Chapter 180: Chapter 171: The Younger Generation Surpasses the Old

Early the next morning, the person Yu Haitang sent arrived. It was an old acquaintance, Ji Qianxing. This young genius ranked seventh on the Cyan Cloud Ranking had unexpectedly become her bodyguard and errand runner.

Chen Ming had always felt as if Ji Qianxing had some kind of leverage over Yu Haitang.

"Thanks for last time."

He was referring to the matter with Qiuxiang and Dongxiang, and had not found a chance to thank him until now.

Ji Qianxing maintained his indifferent expression and said, "It was a minor effort."

After getting into the carriage, he asked again, "Where are we going now?"

"You’ll know when we get there."

Chen Ming said no more, placing the "Mingfeng Sword" across his knees and closing his eyes to rest.

...

Half an hour later, the carriage drove into a secluded courtyard.

As soon as Chen Ming got off, he knew where he was; this was Yu Haitang’s residence, where he had been last time.

"Follow me."

Ji Qianxing called out, walking towards the backyard.

After passing through several courtyard gates, they arrived at a large courtyard. A middle-aged man who appeared somewhat down-and-out stood there with his hands hanging down.

Ji Qianxing said to the middle-aged man, "Master said, if you can defeat him, you will not be held accountable for your mistakes."

On hearing this, the middle-aged man lifted his head to look at Chen Ming, his gaze instantly becoming sharp, putting him under immense pressure.

The middle-aged man who originally appeared down-and-out suddenly exuded the aura of a master, flipping his hand to produce a short blade, saying, "Make your move."

Seeing that he did not give his name or ask for his own, Chen Ming refrained from speaking further and drew his sword.

"Good sword!"

The middle-aged man’s eyes lit up.

By now, Ji Qianxing had already retreated to the side.

"Be careful!"

After Chen Ming spoke, he executed a "Vermilion Shadow Piercing Forest" move, thrusting straight ahead. It was an unremarkable move, yet incredibly fast.

After reaching the second level of "Phoenix Dance of Nine Heavens," his speed had greatly increased, and combined with his swordsmanship, his power had significantly improved. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

The middle-aged man’s expression instantly turned serious, his short blade slashing with precise accuracy at the quickly thrusting sword.

A loud clang resounded.

Chen Ming’s body flew back.

This person’s skill far surpassed his own, and it wasn’t wise to engage in a direct confrontation.

In a flash, his body twisted, attacking once more, this time the sword strike was even three points faster than before.

His cultivation was a weak point, making prolonged fights nonviable, thus requiring a swift conclusion. If he couldn’t defeat the opponent within twenty moves, he would only be at their mercy.

...

In the vast courtyard, only Ji Qianxing watched as an audience, his attention intensely focused. Seeing the two in the arena, engaged in an intense and undecidable battle, his fists clenched involuntarily, veins bulging on his hands.

It was clear just how unsettled he felt.

In the competition for the "Cyan Cloud Ranking" over a month ago, he had lost to Chen Ming and had regarded him as the strongest opponent in his life.

Yesterday, when Chen Ming unleashed that Sword Gang, it had already shocked him immensely. Among the fifth grade, no one could withstand that Sword Gang.

Watching him sparring against a fourth-grade expert at this moment, Ji Qianxing’s mind was in turmoil, finally believing what he had said yesterday.

He indeed could defeat the strong while being weak, surpassing realms to battle.

The strength Chen Ming displayed filled him with deep despair.

Is this his true power?

Or did his cultivation advance by leaps and bounds in this month?

After ten moves, the middle-aged man was surprisingly suppressed by Chen Ming. Each of those strikes with Sword Gang always targeted his weakest points, forcing him to retreat one step for each attack.

Seeing such a scene left Ji Qianxing momentarily lost, thinking, "Brother, I have encountered a genius more monstrous than you..."

When the middle-aged man stepped back an eighth time, he suddenly threw down his short blade, with a face full of bitterness saying, "I lost." Saying that, he turned and left, his departing figure indescribably desolate.

Chen Ming let out a sigh of relief; if he hadn’t admitted defeat, he would have had to resort to Sword Intent.

[You defeated an enemy at level 68, gaining 39,000 Experience Points]

Seeing this notification, his confidence soared. Regardless of Ji Qianxing’s presence, he sat cross-legged to adjust his breath.

The intense use of moves earlier had greatly drained his True Qi.

...

Two hours later, Chen Ming had almost fully recovered. Instead of getting up immediately, he opened his panel. He allocated another 50,000 points to "Phoenix Dance of Nine Heavens."

This Lightweight Skill had indeed significantly boosted his combat power, but it still wasn’t enough. Against opponents like the middle-aged expert just now, he still couldn’t win.

So, he needed to keep improving.

[Level: 55]

[Current Points: 533,000]

[Cultivation Technique: "Iron Horse Stance" (Fifth Level Perfection), "Five Elements True Skill (Missing)" (Fifth Level 990,000/1,500,000)]

[Martial Skill: "Three Talents Fist" (Mastery), Eight Trigrams Saber Technique (Mastery), Zhuang’s Flying Knife (Mastery), Swallow Returning Sword Technique (Mastery), "Vermilion Bird Swordsmanship" (Mastery), "Phoenix Dance of Nine Heavens" (Second Level 50,711/200,000)]

[Secret Technique: "Disguise Technique" (Mastery)]

Chen Ming sat for a while longer to assimilate his newly enhanced strength before standing and saying to Ji Qianxing, "Next one."

Ji Qianxing’s gaze was slightly complex as he nodded and went to call someone.

The second opponent was a woman in her forties or fifties, wielding a whip as her weapon. At the start, she showed no mercy, her long whip like a venomous snake, attacking with unpredictable feints and strikes, leaving no room for defense.

Chen Ming was encountering this type of weapon for the first time, and almost suffered a major setback right at the start.

This was when the benefits of his body technique improvement were displayed; amid his nimble maneuvers, that whip couldn’t even touch the edge of his clothes.

After seven or eight moves, he finally grasped the rhythm of the long whip’s attack and began to counter.

In Ji Qianxing’s eyes, Chen Ming seemed to improve again after that battle, noticeably showing that his body technique had become more fluid than before.

This astonishment was significant, with a seemingly incredible thought flashing in his mind, "Is it possible that every time he fights someone, he makes progress?"

This idea was too absurd, yet the stark contrast between before and after couldn’t help but make him think this way.

At this point, the battle situation had reversed, with Chen Ming breaking through the opponent’s whip technique with a single strike, cutting off part of the whip.

He then continuously closed in on his opponent.

The woman desperately tried to fend him off, but it was to no avail; after the whip in her hand was again cut down by a section, Chen Ming was already less than three feet from her.

"Hmph."

After being threatened by the Mingfeng Sword at her throat, the woman resentfully dropped her whip, unwillingly saying, "You only relied on the advantage of the Divine Weapon."

Clearly, she was not convinced of her defeat.

[You defeated a LV63 enemy and gained 29,000 experience points]

Chen Ming sat down again to continue adjusting his breathing.

...

Nearly two hours passed, and Chen Ming’s True Qi had recovered almost fully; he opened the panel again and continued to add fifty thousand experience points to "Phoenix Dance of Nine Heavens".

In the previous second battle, he could easily defeat the woman, relying entirely on his body technique.

Skills like body technique don’t directly enhance the power of swordsmanship; only during combat is its tremendous benefit felt.

Especially when facing an enemy of similar strength, even a slight edge in speed can be the key to victory.

After Chen Ming got up, he asked Ji Qianxing, "Is there anyone else?"

Ji Qianxing’s gaze at him became more complex, saying, "There is one more."

The third opponent was an old man, dressed like an accounting clerk, with a skinny stature and a goatee, not at all resembling a fourth-tier expert.

Ji Qianxing told him, "The master said that if you can defeat him, he will personally recommend your granddaughter to join the Cangyue Sect."

The elder’s hunched back straightened immediately, a glimmer of brilliance flashing in his murky eyes, as if he had removed his disguise, "Young master, my apologies."

Ji Qianxing asked again, "Do you need a weapon?"

"No need."

The old man took out his weapon, an abacus.

It merely appeared to be an ordinary abacus.

Chen Ming felt a warning in his heart upon seeing this; daring to use such a weapon, this old man must have something up his sleeve, likely hidden weapons.

Whish—

Indeed, several abacus beads carried Gang Power and shot towards him.

Chen Ming didn’t attempt to catch them directly; his figure flashed repeatedly, dodging the seven beads.

Thud thud thud...

The seven beads pierced through the wall behind him.

Chen Ming hadn’t yet regained his stance when a sudden premonition struck; amid impossibility, his body twisted, evading several silently fired beads.

This move was an exceptionally advanced hidden weapon technique, not only avoiding his blind spot but also having no sound. If not for his impressive intuition, he would have fallen victim.

Seeing Chen Ming evade even this move, the old man snapped the abacus, scattering nearly one hundred beads like Flying Rain, shooting towards Chen Ming.

This attack was entirely unreasonable, its coverage exceedingly wide, making it impossible to dodge.

Clearly, relying on his veteran experience, the old man had recognized his greatest weakness—too little Gang Qi, with no Gang Qi defense.

Those nearly hundred beads all carried indomitable Gang Qi, forming a heavenly net, leaving no space for evasion.

Without Gang Qi defense, the outcome for the opponent was obvious.

The old man’s face already displayed a sure-win smile.

"What an extraordinary Heavenly Net move!"

Chen Ming was somewhat impressed; those hundred beads sealed every dead angle, regardless of how he dodged, he’d face at least five or six beads.

Given his speed, there was absolutely no chance of escaping the beads’ attack range before they came close.

Ji Qianxing could naturally see this as well, having to admire the old man’s combat wisdom for quickly finding the winning strategy.

"So, how will Chen Ming respond?"

Faced with the sky filled with beads, Chen Ming neither drew his sword nor reached for his chest.

In an instant, a dazzling golden light erupted.

Clink clink clink...

Amidst a dense series of collision sounds.

The nearby wall collapsed with a boom.

Chen Ming stood there, unharmed.

Ji Qianxing had seen clearly just now that Chen Ming had fired dozens of flying knives, precisely hitting the dozen beads before him.

Though the flying knives were all deflected, the dozen beads were also knocked off course, narrowly missing him, not a single one causing harm.

The smile on the old man’s face froze, muttering, "What remarkable flying knives! Truly, the young should not be underestimated!"

Then, he turned away, despondent.

He had already discovered that this young man’s cultivation was only fifth tier.

Having used experience against youth, unable to settle the opponent in three moves, how could he have the face to continue?