Chapter 162: Chapter 156: Making the Rankings

Chen Ming noticed that Su Zhining’s battle intent was much more exuberant than yesterday.

Last night, she actually started off with a testing mindset, only getting serious toward the end. Today was different; she had already entered a battle state ahead of time.

He confirmed once again, "Just like yesterday, you won’t use Gang Qi?"

"Yes."

At this moment, Su Zhining’s heart was filled with pure battle intent.

Before last night, among martial artists of the same realm, she had never tasted defeat. Her master had once said that she was still lacking something and couldn’t be considered invincible among her peers.

Actually, she felt a bit unwilling to accept this, but being of a reserved nature, she didn’t argue.

What she never expected was to lose in swordsmanship to Chen Ming, whom she hadn’t thought much of before. His cultivation level was even a level lower than hers.

Su Zhining experienced her first defeat in life, which was truly unforgettable.

She thought deeply for a whole night, repeatedly recalling that battle. Finally, she realized a flaw in Chen Ming’s swordsmanship, so she came back to challenge him again.

Chen Ming drew out the recently acquired "Mingfeng Sword," saying, "Then let’s begin."

He planned to test the power of the "Mingfeng Sword" using her.

"A Divine Weapon?"

When Su Zhining heard the clear, penetrating sword hum as he unsheathed his sword, she had a sense of awe. Staring at it intently, she faintly felt the pressure emanating from the sword’s edge, knowing this was a divine weapon.

Rather than feeling surprised, she was delighted. This way, she wouldn’t have to worry about accidentally breaking his sword during the match. She could show all her skills freely.

"En garde!"

She was the first to attack, initiating the battle with a move called "Thousand Miles of Morning Glow."

...

Unconsciously, the two battled past a hundred moves.

Su Zhining became much more cautious, defending flawlessly. She focused solely on defense, and Chen Ming had a hard time breaking through her defense in a short time.

He had already guessed her intent, which was to fight defensively and counterattack when he became impatient.

This slightly underestimated him.

Toward the end, Chen Ming’s pride was also stirred. He decided to defeat her openly and honorably, using the thirty-six forms of the "Vermilion Bird Swordsmanship" like a flood of mercury, gradually breaking open her turtle shell defense.

After more than a hundred moves, Su Zhining gradually became unable to maintain her defense, eventually collapsing under pressure.

At the one hundred and thirtieth move.

With a swoosh.

Finally, a slight flaw appeared in Su Zhining’s sword technique, and a strand of hair was sliced off by a wisp of sword Qi, elegantly floating to the ground.

She lowered her long sword, gazing at the lock of hair falling to the ground, a strong sense of defeat welling up within her.

Chen Ming defeated her in the most grand and imposing manner, pressing her from beginning to end without showing any flaws.

This manner of defeat filled her heart with a sense of powerlessness.

Su Zhining knew clearly that although she did not use Gang Qi, her cultivation was there, and in every aspect, she held the advantage.

Yet, she still lost.

If Chen Ming had also broken through to Fourth Grade, she definitely wouldn’t have lasted so long.

"I lost."

When she spoke these words, her voice held a hint of bitterness.

Chen Ming watched her figure disappear from the scene and suddenly felt a little regretful—wasn’t this a bit too harsh?

It seemed to have struck her so hard that she was questioning her very existence.

He still remembered the first time he met her, beneath her cold demeanor was absolute confidence and pride in her own strength.

When Chen Ming sheathed his sword, he glanced at the opposite rooftop, which was now empty.

Earlier, he had faintly sensed someone standing there.

Apparently, they had left.

He gently stroked the "Mingfeng Sword" in his hand, his eyes showing a deep affection, as if caressing a lover.

No wonder those novels depict swordsmen who see their swords as their life. A good sword truly is of utmost importance to a martial artist.

It felt like he had gone from driving a 1.3T worn-out car to suddenly racing in a zippy electric car that could go from zero to sixty in a few seconds. It was exhilarating.

He could never go back now.

"What on earth was I using before?"

This "Mingfeng Sword" was indeed a perfect match for him, allowing him to experience a state of man and sword as one.

Yu Haitang’s gift was truly too valuable.

So, what did she want to gain from him?

"What secret is hidden in this ’Fiery Sun Divine Skill’?"

Chen Ming grew increasingly curious.

...

In the next few days, Chen Ming continued to maintain an undefeated record. After defeating Ji Qianxing and Jiang Shihua, he became undoubtedly the sixth in the younger generation of Jiangzhou.

With the "Fengming Sword," he was like a tiger with wings, and no one posed even the slightest threat to him anymore. Because he performed so steadily, two or three days later, fewer people came to watch the matches.

The unexpected turn was that Fan Dongsheng surged ahead and never lost again, even defeating Jiang Shihua, ranking alongside Ji Qianxing with only two defeats.

The three secured the top three spots.

The last two positions were determined only on the final day. One was Jiang Shihua with three defeats, and the other was Li Yuqi, also with three defeats.

When the final battle ended, the site was filled with enthusiastic applause.

This "Qingyun Ranking" competition lasted for ten days. Almost everyone faced off against the other forty-nine participants.

Within such a short period, this kind of high-intensity, high-frequency engagements led to transformations in the strength of many. Fan Dongsheng was the best example.

Of course, unexpected situations also arose; Luo Xu withdrew from the competition after losing to Chen Ming.

Many said he couldn’t accept the reality of losing to Chen Ming, hence his withdrawal.

However, Chen Ming knew he forcibly broke through his realm, leading to a deviation.

"Congratulations to you all for keeping your names on the Qingyun Ranking. It will be passed down through the ages."

The short and stout Master Zhu spoke to Chen Ming and the others, smiling kindly, "According to the rules of this pavilion, you can ascend to the second floor and select a martial art. Now, go on."

At this moment, only the five of them and Master Zhu were in the hall, as everyone else was outside.

Jiang Shihua and the others impatiently walked up the stairs; Chen Ming stayed last, watching them ascend to the second floor. He then turned to ask, "May I ask, how is Luo Xu’s injury?"

Master Zhu smiled and said, "He left two days ago, and his injuries are not serious."

Having received the answer he wanted, Chen Ming bowed and walked towards the stairs.

He had a premonition that Luo Xu would definitely come to find him again.

...

Chen Ming ascended to the second floor and saw rows of bookshelves filled with books. The shelves were categorized with labels: knife, spear, sword, hidden weapons, cultivation techniques, and so on.

At the stairs stood an elderly man with white hair and beard, looking kindly, saying to him, "You have one hour to choose a cultivation technique or martial skill. Once chosen, there’s no going back."

"Yes, elder."

Chen Ming wasn’t in a hurry. He came to the last row of bookshelves labeled "Swordsmanship."

Looking at this long row of bookshelves with at least hundreds or thousands of books, he couldn’t help but be astonished. Just for swordsmanship, such a large collection was almost too substantial.

He casually flipped through several books, most of which were second-rate swordsmanship techniques. Toss any of them out, and many would fight over them.

He continued flipping for a while and unintentionally saw a familiar sword manual, "Vermilion Bird Swordsmanship."

"Indeed, it was passed down from here."

Chen Ming suddenly realized, confirming a thought in his mind.

While perusing the lists on the first floor that day, he noticed a past Qingyun Ranking with Shang Jianfei’s name on it, ranked only second.

After ascending the Qingyun Ranking, Shang Jianfei came here and chose the "Vermilion Bird Swordsmanship," later spreading it.

"It seems World’s First Pavilion has no restriction against outside transmission."

Just with this point, it shows considerable generosity.

Chen Ming continued flipping for a while but didn’t find any top-tier swordsmanship. Knowing that such level of swordsmanship wouldn’t be on the second floor, he was slightly disappointed.

So, he moved over to the hidden weapons bookshelf.

Here, the books on the shelves were significantly fewer, only dozens.

Briefly browsing, he didn’t find anything surpassing the flying knife skill’s power he had mastered, so he abandoned it.

Finally, he went to the cultivation techniques shelf, choosing a second-grade cultivation technique "Guiyuan Skill," which could only be cultivated to Fourth Grade, but the inner Qi produced is balanced and harmonious, making it easy to switch to other techniques.

Chen Ming planned to teach Wu Bofu and Liu Zhongda.

...

After Chen Ming and the other five made their choices, they descended.

Arriving at the main hall on the first floor, he noticed a new list on the wall, the freshly issued Qingyun Ranking, with his name placed sixth.

It seems he can’t escape the reputation of being the sixth.

The five ahead, not to mention their strength, were all from powerful backgrounds. Given their demonstrated talents, they were certainly key nurtured figures within their respective powers.

Even if he breaks through to Fourth Grade, he’s likely not to challenge those five. Of course, one chooses the easier target first. In Jiangzhou City, there are numerous martial artists stuck at Fourth Grade, unable to break through to Third Grade; dealing with them would suffice.

"Brother Chen, congratulations."

When Chen Ming exited the World’s First Pavilion, the first to approach him was Jiang Yingxue.

Today, there were particularly many people outside, aside from her, Zhou Weihao and his group, Li Jinchuan and several of his sect members, as well as Zhao Xiyan and others, all simultaneously approaching.

Jiang Yingxue first came over to congratulate Chen Ming, then went to find her brother. Jiang Shihua’s face darkened seeing this, wanting to berate them had it not been for so many people present.

"Brother Chen, here’s my martial uncle and senior brother."

Li Jinchuan came over, introducing his sect members somewhat awkwardly.

Being young, Chen Ming could understand since he was once young too. He smiled and said, "Jinchuan lived at my house in Qingfeng City, he’s just like my own brother."

This was to show their close relationship.

Li Jinchuan’s fellow sect members were quite enthusiastic, even inviting him to visit White Feather Sect as a guest.

He naturally agreed.

Then, Zhao Xiyan approached, accompanied by a man in his thirties, who immediately remarked, "Xiyan indeed has good vision; your swordsmanship is nice."

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