I can only beat noobs.

Chapter 76 I'm Here to Kill You
On the rooftop, Zhao Xiyan was both surprised and delighted to see Chen Ming so easily kill Sun Shicai, the former seventh-rank inspector. "As expected of the person I have chosen, his swordsmanship is so superb."

Even Sun Shicai, who fought his way up from the bottom, was no match for him. This man must be a born swordsman with amazing fighting talent.

Such a person, once he matures, will surely become famous in the region.

If we can win this person over, he will be of great use in the future.

Zhao Daxian, standing to the side, said quietly, "You were just saying he was no match for Sun Shicai... Ouch—"

He was hit on the back of the head again, his lips pursed, and he dared not say another word.

After disciplining her argumentative younger brother, Zhao Xiyan began to think about how to keep Chen Ming in check.

After a while, Zhao Daxian couldn't help but ask, "Sister, are you thinking about how to win this person over?"

She ignored him.

Zhao Daxian continued, "To win people's hearts, there are only two things: one is to treat the virtuous with respect, and the other is to cater to their preferences. Look at that Miss Xiao, she is always polite to everyone, making people feel like they are bathed in a spring breeze. But precisely because of this, those who are truly talented will never be used by her."

Zhao Xiyan's curiosity was piqued, and she asked, "Why?"

"The more talented someone is, the more arrogant they are. Treating him the same way you treat mediocre people is an insult to him. You have to treat him differently."

Zhao Xiyan was somewhat surprised and began to look at her younger brother in a different light.

Then, he looked smug and asked, "Do you think what I said makes sense?"

She casually remarked, "The umbrella is tilted."

"Oh."

Zhao Daxian obediently held the umbrella up straight.

……

…………

At the entrance of the Governor's Mansion, many disciples of the Huo family rushed over upon hearing the news and joined the line of worshipping the memorial tablets of Huo Chengkun and others.

Suddenly, someone shouted angrily, "Hu Yongxing, you lackey of Sun Shicai, do you even deserve to pay homage to the master?"

In an instant, the crowd was filled with righteous indignation. They seized Hu Yongxing and were determined to execute him on the spot to appease their master.

Hu Yongxing was terrified and cried out his innocence, "How could I have known that scoundrel Sun was a traitor who murdered his master... I... I have something important to report. That scoundrel Sun is going to harm Master Chen's... Senior Brother's family..."

Upon hearing this, no one dared to delay and quickly brought him to Chen Ming.

Now, Chen Ming's prestige has surpassed Zhang Mingyu's, and no one dares to call him "junior brother" anymore.

After meeting Chen Ming, Hu Yongxing told him everything about how Sun Shicai had ordered him the previous night to find someone to frame Chunhetang.

This prompted everyone to curse Sun Shicai, calling him despicable, shameless, insidious, and vicious. He actually resorted to such a scheme to target Senior Brother Chen's family.

Chen Ming felt fortunate that he had acted decisively today; otherwise, his elder brother would have been in danger and would have faced imprisonment.

You can't be soft-hearted at all when dealing with enemies, otherwise you'll only hurt yourself.

“Senior Brother Chen, I was just placating that scoundrel. I had absolutely no intention of harming your family… I was deceived by that scoundrel. If I had known he would do such a heinous thing, I would never have followed him…”

Hu Yongxing knelt on the ground, crying with snot and tears streaming down his face.

Chen Ming spoke up, “Everyone, please listen to me. Sun Shicai’s murder of his master will never be known to anyone. Those who followed him were unaware of it. Now that this villain has been brought to justice, let’s not implicate others. After all, they are all fellow disciples, and we should give them a chance to repent.”

Zhang Mingyu was the first to stand up and agree, "Junior brother is right. We are all from the same sect, so we should unite as one, share honor and disgrace, and advance and retreat together. We must not kill each other."

Since these two bigwigs have said so, no one else has any objections.

Hu Yongxing was naturally extremely grateful.

After a while, everyone dispersed.

Chen Ming was still a little worried about his older brother, so he decided to go to the pharmacy to check on him.

……

"Erlang, what brings you here?"

Chunhetang was crowded with customers. Chen Rui, who was busy behind the counter, saw his younger brother arrive and quickly handed over his work to the shop assistant, leading him to the back room to talk.

Seeing that everything was safe and sound, Chen Ming felt relieved and said, "I just happened to be passing by, so I thought I'd come and take a look. Business is good at the shop."

"Now everyone knows that Chunhetang has produced a young master named Chen Erlang, who is already a seventh-rank martial artist at a young age. The more famous you are, the better your pharmacy's business will be."

"That's also thanks to your excellent management, brother."

The two brothers complimented each other.

Chen Rui got down to business, "Perfect timing, there's something I'd like to discuss with you. We've recently landed a few big orders, the volume is too large, and our warehouse isn't big enough. We might need to rent two more."

Chen Ming said, "You can make the decisions about business matters; there's no need to ask me. I don't understand these things."

He's not the kind of person who meddles in everything or has an insatiable thirst for power.

His elder brother was able to run the pharmacy well, so he was happy to have some free time.

Chen Rui also had his own principles: "This is a large expenditure, so naturally I should discuss it with you."

“Okay, I agree.” Chen Ming didn’t seem to care much about that, and instead asked, “Has Zhengrentang been causing trouble lately?”

Chen Rui laughed and said, "How dare they? They warned me once last time, and within two days, you broke through to the seventh rank. Then, their boss specially treated me to a meal to express his apologies and said that in the second half of the year, he would recommend our Chunhetang to become a director of the Medical Guild."

As he spoke, his eyes welled up with tears. "If Father were still alive, he would be so happy to know how successful you are, Erlang."

Becoming a director of the pharmaceutical guild proves that the pharmacy holds a pivotal position in the industry.

And all of this was brought about by Chen Ming.

This truly exemplifies the saying, "When one attains enlightenment, even his chickens and dogs ascend to heaven."

A family that produces a martial arts prodigy can propel the entire family to higher social classes.

Over the past two years, Chen Ming's strength has increased by leaps and bounds, and the Chen family's wealth and social status have also risen several levels, reaching a point that Chen Rui never dared to dream of before. ...

Chen Ming sat for a while, then left when he saw there was nothing else in the shop. Staying there would only disrupt the pharmacy's business.

He had just boarded the carriage when he saw Zhuang Xiaotian, dressed in a black official robe, run over and get into the carriage as well.

"I heard you killed Sun Shicai at the gate of the Governor's Mansion?"

Zhuang Xiaotian's eyes held a mixture of shock and admiration. "I was on patrol duty today, and when I heard this news, I could hardly believe it. Sun Shicai's swordsmanship was top-notch among the patrol officers. It's said that he had already achieved great success in his cultivation, only one step away from the sixth rank, and you actually killed him..."

He made a series of remarks, and seeing that Chen Ming just smiled without saying anything, he suddenly sighed, "I still remember the four of us discussing martial arts and philosophy two years ago. Now, less than two years later, you have left all of us behind."

Chen Ming asked him, "Do you have any news about Brother Deng?"

Zhuang Xiaotian shook his head. "I've asked around, but there's still no news."

"Where's Brother Guan?"

"They went out to sea again a few days ago."

Zhuang Xiaotian couldn't help but sigh again when he talked about his two sworn brothers.

After a while, he remembered something and said, "By the way, something big happened outside the city last night. I'm afraid Qingfeng City is going to be in turmoil again. You'd better be careful lately and don't leave the city."

Hearing this, Chen Ming asked in surprise, "What happened?"

Zhuang Xiaotian whispered, "I heard that the young masters from noble families who came to participate in the martial arts competition a few days ago have been leaving one after another in the past few days. Not long after leaving the city, they were ambushed and killed. It is said that several of them have gone missing."

Chen Ming's expression immediately turned serious. "Is the information accurate?"

Zhuang Xiaotian nodded, but did not reveal the source of the information.

If it's true, then it's a truly momentous event.

Those young masters from noble families who came to participate in the martial arts competition were all powerful figures from various counties in Jiangzhou. Who would dare to make a move against them?

Even those lawless pirates wouldn't make so many powerful enemies for no reason, would they?
He asked, "Who did this?"

Zhuang Xiaotian leaned closer and said in a voice only he could hear, "Some people suspect that the immortality cult has been resurrected."

Immortality Cult?

Chen Ming was slightly taken aback.

He had only seen this name in history books. According to historical records, the Longevity Cult would emerge and stir up trouble during times of chaos.

The last time this sect was mentioned was three hundred years ago, when a tyrannical ruler of the previous dynasty wreaked havoc on the world, causing widespread suffering. The Longevity Sect seized the opportunity to rise up, ultimately leading to the downfall of the previous dynasty.

When the new dynasty was established, the Changsheng Sect was swept into the dustbin of history and never appeared in historical records again.

For people today, this name seems rather distant.

There are very few folk tales about them.

Chen Ming's heart sank even further. The Longevity Cult had reappeared in the world. Was the world about to descend into chaos once again?

"Are you sure about this?"

Zhuang Xiaotian said, "Who knows? Anyway, that's what some people are guessing."

Chen Ming asked him, "What kind of force is this Longevity Cult?"

“I actually did some research. This sect originated from the Immortal Dynasty of Longevity eight thousand years ago. Legend has it that the Emperor of Longevity built the Palace of Longevity in order to pursue the secret of longevity and recruited many talented people. Later, the Emperor of Longevity was punished by the heavens, and the Immortal Dynasty collapsed. However, the Palace of Longevity survived and became the Immortal Sect, continuing to pursue the secret of longevity.”

"The members of the Longevity Cult are single-mindedly pursuing immortality, resorting to any means necessary and committing many heinous acts that are abhorrent to both gods and men. They are intolerable to the world. Over time, they have become a heretical cult, and once they appear, they become enemies of the world. However, the Longevity Cult has a deep foundation, and every time it is wiped out, it never truly dies and always rises again after a few hundred years."

Zhuang Xiaotian said with a regretful expression, "Unfortunately, this is all the information the Six Doors has. More detailed records are probably only available to those at a higher rank."

Chen Ming's head throbbed even more.

The Immortal Dynasty of Immortality and the Great Emperor of Immortality are both legendary figures.

Although it exists in historical records, it is no different from myths and legends, and it is difficult to distinguish whether it is true or false.

According to historical records, this immortal emperor lived for a thousand years before finally being punished by heaven and dying.

If this is true, wouldn't this place become a world of cultivation?

However, apart from this immortal emperor, no one else has lived for over a thousand years.

Occasionally there are records of ancient monsters that have lived for hundreds of years, but they will eventually die and return to dust.

……

After the carriage arrived at the Chen residence, Zhuang Xiaotian got off and left, as he needed to continue his patrol.

Chen Ming entered the house alone and went straight back to his small courtyard.

He pushed open the gate to the courtyard, then suddenly stopped. Instead of going inside, he sat down at the stone table in the courtyard.

He said to Chunxiang and Xiaxiang, "I'm entertaining friends tonight. You two should each go to Zuixianlou and buy a jar of Baihuazui wine, and Xianglan Pavilion and buy ten boxes of pastries. Go now."

"Yes."

Chunxiang and Xiaxiang left immediately.

After they left, Chen Ming said to the house, "Friends inside, you don't need to hide anymore, come out."

A few seconds later, a chilling, viper-like voice came from inside, "How did you find us?"

Chen Ming gripped the hilt of his knife and said, "The smell of the sea on you is so strong, I could smell it from several feet away. You must be friends from the sea. May I ask what brings you here to see me?"

The door was pushed open with a bang, and three figures walked out, all with their faces covered. The leader said in a sinister voice, "We've come to kill you!"

PS: Second update, please vote with monthly tickets. The next update will be around 11 PM.

(End of this chapter)