Azure Envoy

"He hasn't lost yet!"

Huo Qianqian pointed at Chen Ming, instantly making him the center of everyone's attention.

Zhao An, Hong Mingquan, and Zhang Mingyu naturally knew Chen Ming's strength. They immediately understood their junior sister's intentions and said nothing.

Only Du Juan, who had not visited Huo Manor in a long time, did not recognize him and was somewhat puzzled by his identity.

The three men and one woman on the other side looked toward the young man.

The man surnamed Guo, who stood at their head, asked, "Are you also Martial Uncle Huo's disciple?"

"He isn't."

The Blue-Robed Woman rushed to answer first.

The man surnamed Guo looked at Huo Qianqian. "Since this man is not Martial Uncle Huo's disciple, he naturally has no qualifications to compete with us."

Huo Qianqian said with perfect confidence, "Although Grandpa never accepted him as a disciple, what he learned truly is our sect's martial arts. He can still be considered a Disciple-in-Name. How does that make him unqualified?"

After a brief ponder, the man surnamed Guo said, "In that case, we'll make you concede wholeheartedly. Junior Sister, go test him."

"Alright."

Zhong Shuyu was overjoyed. Just now, she had only fought Martial Uncle's granddaughter. Her opponent had not even reached Ninth Rank, and the fight had ended before she could properly loosen up. She had been feeling thoroughly unsatisfied.

She drew her sword and pointed it at Chen Ming, saying eagerly, "Kid, remember this—I'm Zhong Shuyu!"

At that moment, the man surnamed Guo warned, "Junior Sister, do not be careless. This man also has Ninth Rank cultivation."

The moment those words came out, everyone present was greatly shocked.

Hong Mingquan and Zhang Mingyu's first reaction was disbelief. They believed the other man had misjudged him.

Zhao An and Huo Qianqian were stunned.

Du Juan, meanwhile, was puzzled.

Chen Ming was also surprised. He had never expected the man to see through his true cultivation with a single glance. He had no idea where he had given himself away.

To be honest, he did not want to fight this battle.

But that was life. Sometimes, one simply got swept into inexplicable whirlpools.

Chen Ming said to Hong Mingquan, "Senior Brother Hong, may I borrow your saber?"

Hong Mingquan reversed the long saber in his hand and tossed it over.

After catching it, Chen Ming cupped his hands toward the blue-robed girl. "Please instruct me, Miss."

"Take this sword!"

Zhong Shuyu showed no courtesy. She thrust her sword forward at once.

Chen Ming recognized the move she used. It was precisely the sword technique the man surnamed Guo had used earlier. He did not dare let his guard down and raised his saber to block.

Clang!

Both retreated half a step.

With that exchange, anyone could see that he truly did possess Ninth Rank cultivation.

Hong Mingquan and the others were shocked beyond measure.

When had he entered Ninth Rank?

How could he possibly have entered Ninth Rank?

Even Huo Qianqian, the instigator of it all, stood there with a blank look on her face. No matter what, she had never imagined that Chen Ming had already entered Ninth Rank.

Unfortunately, he had likely only just entered Ninth Rank. His strength was still half a notch below that of the blue-robed girl, and he soon fell into a disadvantage. After a dozen or so moves, the long saber in his hand was knocked flying by a sword strike, and he was defeated.

"Miss, your swordsmanship is superb. I am far from your match."

Chen Ming conceded.

You were defeated by an LV11 enemy. 50 experience points deducted.

The sudden prompt before his eyes made him pause.

Seriously? He lost and still had experience deducted?

System, could you at least act like a human being?!

Though Chen Ming cursed inwardly, he did not forget his current circumstances. He went over, picked up the saber, returned it to Hong Mingquan, then silently retreated behind the crowd, doing his best to hide himself and make the others overlook his existence.

Zhong Shuyu, having won this battle, was brimming with pride.

Suddenly, her Second Senior Brother beside her quietly said, "Junior Sister, that kid fooled you. He was deliberately going easy on you."

"What?"

Zhong Shuyu raised her brows, just about to ask what he meant, when a loud shout suddenly came from outside. "Who dares behave so outrageously here?"

A green-clad figure leaped over the wall and flew into the main hall.

The man surnamed Guo's expression changed, and he cried out, "Not good! It's an Azure Envoy from the Six Doors!"

At the words Six Doors, the three people had already changed color.

Upon hearing Azure Envoy, they dared not take it lightly at all.

The Six Doors distinguished official ranks by the color of their clothing. Azure robes belonged to Seventh Rank, and one needed at least Seventh Rank cultivation to hold the position.

Those of the martial world hated clashing with people from the Six Doors most of all. Once a grudge was formed and one ended up on the Six Doors' wanted list, it would become impossible to take a single step in the martial world.

On the other side, the people of Huo Manor revealed delighted expressions.

They all recognized that Azure Envoy. He was Sun Shicai, ranked fourth.

Since he had rushed over, these people would certainly no longer dare act recklessly.

From inside the main hall came Sun Shicai's furious roar. "Do not harm my master!"

This was followed by the sounds of fighting—bang, bang, bang!

The old woman from earlier said chillingly, "You brought this upon yourself!"

A muffled groan followed.

A moment later, the old woman swept out of the main hall. With a gloomy face, she said to her four disciples, "Let's go."

The five of them vaulted over the wall and vanished.

"Grandpa!"

"Master!"

Huo Qianqian and the others rushed into the main hall to find Huo Chengkun.

As for Chen Ming, he quietly slipped away while he had the chance.

In the alley by Huo Manor's back gate, Chen Ming's family carriage was still waiting outside.

"To the Deng Family."

Guan Peng and Zhuang Xiaotian were leaving early tomorrow morning. He had promised to see them off with a farewell feast today.

Along the way, Chen Ming kept thinking about what had happened at Huo Manor that day.

Though he had only heard scattered fragments of conversation between Huo Chengkun and that old woman, he felt there were deep waters here indeed. The more one thought about it, the more terrifying it became.

The more he considered it, the more something felt wrong. For the next few days, I'd better not go to Huo Manor.

Although his true cultivation had now been exposed, the people of Huo Manor presumably had no time to worry about him lately.

Before long, they arrived at Deng Manor.

Deng Ziyang and his two brothers had been waiting for him. A table of fine dishes lay untouched. When they finally saw him arrive, they complained, "Senior Brother, why have you come so late? The dishes are about to go cold."

As soon as Chen Ming sat down, he poured himself a cup of wine and drained it to steady his nerves. "Don't mention it. Something major happened at Huo Manor today. I nearly didn't make it back."

Deng Ziyang's interest was immediately piqued, and he took the initiative to refill Chen Ming's cup. "Quick, tell us. What happened?"

"This morning..."

Chen Ming roughly recounted the day's events, then said at the end, "If Sun Shicai hadn't arrived in time, I truly don't know how that situation would have ended."

Deng Ziyang's expression turned solemn. "You're saying Sun Shicai was wearing azure robes?"

"That's right. He was an Azure Envoy."

Deng Ziyang could not help drawing in a sharp breath. "I never expected Sun Shicai to rise to Azure Envoy in just a few short years. That man is truly remarkable."

In the Six Doors, one could not earn promotion merely through high cultivation. One also needed merits.

Chen Ming was not interested in Sun Shicai and asked, "Brother Deng, do you know which sect Huo Chengkun belongs to?"

Deng Ziyang frowned. "That, I have never heard. He has been in Qingfeng City for more than ten years, yet no one has ever known what sect or school he came from. Everyone simply thought he was an unaffiliated wanderer of the martial world."

As he spoke, he slapped his thigh. "No wonder that old ghost has never interfered in anyone else's business. A Sixth Rank expert, yet he only collects the filial offerings of a few disciples, stays inside Huo Manor, and never clashes with others. So he has a great deal of trouble hanging over him."

Seeing that Guan Peng and Zhuang Xiaotian were not very interested in this topic, Chen Ming changed the subject and began talking about the Six Doors, so as not to neglect the two of them.

The four drank until afternoon before dispersing.

Chen Ming still went to the courtyard where he had spent the night last time. He had just brewed a pot of tea when Zhuang Xiaotian pushed open the door and entered. "Brother Chen, I hope I'm not disturbing you?"

"Of course not. Come, sit."

Chen Ming poured him a cup of tea as well. "Come, have some tea to sober up."

"Brother Chen, I'm going back tomorrow. If I don't leave soon, my family will start worrying." Zhuang Xiaotian drained the tea in one gulp and said, "Over this past month, thanks to Brother Chen's guidance, my saber techniques and hand-to-hand skills have both improved greatly."

Chen Ming smiled. "What are you saying? We all sparred together and improved together."

Zhuang Xiaotian said seriously, "Brother Chen treated me with sincerity and taught me his saber techniques without holding anything back. I am ashamed to accept it. As for my family's fist techniques, I do not dare violate my ancestors' teachings and pass them on to Brother Chen. After much thought, only the Flying Dagger Art is something I developed on my own. If Brother Chen does not find it beneath him, I will teach you the secrets of these flying daggers."

Chen Ming's eyes lit up. "That would be wonderful. To tell the truth, I have long wanted to ask you about the Flying Dagger Art, but I was too embarrassed to bring it up."

Seeing his reaction, Zhuang Xiaotian visibly relaxed. "As long as Brother Chen likes it."

He owed Chen Ming too great a debt of gratitude. If he did not repay it, it would become a knot in his heart.

Thus, he began teaching Chen Ming the Flying Dagger Art in detail.

"This Flying Dagger Art came from several pages I happened to obtain when I was young. I comprehended it from a dozen or so lines of verse. Listen carefully..."