Chapter 93: Stealing the Sky and Changing the Day

"I lost."

Elder Ma exhaled, a relieved smile on his face. "Overpowering with sheer strength, Mu’er, your power is now so immense that it can compensate for any deficiencies in your techniques. You've passed this trial. By the way, how did your cultivation suddenly increase so much? I didn't even have time to dissipate your strength."

Qin Mu breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "The Chief and I went out, and when we returned, my spirit embryo..."

The Chief coughed repeatedly. Qin Mu, puzzled, asked, "Chief, what's wrong?"

"That move of yours just now startled me," the Chief said, coughing twice more. "You've passed the first trial, so what about the second?"

The Cripple pulled a pig's trot out of his mouth and limped over, chuckling. "Mu'er, we won't compete in fist techniques, but in leg techniques. Look up, do you see that cloud?"

Qin Mu looked up and saw a white cloud drifting leisurely by. The Cripple laughed, "Let's see who can run to that cloud first."

Qin Mu hesitated for a moment, then nodded. The Cripple said with a disarmingly simple smile, "You're younger, and I believe in cherishing the young, so you go first."

Qin Mu, with a similarly innocent smile, replied, "I respect my elders, so you should go first."

"You're younger, you go first."

"Elder, your body isn't in the best shape; you should go first."

The two of them exchanged feigned, simple smiles, deferring to each other for a long time. The Butcher grabbed two large sabers and bellowed, "What are you jabbering about?! That cloud has already drifted far away! If you don't start running, I'll chop you both into pieces!"

Qin Mu and the Cripple shot off almost simultaneously. Qin Mu's steps were rapid, generating wind beneath his feet, and he suddenly soared into the air, riding the gusts. Just then, the Cripple had already sprinted into the air ahead of him. Qin Mu pressed his palm downwards, and the wind beneath the Cripple's feet immediately blew towards the ground, causing the Cripple to flail and fall from the sky.

Qin Mu immediately rushed forward, overtaking the Cripple, and continued moving through the air on the wind. Suddenly, his legs tightened; they were firmly bound, and he instantly plummeted headfirst.

The Cripple burst into laughter, and a whip of vital qi appeared in his hand, binding Qin Mu's legs.

As Qin Mu fell, the one-legged elder stepped on him and was about to spring into the air.

At that moment, Qin Mu's vital qi erupted, snapping the vital qi whip. He grabbed the Cripple's leg, while simultaneously kicking towards the Cripple's face with his own leg. Both crashed to the ground with a thud, kicking up dust.

The Cripple tapped his staff on the ground, unleashing his "Sky-Stealing Leg Technique" with masterful skill, attacking Qin Mu. Qin Mu lay on the ground, only attacking the Cripple's staff. He kicked it countless times, enduring over a dozen kicks from the Cripple, until he finally shattered the Cripple's staff.

Standing on one leg, the Cripple angrily exclaimed, "You little brat, who taught you such a dirty trick?"

Qin Mu slapped the ground hard with both hands, his body spinning as he shot upwards, headfirst. The Cripple sneered, squatted on one leg, then leaped into the air.

As soon as he jumped, Qin Mu, who was above him, immediately clapped his hands towards him. His vital qi directly transformed into Black Tortoise vital qi, causing ripples of water to appear in the air, which then formed a water dragon that surged directly towards the Cripple.

"A minor trick!" the Cripple scoffed with a chuckle. He generated wind with his hands, striking the water dragon and deflecting it. His vital qi remarkably transformed into a somewhat transparent leg and foot, and he sprinted furiously, showing signs of overtaking Qin Mu.

Qin Mu spread his legs wide in a split, performing a one-legged split in mid-air. He pressed his palms against the air, instantly flipping from head-down to head-up. Then, bringing his legs together, he sprinted furiously, aiming a lethal blow at the Cripple's back.

The two ran through the air, employing leg techniques that were all insidious and cunning. Their movements were unpredictable, dazzling the onlookers below.

Suddenly, the Cripple's arm moved like a shadow, mysteriously and unpredictably. His "Sky-Stealing" technique was unleashed. Before Qin Mu even realized how he had acted, he felt his belt loosen, and the Cripple pulled his trousers down to his ankles.

He immediately tripped over himself. Then, he felt a chill as his shirt was also removed by the Cripple, trapping his arms. Qin Mu fell from the sky, hastily ripped his shirt, pulled up his trousers, and furiously tied his belt while running. "Grandpa Cripple," he angrily exclaimed, "you never taught me that move!"

The Cripple burst into laughter. "Catch me first, and I'll teach you!"

Qin Mu chuckled, then threw a punch. A dragon-shaped fist force immediately shot forward. The Cripple yelped in surprise, his steps became erratic, and he dodged repeatedly.

Qin Mu condensed his vital qi into threads; vital qi threads as thick as arms coiled towards the Cripple like a large serpent. Once entangled, it would be difficult to escape. The Cripple dodged again but had already been caught. Resignedly, he said, "I'll teach you then."

Both men approached each other in the air, smiles plastered on their faces. Just as the Cripple was about to make his move, Qin Mu, with lightning speed, sealed his three souls and seven spirits, then kicked the old man out of the sky.

*Thud!*

The Cripple landed, leaving a human-shaped crater. He slowly crawled out of the pit, weeping with joy. "Truly worthy of my teaching! He didn't just casually trust others."

Qin Mu quickly pursued the cloud in the air, then ran diagonally downwards, taking a few rapid steps on the ground before stopping.

The Cripple smiled. "I promised you earlier, and I won't go back on my word. Once you pass all nine trials, I'll teach you the 'Hand of Stealing Heaven and Replacing Sun'."

Qin Mu was overjoyed.

The Butcher brandished his cleavers and chuckled, "Mu'er, need a rest?"

Qin Mu immediately nodded, sat down to rest, drank tea to rehydrate, and after resting for half a day, went to put on some clothes. The Butcher's face darkened, and he muttered, "That brat, with such profound vital qi cultivation, he still needs to rest? Why doesn't he just fight directly? If he did, I'd still have a chance..."

A moment later, Qin Mu picked up another butcher knife from the collapsed blacksmith's shop. Holding both knives crossed, he announced, "Grandpa Butcher, I'm ready!"

The Butcher sneered, "You originally used one knife; why are you using two now?"

Qin Mu held one knife in a normal grip and the other in a reverse grip. The Butcher's expression grew serious. He also rotated his blade, holding the left-hand knife in a reverse grip, and sneered, "You little brat, want to fight me in close combat? You're still too green..."

The Apothecary coughed, reminding him, "Butcher, you don't have a lower body. If he gets too close, you'll be at a disadvantage; you don't have as much muscle as he does."

The Butcher's face darkened again, and he grumbled indignantly, "He won't be able to get close to me; my blade techniques will keep him at bay..."

Elder Ma reminded him, "His vital qi is exceptionally robust, two or three times yours. If your blade clashes with his, it will be knocked away, and you yourself will be sent flying. You can only defeat him with skill."

"Then what's the point of fighting?!" the Butcher roared in anger, sticking his two knives into the ground. His eyes darted around, then he smiled. "Mu'er, sit down. We won't use knives. We'll just use 'listening force' and touch hands."

Qin Mu stuck his butcher knives into the ground and sat opposite him. Both men used their hands as blades, their palms touching. They each closed their eyes, intending to deduce the movement of the opponent's body muscles, the circulation of their vital qi, and the distribution of their strength by sensing the changes in power in their opponent's palm. Then, they would strike at the weak point for a fatal blow.

This was the secret of the "Drawing the Blade from the Forbidden Palace" technique.

"Drawing the blade from the forbidden palace, chariots and horses roar like thunder. Alone I enter the imperial palace, with the emperor's head in my hand."

This verse meant, "I draw my blade and exit the emperor's forbidden palace; outside, the sound of chariots and horses rumbles like thunder; countless troops block my path, but I, alone, have slain my way into the imperial palace, clutching the emperor's head."

The imposing aura and grandeur of this move were unmatched by any other technique—wild, disdainful of all, ignoring everything.

Yet, this move was also the most intricate technique in the Butcher's blade art, requiring the utmost control over one's own strength and absolute mastery over the enemy's power—a pinnacle among combat techniques and divine abilities!

As their palms touched, the movements of their own and each other's muscles, the circulation of vital qi, and the distribution of strength immediately became apparent. Qin Mu almost instantly realized that the Butcher's vital qi was far inferior to his own. The moment Qin Mu "struck" with his hand-blade, the Butcher had already sensed the change in his power, blocking it preemptively, while his other hand "slashed" towards Qin Mu's weak point!

The Butcher was still superior in skill after all, with far better reactions and experience than Qin Mu. However, only when the Butcher blocked Qin Mu's "strike" did he realize something was wrong. He was sent flying backward, forcibly "cleaved" out of the village by the power in Qin Mu's hand-blade, and crashed into the mountain forest outside the village.

Qin Mu looked down and saw that the clothes he had just changed into were torn, sliced open by the Butcher's "blade." He secretly thought, *That was a close call.*

His cultivation was too strong. Although his blade technique was still inferior to the Butcher's, he could indeed overwhelm the Butcher with his cultivation.

"I lost!"

The Butcher leaped from outside the village back into it, landing with his hands bracing the ground. He frankly declared, "I lost! Apothecary, Deaf Elder, there's no need for you to compete either; your cultivation isn't as good as his!"

The Deaf Elder sneered, "Who said I wanted to compete with him in vital qi cultivation or in brute strength? Mu'er, I've drawn two dragons."

*Swish—*

He shook his hand, unrolling two scrolls and hanging them on a pole. Two ink dragons appeared vividly on the paper, seemingly ready to soar away at any moment. The strange thing was that neither dragon had eyes.

"Over the years, I've taught you the path of calligraphy and painting. It's not about crude fighting methods; it's an art for clever people, requiring true comprehension," the Deaf Elder said.

He prepared his brush and stated solemnly, "I drew these two dragons using a divine ability. If you add their eyes, they can transform into true dragons and fly away. However, one cannot perform 'dotting the dragon's eyes to make it fly' with just the Spirit Embryo Realm cultivation. But if your cultivation isn't enough, then it comes down to your painting skill. I taught you 'Connecting the Spirit and Bestowing a Soul with a Single Touch.' Today, I'll compete with you on that very skill. Let's see who, in the Spirit Embryo Realm, can bring these two dragons to life and make them ascend to the heavens!"