Chapter 167 : Slaying a Fourth Grade
Chapter 167: Slaying a Fourth Grade
Tianyangli was an ordinary district in Jiangzhou City, home to common folk. After nightfall, the streets emptied quickly.
Past the hour of the Pig, every household had turned off their lights and gone to bed. Apart from the occasional bark of a dog, no other sound could be heard.
In the darkness, a graceful shadow suddenly appeared atop a rooftop, silently watching a certain small courtyard across the street, observing for a long while.
Finally, her figure moved slightly, as if she was preparing to leave.
“Chen Ming!”
Suddenly, a loud shout broke the calm of the night.
The shadow on the rooftop halted again, turning her head to look. She saw two men flying rapidly in her direction.
To be precise, it was a young man holding another person, sprinting across the rooftops at a tremendous speed.
Fourth Grade!
Princess Hongyu immediately judged the man's cultivation level. Clearly, he was here to make trouble for Chen Ming.
So, she decided to stay and watch the spectacle before leaving.
She had been away from Qingfeng City long enough and had already completed her errands. It was time to return.
Before leaving, she came here to check on Chen Ming.
Last night, after sensing that Chen Ming might have had a breakthrough, she had departed. She had no idea more had happened afterward.
Princess Hongyu had eyes within Jiangzhou City and knew about Chen Ming moving out of the Feng Residence. Tonight, she intended to talk with him.
But for some unknown reason, upon arriving here, she felt an inexplicable sense of danger. She stepped back, and the feeling vanished.
She observed for a while but couldn't determine the source of the danger. After weighing the risks, she decided to trust her instincts and refrained from moving forward, choosing to leave instead.
Coincidentally, someone showed up to cause trouble for Chen Ming.
Perfect. She wanted to see what kind of changes that brat had undergone and why his true qi had surged so suddenly.
As she was thinking, she saw Chen Ming dressed in black walk out, gripping that divine weapon in his hand. He leapt onto the rooftop to face the incoming enemy.
...
“You are Chen Ming?”
Lai Xiangran stopped on a rooftop and loosened his grip, dropping the man who had led the way. His eyes locked firmly on the black-clad youth several zhang away.
“I am.”
Chen Ming was also sizing up the other party. According to Qiuxiang, the Heavenly Ultimate Sect had come from elsewhere. They had managed to gain a foothold in Jiangzhou City only thanks to the protection of a peak First Grade expert.
It was precisely because of this formidable backer that, in recent years, the two young disciples of the Heavenly Ultimate Sect had acted with great arrogance.
Especially the senior disciple, Lai Xiangran. Due to his exceptional talent, he looked down on everyone. A few years ago, he and a legitimate son of the Ji Family fell for the same girl, refusing to yield.
Later, with the encouragement of some schemers, they agreed to a public duel. Whoever won would get the girl.
In the end, Lai Xiangran emerged victorious, riding high in spirits. The Heavenly Ultimate Sect also gained great fame.
The price, however, was making enemies of the Ji Family.
Just last year, the peak expert who had protected the Heavenly Ultimate Sect passed away. Only then did Lai Xiangran become more low-key and went into seclusion to cultivate diligently.
Currently, the Heavenly Ultimate Sect had three members in total—Lai Xiangran, Han Xiangcheng, and their Sect Leader, who was their Martial Uncle, a Second Grade expert.
The Sect Leader of the Heavenly Ultimate Sect was a mysterious figure, rarely appearing in public. Most matters were handled by Lai Xiangran on his behalf.
Especially after the death of the peak expert, this person became even more elusive.
Many who had grudges against the Heavenly Ultimate Sect had refrained from acting against the two brothers precisely because they feared this man.
“Seems like someone finally lost patience.”
So thought Chen Ming.
First came the junior Han Xiangcheng to stir up trouble, then the senior Lai Xiangran. It was obvious both were being used as tools by someone else.
Why did the two disciples of the Heavenly Ultimate Sect come after him? Was it not because he was unaffiliated and easy to bully?
...
“My junior came to spar, and you used despicable tricks to ambush him. Truly shameless!”
Lai Xiangran’s eyes gleamed with murderous intent. “Call out your companion too! The one who ambushed my junior must be a Fourth Grade hiding in the shadows, striking from the dark—is that all you’ve got?”
“???”
Chen Ming was full of question marks.
To be fair, he did have a Fourth Grade hiding nearby...
He coughed lightly and said, “Friend from the Heavenly Ultimate Sect, I won against your junior with my own strength. There were others present at the time who witnessed the whole fight.”
He referred to the man who had been dragged along by Lai Xiangran. That man was now trying to sneak away, but upon hearing these words, he froze in place.
Lai Xiangran snorted coldly. “Still trying to deny it? With my junior’s strength, how could he not withstand even a single sword strike from you? You clearly knew you were no match, so you had your hidden master ambush him and injure him!”
He spoke with utter certainty, as if he had seen it with his own eyes.
Chen Ming tried reasoning, “Isn’t it possible that...”
“Looks like you won’t cry until you see the coffin!”
Lai Xiangran lost his patience. Gripping the hilt of his saber, he said coldly, “I’ll see how long your master can keep hiding.”
Before his words finished, he drew his saber.
His saber was pitch-black, identical to Han Xiangcheng’s.
The same technique, but in his hands, its power was tenfold stronger.
In the next instant, a flash of saber light slashed toward Chen Ming’s face with astonishing speed.
It was a blade of saber qi. At such close range and with a sudden strike, even a typical Fifth Grade expert would be unable to dodge. If the Fourth Grade hiding in the dark did not act, this saber qi would split his skull in two.
Vmmm——
The “Mingfeng Sword” in Chen Ming’s hand seemed to sense its master’s danger and vibrated violently. It caused Lai Xiangran a moment of distraction.
A peerless divine weapon?
He was shocked at first, then ecstatic.
In that moment, the divine weapon had already been unsheathed, a streak of red sword light flashing and severing the deadly saber qi.
Chen Ming gripped the “Mingfeng Sword,” staring at Lai Xiangran opposite him. The sword’s glow flickered continuously.
“You strike to kill on your first move. Isn’t that a bit too ruthless?”
He had only heard from Qiuxiang that Lai Xiangran was arrogant, but now he felt it firsthand.
To be honest, he originally had no ill feelings toward Lai Xiangran and the Heavenly Ultimate Sect. He even felt a bit of sympathy for their situation.
That saber strike just now instantly made him realize what kind of person Lai Xiangran truly was.
Lai Xiangran’s response was a slash of his saber.
To Lai Xiangran, the matter of his junior being injured was already irrelevant. His eyes were now fixed solely on the peerless divine weapon in Chen Ming’s hand!
A Fifth Grade holding such a divine weapon could actually block his saber qi. This alone showed how extraordinary the weapon was.
Such a peerless divine weapon, in the hands of this brat, was like a pearl cast before swine.
It should belong to me!
At this moment, Lai Xiangran was already harboring killing intent.
……
Eh?
Not far away, Princess Hongyu had nearly intervened when she saw Chen Ming in danger. She hadn’t sensed the presence of the Heaven's Path Alliance disciple. If she didn’t act…
Yet what she saw shocked her.
Chen Ming had actually blocked that lethal slash of saber qi. On the blade of that divine weapon, a faint red glow shimmered—it was clearly sword qi.
“He’s only at Fifth Grade. How could he possibly produce sword qi?”
“That divine weapon he holds doesn’t even have a spirit…”
At this point, the two had started fighting again.
Princess Hongyu instinctively clenched her fists, ready to step in the moment Chen Ming was in danger.
But three moves passed, then five, then more than ten…
The shock in her eyes deepened, and a storm surged in her heart.
How could this be possible?
Chen Ming, with the cultivation of a Fifth Grade, using a damaged divine weapon, was actually holding his own in a fierce battle with a Fourth Grade, neither side gaining the upper hand.
Had she not witnessed it herself, she would never have believed it.
“His true qi is actually this thick and dense!”
Though it hadn’t truly reached a level that could rival Gang Qi, he had cleverly used the divine weapon to resist the Gang Qi.
Even so, this was already astonishing.
“Could it be…”
Princess Hongyu thought of a possibility—could he have fused the 《Lunar True Scripture》 and the 《Blazing Sun Divine Art》?
With her insight, she could naturally see that these two techniques originated from the same lineage. If they could be merged, combining yin and yang, the resulting power would indeed be immense.
The problem was—it was nearly impossible to accomplish.
Yet aside from this, she could think of no other explanation.
“This brat——”
A glimmer of brilliance flashed in Princess Hongyu’s eyes, and she once again raised her estimation of Chen Ming’s importance by another level.
By now, Chen Ming and Lai Xiangran had exchanged over twenty moves.
From her perspective, his swordsmanship was exceptionally refined—superior even to that of the Fourth Grade. If their cultivation levels were equal, that Fourth Grade would never be a match.
However, Chen Ming’s cultivation was ultimately too low. The gap of one whole realm was like a chasm. Lasting over twenty moves was already something to be proud of.
She had already noticed that Chen Ming’s true qi was nearly exhausted. He wouldn’t last much longer.
Sure enough, two more moves later, a flaw appeared in Chen Ming’s sword technique.
Princess Hongyu was just about to strike.
Vmmm——
A buzzing sound rang in her ears, and a surge of indescribable emotion swept over her, causing a momentary lapse in her focus.
No!
Her gaze instantly sharpened, clarity returning to her eyes. The emotion she felt now was not surprise—but terror.
That sword just now was undoubtedly sword intent!
“Ah——”
A blood-curdling scream rang out.
Princess Hongyu saw that the Fourth Grade martial artist had his arm severed and vanished into the night within moments. Only Chen Ming stood where he was, and before him, an arm holding a saber remained.
Blood was splattered across the ground.
A breeze blew through the night, rustling Chen Ming’s robes, making him appear like a statue.
Princess Hongyu felt a flutter in her heart, deeply shaken by what she had just witnessed.
Fifth Grade—sword intent!
She found it hard to associate the two.
But he had done it.
For the first time, she felt something unfathomable in this young man.