Enlightenment: Beginning as a Disposable Warrior-Chapter 107 - 97: Self-Created Martial Art, Seventh-Rank Thunderclap! (Part 2)

"Perfection Rock Shattering Fist and Perfection Gale Fist—once these two Ninth-Grade Fist Techniques merge, it's not Eighth-Grade Martial Arts... but Seventh-Grade!"

Su Mu let out a long breath, the joy on his face impossible to hide.

He had only expected Eighth Grade originally; Seventh Grade was beyond anything he'd imagined. He'd even planned to try his luck at the Qingyun Auction hoping to obtain a Seventh-Grade Martial Arts, never dreaming he'd get his hands on one so directly.

"Seventh-Grade Martial Arts is exceedingly rare, not just in all of Qingyun, but across the lands of Changfeng, Cang River and the Three Counties... This is truly a delightful surprise—worth the trip!"

"If I strike with all my strength, I can hurt an enemy from one and a half zhang away. For Seventh Grade, that's just about right."

As the saying goes: seven chi for a spear, brow-level for a staff; a Great Spear is one zhang and eight cun long. This brand new fist technique has a range surpassing even an ordinary Great Spear.

Moreover, the new Seventh-Grade Martial Arts gained from the fusion didn't start at the entry-level, but leapt straight into Small Success phase.

Su Mu immediately pulled up his current attribute panel for a look, only to find that the skills section no longer displayed the Perfection-level Rock Shattering Fist and Gale Fist.

In their place, a new, unknown Small Success skill had appeared.

But when Su Mu focused his mind on that Small Success skill, a brand new pop-up appeared before his eyes.

???: [Rock Shattering Fist (Perfection), Gale Fist (Perfection)]

"That does make sense."

Su Mu thought silently. This way, the panel wouldn't get too cluttered, plus the fused martial arts could always be traced back to the source.

Originally, Su Mu planned to call the fused skill 'Gale Rock Shattering Fist', but on second thought, it didn't seem quite right.

"My fist erupts like thunder roaring... This Seventh-Grade Fist Technique shall be named 'Thunder Shock Fist'."

With that, the mysterious skill in the panel shifted; the question marks flickered and resolved into the three characters 'Thunder Shock Fist'. Immediately, a warm current spontaneously arose in his lower abdomen.

Thunder Shock Fist (Small Success 1%)

Comprehension: 53 (Hidden-Dragon Level)

Soon after, Su Mu reopened his eyes—the slight fatigue from the recent fight had receded like the tide, leaving his spirit brimming full.

"My Comprehension just jumped up three whole points—no wonder this is Seventh-Grade Martial Arts!"

Now, when Su Mu trained a Ninth-Grade Martial Arts from entry-level to perfection, he'd only boost his Comprehension by two points, but this time it had jumped by three in one go.

"Maybe it's also the Fusion Martial Arts effect?"

Su Mu's musings were quickly interrupted; his keen senses picked up commotion from deep in the back mountain, and also at the foot of the hill.

"Not safe to linger here—better get Wu Qiao'Er back to the Academy first."

Su Mu sprang up from the ground, let Wu Qiao'Er onto his back, slung that severed head at his waist, and dodged around two groups before heading to the Academy. On the way, Qiao'Er groggily came to, then suddenly shrieked aloud.

"Villain... quick, let me go!"

Wu Qiao'Er swung her fist at him, but the pink little fist felt like it hit a steel plate; instead, she hurt herself, and her cry jolted to a halt.

"If I meant to kill you, you'd be dead already."

Su Mu lowered his voice and spoke blandly. Wu Qiao'Er hesitated behind him, then recalled what happened before she fainted, thinking, maybe this guy's got a point.

She also noticed he was carrying her back towards the Academy—could this person have actually saved her?

Thinking that, Wu Qiao'Er's heart grew both grateful and restless.

"Hero, what about Ms. Xuan? Where is Ms. Xuan?"

"Worried about others when you can barely take care of yourself?"

Su Mu happened to be in a good mood, and when he heard that he decided to tease her a bit. But Wu Qiao'Er immediately struggled violently, "Hero, please put me down! I have to go save Ms. Xuan—I can't leave her behind!"

Su Mu remained unmoved; adversity reveals true feelings. Uncle Wu's daughter had a kind heart—evidence of Uncle Wu's daily teachings.

Qiao'Er's calls quickly drew people from the Academy, which actually saved Su Mu some effort. Not long after, he brought Wu Qiao'Er to a study room and set her down.

"Your Ms. Xuan is right in here."

With that, Su Mu's figure blurred—amid sparrow chirps and a rising gale, a few swift moves and he was gone from sight.

Stunned for a moment, Wu Qiao'Er anxiously pushed open the door, and seeing Li Xuan unconscious on the ground, let out a long breath. Shortly, some people from the Academy found them both.

"It's Miss Li—and Miss Wu!"

"Thank goodness! The ladies are safe! Quick, report to Lord Li!"

Surrounded by the crowd, Wu Qiao'Er felt nothing but joy at escaping danger. Her pretty nose twitched; just now she'd caught a familiar scent from that man, but for the moment couldn't pinpoint what it was.

"Before today, I must have met... my benefactor."

Su Mu hadn't left yet; hidden in the shadows, he saw the Academy people finding the two girls before finally relaxing. The rest was none of his concern. As he was about to leave—

He suddenly saw Government Office men escorting a bunch of people out of the Academy. Among them, a figure made Su Mu pause—it was none other than the person with Destiny, the one who tried selling him poetry.

"What's Li Qiu planning with him?"

Su Mu's thoughts whirled, and his expression turned strange—he was starting to get it. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Most likely, today's poetry gathering had stirred up trouble because of the Plum Blossom poem he sold to this guy. Then the Cyan-Faced Bat King struck, kidnapping Wu Qiao'Er and Li Xuan.

This was supposed to be Zhou Qing's job, but by accident it fell to this guy. On top of that, the fellow had openly 'sneaked' into the Academy, making him a prime suspect; surely County Captain Li saw him as a rebel accomplice.

"If my own daughter were kidnapped, I wouldn't let this guy off either."

Su Mu sighed inwardly; without him to testify, this Destiny-bearing unlucky bastard wouldn't be able to clear his name in the Yellow River, let alone here. If Su Mu just left, the guy would probably be executed by County Captain Li as a rebel.

But on second thought, Su Mu was also a bit curious—could the Destiny on this guy help him escape disaster?

In the end, Su Mu shook his head. This whole thing was a mess; if he let innocent blood be spilled just for the sake of his curiosity, how was he any different from the Black Mountain Rebel Army?

Su Mu had killed plenty of people by now, but he never claimed to be a good person; at least he had his own bottom line, and all he asked was a clear conscience.

"Before leaving, better give this guy a hand."

In the line of captives from the Academy, Li Qingxuan sighed to himself—he wasn't left with much choice. Clever as he was, he'd already figured out his predicament: without that fellow showing himself, he'd never wash away the false charges.

The guy was nowhere to be seen; Li Qingxuan had a trump card to escape, but wouldn't use it unless truly desperate.

"That fellow didn't mean to harm me. That plum poem, it fit me exactly—one verse is worth a thousand gold, a famous line stirring up the wind and clouds... To get a masterpiece is worth it!"

A figure doubled back into the depths of the Academy; passing a wintry plum tree, he plucked a branch and then slipped into a study, brush in hand.

Whoosh!

A plum branch whistled through the air and nailed itself into the study room wall, with a small blood-stained bit of hemp rope and a rolled-up white note attached.

The Academy's pillars were ironwood, yet the frail plum branch plunged straight in—such power, so fierce it shocked everyone. Could the Cyan-Faced Bat King be back?

"Protect the ladies!"

At once, everyone in the study swallowed nervously, faces tense—some drew blades, shielding Wu Qiao'Er and Li Xuan behind them; others rushed outside, scanning the surroundings, braced for trouble.

Wu Qiao'Er looked closely; spotting the hemp rope, she instantly understood who'd left it.

"Everyone, don't panic... Th-this is from my benefactor!"

The guards kept alert by the window, but saw no one; only a few plum branches swayed in the cold wind at the corner of the wall.

Wu Qiao'Er took down the note, intending to read it. Her nose twitched once again—she raised it to her nose for a sniff and caught that familiar scent again.

Unrolling it, she saw the handwriting was messy:

"The beggar boy is innocent—not a rebel accomplice."