Chapter 16 Flame Perception_1

"As newcomers, my family doesn't intend to make things difficult for everyone here. Therefore, I, as the head of the Chi family, propose to waive everyone's rent for one month as a goodwill gesture!"

"Chief Chi is just and upright!"

"Yeah! The Chi family isn't doing well, and yet they're waiving our rent. They're truly kind-hearted!"

A group of lower-level cultivators gratefully dispersed.

The three cultivators who died in the late stage of Qi Cultivation were completely ignored, their corpses left covering the ground.

Reality was always astonishingly cruel and dramatic like this.

Xu Mu let out a sigh of relief and journeyed back with Jia An and the others.

Originally he was worried about unexpected occurrences, but it all ended so abruptly in the end.

But that Chief Chi was unexpectedly formidable. He eliminated three cultivators of the same level with just one strike!

One of them, the grey-robed elder, was someone Xu Mu was familiar with.

He used to live in the same alley with him and knew he was at the peak of Qi Cultivation, preparing to transition to the Foundation Establishment Stage. His power was unmatched.

But who would have thought that he could be so easily struck down!

"So, this is the power of a Foundation Establishment Family--completely overwhelming a normal loose cultivator!"

There was no lack of geniuses in this world, let alone powerful families with abundant resources.

His own foundation was far inferior compared to others.

He had to continue to keep a low profile!

Contrary to Xu Mu, Jia An and Ma Rui seemed very excited. Not only did they participate in a grand event, they'd also got one month rent-free.

Five lower-grade spirit stones were a significant sum to them.

And the dead?

They had no strong connections with them!

"Friend Xu, would you like to join us for a drink at the market?"

Jia An seemed intoxicated by the taste of power. He invited a few people to have a drink at the market to get to know each other better while the crowd was still present.

Others realized this too and nodded in agreement.

Xu Mu, on the other hand, shook his head and declined, "No thank you! My wife is waiting for me at home."

There was nothing significant to gather for a group of lower-level cultivators like them.

Unlike them, he was still thinking about the Foundation Establishment. He didn't want to waste his time on these petty social affairs.

"Alright then! We'll have a drink together another time when there's a chance!"

Jia An, thinking Xu Mu was frightened, didn't insist. He led a few people, laughing and chatting towards the market.

Xu Mu noticed that, not just their alleyway, many of the departing cultivators were deliberately forming smaller groups.

It was clear that everyone felt the power of the team.

Those who were once a bunch of loose cultivators being bullied by everyone had now united to form a force causing the Chi Family to concede.

Although they ultimately failed, it planted a seed in everyone's heart.

This sudden sense of strength made them instinctively want to hold on to it, especially cultivators like Jia An, who played a connecting role among them.

However, whether this seed of power would wither with the passage of time or grow robustly was yet unknown.

On his way home, Xu Mu felt someone's gaze on him. He suddenly turned his head to look back and saw the sinister smiles of the Brothers of the Li Family.

Those two dead perverts just won't leave him alone!

With so many people in the alley, why would they pick on him?

Xu Mu was truly at a loss for words.

He wasn't worried about them making a move on him, he was worried that they would target his wife when he wasn't around.

"I have to find a solution quickly!"

There were only a thousand days to catch a thief, but you could never spend a thousand days guarding against one!

Brothers of the Li Family kept their gaze on Xu Mu until he entered his house, then they finally withdrew their eyes.

...

On the dining table was a delicious pot of monster beast meat stew, with a dish of sauteed wild vegetables next to it.

The wild vegetables were bought from Li Moqing, Jia An's wife. Whenever they went up the mountain to gather resources, they always brought some wild vegetables back.

Xu Mu scooped two large bowls of Spirit Rice for himself and Ye Yingying.

At the side of the table was a wooden cradle. Little Ling'er was lying inside, covered in a blanket, fast asleep.

"Husband, eat more!"

Ye Yingying placed some meat into Xu Mu's bowl, her face full of sweet smiles.

"Okay! You eat more, too. It must have been exhausting taking care of our daughter every day! You've lost weight recently!"

"Not at all!"

The loving couple sweetly exchanged compliments over dinner, putting on a display of affection. If Little Ling'er hadn't just awakened, they definitely would've been even more lovey-dovey.

"When everything in the marketplace settles down, I will take you out for a walk. It must be boring staying home every day!"

Xu Mu held mother and daughter tenderly in his arms.

When they used to live in the marketplace, they could visit their neighbors nearby. But ever since they moved to the shanty town, Xu Mu had strictly prohibited her from leaving the house, and Ye Yingying had been very obedient.

But there weren't many women around in the shanty town. Even if she wanted to, there was no one's home for her to visit.

Moreover, the strange Brothers of the Li Family were also there!

"It's okay! As long as I'm with you, I'm happy!"

Ye Yingying, very sensible, leaned her head contently on his chest.

"Yingying!"

Xu Mu held Ye Yingying even closer.

How could he not love a wife who was this obedient and sensible?

"Wah wah!"

Little Ling'er immediately protested.

Could you two please not squeeze me in the middle while displaying your affection?

I'm about to be crushed dead by you two!

...

After cleaning up the dishes and utensils, Ye Yingying took Little Ling'er to the bedroom to rest, while Xu Mu went to the storeroom to increase the power level of his Fire-controlling Skill.

He borrowed his wife's formation array in case of unexpected circumstances, and temporarily set it up around him.

He opened the system!

Added points!

"Fire-controlling Skill +10"!

[Fire-controlling Skill+10]!

[Fire-controlling Skill+10]!

...

[Master of Fire-controlling Skill; 3199/3200]

Xu Mu looks at the system interface and sighed deeply, adding the last point.

Bang!

A massive enlightenment rose in his mind, very mysterious.

Xu Mu didn't feel the headache and dizziness as he did during the previous breakthroughs, instead feeling quite relaxed, especially in spirit, as if he was floating.

It seemed that his spirit had broken free from some sort of chain, suddenly leaving his body behind.

In a daze, Xu Mu saw himself sitting cross-legged.

Before he could be astonished, his consciousness was pulled into a mysterious space filled with flames everywhere, endless like a sea of fire.

Without time to react, his consciousness was burned into ashes the moment it entered, and in the ashes, a golden flame rune was quietly born.

Everything happened in a blink of an eye!

Xu Mu suddenly opened his eyes, gasping for breath, as if he had just experienced a terrifying nightmare.

What he didn't know was that a flame rune flashed in his eyebrows and disappeared in an instant.

When he opened the system again to check, the Fire-controlling Skill had already become [Transcendent; 0/0], clearly showing that he could no longer progress.

How powerful will it be now?

This is the first Transcendent skill he has trained and he naturally doesn't want it to be useless.

Xu Mu closed his eyes, intending to recover his spirit a little.

A strange feeling suddenly emerged from the bottom of his heart, and everything within a radius became vivid in his mind.

Could this be Divine Intent?

Xu Mu couldn't help but rejoice after the initial shock.

He didn't expect that the breakthrough of the Fire-controlling Skill would also lead to an upgrade in spiritual power.

But after the excitement, Xu Mu found that his perception, although similar to Divine Intent, differed greatly from that at the Foundation Establishment Stage.

Because according to what he knew, even the smallest range of Divine Intent was hundreds of meters, and the perception was incredibly clear, as similar to human eyes.

However, his perception only reached tens of meters and was very vague. He could only sense some red objects, akin to the infrared from his previous life.

This seems to be not only a perception brought about by the spiritual enhancement but also a sort of flame perception resulting from my excessive affinity for flames!

In simple terms, he used his perception of flames to respond to the surrounding scene in his spirit.

Although the naked eye could not discern the fire elements in the air, Xu Mu knew that fire elements were everywhere in the air, otherwise, cultivators wouldn't be able to use Fire Skills at all.

Although it cannot be compared with the Divine Intent at the Foundation Establishment Stage, this strange flame perception is still a very powerful means.

In the future, he no longer needs to worry about being attacked from behind.

After carefully pondering and experiencing it, Xu Mu remembered to test the power of the Fire-controlling Skill.

However, merely having flame perception was already like profiting a lot for him in this upgrade.

So, although he anticipated the power of the Transcendent Fire-controlling Skill, he was no longer anxious about it.

Even if the power is not as expected, it's not a big deal.

He formed a spell with both hands, chanting "Condense!"

A ball of flame appeared out of thin air, quickly morphing into a dark red sword.

Xu Mu directed the sword, making it fly around the room like a real flying sword.

This doesn't seem to be my limit!

Recalling the Sword Skill demonstrated by the Head of the Chi Family yesterday, Xu Mu had an idea and quickly formed another spell with his hands.

Puff puff puff!

Balls of flame appeared in the air one after another, quickly condensing into dark red longswords.

After straining to condense twelve, sweat beading on Xu Mu's forehead forced him to stop.

This is indeed my limit!

He controlled the fire longswords to fly around him, but the effort was significant, so he cancelled out three of them.

The remaining nine fire swords immediately became unusually flexible in the air, as if they were nine fish.

The sudden burst of power was swift as the wind!

Nine swords are just right for me, but twelve just can't exert their full power!

However, there's also this way!

Xu Mu dissipated the nine fire swords, formed a spell again, re-condensed them, this time into a one-inch long flying dagger.

Because of the reduced size, the number he could condense increased significantly, reaching thirty-two.

However, he could sense that the power of these flying daggers was much less than that of the fire swords.

That's right! If I can split it into smaller parts, can I also...

Thirty-two flying daggers quickly merged into one, forming a giant sword over six feet tall and more than three inches wide. The power contained in it was so shocking that Xu Mu hurriedly dissolved it.

If it exploded in the room, his whole family would go sky-high.

However, the strongest method of the Fire-controlling Skill was still the compressed fireball he created himself, just that...

Xu Mu dared not try it in the room; it's very easy to lose control.

I wonder how I compare to the Head of the Chi Family now... Damn it! What am I thinking? His attack power at the time was probably equivalent to the Foundation Establishment Stage or even beyond ordinary Foundation Establishment!

Even now, Xu Mu still felt terrified when thinking about it. Just the Sword Qi alone was chilling.

But I wonder, did he practice the Sword Skill to a profound realm, or did he use some trick?

Although he is from a Foundation Establishment Family, Xu Mu still felt it was a bit too strong when thinking about it afterwards.

Well, why worry about it! I'm just a low-level Loose Cultivator. There are countless treasures and secret techniques in the world. It's not surprising to have Foundation Establishment Stage power in the Qi Cultivation Stage! Like me, I should be at the late stage of Qi Cultivation, right?

Xu Mu suddenly felt an itch to test his strength.

Although he felt a significant improvement, he didn't feel assured without testing it.

Against Sun Daocheng last time, he used a surprise attack, and he also used his most powerful move against a cultivator of the same level. He didn't show his full strength at all, so it wouldn't serve any purpose in testing his strength.

I should try it in Baihe Forest!

Training behind closed doors can only get one so far. And, he should start gaining some battle experience.

With his Luck Value almost depleted, the speed of his strength improvement will definitely drop dramatically in the future.

To increase his strength, he would have to put in the work in other areas.

Improving combat experience is undoubtedly the fastest and most convenient shortcut.

He had long wanted to visit Baihe Forest. If he could hunt a Monster Beast, that would be the best.

Once decided, Xu Mu informed his wife and left the house with his sword.

Not long after he stepped out, the brothers of the Li Family also followed him out, trailing far behind him.