I can only beat noobs.

Chapter 318 Trading
Although Su Zhining recognized him, Chen Ming didn't care. With his current strength, Su Zhining was powerless to kill him.

He reminded him, "My identity cannot be revealed yet, please keep it a secret for me."

"Okay." Su Zhining nodded and agreed.

Chen Ming said loudly, "We choose to leave."

The voice asked, "Are you sure you want to leave?"

"determine."

"Congratulations on reaching the twentieth floor. Please collect your rewards."

Chen Ming and his companion felt a blur before their eyes, and in the blink of an eye, the scene changed, and a table appeared in front of them with two books on it.

Starry Sky Sword Technique.

The Great Luo Heavenly Palm.

These are two martial arts manuals.

Su Zhining exclaimed in surprise, "It's actually these two martial arts techniques!"

Chen Ming picked up the book "Starry Sky Sword Manual," flipped through it briefly, and asked, "Is it very famous?"

Su Zhining explained, "The Starry Sky Sword Manual was the signature sword technique of the Starry Sky Sword Sect three thousand years ago. At that time, this sect was the number one sect. Later, it was destroyed in the chaos of war."

"This 'Great Luo Heaven Palm' is the ultimate martial art of the Luo Tian Palace, which was famous more than a thousand years ago. Both of these are the number one martial arts in the world."

Chen Ming asked in surprise, "The Martial God Temple is so generous? They're rewarding you with such a top-tier secret manual after only reaching the twentieth floor?"

"The Martial God Hall has always valued potential more. You have just entered the Yang God realm and you have already defeated two peak Divine Treasure Level 1 cultivators. Such a record is even more amazing than the Divine Treasure Level 5 cultivators reaching the 49th level."

Now that you mention it, that makes sense.

Such rules are reasonable.

Chen Ming put the "Starry Sky Sword Manual" into his pocket.

Although the Six Doors have no shortage of martial arts techniques, the most top-tier martial arts manuals require not only merit but also seniority. For a sword technique of the level of "Starry Sky Sword Art," he would need to stay in the Six Doors for at least ten years before he would be qualified to obtain it.

Now that there's a ready-made one, why not take it?
As for the other book, "The Great Luo Heavenly Palm," I'll leave it to Su Zhining.

He shouldn't try to do too much at once; specializing in one sword technique is enough. Learning another palm technique would require spending more experience points, which isn't worthwhile.

After receiving their rewards, the two left the Temple of Martial God.

……

Sun Wangbei emerged from the Martial God Temple looking somewhat disheveled, but his expression betrayed a hint of excitement.

He successfully reached the tenth level, only to be defeated by a Divine Realm expert there. Even so, he managed to withstand the fifth move, something to be proud of.

As soon as he came out, he felt something was wrong.

Why is it so quiet?

Sun Wangbei looked at the people left outside, each of them looking as if someone had grabbed their throats, staring in a certain direction with an incredulous expression.

"what happened?"

He was puzzled, realizing that something terrible must have happened. In a flash, he appeared beside his junior brothers who had come out before him.

These junior brothers also looked like they had seen a ghost.

Sun Wangbei asked, "What happened?"

"Big...Senior Brother." The group turned around, saw him, and stammered, "It's Prince Linjiang, he...he's made it to the twentieth...tenth level..."

"How many?"

Sun Wangbei thought he had misheard. "What nonsense are you talking about?"

"it is true!"

"It's true."

"So, he has already become a Yang God..."

what?
Yang Shen?

Sun Wangbei's first reaction was disbelief. How old was he? How could he possibly have cultivated to the level of a Yang God?

"Out!"

"Look."

"..."

At this moment, a gasp of surprise erupted from the previously quiet crowd.

Sun Wangbei subconsciously looked over and saw the Prince of Linjiang and Su Zhining walking out of the Martial God Hall hand in hand. The man was heroic and dashing, and the woman was graceful and ethereal, like a perfect couple.

After the two came out, they didn't even look at the others. With a flick of their sleeves, they took to the air and floated away.

Fly in the air!

Sun Wangbei's pupils contracted as he looked at the scene, feeling as if he had been hit in the chest with a heavy hammer.

One cannot fly, even someone at the first level of the Divine Treasure Realm cannot do so.

He really is a Yang God?

……

Chen Ming took Su Zhining back to the mission's residence, went to his room alone, and took out the book "Starry Sky Sword Manual" to read.

He did not complete his work "The Lone Goose in Heaven and Earth" because he felt it was unnecessary.

Now, his greatest means of killing enemies are Yang Shen and the magic sword. If he puts on the "Celestial Master's Robe", he is confident that he can fight against a second-level Divine Treasure cultivator.

The "Emperor Moon Sword" truly lives up to its reputation as one of the three supreme divine weapons of the previous dynasty's royal family. Its power is astonishing. Even experts at the first level of the Divine Realm can only destroy the physical body; once pierced, death is certain.

This power is far greater than that of the "Taiyue Sword".

However, once he unlocks the Divine Treasury, with the power of the Five Elements True Skill, his strength will far surpass that of ordinary Divine Treasury Realm cultivators. Naturally, he will need a top-tier sword technique to learn first, just in case.

He went straight back to his residence, ignoring the outside commotion. The outside world was already in an uproar over his achievement of becoming a Yang God.

A 21-year-old Yang Shen is far more astonishing than a 21-year-old Shen Cang Jing.

The entire capital was talking about this.

The news quickly reached the delegation from the Great Jin Dynasty. At first, they didn't believe it, but as the news kept coming in and almost everyone was saying the same thing, they began to be suspicious.

However, they still dared not disturb him.

It wasn't until the next day, after Chen Ming came out of his room, that an official from the Court of State Ceremonial approached him and asked, "Your Highness, the people of Southern Chu are saying that you have achieved the Yang God realm and even passed the twentieth level of the Martial God Temple. Is that true?"

Chen Ming said casually, "Mm."

"really?"

Seeing him nod, the official tightened his grip, snapping off several hairs from his beard. Still not believing it, he wanted to confirm it again.

"What, do you want me to perform one for you?"

"That's not what I meant," the official said excitedly. "It's just that I've never heard of Your Highness also practicing cultivation."

Chen Ming said, "When you're in the world of martial arts, you always have a few tricks up your sleeve. How can you let others know all your secrets?"

"Your Highness is right. This trip has demonstrated the might of our nation and terrified those barbarians of Southern Chu." The official laughed heartily.

"Scared out of one's wits" is a bit of an exaggeration.

Chen Ming was self-aware; no matter how high his talent was, he was only a mere Yang God and could not affect the overall situation at all.

However, this news did have some positive effects after it spread.

Soon, the regent of Southern Chu summoned him again.

...It was still in that palace.

Lin Chengfeng, dressed in a black dragon robe representing the regent, stood beside the dragon throne with his hands behind his back. To an outsider, he would have been mistaken for the emperor.

He scrutinized Chen Ming carefully and said, "I didn't realize you were a Yang God last time. To have fooled me, you must possess some extraordinary treasure—"

As he spoke, a shimmering blue light flashed in his eyes, and a strange smile appeared on his face. "So you are the master of the Heavenly Punishment Hall. No wonder."

Chen Ming was startled. He had a feeling that all his cards had been seen through.

How terrifying, they could actually tell he was the master of the Heavenly Punishment Palace.

He asked, "What does Your Excellency mean by this?"

Lin Chengfeng looked at him with great interest. "Does your emperor know that you have become the master of the Heavenly Punishment Hall? Oh, it seems that he is unaware. You'd better not let him know about this."

Chen Ming followed up by asking, "Why is that?"

"Among the six halls, the Heavenly Punishment Hall is the main one, while the other five halls are auxiliary. Back then, the founding emperor of your Great Jin Dynasty was unwilling to take on the responsibility of guarding the Demon Suppression Tower. He also did not want the power of the Celestial Master's Mansion to become too great, so he split the six halls. However, in this way, the Heavenly Punishment Hall alone could not contend with the three realms within the Demon Suppression Tower. The fact that the strength of the Celestial Master's Mansion has declined with each generation is clear evidence of this."

Lin Chengfeng was unusually interested today and actually brought up the matter of the Six Palaces with him.

Chen Ming said, "So what?"

Lin Chengfeng said, "Do you know how the emperors of your Great Jin Dynasty controlled the Celestial Masters of past generations?"

"I don't know."

"Within the Great Jin Imperial Palace, there is a Nine Nether Tower, within which hides a Nine Nether Demon Lord. Each generation of Celestial Masters must take control of the Nine Nether Tower. Once the Nine Nether Tower is refined, life and death are in the hands of the Nine Nether Demon Lord."

Is there such a thing?
Chen Ming was startled. So, on the surface, it seemed that the Celestial Master was in charge of the Nine Nether Tower, but in reality, it was the Nine Nether Demon Lord who controlled the Celestial Master's life and death.

However, he was somewhat puzzled, "Why is the Regent telling me this?"

Lin Chengfeng laughed and said, "Naturally, it's to sow discord between you and your ruler."

Honest enough.

Chen Ming said, "I am just a nobody, how could I be worth the Regent's scheming?"

"Don't be modest. How could the Lord of the Heavenly Punishment Hall be a nobody?"

The more the ruler of Southern Chu said this, the more wary Chen Ming became. The difference in strength between the two was too great. Would someone like him be treated differently just because he was the Lord of the Heavenly Punishment Hall?
There must be something wrong.

Lin Chengfeng seemed to sense his wariness and changed the subject, "Your mission to Southern Chu this time is to form an alliance, right? I can make the decision to establish an alliance with your Great Jin, and I won't impose any harsh conditions."

Chen Ming asked in a deep voice, "What are the conditions?"

There is no such thing as a free lunch.

"In the future, if you reach the Life Palace Realm, you can help me obtain the essence blood of five different kinds of transformed great demons."

These conditions cannot be described as overly harsh.

After all, he is still far from reaching the Life Palace Realm.

Chen Ming asked curiously, "Are you so certain that I can break through to the Life Palace Realm?"

Lin Chengfeng said, "At least I have a much better chance than others. And even if it doesn't work out, I won't lose anything."

"Okay. I promise you."

"Let's make a vow with a high five." Lin Chengfeng raised his hand.

Chen Ming could only reach out and clasp his hand together with Chen Ming's.

For some reason, after the high-five, he felt that his Yang Spirit seemed to have gained something, but upon careful sensing, he found nothing unusual.

He was wary, thinking that a powerful figure like Lin Chengfeng might have some unimaginable means to prevent him from breaking his promise.

……

With Lin Chengfeng's encouragement, the two sides reached an agreement in less than half a month and drafted an alliance treaty for a period of five years, establishing a brotherhood between the two countries.

There were many details involved, and anyway, the people from the Court of State Ceremonial were responsible for negotiating them. Chen Ming didn't understand the intricacies of it all.

However, seeing his deputy's relaxed expression, he knew that he hadn't suffered too much loss.

Given the current situation in the Great Jin Dynasty, as long as one doesn't suffer losses, one is already gaining an advantage.

Once the alliance was agreed upon, the Jin delegation departed to return and report to the Jin emperor, who would then review and stamp the document to complete the process.

When they left, Chang Yunshan and Su Zhining of the Heavenly Dao Alliance did not travel together. They remained in the capital of Southern Chu.

After Su Zhining went to the Martial Arts Academy, she never returned. Chang Yunshan said that she was studying the notes left by "Wen Xiang".

Before long, the delegation entered the territory of the Great Jin Dynasty.

"We finally succeeded!"

As night fell, the delegation set up camp in the woods by the roadside. Chen Ming sat in the tent, holding the book "Starry Sky Sword Manual" in his hand, and suddenly a look of joy appeared on his face.

After nearly a month, he finally grasped a trace of the sword intent of this sword technique and officially became a beginner.

This sword technique has a very high starting point; to even begin to learn it, one must comprehend the Starry Sky Sword Intent.

Previously, he couldn't grasp the key points, but later he tried to understand it using Earth's constellations, and he actually got the hang of it smoothly.

In his past life, he had a girlfriend who was a big believer in astrology, and he even spent time studying it in order to win her over.

Chen Ming didn't rush to add points. During this period, he entered the Demon Suppression Tower of the Heavenly Punishment Hall every day to grind experience points. So far, he has accumulated 70 million points.

With another 20 million points, and a total of 100 million points, I can reach the peak of the first rank.

At the current pace, it will only take a little over half a month.

You can save up enough before you return to the capital.

He decided to first improve his cultivation level.

"Ugh!"

Suddenly, a soft sigh reached Chen Ming's ears.

"Who?"

He gripped the "Taiyue Sword" tightly, cautiously surveying his surroundings while scanning with his divine sense, but found nothing unusual.

"Truly a Yang God! I never imagined that the Northern Jin would produce such a peerless talent as you. What a pity, what a pity." It was an old voice that rang directly in his mind.

Chen Ming's heart sank.

The commotion went unnoticed by anyone outside, not even Xu Tianyu.

There are only two possibilities: either Xu Tianyu didn't notice anything, or he was bribed.

Chen Ming prefers the latter.

Otherwise, it would mean that the person who came was likely at the Life Palace Realm, which is why they could deceive Xu Tianyu's perception.

He asked, "What's a pity?"

The aged voice said, "It's a pity that such a peerless genius like you was born in Northern Jin. With your talent, how wonderful it would be if you could be my disciple. Then my Su Yue lineage might have become great again..."

It was called the Great Jin or the Northern Jin, and there was also the Su Yue lineage.

The other party's identity is becoming increasingly obvious.

People from Xikang!

Chen Ming asked, "Is it too late for me to become an apprentice now?"

"Hahaha, you lad, you're quite a character. If you weren't the Prince of Linjiang of Northern Jin, I might have actually taken you in. What a pity."

"Judging from your tone, you must be a powerful figure with a name and reputation. Why would you lower yourself to do something like assassination?"

"There's nothing I can do; they offered too much. Even I, an old man, couldn't help but be tempted. Kid, after saying all this, can you die in peace now?"

(End of this chapter)