"Lord Du, there’s something I don’t quite understand. Could you clarify for me?"

Seeing that the formal matters were concluded, Chen Ming asked Du Caiyue, "I seem to have never offended Lord Li, nor do I have any past grievances with him. I truly cannot comprehend why he wants me dead?"

Du Caiyue’s gaze turned somewhat complex, and she slowly said, "Sometimes, at first glance, you can just really dislike someone, for no other reason. This person hasn’t offended you, nor blocked your path, but you just want him dead."

"..."

Chen Ming asked, "Is it because of... Xiyan?"

Du Caiyue neither confirmed nor denied it. She took out a token from her bosom and tossed it over, saying, "If anyone from the Six Gates bothers you again, just show them this token."

"Alright."

Chen Ming put away the token.

"I must go now, I’ll come find you tonight."

After speaking, Du Caiyue flickered and vanished completely.

Chen Ming looked in the direction she disappeared, caressing the token in his bosom, his gaze turned solemn.

This truly is disaster striking out of nowhere; without doing anything, a Fourth Grade expert wants him dead for no apparent reason.

The key is, this person is a Fifth Grade Captain of the Six Gates, a mid-level rank, and a confidant of Zhao Shouchang.

This grudge is not easy to avenge.

Even if his cultivation reaches Third Grade or even First Grade in the future, killing this person will not be easy. Zhao Shouchang will surely protect his subordinate to the death; Chen Ming can’t just kill Zhao Shouchang too.

To put it plainly, given his current identity, he is destined to mix in the white path, making it extremely troublesome to kill Li Guangjie.

Unless one day his power can fully surpass the Six Gates. When that time comes, he would probably be invincible in the world.

Who knows how many years in the future that would be.

Chen Ming cannot wait that long; he cannot swallow this resentment.

So to speak, gain comes with loss. From the beginning, he decided to walk the righteous path for the sake of his elder brother’s family, making it destined for him to find it difficult to act on every vendetta and revenge...

"Erlang—"

At this moment, Chen Rui finally entered the courtyard. Seeing Chen Ming standing there unharmed, he breathed a sigh of relief, walked up to him, and all his words turned into one sentence, "As long as you’re okay!"

Seeing him arrive, Chen Ming comforted him, "Don’t worry, it was just a misunderstanding. It’s been resolved now. They shouldn’t come again."

Chen Rui nodded and said, "That’s good then."

...

In the afternoon, Zhou Weihao hurried over upon hearing the news. Seeing that the Chen Mansion had not been sealed and that Chen Ming was sitting there, not arrested, he finally felt at ease.

"I told you long ago not to get too close to those esteemed young ladies. This is Zhao Shouchang’s warning to you. Stay away from his daughter in the future."

Chen Ming replied irritably, "Can’t you wish something good for me? If Zhao Shouchang wanted to take me down, could I still be sitting here talking to you?"

Zhou Weihao said, "If at this time, everyone knew you had a First Grade powerhouse as a master, do you think the people from the Six Gates would dare touch you? Consider seriously what I said to you before."

There is some truth to this. The reason Li Guangjie dared to use such means to deal with him is that he’s sure Chen Ming’s death would result in no one speaking up for him.

If he dies, will Zhao Xiyan avenge him? Even if she wanted to, her father Zhao Shouchang would not allow it.

Would Du Caiyue turn hostile with Li Guangjie for a dead man?

That’s even more improbable.

Conversely, if Chen Ming killed Li Guangjie, the Six Gates would not easily let it go, they’d put him on a wanted list, leaving him no place to stand in Great Jin.

That is the benefit of joining a major power.

Zhou Weihao suddenly said, "Otherwise, why don’t you become a son-in-law of the Zhou family? I have a cousin, a legitimate daughter of my uncle, just sixteen, with stunning beauty. She’s worthy of you."

"Then wouldn’t I be a whole level below you from out of nowhere? If I’m to be anything, it should be your brother-in-law."

"What a coincidence, I have an older cousin who’s been widowed for many years. If you don’t mind taking her, I’ll call you brother-in-law every day."

"..."

Joking aside, Chen Ming indeed doesn’t have any thoughts of marrying for now. With his current fame and status, he’s between high and low, making it quite awkward. The ones who look up to him, he looks down upon. The ones he favors, probably don’t fancy him.

Once he reaches First Grade, his options will expand greatly. By then, he can choose a peerless beauty, gentle and considerate, wholeheartedly devoted to him.

While other matters can be compromised, this one cannot.

...

After nightfall, Chen Ming dismissed Chunxiang and Xiaxiang, sat alone in his room, warmed a pot of wine, admiring the winter night’s moonlight, patiently awaiting Du Caiyue’s arrival.

It wasn’t until the moon reached its zenith that a silhouette silently appeared in the courtyard.

Chen Ming didn’t even see how she entered, gaining a new understanding of her strength.

Du Caiyue sat opposite him, placed a thick cultivation manual in front of him, and said, "This is the ’Taiyin Scripture.’ If you have any questions in the future, you can come ask me."

She paused for a moment, then continued, "However, this Cultivation Technique was exchanged from the Six Gates headquarters with my merits. You must not spread it, preferably keep it secret. If it accidentally gets exposed and Six Gates comes to hold accountability, I will not admit that I gave it to you."

Chen Ming nodded and also took out two cultivation techniques, "Three Yang Body Forging" and "Six Yang Qi Cultivation," placing them in front of her. He said, "These two cultivation techniques, I obtained them by chance. You should know their origin, it’s best not to spread them around."

When Du Caiyue saw those two cultivation techniques, a flash of intense light flickered in her eyes, although it was fleeting, Chen Ming caught it.

"If you need anything, take the token to the Six Gates to find me."

She picked up the two manuals and left without even touching the wine on the table.

Once she left, Chen Ming picked up the "Taiyin Scripture" and began to read.

Judging by the overwhelming strength displayed by Du Caiyue, this cultivation technique should also belong to the realm of supreme divine skills, unfortunately, it can’t be passed onto others.

He initially flipped through it casually, but after two pages, he suddenly exclaimed, "Hmm?" thinking it strange that the contents were so similar to "Three Yang Body Forging".

He turned a few more pages and quickly confirmed that it wasn’t just similar, it was almost identical.

No, there were still some subtle differences.

Over ninety percent of the content was identical.

"This cultivation technique must have a connection with ’Fiery Sun Divine Skill’."

The more Chen Ming read, the more intrigued he became, unknowingly getting engrossed.

...

After Du Caiyue left the Chen Mansion, she moved through the darkness, and after half an hour, arrived at an inconspicuous alley.

She leapt over a wall into what turned out to be a large courtyard, complete with rock gardens, streams, and pavilions.

Passing through the courtyard, she came to a pavilion and climbed to the second floor, where a woman in red sat by the window, stroking a stringless guqin.

Du Caiyue knelt on one knee, speaking excitedly, "Miss—"

The woman in red glanced at her, frowning, "Now is not the time for us to meet."

"I found the ’Fiery Sun Divine Skill’. "

Du Caiyue said, presenting the two manuals she had just obtained from Chen Ming.

The woman in red’s eyes shone with a sharp, unmatched brilliance, and with a swift motion, she appeared in front of Du Caiyue, taking the two manuals and quickly flipping through them.

Moments later, her eyes sparkled with a hint of joy, "It truly is the ’Fiery Sun Divine Skill’. Where did you obtain it?"

Du Caiyue reported, "I obtained it from someone named Chen Ming..."

She briefly explained the events.

"Chen Ming, it’s him again?"

Upon hearing this name, the woman in red felt a peculiar sensation, and once Du Caiyue finished speaking, she sighed, "It really is ’worn-out iron shoes in vain search, obtained without effort.’ We’ve searched for it for over a decade and a young man finds it."

Du Caiyue said, "I decided on my own to give him the ’Taiyin Scripture’ as well."

"You did well," the woman in red praised, "However, this ’Fiery Sun Divine Skill’ is still incomplete... it’s time to confront the Four Seas Trading Company. This matter will still require your cooperation."

Du Caiyue’s eyes glinted harshly, "I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time."

With that, the two women began to discuss matters within the pavilion.

...

...

Unknowingly, it was already morning.

Chen Ming heard movement outside; Chunxiang and Xiaxiang came in, making him realize he had become so absorbed in the manual that he forgot to sleep.

He closed the cultivation technique and put it away to avoid them seeing it.

With the assistance of the two maids, Chen Ming washed up and went to the courtyard, where he saw the students had mostly arrived.

Thus, he began the day’s training.

An hour passed quickly. After ending today’s training, Chen Ming went to have breakfast, then secluded himself in his room again to continue studying the manual.

Upon reaching the Fourth Grade, the content of the "Taiyin Scripture" diverged more from the "Fiery Sun Divine Skill," but it was still apparent that these two cultivation techniques share the same origin.

Chen Ming remained indoors for several days, focused on studying this cultivation technique.

He didn’t allow Chunxiang and Xiaxiang to follow, secluding himself alone in his room.

Unknowingly, ten days passed.

When Chen Ming opened his panel, he noticed a new entry under the cultivation techniques: "Taiyin Scripture."

With the "Fiery Sun Divine Skill" as a foundation, comprehending this cultivation technique was indeed easier.

He closed the manual, intending to find an opportunity to return it to Du Caiyue.

At that moment, a prompt suddenly appeared before his eyes, ["Taiyin Scripture" detected to be the same cultivation technique as "Six Yang Qi Cultivation Skill." Would you like to merge them?]

Chen Ming was taken aback.

Could it really work this way?