I can only beat noobs.

Chapter 191 Threat
In reality, there was only one passage here, which was blocked by the Blood Demon Sect. Chen Ming could only go further in to return to the cave where he had encountered the fire bats. It was perfectly normal to run into people in this place.

Besides the man who looked and acted somewhat like Jiang Shihua, there were seven or eight other people gathered in twos and threes, keeping a certain distance from each other, clearly not a group.

Most likely, they were separated from their companions during the chaos and fled here.

The man who resembled Jiang Shihua rebuked sharply, "Everyone heard it, this kid is calling the Blood Demon Sect brothers. He must be a demon himself."

Soon, two others echoed, "That's right, this person has associated with the heretical members of the Longevity Cult, so his intentions are definitely not righteous. Everyone has witnessed it."

Upon hearing this, Deng Ziyang's expression changed, and he stared intently at the three people who had spoken.

Chen Ming knew that he had performed too brilliantly in the competition for the Azure Cloud Ranking, stealing the limelight from the scions of those aristocratic families and sects, and these people had long disliked him.

Now that we've got the chance, we'll put the hat on his head.

Chen Ming glanced at the three men and said calmly, "After you leave, you can spread rumors that I am colluding with the Eternal Life Cult and that I have no place to stand in the Great Jin Dynasty. If you really push me too far, I will join the Demonic Cult. You can wash your necks and wait for me to kill you."

The three men roared, "How dare you threaten us!"

The three attacked almost simultaneously, unleashing a fist strike and two sword strikes at Chen Ming with ruthless ferocity, clearly intending to seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to kill the boy on the spot.

All I can say is that the three of them have excellent chemistry.

Seeing Chen Ming standing there, seemingly unable to react, the three of them sneered inwardly. They hadn't expected this kid to be so foolish as to dare to defy three third-rank officials like them. This gave them their opportunity.

They were very careful when they made their moves, avoiding Yu Haitang so as not to accidentally injure her and attract the attention of the Cangyue Sect.

"stop--"

Among the crowd was a member of the Cangyue Sect who was greatly alarmed upon seeing this, fearing that Yu Haitang might be harmed. He would have no way of explaining such a thing to the sect leader's wife.

It was clear that Chen Ming was about to die on the spot.

Suddenly, a fiery protective shield appeared out of thin air. The three streams of energy struck it, but only caused a slight ripple, which subsided instantly.

"what?"

"Third rank?"

"How can this be?"

"..."

All those present were experts of the third rank or above, with exceptional eyesight, and could naturally tell that the protective aura was cast by Chen Ming.

This caused not only the three attackers to change color, but also the others to be so shocked that they were speechless.

Isn't this right?

The battle for the Azure Cloud Ranking was only two months ago. He was clearly at the fifth rank at that time, so how did he suddenly become the third rank?

After the Qingyun Ranking, breakthroughs were common, with advancements from the fifth to the fourth rank occurring frequently. Even if he had already broken through to the fourth rank, how could he possibly have advanced from the fourth to the third rank in just two months?
At this moment, all nine people present, no matter how knowledgeable they were, were dumbfounded, as if in a dream.

"It's fake, it must be fake!"

The man who resembled Jiang Shihua's face twisted into a ferocious expression. He drew his sword, his killing intent boiling. "Chen Ming, do you think you can scare me with this kind of deception, pretending to be a third-rank official? Today, I will kill you."

His first move was the Jiang family's sword technique, "Azure Waves Across a Thousand Miles".

With his third-grade cultivation level, the way he unleashed this sword technique was magnificent and awe-inspiring, far surpassing Jiang Shihua's skill on that day.

This sword strike already showed the beginnings of sword intent.

Those present were making their own judgments, knowing that he was not far from comprehending sword intent. Once he comprehended sword intent, it would mean that there would be no more thresholds to the second rank!

A talent worthy of a first-class person!
The Jiang family will have one more person of the first rank in the future.

Such thoughts flashed through everyone's minds, and their feelings varied.

At the same time, they were also very concerned: "How will Chen Ming deal with this sword strike?"

hum!
The "Mingfeng Sword" hanging at Chen Ming's waist suddenly came out of its sheath and emitted a dazzling light.

After reaching the third rank, he was finally able to unleash the true power of this peerless divine weapon.

Everyone felt as if their heartstrings had been plucked, a tender and gentle affection welling up within them. The figure deep within their hearts reappeared before them, and for a moment, they were overwhelmed with emotion—

boom!
A loud bang brought them back to their senses. Jiang Youtang had been sent flying, crashing into the wall and embedding himself in it, lying unconscious on the ground.

"Sword Intent!"

Someone said something almost like they were talking in a dream.

Everyone present felt their hair stand on end and their scalps tingle. They stared at the tall figure, speechless for a moment.

This young man not only broke through to the third rank, but also comprehended the sword intent. Even if he can only unleash it with the help of a peerless divine weapon, it is still an extremely terrifying thing.

This means that among the three ranks, his strength is also top-notch.

terrible!

Chen Ming didn't look at them anymore and walked step by step into the passage.

Everyone tacitly made way for him, allowing him to pass.

Especially the two people who had just made a move, felt a chill run down their spines when he swept his gaze over them, and dared not make a move at all. They had also seen Jiang Youtang's miserable state.

Suddenly, they remembered what Chen Ming had just said, and a chill ran down their spines.

Just now they thought it was a joke, that a mere fourth-rank official dared to threaten them?

Now, they are truly afraid. This unparalleled talent is far beyond what even Shang Jianfei, who once dominated almost all of his peers in Jiangzhou with his invincible demeanor, could achieve.

How high will this child's future achievements be?

It's possible that what he said is true; if he really does join the demonic sect in a fit of anger, and then returns with great power to seek revenge...

……

After a while, Chen Ming led Deng Ziyang and Yu Haitang to the cave they had just visited, only to find it in a state of disarray.

Only a few fire bats hovered in the air.

There were no corpses on the ground, but this group was too strong; the fire bats alone couldn't hold them back.

Of all the people who were seriously injured, only Chen Ming was seriously injured.

Who made him the weakest?

Deng Ziyang has regained his mobility; not only have his injuries healed considerably, but his aura has also become much stronger. This is likely because he has absorbed Gao Chen's cultivation within the "Blood God Pearl." It must be said, the Blood Demon Sect's cultivation technique is far too cheating.

Such a severe injury would take an ordinary person at least one or two months to recover from.

Deng Ziyang said with some worry, "The further we go in, the stronger the monsters will likely become. With your strength, it won't be difficult for you to get through this cavern, but it will be too dangerous later on. When you're surrounded by monsters in front and pursuers behind, it will be troublesome."

Since Senior Brother Zhu knows that the Blood God Pearl is on him, he will definitely not let this go and will definitely come after him until he is dead.

The opponent is a top-tier expert, which is almost impossible to solve.

Danger?

Chen Ming placed Yu Haitang on the ground, raised the "Mingfeng Sword," and said, "I will get rid of these beasts. You take care of her for me."

As he spoke, he leaped into the air, his speed almost matching that of the fire bats.

He stabbed the nearest fire bat to death with a single sword stroke, and then, the remaining fire bats, provoked, swarmed towards him.

Chen Ming nimbly maneuvered through the air like a bird, often managing to dodge the fire bats' attacks with incredible speed.

Every time he drew his sword, the corpse of a fire bat would fall to the ground.

In the blink of an eye, he had killed more than a dozen fire bats.

Deng Ziyang watched him display his power from the passageway, his feelings incredibly complex. He never imagined that he himself had fallen into the demonic path, cultivating demonic arts, and believing that his strength had improved by leaps and bounds.

In just a few years, he has reached the fourth rank, which is already extremely rare in the world.

Who knew, he still couldn't compare to Chen Ming and was left far behind.

During this time, Deng Ziyang was already quite surprised to hear that Chen Ming had displayed great prowess in the competition for the Qingyun Ranking, ranking sixth.

I saw him outside just now, and he actually had the cultivation level of the fourth rank.

Now, he has broken through to the third rank.

Even he, a demonic child who had cultivated the "Blood God Technique," couldn't match such speed.

He knew very well that even if he could devour the essence of several more Rank 3 experts and reach Rank 3 himself, he would still be far from being Chen Ming's match.

Putting aside that peerless divine weapon, even if he had ten years, he might not have been able to comprehend the sword intent he had mastered.

Deng Ziyang is well aware of his own limitations.

However, seeing Chen Ming displaying such power, killing those fire bats like chickens, he couldn't help but worry that this was expending too much energy.

Once you reach the third rank, it's not so easy to recover the depleted vital energy. Unlike the fourth rank, where you can recover by meditating for a night.

The vital energy consumed at the third rank can only be quickly replenished by either the power of elixirs or rare treasures like the Fire Element Pearl.

Therefore, unless absolutely necessary, third-rank masters rarely take action. They cherish their vital energy and worry that excessive consumption will prevent them from recovering in time. If they encounter a powerful enemy, they will die a very unjust death.

However, it's not surprising that Chen Ming, having just broken through to the third rank, was in such high spirits.

Deng Ziyang watched as he slaughtered all the fire bats in the cave.

……

You have killed a level 69 firebat and gained 1 experience points.

You have killed a level 69 firebat and gained 1 experience points.

【…】

Chen Ming returned satisfied after slaying the last fire bat.

He discovered before his breakthrough that the experience points provided by the fire bat monster were significantly less than those from defeating the "humanoid monster".

When I was a fourth-ranked player, I had 50,000 points, but now I only have 10,000.

That's not bad. There are a total of twenty-three fire bats, which is two hundred and thirty thousand.

Including the third-rank Jiang family member I just defeated, I also received 45,000.

【Level: 70】

Current points: 449896

[Techniques: Iron Horse Stake (Fifth Level Completed), Five Elements True Skill (Missing) (Seventh Level 178/10000000)]

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)]

"add a bit!"

Chen Ming immediately added "Phoenix Dance in the Nine Heavens" to the fourth level.

Boom.

He felt that his body was undergoing some kind of strange change, a change that seemed to come from the deepest part of his body and was very mysterious.

It was as if he had gained a pair of wings on his back.

He even had the illusion that he could fly now.

The control over the Qi Element has also seen a qualitative improvement.

Now, Chen Ming finally felt that he had a certain ability to protect himself. Even when facing a first-grade expert, he was confident that he could escape in this environment.

Next, it's time to lie low.

Anyway, those people will remove the Fire Elemental Pearl themselves. As for the key, with his current strength, trying to steal it would be tantamount to suicide.

He knew that his strength was far behind that of a second-rank cultivator, let alone a first-rank cultivator.

Now he should be considering how to evade the Blood Demon Sect's top-tier pursuer while simultaneously searching the cave for other demonic beasts he can use to gain experience.

"Who?"

A sudden sense of unease arose in Chen Ming's heart. He turned around and saw a man lurking suspiciously behind him.

"Wait a minute."

The man quickly stepped forward and said, "I am Xu Liangchen, a disciple of the Cangyue Sect. I have been entrusted by the sect leader to come and find Miss Yu."

(End of this chapter)