I can only beat noobs.

Chapter 174: Fourth Rank
"You, cannot, kill, him!"

Su Zhining, dressed in flowing white robes, leaped into the air, unleashing a chilling aura that spread outwards. A pale blue, misty light shone from her eyes. Her cold voice carried a strong sense of killing intent.

Her flowing hair emitted wisps of electricity, and a dark cloud quickly gathered in the sky above her head, with streaks of lightning rolling within it.

The dark clouds that blotted out the sky made the entire world lose its color.

Chen Ming felt a chill run down his spine. Had they summoned the most powerful expert from the Heavenly Dao Alliance?
This is an overblown display.

"Humph!"

The man in black was in a foul mood. This female disciple of the Heavenly Dao Alliance was actually attempting to break through to the third rank at this time. If she successfully reached the third rank, he knew he would be no match for her.

In a flash, he made a decision. With a flick of his wrist, a short stick flew out of his sleeve, and with a gentle flick, several sections extended from both ends, transforming it into a long stick.

With the staff in hand, his entire demeanor changed; his eyes turned bloodshot, revealing a bloodthirsty and violent nature.

"Go to hell!"

He shouted sharply, and swung his long staff out. A terrifying burst of energy crossed the limitations of space and instantly reached Chen Ming's head, about to blast him apart.

When he decided to come and kill Chen Ming, he had already offended him. Even if he stopped now, would the other party let him go later?

This young genius is famous on the Qingyun List. Once he reaches the third rank, how could I be his match?

He would rather kill this boy in front of the female disciples of the Heavenly Dao Alliance to prevent future troubles.

As everyone knows, the Heavenly Alliance is the leader of the righteous path. No matter how much you offend them, your family will not be implicated.

hum!
The "Phoenix Cry Sword" in Chen Ming's hand vibrated wildly, but it was useless. When that powerful force was about to hit him, he didn't even have time to think.

The next instant, that burst of energy vanished like a bubble.

He then realized what had just happened and broke out in a cold sweat.

Is this the true strength of a third-grade expert?
It's terrifying; you're already dead before you even realize what's happening.

The man in black looked at Su Zhining in the air, somewhat shocked and angry, "Are you crazy? You're willing to risk your own life to save him?"

At this moment, she was at the most critical juncture, her inner energy transforming into inner energy. A slight misstep could result in the complete rupture of her meridians.

At a time like this, she still dared to make a forceful move. What's the difference between that and courting death?
It doesn't matter if she dies, but when the Heavenly Alliance investigates, who knows how many people will die.

Since the events of three hundred years ago, under the witness of the Great Jin royal family, the Heavenly Dao Alliance and the other eight major sects and several powerful clans have drawn a line between themselves.

The Heavenly Alliance no longer cares about the grudges and feuds in the martial arts world.

Similarly, if any of the Heavenly Dao Alliance disciples were to suffer an accident, all those involved would be killed.

If this female disciple of the Heavenly Dao Alliance dies here, not only him, but Qin Changyuan and all those involved will be uprooted, including his children.

Of the three people present, he was the one who least wanted the woman in white to die here.

Therefore, seeing Su Zhining's sword pointing at him from the sky, the man in black hesitated to attack, only continuing his relentless pursuit, hoping to scare Chen Ming away.

However, Chen Ming wasn't stupid. He vaguely guessed that he was worried about Su Zhining, so he kept circling around, but never strayed far from Su Zhining's location.

For a moment, the man in black couldn't catch up with him.

After nearly a quarter of an hour of stalemate, Su Zhining, who was suspended in the air, finally took a crucial step, and her inner energy completely transformed into true energy.

puff!
Just then, her body trembled and she spat out a mouthful of blood.

This was the backlash from her forceful attack; her meridians were ultimately damaged.

Seeing this, the man in black acted decisively, swinging his long staff once more.

Almost exactly the same as before, a burst of energy instantly appeared in front of Chen Ming.

Su Zhining, in mid-air, swung her sword again, shattering the deadly aura.

"I'd like to see how many times you can save him!"

The man in black shouted and swung his long staff repeatedly.

At this point, Su Zhining had already entered the third rank, and her realm was initially stable. She was no longer in danger of dying from a sudden explosion of her inner energy, so he attacked without any hesitation.

Now that things had come to this, he had no choice but to kill the kid.

Su Zhining gritted her teeth and swung her long sword repeatedly. With each swing, a pale blue sword aura flew out, accurately blocking every blow from the man in black.

This demonstrates her keen eye and superb swordsmanship.

Similarly, with each swing of her sword, her face paled a little more, until she was as pale as paper, with only her eyes remaining bright as she stared intently at the movements of the man in black.

Chen Ming was in the midst of it all, hearing only deafening explosions and feeling the terrifying power of the Qi. His "Mingfeng Sword" kept buzzing as a warning.

He deeply felt the powerlessness of not being able to control his own life and death.

So he no longer hesitated.

"add a bit!"

In one go, he upgraded the "Five Elements True Skill (Missing)" to the sixth level.

Instantly, he felt the true energy in his dantian expand wildly, reaching its limit in the blink of an eye.

For a moment, he thought his dantian was about to burst.

Just as his Qi Sea reached its limit, his true Qi underwent a mysterious change and began to collapse. The original gaseous true Qi was continuously compressed and eventually turned into a liquid.

Qi, complete!

Chen Ming took a deep breath and glanced at the panel.

【Level: 60】

Current points: 1270000

[Techniques: Iron Horse Stake (Fifth Level Completed), Five Elements True Skill (Missing) (Sixth Level 3000/2400000)]

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 1322/300000)

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

In those thirteen days, he gained over a million experience points, enough to push his level to around 65.

Just then, he keenly spotted an opportunity.

After reaching the fourth rank, not only did his true energy undergo a qualitative change, but his five senses also improved significantly. With the help of the "Phoenix Cry Sword," he was finally able to "see" the attacks of the third-rank expert in black.

Those streams of true energy, carrying destructive power, attacked him. But Su Zhining's sword energy, which was descending from the sky, was like a crystal chip, accurately blocking the black-clad man's deadly attacks with every strike.

Among those numerous chips, a highly concealed sword aura silently shot straight towards the man in black.

not good!

By the time the man in black realized what was happening, it was too late. He was so focused on killing Chen Ming that he neglected his own safety.

Ultimately, he underestimated Su Zhining, who had just broken through and suffered severe internal injuries. He hadn't expected that she would still have the strength to attack him under these circumstances.

The man in black could only use his protective qi to withstand the attack.

laugh!
The thin protective aura within his body was pierced by the sword energy, and a blood flower bloomed on his chest; he was almost pierced through.

The man in black didn't even utter a sound, and instead swung his stick at Su Zhining in mid-air.

He finally realized that if he didn't deal with this woman, he would have little chance of killing Chen Ming.

Facing his blow, Su Zhining neither dodged nor evaded, but instead thrust out her long sword.

It was a fight to the death, a mutually destructive style of fighting.

She is so crazy!
The man in black finally felt a pang of regret. He should have known better than to get involved in this mess.

Of those who make it onto the Qingyun Ranking, none are easy to mess with.
He was mentally prepared before accepting the task. However, he never expected that it would involve a female disciple of the Heavenly Dao Alliance.

This woman, so young, had actually broken through to the third rank right in front of him; she must be a true disciple of the Heavenly Dao Alliance. What's heartbreaking is that she risked her life to save Chen Ming.

This clearly shows they want to live and die with him.

The man in black was truly terrified. Even if he killed Chen Ming, she might still commit suicide with him. Then all his plans would have come to nothing.

"Young lady, why are you doing this?"

He deliberately avoided her and earnestly advised, "Young lady, you are so talented and beautiful, in the prime of your life, why are you so reckless with your life?"

Is it worth it for a man like that?

"You're so devoted to him, how can he treat you like this?"

"Girl, wake up! If you die, he might be touched for a while, but in the end he'll forget you and fall in love with another woman..."

However, no matter how earnestly he pleaded, the other party's sword did not waver in the slightest and continued to thrust at him with unwavering determination, forcing him to retreat step by step.

The woman in black was caught in a dilemma: whether to fight or not. She was extremely frustrated. There was no reasoning with a woman who had lost her mind.

Seeing the other party's aggressive attitude, as if they wanted to kill him, he finally snapped, "Don't push your luck!"

Enraged, he no longer held back and unleashed his signature move, striking three times with his staff.

The Three Saints Staff is both his nickname and his strongest martial art. He obtained three staff techniques when he captured the pirate king's wife and children.

It is precisely because of these three staff techniques that he has achieved his current fame.

These three staff techniques are extraordinary, truly unique skills. The first strike alone deflected the longsword in Su Zhining's hand.

There was a bang.

One end of his stick was blasted into powder.

Although this stick is exquisite, it cannot compare to the divine weapon in Su Zhining's hands.

The second blow slammed into her protective qi, sending her flying.

The third strike was thrown out directly, colliding with the sword that Su Zhining had swung at him, deflecting it.

Just then, the sword, which was gleaming with blue light, suddenly changed direction in mid-air and flew towards him again.

"Controlling the sword with internal energy?"

The man in black's eyelids twitched at the sight. This kind of profound swordsmanship could generally only be mastered by a second-rank expert. Not only did one need a divine weapon that could communicate with spirits, but one also needed to be in sync with that weapon and comprehend its sword intent in order to achieve it.

It's absurd that someone who has just entered the third rank can control a sword with their qi.

"drink!"

The man in black dared not be negligent. He channeled all his inner strength, layer upon layer of vital energy, and fiercely pressed it towards the divine weapon.

In an instant, more than a dozen layers of his inner energy were broken through. Under the sharpness of the divine weapon, his inner energy was as fragile as paper.

However, no matter how powerful a divine weapon is, once it loses the control of its master, its power eventually runs out. Just as the sword tip was only an inch from his chest, the sword slowed down more and more until it finally stopped.

Become!

The man in black was overjoyed. Just then, he felt a chill on his back as a sword tip emerged from his chest.

Before he could react, the sword tip twisted and pulled, tearing his heart and internal organs to shreds. Large amounts of blood gushed from the pierced cavity.

"what--"

He let out a blood-curdling scream, turned around, and looked at Chen Ming, who had already dodged several feet away. His eyes were bloodshot, filled with endless resentment and hatred.

The kid said, "There's nothing I can do, your pose is just too good."

"you--"

The man in black felt dizzy, and the hole in his body caused his invincible internal energy to leak out completely.

He never imagined that he would die at the hands of a fifth-rank martial artist.

He hadn't taken this kid seriously at all, so he was completely unprepared. While he was using all his internal energy to defend against Su Zhining's flying divine weapon, his old strength was depleted and new strength hadn't yet been generated. In that moment of letting his guard down, this kid delivered a fatal blow.

He died without understanding how this little guy, who was only at the fifth rank, had broken through his protective aura.

……

You have killed a level 75 enemy and gained 45 million experience points.

Chen Ming glanced at the notification and felt relieved when he saw the huge amount of experience points of 450,000. He was finally dead.

"Miss Su!"

He didn't bother to examine the body of the third-rank expert and immediately chased after Su Zhining in the direction she had flown out.

"Please don't die."

P.S.: Requesting monthly votes.

(End of this chapter)