Da Xuan Martial Saint

“Very well.”

Yu Jiujiang looked at Chen Mu with a reassuring smile, saying, “Then I, this old coot, will just have to wait for the day when you reign supreme over the world.”

If Chen Mu could one day rule the world, there would be no greater spectacle in this life. Yu Jiujiang, having lived through a century, had raised the formidable Yu Family and achieved considerable success in such a small place as Yu County. But that was all. The Yu Family had established its foundation and thrived for a hundred years in one county, which was enough to satisfy his heart.

He had never fantasized that a descendant of the Yu Family would become a grandmaster and dominate a state. Even though Chen Mu was not a direct descendant of the Yu Family, their fortunate tie by marriage to him was a stroke of destiny. Now, Chen Mu was a contender for supremacy over the world, a notion that seemed so distant and dreamlike to the former Yu Family.

“Alright, take good care of yourself.”

Chen Mu nodded gently at Yu Jiujiang.

With the drop of Heaven and Earth Dew extending Yu Jiujiang’s life, the old man would live several more years. To others, five or six years might seem insignificant when advancing from Marrow Cleansing to Blood Exchange Realm, but for him, it was enough to be confident in overcoming this threshold. This confidence stemmed from the spirit he had cultivated along his journey, as well as his unparalleled talent and insight.

With reassurance mixed with a hint of hope, Yu Jiujiang watched Chen Mu turn and walk out of the courtyard, his gaze fixed on him until he was out of sight.

He leaned on his cane and took two steps forward.

Watching Chen Mu’s figure disappearing outside the courtyard, he couldn’t help but speak out, wanting to say one last thing before parting.

“Chen…”

But his words abruptly stopped there.

At the very moment that syllable left his lips, a grey dagger suddenly thrust from behind Chen Mu, outside the courtyard, aimed straight at his heart without a sound.

This stab was done with casual ease, as if devoid of any sharpness or murderous intent. Yet, as it descended, the entire sky seemed to dim suddenly, the boundless grey clouds ripped apart by this dull point of light—a shadow that seemed to cut through the fabric of the night, like a note rising from the road of the underworld.

The grey dullness spread from a point, obscuring all in view, turning the world into utter greyness.

Yu Jiujiang’s voice stopped abruptly, his words frozen on his lips, his body fixed in place. Despite the overwhelming and terrifying murderous aura not being directed at him but concentrated on Chen Mu, the close proximity still strongly impacted his spirit. Fortunately, although his Qi-Blood had declined, his Artistic Conception had reached the second step; his Soul Heart would not fade, and his body merely froze momentarily, unable to move.

Terror!

The only word that came to his mind was ‘terror’!

After all, as a former steward of the Seven Profound Sect and having dominated a county for a hundred years, he had encountered grandmasters before. But the assassination attempt unfolding before his eyes far surpassed any level or realm he could imagine.

Without a doubt, this was an attack from someone in the Blood Exchange Realm, the pinnacle of the path of assassination. There were few in the world who could cultivate assassination to such a realm. Appearing here in the Cold North, in the Inner City of Yu County, just outside the courtyard where the Yu Family resided, and at the moment when Chen Mu had just stepped out and was most off-guard, the chilling intent to kill could only come from one person.

Master of Xue Yin Tower!

No one knew the true name of the Master of Xue Yin Tower, only that the Blood Exchange lineage of Xue Yin Tower had endured for hundreds of years, with each killer that stepped into the Blood Exchange Realm becoming the next Master of Blood Hidden Pavilion. Even those in the same realm held the Master of Xue Yin Tower in great awe.

After all, to face someone who had honed the art of assassination to its peak, with nearly unparalleled stealth and perception in the world, and who always struck at the weakest point, was an utterly terrifying prospect that no one would wish to oppose.

Watching closely.

Chen Mu seemed completely unguarded and about to be struck by that grey dusk dagger.

But a cold snort, like a clap of thunder, burst forth in the icy alleyway, shattering the pervasive grey fog with a dazzling light, like a spring thunder tearing through the world, dispelling the suffocating air of death.

Chen Mu had turned around at some unknown point, and with a swoop of his left sleeve, a tremendous Yuan Gang True Essence coiled around the cuff, manifesting the might of eight colors and Eight Phases, forming a grinding disc-like rotation, sweeping the incoming grey dagger into its vortex.

Sizzling!!!

The Grey Dusk Dagger trembled violently, emitting a sizzling sound as if it had plunged into a swamp, yet it stubbornly pressed forward, struggling through the vortex of Qiankun rotation, piercing straight ahead.

“Is this all you have, the esteemed Master of Blood Hidden Pavilion?”

Chen Mu watched the dagger continue to thrust closer, his expression unchanging, his tone indifferent as he spoke. Suddenly, the rotating glow of the Eight Phases vibrated, resembling interlocking gears that abruptly shifted and forcefully reversed.

The Grey Dusk Dagger instantly seemed to be caught in the crushing gears, emitting a series of unbearable creaks and then exploding in a flash, dispersing into a cloud of grey mist.

However.

Even as the Grey Dusk Dagger shattered, Chen Mu did not display any look of contempt; instead, his gaze deepened, for although his strength was great, it was not yet sufficient to grind a genuine high-grade Spirit Weapon into dust.