I can only beat noobs.

Chapter 317 Shock
The Temple of Martial God is located in the east of the city. It was originally a saline-alkali land, but now it is the most prosperous area in the capital of Southern Chu.

Normally, the gates of the Temple of Martial God are kept closed, and they are only opened once every ten years.

Today is the day the palace gates open, and the Imperial Guards of Southern Chu have sealed off the surrounding area, preventing any unauthorized personnel from approaching, lest they disturb the distinguished guest.

To enter the Martial God Temple, one must either have a cultivation level of at least the third rank, or be a member of a prestigious family or sect.

Although the Southern Chu implemented a national policy of martial arts training for all citizens, sects and aristocratic families still had room to survive, following an elite route.

Accompanied by officials from Southern Chu, Chen Ming and Su Zhining successfully passed through the blockade of the Imperial Guards and arrived at the square outside the Temple of Martial God.

The place was packed with people, at least several thousand.

He asked in surprise, "Are all these people here to storm the Temple of the Martial God?"

An official surnamed Wang said, "No, many of these people are just here to watch the spectacle. Among them are quite a few high-ranking officials and nobles. Look, over there is the royal carriage; several princes and princesses have arrived."

"I've heard that your princes and princesses are also studying at the Martial Arts Academy and the Literary Academy?"

The official said proudly, "That's right, that's why our princes and princesses of Southern Chu are all accomplished in both literature and martial arts."

Just then, an arrogant voice rang out, "Today, I, the prince, will be the first to enter the Martial God Temple, and no one is allowed to take it from me."

Chen Ming looked toward the source of the sound and saw a young man dressed in princely attire standing closest to the gate. There was no one else within a ten-foot radius of him.

He couldn't help but laugh and said, "That must be your country's seventh prince. Just as the rumors say, he is a man of great character."

The official looked somewhat embarrassed. He had just been praising the royal family, and the Seventh Prince's actions were practically a slap in the face.

This seventh prince was notoriously unruly, reckless, and lawless. Yet, he possessed exceptional talent and was deeply favored by the Empress Dowager.

Chen Ming shifted his gaze to the other side of the gate, where a few dozen people stood sparsely. Although there were still plenty of seats available, no one dared to approach.

Because those were all experts at the Divine Realm.

Those who lack the strength naturally dare not approach.

Those at the Divine Treasure Realm can also challenge the Martial God Hall; there are dozens of people here, all newly promoted to the Divine Treasure Realm. The veteran Divine Treasure Realm warriors are fewer in number.

Only those who have just broken through to a higher realm will attempt to challenge the Martial God Temple.

The three strongest auras originated from three people: two men and one woman. They all appeared to be quite young, in their early thirties. However, their actual ages were hard to say.

The three of them gave him the impression that they were only slightly inferior to Xu Tianyu, at least at the fourth level of the Divine Realm.

Chen Ming asked, "Are there any restrictions on entering the Martial God Temple?"

Seeing that he had changed the subject, the official wiped his sweat and said, "There are no restrictions, however, experts at the peak of the Divine Treasure Realm will almost never come."

"Oh? Why is that?"

"It is said that they were worried that losing in the Martial God Temple would affect their Dao heart. It would be easy to attract inner demons when forging the Life Palace."

"I see."

……

Finally, the gates of the Temple of Martial God slowly opened, and the scene suddenly fell silent as everyone looked at the gates.

A grand voice resounded, "The ten-year period has ended. The Temple of Martial Gods opens today. Those who wish to challenge the temple, please enter in order. Those who challenge alone will enter alone. Those who challenge together may enter hand in hand. Once defeated, you will be teleported out of the temple..."

"I'll be the first one in!"

The seventh prince laughed loudly and stepped into the palace.

Then, the rest of the people filed in.

Chen Ming was not in a hurry. He followed the flow of people and slowly walked forward. When he reached the palace gate, he reached out and held Su Zhining's slightly cold hand beside him. They passed through the gate and entered the magnificent palace.

Upon entering, he discovered that everyone else had disappeared, leaving only him and Su Zhining.

He scanned the area with his divine sense and discovered that this was likely an independent space, similar to the Nine Nether Tower.

In the center of the main hall, there is a huge statue of a middle-aged scholar with his hands behind his back, gazing into the distance.

Su Zhining, who was standing next to her, said, "That's a statue of Minister Wen."

"No, he's not dead yet, is he? So why is he being enshrined in the main hall?"

"He hasn't shown himself for a hundred years, and nobody knows whether he's dead or alive."

Chen Ming said, "I heard that he was wounded by the sword of an invincible expert back then. Does Miss Su know who that expert was?"

Su Zhining shook her head and said, "No one knows. Because those who witnessed that battle back then are either dead or have gone mad."

Chen Ming looked at her in surprise, "Are you crazy?"

Su Zhining nodded.

Just then, the same voice rang out again, "Challenge begins."

The surrounding environment changed instantly, and two people in black appeared before them, a man and a woman, both possessing the aura of the first rank.

"Be careful."

Su Zhining reminded her.

Chen Ming looked at his two opponents and felt strange. Why were there two First Rank opponents on the first level?
At this moment, the two men in black made their move, one on the left and one on the right, their moves perfectly coordinated, blocking all of the two men's escape routes.

When the two join forces, their power is more than doubled.

Su Zhining drew the sword from behind her and unleashed a powerful strike that was incomparable to their previous encounter.

The last time the two fought was in Jiangzhou City, when she was only a third-rank official.

Now, she has broken through two realms and is already at the first rank. Her progress is not much slower than his. I wonder if this can be considered a blessing in disguise.

This sword strike broke through the sword techniques of the two men.

"Good swordsmanship!"

Chen Ming praised her, explaining that he hadn't made a move because he wanted to see Su Zhining's strength. This true disciple of the Heavenly Dao Alliance did not disappoint him. Although she had only just entered the first rank, her combat power far surpassed that of her peers.

The Heavenly Heart Technique truly deserves to be called one of the most top-tier martial arts techniques in the world.

This is an even more extreme form of martial arts dual cultivation, where the divine sense is almost completely fused with the physical energy, resulting in such astonishing power.

Unlike him, whose Yang God is Yang God and whose Gang Yuan is Gang Yuan, he has merged a part of them, but not completely.

Chen Ming observed Su Zhining's strength. In the blink of an eye, she had already exchanged several blows with the two enemies. Fighting two against one was ultimately too strenuous, so she could only defend and fight.

"I am coming."

Having seen this, he had a general understanding of Su Zhining's strength and immediately drew his "Taiyue Sword".

"The Lone Goose in the Sky and Earth"!
It was as if only this one sword remained in the world, and everything else vanished.

With a flash of sword light, the two men in black were cut into four pieces.

A single sword strike kills instantly.

"Congratulations on passing. Please proceed directly to the ninth floor."

The voice rang out.

Chen Ming waited for a while and was somewhat disappointed when he saw that he had not received any experience points. It seemed that these men in black were not alive.

Could it be some kind of illusion?
Taking out the first pair of enemies and going straight to the ninth floor is really convenient.

"What amazing swordsmanship."

Su Zhining had already sheathed her sword and sincerely praised it.

Chen Ming said modestly, "I only reached the first rank before you. If you have a few more months, dealing with these two won't be a problem."

The two talked as they climbed the stairs behind the statue.

We went up all the way to the tenth floor before stopping.

It was still two men in black, but this time, their auras were far stronger than before. Peak First Rank!
These two men in black have reached the pinnacle of strength in this world. Unless they can unlock the divine treasure, they will not be able to improve even slightly.

The mere sight of these two men was enough to create an immense sense of pressure.

Chen Ming said, "Miss Su, please stay here and help me out."

Su Zhining stepped aside. She knew that with her strength, she couldn't handle a peak First Rank expert. She couldn't help but wonder; he seemed so confident. Did he really have the ability to defeat two peak First Rank experts?
What is his reliance?
The next second, she understood. When she saw a tiny figure fly out from above Chen Ming's head, she almost cried out in surprise, "Yang Shen!"

……

At this moment, outside the Temple of Martial Gods, on the west side of the plaza, a group of royal relatives and nobles gathered. On the outer wall of the Temple of Martial Gods, screen walls appeared, showing the scene of those inside challenging their opponents.

Many people are paying attention to the pairing of Chen Ming and Su Zhining.

"The Prince of Linjiang's reputation is nothing special, in my opinion."

"Foolish. With his strength, he had a chance to reach the tenth level, but he chose to carry a burden. Fighting two against one, he is bound to lose."

"I never imagined that his strength would improve so much in just a few months. Half a year ago, he was only at the second rank. Such a speed of progress is truly astonishing."

"He's still far behind the top student of this year's martial arts academy. Look, Sun Wangbei has already reached the tenth floor."

"..."

Amidst the murmurs, Chen Ming on the screen wall made his move. A tiny figure flew out from above his head, holding a longsword taller than "himself," with a disdainful look in his eyes.

The scene suddenly fell silent.

"Yang...Yang Shen?"

Someone uttered those two words in a trembling voice, filled with disbelief and a hint of fear.

The silence was broken, which caused a stir.

"how is this possible?"

"He's actually a Yang God?"

"A twenty-one-year-old Yang Shen?"

"..."

Various screams and exclamations of incomprehensible meaning erupted from the scene, completely shocked by the Yang God summoned by Chen Ming.

For them, this was no different from a magnitude 10 earthquake.

On the screen wall, Chen Ming's Yang God easily killed the two peak first-grade cultivators.

……

"You...you are actually a Yang God?"

On the tenth floor of the Martial God Temple, Su Zhining looked at Chen Ming with an incredulous gaze and murmured to herself.

Chen Ming had already withdrawn his Yang God and laughed, "Who says I can't be a Yang God?"

"This... how did you train?"

Su Zhining couldn't understand it.

It's important to understand that cultivating the Dao is different from practicing martial arts. Throughout history, many exceptionally talented individuals have reached the first rank at a young age. All it takes is a rare treasure to unlock the divine treasure.

However, cultivators are different. Cultivating the primordial spirit is much slower than practicing martial arts. They also have to undergo tribulations and tribulations. Achieving the Yang God status is definitely not an easy thing.

Although the "Heavenly Heart Technique" involves both martial arts and cultivation, it is actually a unique path with extremely demanding requirements for aptitude and a very difficult cultivation process. Among each generation of disciples, only a few are able to unlock their divine treasures.

Chen Ming said, "Because I have better aptitude. Let's go."

As he spoke, he walked upstairs.

Su Zhining didn't know what to say for a moment, and silently followed behind.

The opponents on the eleventh floor became two people at the Divine Realm.

Chen Ming released his Yang God again and used the "Emperor Moon Sword" to easily kill the two.

And so, he led Su Zhining all the way up.

The twelfth floor, the thirteenth floor...

Before long, they arrived at the nineteenth floor and encountered two powerful experts at the peak of the first level of the Divine Realm.

For the first time, a serious expression appeared on Chen Ming's face.

……

At this moment, outside the Martial God Temple, in front of the screen wall, everyone was watching Chen Ming's actions, seeing him effortlessly cut through everything and fight his way to the nineteenth floor. Many were too shocked to speak.

too strong!
Many people couldn't help but wonder, "How can he be so strong?"

Logically speaking, a Divine Realm cultivator shouldn't be completely powerless against a Yang God.

Finally, a knowledgeable person solved the mystery: "His magic sword is very likely the legendary Emperor Moon Sword!"

"You mean the Emperor Moon Sword, one of the three supreme divine weapons of the previous dynasty?"

"Indeed, according to legend, the Emperor Moon Sword is specifically designed to pierce the physical body. Even a powerful expert at the Divine Treasure Realm would surely die if struck by it. It is extremely ferocious. I never expected that this supreme divine weapon would fall into his hands and be refined into a magical artifact by him..."

"How is this possible? How powerful is the spirit of the Emperor Moon Sword? He is merely a First Tribulation Yang God, how could he possibly refine the spirit of the Emperor Moon Sword?"

"Regardless of how he did it, it was undoubtedly the Emperor Moon Sword. Otherwise, he couldn't have killed those experts at the Divine Treasure Realm so easily."

"Alas, if that really is the Emperor Moon Sword, then it is too terrifying."

"..."

At this moment, on the screen wall, Chen Ming finally clashed with the two experts at the peak of the first level of the Divine Treasure Realm, and thankfully it wasn't an instant kill like before.

It was not a battle, but a fierce one.

In a battle of this level, most people can't even see it clearly. They have no idea who has the upper hand or who is at a disadvantage.

Only a few guards at the Divine Treasure Realm were able to capture the scene of the battle.

Finally, Chen Ming's divine form appeared on the screen wall, hovering above his head, the "Emperor Moon Sword" in his hand gleaming coldly.

On the other side, the bodies of the two men in black began to disintegrate.

They still lost.

The crowd erupted in uproar.

This means that even if two experts at the peak of the first level of the Divine Treasure Realm joined forces, they would not be a match for this young man.

How old is he?

At twenty-one, he already possesses such strength; what will he be like in ten years?
……

After Chen Ming dealt with the two men in black, his Yang Shen aura weakened considerably. He turned to Su Zhining and said, "I have fulfilled my mission."

After this battle, she can ascend to the twentieth floor and fulfill her bet with the Martial Academy. She can then read "Wen Xiang's" notes and truly resolve her own hidden dangers.

"Thank you."

Su Zhining's expression was somewhat complicated, and she silently mouthed two words, "Chen Ming."

Chen Ming was stunned and greatly surprised that she actually recognized him.

He used his divine sense to transmit his voice, asking, "When did you realize it was me?"

"Just now."

Su Zhining stepped forward, took his hand, and looked into his eyes, "When you held my hand..."

P.S.: I've realized there are too many problems to solve. I doubt it will be finished anytime soon.

(End of this chapter)