Chapter 176: Chapter 167: Slaying a Fourth-Rank

Tianyang District is a common neighborhood in Jiangzhou City, inhabited by ordinary people. After dark, few are seen on the streets.

After the hour of Hai, every household extinguished their lights and went to bed. Apart from occasional dog barks, no other sounds could be heard.

In the dark of night, a graceful shadow suddenly appeared on a rooftop, watching a small courtyard opposite, observing for a long time.

Finally, her figure moved slightly, as if preparing to leave.

"Chen Ming!"

Suddenly, a loud shout broke the silence of the night.

The figure on the rooftop paused again, turned her head, and saw two men swiftly flying towards her.

More precisely, it was a young man, carrying another person, sprinting across the rooftop at incredible speed.

Fourth Grade!

Princess Hongyu on the rooftop judged the man’s cultivation level; apparently, he was here to trouble Chen Ming.

So, she decided to watch the drama unfold before leaving.

She had been away from Qingfeng City long enough and had finished what needed to be done; it was time to return.

Before leaving, she came to have a look at Chen Ming.

Last night, she discovered Chen Ming had seemingly made some breakthrough, and then left. She didn’t know any other events had occurred afterward.

Princess Hongyu also had informants within Jiangzhou City who informed her of Chen Ming moving out from the Feng Family. Tonight, she intended to have a talk with him.

But for some reason, after she arrived here, she inexplicably sensed a sort of crisis, which made her stop, and after retreating a few steps, that sense of crisis vanished.

She observed for a while but couldn’t discover where the crisis came from. After weighing her options, she decided to trust her intuition and not move forward but to leave instead.

Coincidentally, someone came to look for trouble with Chen Ming.

Just as well, she was curious to see what kind of change had occurred in the young man, why his True Qi had surged.

As she pondered, she saw Chen Ming emerge, dressed in black, holding the Divine Weapon, leaping onto the rooftop to confront the approaching person.

...

"Are you Chen Ming?"

Lai Xiangran stopped on a rooftop, letting go of the guide he was holding. His eyes locked onto the young man in black just a few meters away.

"That’s me."

Chen Ming also scrutinized his opponent. According to Qiuxiang, the Celestial Extreme Sect came from outside, previously sustained in Jiangzhou City by the support of a peak First Grade expert.

Because of this strong backing, over the years, the younger generation of the Celestial Extreme Sect acted quite domineeringly.

Especially the senior disciple Lai Xiangran, who, due to his outstanding talent, looked down on everyone else. A few years ago, he and a Ji Family direct descendant took a fancy to a woman at the same time, neither willing to yield.

Later, incited by some schemers, they decided to hold a public duel, with the victor getting the beauty.

Eventually, Lai Xiangran won, his spirit soaring, and the Celestial Extreme Sect gained significant fame.

The consequence was a grudge with the Ji Family.

It was only last year that the peak-level protector of the Celestial Extreme Sect passed away, causing Lai Xiangran to become low-key, shutting himself away for bitter cultivation.

Currently, the Celestial Extreme Sect has only three people. Besides Lai Xiangran and Han Xiangcheng, there is a Sect Leader, who is their uncle and possesses a Second Grade cultivation.

The Sect Leader of the Celestial Extreme Sect is quite mysterious, rarely showing up. Lai Xiangran usually handles matters on his behalf.

Particularly after the passing of the peak expert, the Sect Leader’s whereabouts became more enigmatic.

Many who once had grudges with the Celestial Extreme Sect refrained from acting against these two brothers out of concern for the Sect Leader.

"Now it seems someone couldn’t hold back any longer."

Chen Ming mused internally.

First, Junior Han Xiangcheng came to trouble him, followed by Senior Lai Xiangran; they were clearly being used by someone.

The reason the two brothers from the Celestial Extreme Sect sought him out was precisely because he was unaffiliated and an easy target, wasn’t it?

...

"My junior came to challenge you, yet you used underhanded moves to plot against him. Truly shameless beyond compare."

Lai Xiangran’s eyes exuded murderous intent. "Bring out your companion. The one who ambushed my junior must be a Fourth Grade, hiding in the shadows. What skill is there in that?"

"???"

Chen Ming was filled with question marks.

To be honest, there was indeed a Fourth Grade companion hiding in the dark nearby...

He cleared his throat and said, "Friend from the Celestial Extreme Sect. I won against your junior fair and square. At that time, there were others present, witnessing that battle."

He referred to the person Lai Xiangran had just brought, who was now sneaking away, stopped in his tracks upon hearing Chen Ming’s words.

Lai Xiangran snorted coldly, "You still want to argue? With my junior’s strength, how could he not withstand even a single sword of yours? You must have secretly plotted with your elder hiding in the shadows, ambushing to injure my junior!"

He spoke so convincingly, as if he had witnessed it firsthand.

Chen Ming still wanted to reason, "Is there a possibility that..."

"It seems you won’t cry until you see the coffin!"

Lai Xiangran lost his patience, gripping the hilt, saying coldly, "I want to see how long your elder can hide."

Before his words finished, he drew his knife.

His knife was entirely black, identical to Han Xiangcheng’s.

The same technique, executed by him, was now ten times more potent.

In the next instant, a blade light slashed towards Chen Ming’s face at incredible speed.

This was a Sword Gang; at such close range, a sudden attack would be impossible for an ordinary Fifth Grade to evade. If the lurking Fourth Grade didn’t intervene, this Sword Gang could easily split his head in two.

Buzz——

The "Mingfeng Sword" in Chen Ming’s hand seemed to sense its master’s peril, vibrating intensely. This caused Lai Xiangran to momentarily lose focus.

Unparalleled Divine Weapon?

He was first startled, then overjoyed.

At this moment, the Unparalleled Divine Weapon had already been unsheathed, a flash of red sword light appeared, slicing through the deadly Sword Gang.

Chen Ming, holding the Mingfeng Sword, stared at Lai Xiangran across from him, the sword light on the blade flickering unpredictably, "You attack with the intent to kill, isn’t it too ruthless?"

He had just heard Qiuxiang say that this Lai Xiangran was very domineering, but didn’t feel much. Now he finally understood.

To be honest, he didn’t originally have any ill feelings towards Lai Xiangran and the Celestial Extreme Sect. He even sympathized a bit with their plight.

That blade just now immediately made him understand what kind of person Lai Xiangran was.

Lai Xiangran’s response was to strike with his sword.

To Lai Xiangran, the injury of his junior was already irrelevant, his eyes only focused on the Unparalleled Divine Weapon in Chen Ming’s hands!

A Fifth Grade, holding this Divine Weapon, could block his Sword Gang, showing the extraordinary nature of this weapon.

This Unparalleled Divine Weapon, fallen into this kid’s hands, is like casting pearls before swine.

It should belong to me!

At this moment, Lai Xiangran had already resolved to kill.

...

Huh?

Not far away, Princess Hongyu almost intervened when she saw Chen Ming in danger. She hadn’t noticed the presence of the Celestial Dao Alliance disciple. If she hadn’t intervened...

Unexpectedly, she witnessed a surprising scene.

Chen Ming actually blocked the lethal Sword Gang, the blade of the Divine Weapon glowing with a faint red light, unmistakably Sword Gang.

"He’s clearly Fifth Grade cultivation, how can he possibly cultivate Sword Gang?"

"The Divine Weapon in his hand doesn’t even have a Primordial Spirit..."

At this moment, the two were fighting again.

Princess Hongyu instinctively clenched her fists, ready to jump in at any sign of danger to Chen Ming.

But, after three moves, five moves, over ten moves...

The shock in her eyes deepened, her heart stirred with tumultuous waves.

How is this possible?

Chen Ming, with Fifth Grade cultivation and a broken Divine Weapon, was managing to fight against a Fourth Grade evenly.

If she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, she would never have believed it.

"His True Qi is so incredibly dense!"

Though it hadn’t truly reached the level comparable to Gang Qi, it cleverly used the Divine Weapon to counter Gang Qi.

Yet, this was already astonishing enough.

"Could he have..."

Princess Hongyu considered a possibility that he might have merged the Taiyin True Skill and Fiery Sun Divine Skill?

With her insight, she could naturally see these two cultivation techniques originated from the same sect. If they were merged, the complementary Yin Yang would naturally magnify their power.

The problem is, it’s too difficult, almost impossible to achieve.

Except for this, she couldn’t think of another possibility.

"This kid—"

Princess Hongyu’s eyes sparkled brightly, elevating Chen Ming’s importance once again.

At this moment, Chen Ming and Lai Xiangran had exchanged over twenty moves.

In her eyes, his swordsmanship was quite advanced, surpassing that of the Fourth Grade level. If their cultivation levels were on par, the Fourth Grade fighter wouldn’t be his match.

However, Chen Ming’s cultivation was indeed too weak, the gap like an uncrossable chasm. Managing over twenty moves was already quite impressive.

She could see that Chen Ming’s True Qi was almost depleted, he couldn’t hold on for much longer.

Sure enough, after another two moves, a flaw appeared in Chen Ming’s sword technique.

Princess Hongyu was about to intervene.

Buzz—

A buzzing sound reached her ears, a wave of indescribable emotion surged over her, causing a brief moment of distraction.

No!

Her eyes immediately became clear, regaining focus, no longer astonished but horrified.

That sword just now was clearly filled with Sword Intent!

"Ah—"

There was a piercing scream.

Princess Hongyu watched the Fourth Grade Martial Artist’s arm get severed, disappearing into the night. All that was left was Chen Ming standing there, a severed arm gripping a sword in front of him.

Blood was scattered all over the ground.

A gust of evening wind swept through, blowing Chen Ming’s robes, making him look like a statue.

Princess Hongyu’s heart skipped a beat, shaken by this scene.

Fifth Grade, Sword Intent!

She found it hard to associate these two.

Yet, he did it.

For the first time in this young man’s presence, she felt something profound and inscrutable.

PS: It’s the middle of the month, asking for monthly ticket support. Some might ask what drama is it, just say it’s "In the Name of Law".