refined through countless trials, nurtured by mountains and rivers]

[Luo Yanbu: Steps leave trails of smoke, shadows vanish without a trace]

Comprehension: 200/200 (Mastery)

[Iron Sharpness Skill: Like a shield of sharpness covering the body, as if made of copper and iron]

Comprehension: 89/200 (Mastery)

【The Mysterious Art of Separating Fire: An Ancient Technique for Controlling Fire】

Comprehension: 96/100 (Minor Success)

[Tai Chen Yinghuo Chapter: Changing Tendons and Marrow, Yinghuo Enters the Body]

Comprehension: 24/100 (Minor Success)

【Dragon-Slaying Sword Technique: Wielding a three-foot sword, cross the sea to slay the dragon】

Comprehension: 19/100 (Minor Success)

[A Marvel of Casting: The Art of Casting, Evolving Without End]

Comprehension: 48/50 (Beginner)

He has already mastered the basics of both the Tai Chen Ying Huo Chapter and the Tu Jiao Sword Technique.

Now, the meridians within Chen Mo's body have generated an even more intense fiery energy, and the outward-released fist and palm energy carries a faint vermilion flame.

What's even more remarkable is that the swordplay energy waves it generated also faintly showed traces of flame.

If the elders of Linzhi Peak were to see this scene, they would probably be speechless.

In addition, Luo Yanbu has reached its peak, but there is no further progress. Therefore, there is no need for refined iron now. It is sufficient to have the traveling porters deliver black gold once every half month.

But the problem is...

I'm short of money!

The cost of quenching materials is getting higher and higher.

Take black gold for example, a piece the size of a palm costs twenty taels of silver, which is almost a month's salary for guarding the mine.

Therefore, Chen Mo handed over the semi-finished product to Yang Caiwei, asking her to act as an intermediary and contact merchants in the market to sell it.

Of the silver obtained, Chen Mo took 50%, the merchants in the market took 30%, and Yang Caiwei took 20%.

In this way, Chen Mo was relieved of his immediate crisis, and the Yang family was also able to fill the hole in the dock.

This is a win-win situation!

As for the dock being occupied that Yang Caiwei mentioned last time, Chen Mo asked Tan Yuan and Jiang Xiaoyun, but neither of them knew anything about it. In the end, he could only ask his senior brother Qin Yang for advice.

Upon hearing these two words, Qin Yang frowned deeply and said solemnly:

"I've heard before that there was a wicked sect hidden within Chu Prefecture called Cangming Valley. This sect obtained some kind of evil power through the sacrifice of living people, but it was wiped out by a joint effort of various sects decades ago. Why are you suddenly asking about this?"

"A human sacrifice..."

Chen Mo was suddenly taken aback, as he thought of the Black Tiger Hall in Anyang County.

He had a vague feeling that there seemed to be some connection between the two.

But he tried his best to remain calm and replied, "Oh, a friend asked me about this, so I came to ask you, senior."

Qin Yang nodded slightly, "Is that so..."

……

Three months have passed since I started learning.

The new disciples will undergo skill tests at each of the peaks of Nine Swords Mountain. The test site for Linzhi Peak is located in the square in front of Chengyun Pavilion.

On the day of the test.

The members of the Elder Council of Linzhi Peak and the elders of the thirteen martial arts academies took their seats in order.

Behind Fang Liang stood Xu Yan, Tan Yuan, Jiang Xiaoyun, Li Fengze, and Han Yue.

They also wanted to see what kind of results this junior apprentice could achieve.

Chen Mo and Du Tian squeezed among a group of new disciples, who stood in a line, waiting for the test.

Du Tian looked confident, head held high, frequently exchanging glances with the elders of Hongyao Academy and his fellow disciples below.

Imagining his amazing test results, he was certain he would become famous throughout Linzhi Peak.

He snapped out of his reverie, turned to Chen Mo, and asked, "Brother, how's your Tai Chen Ying Huo Chapter coming along?"

Chen Mo remained calm and did not answer.

Du Tian suddenly felt like he was asking a question he already knew the answer to. He patted the man's shoulder and sighed softly, "Sigh, I advised you against it back then, but you were so stubborn. How are we going to resolve this now?"

He then asked and answered himself, "It's not difficult to end this; I can just switch to another cultivation technique after the test. The only problem is that I won't get a ranking in this test."

"What is the purpose of test rankings?" Chen Mo asked.

"The higher your ranking, the more resources the sect will provide you."

Du Tian's eyes lit up. "Most importantly, there are some elders on Nine Swords Mountain who are independent of the Martial Academy and will provide generous resources to disciples with outstanding talents. This is also my goal."

As they were talking, a new disciple walked up to the testing platform not far away.