I can only beat noobs.

Chapter 307 The Instructor
You have defeated a level 99 ghost and gained 5 experience points.

After killing another ghost, Chen Ming scanned the area with his divine sense and found that there wasn't a single ghost within a ten-mile radius.

These days, he runs to Qingwei Heaven every day to kill ghosts, and has almost wiped out all the ghosts here.

After all, this isn't a real game, and the monsters you defeat won't automatically respawn.

As his cultivation level improved, especially after reaching the first rank of Yin Spirit, the strength of his divine sense became much stronger than when he was at the second rank.

At his peak, he could kill more than two hundred ghosts in a single day.

He had practically cleared out all the ghosts in Qingwei Heaven. Sometimes you could wander around for half an hour without encountering a single ghost.

"Looks like I need to find a new place to level up."

Chen Ming opened the panel and glanced at it, "We're still short over 30 million."

After a month, he had accumulated more than 60 million experience points, but he was still more than 30 million short of 100 million.

He thought to himself, "It's time to go back and report to the emperor."

Just then, a dark shadow flashed in front of them, and another ghost appeared.

Chen Ming flashed over and unleashed a "God-Slaying Thrust," killing the ghost and gaining another 50,000 experience points.

Just as he was about to leave, the "Emperor Moon Sword" in his hand suddenly trembled slightly.

Ok?
He was somewhat surprised; the spirit of the "Emperor Moon Sword" had already dissipated, yet it was vibrating on its own. What had triggered its resonance?

Chen Ming used the "Weapon Control Technique" to communicate with the "Emperor Moon Sword" and sensed a longing coming from the sword, as if something ahead was attracting it.

He looked up and in that direction, and saw a hill.

No—it's not an ordinary mountain.

Curious, he flew over there, and upon getting closer, he observed carefully and realized what this place was—it looked like a tomb!
"Who would be buried here?"

Chen Ming's curiosity grew even stronger, and as he walked forward, the "Emperor Moon Sword" in his hand reacted even more violently.

The tomb was also damaged, with a section in the middle completely collapsed. Judging from the state of the damage, it looks as if something broke out of the tomb.

"What is a zombie coming back to life?"

With this thought in mind, he landed at the collapsed area, quickly located the spot that attracted the "Emperor Moon Sword," and began digging.

They dug for more than ten meters and found a piece of golden material.

"This is--"

Chen Ming picked up the object and, judging from its shape, it seemed to be a bone.

At this moment, the "Emperor Moon Sword" trembled even more violently, as if it had a strong desire to break free from his grasp and fly towards the golden bone.

"Alright, here you go."

He speculated that the bone likely originated from some great being of ancient times, perhaps even the legendary Emperor Xi.

The moment the "Emperor Moon Sword" touched the golden bone, it seemed to merge with it, bursting out with a burst of silver light that enveloped it.

Chen Ming waited for a while, and judging from the state of the "Emperor Moon Sword," it seemed unlikely that it would be able to digest the bone anytime soon. He simply left the sword there and departed Qingwei Heaven alone.

……

When Chen Ming opened his eyes, he was already back in his room at the inn.

He packed his things, left the room, found the innkeeper to check out, settled the bill, and then left.

After leaving the inn, he went straight to the inner city and returned to the Linjiang Prince's Mansion.

With his current strength, he could enter the Linjiang Prince's Mansion without being discovered by anyone and went directly into the main hall where he was in seclusion.

"Xiaoyu, come in."

Chen Ming transmitted his voice.

The doors to the main hall were pushed open, and the young eunuch Xiaoyu rushed in, excitedly saying, "Your Highness, you're finally back!"

Only two people in the Prince's mansion knew about Chen Ming's fake seclusion: Xiao Yu and the old eunuch in charge of the mansion.

"During my seclusion, has anything significant happened in the Prince's residence?"

"Your Highness, everything in the palace is as usual."

"Yes, have someone prepare a carriage; I'm going to the palace."

"Yes."

……

Chen Ming met the young emperor in the imperial garden.

"My dear minister, you've finally returned." The emperor was delighted to see him and immediately took his hand. "How was your trip to Jiangzhou? Did you encounter any dangerous situations?"

"Your Majesty, I did not encounter any danger in Jiangzhou. On the contrary, I encountered an assassin when I left the capital..." Chen Ming recounted in detail his encounter with a Divine Realm assassin when he left the capital.

"That's unreasonable!"

The emperor was already trembling with rage halfway through the conversation, and after he finished speaking, his face turned ashen, clearly furious to the extreme.

Very few people knew that Chen Ming had secretly left the capital; it was a secret mission to begin with. However, he was ambushed by a Divine Realm expert the moment he left the capital.

What's even more infuriating is that those people brazenly searched for Chen Ming's whereabouts outside the capital, completely disregarding the Great Jin Dynasty.

The emperor grew angrier the more he thought about it, and slammed his palm on a large tree next to him, snapping it in two with a crack.

He roared in fury, "Investigate! Find out who colluded with Xikang!"

The old eunuch standing nearby immediately replied, "Yes."

After the emperor finished venting his anger, he looked at Chen Ming beside him and said with some lingering fear, "Fortunately, you were quick-witted, otherwise, if anything had really happened to you, it would have been tantamount to cutting off my arm."

Chen Ming wondered if the emperor had a bit of a performative personality, as this was a bit too exaggerated. On the surface, he was naturally grateful and said, "This trip has turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as my strength has increased to a higher level, and I have now entered the first rank."

"what?"

The emperor was stunned. "Is this really true?"

"It's true."

"Great!"

The emperor was both surprised and delighted, and took his hand again, "My dear minister, you are indeed a once-in-a-century genius, and you have actually broken through to the first rank. Good, that's wonderful!"

This is absolutely a huge surprise.

The emperor had always wanted to give him an important position, and even defied public opinion, expressing a rare and firm stance. He bestowed upon him the title of Prince of Linjiang.

Unfortunately, his cultivation level was still somewhat low, and forcibly pushing him into a high position would not be ideal. It's important to understand that in officialdom, without sufficient power, one cannot control those below.

Just like him, even as an emperor, he had to compromise on many things because his own strength was not strong enough.

Now that he has broken through to the first rank and his strength has greatly increased, he no longer has such concerns and can be entrusted with important responsibilities. He can play a vital role in many matters.

Next, Chen Ming presented information about the Blood Demon Sect, which he had edited, removing many details.

This makes it less likely to expose the source of the information.

Ever since he was hunted down by a powerful figure from Xikang, he knew that the Six Doors and the people around the emperor were unreliable, so he naturally had to keep a backup plan.

This intelligence is sufficient to report back.

After receiving this intelligence, the emperor looked through it for a while and was at a loss for words. "My dear minister, you have truly given me one surprise after another. You have even found such detailed intelligence."

Compared to him, all those secret agents from the Six Doors were utterly useless; they investigated for so long and still didn't find as much as he had in two months. The Emperor, pleased, asked, "My dear minister, you have rendered a great service. What reward do you desire?"

Chen Ming said, "I enjoy sparring with others and would like the opportunity to fight against many masters in the army."

“This is easy.” Upon hearing this, the emperor was even more pleased. “In that case, I appoint you as the head instructor of the Imperial Guards. You will be responsible for training all the Imperial Guards in the capital, and you can spar with whomever you wish.”

Instructor of the Imperial Guards?

Upon hearing the title, Chen Ming felt a chill run down his spine and quickly declined, saying, "Your Majesty, I am not worthy of this position."

"Are you sure you don't want it? There are dozens of first-rank martial artists in the Imperial Guard. With this title, you can legitimately challenge them to a duel."

"This... Your subject accepts the decree."

Fine, then I'll be the Imperial Guard Instructor.

Anyway, his surname isn't Lin.

……

Not long after Chen Ming left the Imperial Garden, he encountered a familiar carriage. The curtain was lifted, and the Princess peeked out. "Isn't this the Prince of Linjiang? You've come out of seclusion so quickly?"

He bowed and said, "Greetings, Princess."

"How was your seclusion? Did you gain anything?"

The eldest princess emphasized the words "seclusion" with particular force.

"Indeed, I have made some progress and successfully broken through to the first rank."

"..."

The eldest princess was clearly taken aback for a moment, her mouth slightly agape, but she quickly recovered. "I knew I hadn't misjudged you. Your talent is truly exceptional."

"Your Highness is too kind. I have other matters to attend to, so I will take my leave now."

After Chen Ming finished speaking, he took his leave.

In his view, everyone except the emperor who knew he was leaving the capital for a secret mission in Jiangzhou was a suspect. The princess was no exception. It was best to keep his distance.

The eldest princess watched his departing figure, lost in thought.

……

A few days later, Chen Ming took office as the head instructor of the Imperial Guards. This position was entirely a product of the emperor's whim.

This official title did not exist before.

The so-called Imperial Guards included the Imperial Guards of the capital city and the Four Great Camps. Although their numbers were not as exaggerated as 800,000, they numbered in the tens of thousands.

In this world where martial prowess is paramount, cases of receiving salaries without working are relatively rare.

In the military, individual ability is valued more. According to the rules passed down by the founding emperor, without the corresponding level of skill, one cannot sit in that position.

The emperor was not exaggerating when he said that there were dozens of first-rank martial artists in the Imperial Guard.

However, in times of peace, many sons of noble families only held a nominal position in the Imperial Guard to maintain their family's influence, and rarely visited the military camp.

For them, improving their cultivation and breaking through to the Divine Treasury Realm was the most important thing. How could they possibly waste time in the military camp?
In reality, among the 200,000 Imperial Guards, there are no more than ten first-rank martial artists who are usually stationed in the military camps.

On his first day in office, Chen Ming was not too disappointed when he learned of this situation, as first-rank martial artists are rare anywhere.

He wasn't the commander of the Imperial Guards; everyone was of the same rank. If he wanted to spar with another first-rank officer, they might not agree.

Anyway, within the Imperial Guard, aside from first-rank warriors, second- and third-rank warriors are plentiful. Sparring with these people is enough.

Although defeating a second-rank opponent only yields 70,000 to 80,000 experience points, defeating a third-rank opponent only yields 20,000 to 30,000, and later only 10,000 and a few thousand, every little bit counts.

In a day, you can accumulate one or two million experience points.

In this way, Chen Ming would go to several military camps every day, pull out all the generals of the third rank and above, and spar with them one by one.

It is euphemistically called "examination and comparison".

At first, those people were somewhat reluctant. But they quickly realized the benefits of sparring with him, and one by one they were eager to be "tested" by him.

Later, even his close colleagues who often met him became itchy to spar and took the initiative to approach him to exchange skills.

This situation lasted for more than a month.

That evening, when Chen Ming returned to the Prince's Mansion, he learned that an unexpected guest had arrived at his home.

"Su Zhining?"

"Why is she here?"

He had some doubts in his mind, so he changed his clothes and went to the living room to greet the guest.

Su Zhining was still dressed in white, her charm undiminished. What surprised him even more was that her aura had reached a new level, breaking through to the second rank.

what's the situation?
Wasn't it said that she was caught in a love triangle, unable to extricate herself, and that her cultivation had regressed?

Chen Ming was puzzled.

Besides Su Zhining, another middle-aged man also came this time, whose aura was unfathomable. He was clearly a powerful expert at the Divine Treasure Realm.

He cut to the chase and asked, "Miss Su, and this senior have also come to visit. May I ask what brings you here?"

Su Zhining introduced, "This is my senior martial brother, Chang Yunshan. I have come here today to ask about some things that happened when Your Highness was in Xia Prefecture."

Chang Yunshan looked him over, a strange light flashing in his eyes. "I never expected that you would cultivate both martial arts and Taoism and achieve the first-grade Yin God. It is truly unbelievable that you have such cultivation at such a young age."

"You flatter me, senior," Chen Ming said modestly. "You two have come to inquire about Senior Luo, haven't you?"

In Xiazhou, the only thing that has anything to do with the Heavenly Dao Alliance is the incident at the bottom of the Six Doors prison in Xiazhou, specifically the Ink Painting Secret Realm.

Luo Zhouwu of the Heavenly Dao Alliance was clearly not dead at the time, but he did not leave that secret realm afterward. No one knows what happened.

Chang Yunshan said, "You are the only survivor in this matter. So I can only ask you."

Chen Ming asked, "Where is Senior Luo?"

"he died."

"What?" Chen Ming was taken aback. "He was clearly still alive when I left. How could this be?"

"Tell me again, in detail, what happened at that time."

So Chen Ming recounted what happened that day, this time with added details.

After all, there are some things that happen in the ink painting space that cannot be known to others.

After listening, Chang Yunshan asked a few more questions, mainly about the Nine Nether Sect disciples, "From beginning to end, you never saw their senior brother?"

Chen Ming shook his head. "No."

Chang Yunshan suddenly said, "Do you know that Hong Yuze has been murdered?"

"Huh? Who killed him?"

"If I'm not mistaken, he's most likely the eldest disciple of the Nine Nether Sect's demonic disciples. He's probably already broken through to the Divine Treasure Realm. He also possesses the ability to transform, making him extremely difficult to deal with as he hides in the shadows."

Chen Ming's heart skipped a beat. "Why is Senior saying all this?"

"He will definitely come looking for you to avenge his junior brothers and sisters."

"..."

(End of this chapter)