Chapter 230 : Five Omens
Chapter 230: Five Omens
Chen Ming stared at Zhang Dingce for a while, the corners of his lips carrying a strange smile that made Zhang’s scalp tingle. Suddenly, Zhang felt a pang of regret.
“You all have the cultivation of Fourth Grade, don’t you? After serving as prison wardens for so many years, have your martial skills grown rusty? Let me test you myself.”
When the five men heard this, they were both startled and overjoyed. The reason they had been assigned to work in the prison was because they were marginal figures without any backing.
After reaching Fourth Grade, they had no one to guide them and could only fumble along on their own. Their posts made it difficult to earn merit, and without extraordinary luck, breaking through to Third Grade was almost impossible.
Although Lord Gu was still young, he had already attained Third Grade cultivation. For him to be willing to give them some guidance was an invaluable opportunity.
“How can we trouble my lord?”
“Follow me.”
Chen Ming led the five subordinates to a spacious courtyard in the rear and said, “I’ll first take a look at your strength. You, come forward.”
He pointed at Zhang Dingce.
Zhang Dingce stepped up, cupped his fists solemnly, and said, “Please instruct me, my lord.”
“Come, use your best technique.”
Chen Ming beckoned him.
Zhang Dingce did not hesitate. The moment he struck, it was with his strongest move.
To receive guidance from a Third Grade expert was a chance that came once in a lifetime. Naturally, he had to grasp it well.
Moments later, by the time Zhang had executed over twenty moves, he suddenly felt his body lighten. His whole figure was lifted and sent flying, crashing straight into a flower bed.
When he climbed out, his face was covered with dirt, but he showed no resentment at all.
The other four received the same treatment one after another. All ended up in a sorry state, yet none complained, for Chen Ming’s strikes had been measured and caused no real harm.
Instead, their hearts secretly rejoiced. This meant that Lord Gu truly regarded them as his own people.
In the past, Lord Gu’s politeness toward them was also a form of distance. Now that he was willing to instruct them, even taking the chance to discipline them, this was the treatment of true subordinates.
Chen Ming saw that after being beaten, each one was still smiling broadly, as though they had a taste for suffering. He immediately lost interest.
Although teaching them this way could also grant him some experience points, the amount was too little, only a few thousand.
Next, he began genuinely instructing them. As for how much they could comprehend, that depended on their own perception.
…
Late at night, Lei Chun and the other four finally left.
Chen Ming did not let them stay overnight, as it was inconvenient.
“Master.”
When he returned to his room, just about to take out the tortoiseshell for study, the maid Xia He handed him a letter. “This was delivered earlier this afternoon by Miss Yuyin’s messenger.”
Gu Yuyin had sent him a letter?
Chen Ming asked, “Where is the messenger?”
“He has been settled. Do you wish to see him?”
“Forget it, it’s too late. I’ll see him tomorrow. You may go.”
After dismissing her, Chen Ming took out the letter and quickly read through it. It stated that in a few days, it would be her grandfather’s sixtieth birthday, and she invited him to attend.
The letter also mentioned something that caught his attention.
The Gu Family had already learned of Gu Xianyu’s breakthrough to Third Grade. According to clan rules, they would send a Second Grade or higher elder to impart martial arts and techniques to him.
Most likely, it would be the Fifth Uncle who was closest to him. By now, that uncle was probably already on his way.
At the end of the letter, Gu Yuyin also congratulated him, saying that after reaching Third Grade, he would finally gain the clan’s attention.
“This is troublesome.”
Chen Ming felt a headache after reading.
That so-called “Fifth Uncle” had been the one teaching Gu Xianyu martial arts, essentially half his master. He was also the only elder in the Gu Family who treated him with genuine kindness.
This man was very familiar with Gu Xianyu’s martial skills. Once he arrived, if Chen Ming displayed martial arts, his disguise would be seen through immediately. After all, although both practiced ice-attribute internal force, the nature of their cultivation methods was fundamentally different.
“It seems this identity can’t be maintained much longer.”
Rubbing the letter into powder, Chen Ming thought silently.
In fact, he had already prepared a contingency plan: feign death, then vanish without a trace. That was the best way to handle it.
But—
What about Xia Mudan?
What if she took it badly and chose to die for him?
“‘If something were to happen to Brother Gu… I would never live alone—’”
The words she had spoken earlier that day still sent a jolt through his heart.
“What a foolish girl. We’ve only known each other such a short time, and already she talks about life and death together…”
Hadn’t it only been that he defeated her in the arena?
Hadn’t it only been that they bowed to Heaven and Earth, becoming husband and wife in name?
Hadn’t it only been that he saved her once?
As he thought of this, Chen Ming froze. Though the time they had known each other was short, their experiences together were not few. It was no wonder she had given her heart to him.
A strange restlessness welled inside him. Ever since hearing her resolute words, it was as if an invisible bond had been tied around his heart.
Chen Ming took out the black tortoiseshell and muttered, “You guided me back to Xiazhou City… was it because you didn’t want me to leave regrets in my heart?”
The tortoiseshell, polished into a jade-like luster, gleamed with mystery under the oil lamp.
“Do you think I should tell her the truth?”
Just as he was about to infuse it with energy, a sudden thought struck him.
This tortoiseshell was already a treasure. What if he activated it using the Controlling Artifact Art?
He thought it, and immediately acted, channeling the technique.
At once, he felt an immense suction from the tortoiseshell, like a bottomless abyss, endlessly drawing in his internal force.
“What’s happening?”
Startled yet delighted, he did not break the connection but allowed the tortoiseshell to devour his energy.
Moments later, when his force was nearly depleted, the tortoiseshell finally glowed with a faint radiance. A strange, indescribable ripple spread out.
In that instant, scenes filled Chen Ming’s mind—moments of his own death, one after another, flashing like slides.
Soon, the visions disappeared.
The tortoiseshell in his hand dimmed, its brilliance greatly faded.
“What is this?”
Chen Ming’s pupils shrank slightly.
There were five different scenes of his death. Among them, three featured people he recognized.
One was the black-clad man from “Eight Righteous Gates.”
Another was Zhou Wentao of the “Hall of Sentiments and Righteousness,” the one who had helped Zhu Wanlin injure Xia Mudan.
And in another vision, the one who killed him was actually Su Zhining!
As for the remaining two, one was a handsome middle-aged man, and the other wore the uniform of a First Grade Inspector of the Six Doors Headquarters.
The first two, of course, had clear reasons to want him dead.
As for Su Zhining, according to Lin Qiong, she too had a motive.
“So this is the tortoiseshell’s warning? A glimpse of future calamities?”
Chen Ming looked at the tortoiseshell, his gaze now utterly different.
If it was true, then this was a divine artifact capable of foreseeing the future!
In the vision where he died at Su Zhining’s hands, he had reverted to his true identity as Chen Ming.
“In other words, I must not reveal myself to her.”
As long as he did not return to being Chen Ming, that calamity could be avoided.
In the deaths at the hands of the “Eight Righteous Gates” and “Hall of Sentiments and Righteousness,” however, he wore the face of his previous life. In the latter case, he was even with Xia Mudan.
He analyzed, “This suggests that if I abandon Gu Xianyu’s identity and slip away from Xiazhou City, the Eight Righteous Gates will come for me.”
As for the other two visions, he was still disguised as Gu Xianyu.
Chen Ming was stunned. No matter whether he stayed or left, death awaited.
“Heavens, what sin have I committed, that I cannot escape death?”
…
He brooded the entire night until dawn, then decided not to dwell on it.
There was too little information—just a few visions, not enough to draw conclusions.
“Strike while the iron is hot by strengthening myself!”
He resolved that the only way to survive these calamities was to rely on his own strength.
With enough power, no fate could not be defied.
Once he understood this, a sense of clarity came.
Now, the Phoenix Cry Sword’s golden flame was gone, and the Undying Demon Venerable’s soul had dispersed. His two greatest trump cards had been lost.
With his current strength, among Third Grade cultivators, few could defeat him.
Against Second Grade, though he might lose, he should still be able to escape.
But if he faced a First Grade… things would be grim.
“So, the priority is to break through to Second Grade as soon as possible.”
Chen Ming began to ponder.
He still lacked two million experience points to reach Second Grade.
The problem was, where could he obtain them?
All the Second and Third Grades in the prison had been killed by him. At the time, it had been the best choice, but now it left him without a steady source of experience.
“Wait—there’s a ready-made source right at home.”
Putting away the tortoiseshell, Chen Ming summoned Xia He, freshened up, and went to find Xia Mudan.
“Brother Gu, good morning.”
Xia Mudan looked much better, joy glimmering in her brows and eyes. Her tender gaze was enough to soften even stone.
But Chen Ming, pressed by looming calamities, had no mood for romance. He said, “Sister, it seems your injuries have healed quite well.”
The single word “sister” made Xia Mudan blush. Lowering her gaze, she whispered, “Thanks to Brother Gu helping me dispel the sword intent, I have indeed recovered greatly.”
“In that case, let us spar a little, to help you loosen your muscles.”
“If Brother wishes, little sister will of course accompany you.”
So the two went out to the courtyard.
“Brother Gu, watch my sword.”
Xia Mudan did not use the Dragon Abyss Sword. Her strikes carried no killing intent; instead, each move contained lingering tenderness. Any martial artist could sense it.
This must be the romance of a heroine—others used poetry to express love; she used swordsmanship to compose a love poem.
Unfortunately, against Chen Ming the mood-breaker, she lasted only a few moves before being defeated.
Xia Mudan’s eyes filled with a hint of grievance. “I lost.”