Chapter 293 : First Grade
Chapter 293: First Grade
【《Five Elements True Art (Incomplete)》(Ninth Level 1/100000000)】
In an instant, Chen Ming’s consciousness rapidly expanded, the Gang Origin within him surged, and his entire body swelled like an inflating balloon.
Gradually, it reached a limit.
Boom—
His consciousness seemed to break through the constraints of his body, soaring to an infinitely distant place.
No one knew how much time had passed.
It felt like countless years.
Yet it also felt like just a moment.
Chen Ming’s consciousness suddenly plummeted, returning to his body once more.
This time, he sensed an immense difference. The entire world felt altered—both within his body and beyond.
The Gang Origin inside him had increased nearly tenfold, and it had already merged with his spiritual consciousness. He could now control every thread of Gang Origin at will.
At the same time, it felt as though his body had undergone a complete cleansing—an experience akin to shedding the mortal coil and being reborn. His control over his physical body had reached a pinnacle.
The world outside his body had also become more vivid.
Within a ten-meter radius around him, the crawling of ants on the ground, the drifting of fine dust in the air, and even scent molecules imperceptible to the naked eye all registered clearly in his mind.
Within this range, nothing could escape his perception.
It was as though everything within ten meters was his domain.
“So this is First Grade!”
Chen Ming clenched his fist, feeling the changes brought about by his breakthrough.
I’m so strong!
That was his only thought.
First Grade, also called the Spirit Origin Realm, meant the merging of spiritual consciousness with Gang Origin, giving birth to a trace of spirituality. The power had been greatly enhanced.
At this stage, even if Spirit Origin left the body, it could still be controlled from afar. Its destructive power far surpassed that of Second Grade.
In the past, Chen Ming had been able to kill First Grade experts while only being Second Grade, relying on two treasures. The first was a Peerless Divine Weapon that could penetrate any defense, specifically crafted to break through protective Spirit Origin.
The second was the 《Phoenix Dances Through Nine Heavens》 at its ninth perfected level. When executed with full force, it could break free from the spiritual lock of a First Grade expert. Even if it lasted just for a moment, that instant was enough.
It was by relying on this combination of moves that he had slain quite a few First Grades.
Of course, most of the ones he killed were the old, weak, sick, or disabled. The only truly formidable one had been Du Rusong. That time, he had succeeded only by using the source power of the Mingfeng Sword.
However, from now on, even without a Peerless Divine Weapon, he could kill First Grade experts.
Chen Ming glanced at the panel. After reaching First Grade, advancing to the peak of First Grade would require one hundred million experience points.
Currently, he had nearly thirty million experience points on record.
Of those, twenty million had come from slaying the Celestial Master. The rest, over several million, had been farmed these past few days at Qingwei Heaven.
He pondered for a moment—there were two possible options.
The first: upgrade the sword technique 《Heaven and Earth’s Lone Swan》 to the ninth perfected level. That way, no one within First Grade would be his match.
The second: invest into the newly acquired 《Nine Heavens Divine Thunder》.
This immensely powerful spell was categorized under Martial Techniques. The first level alone required ten million experience points. It could summon heavenly thunder, and its destructive power was incomparable to ordinary sword qi.
After all, human strength was limited—it could not rival the power of heaven and earth.
The only drawback was that the casting time was relatively long.
Chen Ming deliberated for a while and finally decided not to invest for now. He would wait and decide which to enhance based on the situation.
Then, he reached into his robe and took out the tortoiseshell.
“Tortoiseshell, oh tortoiseshell, give me guidance. Which direction is the safest to go?”
The next second, he felt the tortoiseshell emit an almost imperceptible fluctuation. At the same time, something within his body seemed to slip away.
The sensation was extremely faint—only due to his enhanced bodily awareness from breaking through to First Grade did he barely notice it.
But when he focused further, there was no visible anomaly in his body.
“That definitely wasn’t an illusion. What exactly did I lose just now?”
Chen Ming looked at the tortoiseshell in his hand and thought, So this divination does come at a cost, after all.
In the unseen realm, the tortoiseshell had already given him an answer.
Head south!
He put away the tortoiseshell. Even if using it came at some price, it was worth it. Given his current strength, facing a Divine Repository Realm expert would most likely end in disaster.
So as long as he could avoid that kind of danger, the cost was acceptable.
…
Chen Ming had already changed his appearance, put on a new outfit, and even altered the attribute of his Spirit Origin.
The only flaw was his identity.
He naturally dared not use any of the fake identities provided by the Six Doors Authority.
A First Grade expert could not just appear out of nowhere—there must be a background, a sect, friends, and so on. Lacking such a history was a glaring flaw.
Even if he made something up, it could be easily exposed.
Chen Ming headed south. Soon he descended the mountain and reached an official road.
He hadn’t walked far when he saw a luxurious caravan approaching. Judging from the scale and formation, the owner must be wealthy or noble.
Chen Ming looked more closely and suddenly noticed the most ornate carriage in the center looked familiar. “Isn’t that Princess Mingyu’s carriage?”
So the tortoiseshell’s guidance to head south for safety was because he’d run into Princess Mingyu.
He rejoiced internally and quickly thought of a way to blend into the convoy.
Chen Ming spoke up, “Is Princess Mingyu up ahead?”
The caravan halted. A middle-aged man, dressed like a steward, walked over and asked politely, “And who might you be, sir? How do you know my lady?”
Chen Ming replied, “No trouble—I am Chen Xuan Yi, an old acquaintance of the Prince of Linjiang. I heard Her Highness is seeking my junior sister, so I came especially to meet her.”
The steward’s expression grew even more respectful. “Ah, a friend of the Prince of Linjiang. Please allow me to inform my mistress—”
Before he finished speaking, Princess Mingyu’s voice came from the carriage, “Let him come.”
The steward immediately gestured, “Please, this way.”
Chen Ming approached the elegant carriage.
The carriage door opened, and Princess Mingyu’s voice drifted out, “Please, get in.”
That’s a bit improper, isn’t it?
Chen Ming thought to himself, hesitated for a moment, then still climbed aboard.
The interior was spacious. Princess Mingyu lounged lazily within, looking listless. She lifted her eyelids and glanced at him, her expression unreadable. “You’re Yuan Ziyi’s senior brother?”
Sensing something strange about her demeanor, Chen Ming had no choice but to respond boldly, “Yes. Chen Xuan Yi greets Your Highness.”
Princess Mingyu asked again, “Do you know her whereabouts?”
“To be honest, I am heading out precisely to search for her.”
“Hmm.” Princess Mingyu remained just as languid. She wasn’t the least bit moved by his words, only asking, “Where does Young Master Chen plan to search?”
“Jiangzhou.”
“What a coincidence. I’m heading to Jiangzhou as well. Why don’t you travel with us?”
“That would be wonderful. Many thanks, Your Highness.”
“No need for courtesy.”
By now, the carriage had started moving again. Princess Mingyu showed no intention of having him leave. Just as she was about to speak, she suddenly tilted her head slightly, listening, then glanced at him. “Did Young Master Chen encounter some trouble?”
Chen Ming’s heart tightened. He realized it was likely that Divine Repository Realm expert catching up.
“Your Highness, if—”
“Enough.” Princess Mingyu waved her hand, signaling him not to explain. “I don’t want to know what trouble you’re in. I’ll shield you from it. Just remember—you owe me a favor.”
Chen Ming felt even more confused. The tone and attitude with which she said those words were not like those of someone speaking to a stranger they’d just met.
“Could she already have guessed my identity?”
…
Elsewhere, the brocade-robed man and the black-robed man appeared several li away, standing atop a hill and gazing at the convoy on the official road.
“The mark on him has vanished.”
The brocade-robed man looked serious. “Someone must have helped him conceal it.”
That morning, he had placed a mark on Chen Ming. It was a type of secret Divine Repository technique—thus, he had been able to track him this far.
Just as he was about to catch up, the mark disappeared.
Only another Divine Repository Realm expert could erase a mark placed by him.
The black-robed man beside him looked grim. “That’s Princess Mingyu’s carriage. These two once shared a life-or-death experience—their bond is unusual.”
The brocade-robed man looked at him and asked, “Shall we make a move?”
Among that convoy, there was indeed a Divine Repository Realm expert. But he believed that expert wouldn’t go all-out to save someone unrelated.
After all, that old eunuch didn’t have much life left.
If it truly came to a fight, he was confident.
The black-robed man’s expression shifted several times before he asked in a low voice, “Are you confident you can kill that old bastard too?”
The brocade-robed man replied, “Twenty percent. But if you want me to kill him, that’s another price.”