Chapter 26: Arm-Thick
Everyone in the blacksmith shop was stunned.
Qin Mu’s Overlord Body primal qi had actually gained an attribute, and it was the fire attribute, clearly Vermilion Bird primal qi!
Deaf was about to cheer when Village Chief said, “Deaf, hold on. Mu’er, now observe water. Don’t overthink it; focus your mind and maintain unity.”
Qin Mu did as he was told and observed water again. The primal qi surging from his spirit embryo divine repository turned into trickling water, tempering the spirit embryo. The small blacksmith shop was packed with villagers who had rushed over upon hearing the news. Horse, Cripple, Butcher, Apothecary, Blind, all squeezed inside, watching Qin Mu as he observed water, not daring to breathe loudly.
The Village Chief’s voice came through, saying, “Remember the spear technique Blind taught you? Imagine there’s a spear in your hand, and thrust it forward!”
Qin Mu raised his hand and thrust out a spear. The spear tip flickered, shaking out one large circle after another. The moment he thrust with an empty hand, his primal qi turned into a white mist that surged out, forming the shape of a long spear in his hand. At the same time, the sound of flowing water came, and the mist, like a water dragon, was shaken into one large circle after another by him!
“It’s done, it’s done…”
Horse wept tears of joy, crying, “Finally done, all these years of hardship weren’t in vain… Mu’er, you’ve grown up…”
He couldn’t help but turn his head away, wiping his tears with his only arm.
Cripple wore a simple smile on his face, muttering, “Our Mu’er can survive in the Great Ruins now… Damn it, Old Horse, stop wiping your tears, you’re almost making me cry! Old Lady Si went to Xianglong City to buy things and isn’t here. If she were, she’d be crying the hardest!”
“What’s there to cry about?”
Apothecary’s eyes were red, but he laughed, saying, “We should be laughing! Even if we die of old age in the future, Mu’er can live on his own. This is a great blessing; we should laugh heartily!”
“Exactly, exactly!”
Deaf laughed loudly, “Apothecary, I’ve never agreed with you before, but this time, I respect what you said!”
The small blacksmith shop erupted with earth-shaking laughter that rang through the skies. Qin Mu looked at these excited old men around him, and waves of warmth surged in his heart.
These old men, each with some disability, more or less flawed, looking fierce and menacing, were his family—his closest family!
Suddenly, Granny Si’s voice came from outside the door, laughing, “What are you old fools laughing about, crammed in here?”
Qin Mu was both surprised and delighted. Granny Si had finally returned from Xianglong City!
Soon, Cripple spilled the good news. Granny Si was also both surprised and delighted, her eyes reddening as she laughed, “Good news, good news. Mu’er has finally grown up… This is good…”
Thinking of the hardships she had endured over these eleven years, she couldn’t help but cry. The little old woman sat down, wiping her tears, saying, “If we die in the future, Mu’er can still live on… Don’t touch me; my eyes are big, and sand got in them…”
Village Chief quietly breathed a sigh of relief. The dark clouds that had weighed on his heart finally dispersed as Qin Mu’s Overlord Body primal qi gained an attribute. Qin Mu could now use his primal qi and unleash its power, solidifying his identity as the “Overlord Body,” resolving a crisis in the village.
However, despite his vast abilities, he couldn’t help but be puzzled. How had Qin Mu’s Overlord Body primal qi suddenly gained an attribute?
And what was even stranger was that it had both water and fire attributes!
As he knew, spiritual bodies always had a single attribute, never two.
Qin Mu clearly had the talent of an ordinary person, yet he possessed two attributes, and they were the incompatible water and fire attributes. This was bizarre.
“Do all ordinary people awaken two spiritual bodies when their spirit embryos awaken?”
He felt a bit lost, thinking, “What exactly did Mute teach him to give his primal qi water and fire attributes? Can other ordinary people do the same?”
He knew that these days, the villagers had used every means to make Qin Mu’s Overlord Body primal qi unleash its power. Apothecary used medicinal supplements, Cripple, Butcher, and Horse used intense training, Blind didn’t hesitate to teach his divine eye, Deaf wanted Qin Mu to enter the Dao through calligraphy and painting to manifest divine abilities, but what Mute had done, he didn’t know.
Unexpectedly, it was Mute who finally triggered the power of the Overlord Body primal qi.
He only knew that Mute had Qin Mu observe fire and observe water. How observing fire and water gave Qin Mu’s primal qi water and fire attributes was a mystery he couldn’t understand.
Mute was the village blacksmith, never showing off. In the village, the most flamboyant was Blind, the most ostentatious was Butcher, the most warm-hearted was the cold-faced Horse, the most sinister was the enthusiastic Cripple, the most steady was Apothecary, the most detached was Deaf, the most changeable was the hunchbacked Granny Si, and the most taciturn was Mute.
Village Chief knew almost nothing about Mute, only that his tongue had been cut off and that he was skilled in artifact forging, making a living by crafting kitchen knives, plows, and hoes for villagers from nearby settlements.
Judging by how he guided Qin Mu to unleash the power of his primal qi, Mute’s cultivation and skill were likely the highest in the village, second only to himself.
“Mu’er, can you now refine your qi into threads?” Granny Si asked expectantly.
Qin Mu tried to bundle his primal qi into a fine thread. The next moment, his primal qi left his body, as thick as an arm, blazing with flames.
This large, thick “qi thread” wrapped around the butcher knife and slashed forward. The tree stump, as thick as a bucket, was split open instantly, with astonishing power!
The villagers stared at this arm-thick qi thread, all speechless.
Qin Mu’s qi thread was certainly powerful enough, but refining qi into threads meant turning the primal qi into fine strands, making it more flexible and versatile. It could control a sword, use qi to guide the blade, and execute many moves that couldn’t be performed normally.
Qin Mu’s qi thread couldn’t be called a thread; it was more like a qi arm.
Such a thick qi thread also consumed a tremendous amount of energy.
Cripple scratched his head and said, “I think a qi arm isn’t bad. It’s like having an extra arm, pretty fierce in a fight.”
Everyone was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. Granny Si shook her head, saying, “Qi threads are much more agile. A qi arm is too bulky; its toughness, strength, and agility are far inferior to qi threads. Mu’er, you need to refine your qi into threads as soon as possible.”
Qin Mu nodded.
Only when he observed fire could his primal qi take on the fire attribute, similar to Vermilion Bird primal qi. But as long as he wasn’t observing fire, his primal qi remained ordinary.
And observing fire while refining qi into threads was still difficult for him.
Village Chief and the others also noticed the problem and frowned. Qin Mu could only unleash the fire attribute when observing fire and the water attribute when observing water. This was extremely disadvantageous in battle!
In a fight, would the enemy give you time to observe fire or water?
They had initially thought Qin Mu’s Overlord Body primal qi having both water and fire attributes was very powerful, but now they weren’t so sure.
“Ah, ah!”
Mute gestured, smiling innocently.
Deaf understood and laughed, “Mute is right. Mu’er has just figured out the trick. Practice makes perfect. With continued training, he’ll definitely master it!”
Primal qi with both water and fire attributes was equivalent to awakening both a Black Tortoise spiritual body and a Vermilion Bird spiritual body. When Qin Mu observed fire, it was Vermilion Bird primal qi; when he observed water, it was Black Tortoise primal qi.
In the village, Qin Mu used his arm-thick qi thread to practice the butcher knife technique. The butcher knife flew up and down, occasionally nearly splitting him in half. Whenever danger arose, Blind would use his bamboo staff to deflect the knife, preventing him from actually cutting himself in two.
Refining qi into threads and using qi to guide a sword required step-by-step training. Using qi threads to control a sword and guide it to kill enemies was extremely dangerous. Only through diligent practice could one control it with ease.
Butcher’s butcher knife technique belonged to the combat technique school. Although Butcher had absorbed some advantages of the divine ability school, allowing him to release the knife and control it, the combat technique school was still vastly different from the divine ability school in terms of moves. Using the butcher knife technique to train in guiding a sword with qi was very perilous.
Butcher’s moves were too crazy and dangerous. Saying he would even cut himself when he got wild was no empty talk.
The Thunderclap Eight Forms that Horse taught Qin Mu belonged purely to the combat technique school and couldn’t be used with the method of guiding a sword with qi.
The Heavenly Demon Creation Art that Granny Si taught him belonged to sorcery. Cripple’s leg techniques, Blind’s staff techniques, Deaf’s calligraphy and painting, Apothecary’s alchemy, and Mute’s blacksmithing skills clearly couldn’t be used to train in guiding a sword with qi.
So, to practice guiding a sword with qi, Qin Mu had to use dangerous moves like the butcher knife technique.
At the village entrance, Village Chief was lazily basking in the sun. Apothecary stood beside him, looked back at Qin Mu, who was desperately training in guiding a sword with qi, and suddenly said, “Blind passed on his divine eye to Mu’er, Butcher taught him his knife technique, Cripple his leg techniques, Deaf his painting skills… So, Village Chief, what about you?”
Village Chief turned to look at him.
Apothecary’s tone was somewhat aggressive: “Each of us has our strengths, but none of us are deeply skilled in guiding a sword with qi. Your knowledge surpasses any of us, and your abilities are greater than any of ours. Why don’t you teach him? In the world of guiding a sword with qi, who could be better than you?”
Village Chief looked dejected, lowering his head to gaze at his missing hands and feet, and said softly, “I want to teach, but Mu’er can’t bear it. Even when I had all my limbs, I couldn’t bear it, or I wouldn’t need to hide in the Great Ruins… Do you know how I lost my hands and feet?”
Apothecary shook his head.
“It was a sword wound.”
Village Chief looked up, expressionless, and said, “My hands and feet were severed by a sword. Teaching my skills means taking on my responsibilities. I can’t bear them, and he can’t bear them now.”