Chapter 163 : Drastic Advancement in Strength
Chapter 163: Drastic Advancement in Strength
"I’ve become her heart demon?"
When Chen Ming left Changqing Hall, he kept thinking about this matter, "What does this even count as? Originally, I was her heart demon, and I entered her dream to help her slay it. But in the end, I’ve become her new heart demon?"
In the end, it was all for nothing.
The only good news was that Su Zhi Ning survived.
The bad news was, she had developed killing intent toward him.
Although she managed to restrain herself this time and didn’t make a move, who’s to say she wouldn’t truly strike next time?
She had already descended into madness—anything she might do wouldn’t be surprising.
A strong sense of danger surged within Chen Ming. What was once a powerful bodyguard had now become a ticking time bomb, one that could take his life at any moment.
What to do?
With his current strength, he was definitely no match for Su Zhi Ning. Unless he used Sword Intent—but she knew that he carried the Sword Jade. If she decided to strike, she would surely choose a moment when he couldn’t wield his Sword Intent.
Unless he broke through to Fourth Grade.
But if he did that, he’d have to honor his agreement and return to Qingfeng City to find Shang Jianfei and the others. Yet he wasn’t ready to face that great crisis…
Just then, someone blocked his path.
Chen Ming looked up and saw the expressionless face of Ji Qianxing and those indifferent eyes. Turning his head, he noticed a carriage parked by the roadside across from him and was a bit surprised: she hadn’t left?
Got it!
A flash of inspiration hit him. He walked toward the carriage and said, "What does Miss wish to instruct?"
"Get in."
Yu Haitang’s voice came from within the carriage, and the door opened accordingly.
Chen Ming stepped inside. Yu Haitang was already seated, having removed her veiled hat, revealing her peerlessly beautiful face.
This was the fourth time the two had met. He still couldn’t help but marvel in his heart—how could someone be this beautiful?
Yu Haitang was also staring at him, and asked, "What exactly is your relationship with that man from Changqing Hall?"
"He is an elder of a senior of mine."
Chen Ming gave a brief explanation of how he came to know Doctor Sun.
He had learned some medical knowledge from Doctor Wang, who could be considered his teacher in the path of medicine.
Yu Haitang clearly didn’t quite believe it. "That’s all?"
"It’s the absolute truth."
Chen Ming said, then curiously asked, "Why does Miss place such importance on Doctor Sun?"
She had come in person to visit Doctor Sun, clearly showing how highly she regarded him.
After all, when she tried to recruit him, she always sent maids. Whether it was delivering gifts or notifying him of a meeting, it was never in person.
This alone showed that, in her heart, Doctor Sun’s importance far exceeded his.
Yu Haitang replied calmly, "That’s not something you should ask."
Chen Ming tactfully dropped the topic and instead said, "Since I happened to encounter Miss here, I have a request."
"Speak."
"I wish to view the 《Primordial Wood True Art》. I’m willing to exchange it with both the 《Primordial Fire True Art》 and the 《Primordial Water True Art》."
Yu Haitang was quite surprised. "You also possess the 《Primordial Water True Art》?"
Chen Ming replied, "Yes. I obtained it by chance."
Yu Haitang stared at him for a moment. Her gaze flickered as she asked, "Why do you seek the 《Primordial Wood True Art》? Do you know that this is the very cultivation method I practice?"
"To be honest, ever since I obtained the 《Primordial Water True Art》, I’ve come to comprehend the principle of mutual generation between Yin and Yang, which greatly advanced my cultivation. But lately, my progress has slowed. At this rate, I don’t know how long it’ll take to reach Fourth Grade."
Chen Ming said with a troubled look, "I’m worried I’ll delay Miss’s important matters. If I had your 《Primordial Wood True Art》, I might gain new insights and step into Fourth Grade sooner."
Yu Haitang suddenly said, "Get off the carriage."
Chen Ming saw that she neither agreed nor refused, so he said no more and got off the carriage directly.
He stood where he was, watching the carriage depart into the distance, thinking that if she refused, he’d have to turn to "Sister Red".
Ever since he fused the 《Lunar True Scripture》 and the 《Blazing Sun Divine Art》 into the 《True Art of Two Principles》, he could not only freely shift the nature of his True Qi—its quality had also undergone a massive breakthrough.
In the recent "Azure Cloud Ranking" battles, the opponents he encountered all came from aristocratic families or sects and practiced at least top-tier cultivation methods.
These people were all a higher level than him—almost all were level 58 or 59.
His ability to easily defeat them wasn’t just due to his mastery of swordsmanship; his True Qi was no weaker than theirs.
In terms of True Qi quality, even someone like Jiang Shihua of the Jiang Family, who practiced a peerless divine art, was slightly inferior to him.
If he could fuse another same-attribute technique like the 《Primordial Wood True Art》, his True Qi quality might ascend another tier. Then, facing a Fourth Grade, he wouldn’t be completely powerless.
…
Chen Ming returned to the Feng Residence and continued reading medical books in the small courtyard.
He found that medicine and martial arts indeed shared similarities. Although they couldn’t directly enhance martial cultivation in the short term, they would be highly beneficial in the long run.
Unfortunately, even after reading medical books for so long, his panel hadn’t shown any proficiency in medicine.
Apparently, the panel only displayed skills related to martial cultivation.
That night.
Chen Ming heard footsteps outside and recognized them as the steward and that "Mei’er", which made him happy. "They’ve finally come."
After entering the courtyard, Mei’er bowed to him. "Greetings, Young Master. My lady instructed this servant to deliver this."
It was a red wooden box.
Chen Ming accepted it and handed over the two books he had prepared in advance, saying, "Give these to your young lady."
Mei’er solemnly accepted them. "This servant takes her leave."
"Miss Mei’er."
Chen Ming called out to her and said, "Zhu’er and Lan’er are just in the neighboring courtyard. Would you like to visit them?"
Mei’er paused, shook her head, said nothing, and left.
Naturally, Chen Ming wouldn’t insist. He returned to the room and opened the wooden box. Inside lay a single book, its cover bearing four ancient seal characters—clearly the words 《Primordial Wood True Art》.
The material of the book was clearly extraordinary, resembling both hide and leather.
He opened the cover—thankfully, the internal script wasn’t ancient seal characters and was readable.
After reading a few pages, his heart surged. "She really didn’t deceive me. This cultivation method truly shares the same origin as the 《True Art of Two Principles》."
He didn’t sleep the entire night and kept studying the 《Primordial Wood True Art》.
…
Elsewhere, in a tranquil courtyard—
Yu Haitang had also received the two cultivation methods. Holding them in her hands, she flipped through them with a strange smile on her lips. "Truly effortless gain."
One copy of the 《Primordial Fire True Art》, one of the 《Primordial Water True Art》—both were exactly what she needed.
Water nourishes wood, wood gives birth to fire.
Once her Gang Qi was perfected, she could begin practicing the 《Primordial Fire True Art》.
According to her speculation, these five techniques were only parts of a whole. Only by mastering them all and merging them into one could it become a peerless divine art.
However, mastering even one was extremely difficult.
Those five hidden clans had relied on external artifacts to pass the techniques down through generations. But once they used external means to cultivate divine arts, they became bound—unable to leave.
The higher one’s cultivation, the greater the restriction.
The Eternal Life Emperor had used this very method to trap the five hidden clans across generations, forcing them to guard the key to his mausoleum.
Yu Haitang, being extraordinarily talented, had mastered the 《Primordial Wood True Art》 without aid and reached a very high realm.
Even so, attempting to learn another technique like the 《Primordial Fire True Art》 would be no easy feat.
"That guy said he comprehended the principle of Yin-Yang mutual generation… was it true or false?"
She was a bit doubtful.
In theory, it was certainly feasible. But in reality, achieving it was incredibly difficult.
These two techniques conflicted by nature. A single misstep could lead to Qi deviation and madness.
Soon, she brushed aside these distractions and focused intently on reading the two cultivation methods.
……
In the days that followed, Chen Ming devoted himself to comprehending the 《Primordial Wood True Art》.
He discovered that although it shared the same origin, this one differed more significantly from the two he had studied previously, with some parts being quite difficult to understand.
It took a full month before he finally mastered the technique. A prompt appeared before his eyes: 【Detected that 《Primordial Wood True Art》 and 《True Art of Two Principles》 are of the same origin. Merge?】
Chen Ming felt as if a great weight had been lifted. At last, it was done. He silently recited, "Yes."
【Cultivation methods are being merged. Estimated time: twenty-four hours. During this period, please do not use True Qi. Find a place to sit and remain still.】
This time, the merging process would take even longer. Last time, it took six hours—now it required a full day and night.
He thought for a moment, called over Qiuxiang, and gave a few instructions. Then he sat cross-legged on the bed and patiently waited.
Gradually, he felt that the True Qi within his Qi Sea was undergoing a peculiar transformation.
As time passed, this transformation became increasingly intense, eventually resulting in a qualitative leap.
His face turned red one moment, green the next, and then light blue, constantly shifting.
……
That night, on the rooftop, a red figure silently appeared, watching the room where Chen Ming resided.
"What is he doing?"
Princess Hongyu’s eyes were filled with suspicion.
More than a month had passed since the Azure Cloud Ranking battle, yet Chen Ming showed no intention of returning to Qingfeng City. It seemed he planned to settle down in Jiangzhou City.
That female disciple of Heaven's Path Alliance who had been following him also seemed somewhat abnormal.
The most troublesome thing was still that sword!
Ever since he acquired that divine weapon, she could no longer spy on him freely. Any divine sense that approached within a zhang of him would be obliterated by the Sword Qi emitted from that weapon.
"Who exactly is that woman? How could such a peerless divine weapon be given away so casually?"
Princess Hongyu felt things were slipping out of her control. Chen Ming’s trip to Jiangzhou City had brought him into contact with such figures.
"Perhaps… I should talk to him."
Just as she was thinking this, she suddenly sensed something and looked toward the room in astonishment.
What was that?
She felt a strange and powerful surge of True Qi erupt from the room.
Fourth Grade?
"No, not Fourth Grade. But why is this True Qi so powerful?"
Princess Hongyu was shocked. What was this brat up to now?
In the blink of an eye, that surge of True Qi vanished, as if nothing had happened.
……
Success!
In the pitch-black room, Chen Ming’s eyes suddenly flew open. A surge of incomparably dense True Qi exploded from within him, escaping his control and bursting out of his body.
In an instant, everything in the room was blown away by the force of the explosion.
He pushed the True Qi back into his Qi Sea, feeling the surging energy—compared to before, it had increased severalfold.
Chen Ming was stunned. "I’m so strong."
When he had merged the first two techniques, the increase in total True Qi wasn’t that significant. He hadn’t expected such an explosive increase after fusing another cultivation method.
He wondered about its power...
He condensed a strand of True Qi at his fingertip. With a single thought, the True Qi shot forward—whoosh—piercing a hole through the wooden wall.
"Amazing!"
He was startled. At this level of power, it could pass as Gang Qi.
The True Qi of a Fifth Grade Martial Artist had strong augmentative effects. It could enhance one’s own strength, and when infused into a weapon, could unleash Sword Qi or Saber Energy with frightening lethality.
However, once separated from the body, it typically lost much of its power.
Only upon reaching the Gang Qi Realm of Fourth Grade did one’s True Qi nearly solidify. Those at a high level could even pierce metal and stone, killing without a trace.
Chen Ming’s True Qi had now undergone a qualitative transformation, retaining such power even when released—it was simply astonishing.
"No wonder this is a cultivation method left behind by the Eternal Life Emperor."
He clicked his tongue in amazement. "If I could merge all five techniques, maybe I really could fight above my level."
"Buzz!"
Just then, the "Mingfeng" Sword hanging by the bed suddenly emitted a sword hum, seemingly giving a warning.
"Someone is secretly watching?"
This wasn’t the first time Chen Ming had seen the "Mingfeng" Sword issue a warning, so he had some ideas.
He reached out and took it down, and his True Qi naturally flowed into the sword.
"Buzz!"
The Mingfeng Sword seemed to grow excited, releasing a faint red glow from its blade like flames. A formless force rippled outward.
"This is... Sword Gang!"
Chen Ming was overjoyed—he could finally activate part of this divine weapon’s power.
A divine weapon was not merely sharp. Its true might could only be fully unleashed by those at First Grade and above.
Before, his True Qi was too weak to utilize the sword’s power.
Now, with Sword Gang, he finally had the power to stand his ground against a Fourth Grade Martial Artist—at least he wouldn’t be passively beaten.
He stored the Mingfeng Sword and silently summoned the panel.
【Level: 55】
【Current Points: 638000】
【Cultivation Methods: 《Iron Horse Stance》 (Fifth Stage – Perfected), 《Five Elements True Art (Incomplete)》 (Fifth Stage – 930000/1500000)】
【Martial Techniques: 《Three Talents Fist》 (Mastery), Eight Trigrams Saber Technique (Mastery), Zhuang’s Flying Knife (Mastery), Swallow Returns Sword Technique (Mastery), 《Vermilion Bird Sword Technique》 (Mastery), 《Phoenix Dances Across the Nine Heavens》 (First Stage – 15463/100000)】
"So it’s called 《Five Elements True Art》."
Chen Ming looked at the changes on the panel and thought.
As for the remaining two techniques, who knew where to find them?
"This matter will likely fall to Yu Haitang. She knows so many secrets—maybe she also knows the whereabouts of the other two techniques."