A Bit of Effort, Ten Thousand Times Critical Hit Rewards!
Chapter 3: When Did Such a Strong Swordsman Appear in the Outer Academy?

Time passed in the blink of an eye.

Seven days had quickly gone by.

Creak!

Luo Mu pushed open the large door and walked out.

At this moment, he was completely different from seven days ago.

His entire body radiated a powerful and surging force of vitality.

The blood energy seemed to pour out of his pores, and he stood there like a furnace burning with intense flames!

“Body Refining Realm Ninefold!”

Luo Mu's eyes shone with excitement.

In just seven days, not only had he rapidly advanced to the eighth level, but today, he had also broken through to the ninth level in one go!

Such an exaggerated cultivation speed.

Even the geniuses of the Inner Academy would rarely be able to match it.

Of course, this was mainly due to the numerous hundredfold critical hits he had triggered over the past seven days!

Without that, he wouldn't have progressed so quickly.

“I wonder what a thousandfold critical hit feels like?”

Having tasted the sweetness of the hundredfold critical hit, Luo Mu began to imagine what a thousandfold critical hit might be like.

He shook off the thought.

Luo Mu picked up the long knife beside the door.

It was time to head to the back mountain.

Only there would be a suitable environment to practice the [Absolute Life-Ending Sword Technique].

——

Chang Le Academy.

One of the seven great academies of the Great Zhou Empire.

Its geographical location was very special, sitting at the center of the seven counties.

As a result, the heroes of the seven counties, unless they joined a sect, would always head to the academy to study.

“This is the back mountain?”

Luo Mu stood on a large rock.

Looking ahead, he could see the endless mountains rising and falling.

The ancient trees were towering, with some reaching heights of over 100 meters, lush and green, with thick branches and leaves.

A gust of wind blew, making the forest surge like waves.

Occasionally, loud beast roars echoed through the air, adding a fierce aura to the scene.

Having been weak in the past, Luo Mu had never been here before.

So, today was his first time coming.

In fact, the back mountain was a place for the Outer Academy disciples to earn resources.

After killing demonic beasts, they could sell valuable parts to the academy in exchange for contribution points.

These contribution points could then be used to exchange for pills, weapons, martial arts techniques, and more.

“Let's begin!”

Luo Mu took a deep breath, jumped off the rock, and rushed into the forest.

Roar!

Not long after, Luo Mu encountered his first demonic beast.

It resembled a wolf in shape.

Its fur was thick and had a solid, almost meGreatic feel to it.

“Ironbone Wolf.”

Luo Mu recognized it.

The academy offered courses in various subjects, including how to identify demonic beasts and spiritual herbs.

Luo Mu had completed these courses a year ago.

The Ironbone Wolf was a low-tier demonic beast.

It reproduced quickly, so it was commonly found around the outskirts of the back mountain.

“I'll start with you!”

Luo Mu drew the long knife from his waist and began reciting the mantra of the [Absolute Life-Ending Sword Technique].

His internal vitality started flowing along the prescribed paths.

In an instant, his aura changed slightly, giving off a cold and lethal vibe.

Wooo!

The Ironbone Wolf instinctively sensed danger and attempted to flee.

But the next second!

Swish!

A flash of white sword light appeared.

The Ironbone Wolf was sliced in two and fell heavily to the ground.

This Ironbone Wolf was only a level-one initial-tier demonic beast, equivalent to a martial artist at the Body Refining Realm first to third level.

Luo Mu had no trouble dealing with it.

Buzz!

Luo Mu could clearly see a wisp of gray mist emerge from the Ironbone Wolf's body, flowing into his palm.

A blurry sword-shaped mark appeared on the back of his hand.

This was the Death Seal.

It only appeared once the [Absolute Life-Ending Sword Technique] was partially understood.

When the technique reached perfection, the mark would solidify into a deep black color.

“Ding!”

“You have used [Absolute Life-Ending Sword Technique], fought a battle, triggered a critical hit, and received tenfold rewards!”

Luo Mu's mind was flooded with insights.

At the same time, the sword-shaped mark on his palm solidified a little more, progressing toward the minor success stage.

“It seems I do need to find the right environment.”

Luo Mu muttered to himself, feeling the improvement in his sword technique.

Even a tenfold reward was almost as powerful as the previous hundredfold.

“Let's keep going!”

Luo Mu twisted his blade, shaking off the blood.

For some reason, after seeing the blood, he felt as though a string had been plucked in his heart.

Or perhaps it was more like a door had been opened.

——

“Slash! Slash! Slash!”

In the dim forest, the sword light flashed like snow.

With every strike, a mournful cry echoed through the air.

Luo Mu gripped his knife, breathing heavily.

Even though he had reached the ninth level of the Body Refining Realm, he couldn't continue fighting indefinitely.

The power of the [Absolute Life-Ending Sword Technique] was fearsome, but its consumption was equally astonishing.

After ten battles, his vitality had nearly been exhausted, and his spirit was feeling fatigued.

“Ding!”

“You have used [Absolute Life-Ending Sword Technique], fought your tenth battle, triggered a critical hit, and received fiftyfold rewards!”

The prompt echoed in his mind, and a smile appeared on Luo Mu's fatigued face.

Nice.

Fiftyfold rewards—quite a substantial gain.

Boom!

His mind was again flooded with insights.

His swordsmanship advanced to the minor success stage, even making significant progress beyond that.

In less than half a day, his technique had gone from partial understanding to minor success.

Such terrifying speed would make anyone who knew about it drop their jaws.

This was a top-tier human-level martial art, not some common entry-level technique.

Even geniuses from the Inner Academy would need at least ten days to reach minor success.

“I'll need a new blade soon.”

Luo Mu looked at the long knife in his hand.

The blade had already developed a crack.

After all, this was just an ordinary knife, not even forged through the Hundred Refinements method.

Turning around, he saw the bloodied scene in front of him.

Dozens of demonic beast corpses lay scattered on the ground.

Bloodthirsty Monkeys.

Once enraged, their strength would surge considerably.

They were much stronger than the Ironbone Wolf.

The Bloodthirsty Monkeys here were also relatively powerful, with the strongest approaching level-one high-tier.

Approaching the corpses, Luo Mu began to extract the hearts from the Bloodthirsty Monkeys.

These hearts were the most valuable parts, and were the main ingredient for crafting Blood Spirit Pills.

As for the Ironbone Wolf, it had no value, so Luo Mu didn't even glance at its corpse.

“I'll rest for a while.”

Luo Mu turned and left.

He planned to stay in the back mountain for a while longer, until his sword technique reached perfection.

Rustle.

After Luo Mu left, three figures arrived together.

Seeing the numerous corpses on the ground, each of them wore an expression of shock.

“Brother Lu, who did this?

As we came here, we found that the number of dead demonic beasts is no less than seventy, and almost all were killed with a single strike!”

“Now even the Bloodthirsty Monkey was killed in one blow!”

“When did such a swordsman appear in our Outer Academy?”

One of them asked.

The young man, known as Brother Lu, didn't answer immediately.

Instead, he crouched down, touched the wound on a corpse.

His fingers felt an extreme cold, as though the very life force was being drained.

“It's [Absolute Life-Ending Sword Technique]!”

Brother Lu stood up, saying seriously.

“Hiss!”

Upon hearing this, a sharp intake of breath was heard from the others.

The [Absolute Life-Ending Sword Technique] was well known in the Outer Academy.

It was one of the most powerful top-tier human-level martial arts.

Once perfected, it could rival the minor success stage of a Mystic Tier low-level martial art!

But because the difficulty of cultivation was extremely high, it had gradually been abandoned over time.

Very few people still practiced it now.

“And it's already close to minor success.”

Brother Lu added.

At these words, the other two were again shocked.

For a martial art of this level, reaching minor success would bring a qualitative change in its power!

“So, don't underestimate yourself.

Our Outer Academy also hides talents.”

Brother Lu smiled.

“Understood!”

The two immediately nodded.

With the Inner Academy present, the Outer Academy disciples often felt a sense of inferiority, always thinking they were lacking in comparison.

But now, it seemed...

The Outer Academy also had its experts!

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