Chapter 144 : How lucky are the men in this world?
Chapter 144: How lucky are the men in this world?
"Chen Big Brother!"
Chen Ming arrived at the main hall and saw a handsome young man who had already grown into an adult. One could still see the shadow of his younger self.
He said affectionately,"Xiaochuan, it’s been more than a year, and you’ve grown so tall."
This young man was precisely Li Jinchuan, who had previously stayed at his house for almost a year. Last year, he left Qingfeng City and came to Jiangzhou City.
That morning, when he went out, he had instructed the coachman to inform Zhou Weihao and Li Jinchuan that he had arrived in Jiangzhou.
He did not inform Zhao Xiyan—after all, not just anyone could enter the gates of the Inspector’s Residence. It had to be said, her information was indeed well-informed.
Previously, Zhao Xiyan had mentioned in her letter that she lived in the Inspector’s Residence.
The Purple-Clad First Grade Inspector of the Six Doors Authority, the highest-ranking official appointed by the Court in a prefecture—an actual governor-level dignitary.
Zhao Xiyan’s master was none other than the wife of Jiangzhou’s Inspector, a Second Grade expert.
Chen Ming did not hold any dissatisfaction toward Zhao Xiyan. To be fair, she had treated him with utmost sincerity. As a noble lady from a renowned family, it was already extremely rare for her to go to such lengths.
That was, of course, assuming they were merely friends.
As for going any further—it was no longer possible.
What Chen Ming sought was not weighing pros and cons.
From the moment Zhao Xiyan chose to come to Jiangzhou with her father, their relationship had already halted. At most, they could only be good friends.
Of course, the kindness Zhao Xiyan had shown him, he would always remember in his heart.
……
"Big Brother, congratulations on reaching Fifth Grade."
There was a trace of excitement in Li Jinchuan’s eyes, and his face was filled with admiration.
He had personally witnessed Chen Ming rise from humble origins. He still clearly remembered when they first met—their cultivation levels had been similar. Yet within merely four years, Chen Ming had already reached Fifth Grade.
And he had just broken through to Seventh Grade. Even so, the Sect Leader Martial Uncle had already praised him as the most talented disciple the sect had seen in twenty years.
Precisely because he had someone like Chen Ming as an example, Li Jinchuan never felt that his own talent was anything particularly special.
"Thank you. I heard you also reached Seventh Grade. Congratulations."
Chen Ming had heard this from Hong Zilin. Though the two differed in age by a few years, their relationship was very close. They often exchanged letters. Hong Zilin had always regarded Li Jinchuan as a role model.
"I’m far behind you, Big Brother."
After becoming an official disciple, Li Jinchuan no longer addressed him as Senior Brother, instead calling him Big Brother. It wasn’t out of place.
After that, Chen Ming asked many questions such as,"How does your master treat you?""Are you used to living in the sect? Is anyone bullying you?"
Li Jinchuan had joined the Baiyu Sect, which was quite well-known in Jiangzhou. The sect had a First Grade expert. In terms of strength and foundation, it ranked in the second tier within Jiangzhou.
He was now a true disciple of Baiyu Sect and had great prospects.
That night, Li Jinchuan stayed over and took the opportunity to consult Chen Ming on many martial arts questions.
Although his current master was Fourth Grade and had higher cultivation than Chen Ming, he always felt his master was not good at teaching. During instruction, he kept repeating the same few phrases—far less clear and insightful than Chen Ming’s guidance.
Indeed, that night, many areas that had puzzled him were suddenly clarified with Chen Ming’s pointers. He felt he had gained immensely.
The next day, when Li Jinchuan took his leave, he felt a twinge of regret—if only Chen Ming could be his master, how wonderful that would be.
……
"Miss Su, are you there?"
After Li Jinchuan left, Chen Ming returned to the courtyard and asked again.
"What is it?"
This time, there was an immediate response.
Chen Ming let out a breath and said,"Finally, you’re here. I’ve been calling you these past few days with no response. I thought you had left me and run off on your own."
Su Zhi Ning was silent for a moment before explaining,"I had to take care of something."
As for what that was, she didn’t say, and naturally, Chen Ming wouldn’t ask.
He got to the main topic."Your Heaven's Path Alliance must have peripheral forces here in Jiangzhou City too, right? Can I ask them for help?"
"No. My master’s token is only valid for outer sect disciples in Qingfeng County."
The token’s effectiveness had a regional limit?
Heaven's Path Alliance had such high administrative standards?
Chen Ming suspected she was lying but had no proof.
In truth, he also knew that having the token alone was useless. If Su Zhi Ning didn’t cooperate, he couldn’t command any of the peripheral forces of the Heaven's Path Alliance.
To put it bluntly, Shang’an Trading Company didn’t obey his orders—it obeyed hers.
He said,"Then can you do me a favor?"
He waited a while but didn’t hear her speak.
Chen Ming took it as tacit agreement and continued,"I want to find detailed information about a certain Doctor Sun of Changqing Hall on Divine Stone Street in the eastern part of the city. Could you help me check?"
After a long pause, just when he thought Su Zhi Ning had left, her voice came,"Alright."
"Thanks."
"But you must answer me one question."
"Go ahead."
"Why did you treat Miss Zhao like that?"
From her tone, Chen Ming detected a sense of questioning.
So, she had returned yesterday and even saw his conversation with Zhao Xiyan.
"Why would Miss Su say such a thing? Miss Zhao and I are friends—always have been, always will be. I’ve always treated her with utmost respect."
After another pause, Su Zhi Ning’s quiet voice came,"Master was right—世间男子多薄幸……"
"……"
……
After nightfall, Chen Ming had dinner and returned to the courtyard. When he pushed open the door, he found a piece of paper on the desk.
He picked it up and saw neat, elegant handwriting detailing the life of that Doctor Sun of Changqing Hall.
After reading, Chen Ming fell into deep thought.
Changqing Hall had been open for many years—no one could find out exactly how long, but at least more than fifty years. That Doctor Sun had always worked there, never married, and had no children.
Sometimes he worked alone, sometimes he took on one or two apprentices.
Doctor Sun’s age was unknown. According to some elderly folks in their sixties and seventies, back when they were children, Doctor Sun was already no youngster. He was likely over ninety years old.
No one knew his actual name. Everyone had always called him Doctor Sun.
This Doctor Sun had rather excellent medical skills, but his temperament was eccentric. He disliked making house calls and charged exorbitant fees, so few people sought him for treatment.
Aside from that, there was nothing particularly unusual about him.
The note also stated that over the decades, this Doctor Sun had never displayed any martial arts ability. However, it was likely that he practiced some health-nurturing cultivation method, which was why his body remained sturdy even at over ninety years old.
"Seems like there’s nothing suspicious. Could I have overthought it?"
Chen Ming twisted his True Qi and shattered the note in his hand.
Maybe that sword-bearing swordsman and that woman were really just visiting Doctor Sun for medical treatment.
He picked up the medical book Doctor Sun had gifted him and began to read.
To his surprise, the book was written in a clear and accessible manner—much easier to read than classic medical texts.
……
At dawn, Chen Ming sat in Feng Siyuan’s carriage and departed together.
Today, they were heading to the World’s Number One Tower to register and gain eligibility to compete.
The Azure Cloud Ranking competition was not open to just any random riffraff. Participants had to be acknowledged by the World’s Number One Tower.
Chen Ming suddenly asked,"What kind of force is this World’s Number One Tower exactly?"
Feng Siyuan responded leisurely,"If I had to describe it, the World’s Number One Tower could be considered a sacred ground for martial arts."
"Sacred ground for martial arts?"
Chen Ming’s interest was piqued.
"It refers to those long-established sects that stand above the mundane world. Such sacred grounds do not involve themselves in worldly affairs and remain detached. Only when one of their disciples enters the world does the world learn of their existence."
"Then the World’s Number One Tower doesn’t quite fit."
The World’s Number One Tower was far from uninvolved in worldly conflicts—it practically incited countless disputes. Just the Azure Cloud Ranking alone was enough to make the young elites across the land fight to the death.
Feng Siyuan laughed."A martial sacred ground is judged by strength. The fact that the World’s Number One Tower has stood for a thousand years without falling, and its rankings are accepted across the world, speaks volumes of its strength."
When put that way, it did make some sense.
The Heaven Ranking listed only peak experts above First Grade.
For those peak experts, who dared to rank them? What qualifications did they have? If the World’s Number One Tower was even slightly weaker, it would’ve long been torn apart by those peak experts.
Feng Siyuan continued,"Moreover, aside from compiling rankings, the World’s Number One Tower never intervenes in mundane affairs."
Chen Ming suddenly thought of Ding Guangsheng. “Sister Red” had once said that Ding Guangsheng was formerly a disciple of the World’s Number One Tower but was expelled after violating sect rules.
So he asked,"What about the disciples of the World’s Number One Tower? For the tower to last this long, they must take in disciples, right?"
Feng Siyuan replied proudly,"I actually looked into that. It’s said that to join the World’s Number One Tower, one must sever all worldly attachments and refrain from participating in martial world conflicts. Also, they are forever banned from appearing on any of the tower’s rankings. So, they adopt orphans with no attachments as disciples."
"What happens if one of their disciples violates the rules?"
"Naturally, their cultivation is abolished and they are expelled."
Abolish cultivation?
Chen Ming thought of Ding Guangsheng—this person had relied on his Second Grade cultivation to nearly cripple the Four Seas Trading Company. So why hadn’t his cultivation been abolished?
As the two chatted, the carriage suddenly came to a halt.
It turned out the road was jammed with people.
Chen Ming looked outside and saw the streets packed with people and vehicles, unable to move."We’ll have to walk. Let’s go."
After Feng Siyuan got out, he glanced ahead and couldn’t help but groan,"We’re still a long way from the World’s Number One Tower."
Chen Ming walked forward. People around him felt an invisible force sweep by, pushing them aside.
The citizens of Jiangzhou City were experienced enough to recognize this as the aura of a True Qi expert. Though displeased at being pushed, they dared not make a sound.
After walking a while, Chen Ming finally saw at the end of the street a towering building that seemed to pierce the clouds, easily over a hundred meters tall by estimation.
In an era with such limited productivity, to build a structure like this—who knew how much manpower and resources it had consumed?
It was evident that the World’s Number One Tower was truly extraordinary.
Chen Ming continued forward, and after about half an incense stick’s time, he finally reached the base of the towering building. Ahead stood a surrounding wall, and at the entrance, a long queue had already formed.
PS: Had some errands to run this morning, so only two updates today. On the 29th, please vote for the monthly ticket.