I can only beat noobs.

Chapter 262 Noble Man
You have defeated a level 87 enemy and gained 2 experience points.

Chen Ming bowed to a middle-aged man lying on the ground with his face covered in blood and said, "Brother He, I apologize for the inconvenience."

The middle-aged man slumped to the ground, wiping the blood from his face, and said with a defiant look, "With swordsmanship like yours, if I hadn't been sealed by the Dragon-Sealing Needle for so long, you would never be my match."

"That's true."

Chen Ming nodded and said, "Brother He's swordsmanship is superb, far beyond my reach. I can only rely on the advantage of the divine weapon to win, which is not a fair victory."

If this person's swordsmanship is judged by the standards of "The Lone Goose of Heaven and Earth", it is at least at the sixth level.

The middle-aged man surnamed He snorted coldly, "Good that you know. Kid, if you think you can steal the He family's swordsmanship in this way, you've got the wrong idea."

"Brother He's integrity is admirable."

Chen Ming didn't explain. He called the people outside in, had the man resealed, and sent him back to his cell.

A table of fine wine and food had been prepared in the prison cell.

This is compensation after he "interrogated" me.

It was precisely this compensation that made many second-rank prisoners willing to spar with him. However, these people were all very clever and would never use their signature techniques, for fear that they would be stolen and learned.

Because they knew very well that even if they won, they would not be able to get out of the prison.

Chen Ming naturally wouldn't explain, as this would make winning easier and save him a lot of trouble.

Currently, he has eighteen regular sparring partners every day, earning 360,000 experience points daily. That adds up to a little over ten million experience points per month.

Even with the original four million remaining, it's far from enough to reach the first rank.

……

Chen Ming ended his experience-farming journey for the day and left the heavily guarded Heavenly Prison.

As the heavy iron gate opened, a sudden thought struck him: "It seems like every time I go to jail, something bad happens. Surely no one will try to break me out of here?"

The first time he was in Qingfeng City, he went to "spar" with the prisoners, and not long after, someone broke into the prison.

The second time was even more outrageous in Xiazhou City, when someone swaggered into the prison without any reaction from the outside.

Chen Ming thought for a moment, "This is the capital city, a place where hidden talents abound. I don't think anyone would dare to come here."

After he left the prison, a carriage was parked by the roadside; it was sent by the Gu family to pick him up.

The driver was an old man with a piercing gaze, indicating he was quite skilled.

The driver was responsible for picking him up and dropping him off every day, which served as both protection and surveillance.

When Chen Ming got into the carriage, he politely said to the driver, "Thank you for your trouble, Uncle Li."

The coachman, surnamed Li, was not very talkative. He simply nodded slightly upon hearing this. After Li got into the carriage, the coachman drove towards the Duke of Jingguo's residence.

Today ended relatively early; the sun hadn't set yet.

It was around 4 p.m.

The carriage entered the Duke's mansion through the back gate.

As soon as Chen Ming got off the carriage, a servant came over and said, "Seventh Young Master, Fifth Master requests your presence."

Just then, he said, "Lead the way." He was about to go find Gu Haochuan.

……

Gu Haochuan lived in a rather remote place that was not easy to find. If someone hadn't led the way, Chen Ming might not have been able to find it.

The Duke's Mansion occupies a vast area, even larger than the Zhenhai Prince's Mansion in Qingfeng City. Keep in mind, this is in the capital city where land is incredibly valuable.

It is said that this place was originally the residence of a prince of the previous dynasty. Later, when the Jin army entered the capital, the first Duke of Jingguo took a fancy to this place and asked the Taizu Emperor for it.

This shows how illustrious the Duke of Jingguo was.

Chen Ming entered the courtyard and greeted Gu Haochuan first, "Fifth Uncle, you wanted to see me?"

Gu Haochuan sized him up and said, "You've been in the capital for ten days and haven't come to see me. I want to see if your swordsmanship has improved these days. This is Protector Luo, also a second-rank swordsman. Why don't you spar with him a few times? Let me see."

"Yes."

Chen Ming thought to himself that this was a good opportunity to show off his "progress" over the past few days.

Naluo, the bodyguard, was a middle-aged man around fifty years old. Despite being from an outsider's clan and still holding the position of bodyguard, he had managed to cultivate to the second rank, indicating that he was one of their own. In other words, he was a servant born into the family.

If he can advance further and reach the first rank, he will have the opportunity to become a respected elder.

Luo, the head of the guard, said respectfully, "Seventh Young Master, please enlighten me."

"Husband Luo, please."

Chen Ming drew his "Taiyue Sword" and used the move "Lone Goose Gliding Shadow" to stab at Protector Luo's face.

Gu Haochuan's expression changed upon seeing the sword strike.

This sword strike has already grasped some of the true meaning of "The Lone Goose of Heaven and Earth".

How could this child have made such a huge improvement in such a short period of time?
The last time he saw this boy practicing swordsmanship was more than a month ago on the ship.

In just over a month, his swordsmanship improved dramatically. He had only just begun to understand the basics, but now he had mastered it.

Among those in the Gu family, those with exceptional comprehension need at least one or two years of honing their skills to achieve such progress.

For the first time, Gu Haochuan felt a sense of apprehension.

This child is not only exceptionally gifted, but also possesses extraordinary comprehension, making him truly rare in the world. There are probably only a handful of people in this era who can compare to him.

Although Gu Haochuan couldn't see through this person's true nature, he could still roughly judge his age, which was no more than thirty. That kind of vigorous vitality, like the rising sun, couldn't be hidden from anyone.

"All right."

After about a dozen moves, Luo Huyuan was forced to retreat step by step and was about to be defeated when Gu Haochuan suddenly interrupted their sparring.

Luo, the head of the guard, jumped aside and said with heartfelt admiration, "Seventh Young Master's swordsmanship is superb; I am no match for him."

You have defeated a level 86 opponent and gained 52,000 experience points.

"You flatter me." Chen Ming said with a smile.

Gu Haochuan praised, "It seems you haven't been slacking off lately. Your swordsmanship has improved greatly through real combat experience. Very good, keep it up."

Taking the opportunity, Chen Ming said, "Fifth Uncle, if we could spar with a first-rank prisoner in the Heavenly Prison, we would definitely make greater progress. I wonder if Fifth Uncle could help us?"

"Looking for a first-rate opponent to spar?"

Gu Haochuan hesitated, then shook his head and said, "I'm afraid this matter will not be easy. My friend's position in the Six Doors is not high enough."

"In that case, let it be. I'll take my leave."

"Well, let's go."

After Chen Ming left, the smile on Gu Haochuan's face gradually faded.

Actually, this matter wasn't difficult. However, for some reason, he felt a slight apprehension towards this young man and was unwilling to help.

He thought to himself, "With his current strength, it shouldn't be difficult for him to get fifth place in the Ghost Festival banquet."

In the capital, there are three strongest individuals, all possessing the formidable strength to fight against a first-rank official.

These three are unparalleled.

Apart from these three, the rest were all at the initial stage of the second rank and posed little threat to this kid.

Therefore, he did not want to cause any unnecessary trouble.

……

After leaving the courtyard, Chen Ming cursed inwardly, "The Duke's Mansion, a man of such high status, can't even handle such a small matter?"
He didn't believe it.

With such a narrow mind and limited vision, you still expect to get a spot in the Immortal Abode?

He returned to his courtyard and found a beautifully dressed maid waiting anxiously at the gate. Upon seeing him, she excitedly greeted him, "Seventh Young Master, you're finally back! The Eldest Miss has urgent business with you. Please come with me quickly."

"Miss?"

Chen Ming was filled with questions.

In the Gu family, the only person who can be called the eldest daughter is the only legitimate daughter of the Gu family.

She was the only daughter of the current Duke of Jingguo, and also the only daughter born to his principal wife. All his other children were born to concubines.

The Duchess of Jingguo is a princess, the daughter of a prince. She is of unparalleled nobility. Naturally, this young lady holds a very special position in the Gu family. She is practically someone no one dares to offend.

To put it bluntly, she is the true legitimate daughter. Everyone else, without exception, is born out of wedlock.

The key point is that Gu Xianyu has never communicated with this young lady before, so why did she ask him to come over?
He asked curiously, "What does Miss want with me?"

"A distinguished guest wishes to see you. Hurry up, don't keep the important guest waiting." The maid was extremely anxious and reached out to tug at his clothes.

But how could it possibly be pulled?

Chen Ming had no desire to meet any important people. No matter how noble the eldest daughter of the Gu family was, what did it have to do with him?
"No, I want to practice my skills."

He shook off the maid's hand, walked into the courtyard, and closed the door.

Seeing this, the maid outside stamped her foot angrily and had no choice but to go back and report.

……

Hearing the commotion inside the room, Gu Zhengshan came out, his eyes showing a strange look. "The young lady is looking for you, why aren't you going?"

"I said I wanted to practice my skills."

He went straight back to his room after he finished speaking.

Gu Haochuan can't even meet this small request of his, yet he's not allowed to have a little temper?
A while later, there was a knock on the door.

"Who?"

Chen Ming had actually already recognized the footsteps, but he asked on purpose.

"Seventh Brother, it's me."

Gu Yuyin's voice came from outside the door.

He said, "It's getting late. Let's talk about it tomorrow."

"You embarrassed the young lady, making her lose face in front of such an important person. Her expression at that moment was truly something to behold," Gu Yuyin said, giggling.

It seemed that seeing the young lady suffer a setback pleased her.

Chen Ming said, "You came to see me just to tell me this?"

Gu Yuyin said, "Of course not. I'm just here to deliver a message."

After waiting a while and seeing that Chen Ming did not respond, he said to himself, "That important person asked me to ask you, have you forgotten the wife who swore eternal love to you?"

"..."

Chen Ming wanted to say, "Where did I get a wife?"

But they knew who she was referring to.

Xia Mudan was summoned to the palace by imperial decree, and was to be named Consort Xia.

Chen Ming hadn't heard anyone mention her since he entered the Duke of Jing's mansion. It was as if the matter had never happened.

That's impossible, of course. After all, the news had already spread, and Gu Haochuan knew that Gu Xianyu and Xia Mudan were already married. There was no reason why others wouldn't know.

There's only one possibility: someone has issued a gag order, which is why no one dares to mention it.

But just because no one mentions it doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

And now, someone has come to him about this matter.

This is the variable that Chen Ming has been waiting for.

(End of this chapter)