I can only beat noobs.

Chapter 172 Plan
You have defeated a Level 69 enemy and gained 41000 experience point.

Chen Ming glanced at the notification and felt relieved.

This elderly man, who resembled an accountant, did not unleash his full power. Like the first middle-aged man, he displayed the demeanor of a fourth-rank master, stopping short of revealing his true strength.

In reality, if it really came down to a life-or-death struggle, Chen Ming would only be the one to die unless he used his sword intent.

If he used his sword intent, he would be unable to face his next opponent.

After he used his sword intent to sever Lai Xiangran's arm last time, it took him half a day to recover. It was too much of a mental drain on him.

These three opponents today earned him a total of over 100,000 experience points.

"As expected, it's high risk, high reward; the experience points from challenging higher-level opponents are really high."

He's now at max skill level, and with a top-tier piece of equipment, he can easily farm monsters that are more than ten levels higher than him. As long as his monster-luring technique is good enough, he can enjoy the feeling of gaining experience at lightning speed.

Chen Ming walked over to Ji Qianxing, who was watching the battle from the sidelines, and said, "Thank you for your trouble, Brother Ji. Should I go and pay my respects to the young lady?"

Ji Qianxing said, "No need. Master is currently in seclusion."

Retreat?

Does she intend to cultivate the "Mysterious Fire True Skill" as well?

Chen Ming admired her courage and asked, "May I ask how many fourth-rank officials you have arranged for me?"

Seeing his earnest expression, Ji Qianxing said, "If you want to continue, we can arrange it for Brother Chen tomorrow."

"continue."

"Alright. Let's go back to the same time this morning, Brother Chen, come over by yourself."

"Row."

……

After watching Chen Ming leave, Ji Qianxing went to the backyard to report to her master.

After entering the courtyard, he said to the maid Ju'er who was guarding outside, "He has already left."

"Who left?"

A soft voice rang out, and a beautiful, elegant woman dressed in palace attire walked out.

Ji Qianxing quickly bowed and said, "Greetings, Madam."

The woman raised her hand and said, "No need for formalities. You just said, who left?"

Ji Qianxing replied, "It's Chen Ming."

"Chen Ming?"

The beautiful woman thought for a moment and then remembered, "Isn't it Chen Ming who just climbed to sixth place on the Qingyun Ranking? Xiao'e has taken a fancy to another young and handsome man and wants to recruit him as her subordinate? What nonsense."

Ji Qianxing lowered her head and dared not speak.

This beautiful woman is the master's aunt, born into the Yu family, and is now the wife of the Cangyue Sect leader, known as Madam Yu.

The "Xiao'e" she mentioned is Yu Haitang. "E'niang" is her nickname, and only very close people would call her that.

Madam Yu asked, "I ask you, is Xiao'e really in seclusion?"

"Yes, madam."

Ji Qianxing and Ju'er bowed and answered.

A hint of worry flashed in Madam Yu's eyes. "Has she really thought it through? Does she really want to take that step?"

Ju'er whispered, "Madam, as far as I know, Master is cultivating a secret technique, not trying to break through to a higher realm. It's just that this secret technique is quite difficult, so he asked me to inform you so that you can come and protect him."

Madam Yu said, "I understand."

After saying that, he walked inside.

After she left, Ju'er asked, "How was the battle?"

Ji Qianxing said, "He won all three battles."

"what?"

Ju'er was taken aback, her face filled with disbelief. "Is he really that amazing?"

It's more than just impressive.
A surge of indescribable emotion welled up in Ji Qianxing's heart, but he quickly suppressed it and said, "He wants to continue tomorrow."

Ju'er said, "I will tell my master."

……

The next day, Chen Ming came again. This time, his opponent was an elderly man in fine clothes, who was clearly different from the three men from the previous day. He had an arrogant air about him.

He recognized that demeanor; back in Qingfeng City, those so-called masters and veterans were exactly like this. To put it bluntly, they were resting on their past achievements, living a life of ease and complacency, lacking any ambition. They had lost all their aspirations, yet loved to put on airs of seniority.

These kinds of people are usually very protective of their reputation; for them, fame is more important than their lives. They are definitely much more difficult to deal with than those three from yesterday.

"She thinks too highly of me."

Chen Ming cursed inwardly. He'd already found a top-tier Rank 4 level 69 opponent yesterday, and now he'd found someone even more difficult to deal with.

They couldn't stand his smugness, so they specifically chose some experts to put an end to his arrogance, right?

Humph.

He silently recited a command, summoned the control panel, and directly added 100,000 points to "Phoenix Dance in the Nine Heavens".

【Level: 55】

Current points: 453000

[Techniques: Iron Horse Stake (Fifth Level Completed), Five Elements True Skill (Missing) (Fifth Level 990000/1500000)]

Martial Arts: 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 (Third Level 1232/300000)

[Secret Technique: The Art of Disguise (Mastery)]

In a short time, this lightness skill had broken through to the third level. Chen Ming's body underwent some changes again; some tendons became stronger and more resilient, and some meridians widened and strengthened.

At the same time, countless techniques and experiences related to this light-body skill appeared in his mind, as if he had suddenly gained years of practice experience from scratch.

At this moment, the old man in fine clothes spoke up, "As long as I defeat this person, my grandson's matter will be wiped clean?"

Ji Qianxing nodded and said, "That's right."

The elderly man in fine clothes said no more, drew his weapon, and asked in a deep voice, "Young master, are you ready?"

Chen Ming had just finished upgrading, smiled slightly, and said, "All done."

"Accept!"

A sharp shout rang out in the air, and the old man in fine clothes had already disappeared from his spot, his long sword slashing towards his waist.

He used all his strength from the very first move.

Unfortunately, the strike missed.

Chen Ming narrowly avoided the incredibly swift strike.

The old man in fine clothes launched his second attack, chasing after Chen Ming, who was in mid-air, and slashing at him, leaving him no way to dodge.

At this moment, Chen Ming finally drew his sword, the tip touching the long saber, using the force to float up again.

The elderly man in fine clothes slashed faster and faster with each strike, his blade radiating energy.

In Ji Qianxing's view, Chen Ming was clearly at a complete disadvantage, without even the power to fight back, yet he managed to narrowly avoid the opponent's killing moves every time, resolving the crisis in the most impossible circumstances.

Even he couldn't help but feel worried for Chen Ming. Under the sharp attacks of the old man in fine clothes, Chen Ming looked to be in grave danger and could be bleeding on the spot at any moment.

Gradually, Ji Qianxing also realized something was wrong. Chen Ming's movements were graceful, like a nimble bird, suspended in mid-air as if he didn't need to land. The old man in the fine clothes' killing moves all missed their mark.

Such agility is simply unheard of.

Finally, Chen Ming began to fight back. He was in the air, like a large bird, and stabbed towards the old man in fine clothes.

He had seen Chen Ming use this move during the competition for the Azure Cloud Ranking.

When used now, it was completely different, its power increased more than tenfold. At this moment, the tip of the sword was pointing precisely at the enemy's must-defend point.

The elderly man in fine clothes was no slouch either; realizing the danger, he raised his knife to defend himself.

snort!
A flash of blood appeared, and the old man groaned as a sword struck his shoulder, blood gushing out.

Even with his protective aura, he was as fragile as paper under the power of the peerless divine weapon, which only provided a slight resistance.

"Excellent swordsmanship..."

The old man looked miserable, clutching the wound on his shoulder, and turned to leave.

Ji Qianxing stood there, stunned. He hadn't seen clearly what had happened, why Chen Ming's sword had shifted three inches to the side at the crucial moment, dodging the old man's blade.

He only knew one thing: this person had become stronger again.

Chen Ming sheathed his sword, sat cross-legged on the ground as usual, and began to regulate his breathing.

……

You have defeated a Level 69 enemy and gained 41000 experience point.

You have defeated a Level 68 enemy and gained 39000 experience point.

You have defeated a Level 69 enemy and gained 41000 experience point.

Chen Ming gained 120,000 experience points from his three opponents today, instantly earning back the 100,000 points he had invested in "Phoenix Dance in the Nine Heavens".

He increasingly felt the extraordinary nature of this lightness skill. Even at only the third level, he was already able to perform some incredible movements and changes of direction that defied the laws of physics.

Today's three opponents are all extremely strong, and their fighting spirit is also very firm. They are not comparable to the three from yesterday.

He was able to defeat them with ease, which shows how much the third level of "Phoenix Dance in the Nine Heavens" enhanced his strength.

"However, there's no need to add any more before reaching the third rank."

After reaching the third level of "Phoenix Dance in the Nine Heavens", only those at the third rank can fully unleash its exquisite power.

It's like a space propulsion unit; its "true energy" is just gasoline. No matter how much it's burned, it can't reach the propulsion unit's maximum power.

Adding more fuel to a small engine pulling a large cart would be a waste.

Chen Ming wasn't worried. With his current strength, there shouldn't be many people among the fourth-rank cultivators who could defeat him. At the very least, they'd have to be at Su Zhining's level.

Sure enough, in the following days, he easily defeated all the opponents Yu Haitang arranged for him, reaping a large amount of experience points.

Chen Ming was having a blast spending over 100,000 yuan a day.

At this rate, he should be able to accumulate enough experience points to reach the third rank in less than a month.

That's right, that's his goal: to skip the fourth rank and break through directly to the third rank. To give everyone a surprise.

Faced with the peerless expert Senior Shang and the first-rank experts of the Heavenly Dao Alliance, only by breaking through to the third rank could one have some power to protect oneself.

If you still have enough experience points, upgrade "Phoenix Dance in the Nine Heavens" by one or two levels to use for escaping.

This plan is perfect.

……

Just as Chen Ming was quietly putting his plan into action, Qin Changyuan's patience reached its limit. He sent out spies to keep an eye on Chen Ming and learned that she was going to the Yu family every day.

His face turned green with rage several times, and he wished he could rush over and tear Chen Ming to pieces. In the end, he was stopped by his attendants.

That day, the attendant finally brought good news: "The man has been found, and he has only one request."

Qin Changyuan calmed down again at this moment and asked, "What are your requirements?"

“His son is in the Six Doors, already a fourth-rank official, but he has been unable to be promoted to the fifth-rank captain. As soon as his son is promoted, he will immediately take action.”

"Tell him to prepare to take action in ten days."

(End of this chapter)