Chapter 93: Stealing the Day

"I lost," Master Ma sighed, exhaling a breath of relief. He smiled and said, "One's strength can compensate for the shortcomings in techniques. Mu'er, your power is already strong enough. You have passed the test. By the way, how did your cultivation suddenly improve so much? I didn't even have time to remove your power."

Qin Mu let out a sigh of relief and smiled. "When the village chief and I went out, something happened to my Ling Tai..."

The village chief coughed repeatedly, and Qin Mu wondered, "Village chief, what's wrong with you?"

"I was just startled by your move earlier," the village chief coughed twice and said, "You have already passed the first test, so what about the second one?"

The cripple pulled out the pig trotter from his mouth and hobbled over, chuckling, "Mu'er, let's not compare fist techniques but leg techniques. Look up and see that cloud. Can you see it?"

Qin Mu looked up and saw a white cloud floating leisurely. The cripple smiled and said, "Let's compare our leg speed and see who can reach that cloud first."

Qin Mu hesitated for a moment, then nodded. The cripple grinned foolishly and said, "You're young, and I love kids, so you can take the first step."

Qin Mu had an innocent smile on his face and said, "I respect the elderly, so please go ahead."

"You're young, so you go first."

"You're an elder with poor health, so you should go first."

...

Both of them had a foolish smile on their faces, continuously pushing each other to go first. After a while, the butcher grabbed two large knives and shouted, "Enough of this nonsense! That cloud has drifted far away! If you don't run now, I'll chop you both into pieces!"

Qin Mu and the cripple almost simultaneously burst into a sprint. Qin Mu's footsteps were swift, creating a gust of wind beneath his feet. Suddenly, he stepped on the strong wind and soared into the air. However, at the same time, the cripple had already rushed into the sky. Qin Mu pressed his palm downward, causing a gust of wind beneath the cripple's feet to blow toward the ground. The cripple tumbled down from the air, dancing in mid-air and landed on the ground.

Qin Mu immediately rushed forward, surpassing the cripple, and continued running on the wind. Suddenly, his legs tightened, bound tightly together, causing him to flip upside down and land headfirst.

The cripple laughed heartily as a Qi whip appeared in his hand, binding Qin Mu's legs tightly.

Qin Mu fell to the ground, and the legless old man stepped on him before attempting to soar into the air.

But at that moment, Qin Mu's Qi erupted, breaking the Qi whip. He grabbed hold of the cripple's leg while his own leg kicked towards the cripple's face. The two crashed to the ground with a loud thud, raising a cloud of dust.

The cripple tapped his crutch on the ground, displaying the "Stealing the Day" leg technique, demonstrating incredible skill as he attacked Qin Mu. Qin Mu lay on the ground, defending against the attacks using only his crutch. He continuously kicked out an unknown number of legs, enduring over a dozen strikes from the cripple, until finally shattering the cripple's crutch.

The cripple stood on one leg, furious, and said, "You little brat, who taught you to be so cunning?"

Qin Mu slapped his hands heavily on the ground, and his body spun as he shot up into the sky. The cripple sneered and squatted down, then leaped into the air.

Just as he jumped, Qin Mu's hands came down on him, and his Qi transformed into Xuanwu Qi, creating water ripples in the air that turned into a water dragon, charging straight towards the cripple.

"Little Dao'er!" the cripple sneered. His hands created a gust of wind, deflecting the water dragon and unexpectedly turning his Qi into a leg. The leg was somewhat transparent but ran wildly, surpassing Qin Mu's momentum.

Qin Mu split his legs apart, performing a split in mid-air. He pressed his palms against the air, and immediately his body inverted, with his head now below his feet. Then, he brought his legs together and sprinted, aiming a deadly blow at the cripple's back.

The two of them ran in the air, utilizing cunning leg techniques. Their figures moved unpredictably, leaving the onlookers below bewildered.

Suddenly, the cripple's arms became elusive and ghostly, displaying the "Stealing the Day" hand technique. Qin Mu hadn't even realized how the cripple made his move when he felt his belt loosen and his pants fall to his ankles.

he immediately tripped himself and felt a chill as the cripple removed his clothes, trapping his hands. Qin Mu fell from the sky and quickly struggled to free himself from his shirt. He pulled up his pants while running and angrily said, "Grandpa Cripple, you didn't teach me this move!"

The cripple burst into laughter and said, "Once you catch up to me, I'll teach it to you!"

Qin Mu smirked and threw a punch, unleashing the force of his Dragon Fist. The powerful fist energy surged forward, and the cripple exclaimed in surprise, hastily evading with unsteady footwork.

Qin Mu condensed his Qi into threads, thick as his arms, and wrapped them around the cripple like a large snake. Once entangled, it was difficult to escape. The cripple tried to dodge again but was caught up by Qin Mu. Helplessly, he said, "I'll teach you then."

Both of them had smiles on their faces as they approached each other in mid-air. The cripple was about to make his move when Qin Mu swiftly sealed his three souls and seven spirits, then kicked the old man out of the air.

Thud!

The cripple landed, creating a human-shaped pit. He slowly climbed out, tears of joy streaming down his face. "Truly worthy of being taught by me. I shouldn't have easily trusted others."

Qin Mu swiftly caught up to the cloud in the sky, then ran diagonally down and quickly covered a few steps on the ground before coming to a stop.

The cripple smiled and said, "I won't go back on my promise. After you pass the nine trials, I will teach you the 'Stealing the Day and Replacing the Sun' technique."

Qin Mu was overjoyed.

The butcher raised his knife and smiled, saying, "Mufu, do you need a rest?"

Qin Mu immediately nodded and sat down to rest, drinking tea to replenish his fluids. After resting for a while, he went and put on another set of clothes. The butcher's face darkened, muttering, "You brat, with such profound Qi cultivation, why do you need to rest? Why don't you just fight directly? If we fought, I would still have a chance of winning..."

After a while, Qin Mu picked up another butcher knife from the collapsed blacksmith shop and crossed the two knives, saying, "Grandpa Butcher, I'm all rested up!"

The butcher sneered, "You used to wield just one knife. Why are you using two now?"

Qin Mu held one knife in a regular grip and the other in a reverse grip. The butcher's expression turned serious as he adjusted the position of his blades, holding one in a reverse grip with his left hand. He coldly laughed, "Brat, you think you can engage me in close combat? You're still too green..."

The pharmacist coughed and reminded, "Butcher, you don't have a lower body. If he gets close to you, you'll be at a disadvantage. He has more muscle than you."

The butcher's face grew even darker, grumbling, "He won't get close to me. My knife skills will keep him at bay..."

Mr. Ma interjected, "His Qi is exceptionally powerful, two or three times stronger than yours. When your knives clash, they will be deflected, and you'll be sent flying too. You can only defeat him with technique."

"Then what's the point of fighting?"

The butcher grew furious, inserted both knives into the ground, and looked around. He smiled and said, "Mufu, sit down. We won't use knives. We'll only use our listening power and try to touch hands."

Qin Mu planted his butcher knife into the ground and sat opposite him. Both of them formed their hands into knife shapes, palms touching. They closed their eyes, relying on the sense of touch to perceive changes in the force within the other person's palm, to infer the movement of their body muscles and the circulation of Qi, and to grasp the distribution of their opponent's strength. They would then attack the weaknesses accordingly, aiming for a single decisive strike.

This was the essence of the "Lifting the Knife from the Forbidden Palace" technique.

Lifting the knife from the Forbidden Palace, the chariots and horses thundered like lightning. Alone, I arrived at the imperial palace, holding the emperor's head in my hand.

The meaning of this poem was that I walked out of the emperor's forbidden palace with a knife, with the sounds of chariots and horses thundering like lightning outside. Countless people and horses blocked my path. But it was because I alone charged into the imperial palace and held the emperor's head in my hand.

This move had an unmatched momentum and style. It was wild and disdainful, disregarding everything.

However, this move also represented the most sophisticated technique in the butcher's knife skills. It required utmost control over one's own strength and an understanding of the opponent's strength. It was the pinnacle of martial skills!

As their palms touched, the flow of their muscles, the circulation of their Qi, and the distribution of strength between themselves and their opponent became immediately apparent to Qin Mu. He quickly realized that the butcher's Qi was far weaker than his own. In the split second when he made his move with his hand acting as a knife, the butcher sensed the changes in Qin Mu's strength and preemptively blocked it, while his other hand struck at Qin Mu's weakness!

Although the butcher was indeed more skilled, with superior reflexes and experience compared to Qin Mu, he realized the danger only when he blocked Qin Mu's attack. He was sent flying by the force in Qin Mu's hand, propelled out of the village and into the nearby forest.

Qin Mu looked down and saw that the clothes he had just changed into were already torn apart by the butcher's strike. He inwardly sighed with relief, realizing how close it had been.

His cultivation was too strong. Despite his knife skills being inferior to the butcher's, he could overpower him with his cultivation alone.

"I lost!"

The butcher leaped back into the village from outside, landing with both hands on the ground. He cheerfully declared, "I lost! Pharmacist, Deaf, there's no need for you to compete either. Your cultivation is also inferior to his!"

Deaf sneered, "Who said I wanted to compete with him in terms of magical cultivation or strength? Qin Mu, I drew two dragons."

He shook his hand and unfolded two scroll paintings, hanging them on a pole. Two ink dragons came to life on the paper, vivid and ready to take flight at any moment. However, oddly enough, these two dragons had no eyes.

"In these years, I have taught you the way of calligraphy and painting. The way of calligraphy and painting is not about these crude methods of fighting and killing but a plaything for clever individuals. It requires insight."

Deaf positioned his brush and solemnly said, "I painted these two dragons using my supernatural powers. Once the eyes are added, they can transform into real dragons and take flight. However, with your cultivation in the Fetal Core Realm, you won't be able to achieve the 'dotting the dragon's eyes' technique. But, if your cultivation falls short, it will depend on your painting skills. I have taught you a little about the connection between the soul and the brush. Today, let's see whose connection is stronger. We shall test who can bring these two dragons to life in the Fetal Core Realm and let them soar through the sky!"