Qin Mu's current state did indeed resemble sleepwalking. He moved and dashed wildly in his sleep, yet somehow could still see the surroundings and avoid obstacles. What puzzled Shen Wanyun was that Qin Mu, in the midst of this movement, was actually constantly executing punches and kicks, striking with ferocious power!
He even periodically pulled out a pig-slaughter cleaver, slashing and chopping here and there.
"Junior Brother Qin is already so powerful, yet he still works harder than anyone else, not even forgetting to practice in his sleep. Although his comprehension is a bit lacking, this diligence is something I should learn from!"
Shen Wanyun was greatly inspired and returned to his residence to train diligently.
However, Qin Mu was not completely asleep. His state was different from sleepwalking. This was his unique method of cultivation. The Tyrant Body Triple Pellet Art had its peculiarities in practice. When training, running and dashing at full speed actually accelerated the cultivation process, and moreover, his brain was at rest. The execution of punches and kicks relied entirely on the body's muscle memory.
Qin Mu had relied on this cultivation method over the years in the Great Ruins to make rapid progress. It was only after arriving in the State of Yankang and learning local customs that he had stopped cultivating in this way.
After running for two shichen, Qin Mu woke up, his eyes bright and spirited.
At that moment, a familiar voice chuckled: "Had enough rest?"
Qin Mu quickly turned around: "Ancestor."
At this time, there was no one else on the mountain. Even those professors, Imperial Academy students, and Imperial Academy officials had all gone to rest. They had listened to the State Preceptor's lectures for two days without sleep and needed to adjust.
The Young Ancestor smiled and said: "The State Preceptor gave lectures. What are your thoughts?"
Qin Mu praised: "The State Preceptor is a god-like existence. He dares to think what others dare not, does what others dare not. Truly unparalleled."
The Young Ancestor took a step and began walking down the mountain. "The sword techniques the State Preceptor taught, how are you learning them?"
"I wouldn't say I've learned them, but I have gained some insights."
Qin Mu said: "I learned swordsmanship from the Village Chief and thought I had already grasped all the mysteries of the sword. I never expected there were still things I hadn't learned."
The Young Ancestor said: "The saying 'learning has no limits' is wrong. It should be 'creation has no limits.' If you only learn, you'll be learning your whole life and never make anything of your own. Creation, however, has no boundaries. You're still young and need to absorb what others have created. Once you've accumulated enough, you should start to try creating. If you only learn, you'll always be a student. But once you create even a single technique, you become a master."
They walked to the Jade Cliff and saw an old and a young Daoist still sitting at the mountain gate of the Imperial Academy.
The Young Ancestor smiled faintly: "I invited the State Preceptor here to pass on teachings and give lectures to you. He's been lecturing for two days and you've received such a great benefit. Aren't you going down?"
Qin Mu said earnestly: "As long as the Ancestor gives the order, how could this disciple dare not comply?"
The Young Ancestor sneered and kicked him off the cliff: "You talk a good game, you brat! People blocked the mountain gate for so long and you didn't move a muscle. If you hadn't been given benefits, would you be so eager? Go!"
Qin Mu landed, rubbed his buttocks, and walked towards the mountain gate.
At this moment, there were no Imperial Academy students on either side of the mountain gate. These students were still sleeping and resting, leaving only the two Daoists outside. Not far away was a strange beast guarding the mountain gate, with a dragon's head and a qilin's body, chained and dozing off.
Dao Child Lin Xuan felt a tremor in his heart when he saw Qin Mu approaching. He looked at Danyang Zi: "Uncle-Master..."
Danyang Zi raised his eyelids, glanced at Qin Mu, and said: "You may go. The State Preceptor is training students precisely to cultivate this one. You need not worry about gains and losses."
Dao Child Lin Xuan agreed and stood up to greet Qin Mu. Their auras resonated with each other, and both stopped, bowing in greeting.
Qin Mu said: "Imperial Academy student Qin Mu greets Dao Child Lin Xuan. I am at the Five Planets realm."
Dao Child Lin Xuan said solemnly: "Dao Sect's Lin Xuan greets student Qin Mu. I am at the Six Harmonies realm, having sealed my Six Harmonies Divine Treasury."
He had sealed his own Six Harmonies Divine Treasury. Qin Mu said: "Does the Dao Child use weapons?"
He took off a bamboo staff from his back, then removed a pig-slaughter cleaver, then took off an iron hammer, and finally removed the Shao Bao Sword. Dao Child Lin Xuan was about to speak when Danyang Zi suddenly said: "No weapons. Only Dao techniques, divine abilities, and close combat."
Dao Child Lin Xuan looked puzzled and put down his horsetail whisk: "Since Brother Qin says so, I won't use weapons."
Danyang Zi secretly breathed a sigh of relief, his gaze moving away from the Shao Bao Sword. If weapons were used, the disadvantage would be too great. The shape of this sword made his heart skip a beat. The fish-dragon hilt was somewhat similar to the sword of a first-rank official.
If it was real, Dao Child Lin Xuan's horsetail whisk would break upon contact, and there would be no need to compete.
Qin Mu smiled, and suddenly two layers of pupils appeared in his eyes. The Divine Firmament Heavenly Eye and Azure Firmament Heavenly Eye were both activated. The ground beneath his feet suddenly sank, with bluestone slabs cracking and exploding. Gravel on the ground was also shaken into suspension.
"Ha!"
Qin Mu exhaled and threw a punch. The hundreds of cracked bluestone pieces that had just risen into the air became even finer under the vibration of this punch. The largest pieces were no bigger than bean seeds, and the smallest were as fine as sesame seeds!
Countless gravel particles followed his punch as they hurtled towards Dao Child Lin Xuan!
Roar--
The dragon's roar resonated. The force of this punch actually merged with the gravel, transforming into a sand dragon that charged straight at Dao Child Lin Xuan, just like a real divine dragon!
At the same time, his feet moved ghost-like with extreme speed, following close behind the punch force to reach Dao Child Lin Xuan's side.
Dao Child Lin Xuan's heart raced. Suddenly, one pupil turned white and the other turned black. He raised his hand and pressed forward. His palm was like jade, resembling a jade seal. The seal was like a mountain, with strange bird seal script and worm script carved beneath it, incredibly unique, carrying an ancient and primitive aura, meeting the real dragon head-on.
Heaven-Overturning Seal!
The two forces erupted, and a muffled, astonishing boom sounded, like thunder hidden by thick clouds, unable to escape.
The dragon-headed, qilin-bodied strange beast at the mountain gate heard this muffled sound, looked up in confusion, and glanced around.
Qin Mu felt as if his Nine Dragons Riding Wind and Thunder had encountered a wall spanning heaven and earth. The force couldn't penetrate this wall. He was delighted: "This Dao Child is indeed extraordinary! Much stronger than those Imperial Academy students I've seen before!"
Although Nine Dragons Riding Wind and Thunder appeared domineering and fierce on the outside, it was actually an extremely delicate technique. It concealed forty-five types of dragon force within the palm. If this palm strike was taken head-on, the forty-five types of dragon force would penetrate the body, causing unimaginable damage to the internal organs.
Dao Child Lin Xuan's Heaven-Overturning Seal formed a bronze wall and iron fortress, blocking all forty-five types of dragon force concealed in Qin Mu's palm between their two palms. This was truly formidable!
At this moment, the countless gravel particles flew past Dao Child Lin Xuan's side.
Dao Child Lin Xuan's scalp went numb. His Yin-Yang Dao Eye saw that between these fine gravel particles, there were incredibly thin qi threads connecting them.
These qi threads were extremely fine. Under the gaze of his Yin-Yang Dao Eye, each qi thread was actually a spinning thin sword. These thin swords were sword qi transformed from Qin Mu's qi, originally hidden within the gravel particles, now detaching from them.
"Wheel-Chopping Seal!"
Dao Child Lin Xuan's ten fingers danced, one palm facing up and one palm facing down. With a hum, a wheel appeared above his head and beneath his feet. These wheels were transformed from qi with a peculiar structure, seemingly a formation, but inverted above and below.
Just as the positive and negative formations covered him, the surrounding fine gravel particles suddenly turned into powder, with smoke and dust billowing. The sword qi Qin Mu had hidden among the countless gravel particles immediately converged, forming a blue dragon of qi. Countless strands of sword qi made up the dragon's body, churning with all its might!
Circling Sword Form!
Between the two counter-rotating wheels, countless thin swords suddenly emerged, forming a sword curtain that collided with the churning blue dragon. Sword qi shattered and flew in all directions. The two youths were not only clashing in sword techniques but also in magical power.
If the Imperial Academy students were here, they would be extremely surprised. Qin Mu was now using the Circling Sword Form taught by the State Preceptor of Yankang. However, Qin Mu had not followed the State Preceptor's method of transforming the Circling Sword Form into a sword pillar. Instead, he had transformed the countless intertwined sword qi into a blue dragon!
Dao Child Lin Xuan immediately felt the pressure. Qin Mu's qi was suppressing his own. His cultivation was incredibly profound, yet Qin Mu's cultivation was even greater. This was almost impossible.
The Dao Sect's Innate Supreme Mystery Art was renowned for its massive magical power. When purely comparing magical power at the same realm, no sect's foundational cultivation method in the current world could match the Innate Supreme Mystery Art. Even the Mahayana Sutra of the Tathagata, also famous for its magical power, couldn't compare!
However, at this moment, he felt that Qin Mu's magical power was even greater than his!
Dao Child Lin Xuan sensed that his Wheel-Chopping Seal might be broken at any moment. He immediately changed his technique. Although he had no horsetail whisk in his hand, when he opened his palm, countless dust filaments flew out. These were qi threads, but under his control, they were like qi swords, slashing from inside the wheel to the outside, attempting to sever the blue dragon.
Just as he made his move, Qin Mu outside the wheel had already arrived in front of him. He reached out and grabbed countless smoke and dust particles. His qi burst forth, and those particles gathered in his hand, forming a long spear that pierced with a hiss into the spinning wheel.
Dao Child Lin Xuan used his other hand with the Heaven-Overturning Seal to block, stopping the spear. Then, bang bang bang sounds rang out endlessly as Qin Mu used his hand as a blade, executing Night Battle in Continuous City Rain, countless blade strikes hacking at the wheel.
His Wheel-Chopping Seal immediately collapsed. Dao Child Lin Xuan knew something was wrong. The next moment, his chest was hit by several blade strikes, blood appearing on his chest as his body flew backwards.
He used the force to fly out, still maintaining his composure. Countless dust filaments drilled into the blue dragon, spreading out in all directions, finally destroying this great dragon.
The blue dragon collapsed and immediately transformed into hundreds of qi thin swords. In the blink of an eye, they converged again and crashed into the ground with a boom.
"Not good!"
Dao Child Lin Xuan pressed his palm downward. As he did so, countless dust filaments drilled into the ground, lifting his body so he wouldn't touch the ground.
Using the dust filaments as feet, he ran through the air with incredible speed. Below him, a blue dragon drilled out of the ground and crashed back in, then drilled out again and crashed back in again. Each time the blue dragon burst from the ground, Qin Mu's foot landed precisely on the dragon's head, rapidly pursuing Dao Child Lin Xuan in the air.
Qin Mu flicked his fingers repeatedly, creating thunderous sounds. Amidst the rumbling thunder, a melody resounded. Dao Child Lin Xuan's face changed dramatically: "Not good, he's gained the upper hand. I have no choice but to use the Dao Sect's foundational sword technique!"