[You have defeated an LV53 enemy, gaining 8000 experience points]

[You have defeated an LV55 enemy, gaining 10000 experience points]

[You have defeated an LV52 enemy, gaining 7000 experience points]

[You have defeated an LV53 enemy, gaining 8000 experience points]

Half an hour later, Chen Ming also defeated the other four one by one.

The five people who initially had quite an arrogant attitude all respected him now.

In the martial world, strength has always been respected. As long as you show your strength, you will gain respect.

Following this, Chen Ming did not leave but stayed to review the battle just now with the five of them.

It must be said that these five people are not weak, each having their own unique martial arts traits, and they are particularly strong in actual combat. The reason they lost to him was because his "Vermilion Bird Swordsmanship" was superior.

The swordsmanship taught by Elder Shang is quite extraordinary. When he used it with Pure Yang True Qi, its power was doubled.

This review lasted over two hours. It was only when evening approached that he took his leave.

"You’re quite something, not like those spoiled brats who look down on others. I acknowledge you as a friend."

Cloud Maiden suddenly came over and patted him on the shoulder hard.

Chen Ming smiled and said, "I’m honored."

"However, I’m not quite satisfied with losing today, let’s have another fight next time."

"Don’t wait for next time, let’s do it tomorrow."

"That would be great, it’s a deal."

"It’s a deal."

Having set the spar for the next day, Chen Ming, in high spirits, finally took his leave.

...

After nightfall, in the small courtyard behind the Shang’an Trading Company, a beautiful woman sat on a chair, flipping through the ledgers.

"Young Master."

The young clerk who had been following Chen Ming walked in and stood with his head bowed, not daring to look around.

The woman addressed as Young Master put down the ledger in her hand and rubbed her eyebrows a bit wearily, "Cloud Maiden and the others didn’t injure him, did they?"

The clerk replied, "No. Cloud Maiden and the others couldn’t match up to Mr. Chen."

The Young Master’s hand froze momentarily, "Do you mean all five of them lost to him?" 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

"Yes."

She was a little surprised, "He just broke through to the fifth grade, and he was able to defeat Cloud Maiden and the others?"

She suddenly felt the need to reassess Mr. Chen Er’s strength.

Initially, she thought Chen Ming’s request was pure mischief. But since he held a token, she found it hard to refuse him, so she simply let Cloud Maiden deal with him.

She knew Cloud Maiden’s temperament and intended for Chen Ming to suffer a bit.

Unexpectedly, his strength far exceeded her imagination.

She pondered for a moment and said, "He didn’t make any other requests, did he?"

"No, but..."

"But what?"

"Cloud Maiden and Mr. Chen have agreed to spar again tomorrow."

The Young Master shook her head and said, "Cloud Maiden is still as competitive as ever."

The clerk said, "I think it might not just be for that reason."

"Tell me."

"After sparring with Cloud Maiden and the others, Mr. Chen also discussed martial arts with them for over an hour."

The Young Master was a little surprised, "I didn’t expect him to have such generosity. Alright, you may leave now. Continue to follow him tomorrow."

"Yes."

...

The next day, at the same time as before, Chen Ming came to the courtyard again, discovering not only Cloud Maiden but also the other four were present.

One of them said, "Yesterday’s fight with sir was very beneficial, and today we shamelessly wish to seek more guidance from sir."

Chen Ming smiled and said, "It would be my pleasure."

After two hours, he gained half of yesterday’s experience points and left satisfied.

Cloud Maiden and the other five sparred with him, gaining experience and his pointers, and were quite pleased with their results as well.

They agreed to spar again the next day.

...

On the third day, when Chen Ming arrived at the courtyard, he found not only Cloud Maiden and the other five but also two new people. An introduction revealed they were also of the fifth grade cultivation and had just returned from overseas the previous day, brought over by Cloud Maiden.

Hence, there were now more participants for his sparring sessions.

Once again, he experienced the benefits of the King’s Dao. As his reputation for being helpful spread, people started coming to him for sparring of their own accord.

Of course, this was also because these people placed less emphasis on victory or defeat and valued practicality, wanting to enhance their strength and improve.

This was fundamentally different from the mindset of the sixth-grade martial artists he had encountered before.

In Qingfeng City, those sixth-grade martial artists, being older and finding it hard to improve further, just relaxed and cared more about their reputation.

Meanwhile, these fifth-grade martial artists, being relatively young, still had room for improvement.

Moreover, they lived a life of blood and blade, knowing well that vanity is false and only strength is true.

Therefore, they all cherished the opportunity to spar with experts, receiving targeted pointers afterward, an opportunity they couldn’t even wish for at usual times. Who would want to miss it?

...

From then on, Chen Ming went to that small courtyard every day to spar with a group of fifth-grade martial artists.

At their peak, there were sixteen people, showing how many experts were hidden within the Shang’an Trading Company.

A month later, the number reduced more and more, leaving only three or four. Those who left all went out to sea.

After another half month, the last few also went to sea.

Chen Ming finally ended these crazy days of grinding experience points.

Unknowingly, autumn was approaching again.

It was the fifteenth of July. Chen Ming bid farewell to his elder brother and sister-in-law, took a carriage, and left the city gate, heading straight towards Jiangzhou City.

Along with him was Feng Siyuan. World’s First Pavilion was set to reassess the Cyan Cloud Ranking, and such a lively event was not something he would want to miss.

"Qingfeng City has finally produced someone qualified to contest the Cyan Cloud Ranking." During a rest and meal on the way, Feng Siyuan expressed with emotion, "You wouldn’t know, but our Qingfeng City hasn’t produced anyone eligible to contest the ranking, let alone make it onto the list, in the past two or three decades."

Chen Ming replied, "It can’t be that bad. The Cyan Cloud Ranking only limits the age to under twenty-five and sets no limits on cultivation level."

"Without fifth grade cultivation, there’s no qualification to compete for the ranking. If a sixth grader dares to participate, they’d only be ridiculed."

"Actually, if we consider the number of fifth-grade martial artists, counting the sea merchants of Qingyun City, we might even surpass Jiangzhou City."

Feng Siyuan was startled and said, "Now that you mention it, it makes sense. However, the fifth-grade martial artists of various sea merchants mostly go out to sea, leaving very few in Qingfeng City."

Chen Ming asked, "Is overseas so chaotic that it requires so many experts for protection?"

"The nations on those overseas islands are barbaric, with no sense of etiquette or decency. If there are no experts to oversee the fleets, they would dare to commit robbery directly. Only by thoroughly defeating them would they obediently do business with you."

So, while the Seven Great Sea Merchants have many experts, they are dispersed among the fleets overseas, leaving very few in Qingfeng City.

Feng Siyuan said, "Brother, this time I’ve placed heavy bets on you, hoping that you can successfully make it onto the Cyan Cloud Ranking. That way, I’ll make a fortune."

Chen Ming knew that for such grand events held every few years, there were bound to be betting pools. He just didn’t know how they wagered.

After eating, they continued their journey.

Sitting in the carriage, Chen Ming silently recited a command and opened the panel.

[Level: 55]

[Current Points: 0]

[Cultivation Technique: "Iron Horse Stance" (Fifth Level Perfection), "Yin Yang True Skill" (Fifth Level 823356/1500000)]

[Martial Skill: "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" (Great Achievement), "Phoenix Dance of Nine Heavens" (First Level 1952/100000)]

[Secret Technique: "Disguise Technique" (Great Achievement)]

His current strength had made huge progress compared to two and a half months ago.

"Vermilion Bird Swordsmanship" reached Great Achievement.

"Yin Yang True Skill" progress in the fifth level also surpassed half.

This gave him the confidence to compete in the upcoming Cyan Cloud Ranking. It’s no exaggeration to say that his current strength was more than ten times what it was when he just broke through to the fifth grade.

He now hopes that the more participants in this competition, the better. With some luck, perhaps after this competition, he might gather enough experience points to break through to the fourth grade.

PS: It’s the end of the month, please vote if you still have monthly votes.