Da Xuan Martial Saint

The high-ranking members of the Yu Family in the courtyard were either wearing stern faces or had a hint of unusual color in their eyes. At this time, upon hearing Yu Zuyi speak, someone pondered briefly, then said, "This 'Spotted Face' Tian Jifeng has been wanted for many years.

Suddenly making a move against the Yu Family's bloodline in the Inner City indicates someone must be behind it, and I suspect it's the actions of the He Family in secret."

"Indeed, ever since that He Mingxuan died, the He Family has become even more overbearing, insisting on pinning the blame on our Yu Family. Now, they're targeting our Yu Family's bloodline; it's most likely out of retaliation."

Someone by their side voiced agreement, their tone cold.

"No, I think that Tian Jifeng has no connection with the He Family. Our Yu Family's intelligence hasn't found any evidence that he was a plant raised by the He Family. It's likely that one of the other two families is intentionally causing strife, for all we know."

Another person spoke up in dissent.

What happened last night was extremely strange. Tian Jifeng, the bandit who'd been on the wanted list for years, suddenly sneaked into the Yu Family stronghold at night to target a distant relative, kidnapping a baby girl. It was all very perplexing no matter how one thought about it.

Such an incident didn't cause much harm to the Yu Family, other than provoking their fury, there was no other effect.

"Hah, Third Brother is right. I think if it weren't for last night... in a few days, Yu Yao might 'suddenly' appear on the He Family's turf, then directly spark conflict between us and the He Family."

Another person spoke with a cold laugh.

The He Family lost a member of their direct lineage and insisted on blaming the Yu Family. If the Yu Family were to lose a member, turning up on the He Family's territory, there would inevitably be a clash given the animosity between the two families, even if they were aware it might be a deliberate scheme.

After a brief silence,

An elderly man with gray temples standing to the right of Yu Zuyi looked at Tian Jifeng's body on the bamboo mat with a hint of puzzlement.

"Speaking of which, the person who acted last night to thwart this affair and kill this man... who could it possibly be?"

At this point, the courtyard fell even quieter for a moment, and many eyes turned to the blood hole on Tian Jifeng's body and a stone beside his body, soaked with blood and slightly blackened, their expressions changing.

Yu Zuyi's expression also grew more solemn.

According to the traces at the scene.

Last night, the unknown figure must have been at least forty steps away, flinging a pebble through the air in the pitch-black night, killing Tian Jifeng on the spot.

What was most astonishing was that this pebble not only pierced through the chest of someone with Tendon Changing Major Achievement but also did not shatter. It flew straight out dozens of steps and embedded itself into a thick stone wall!

The force behind it, unquestionably, was at the Bone Tempering level.

The skill displayed, was undoubtedly an Artistic Conception!

Moreover, from various traces, it was evident that the person had practiced the Thunderclap Artistic Conception, and it was not just a superficial entry. It seemed as if the Artistic Conception had been honed for many years, demonstrating the might of the initial steps to its fullest extent.

In Yu City, everyone who mastered the Thunderclap Artistic Conception was a well-known individual, and those who reached such a level were even fewer. They could be counted on two hands, and the Yu Family certainly did not possess such a person.

At this moment.

Xu Hongyu also bent down to examine Tian Jifeng's body closely, with gravity reflected in her gaze.

She had already heard about some aspects before she came, but upon a closer inspection, the horrifying notion became clearer: from a distance, a small pebble had been thrown to kill a person with Tendon Changing Major Achievement, and even the pebble itself remained undamaged.

This level of terrifying power and skill, if intended to kill her, would likely be just as easy—in the blink of an eye!

This strength was something only possessed by the very topmost echelon in Yu City.

"Could it be someone from the Xie Family?"

After a silent moment, someone spoke out solemnly.

"Your reason?"

An adjacent person asked slowly.

The position of the Xie Family should be that they would prefer a more intense conflict between the Yu and He families, to fish in troubled waters. They wouldn't normally intervene in such a matter; in fact, it's more likely that the Xie Family is behind this.

Similarly, it was improbable for the Xue Family; thus, the He Family was even less likely. Even if the He Family was aware someone was trying to set them up, they wouldn't quietly handle the problem for the Yu Family. More likely, they would take advantage of the situation to make things worse for the Yu Family.

The members of the Yu Family discussed among themselves.

But considering the positions at play, they couldn't find any rational suspects.

Furthermore, some were reminded of He Mingxuan's death about four months earlier, also at the hands of an unknown person who mastered the Thunderclap Artistic Conception. However, these two incidents appeared very odd and seemed to be unrelated.

"Could there be another force at play in Yu City? In recent years, the Corpse Poison Jade has appeared several times..."

Someone said in a grave voice.

This comment caused Yu Zuyi's eyes to flicker slightly.

Even though the four major families had essentially divided Yu County among themselves, if another external force wanted to meddle, it wasn't out of the realm of possibility. After all, if the waters of the Inner City were to be muddied, there would be an opportunity to profit from the chaos.

Furthermore, the Yu Family had been keeping a close eye on the He Family. Indeed, there were some abnormalities regarding the He Family that suggested the possibility of their collusion with forces beyond Yu County. This included the frequent appearances of the deadly covert weapon, Corpse Poison Jade, within Yu City in recent years, which most likely wasn't an internal product of Yu City.

However, this made the situation far more complex.

After the Yu Family's top echelons discussed for a moment,

they ultimately didn't come to any conclusion, but in the end, they inadvertently avoided some troubles and decided not to pursue the investigation further. Instead, the focus shifted to Tian Jifeng's background and the He Family, which required thorough investigation.

…

"Brother, you're back!"

Chen Yue looked at Chen Mu returned to the courtyard and jogged over to him, her expression a bit tense as she said, "I heard that someone broke into the house next door yesterday... Even the Yu Family's residence has had such an incident."

She had spent the previous night at Yu Ru's home, sleeping together with Yu Ru, but the thought that such a crime had happened so close to her own home made her somewhat nervous and uneasy.

"It's alright, it's all taken care of now. The villain who dared to cause trouble in the Yu Family's residence is already dead."

Chen Mu, who had just returned from Xu Hongyu's place and had pretty much finalized the matter of joining the Demon-Slaying Office in a month, was considering some issues on his way back. Seeing Chen Yue, he gently patted her head with an easygoing demeanor to comfort her.

Seeing that Chen Mu seemed completely unconcerned, Chen Yue couldn't help but puff up her cheeks and said, "Brother, I heard that the thief was a very powerful one, named Tian Jifeng or something, and that he was already in the Tendon Changing Realm."

"Hmm, Tendon Changing... it's not that big of a deal."

Chen Mu couldn't help but laugh at Chen Yue's reaction.

Hearing Chen Mu's words, Chen Yue blinked rapidly, suddenly thinking of something and said with some surprise, "Brother, could it be that you have already... "

Chen Mu smiled and pinched Chen Yue's cheek without answering, simply walking into the inner courtyard and back into his own room.

Chen Yue, watching Chen Mu's back, felt a surge of joy in her heart. She was keenly aware of the gap between Tendon Changing and Body Refinement; if Chen Mu had crossed that boundary, it would mean a groundbreaking transformation, and she would feel even more confident in the Yu Family thereafter.

Her mind wandered back to a few days ago.

When Yu Yun and others had argued with her and Yu Ru, they had mocked that even though Chen Mu might be talented, if he couldn't cross the hurdle of Tendon Changing, he was nothing special after all. Now, she could hold her head high and push back against them.

Her brother had always been very impressive!

Inside the room.

Chen Mu, however, was unaware of the small pride Chen Yue felt at the moment and would probably just smile it off even if he knew. He wasn't too interested in her and the other young girls of the Yu Family's squabbles.

As long as it didn't escalate to a contest of 'my brother dares...' 'my brother dares...' it was inconsequential.

For the Yu Family to arrange for Xu Hongyu and him, along with Xiao He, to enter the Demon-Slaying Office was an easy task and unlikely to encounter any accidents, so his quiet cultivation would be coming to an end in a month.

He could also use this month to bring his practice of the Black Jade Tendon Changing Method to 100% and reach the limit of Tendon Changing.

…

Time flew by.

After the theft incident at the younger daughter of Yu Zhen's house, the situation had calmed down again.

The security of the Yu Family's residence naturally far surpassed that of the Outer City. The occurrence last time was because Yu Zhen belonged to a collateral branch of the Yu Family and lived in a more remote northern area. If it were a little closer to the inner streets, such incidents would be basically impossible, as the Yu Family's patrols day and night were all cultivated elite personnel.

Any one of them could become a leader of a gang in the Outer City, not even inferior to the He Family's elite knife-wielding guards.

A month's time passed in an instant.

In a side room.

Chen Mu sat quietly in a barrel of water. As the color of the water gradually changed from black to gray, his eyes also slowly opened, and he immediately summoned the system panel.

[Black Jade Tendon Changing Method (99%)]

[Experience: 51 points]

"Enough."

Chen Mu took a deep breath, closed his eyes slightly, and slowly cleared the distractions in his mind before investing the last 1%.

Buzz!

Accompanied by a burst of dense medicinal power exploding inside his body.

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The tendons throughout his body, which had been tempered and transformed to the point of becoming like flood dragon sinews, suddenly twisted on their own, making a series of crackling sounds. The medicinal power extended from top to bottom, penetrating layer by layer, reaching the tips of his limbs.

At this moment.

If Chen Mu's flesh and blood were dissected to extract the large tendons, it would be seen that the large tendons throughout his body had now turned a pale golden color, with a toughness that almost surpassed that of the bowstrings of strong bows and crossbows!

No, more accurately, if his large tendons were stripped out now, they could be compared to the sinews of the beast capable of making a Nine Stone Bow!

The Nine Stone Bow, known as the Thousand Catties Bow, indicates that if one's own tendons are comparable to the bowstrings of such a strong bow, it naturally implies that every movement could effortlessly exert the force of a thousand catties, or even stronger.

"This is the limit of the First Realm of Tendon Changing."

Chen Mu slowly rose from the water.

Then he stepped out of the barrel, arms outstretched, body motionless, with a sudden release of force, he faintly heard a sound like the beating of drums emanating from within his body, which was the sound of the large tendons stretching and tensing up.

This was the Tiger and Leopard Thunder Sound, a sound realm clearly documented in the 'Major Achievement Martial Canon.' According to the Martial Canon, it is only when one has trained the Skin Toughening, Body Refinement, and Tendon Changing to their respective limits, connecting muscles and tendons to their peak, that one can emit the Tiger and Leopard Thunder Sound.

And those who can train to this extent are one in ten thousand!

"Phew..."

Feeling the strength of his body, Chen Mu exhaled a breath as sharp as a Qi Sword.

Tomorrow would be the day to join the Demon-Slaying Office, and he had finally reached the endpoint of the Tendon Changing Realm the day before.