When Chen Ming entered, a sense of expectation welled up inside him. He glanced around and felt a brightness before his eyes, his gaze drawn to a woman sitting in the booth.

She was the most stunning and captivating woman he had seen since crossing into this world. A breathtaking beauty that mesmerized at first sight.

If Xiao Zhuyun could be rated 8.5, she deserved a 9.5. She was at the pinnacle.

One could only imagine how many men she would captivate and haunt.

"Only in such a world could such a beauty exist,"

Chen Ming thought to himself, feeling a sense of fulfilled desire.

Ever since crossing over, he had wondered if, in Great Jin, there really existed such breathtaking beauties found only in novels.

The one before him fulfilled all his fantasies of beauties from martial arts novels.

Chen Ming bowed politely, "Chen Ming from Qingfeng Commandery meets the lady. May I ask why the lady requested my presence?"

The alluring woman spoke, "I admire you greatly. Would you be willing to work for me?"

"..."

Straightforward, wasn’t it?

Chen Ming was almost thrown off by her directness, but after a few seconds, he politely declined, "Sorry, I’m used to being free and unrestrained, I cannot bear constraints. Perhaps the lady should seek someone else."

"Don’t be in a hurry to refuse. Why not hear my conditions first?"

"No need, I have matters to attend to. I’ll be leaving now."

After saying that, Chen Ming turned to take his leave.

As he turned, he saw a swordsman standing at the door, blocking his way.

From behind him, the pleasant voice spoke, "Mr. Chen, leaving after hearing me out won’t be too late."

Chen Ming sighed and said, "The lady wishes to say that by following you, I could learn the Supreme Divine Skill, later break through to First Grade, step into the Divine Treasure Realm. You might even gift me a Divine Weapon, perhaps even alluring beauties. Am I right?"

The woman paused slightly, the words she intended were all spoken by Chen Ming. She could only ask, "Are these things not of interest to you?"

Chen Ming said proudly, "No, a man born in this world should indeed learn the Supreme Divine Skill, wield a three-foot sword to roam the world, meeting heroes everywhere. Drink the strongest spirits, marry the fairest maidens..."

He paused here, looked at the captivating woman and said, "I believe, with the lady’s abilities, you would naturally help me achieve these desires. But I am a stubborn person, I don’t like shortcuts, so I can only decline the lady’s kindness."

After saying this, Chen Ming began heading towards the door.

The swordsman guarding the door had a slight flicker in his eyes but ultimately did not stop him, letting him leave.

...

"Miss, he left."

The maid in green noticed her mistress was still dazed and reminded her.

The stunning woman pondered, "Zhu’Er, do you think he spoke sincerely?"

Maid Xiao Zhu replied, "This Chen Ming has always had smooth sailing in Qingfeng City, never tasted defeat. He may be somewhat ignorant of the greater world. After a few days, in the Cyan Cloud Ranking contest, he might naturally understand there are always people beyond, and heavens beyond."

The stunning woman saw the maid in yellow still deep in thought and asked, "Lan’Er, what do you think?"

Maid Lan’Er hesitated for a moment and said, "This servant thinks, he seems to have known the mistress’s identity long ago, preparing a response in advance. This person either has deep schemes or is highly ambitious. To want to subdue him, I’m afraid it won’t be easy."

She nodded, acknowledging this speculation and said, "Ambition is nothing to fear, let’s see his performance in the Cyan Cloud Ranking contest."

...

Before nightfall, Chen Ming and his companion escorted Jiang Yingxue to the entrance of her home.

This was the Jiang Family’s mansion in Jiangzhou City, looking quite imposing.

"Thank you, Brother Chen."

When Jiang Yingxue got off the carriage, her eyes seemed glued to Chen Ming, somewhat reluctant, looking back multiple times as she entered the house. Only when the carriage went far did she have them close the door.

"That woman probably wants to win him over."

She was still pondering this matter on her way back inside.

Unfortunately, Chen Ming never mentioned who summoned him after leaving that restaurant.

With that woman’s means, it might not be long before Chen Ming is counted among her followers.

Jiang Yingxue had heard some stories about that woman’s feats, the most famous being Ji Qianxing willingly acting as her bodyguard and serving her as his master.

Notably, the Ji Family was the longest-standing family in Jiangzhou, once among the foremost aristocratic clans of Great Jin. Until three hundred years ago, it suddenly declined. This paved the way for the rise of the Qin, Ji, and Jiang families.

Before that, the Ji Family dominated.

Though the Ji Family had declined, still no one dared to underestimate them, as they consistently produced geniuses in every generation. This generation’s Ji Baichuan stood out particularly, suppressing everyone of the same age.

The Three Great Families often tacitly joined forces to suppress the Ji Family.

Despite continuously producing talents, the Ji Family could not restore its former glory, the fundamental reason being the core Cultivation Technique was lost. In three hundred years, none have broken through to the Divine Treasure Realm. Every generation stopped at First Grade.

Without a strong Divine Treasure Realm cultivator, the Three Great Families’ positions couldn’t be shaken; even with many geniuses emerging, it was of no use.

The Ji Family’s history was too glorious, so the Ji Family members were very proud.

Ji Qianxing, as Ji Baichuan’s younger brother, had exceptional talent, yet chose to serve that woman, almost being expelled from the family.

This became a blemish on the Ji Family.

Jiang Yingxue thought of this, glanced around, and suddenly had an idea. She went back to her room, changed into women’s clothing, called a carriage, and went out.

The carriage headed straight for the Governor’s Mansion; she was going to find Sister Xiyan.

...

In the following few days, Chen Ming focused on preparing for the battle. Zhou Weihao and Gu Yuantao didn’t come to disturb him.

During this time, he visited Evergreen Hall twice to consult with Doctor Sun about some difficulties in a medical book. When leaving, Doctor Sun would send him back with a few medical books to read.

No matter the world, learning medicine requires memorizing many books. It’s really not something just anyone can learn.

After several encounters, Chen Ming didn’t find anything peculiar about Doctor Sun or any traces of him having practiced martial arts.

But the more things were like this, the more Chen Ming felt something was off.

Someone like Yu Haitang wouldn’t seek out Doctor Sun for no reason.

In the blink of an eye, five days had passed.

The day of the official competition arrived.

This time, Chen Ming and Feng Siyuan didn’t take a carriage but walked. Today was likely to be even more crowded.

Sure enough, around the World’s First Pavilion, the area was packed with people, making it impossible to move. Six Gates personnel guarded several intersections, only allowing passage to those holding tokens or invitations.

An event of such magnitude naturally required witnesses. The World’s First Pavilion issued many invitations, inviting local family sects to come and observe.

Feng Siyuan represented the Feng Family and naturally had an invitation, allowing him to pass smoothly.

Soon, the two walked into the main entrance of the World’s First Pavilion. The martial stage had already been set up with many platforms, and there were people standing all around.

A rough count showed at least several hundred people present.

There were far more spectators than participants.

Chen Ming quickly spotted Zhou Weihao and Gu Yuantao; they seemed to be with their elders and just waved to him.

On the other side, Jiang Yingxue, dressed in men’s clothing, stood with her brother Jiang Shihua.

Jiang Shihua also saw him, casting a hostile glance at him.

And that defiant man in black who almost stormed to the second floor, looked at him with a certain malice.

Dong!

The sound of a bell ringing quieted the scene.

Then, a group of people walked out from the main hall, led by a short, fat middle-aged man with a smiling face, looking unremarkable.

This should be the manager of the World’s First Pavilion in Jiangzhou City.

"Thank you all for honoring us with your presence at the World’s First Pavilion to witness this event. On behalf of myself, I thank you." He cupped his hands and bowed all around.

Someone replied, "Master Zhu is too polite." "It is an honor to be invited." "..."

Master Zhu continued, "Martial artists have always judged heroes by victories. Apart from the five fourth-grade young talents, the other fifty people will compete in pairs. Behind each token, there is a corresponding number. Those whose numbers are called, step onto the stage with your token to compete. Let’s begin."

With his announcement, the competition officially began.

...

The competition format of the World’s First Pavilion is quite interesting. It’s not an elimination format, but a point-based system. This means everyone has to fight one match with each of the forty-nine others.

Chen Ming knew about this competition format long ago, which is why he went out of his way to participate.

If it were an elimination format, he might not have come to participate.

In forty-nine matches, if he wins them all, he could earn at least three to four hundred thousand experience points. It’s worth the trip.

Five platforms were set up in the martial stage, allowing five matches to take place simultaneously.

The first to go on stage were numbers one to ten.

Seven of them were seed players, including Jiang Shihua.

Chen Ming also saw the swordsman who had been with Yu Haitang that day. He had already learned from Feng Siyuan that this swordsman was named Ji Qianxing, also a seed player.

Yu Haitang being able to make a genius like Ji Qianxing work for her is truly remarkable.

However, Chen Ming didn’t see her presence, so she probably didn’t come.

The battles began.

Three matches ended quickly, those were the unfortunate ones facing the three seed players. These three didn’t even last ten moves, a completely one-sided crush.

It’s evident that these seven seed players indeed live up to their reputation.

The other two matches were between seed players, fought quite fiercely, sparks flying.

Everyone was focused on this battle.

There were seven seed players, but only five spots left on the Cyan Cloud Ranking, meaning at least two people wouldn’t get a spot.

So, this first battle could very likely determine who makes it to the ranking and who doesn’t.

As Chen Ming was watching, he suddenly felt someone looking at him. He turned his head and met Zhao Xiyan’s resentful gaze.

He nodded slightly, as a greeting, and quickly looked away. He continued watching the highly intense battles on the stage.