I can only beat noobs.

Chapter 163 Great improvement in strength
Have I become her inner demon?

As Chen Ming left Changqing Hall, he kept thinking about this. "What is this? Originally, her inner demon was me. I entered her dream and helped her kill the inner demon. In the end, I became her new inner demon?"

In the end, all my efforts were in vain.

The only good news is that Su Zhining survived.

The bad news is that she developed murderous intent towards herself.

Although she managed to control herself this time and didn't actually make a move, there's no guarantee she won't actually kill him next time.

She's become possessed by demons; it's not surprising that she'd do anything.

Chen Ming felt a strong sense of crisis. He was originally a powerful bodyguard, but now he had become a ticking time bomb, the kind that could kill him at any moment.

How to do?
With his current strength, he is definitely no match for Su Zhining. Unless he uses his sword intent, but she knows he possesses a sword jade. If she decides to make a move, she will definitely choose a time when he cannot use his sword intent.

Unless he breaks through to the fourth rank.

But that would mean he would have to keep his promise and return to Qingfeng City to find Shang Jianfei and the others, but he wasn't ready to face that major crisis...

Just then, someone blocked his way.

Chen Ming looked up and saw Ji Qianxing's expressionless face and indifferent eyes. Turning his head, he saw a carriage parked on the opposite side of the road and was a little surprised: She hadn't left yet?

Got it!
A thought suddenly struck him, and he walked over to the carriage, saying, "What are your orders, young lady?"

"boarding."

Yu Haitang's voice came from the carriage, and the carriage door opened in response.

Chen Ming boarded the carriage, where Yu Haitang was already seated. She had removed her veil, revealing her stunning beauty.

This was the fourth time the two had met, and he still couldn't help but sigh in admiration. How could someone be so beautiful?

Yu Haitang was also staring at him and asked, "What exactly is your relationship with that person from Changqing Hall?"

"He was an elder of one of my seniors."

Chen Ming briefly explained how he met Old Sun.

He learned some medical knowledge from Dr. Wang, who can be considered his teacher in medicine.

Yu Haitang was clearly skeptical. "That's it?"

"It's true."

As Chen Ming spoke, he asked curiously, "Why does the young lady value Old Master Sun so much?"

The fact that she personally visited Mr. Sun shows how much she values ​​him.

You should know that every time she tried to win him over, she would send a maid over to deliver gifts or to inform him that she wanted to see him.

This incident shows that in her heart, Old Sun was far more important than him.

Yu Haitang said calmly, "That's not something you should be asking."

Chen Ming wisely changed the subject and said, "I happen to have met you here, young lady, and I have a favor to ask of you."

"explain."

"I would like to request a view of the 'Mysterious Wood True Skill.' I am willing to exchange it for the 'Mysterious Fire True Skill' and the 'Mysterious Water True Skill.'"

Yu Haitang was greatly surprised, "The Mysterious Water True Skill is also on you?"

Chen Ming said, "Yes. I got it by chance."

Yu Haitang stared at him for a while, her eyes flashing, and asked, "Why do you want the 'Mysterious Wood True Skill'? Do you know that this is the very skill I cultivate?"

"To be honest, since I obtained the 'Mysterious Water True Skill,' I have come to understand the principle of the balance of Yin and Yang, which has led to a great improvement in my cultivation. However, recently, my progress has been slowing down. At this rate, I don't know how long it will take to reach the fourth rank."

Chen Ming said with a worried look, "I'm also worried about delaying your important matters, Miss. If you have your 'Mysterious Wood True Skill,' you might gain new insights and advance to the fourth rank as soon as possible."

Yu Haitang suddenly said, "Let's get off the bus."

Seeing that she neither agreed nor disagreed, Chen Ming didn't say anything more and got off the carriage.

He stood there, watching the carriage drive away, thinking that if she refused, he would have no choice but to go to "Sister Hong".

Since he merged the "Taiyin True Scripture" and the "Blazing Yang Divine Skill" into the "Two Elements True Skill," he has not only been able to freely change the nature of his true energy, but the quality of his true energy has also made a great breakthrough.

In this competition for the "Azure Cloud Ranking," his opponents were all from prestigious families and sects, and their cultivation techniques were not weak; at least they were top-tier.

These people were all at a higher level than him, mostly level 58 or 59.

He was able to easily defeat these people not only because of his superior swordsmanship, but also because his internal energy was no weaker than theirs.

In terms of the quality of true qi, even someone like Jiang Shihua, who comes from one of the three great families and has cultivated unparalleled techniques, is slightly inferior to him.

If he could fuse with another technique of the same attribute, the "Mysterious Wood True Skill," the quality of his true energy might be elevated to another level. In that case, he wouldn't be completely helpless against a fourth-rank opponent.

……

Chen Ming returned to the Feng residence and continued reading medical books in the courtyard.

He discovered that medicine and martial arts do indeed have something in common. Although it cannot directly improve one's martial arts cultivation in the short term, it is very beneficial in the long run.

Unfortunately, despite studying medical books for so long, his proficiency in medical skills still hasn't appeared on the panel.

It seems that this panel can only display skills related to martial arts.

After nightfall.

Hearing footsteps outside, Chen Ming recognized the butler and "Mei'er" and was overjoyed, thinking, "They've finally arrived."

After Mei entered the courtyard, she bowed to him and said, "Greetings, young master. My master asked me to bring this over."

It was a red wooden box.

After taking the book, Chen Ming handed her the two books he had prepared in advance and said, "Give this to your young lady."

Mei'er solemnly accepted it, saying, "This servant takes her leave."

"Miss Mei'er."

Chen Ming called out to her, "Zhu'er and Lan'er are in the next courtyard. Do you want to go see them?"

Mei paused, shook her head, said nothing, and left.

Chen Ming naturally wouldn't force the issue. He returned to the house, opened the wooden box, and found a book inside with four ancient seal characters on the cover, which looked like the four characters "Xuanmu Zhengong".

The material of this book is obviously unusual; it resembles both leather and tan.

He opened the cover, and thankfully the characters inside weren't the ancient seal script type, so he could understand them.

He read a few pages and couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion. "She really didn't lie to me. This technique and the 'Two Elements True Technique' do indeed share the same origin."

He didn't sleep all night, and kept studying the "Mysterious Wood True Skill".

……

On the other side, in a quiet courtyard.

Yu Haitang also obtained the two cultivation manuals, holding them in her hands and flipping through them, a strange smile on her lips. "It really came without any effort at all."

The two books, "Mysterious Fire True Skill" and "Mysterious Water True Skill," were exactly what she needed.

Water produces wood, and wood produces fire.

Once her Qi is fully developed, she can begin cultivating the "Mysterious Fire True Skill".

According to her guess, these five techniques are only a part of the whole. Only when they are all mastered and combined into one can they become an astonishing and supreme divine skill.

However, mastering even one skill is already quite difficult.

Those five reclusive families also relied on external aids to pass down their cultivation techniques from generation to generation. Moreover, once they mastered the divine skills using external aids, they would be bound and unable to leave.

The higher one's cultivation level, the heavier the constraints one faces. The Longevity Emperor used this method to trap those five reclusive families for generations, making them guard the key to his tomb.

Yu Haitang possessed exceptional talent and mastered the "Mysterious Wood True Skill" without any external aids, reaching an extremely high level of mastery.

Even so, it is by no means easy to cultivate another "Mysterious Fire True Technique".

"That guy claims to have grasped the principle of the mutual generation of Yin and Yang. Is it true or false?"

She was a little confused.

In theory, this is certainly feasible. But in reality, how easy is it to do so?
These two martial arts techniques are mutually exclusive; if one is not careful, one will suffer the consequences of qi deviation.

She quickly put aside these distracting thoughts and focused on studying the two cultivation techniques.

……

Over the next few days, Chen Ming focused on comprehending the "Mysterious Wood True Skill".

He discovered that although they were from the same source, this book was quite different from the two he had studied before, and some parts were difficult to understand.

A full month passed before he finally mastered the technique. A notification popped up before his eyes: [Detected that the "Mysterious Wood True Technique" and the "Two Elements True Technique" are the same technique. Merge them?]

Chen Ming breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that it was finally done, and silently said, "Yes."

[The techniques are currently being merged and are expected to take 24 hours. During this time, please do not use your inner energy. Find a place to sit still and do not move around.]

This fusion will take longer; last time it took six hours, now it will take a day and a night.

He thought for a moment, then called Qiu Xiang over and gave her some instructions. He then sat cross-legged on the bed and waited patiently.

Gradually, he felt that the true energy in his dantian was undergoing some strange change.

As time went on, this change became more and more dramatic, eventually leading to a qualitative leap.

His face changed color constantly, sometimes red, sometimes blue, and sometimes pale blue.

……

That night, a red figure appeared silently on the rooftop, watching the room where Chen Ming lived.

"What is he doing?"

Princess Hongyu's eyes were filled with doubt.

More than a month has passed since the Qingyun Ranking competition, and Chen Ming shows no intention of returning to Qingfeng City. It seems he plans to stay in Jiangzhou City for an extended period.

The female disciple from the Heavenly Dao Alliance who had been following him also seemed a little strange.

The most troublesome thing is still that sword!

Ever since he acquired that divine weapon, she could no longer spy on him at will. Any divine sense that came within a foot of him would be annihilated by the sword energy emanating from that divine weapon.

"Who exactly is that woman? How could she just give away such a peerless weapon so casually?"

Princess Hongyu felt that things were getting out of her control. Chen Ming's trip to Jiangzhou City had unexpectedly led him to encounter such a person.

"Perhaps it's time to have a talk with him."

As she was thinking this, she suddenly sensed something and looked at the house with some surprise.

what is this?
She sensed a strange and powerful surge of true energy erupting from the room.

Fourth grade?

"No, it's not fourth-grade. But why is this true energy so powerful?"

Princess Hongyu was very surprised. What was this kid up to now?
In the blink of an eye, that true energy disappeared, as if nothing had ever happened.

……

Become!

In the dark room, Chen Ming suddenly opened his eyes, and the incredibly powerful true energy within his body suddenly erupted uncontrollably, bursting out of his body.

In an instant, everything in the room was blown away by the explosive force.

He pressed his true energy back into his dantian, feeling the surging true energy, which was several times stronger than before.

Chen Ming was stunned. "I'm so strong!"

When he merged the two cultivation techniques before, his total amount of true qi did not increase much. Unexpectedly, after merging with another cultivation technique now, the amount of true qi has also increased dramatically.

I wonder how powerful it is...

He condensed a wisp of true energy at his fingertips, and with a thought, the true energy shot out, piercing a hole in the wooden wall with a hissing sound.

"Amazing!"

He was taken aback; with such power, one could easily believe it was some kind of internal energy.

The true energy of a fifth-rank martial artist possesses a powerful amplification effect, enhancing their own strength. If injected into a weapon, the resulting sword and saber energy is also incredibly lethal.

However, once it leaves the body, it loses its power.

Only when one reaches the fourth rank of the Qi Realm can one's true qi almost solidify into a tangible form. The most powerful among them can even pierce through metal and stone, killing people invisibly.

Chen Ming's true energy has undergone a qualitative change; even after leaving his body, it still possesses such power, which is simply unbelievable.

"As expected of the cultivation technique left behind by the Longevity Emperor."

He clicked his tongue in amazement, "If all five techniques were combined, it might really be possible to fight against opponents of higher levels."

"Buzz!"

Just then, the "Mingfeng" sword hanging above the bed suddenly emitted a sword cry, as if to warn everyone.

"Is someone spying on us in the dark?"

This wasn't the first time Chen Ming had seen the "Mingfeng" sword issue a warning on its own initiative, and he had some guesses in his mind.

He reached out and took it down, and his true energy naturally flowed into the sword.

There was a "buzz" sound.

The Phoenix Cry Sword seemed to become excited, a faint red light emanating from its blade, like a flame. An invisible force rippled outwards.

"This is... sword energy!"

Chen Ming was overjoyed, finally able to unleash a portion of the divine weapon's power.

Divine weapons are not merely sharp; their true power can only be fully unleashed when they reach the first rank or higher.

Previously, his true energy was too weak to utilize the power of this divine weapon.

With the sword aura, he now has the strength to fight against a fourth-rank martial artist, at least he won't be passively beaten.

He carefully put away the Phoenix Cry Sword, silently recited a command, and summoned the control panel.

【Level: 55】

Current points: 638000

[Techniques: Iron Horse Stake (Fifth Level Completed), Five Elements True Skill (Missing) (Fifth Level 930000/1500000)]

[Martial Arts Skills: Three Talents Fist (Mastery), Eight Trigrams Saber Technique (Mastery), Zhuang Family Flying Knife (Mastery), Swallow Return Sword Technique (Mastery), Vermilion Bird Sword Technique (Mastery), Phoenix Dance in the Nine Heavens (First Level 15463/100000)]

"It was originally called 'The True Skill of the Five Elements'."

Chen Ming saw the changes on the panel and thought to himself.

I don't know where to find the remaining two doors.

"This matter will most likely fall on Yu Haitang. She knows so many secrets, and she might also know the whereabouts of the other two cultivation techniques."

(End of this chapter)