After speaking with his father, Meng Qiuqiu returned in high spirits. The matter of acquiring the materials had been settled, and he immediately sought out Zhao Mu to share the good news.
"It's done," Meng Qiuqiu said with a grin. "My father agreed."
Zhao Mu nodded, but he still did not fully understand how difficult it was to obtain those materials through official channels. Rare resources were tightly controlled, and without connections, money alone was often not enough.
Meng Qiuqiu did not explain any of that.
In his view, friendship was not about boasting over favors done. It was about helping quietly and letting actions speak over time.
Zhao Mu, however, did not take the gesture lightly.
He directly transferred nineteen million credits from the twenty million Jin Xiangcheng had given him.
The money went straight into Meng Qiuqiu's account.
He kept one million for himself as emergency savings.
Only after settling everything did Zhao Mu gather the members of Dormitory 207 and head toward the training hall for another day of practice.
Expanding His Foundation
Life quickly returned to its familiar rhythm.
Train.
Cultivate.
Improve.
Repeat.
During these sessions, Zhao Mu continued polishing the Introductory Halberd Technique, pushing it toward maximum mastery.
At the same time, he began studying several additional weapon arts:
Introductory Sword Technique
Beginner Spear Technique
Introductory Saber Technique
He had predicted this outcome earlier.
The more combat styles he learned, the faster his own personal technique evolved.
His custom battle art—the Seven Kills Battle Technique—was growing rapidly through cross-training.
Its proficiency had already reached 230 points.
Unlike ordinary techniques inherited from manuals or teachers, this was Zhao Mu's own path.
Ever since becoming a Spirit Power User, he had stepped onto a completely different road from Bu Yanhuan and the others.
Each increase in proficiency refined his fundamentals.
Each repetition strengthened instinct.
Each breakthrough sharpened body and mind.
But something else was happening too.
Inside his body, Zhao Mu could feel a vigorous, unfamiliar force slowly being born.
It was not exactly spirit power.
It was deeper than that.
A kind of martial vitality.
A hidden current waiting to erupt.
He had a strong intuition:
When the Seven Kills Battle Technique reached its next stage, a qualitative transformation would occur.
The Progress of Dormitory 207
The others were improving as well.
Meng Qiuqiu remained somewhat lazy, but under Zhao Mu's constant supervision, he still followed the daily training schedule.
Even if he complained, he never truly skipped practice.
The one who surprised Zhao Mu the most, however, was Lu Yan.
For eighteen years, Lu Yan had barely touched a saber.
Yet once he finally began training seriously, his progress was terrifying.
Whenever Zhao Mu demonstrated a move, Lu Yan could grasp the concept after only a few corrections.
He learned quickly.
Adjusted naturally.
Improved at shocking speed.
Watching him, Zhao Mu could only sigh inwardly.
"So this is what an A-rank talent looks like…"
"No wonder people say geniuses are mountains others can't climb."
Some people struggled for months to understand basics.
Others were born standing near the summit.
Still, Zhao Mu did not feel discouraged.
Talent determined the starting point.
Persistence decided how far one could walk.
And he had something no one else possessed.
The Demon Clown.
Midnight Meditation
Training continued until past two in the morning.
Exhausted but satisfied, Zhao Mu returned alone to the dormitory and climbed into bed.
The room was silent.
Everyone else had already fallen asleep.
He closed his eyes.
"Demon Clown," he said inwardly. "Activate Spiritual Energy Rotation."
At once, the familiar signboard appeared in his consciousness.
[Spiritual Energy Rotation: Proficiency 358]
The progress bar was already one-third full.
Zhao Mu lay motionless and began meditating while simultaneously operating the Turtle Breathing Technique.
His breathing slowed.
Heartbeat steadied.
Mind cleared.
The current Zhao Mu could complete one full meditation cycle in only three minutes.
Even more astonishing, he could do it anywhere.
Lying down.
Sitting upright.
In noisy environments.
Even while exhausted.
With each completed cycle, he could feel energy from subspace pouring into his body.
Spirit power surged steadily into his Spiritual Sea.
That inner reservoir grew fuller and fuller.
The sensation of stored strength gave Zhao Mu tremendous confidence.
The Hidden Advantage
On paper, Zhao Mu was still only Combat Level 4.
Among freshmen, that was merely average.
Nothing special.
Nothing threatening.
But in reality?
His total spirit power reserves were roughly three times greater than others at the same level.
Comparable to an ordinary Combat Level 7 user.
This was the greatest value of the Demon Clown.
It did not rapidly raise visible combat rank.
Instead, it continuously increased mastery and efficiency, which expanded the size of his Spiritual Sea.
If normal people possessed ponds, then Zhao Mu was digging a lake.
Others raised the water level.
He increased the container itself.
Talents like Mo Guanguan and Lu Yan could quickly deepen their reservoirs through natural gifts.
Zhao Mu widened his endlessly.
That meant one important thing:
Enemies would underestimate him.
They would see Level 4.
Then lose to something far stronger.
Zhao Mu smiled in the darkness.
A hidden blade was always deadlier than one displayed openly.
Deep Sleep
After several more meditation cycles, Zhao Mu checked the time.
He needed rest.
"Switch skills."
The signboard changed.
[Sleep: Proficiency 100]
Then another notification appeared.
[Sleep → Deep Sleep: Proficiency 100]
Zhao Mu blinked.
Even sleeping had evolved.
He closed his eyes.
Less than thirty seconds later, he was unconscious.
One and a Half Hours Later
When Zhao Mu opened his eyes again, the room was still dark.
He checked his wristband clock.
Only one and a half hours had passed.
Yet his entire body felt refreshed.
Every trace of fatigue was gone.
His muscles were loose.
Mind sharp.
Spirit full.
His eyes shone in the darkness like lamps.
"This skill is ridiculous…"
He quietly got dressed, picked up his training great halberd, and slipped out of the dormitory.
Before Dawn
It was around four in the morning.
The dormitory halls were silent.
Everyone else remained asleep.
Cool air drifted through the building, carrying the scent of wet earth and flowering trees.
Outside, Zhao Mu walked to a wooded patch directly in front of the dormitory building.
He planted the butt of the halberd into the ground and inhaled deeply.
Cold morning air filled his lungs.
His gaze sharpened.
"Demon Clown."
"Switch to Hegemon's Formation-Breaking Halberd."
At once, spirit power surged from the Spiritual Sea through his meridians and into every limb.
Combat Level 4 spirit power was not dazzling.
Its glow resembled faint predawn light.
But it was dense.
Heavy.
Solid like flowing mercury.
The energy spread across his body, then gathered into the great halberd.
The weapon hummed.
Zhao Mu tested its balance and frowned.
"A fifty-jin training weapon…"
"It feels too light now."
Ordinary cultivators would consider such a weapon extremely heavy.
Only naturally monstrous warriors or battlefield generals preferred heavier arms.
But Zhao Mu no longer thought the same way.
Halberd in the Dark
Without hesitation, he moved.
The halberd swept through the darkness in broad arcs.
As the technique activated, spirit power circulated in a unique pattern, coating the shaft and blade in a strange dark red aura.
Like flowing blood.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
Each swing tore through the air with explosive force.
Leaves scattered.
Branches trembled.
The surrounding woods shook with every strike.
The Hegemon's Formation-Breaking Halberd was not elegant.
It was ruthless.
Overwhelming.
Every move carried the feeling of crushing armies and breaking lines.
Thrust.
Sweep.
Smash.
Hook.
Split.
Zhao Mu's body moved with increasing precision.
When spirit power ran low, he stopped briefly beneath a tree and meditated.
Three minutes later, he resumed.
Again and again.
Until dawn began to stain the horizon.
Morning Rival
As the sun slowly rose, footsteps approached from a nearby path.
A familiar figure jogged toward him.
Mo Guanguan.
She wore a black tracksuit, hair tied into a high ponytail, face bright with energy.
When she saw Zhao Mu sitting beneath a tree beside the halberd, she stopped in surprise.
"You're already training this early?"
"That's far more intense than running."
Zhao Mu opened his eyes and smiled.
"I woke up early, so I practiced for a while."
He stood and stretched.
"Come on. Twenty kilometers today."
Mo Guanguan's eyes flashed competitively.
"Today I'm definitely beating you."
They lined up.
Then ran.
Still Too Fast
Despite her confidence, the result remained the same.
She lost again.
When they stopped, Mo Guanguan glared at Zhao Mu.
"You jerk!"
"Next time I'm getting serious!"
A spark of fire seemed to flash in her eyes.
She clearly hated losing repeatedly.
Zhao Mu laughed softly.
"If you release your full Combat Level 17 spirit power and use movement techniques, I definitely won't win."
That was the truth.
Mo Guanguan cultivated an intermediate combat art and far surpassed him in rank.
If she fought seriously, Zhao Mu would struggle badly.
But she only snorted.
"What kind of victory would that be?"
"If I beat you, I'll do it fairly."
She tossed her ponytail dramatically and turned away.
"Let's go back."
"We still have training later."
Zhao Mu watched her graceful retreat and smiled.
Then he glanced at the halberd resting on his shoulder.
The weapon felt lighter than ever.
Which meant only one thing.
He was getting stronger faster than anyone realized.
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)