Chapter 30: The Martial King's Battle Scripture

This manual, "Soul-Severing Thrust," is a secret technique designed to enhance a warrior’s agility. Though it is only a third-grade manual, it proves extremely useful in actual combat. Before stepping into the world of elemental cultivation, martial artists in the martial realm used weapons, equipment, elixirs, and manuals whose grades were sorted in a straightforward manner, corresponding directly to the practitioner's strength.

At present, Chu Feng has reached the third level of the Body Refinement stage, so being able to utilize third-grade resources is already quite impressive.

After studying for half an hour, Chu Feng left the lower-grade Yellow Mechanism Room and entered the mid-grade one, beginning to diligently practice the essential movements of this technique as outlined in the manual.

This room was filled with numerous training apparatuses resembling plum blossom posts, specifically crafted to refine footwork and agility.

Unlike the usual static plum blossom posts, those here could rotate unpredictably—sometimes swiftly, sometimes slowly—and could suddenly rise or descend. Their height and thickness could be adjusted at will.

"No wonder most of the young geniuses in the martial world hail from prominent families! Just speaking of these advanced plum blossom posts—where else could one find them, apart from the Mechanism Rooms of the Heavenly Craft Mu Clan?"

Chu Feng couldn’t help but marvel inwardly; had he not come to broaden his horizons here, he would never have imagined that martial training could be so advanced.

He was not impatient, but instead calmed himself and practiced the "Soul-Severing Thrust" step by step.

After half an hour, Chu Feng was leaping nimbly among the posts, darting about with the speed of a flying shadow. The sudden rises and drops of the posts could not hinder him in the slightest.

His legs and feet had grown remarkably sensitive; he could dodge, leap, soar, shift, and turn with a fluidity that surpassed even the agility of a monkey.

"The Soul-Severing Thrust gathers the strength of the entire body for an explosive sprint, arriving before the enemy in the blink of an eye, leaving them completely unprepared!"

Recalling the essence of the technique, Chu Feng unleashed the Soul-Severing Thrust.

Whoosh!

His robe fluttered in the wind as he shot a full ten feet forward.

"The wind is catching my robes—my speed is still too slow! Only when not even a speck of dust stains my clothes, and not a ripple of wind is raised, will I have truly mastered it!"

Unfazed, Chu Feng continued his relentless practice.

An hour.

Two hours.

A day.

Two days.

...

Unknowingly, two days and two nights passed.

The door to the mechanism room had remained closed; Chu Feng had practiced continuously for forty-eight hours.

During this time, he neither ate nor drank, nor did he answer nature's call—he entered a state of total self-forgetfulness, wholly absorbed in his training.

Apart from ceaseless practice, his only other activity was thought—combining practice with contemplation.

At this moment, Chu Feng stood quietly before a puppet warrior, the King’s Shadow-Chasing Spear in hand.

In the blink of an eye, he stood thirty feet away before another puppet warrior, the tip of his spear pressed to the puppet’s throat.

Within those thirty feet, four or five afterimages lingered in the air, fading away.

Chu Feng had executed the Soul-Severing Thrust so swiftly and silently that four or five afterimages remained in his wake.

Only now did his robe finally flutter in the breeze.

"This Soul-Severing Thrust, the manual claims, usually takes over two years to master. I never imagined I’d achieve mastery in just two days and nights!"

Chu Feng was deeply satisfied with his progress. He knew, of course, that this was due to the advantage of his environment; without the mechanism room, such miraculous results would have been impossible.

...

At noon, the mechanism room’s doors opened. Chu Feng went to eat and drink, replenishing his strength.

Sixty pounds of golden battle python meat, plus thirty pounds of fruit wine—ninety pounds in all—were devoured in a single sitting.

Having previously taken the Heart-Clearing Evil-Dispelling Pill given to him by Mu Qiaoxue and drunk medicinal wine, the backlash from the battle python in his body had been purged, so he could consume the python meat with no ill effects.

"Excellent wine and meat—what a satisfying meal! This should be enough to sustain me for another ten days of practice in the mechanism room! But at my current level, I doubt the ‘Falling Wild Geese Spear Manual’ will challenge me for a full ten days," Chu Feng mused.

Though the Mu Clan’s Mechanism Rooms were a sacred ground for training, Chu Feng knew that as his strength grew, he would rely on them less and less.

Besides, he could not remain with the Mu Clan forever.

He had already been separated from his sister and Xiao Dao for several days; soon, he intended to return to the town outside Mount Heng to see them and gather news of the Kong Sect’s movements.

His tireless training was for self-preservation and to defeat his enemies. When his skills were honed and his strength formidable, if he did not take vengeance upon the wretches of the Kong Sect, would all his hard work not be in vain?

"Brother Linshan, what are you thinking about?"

Seeing Chu Feng lost in thought, sitting alone in a pavilion not far from the mechanism room, Mu Kaihe approached with a cheerful smile.

"Heh, nothing much," Chu Feng replied with a slight smile. "Please, sit."

The two young masters of the Heavenly Craft Mu Clan, Mu Kaishan and Mu Kaihe, both sons of the clan leader Mu Zhentong, were always warm and welcoming to Chu Feng, and he had a good impression of the brothers.

"Brother Linshan, after training diligently in the mechanism room these past two days, have you gained anything?" Mu Kaihe inquired.

"Thanks to the Mu Clan’s generosity, my two days in seclusion have yielded great results. My skills have improved markedly," Chu Feng replied humbly, though he had in fact achieved far more. "By the way, I haven’t seen your brother Kaishan around."

"He’s busy with the clan’s Autumn Trials, so he’s been occupied these days. By the way, he asked me to bring you this manual. The techniques within are extremely formidable—if you’re interested, you should try practicing them!"

With that, Mu Kaihe handed Chu Feng a rather thick manual.

"The War King’s Canon?"

As soon as he took the manual, Chu Feng began to leaf through it. He found it richly illustrated, with ample text and numerous diagrams of combat—some depicting fights between warriors, others between warriors and wild beasts.

"Hmm? This enormous rhinoceros—could it be the Vajra War Rhino?" Chu Feng asked, pointing to an illustration of a martial artist battling a rhino.

"Brother Linshan, you have a keen eye. That is indeed the Vajra War Rhino," Mu Kaihe nodded. "My brother wanted me to give you this ‘War King’s Canon’ and also to inform you of something. In nine days, the Mu Clan will hold its annual Autumn Trials, where disciples’ progress will be tested—there will be a Vajra War Rhino present in the arena!"

"My brother suggests that, if you wish, you can continue your intense training in the mechanism room these next few days. When the Autumn Trials arrive, even if you skip the literary exam, you can participate in the martial trial and take on the Vajra War Rhino!"

"After all, aside from the four great powers, such beasts are rarely seen—unless you go to the town outside Mount Heng and pay a hefty fee to enter the imperial trials, there are few chances to face a Vajra War Rhino!"

"Your brother is truly considerate!" Chu Feng clasped his hands in thanks. "Very well, as Brother Kaishan suggests, in nine days at your Autumn Trials, if I am strong enough to challenge the Vajra War Rhino, I will certainly take part in the martial trial!"

At present, Chu Feng was at the third level of the Body Refinement stage—a mastery of external skills.

The next level, the fourth, was ‘Rhinoceros Strength.’

Rhinoceros Strength meant possessing the power to subdue a Vajra War Rhino; naturally, one had to confront such a creature first.

In the Nine Mountains and Eighteen Ridges, the Vajra War Rhino, unlike other wild beasts, was largely controlled by the Great Yue Dynasty, except for a few kept by the four great powers.

For ordinary itinerant martial artists, to reach the fourth level and gain the strength of a rhino, unless they had connections with the four great powers to challenge a Vajra War Rhino, they would have to pay a substantial fee to the imperial martial bureau in the outer towns for a chance to face one.

Thus, Mu Kaishan’s offer was truly a boon for Chu Feng.

After a brief chat, Mu Kaihe, knowing Chu Feng’s time was precious, took his leave after delivering his message.

No sooner had Mu Kaihe left than Chu Feng returned to the mid-grade Yellow Mechanism Room.

Just before entering, he suddenly paused and turned, his gaze sweeping the surroundings—yet nothing seemed amiss.

"Strange. I could have sworn that just now, I felt a pair of eyes watching me from somewhere not too near, not too far. But when I turned, there was nothing."

Chu Feng pondered, "The elders and brothers of the Mu Clan have been nothing but sincere toward me. If anyone were spying on me with ill intent, it could only be Ding Wanchong and his disciple."

Chu Feng had always been wary of Ding Wanchong and his apprentice, though given the current circumstances, he doubted they would dare make a move against him. So he put the matter aside and entered the mechanism room.

Once he possessed absolute strength, all conspiracies and tricks would be as fleeting as smoke, easily swept aside.

Meanwhile, beneath a large tree about a hundred yards away, a small, thin disciple in white wiped sweat from his brow, steadied his nerves, and quietly slipped away.

This elusive disciple was none other than Xiaosan, assigned by Ding Wanchong to keep watch on Chu Feng.