Clank!

　　The sounds of metal collision rang out in all directions. Jin Huan was in midair; his feet were shrouded in a thin layer of the pale-golden light of his Real Qi. This golden light made it seem as if his feet were made of iron. They didn’t get wounded as they clashed with Qu Kun’s long sword.

　　The two of them collided more than a dozen times. They were moving extremely fast; so much so that the surrounding disciples couldn’t see them clearly.

　　Jin Huan shouted-out loud as he exerted pressure on Qu Kun’s long sword with his feet. His body leveraged in midair, and flipped over as he pointed his finger in Qu Kun’s direction.

　　The action of pointing-out a finger looked sluggish and unpleasant. But, it rendered a surreptitious, gloomy and eerie feeling. It was poles apart from the ‘Tyrannical Leg Technique’ that he had used a moment ago.

　　Puff!

　　Qu Kun couldn’t come up with any countermeasure. The shadows of his sword failed to protect him from the approaching finger. A few inches long bloodstain appeared across his cheek. He staggered back a few steps as blood gushed out from the wound.

　　Jin Huan retracted his hands. Then, he steadily landed on the ground.

　　“Honor the commitment!” Jin Huan smiled and spoke in a light tone.

　　Qu Kun’s complexion turned pale. He slowly slipped his sword into its sheath; he didn’t wipe the bloodstain off his face.

　　“Humph!”

　　He grunted heavily. Then, he turned around and walked away. The other members of the Blood Dragon Gang followed him hurriedly.

　　Suddenly, the surrounding disciples burst into applause. They hadn’t gotten to watch such a splendid fight between two old disciples in the quarterly competition. They were extremely fascinated by this short, yet breath-taking battle.

　　“Senior Jin’s ‘Golden Axe Leg Art’ and ‘Magic Mark Finger’ were exquisite. Perhaps… he has reached the consummate stage of both these arts,” Bai Shi spoke in a respectful tone.

　　“Hehe… these two Hou Tian level martial arts techniques are quite abstruse. I’ve achieved a small success… that’s all,” Jin Huan shook his head as he replied; he didn’t seem to be in a pleasant mood.

　　He had gone through the painstaking training of several years to master these two martial arts techniques; the Magic Mark Finger had especially been difficult to learn. He had planned to expose these techniques in the annual competition. However, he was forced to display them ahead of time. So now, he wouldn’t be able achieve an astonishing effect in the competition.

　　Bai Shi and other people noticed the gloomy look on Jin Huan’s face. So, they didn’t pursue the matter any further.

　　They waited for some more time. Finally, a tall person’s figure could be seen walking over from the mountain road. It was none other than Shi Mu.

　　Shi Mu wrinkled his brows as he saw the people gathered around his stone house.

　　“Brother Shi, we’ve been waiting for you for a long time,” Jin Huan greeted him with a smile.

　　“I went out to run some errands. I kept Brother Jin and others waiting for so long. I’m really sorry for that,” Shi Mu replied with a smile.

　　“It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it. Brother Shi is a busy person now… unlike us. We had nothing important to do today. So, we hit this place a bit early,” Jin Huan replied with a smile. He sounded as if he was trying to flatter Shi Mu.

　　Shi Mu greeted Bai Shi, Xiao Ming, Huo Mao and his other acquaintances with a nod.

　　“Brother Jin, were you seeking me to make paper charms?” Shi Mu asked.

　　“That’s right, Brother Shi. I urgently need a few dozen paper charms. I couldn’t think of anyone other than you who could efficiently complete this task in a short time. As far as the reward is concerned… we won’t disappoint you,” Jin Huan spoke.

　　“What kind of charms do you need… and in what quantity?” Shi Mu’s eyes flashed. He pondered for a moment and asked.

　　Jin Huan heaved a sigh of relief as he heard these words. Then, he went closer to him and whispered a few words into his ear.

　　Shi Mu paused for a moment; he seemed to be considering the offer carefully.

　　“Well… no problem. Brother Jin, you can come after five days to collect your requested charms,” he said.

　　“Well then….Brother Shi, please accept this.” Jin Huan waved to a fellow disciple as an indication to hand over a bulging packet of silver notes to Shi Mu.

　　Shi Mu received the packet. He then slightly opened it for a quick examination. He nodded his acceptance. He exchanged a few more words with these people before he bid his goodbye. Then, he opened the door of his room and went inside.

　　Jin Huan continued to gaze at Shi Mu’s closed door for a while. Then, he heaved a sigh of relief, and left the place along with the other disciples.

　　The surrounding people dispersed as they realized that nothing interesting was left for them to see.

　　Shi Mu placed the parcel on his table, and sat down.

　　The number of charms requested by Jin Huan was quite large. However, they were the low-ordered and ordinary charms that wouldn’t be difficult to complete in the given time. In fact, he could complete it within three days. Moreover, the reward was pretty good. So, he couldn’t reject the offer.

　　Shi Mu pondered over this matter for a while. Then, he took out a brown bottle from his bosom and opened its lid.

　　A strange smell greeted him. He looked inside, and found a bright-yellow-colored pill. It was exuding a mild-yellow luminescence.

　　He had gone out to purchase this pill.

　　He had practiced magic arts with full concentration over the past six months. However, he hadn’t ignored the practice of martial arts either. He had earned plenty of resources by making paper charms for other disciples. So, he had been able to support his practice. In fact, he had made his breakthrough to the second stage of the Art of Breeding Heaven Elephants. Moreover, he was on the verge of breaking through the third stage.

　　This yellow pill was called the Heavenly Spirit pill; it had played a significant role in his breakthrough.

　　However, he needed to prioritize his targets now.

　　Shi Mu let out a soft sigh as this thought crossed his mind. He calmed his mind down, and put the bottle away. Then, he picked-up the packet that he had received from Jin Huan, and pulled-out a piece of charm paper from it. He placed it on top of the table…

　　Several days later…

　　Shi Mu sat down crossed-legged on the floor of his stone house. His upper body was naked, and his eyes were closed. Steam rose from the top of his head. His entire body was perspiring; so much so that a thick layer of his sweat was pouring down from it.

　　The color of his skin grew redder with the passage of time. Suddenly, he opened his eyes and let-out a loud shout.

　　“Bang” a muffled thunderous sound was heard.

　　A powerful burst of Qi escaped from his body and spread in all directions.

　　A nearby stone stool was shot and sent flying like a rubber ball. It crashed against the wall with a loud sound.

　　Suddenly, Shi Mu’s skin returned to its normal color. He slowly stood-up. His face and eyes were brimming with happiness.

　　He had finally ascended to the third stage of the Art of Breeding Heavenly Elephants with the support of the Heavenly Spirit pill.

　　He felt an overwhelming strength inside his body; it was hard to restrain. He looked around, and his eyes fell on the steel blade that hung on the wall. Suddenly, an idea struck his mind. He stretched out his hand and grabbed the blade.

　　Then, he extended his two fingers and pinched the edge of the blade. The Real Qi within his body surged-up as he exerted more pressure on the blade’s edge. Suddenly, a dent appeared on the surface of the blade; it was a shallow imprint of his fingertips.

　　Shi Mu creased his eyebrows; his face beamed with a satisfactory look. However, an idea dawned on him, and he was left motionless as he pondered over it.

　　Suddenly, he raised his hand. Then, his five fingers moved and gathered together as they pinched with an unusual technique. The magic power within his body rapidly surged-up. He started to mutter an incantation at the same time. After that, he opened his mouth and shot-out a small group of white clouds – like an arrow. It hit the stone stool kept in the corner.

　　“Bang” a loud sound resounded.

　　That stool – as thick as a human’s waist and almost hundreds of kilograms in weight – exploded as it had been shot by the Qi arrow. The stone fragments scattered everywhere in his room. His room was filled with bursting sounds.

　　Some of the stone fragments flew towards Shi Mu’s face. But, he raised his hand and shot down the approaching stone fragments.

　　This astounding power had far surpassed Xiao Ming’s Fireball technique. This technique was called the ‘Qi Explosion Technique’ of the ‘Art of Accumulating Spirit Power’.

　　Shi Mu had already made a breakthrough to the third stage of the ‘Art of Accumulating Spirit Power’.

　　But, he didn’t wish to reveal his magic arts in public. People considered him as a beginner in the world of magic. They figured that he only knew how to make paper charms.

　　Now, he had a new trump card with this newly acquired Qi Explosion Art. It usually took some time to release the air-ball in a real fight. However, it would still catch an opponent off-guard.