I can only beat noobs.

Chapter 278 Accident
Merit Pavilion, second floor.

After Chen Ming killed all twenty Wei soldiers, a golden light flashed before his eyes, and he was teleported to a new location.

He remained the same as always, hiding first and taking the time to figure out the situation in this place.

This is a small town destroyed by war, with ruins everywhere, and even the walls that haven't collapsed still bear the marks of fire.

Inside the small town, there were about two hundred enemies, consisting of ten squads like the one just mentioned.

"Isn't the difficulty of this second level increased way too much?"

After Chen Ming roughly figured out the situation, he felt it was a bit tricky.

There are too many people. Even killing two hundred chickens would take a long time. Let alone two hundred martial artists.

Killing just those ten third-rank generals would take some effort.

How can you increase the difficulty like this?
With the number of people increasing tenfold, the difficulty has increased by far more than tenfold.

He had just discovered that these soldiers were skilled in battle formations, and when they formed ranks and attacked together, they could unleash a force far exceeding their own strength.

If these two hundred soldiers were to form a battle formation, their combined strength would far surpass that of a first-rank soldier.

There is a huge difference between the battlefield and the martial arts world. This is the reason why armies exist in this world.

Back then, Emperor Taizu of the Great Jin Dynasty swept across the land with a force of 100,000 iron cavalry, and was invincible. The five great clans and the nine major sects had no choice but to submit.

Therefore, we must act swiftly and decisively, taking advantage of the environment here to engage them in street fighting, preventing them from forming large-scale battle formations of more than a hundred men.

Once Chen Ming made his decision, he no longer hesitated and began to act.

The strategy is to capture the leader first. His primary target was those ten third-rank officials. Once he killed them all, the remaining soldiers would be no threat.

……

At this moment, inside the Qian Yuan Hall.

On the huge screen in the middle, twenty names kept changing, and the battle merits increased alternately. In the blink of an eye, it had already exceeded a thousand.

The top three names were Wang Jinhu, Duan Sijue, and Ling Qingying. They held an almost overwhelming lead.

It is clear that the strength of these three is indeed far superior to that of the others.

During the gathering, sighs of frustration could be heard from time to time, coming from the families of those who had failed the trials.

The first floor of the Merit Pavilion was very simple, and everyone passed through it easily.

However, the second stage was much more difficult, and many people died from exhaustion. This meant the trial had failed.

"That's not right. They've been dead for so long, why haven't they come out of the Hall of Merit yet?"

After a while, people started to murmur.

The trial at the Hall of Merit is naturally safe; once a participant "dies," they will be immediately moved out.

However, many people have died, but no one has been sent out.

Finally, someone could no longer sit still. He knelt before the emperor and asked, "Your Majesty, my grandson has been dead for half an hour. Why hasn't he been teleported out yet?"

"Oh?"

The emperor's attention was focused on the bet with the empress and the eldest princess, and he did not notice this matter. He immediately said, "My dear minister, do not be anxious. Let me find out the truth. Someone, go and invite the Heavenly Master."

This Merit Pavilion has always been managed by the Celestial Master's Mansion.

The Mid-Autumn Festival banquet was naturally presided over by the Celestial Master himself. However, the Celestial Master preferred tranquility, so he did not sit with everyone. He remained alone in the quiet room at the back of the hall.

After a while, the eunuch who had been sent to announce the news rushed over and said, "It's terrible, Your Majesty, the Celestial Master... has passed away."

what?
These words caused an uproar among everyone present.

The contemporary Celestial Master was a spirit of the Yang realm; how could he suddenly pass away peacefully?

The emperor's expression changed drastically, realizing something was wrong.

If the Celestial Master passes away, what will happen to those nobles and ministers' sons who are trapped in the Hall of Merit?
These are over a hundred of the most outstanding young people in the Great Jin Dynasty. If they all perish here, the consequences would be unimaginable.

If he could think of it, others naturally did too. In an instant, the entire Qian Yuan Hall was thrown into chaos.

With their most promising young talents all in the Hall of Merit, how could they not be anxious?

"quiet!"

Suddenly, a majestic voice suppressed all the noise, and everyone present felt a chill and involuntarily fell silent.

It was an old eunuch hidden behind the emperor, somewhat frail and inconspicuous. No one had noticed him before.

He took control of the situation as soon as he spoke.

The emperor said loudly, "My dear ministers, do not be anxious. I will immediately send someone to the Celestial Master's Mansion to invite them."

Several old men began to plead, "Your Majesty, that is my only grandson! You must not let anything happen to him!"

"His Majesty……"

"..."

The emperor was also at his wits' end in this situation. He could only try to appease them while anxiously waiting for reinforcements from the Celestial Master's Mansion.

……

At the seat of the Duke of Jingguo's mansion, Gu Haochuan's gaze sharpened, and he said in a deep voice, "This trial of the Merit Pavilion has taken such an unexpected turn. I wonder if there will be any changes in the final quota for the Immortal Mansion."

Miss Gu Yurong frowned and said, "Xiao Qi's life or death is still uncertain. It's a bit inappropriate for Fifth Uncle to only care about the quota for the Immortal Mansion."

Gu Haochuan realized he had misspoke and said, "Don't worry, this kid is very slippery. Even if everyone else dies, he might not be in any danger."

"I hope so."

Gu Yurong continued to look at the light screen.

As the eldest daughter of the Duke of Jingguo's mansion, her fate was intertwined with the mansion's. Given Xiao Qi's demonstrated talent, he was destined for greatness, bringing glory to the entire Duke of Jingguo's mansion. Naturally, she valued this rising star, her seventh brother, and absolutely did not want him to die in this trial.

……

"He...he'll be alright, won't he?"

The person most worried about Gu Xianyu was Xia Mudan. When the unexpected happened, her face turned deathly pale.

She stared intently at Gu Xianyu, who was engaged in fierce combat with the Wei warriors on the screen, her eyes filled with tension and unease.

This matter is extremely strange. For five hundred years, the Merit Pavilion has never had any problems.

Moreover, even the Celestial Master passed away peacefully.

What kind of person was the Celestial Master? Among cultivators, he was considered an extremely powerful figure. Could he have died without any apparent reason?
It was still in the palace.

All of this makes one feel as if an unseen hand is manipulating things, plotting some huge conspiracy.

Those who entered the Merit Pavilion for trials were the victims of this conspiracy.

Xia Mudan became increasingly alarmed as she thought about it, and couldn't help but feel worried for Gu Xianyu, who was in the Merit Pavilion.

……

Chen Ming was unaware of the changes happening outside; he was killing people.

No, not people.

The impact of the "Taiyue Sword" on those soldiers wasn't physical; it felt more like the ghosts in "Qingwei Heaven."

These Wei soldiers are neither real people nor illusions, because he gains experience points for each one he kills.

Therefore, it can only be a kind of ghost.

It must be said that the Great Ancestor of the Jin Dynasty was quite ruthless. He actually collected the souls of so many Wei soldiers into the so-called Hall of Merit and kept them there for five hundred years, preventing them from being reborn after death.

It is said that the Great Ancestor of the Jin Dynasty hated the Great Wei Dynasty to the bone and used extremely cruel methods to purge the officials and soldiers of the former dynasty. It seems that this is indeed true.

Chen Ming spent some time finally managing to release the spirits of the two hundred Wei soldiers.

To die at his hands is to truly die; for them, it is a kind of liberation.

These soldiers were fearless and fought to the last man; none of them fled.

I don't know if it was because it became a ghost that it was controlled by this Merit Pavilion.

Then, the golden light shone again.

Chen Ming was moved to the third floor.

……

"Two thousand people? Isn't that a bit too outrageous?"

As usual, Chen Ming explored the area and discovered that the number of soldiers in this third level had increased tenfold, becoming two thousand men, or one hundred squads of twenty men each.

Although it's impossible to form a battle formation of a thousand people without a second-rank martial artist in command, this number is still too exaggerated. After killing all of them, their hands will probably be too sore to lift.

"Why so slow?"

Suddenly, a somewhat familiar voice came from the side.

Chen Ming turned his head and saw that it was actually the young lady Ling Qingying. He asked in surprise, "What are you doing here?"

Ling Qingying wasn't covered in blood. She glanced at him and said, "Nonsense, this third level requires several people working together to pass. It seems that this level is only for the two of us."

It's estimated that the Merit Pavilion determined that their strength was too great, and that only two people could challenge this level.

Chen Ming thought to himself, "That's more like it."

It seems much more reasonable for two people to each solve half of the problem.

"Don't hold me back later."

After Ling Qingying finished speaking, she suddenly flew out, sword in hand, and charged towards the military camp not far away.

isn't it?
Rushing to camp alone?
Has she always been this brave?

Chen Ming was speechless. Forget about her, he thought, and vanished in a flash.

Everyone has their own rhythm. Since she doesn't want to cooperate, then let's each do our own thing.

After Ling Qingying stormed into the military camp, she killed dozens of people in the blink of an eye.

However, these Wei soldiers were indeed highly skilled, and they quickly formed several battle formations of a hundred men each, stabilizing their position.

Although Ling Qingying was strong, it was too much for her to withstand the attack of a hundred-person battle formation. For a time, she was caught up in the battle and engaged in a fierce struggle.

A moment later, one of the hundred-man battle formations suddenly collapsed.

With her pressure greatly reduced, she took the opportunity to withdraw from the battle.

Seeing Chen Ming charge into the formation as if it were empty, taking down three-rank soldiers with a single sword strike, several battle formations collapsed in the blink of an eye.

"What terrifying movement technique!"

Ling Qingying's pupils contracted slightly. This was the first time she had witnessed this person's methods, and she had to admit that this person indeed had the ability to be as famous as herself.

Leave some for me.

Suddenly, she stormed into the camp again.

In a little while, Chen Ming will have killed them all. These heads are all merits.

With the death of the third-rank military officer, these soldiers were leaderless and powerless to resist, and were slaughtered, their corpses strewn across the field.

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(End of this chapter)