Chapter 165 : Heavenly Ultimate Sect
Chapter 165: Heavenly Ultimate Sect
"Young Master, Young Master——"
Inside the room, Feng Siyuan, who had not slept all night, was sitting in front of the bed, holding a broken jade pendant in his hand, his expression gloomy. Suddenly, he heard the urgent call of the steward outside and scolded irritably, "It’s early morning—what’s with all the fuss?"
The steward outside said anxiously, "A letter from the Master has arrived. It’s a red letter."
What?
Upon hearing it was a red letter, Feng Siyuan’s expression changed slightly. He immediately put away the jade pendant and got up to open the door.
At Guanglong Trading Company, letters were categorized by color. Ordinary letters were white, slightly urgent ones were yellow, and red signified matters that must be dealt with immediately.
Feng Siyuan dared not delay. He took the wax-sealed letter from the steward’s hand, but instead of opening it right away, he went to find Elder Huang.
Nominally, he was the person in charge of Guanglong Trading Company in Jiangzhou City. In reality, he had neither strength nor prestige and relied entirely on Elder Huang for everything.
Naturally, he had to show enough respect—such a letter had to be opened in Elder Huang’s presence.
Elder Huang’s courtyard wasn’t far away. Feng Siyuan quickly arrived outside the gate and said, "Elder Huang, my father sent a red letter. I need you to make a decision on it."
The courtyard door opened by itself.
He walked in. Inside the room, Elder Huang was sitting alone in a chair, eating something.
He took out the unopened letter and said, "This is it."
Elder Huang said, "Open it."
Only then did Feng Siyuan open the letter. At a glance, his expression became somewhat unpleasant.
Elder Huang swept his eyes over and had already read the contents of the letter. Just one line—it told Feng Siyuan not to get involved in the feud between Qin Changyuan and Chen Ming.
The implied meaning was clear: for someone like Chen Ming, offending the Qin Family’s most outstanding disciple of this generation wasn’t worth it.
He asked, "Third Young Master, how do you plan to handle this?"
Feng Siyuan said angrily, "My father has gone senile. He wants me to betray my friend? Not a chance. As long as I’m still the person in charge in Jiangzhou City, I’ll never betray Brother Chen."
Elder Huang looked at him in surprise and said, "Aren’t you afraid the Old Master will remove you from your post?"
Feng Siyuan huffed, "Let him remove me! What’s so great about this lousy post? If I, Feng Siyuan, would betray a friend for this, how could I still face people in Jiangzhou?"
Elder Huang was about to say something when the old steward outside came to report again, "Young Master, Young Master Chen has left with two maids."
"What?"
Feng Siyuan panicked and jumped up, cursing, "Aiya, why didn’t you stop them?"
He hurriedly rushed out.
……
Chen Ming’s carriage had already left the Feng Residence. The coachman was the same one who had brought him from Qinghe City. In the carriage sat Chen Ming and two maids.
Dongxiang offered a suggestion, "Young Master, there are indeed people in Jiangzhou City who can stand against Qin Changyuan. Aren’t you on good terms with Inspector’s Residence’s Pan Dingqian?"
"Forget it."
Chen Ming didn’t plan to look for Pan Dingqian. Over the past month, Zhou Weihao and Gu Yuantao had visited frequently. Even people from the Xiaoshui Sect had come twice. Even Jiang Yingxue had come looking for him.
Pan Dingqian, however, hadn’t come once.
Though he didn’t know the reason, one thing was clear—Pan didn’t regard him as a friend.
Besides, Chen Ming didn’t need anyone to back him up. He was actually troubled that no one was causing him trouble.
"Brother Chen——"
At that moment, Feng Siyuan’s voice came from behind. He poked his head out and saw Feng Siyuan running over, so he told the coachman to stop.
Feng Siyuan, panting heavily, caught up to the carriage and said angrily, "Why did you leave without saying a word?"
Chen Ming smiled and said, "Actually, I dislike farewell scenes the most. That’s why I told them not to inform you. I left you a letter."
"Are you afraid of implicating me? You underestimate your Brother Feng. Others might fear the Qin Family—I do not. Just stay in my residence with peace of mind..."
"Brother Feng!"
Chen Ming interrupted him and said, "If you, Brother Feng, only want your reputation, must you push me into injustice?"
"I didn’t mean that——"
"Say no more. This trouble was caused by me—how could I drag my friend down with me? If you still consider me a friend, don’t say another word. When we return to Qingfeng City in the future, we’ll drink together again."
"Brother Chen——"
Feng Siyuan gripped his hand tightly, his voice choked, "Why do you have to be like this?"
……
…………
Night, Tianxiang Tower.
In a secluded little courtyard, a young man with an extraordinary presence was drinking alone in silence, cup after cup, as if determined to drink himself into a stupor.
Across from him, a beautiful girl dressed in green was playing the qin, her lovely eyes glancing toward him from time to time.
"The Ji Family has gone too far."
At the table, a few other young men were drinking with him. Suddenly, one of them said indignantly.
"With Brother Han’s strength, he should have made it onto the Azure Cloud Ranking. But the Ji Family set him up, sent people to block his path, and he couldn’t make it to the Martial Gathering. Absolutely detestable."
"This time, all the spotlight on the Azure Cloud Ranking was stolen by that Chen guy. If Brother Han had participated, how would that Chen fellow have had any chance?"
"Exactly……"
The others all chimed in.
Han Xiangcheng grew even more depressed and drank harder.
He had been sent on an errand by his Senior Brother, only to encounter several groups who blocked his way. Those people weren’t weak, pestering him all along the road and causing serious delays.
As a result, he missed this round of the Azure Cloud Ranking.
Han Xiangcheng knew well—those who ambushed him must have been sent by the Ji Family.
Half a year ago, he had clashed with a direct descendant of the Ji Family. In a moment of anger, he fought him publicly and defeated him, forming a grudge.
Afterward, his Martial Uncle punished him by making him face the wall at home for several months.
He didn’t expect the Ji Family to bear the grudge for so long, setting him up the moment he left the house.
He was already twenty-four this year. Missing this chance meant he’d never make it onto the Azure Cloud Ranking again.
The Azure Cloud Ranking could greatly enhance the fame of their Heavenly Ultimate Sect.
Now that the Heavenly Ultimate Sect had only three people left, the most important matter for them was to restore the sect.
And the first step in restoring the Heavenly Ultimate Sect was to raise their name.
Last round, his Senior Brother had missed it due to age and cultivation level.
This round, he had been determined to succeed, but once again, he was outmaneuvered by the Ji Family.
The rage in Han Xiangcheng’s heart was understandable, but the Ji Family was far too powerful for the Heavenly Ultimate Sect to provoke. He had no outlet for his frustration and could only drink away his sorrows at Tianxiang Tower.
"That Chen fellow is enjoying quite the limelight now. Even the fairy-like Mudan girl has fallen for him."
Suddenly, one of the young men said, "Brother Han, why don’t you just challenge that Chen guy? As long as you defeat him, you can take his place—rank sixth on the Azure Cloud Ranking. Who knows, you might even win Mudan girl’s heart."
Hearing this, Han Xiangcheng paused in his drinking, clearly moved.
But then he recalled his Martial Uncle’s warning: to seize a spot on the Azure Cloud Ranking, the Martial Gathering at the World’s Number One Tower was the only chance. Once the rankings were set, the aristocratic families and great sects wouldn’t allow outsiders to challenge their disciples.
Although Chen Ming had no family background to speak of, the Feng Family wasn’t to be trifled with.
"Not wise. I heard Chen Ming’s swordsmanship is extremely refined—neither Jiang Shihua nor Ji Qianxing could beat him…"
"Hmph, those aristocratic youths are all fancy pillows—look good, no substance. So what if the Ji Family’s genius was defeated? He still lost to Brother Han’s palm strike. I refuse to believe that Chen guy is a match for Brother Han."
"That Chen Ming is on good terms with the Feng Family of Guanglong Trading Company and has been staying at their residence. Brother Han might not even be able to get through their gates."
"I heard Chen Ming has already moved out of the Feng Residence."
"When did that happen? Why didn’t I hear about it?"
"Just today. Heh, the Feng Family is in business—why would they offend the Qin Family over someone like Chen Ming?"
Hearing this, Han Xiangcheng slowly put down his wine bowl, light flashing in his eyes. "Is this true?"
"Of course it’s true. I’ve already found out where he’s staying. It’s right next to a small clinic in the eastern part of the city. I can take you there now."
Bang!
Han Xiangcheng slapped his wine bowl on the table and shouted, "Let’s go!"
Thus, the group marched out of Tianxiang Tower in grand fashion, heading east.
……
Inside Changqing Hall, a lone lamp flickered like a bean on the table.
Doctor Sun was answering some medical book questions for Chen Ming.
"Many thanks to Doctor Sun for your guidance. I won’t disturb your rest any longer."
After getting his questions answered, Chen Ming stood and bid farewell.
After leaving the clinic, he went to a small courtyard behind it. Ever since moving out of the Feng Residence, he had thought long and hard and finally decided to seek out this mysterious Doctor Sun.
Yu Haitang valued this elder greatly—there had to be a reason.
As things stood, Doctor Sun had treated him fairly well. Perhaps, at a critical moment, he could even save his life.
Just as Chen Ming returned to the courtyard, a loud voice rang out, "Does Chen Ming reside here? Han Xiangcheng of the Heavenly Ultimate Sect has come to challenge you."
So fast!
He had only just moved out of the Feng Residence, and someone had already come to challenge him. If he said there was nothing fishy about this, he wouldn’t believe it.