I can only beat noobs.

Chapter 144 How lucky are men in this world?

"Brother Chen!"

Chen Ming arrived at the hall and saw a handsome young man who had grown into an adult, but whose former features were still visible.

He said affectionately, "Xiao Chuan, it's been over a year since I last saw you, you've grown so tall."

This young man was Li Jinchuan, who had stayed at his house for almost a year. Last year, he left Qingfeng City and came to Jiangzhou City.

In the morning, when he left home, he instructed the driver to inform Zhou Weihao and Li Jinchuan that he had arrived in Jiangzhou.

He didn't inform Zhao Xiyan; the governor's mansion wasn't a place anyone could just walk through. It must be said, her information network was indeed excellent.

In a letter Zhao Xiyan had written to him before, she mentioned that she lived in the Governor's Mansion.

The First-Rank Purple-Robed Commander of the Six Doors is the highest-ranking official in a prefecture, a true regional governor.

Zhao Xiyan's master is the wife of the Governor of Jiangzhou, a second-rank expert.

Chen Ming didn't have any complaints about Zhao Xiyan. To be honest, she was truly exceptional to him. As a noblewoman from a prestigious family, it was extremely rare for her to do this much.

The premise is that they are friends.

As for going any further, that's impossible now.

What Chen Ming wanted was not to weigh the pros and cons.

The moment Zhao Xiyan chose to go to Jiangzhou with her father, their relationship could only go so far; at most, they could only be good friends.

Of course, he will always remember Zhao Xiyan's kindness to him.

……

"Brother, congratulations on breaking through to the fifth rank."

Li Jinchuan's eyes were filled with excitement, and his face showed deep respect.

He had witnessed Chen Ming's rise to prominence in Wei Han firsthand, and he still remembered that when they first met, their cultivation levels were similar. In just four years, Chen Ming had already reached the fifth rank.

He had only just broken through to the seventh rank, and yet, the sect leader had already praised him as the most talented disciple in the sect's twenty-year history.

Because of Chen Ming as a role model, Li Jinchuan never felt that he was particularly talented.

"Thank you. I heard you've reached the seventh rank too. Congratulations."

Chen Ming heard about it from Hong Zilin. The two were a few years apart in age, but they had a very good relationship and often exchanged letters. Hong Zilin also always looked up to Li Jinchuan as a role model.

"I'm nowhere near as good as you, big brother."

After Li Jinchuan became his disciple, it became inconvenient for him to call him "senior brother" anymore, so he started calling him "elder brother," which didn't seem out of place.

Then, Chen Ming asked a lot of questions such as "How is your master treating you?" "Are you used to living in the sect? Has anyone bullied you?"

Li Jinchuan joined the White Feather Sect, a sect with a considerable reputation in Jiangzhou, boasting a first-rank expert. Their strength and resources place them in the second tier in Jiangzhou.

He is now a true disciple of the White Feather Sect and has a very promising future.

That night, Li Jinchuan stayed there and took the opportunity to ask Chen Ming many questions about martial arts.

His current master is a fourth-rank cultivator, whose cultivation level is higher than Chen Ming's. However, he always feels that his master is not very good at teaching. When he teaches him, he just repeats the same few sentences over and over again. It is far less simple and easy to understand than when Chen Ming guides him, directly pointing to the core.

Sure enough, that night, many of the things he couldn't understand were easily resolved after Chen Ming gave him some pointers, and he felt that he had gained a lot.

The next day, when Li Jinchuan said goodbye to Chen Ming, he felt a little regretful, thinking how wonderful it would be if Chen Ming were his master.

……

"Miss Su, are you there?"

After Li Jinchuan left, Chen Ming returned to the courtyard and asked another question.

"Is something wrong?"

This time, there was a response immediately.

Chen Ming breathed a sigh of relief and said, "You've finally come. I called you for the past few days but you didn't respond. I thought you had abandoned me and run away."

Su Zhining was silent for a moment before explaining, "I went to take care of something."

As for what she did, she didn't say, and Chen Ming naturally wouldn't ask.

He got down to business, "Your Heavenly Dao Alliance must have some peripheral forces in Jiangzhou City, right? Can I ask them for some help?"

"No, my master's token is only valid for outer disciples of Qingfeng County."

Does the effectiveness of tokens vary by region?
Is the management level of the Heavenly Dao Alliance really that high?

Chen Ming suspected she was lying to him, but he had no proof.

In fact, he knew that having the token alone was useless. If Su Zhining didn't cooperate, he wouldn't be able to command the outer forces of the Heavenly Dao Alliance.

To put it bluntly, Shang'an Trading Company doesn't follow his orders, but rather Su Zhining's.

He said, "Could you do me a favor?"

After waiting for a while, she still didn't speak.

Chen Ming took this as a tacit agreement and said, "I would like to know the detailed information about Dr. Sun from Changqingtang, a clinic on Shenshi Street in the east of the city. Could you help me look it up?"

After a while, just when he thought Su Zhining had left, he heard her voice, "Okay."

"Thanks."

"But you have to answer one question for me."

"You said."

Why did you treat Miss Zhao that way?

Chen Ming sensed an accusatory tone in her words. It turned out she had returned yesterday and witnessed his conversation with Zhao Xiyan.

“Miss Su, why do you say that? Miss Zhao and I are friends, we were before and we will be in the future. I have always treated her with the utmost respect.”

After a while, Su Zhining's soft voice came, "Master is right, most men in the world are fickle..."

"..."

……

After dark, Chen Ming ate dinner and returned to the courtyard. As soon as he opened the door, he found an extra piece of paper on the table.

He picked it up and saw that the beautiful handwriting described the deeds of Doctor Sun from Changqing Hall.

After reading it, Chen Ming fell into deep thought.

Changqing Hall has been open for many years, though the exact number is unknown, but it's at least fifty years. That Doctor Sun has always worked at Changqing Hall, without marrying or having children.

Sometimes he works alone, and sometimes he takes on one or two apprentices.

Dr. Sun's age is unknown. According to some elderly people in their sixties and seventies, Dr. Sun was already quite old when they were young, probably over ninety.

No one knew his name; everyone just called him Doctor Sun.

This Dr. Sun is quite skilled in medicine, but he has an eccentric temperament, doesn't like to make house calls, and charges exorbitant fees, so not many people go to him for treatment.

Aside from that, there's not much else special about it.

The note also stated that this Doctor Sun had never displayed any martial arts skills in all these decades. However, he must have practiced health preservation techniques, which is why he was still very healthy even in his nineties.

"It seems fine. Or am I overthinking it?"

Chen Ming twisted his inner energy, shattering the paper in his hand.

Perhaps the swordsman with the sword in his arms and the woman were simply going to see Doctor Sun for treatment.

He picked up the medical book that Doctor Sun had given him and began to read it.

I must say, this medical book is easy to read and understand, much easier than those classic medical books.

……

After daybreak, Chen Ming sat in Feng Siyuan's carriage and they went out together.

Today, they are going to the No.1 Restaurant in the World to register and qualify for the competition.

The competition for the Qingyun Ranking is not something just anyone can participate in; one must gain the approval of the number one restaurant in the world.

Chen Ming suddenly asked, "What kind of power is the Number One Pavilion Under Heaven?"

Feng Siyuan said leisurely, "If I had to say, the Number One Pavilion Under Heaven could be considered a sacred place of martial arts."

"A holy place of martial arts?"

Chen Ming became interested.

"These are the sects with long histories that transcend worldly affairs. These sacred places do not participate in worldly disputes and remain aloof from the world. Only when a successor enters the world occasionally does the world become aware of their existence."

"That 'Number One Building Under Heaven' doesn't quite fit the bill."

The Number One Pavilion Under Heaven doesn't just get involved in worldly disputes; it practically instigates countless conflicts. The Azure Cloud Ranking alone is enough to make all the young talents in the world fight tooth and nail for it.

Feng Siyuan smiled and said, "Martial arts holy lands are judged by strength. The fact that the Number One Building Under Heaven has stood for a thousand years without collapsing, and that its certification list is accepted by the whole world, shows its strength."

That makes some sense.

Those listed on the Heavenly Ranking are all top-tier experts above the first rank.

For those top-tier experts, how dare you rank me? What level are you at? If the strength of the Number One Pavilion under Heaven were even slightly weaker, it would have been torn down by those top-tier experts long ago.

Feng Siyuan continued, "Moreover, apart from creating various rankings, the World's Number One Restaurant never interferes in worldly disputes."

Chen Ming suddenly thought of Ding Guangsheng. "Sister Hong" once said that Ding Guangsheng used to be a disciple of the First Pavilion Under Heaven, but was expelled from the sect after violating the sect rules.

So he asked, "What about the disciples of the Number One Restaurant under Heaven? To have survived to this day, the Number One Restaurant under Heaven must have taken on disciples, right?"

Feng Siyuan said smugly, "I've actually inquired about that. It's said that to join the Number One Martial Arts School, one must sever all worldly ties and not participate in the conflicts of the martial arts world. Moreover, one can never be listed on the Number One Martial Arts School's official rankings. Therefore, they adopt orphans with no ties to become their disciples."

"What if their disciples break the sect rules?"

"Naturally, their cultivation will be abolished and they will be expelled from the sect."

To strip one's cultivation?

Chen Ming thought of Ding Guangsheng, who, with only a second-grade cultivation level, had crippled the Four Seas Trading Company. How come his cultivation level wasn't destroyed?
As the two were chatting, the carriage suddenly stopped.

It turned out that there were too many people, and the road was blocked.

Chen Ming looked outside and saw that the road was crowded with people and cars were stuck in traffic, making it impossible to move. He said, "We can only get out of the car and walk. Let's go."

After getting off the car, Feng Siyuan looked ahead and couldn't help but complain, "We're still far from the World's Number One Building."

Chen Ming walked forward, and those around him felt an invisible force surge towards them, pushing them aside.

The people of Jiangzhou City were all knowledgeable and knew that this was a master of true qi. Although they were dissatisfied with being squeezed, they dared not make a sound.

After walking for a while, Chen Ming finally saw a towering pavilion at the end of the street, which he estimated to be over a hundred meters high.

In this era of declining productivity, it's truly astonishing how much manpower and resources were invested in building such a tall building.

It's clear that this "Number One Building Under Heaven" is indeed extraordinary.

Chen Ming walked along like this, and after about half an incense stick's time, he finally arrived at the foot of the tall building. In front of him was a wall, and at the entrance, there was a long queue.

P.S.: I went out to run some errands this morning, so there will only be two updates today. It's the 29th, please vote with your monthly tickets.

(End of this chapter)