I can only beat noobs.

Chapter 230 Five Omens
Chen Ming stared at Zhang Dingce for a while, a strange smile playing on his lips, making Zhang Dingce's scalp tingle and causing him to suddenly regret his actions.

"You are all at the fourth rank of cultivation, right? After serving as prison wardens for so many years, have you become lax in your skills? Let me test you."

The five men were both surprised and delighted to hear this. They were being assigned to work in a prison, and they were all marginalized people with no connections.

Once they reach the fourth rank, they have no one to guide them and can only figure things out on their own. It is very difficult for them to make contributions in their positions, and without a great opportunity, it is almost impossible for them to break through to the third rank.

Although Lord Gu is young, he has already reached the third rank of cultivation. His willingness to offer guidance is extremely valuable to them.

"How could I trouble you, sir?"

"Come with me."

Chen Ming led his five subordinates to a spacious courtyard in the backyard and said, "Let me see your strength first. You go first."

He pointed at Zhang Dingce.

Zhang Dingce stepped forward and solemnly cupped his hands in greeting, saying, "Please enlighten me, sir."

"Come on, use your best skills."

Chen Ming waved.

Without hesitation, Zhang Dingce unleashed his most powerful and secret weapon.

The opportunity to receive guidance from a third-rank expert is rare and precious, so he naturally wanted to seize it.

A moment later, when Zhang Dingce was using his twentieth move, he suddenly felt light and was thrown out, landing straight into a flower bed.

He got up, covered in dust and dirt, but there wasn't a trace of resentment on his face.

The other four received the same treatment, all ending up in a sorry state, but no one complained. This was because Chen Ming had exercised restraint and hadn't seriously injured them.

They were secretly delighted, because it meant that Lord Gu truly considered them as one of his own.

In the past, Lord Gu's politeness towards them was polite, but it also represented distance. Now, he is willing to guide them and take the opportunity to teach them a lesson; this is what a true subordinate is like.

Seeing that they were all grinning after being beaten, as if they all had masochistic tendencies, Chen Ming lost interest.

Although disciplining them in this way will earn you some experience points, the amount is too small, only a few thousand points.

Next, he began to truly guide them, and how much they could understand depended on their own comprehension.

……

Lei Chun and the other four left late at night.

Chen Ming didn't let them stay overnight, as it wasn't very convenient.

"Son."

He returned to the room, intending to take out the tortoise shell to examine it, when the maid Xiaohe handed him a letter. "This is a letter that Miss Yuyin sent this afternoon."

Did Gu Yuyin send someone to deliver a message?

Chen Ming asked, "Where is the messenger?"

"You've settled in. Do you want to see him?"

"Forget it, it's too late, let's talk about it tomorrow. Okay, you can go now."

Chen Ming dismissed her, took out the letter inside, and read it quickly. The letter said that her maternal grandfather's sixtieth birthday was in a few days, and he was invited to attend.

The letter also mentioned something that bothered him quite a bit.

The Gu family already knows that Gu Xianyu has broken through to the third rank. According to the family rules, they will send an elder of the second rank or above to teach him cultivation techniques and martial arts.

It's most likely his fifth uncle, who is closest to him. He's probably already on his way.

At the end of the letter, Gu Yuyin congratulated him, saying that once he reached the third rank, he would gain the family's attention.

"This is troublesome."

After reading it, Chen Ming felt a headache coming on.

That "Fifth Uncle" had previously been in charge of teaching Gu Xianyu martial arts, making him practically his mentor. He was the only elder in the Gu family who treated him relatively well.

This man was very familiar with Gu Xianyu's martial arts. Once he arrived, he knew that Gu Xianyu would be exposed as soon as he revealed his skills. After all, their martial arts were different; although both used ice-attribute internal energy, their essence was different.

"It seems I can't keep wearing this vest."

Chen Ming rubbed his hands together, turning the letter into powder. He thought to himself.

In fact, he had already prepared a plan: to fake his death and escape without a trace. That was the best way to handle it.

but--

What to do about the summer peony?
What if she can't think straight and wants to commit suicide?
"If anything happens to Brother Gu... I will not live on alone—"

Chen Ming felt a tremor in his heart as he recalled Xia Mudan's words from that afternoon.

"What a silly girl, we've only known each other for a short time, and she's already acting like she's going to die..."
Wasn't it just that I defeated her in the ring?

Isn't it just that we went through a wedding ceremony and became husband and wife in name only?

All I did was save her once...

Chen Ming paused for a moment when he thought of this. Although he hadn't known her for long, they had experienced quite a bit together, so it was no wonder she had fallen for him.

He felt a strange unease. Ever since he heard her resolute words, he felt as if he had been bound by some inexplicable entanglement.

Chen Ming took out the black tortoise shell and murmured, "You guided me back to Xiazhou City because you didn't want me to have any regrets, right?"

The tortoise shell, polished to a jade-like finish, gleamed with a mysterious luster under the oil lamp.

Do you think I should tell her the truth?

After Chen Ming finished asking the question, he was about to inject a stream of vital energy when a sudden inspiration struck him.

This tortoise shell is quite a treasure. What would happen if we used the "Art of Weapon Manipulation" to activate it?
He acted on his thoughts immediately, silently practicing the "Art of Weapon Manipulation".

Just then, he felt the tortoise shell in his hand generate an immense suction force, like a bottomless pit, continuously drawing in the vital energy within his body. "What's going on?"

He was both surprised and delighted, but he did not actively sever this connection, letting the tortoise shell devour his vital energy.

A moment later, his internal energy was almost depleted, and the tortoise shell finally lit up with a clear, shimmering light, and an indescribable wave of energy rippled outwards.

At that moment, images flashed through Chen Ming's mind. All of them were scenes of him being killed. They flashed by rapidly, like a slideshow.

Soon, those images disappeared.

The tortoise shell in his hand was restored to its original state, but it looked much duller.

"what is this?"

Chen Ming's pupils contracted slightly.

There are a total of five scenes in those videos where he dies. In three of those scenes, he knew the people who killed him.

One of them is the black-clad man from the "Killing Righteousness Clan" whom I encountered today.

Another one is Zhou Wentao from the "Brotherhood of Loyalty," the one who helped Zhu Wanlin injure Xia Mudan.

In another scene, it was Su Zhining who killed him!

As for the other two people, he did not recognize them. One was a handsome middle-aged man, and the other was wearing the official robes of a first-rank governor of the Six Doors.

Needless to say, the two people in front of him both had reasons to kill him.

As for Su Zhining, according to Lin Qiong, she also had a motive to kill him.

"So, this is a hint from the tortoise shell? A potential future calamity?"

Chen Ming looked at the tortoise shell in his hand, and his eyes immediately changed.

If it's true, then this kind of treasure that can predict the future is a magical artifact!
In those five scenes, when he died at Su Zhining's hands, he reverted to Chen Ming's appearance.

"In other words, I cannot acknowledge Su Zhining as my father."

As long as he doesn't revert to Chen Ming's appearance, this calamity can be averted.

When he died by the swords of the "Killing Righteousness Sect" and the "Love and Righteousness Sect," it was his face from his previous life. The difference was that in the former he was a person, while in the latter he was with Xia Mudan.

He analyzed for a moment, "Does this mean that if I give up my identity as Gu Xianyu and sneak out of Xiazhou City, I will be ambushed and killed by the Eight Righteous Men?"

As for the other two images, they depict him as Gu Xianyu.

Chen Ming was completely numb. It turned out that whether he stayed or left, he would die anyway.

"God, what sins have I committed that I must die?"

……

Chen Ming thought about it all night, until dawn, and then decided to stop thinking about it.

There was too little information, only a few images, to make any reasonable inferences.

"To forge iron, one must be strong oneself!"

He thought to himself that he would have to rely on himself to resolve these calamities.

With enough strength, one can overcome any calamity.

After Chen Ming figured something out, he suddenly felt enlightened.

Now the golden flame within the "Mingfeng Sword" is gone, and the primordial spirit of the Undying Demon Lord has also dissipated; the two most powerful trump cards are gone.

With his current strength, there aren't many people among the third-rank who can defeat him.

As for those at the second rank, even if they can't win, they should be able to escape.

If you encounter a top-tier player, things might get a bit risky.

"Therefore, the most urgent task is to break through to the second rank as soon as possible."

Chen Ming began to ponder.

He's currently two million experience points short of breaking through to the second rank.

The question is, where can we get those two million points?
He killed all the third-rank and second-rank prisoners in the prison, which was the optimal solution at the time, but it also caused him to lose the most stable experience points now.

"By the way, there's a ready-made experience pack at home."

Chen Ming put away the tortoise shell, called Xiao He in, and went to wash up before going to find Xia Mudan.

"Good morning, Brother Gu."

Xia Mudan looked much better, with joy in her eyes and brows, and her gentle gaze was enough to soften even the hardest stone.

However, Chen Ming was facing imminent danger and felt a strong sense of urgency, so he had no mood for romance. He said, "Girl, it seems your injuries have healed a lot."

The word "sister" made Xia Mudan blush. She lowered her eyes and whispered, "Thanks to Brother Gu for helping me clear away that sword intent, I have recovered a lot now."

"In that case, let's have a sparring session to help you loosen up."

"If elder brother is in the mood, younger sister will gladly oblige."

So the two went into the courtyard.

"Brother Gu, take this!" Xia Mudan didn't use the "Dragon Abyss Sword." Her first move was devoid of any killing intent, and her moves also contained tender emotions that anyone who had practiced martial arts could sense.

This is the romance of a chivalrous woman; while others express their feelings through poetry, she uses swordsmanship to write love poems.

Unfortunately, she ran into Chen Ming, who spoiled the fun, and he defeated her in just a few moves.

Xia Mudan's eyes held a hint of resentment. "I lost."

(End of this chapter)