It had been four months since Zhao Mu entered the camp, and during that time, his basic abilities had improved rapidly. His foundation was now as solid as reinforced concrete.
At this point, his various abilities had reached the following levels:
[Breathing Technique]: Life Skill, Proficiency 1,230
[Light Spirit Steps]: Life Skill, Proficiency 892
[Deep Sleep]: Life Skill, Proficiency 327
[Taotie Eating Method]: Life Skill, Proficiency 330
[Innate Divine Strength]: Life Skill, Proficiency 532. Able to carry 2,000 jin.
[Spiritual Energy Rotation]: Intermediate Meditation Technique, Proficiency 682
[Hegemons Formation-Breaking Halberd]: Intermediate Battle Tactics, Proficiency 443
[Jinhai Manufacturing]: Proficiency 125
These numbers were extremely impressive.
Following the principle of not biting off more than he could chew, Zhao Mu had no intention of wasting his time practicing unnecessary or redundant skills.
Only during the initial stage, when he was consolidating the Seven Kills Battle Technique, had he taken introductory elective courses in various weapons and martial arts.
As for the skills taught in the second stage, he had simply thrown them aside and left them gathering dust.
It was worth mentioning that his Jinhai Manufacturing skill had also reached its maximum level.
In other words, he now had a 100% success rate when manufacturing first-grade Jinhai.
However, his progress in Jinhai Manufacturing had now reached a bottleneck.
The Spirit Rune Diagram Path for second-grade remains constructs had been directly derived for him by the [Demon Clown].
Therefore, he was not lacking the necessary knowledge, which was extremely valuable on the market.
The problem was that he still could not craft second-grade remains constructs.
Previously, Zhao Mu had gone to Liang Gongchi, hoping to study the technology more deeply and become a Second-Grade Jinhai Master.
Without saying a word, Liang Gongchi had handed him a piece of bone from a second-grade remains construct and told him to experience it for himself.
The moment Zhao Mu took the bone and tried to unseal and reshape it, a powerful lingering thought surged into his mind.
His mind went blank from the impact, and he nearly fainted on the spot.
Liang Gongchi had explained:
"To become a Jinhai Master, you must be able to withstand all the pressure contained within the lingering thoughts of the bone remains. This is why Jinhai Masters are much better at manipulating ember remains than ordinary Spirit Power Users.
"However, the greater the impact, the stronger the requirements. A second-grade remains construct must be crafted from the bone remains of an exotic beast or Dark Race at the Third Tier [Sharp Edge] level or above.
"Those are all existences with a Combat Level of over 100! As for you right now, you'd better not think about it."
Ultimately, everything still came down to Combat Level.
Although Zhao Mu could not yet manufacture second-grade remains constructs, he had not been idle.
He had already mastered all of the more than one thousand Spirit Rune Diagram Paths contained in the complete collection of first-level Spirit Rune Diagrams.
Moreover, he had immediately derived more than one thousand second-level Spirit Rune Diagrams from them.
Now, all he needed to do was raise his Combat Level high enough to withstand the lingering thought impact of Sharp Edge-level bone remains. Once he achieved that, he would be able to become a Second-Grade Jinhai Master directly.
So, Combat Level.
Combat Level.
And still more Combat Level!
In the world of Spirit Power Users, Combat Level was absolute.
Having a high Combat Level did not necessarily mean that someone was truly powerful.
But any truly powerful Spirit Power User could not possibly have a low Combat Level.
Zhao Mu picked up his clothes from the ground, put them on, and walked out of the training room.
He soon found Instructor Jiang.
"Instructor Jiang, I want to break through to the Private Rank. Can you guide me on how to do it?"
Over the past four months, Zhao Mu had come to the Training Hall almost every day, so he had gradually become familiar with Jiang Jiu.
Guiding trainees in their daily training was also one of Jiang Jiu's responsibilities.
Hearing this, Jiang Jiu looked at Zhao Mu in surprise.
"You only broke through to Combat Level 9 ten days ago. Are you being a little too impatient to break through to the Private Rank already?"
He waved Zhao Mu over and motioned for him to sit down.
Then he said earnestly,
"The gap between Combat Level 9 and Battle Rank 10 isn't as simple as being one Combat Level apart. You are crossing an entire tier!
"It's like the difference between a tender puppy that has only just shown its fangs and a wolf that has already joined the pack and can hunt prey. It's a qualitative transformation!"
Zhao Mu nodded.
"There are explanations about this in the textbooks. But knowledge from books is always shallow. I still hope to receive guidance from someone who has experienced it personally."
Jiang Jiu was very pleased by those words.
Wasn't seeking his guidance another way of acknowledging his strength?
Jiang Jiu became serious and explained,
"To go from Combat Level 9 to Battle Rank 10, you first need to satisfy three conditions!"
"First, the proficiency of your Meditation Technique."
"Spiritual power originates from the Subspace and is connected to one's mental thoughts. You must cultivate your Meditation Technique to a certain level before you can control the sudden surge of spiritual power that comes with the breakthrough."
"It's like an infant trying to wield a heavy broadsword. It could easily hurt itself. The child must first grow stronger and develop a sufficiently powerful physique."
Zhao Mu nodded.
His [Spiritual Energy Rotation] proficiency was already as high as 682.
To put it bluntly, even Jiang Jiu might not be his match in this aspect.
Therefore, he had already fulfilled the first requirement.
Jiang Jiu continued,
"Second, you need sufficient spiritual power."
"The natural method is to continuously expand your Spirit Source Sea through meditation. There is also a shortcut: purchasing Spirit Source."
"Spirit Source is the lifelong accumulation of Ability Users from various races. By using their accumulated spiritual power, you can achieve a breakthrough in a short period of time. This is the shortcut."
Zhao Mu could also satisfy this requirement.
Ever since he had established a good relationship with Gu Ningyuan, every time he delivered ember remains to the Military Commerce Department, the other party gave him a very high price.
However, most of the payment was exchanged for ember remains materials and Spirit Source from the Military Commerce Department.
To break through to Battle Rank 10, Zhao Mu estimated that he would need at least twenty pieces of Spirit Source from creatures below Combat Level 50.
The market price for that amount was more than twenty million Xuanfeng Coins.
Cultivation really was a money-burning activity.
Fortunately, Zhao Mu had his own trade channels, so money was not a major problem.
Jiang Jiu raised three fingers.
"The third point is also the most difficult one."
"Spiritual power control!"
His expression became serious.
"The greatest advantage of the Private Rank is that you can release spiritual power from within your body without relying on external attachments."
"Therefore, you must train your [Concentration] to a sufficiently powerful level so that the spiritual power leaving your body can condense without dispersing."
"Generally speaking, the minimum standard is for you to maintain control over spiritual power at a distance of thirty meters from your body."
"Zhao Mu, you must complete all three preparations before attempting your breakthrough!"
After listening to Jiang Jiu's explanation, Zhao Mu's heart was already clear.
"So that's how it is."
He looked at Jiang Jiu without the slightest hesitation.
"Then I'm ready!"
With that, he stood up.
"Thank you for your guidance, Instructor Jiang. The next time we meet, I'll have already completed my breakthrough!"
As for [Spiritual Power Control], Zhao Mu's proficiency had already reached 99.
He could freely manipulate a piece of tough silk that was fifty meters long and thinner than a human hair.
In this regard, he did not dare to claim that he was the best in the world.
However, when it came to spiritual power techniques, it was impossible for anyone to be stronger than him.
Zhao Mu immediately contacted Meng Qiuqiu.
"This month, exchange my entire share of the materials we need for Spirit Source. I want Spirit Source from creatures around Combat Level 50."
Upon hearing this, Meng Qiuqiu immediately understood Zhao Mu's plan.
"Brother Xiao Mu, are you planning to break through to the Private Rank?"
Zhao Mu nodded.
"Yes. Only after that can I truly be considered a Spirit Power User."
"Right now, we're just playing around inside the safe zone of Lujiang City. But if we want to grow stronger and develop Tiangong Hall, we must step onto the real battlefield."
"We need to hunt exotic beasts and Dark Races ourselves and obtain Spirit Source and bone remains from them."
Zhao Mu's eyes gleamed with determination.
The time had come for him to take the next step.
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