I can only beat noobs.

Chapter 260 How Many Lives Do You Have?
Chen Ming figured out the key point, which actually fit his stereotype of the Gu family.

He said solemnly, "Since the family has a need, I, your nephew, will naturally be duty-bound to help. May I ask when the royal banquet will begin?"

Seeing that he had expressed his opinion, Gu Haochuan smiled slightly, thinking that this man was indeed a smart one. His expression became even more gentle. "There are still some days left. You can say goodbye to your friend. Is two days enough?"

“One day is enough. Then I’ll take my leave. I’ll come to see Uncle Wu again tomorrow.” Chen Ming stood up to take his leave.

"correct."

Gu Haochuan reminded him, "Du Rusong is already wanted by the Six Doors, and he's worth two first-rank merit points. You can take his weapon to Xia Prefecture to exchange for merit points. Your fifth brother and I will testify for you."

These words made Chen Ming's eyes narrow, and he said somewhat stiffly, "Thank you, Fifth Uncle."

As he stepped out of the house, he felt his underwear was soaked with sweat.

“He actually knew I killed Du Rusong; he must have been there at the time.”

"No wonder I always had a vague feeling of unease. I thought it was Du Rusong following me, but I didn't expect there was someone else following me all the way."

"That's right. Gu Haochuan probably didn't know I was Gu Xianyu at first, otherwise he would have come knocking on my door long ago. It must have been when I used the 'Heaven and Earth Lone Goose' sword technique during my fight with Du Rusong that they guessed I was Gu Xianyu."

He finally understood the cause and effect, and felt somewhat helpless. "If I had known, I would have learned another sword technique to protect myself."

In "The Way of All Beings," there are two extremely powerful sword techniques, even more advanced than "The Lone Goose of Heaven and Earth." However, he was focused on saving experience points, so he didn't learn them.

Once you reach the second rank, aside from "The Lone Goose of Heaven and Earth" and "Phoenix Dance in the Nine Heavens," other martial arts techniques become largely useless. When facing a powerful enemy, you naturally have no choice but to use this sword technique to defend yourself.

Ultimately, it's because he leveled up too quickly. To others, it was like he was on a rocket.

"I don't know when I'll be back from this trip to the capital, so I really should say goodbye properly."

With these thoughts in mind, Chen Ming did not return to the Chen residence, but instead went to the Zhenhai Prince's Mansion.

He wrote several letters: one for Princess Mingyu, one for Yu Haitang, and one for Jiang Yingxue.

The letter to Jiang Yingxue could only be delivered by someone trustworthy. After thinking it over, Huo Qianqian was the only one who could help with this.

……

When Chen Ming left Qingfeng City, he didn't tell anyone. If nothing unexpected happened, he would never use this alias again.

Let the identity of Yuan Ziyi disappear from the world.

He reverted to his original form as Gu Xianyu, carrying nothing but a sword, and left on a large ship with his fifth uncle Gu Haochuan and fifth brother Gu Zhengshan.

On the ship, Gu Haochuan clicked his tongue in amazement, "Your disguise skills are truly remarkable. You disguised yourself as a woman, and even I couldn't see through the disguise."

Gu Zhengshan, who was standing to the side, was also staring at him, but he couldn't see any flaws.

Chen Ming humbly replied, "Fifth Uncle, you flatter me. It's just a trivial matter."

Gu Haochuan then asked, "Have you met Zhong Danyang?"

"I met you once."

"That's great."

Gu Haochuan was satisfied. Even Zhong Danyang, a powerful expert in the Divine Treasure Realm, couldn't see through his disguise, so there was no need to worry about him giving himself away.

As for what kind of secret technique he used to disguise himself, Gu Haochuan didn't ask. It was better for everyone this way, and there was no need to expose him.

Knowing that this person was skilled in disguise, and having taken precautions in advance, they naturally wouldn't be fooled again.

It's important to understand that once you reach the third rank, the nature of your Qi cannot be changed. Once you grasp this, you'll be able to recognize it.

Surprisingly, this person's internal energy was the same as Xiao Qi's—it was of the ice attribute. If he hadn't known Xiao Qi's situation so well, he might have been fooled too.

Gu Haochuan said, "Did you figure out 'The Lone Goose in the Sky' all by yourself?"

"Yes."

"To have reached this level in just two months shows your exceptional comprehension. However, this level is not enough to win first place at the palace banquet. I'll give you some pointers during this time."

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Fifth Uncle."

So, during the few days on the ship, Gu Haochuan carefully instructed him in swordsmanship, not only in "The Lone Goose of Heaven and Earth," but also sometimes in explaining the famous sword techniques of various schools in the capital, analyzing their characteristics, and how to deal with them, etc.

Chen Ming could sense that this "Fifth Uncle" was indeed teaching him everything he knew without holding anything back, and even took out a visualization diagram to help him comprehend the sword intent.

The second rank is the Divine Intent Realm, which mainly involves condensing divine intent. After mastering divine intent, one can try to integrate divine intent with physical energy, allowing the physical energy to develop spirituality, thus advancing to the first rank.

In Gu Jia's visualization, the background depicts a person standing alone in a desolate world.

This picture is extremely compatible with the sword technique "Lone Goose in Heaven and Earth". When contemplating it, one can even transform into the person in the picture and continuously practice this sword technique.

Each visualization brings him great benefits, which are directly reflected in his proficiency. Each visualization can increase his experience points by tens of thousands.

In just a few days, his "Lone Goose in the Sky" had already broken through to the fourth level.

Since breaking through to the second rank, Chen Ming has not added any points to this sword technique.

The reason is simple: once you reach the second rank of Divine Intent, you can easily comprehend sword intent. The first three levels of this sword technique are still at the level of sword moves.

It's not until the fourth level that the level of sword intent is involved.

He thought that by cultivating on his own, he could quickly reach the fourth level and save a lot of experience points.

Just as he expected, after reaching the second rank, his mastery of this sword technique improved by leaps and bounds. In less than a month, he advanced from the second level to the fourth level, saving millions of experience points.

That's equivalent to killing two more first-rank officials.

...Ten days later, they arrived at Xiazhou City.

Returning here after more than a month, Chen Ming was filled with emotion. Many things had happened in the past month, and his cultivation had advanced from the third rank to the second rank.

Accompanied by Gu Haochuan, he went to the Six Doors to report back to Hong Yuze.

Inside "Ze Shi Tang".

Hong Yuze stared at the divine weapon in his hand, his expression somewhat dazed. "You mean, you killed Du Rusong?"

"Exactly."

Chen Ming, already dressed in the uniform of a fifth-rank military officer, answered respectfully.

Hong Yuze couldn't help but swallow.

This is indeed Du Rusong's divine weapon. He spent a first-rank merit to obtain it, and he treasures it dearly, never showing it to anyone easily.

However, Du Rusong was a first-rank official with years of experience and unparalleled strength. Even if he wasn't a top-tier first-rank official, he should never have died at the hands of a third-rank, or rather, second-rank official.

Wait, didn't he just break through to the third rank not long ago? How did he become the second rank again?

At this moment, Gu Haochuan, who was sitting to the side, suddenly asked, "Does Lord Hong have any questions?"

"Oh."

Hong Yuze seemed to wake from a dream and hurriedly said, "Since it was Fifth Master Gu who saw it with his own eyes, there is naturally no problem. I will personally recommend Xianyu for credit!"

Du Rusong's personal divine weapon serves as proof.

Secondly, with a first-rank official from a duke's family as a witness, it should be true.

Anyway, this level of merit award needs to be reviewed and issued by the Six Doors headquarters. He only needs to report it truthfully.

Hong Yuze's expression became even more amiable. "By the way, the imperial court has already verified that Xianyu killed two first-rank officials. They have specially rewarded the three first-rank officials for their meritorious service. Furthermore, you have been promoted to third-rank admiral. You will be going to the capital to report for duty within three months. Congratulations."

His tone was filled with envy.

He served in the Six Doors his entire life, only managing to obtain the rank of First-Rank Merit, which he earned through seniority—and that was all he ever got.

He was only in his early twenties, yet he not only rose to the third rank but also received three first-rank merit awards.

If Du Rusong's bounty is verified, then he will have five first-rank merit points. That's enough to exchange for a spot in a secret realm.

How could he not be envious?

Comparing people to each other is really infuriating.

"Perfect timing. I'm planning to return to the capital. Let's complete the handover today."

"can."

……

As soon as Chen Ming came out of Zeshitang, he saw five subordinates waiting outside.

"Lord Gu, it's so good to see you're alright."

"I told you, Lord Gu is blessed with good fortune and nothing will happen to him."

"I wonder who it is that always looks so gloomy..."

Seeing their chatter, Chen Ming felt a warmth in his heart and said, "They haven't given you any trouble while I was away, have they?"

"We're just nobody here, who would deliberately make things difficult for us?"

"Lord Gu," Lei Chunxin asked bluntly, "I heard you're getting a promotion. When are you leaving?"

Seeing that they were all looking at him, Chen Ming naturally understood what they were thinking and said, "I will be returning to the capital to report for duty in a few days. Don't worry, before I leave, I will ask Lord Hong to take care of you."

His position was awkward; he couldn't stay in the Six Doors forever, so he naturally couldn't bring these five people back to the capital. Doing so would implicate him and harm the five of them.

When Lei Chun and the others heard what he said, they understood what he meant, and their expressions were somewhat disappointed.

Seeing the awkward atmosphere, Deng Wei said, "Alright, all good things must come to an end. We should be happy for your promotion, sir."

Zhang Dingce roused himself and said, "Then I wish you a bright future, sir."

"Wishing you a bright future, sir."

Gu Haochuan, who was standing nearby, was quite interested in the interaction between this imposter nephew and his subordinates.

……

After Chen Ming left the yamen, Gu Haochuan suddenly said, "I heard that you got married to the granddaughter of the Prince of Yan. Shouldn't you take us to meet her?"

The Prince of Yan he mentioned was Xia Mudan's maternal grandfather.

In the martial arts world, everyone calls her the daughter of the leader of the Money Gang.

But in the eyes of the nobles, the status of the Prince of Yan's granddaughter was naturally even more illustrious.

Chen Ming's heart skipped a beat, and a bitter smile appeared on his face. "Fifth Uncle is joking. That wedding ceremony was just Chief Xia's nonsense. I was forced into it, so it doesn't count."

Gu Haochuan gave him a deep look and said, "It had better be that way. Do you know that the Emperor's decree to make Xia Mudan a concubine has already reached the Money Gang? How many lives do you have to dare to compete with the Emperor for a woman?"

what?
Chen Ming's heart skipped a beat.

(End of this chapter)