From the fake emperor to the concubine

The Zheng family's statement was met with a wave of ridicule.

"What? Did I hear that right? The Zheng family's ancestral martial arts technique?"

"Everyone, please don't be fooled. If the Zheng family really had such powerful techniques, how could they have declined year after year over the past few hundred years?"

"That's right. Instead of believing that the Zheng family has some powerful techniques, you should believe that I am the number one sword immortal in Xuanzhou."

"Fellow Daoists, please don't be fooled! The more attractive the benefits promised by the Zheng family seem, the more it indicates that they have a conspiracy."

"Anyone who is not related to you but will inexplicably be nice to you, apart from your godfather, is someone who has ulterior motives towards you."

"I'm actually starting to wonder, what kind of conspiracy does the Zheng family have in store for those people? Aren't they afraid that things will escalate completely and they won't be able to back down in the end?"

In short, it would have been better if the Zheng family hadn't issued a statement; after they did, the voices of doubt actually grew louder.

Just like that, two days passed in a flash.

In the past two days, the Zheng family has endured countless controversies.

It's likely that the entire Xuanzhou continent now knows about the Zheng family's plan to recruit disciples.

The mockery and contempt directed at the Zheng family never ceased.

Eventually, it even got to the point where many monks were unwilling to discuss the topic at all.

Because whenever someone mentions this matter, it immediately triggers a series of ridicule.

The night before the apprenticeship ceremony, Zheng Tianming unusually drank too much.

"A person's drinking habits reveal their character," though this is just baseless nonsense.

However, people in this world are all different, and while everyone's reaction after getting drunk cannot indicate their character, it is certainly varied.

Some people fall asleep immediately after drinking too much, while others seem to become completely different people after drinking too much.

Zheng Tianming is just like that; he always seems carefree and easygoing.

Once you drink too much, you completely change.

"Brother, I don't think this matter is that simple," Zheng Tianming said solemnly and worriedly.

Seeing Zheng Tianhao's appearance, an elder from the Zheng family, Zhao, burst out laughing: "Clan leader, it's been seven or eight years since we've seen this guy drunk, hasn't it?"

That's right, this guy actually looks much more normal than usual after drinking too much.

Moreover, he not only looked normal, but also seemed to be perfectly sober, with a clear mind.

If this guy could maintain his current condition normally, Zheng Tianhao probably wouldn't have gotten the position of clan leader at all.

Their conclusion that Zheng Tianming was simply drunk was based on past experience.

No matter what Zheng Tianming says in his current state, as long as he takes a nap, he will wake up again.

He doesn't remember anything at all.

He had no recollection what Zheng Tianming himself had said.

If anyone asks too many questions, they will be met with disdain from Zheng Tianming, who will think that there is something wrong with their brains.

However, even they had to admit that Zheng Tianming in this state was indeed quite something.

It was immediately obvious that these recent events were not simple.

As elders of the Zheng family, they were not powerful cultivators.

But their basic eyesight is still not too bad.

The Zheng family's situation has indeed not been good in recent years.

But no matter what, they are still a family of cultivators.

Even a starved camel is bigger than a horse; compared to ordinary rogue cultivators, the Zheng family still has some foundation.

It should never have escalated to the point where it is being ridiculed so recklessly by everyone.

It's obvious that many people are involved here.

Some people are deliberately manipulating public opinion, while others are taking advantage of the situation to fish in troubled waters.

It's unknown how many people "worked" together to bring about the Zheng family's current state of being ridiculed by the world.

"We must find out who is behind this as soon as possible. Otherwise, even if it doesn't affect the apprenticeship ceremony, it will make people think that the Zheng family is weak and easy to bully."

"If you think it's inconvenient to do it this way, then leave it to me. I guarantee that those guys who only dare to play tricks behind people's backs will regret it."

If Zheng Tianming's drunken state could last for several days or even longer, they believed he could do it.

The problem is that Zheng Tianming will fall into a deep sleep within an hour at most.

Then, no matter what ideas he has or what methods he can use, it will all be in vain.

"No problem, do whatever you want, we'll fully support you," Zheng Tianhao said dismissively.

"Clan leader, what do you mean by this?" Zheng Tianming sensed the perfunctory tone in Zheng Tianhao's words and frowned in displeasure.

He was thinking of the family's best interests, but all he got in return was such a cold response from the patriarch, and his face immediately darkened.

Normally, Zheng Tianming calls Zheng Tianhao "Big Brother," but when he's drunk, he calls him an unfamiliar clan leader.

The contrast before and after is so stark, it's almost as if they are two different people.

When Zheng Tianhao first discovered that Zheng Tianming would become like this when drunk, he was still thinking about how to explain it.

However, after experiencing more of it...

Let this guy do whatever he wants; after all, once he wakes up, everything will be forgotten.

"Don't get me wrong, it's not that I don't trust you, quite the opposite, I trust you too much."

"As long as you take action, those guys who are stirring up trouble behind the scenes will have nowhere to hide."

"So, whatever you want to do, just go for it. The Zheng family, and all of us in the Zheng family, will be your strongest support."

The other elders rolled their eyes at the sound of it.

He thought to himself, "No wonder he's the clan leader, he's really good at bluffing."

Despite being drunk, Zheng Tianming stared at Zheng Tianhao for a while, seemingly trying to read something from his face.

Zheng Tianhao didn't care at all. This guy seemed to be observing, but he was actually so drunk that he couldn't tell east from west. What was there to be afraid of?

Sure enough, even though Zheng Tianhao didn't pretend, Zheng Tianming still couldn't tell whether his words were true or false.

"Thank you, clan leader. Please rest assured, I will definitely find out who is behind this and will not let the clan down."

After saying that, he suddenly turned around and strode outside.

Zheng Tianming had done similar things before when he was drunk.

However, at that time, he mostly just talked about it and did almost nothing.

But this time, for some reason, it seems like I really intend to do it.

It doesn't matter if this guy, who's so drunk he's become a completely different person, just says it.

But if you really ask him to do something, especially at this sensitive time, it's a different story.

If this guy really makes a fuss, wouldn't those guys who've been stirring things up behind the scenes be ecstatic?
"Stop him immediately!" Zheng Tianhao ordered urgently. Almost as soon as he finished speaking, the Zheng family elders present turned into afterimages and rushed towards Zheng Tianming, who was striding away.

Seeing these people's actions, Zheng Tianhao nodded in satisfaction.

The elders' strength has improved tremendously.

It's all thanks to the techniques passed down from our ancestors.

As long as they are members of the Zheng family and are willing to endure some hardship to cultivate diligently, they can gain a great deal from the cultivation methods passed down to them by their ancestors.

Of course, this method is not without its flaws.

At least for Zheng Tianhao right now, the biggest problem with this "Beginner Level" is that it's just too easy and simple to cultivate.

Some highly talented individuals don't even need to read the entire manual.

Even reading just a part of it can be very beneficial.

Even from just a few words, one can roughly deduce the content of the later part of the technique.

In fact, there is no need for deduction at all. Most cultivators can directly adapt the cultivation methods given to them by their ancestors into versions that are more suitable for their own cultivation.

At first, Zheng Tianhao was unaware of this matter.

Until one day, he inadvertently talked about it with other elders.

They were surprised to discover that although they were all practicing the same technique, there were still some minor differences between them.

They also tried to communicate with each other, hoping to see if they could learn from each other's strengths and make up for each other's weaknesses.

They then discovered that the differences that arose during their cultivation made it almost impossible for them to understand each other.

Those are things that only they themselves can understand.

The more Zheng Tianhao cultivated, the more clearly he could feel just how terrifying the cultivation method passed down to them by their ancestors truly was.

However, precisely because this technique is so simple and easy to understand, keeping it a secret becomes extremely difficult.

Even if fragments of other cultivation methods are leaked out, ordinary cultivators cannot see the whole picture, so it doesn't matter if they know some of the details.

However, if it were an ancestral technique, even a single word of it would be a tremendous loss to the Zheng family.

Heaven knows how much hair he's lost these past few days in order to ensure the secrets of his cultivation technique aren't leaked.

Of course, compared to these difficulties, the improvement in the strength of our own people is ultimately gratifying.

These thoughts only flashed through Zheng Tianhao's mind.

Before he could even finish his thought, he suddenly saw a figure flying towards him.

The figure was moving very fast, but in Zheng Tianhao's eyes, it seemed as if the person was floating in slow motion in mid-air.

This is the ability that Zheng Tianhao developed on his own after practicing the "Beginner Level" technique.

However, this ability is not of much help to him right now.

Because although his eyes could keep up with the 'dudu' sound, his body simply couldn't react.

For example, right now, he saw people flying over.

He could even clearly see the spittle that flew out when the other party screamed.

In my mind, seventy or eighty ways to easily resolve the current situation have already flashed through my mind.

However, his body felt as if it were filled with lead, and he had to exert all his strength to make every movement.

In the end, he could only barely dodge the elder who flew towards him.

He made the other person fall solidly to the ground.

After dodging the elder who flew towards him, Zheng Tianhao witnessed an even more shocking scene.

Zheng Tianming, his younger brother.

At this moment, he is fighting against three so-called elders of the Zheng family one against one, and is not at a disadvantage at all.

He could tell that the three elders were not holding back, but even so, they still couldn't defeat Zheng Tianming.

Moreover, if you look closely, you can even see it.

Zheng Tianming was even suppressing these three elders.

For a short time, the two sides can remain evenly matched. But if the fight drags on, Zheng Tianming is very likely to emerge victorious.

Most importantly, before this, Zheng Tianming had also knocked another elder flying.

We're all elders, so why are you so amazing, able to take on four opponents by yourself?

However, Zheng Tianhao soon had no time to be happy about his younger brother's growth.

The elders were no match for Zheng Tianhao, so they could only watch him leave.

In the previous situation, Zheng Tianhao couldn't let Zheng Tianming go out and cause trouble.

Now that this guy still possesses such terrifying strength, we absolutely cannot let him leave.

"Stop right there, group leader!" Zheng Tianhao roared, his fist moving faster than his voice.

He played a trick here, striking first before warning Zheng Tianming.

Therefore, even though Zheng Tianming was on guard, he was unable to block Zheng Tianhao's punch.

Everyone could clearly see that the punch made intimate contact with Zheng Tianming's face.

The person was instantly thrown sideways in mid-air, then crashed heavily to the ground, lifeless.

Seeing the other people's as if they'd seen a ghost, Zheng Tianhao rolled his eyes in annoyance: "What kind of looks are those?"

"Tianming is my own brother, how could I possibly hurt him?"

"This kid has just fainted; he should wake up soon."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zheng Tianming actually woke up slowly.

He scratched his head vigorously to relieve his headache: "What just happened? Why does my whole body hurt?"

Zheng Tianming struggled to get up from the ground, but because of his serious injuries, he failed to get up after several attempts.

and so……

The guy simply lay down on the ground and didn't move: "By the way, brother, I just had a dream. I dreamt that I competed with many masters from all over the world."

"And guess what? Those so-called experts were no match for me at all. I threw them out one by one."

Zheng Tianming became more and more excited as he spoke, gesturing wildly and beaming with joy.

The elder who had been thrown out laughed and cursed, "You're basically throwing me out."

Zheng Tianming was taken aback for a moment, then chuckled awkwardly, "Your joke isn't funny at all. Everyone knows I can't beat you at all. I'd be lucky if you didn't throw me out instead of you."

The elder's face turned ashen: "I wish I were mistaken, but that's the truth. You've improved so quickly, tell me, what secret have you found this time?"

Zheng Tianming said with a bitter face, "I really don't have any secret." (End of this chapter)