When the carriage stopped in front of the Chen Mansion, the white-clad woman said, "Tomorrow morning, I will come to find you."

"Miss Su, please wait."

Chen Ming called out to her, facing her deep gaze, and sincerely said, "What if people from the Blood Demon Sect attack my family at night, then what?"

The white-clad woman spoke softly, "The first prohibition of my sect is that men and women are separate. Unless absolutely necessary, one must keep a distance from men. My master said that many men in the world are lecherous, often moved by beauty. If a man invites me to stay overnight at his home, he must have ulterior motives and can be killed."

After she finished speaking, she got out of the carriage.

"..."

Chen Ming was shaken by the murderous intent she just emitted, and only regained his senses after she left. Well, this was counterproductive.

Originally, he wanted to get closer to her, but instead, he was misunderstood by her.

Heaven can attest, he really had no thoughts about her.

Chen Ming couldn’t help but sigh, feeling that her master’s teachings held a deep malice toward men, such teachings could easily drive someone to split personalities.

On one hand, like a saint, caring about the life and death of unrelated people.

On the other hand, thinking every man who approaches her has ill-intentions, isn’t that a split personality?

...

That night, the Chen Mansion was as peaceful as usual, nothing happened.

When the morning light came, Chen Ming had just left the gate in the carriage when the white-clad woman boarded. She was still in her immaculate white clothing.

However, he noticed that the longsword on her back was covered with a layer of frost.

His heart moved, could it be that she guarded near his home all night?

Then how did she keep her clothes so clean, not to mention dust, not even a drop of water was visible?

This question puzzled Chen Ming the whole way. He ultimately thought of two possibilities: one was that the material of her clothes was special; two, she protected herself with True Qi all the time.

All the way, the white-clad woman remained silent as she did yesterday.

It seems this is her way of conducting herself.

Being a disciple of a famous sect is great, no need to bother with social niceties at all.

The Celestial Dao Alliance is currently the foremost among the nine great sects of the world, with the most fame and legends.

Rumor has it that the founder of the Celestial Dao Alliance was a sworn brother to the Great Jin’s Taizu. Because the Great Jin’s Taizu placed too much trust in the Celestial Dao Alliance.

To what extent? Taizu once issued a decree, granting disciples of the Celestial Dao Alliance the right to act first and report later regarding officials, which was practically unheard of.

As if every member of the Celestial Dao Alliance was an imperial envoy.

Because of this story, even after hundreds of years, the Celestial Dao Alliance still holds high regard in the hearts of many common people.

Because there are so many incredible legends about the Celestial Dao Alliance, he doesn’t even know which are true and which are false.

Now, there is a disciple of the Celestial Dao Alliance sitting beside him, Chen Ming actually wants to ask her, but... remembering the murderous intent in her eyes last night, he decided against it.

To avoid misunderstandings again.

...

The last day of registration ended without incident.

When the last person had finished registering, it was completely dark.

Chen Ming sympathized with those in line, so he insisted on waiting until everyone had finished registering before announcing the end.

At this moment, he felt both satisfied and a bit reluctant.

After two months’ buildup, he finally reaped this large wave of experience points, and his strength could improve by a great margin. But such an opportunity would not come again in a short time.

He opened the panel and took a glance.

[Level: 42]

[Current Points: 148765]

[Cultivation Techniques: "Iron Horse Stance" (Fifth Level Perfection), "Three Yang Body Refining Skill" (Ninth Layer Perfection), "Six Yang Qi Cultivation Skill" (First Level 79652/100000)]

[Martial Skills: "Three Talents Fist" (Great Achievement), "Eight Trigrams Saber Technique" (Great Achievement), "Zhuang’s Flying Knife" (Great Achievement), "Swallow Returning Sword Technique" (Great Achievement), "Vermilion Bird Swordsmanship" (Proficient 191321/200000)]

In these two days, a total of more than eighty-eight thousand experience points were gained.

If there had not been a special situation like the day before yesterday, he would have gradually added points over one or two months, making his strength improvement smoother and more reasonable.

At this moment, the day had completely turned dark, the city gates had closed, and barring special circumstances, the city guards would not open the gates.

This group of people could only spend the night outside the city.

Because Chen Ming had just been ambushed the day before yesterday, everyone’s mood was still relatively tense.

...

"Miss Su, I deliberately delayed until this late so that we would be stuck outside the city. In this way, if there are people from the Blood Demon Sect lurking, they would definitely not miss this opportunity."

Chen Ming deliberately explained to the white-clad woman, "After tomorrow, I won’t be going out of the city again, so I won’t need your protection, miss."

The white-clad woman nodded, not saying a word.

Chen Ming also exited the carriage and closed the door again.

That night, many people were unable to sleep until dawn.

In the end, nothing happened at all.

As soon as day broke, under Chen Ming’s lead, everyone went back to Qingfeng City and, upon entering the city gates, they each went to their own homes.

The carriage arrived at the entrance of the Chen Mansion, and the white-clothed woman also got off. Without saying a word, she gracefully departed.

So far, Chen Ming had encountered the most elite disciple of the sect, and indeed, she was unlike the typical disciples of renowned sects—although she wasn’t fond of interacting with others, she truly didn’t have any airs.

To be able to lower herself to protect a nobody like him was not something ordinary people could achieve.

Even more admirable was that she guarded outside his house all night.

In such a worldly and chaotic place, a person like her could truly be considered a breath of fresh air.

...

The end of registration marked the official start of the recruitment event.

Such a significant event was unheard of for the people of Qingfeng City, and many came to join the lively excitement, curious to see how this recruitment event would unfold.

At once, the venue was crowded, with onlookers lining the riverside, leaving no room for escape.

Due to the large crowd, Six Gates almost mobilized their entire force to the riverside to maintain order.

The ones responsible for the event were the employees of Guanglong Trading Company.

Feng Siyuan had a plan written by Chen Ming, having prepared beforehand, everything was organized and orderly without any hasty confusion.

Feng Youdao, worried about his son, came to have a look. Seeing his son handling things appropriately, he was marveling in surprise, "This Chen Er really is a genius."

The level of his own son couldn’t have been clearer to him as his father.

Originally, Feng Youdao didn’t think the martial arts tournament could be organized, but not only was it done, it turned out into such a grand spectacle, greatly exceeding his expectations.

He naturally held a higher regard for Chen Ming, who planned all of this.

However, Feng Youdao also wondered why, after putting in so much effort, convincing Zhao Shouchang and going through all sorts of trouble to create such a grand event, Chen Ming would withdraw once the event began.

What was he after?

He gave so much yet received no benefits in return, as if he was simply helping Guanglong Trading Company. Even a father wouldn’t help his son without expecting some return.

This was truly puzzling.

Feng Youdao watched his son looking confident and didn’t voice his doubts.

The so-called recruitment event was actually a martial arts tournament.

Since ancient times, in literature there is no first place, but in martial arts, there is no second place. No matter how the competition is conducted, there will certainly be someone dissatisfied. Therefore, the fairest way is to have a fight.

The winner becomes the disciple of a Third Grade expert—simple and straightforward. This is something the common people would love to see and hear.

...

While it was bustling outside the city, inside was rather deserted, with fewer people on the streets.

At the back garden of the Chen Mansion.

Chen Ming sat alone in the courtyard reading a book, enjoying this rare leisure. He had sent Chunxiang and Xiaxiang to watch the excitement outside the city.

Suddenly, his ears stirred as he looked up, seeing a figure appear in the courtyard. Not surprised, he called out, "Brother Deng."

The person who came was Deng Ziyang.

Seeing Chen Ming’s calm demeanor, Deng Ziyang asked, "Did you guess I would come?"

"It was just a feeling," Chen Ming replied as usual, picked up the bubbling kettle, brewed a cup of tea, and placed it on the opposite side of the table.

He said, "Many thanks for Brother Deng’s warning, otherwise, I might have already died."

Deng Ziyang, as usual, sat on the stool opposite him, took a sip of tea, and a slight smile emerged at the corner of his mouth, "I thought you would tell Six Gates about this."

Chen Ming replied solemnly, "You risked your safety to warn me. How could I repay your kindness with betrayal?"

"Hahaha..." Deng Ziyang laughed heartily, "You haven’t changed a bit, still the Chen Senior Brother I know."

Chen Ming poured more tea into his cup, saying, "In my heart, you’re still the Deng Brother from three years ago who waited specially for me at the entrance of the Huo Mansion!"

Deng Ziyang’s face showed a hint of sadness, "Senior Brother, I have to leave now, and I’m afraid I won’t return."

Chen Ming raised his tea cup, saying solemnly, "I hope Brother Deng has a smooth journey and finds success in everything."

Deng Ziyang’s lips moved slightly, but he ended up saying only, "Take care in the future."

After saying this, he finished the tea in his cup, stood up, and left.

Chen Ming watched his figure disappear beyond the Moon Gate of the courtyard, feeling a bit melancholic. Deng Ziyang was the best friend he had made since crossing into this world. Now, they were going their separate ways.

It’s uncertain whether there will be a chance to meet again in the future.

Silently, he thought, "In the future, better not meet again."

Meeting again might mean being enemies rather than friends.

PS: Third update, asking for monthly votes.