The boy, once so fresh-faced and young, now wore an utterly ferocious expression mere inches from Chu Mu. His eyes were crimson, his face a mask of madness.

The treasured saber, so sharp it could slice a falling hair, only managed to tear a slit in the boy’s chest clothing when it struck his body.

The recoil, like striking iron, proved beyond a doubt that the boy was completely unharmed by his strike!

"Scram!"

The boy’s low shout was just a single word, yet it sounded like the wails of ghosts and howls of wolves. All at once, Chu Mu felt an unimaginable force travel up from his saber’s edge.

His treasured saber, which could hack through stone without dulling its edge, shattered to pieces under this immense force!

And Chu Mu, a mere man of flesh and blood, was sent flying backward like a kite with a snapped string. He crashed into a wall before tumbling to the ground.

Fortunately, the boy was desperate to escape and didn’t attack again. After that single punch, he turned and fled for his life.

"Hiss..."

The excruciating pain wracking his body was nearly enough to suffocate him. Before Chu Mu could even get up, the sound of hurried footsteps approached.

"Which way did he run?"

Li Jinghong rushed over, leading a large group of Inspectors. He saw Chu Mu on the ground and asked urgently.

"That way..."

Chu Mu pointed in the direction the boy had fled, his words coming out haltingly.

"After him!"

Li Jinghong didn’t hesitate. With a wave of his hand, the swarm of Inspectors who had just surged in vanished into the darkness in a rush of footsteps.

Meanwhile, Chu Mu remained sprawled on the ground, wincing in pain.

Chu Mu struggled to his feet. Staring at the shattered fragments of his saber on the ground, a description from the Body Refining Technique suddenly surfaced in his mind.

A body like iron, fists that can shatter mountains and crush stone...

’A body like iron... I’ve experienced that firsthand now.’

’And as for crushing stone... I suppose my shattered saber proves that point well enough.’

’He’s improving way too fast...’

Chu Mu frowned. ’The first time I met this kid, I could at least hold him off for a few moves. It wasn’t like he was completely unbeatable.’

’The second time, at Fengyue Tower, it was only that terrifying Resentful Soul.’

’But this time, my saber didn’t even scratch him, and he smashed it to bits with a single punch.’

’How many days has it even been in total?’

’Is he cheating or what?!’

’If he was this strong, what was he doing before?’

’Impervious to blades, able to control a Resentful Soul... what’s the point of even trying to suppress these damn rebels?!’

’If he’d been this strong from the start, none of this would’ve happened.’

Chu Mu grumbled internally. It was obvious. The boy must have only mastered these abilities after the operation against the rebels. Otherwise, he’d have to be mentally ill to hide his strength while his friends and family were being slaughtered.

"Hm?"

While gathering the fragments of his saber, Chu Mu suddenly froze. He looked closer and saw a palm-sized Jade Slab lying among the scattered pieces of the blade.

The night was dim, and the alley was even dimmer. If he hadn’t been picking up the fragments of his saber, Chu Mu might never have noticed it.

"This is..."

Chu Mu picked up the Jade Slab, his brow furrowed.

The Jade Slab was the size of his palm and about a finger thick. It was a fluorescent white, with no impurities or carvings whatsoever.

It was precisely this fluorescent white color that made it so difficult to spot among the silvery shards of the blade.

"There are bloodstains..."

Chu Mu flipped the Jade Slab over. A large bloodstain was printed on the fluorescent white surface, standing out starkly.

Chu Mu looked down at himself. He was battered and bruised, but he wasn’t bleeding.

’But a moment ago, the only one bleeding... was the boy...’

’Does that mean... this Jade Slab fell from him?’

Chu Mu’s pupils constricted. He activated his Spiritual Radiance Blessing, and the scene of his fight with the boy replayed in his mind.

Under the Spiritual Radiance Blessing, it was as if Chu Mu was an outside observer, watching the recent events unfold.

One slash missed, then another was sent chopping down.

This strike landed on the boy’s chest, tearing open his clothes. Then came the recoil, like striking solid rock, and then... the boy’s counterattack...

The Jade Slab had clearly fallen out from the gash his saber had torn in the boy’s clothing.

Chu Mu gripped the Jade Slab tightly, and in an instant, countless thoughts flooded his mind.

Without exception, they were all speculations about the Jade Slab’s purpose.

After a moment, Chu Mu carefully tucked the Jade Slab into his robes. He then meticulously searched the surrounding area to ensure nothing else was left behind, before finally rising and limping toward home.

The limits of his knowledge prevented Chu Mu from determining the Jade Slab’s purpose, but that didn’t stop him from letting his imagination run wild.

As for what fate awaited the boy, Chu Mu no longer cared.

Of course, in his current condition, he couldn’t have cared even if he wanted to.

「The night grew deeper.」

Nanshan Town grew increasingly raucous.

Shouts, agonizing cries, the occasional RUMBLE, and the glint of flashing blades.

It was a lively night.

Chu Mu, too, was awake all night.

On the other side of the wall, the town stayed awake all night to capture the "Rebel."

Chu Mu, however, stayed awake to put what he had learned over the past half-month into practice.

Namely... healing himself.

The scent of medicinal herbs filled the room as Chu Mu flipped through medical texts, combining their teachings with his own knowledge and applying it all to his injuries, bit by bit.

At least he hadn’t been gutted this time. It was just some strained muscles and bruised bones.

That immense force had been simply terrifying.

Thankfully, his Long Saber shattering had absorbed most of the force. Otherwise, Chu Mu estimated that a single punch would have made him explode on the spot!

This was far more terrifying than the punch from Li Gang that he had once considered so astonishing!

He worked until dawn before he finally finished treating himself. By then, he was wrapped up like half a mummy.

Chu Mu, however, showed no self-awareness, instead smugly admiring his "heroic appearance" in the Copper Mirror.

After more than half a month of study and an investment of several hundred Spiritual Radiance Value, there was no way his handiwork was actually this clumsy.

The reason he was wrapped up like a mummy... well, there was no other reason. Chu Mu simply wanted... another "paid vacation."

’I’ve shed blood for the Inspection Office before, and now I’ve been injured for them again. Taking a month or two off to recover should be fine, right?’

Chu Mu secretly schemed. He wasn’t worried about the Rebel anymore. Even if they got lucky and escaped this time, with that man in white around, they wouldn’t be able to stir up any real trouble.

What he was most worried about was the mine.

True, the mine had been under lockdown recently—people could go in, but not out—and no news had escaped.

But having no news was the biggest abnormality of all.

After all, those ice sculptures from the other day had been real, standing right before his eyes.

The chill he had confirmed time and again was still there.

A sudden lockdown, allowing entry but no exit, with no information getting out.

It wasn’t hard to guess what kind of scene was unfolding inside.

’This time, I’ll take two or three months off to recover...’

He wasn’t worried about his act being exposed or his leave not being approved.

After all, just last night, Li Jinghong and a whole squad of Inspectors had personally witnessed him being "gravely wounded" by the Rebel.

’Disregarding my own safety to block the Rebel’s escape, I was unfortunately gravely wounded.’

’A few months of paid recovery... that’s not asking for too much, is it?’

...