In the alley near the Chen Mansion, Zhong Shuyu followed the red-clad woman anxiously, but there was nothing she could do.

Wan Laosan was originally an independent pirate with a fleet of about ten ships, later conquered by the Sea Lord. They became blood-sworn brothers and contributed significantly in the battle against Dragon King Zheng. He was later rewarded as one of the Thirty-Six Generals.

Today, Wan Laosan brought three sworn brothers to the city and found a base. They revealed that their purpose was to kill Chen Ming, and they were planning to execute the plan tonight.

Upon hearing this, Zhong Shuyu turned pale with shock. After nightfall, she found a chance to slip out and immediately went to warn Chen Ming.

She knew Chen Ming was currently at Sixth Grade cultivation, how could he possibly fend off Wan Laosan?

The only hope was to seek help from the Six Gates.

However, this route was also blocked by the lady. The lady was guarding the place specifically, not a single fly could escape from the Chen Mansion, let alone seek help from the Six Gates.

Zhong Shuyu understood that the lady was doing this for her own good.

The Sea Lord was ruthless, if he found out she had betrayed her brothers, he would never forgive her.

But would she have to watch helplessly as Chen Ming was killed by Wan Laosan?

As time passed, the Chen Mansion remained silent, not a soul left the premises.

After what seemed like an eternity, the red-clad woman suddenly lifted her head slightly and looked in a certain direction.

Zhong Shuyu instinctively followed her gaze and vaguely caught sight of several figures swiftly entering the Chen Mansion’s walls.

The speed of those figures was extraordinary, and they made no sound; they were undoubtedly skilled.

Her heart tightened, just as she was about to cry out a warning, she was horrified to find herself unable to make a sound, and moreover, her body was immobilized.

The voice of the lady came to her ears, "Xiaoyu, you have done more than enough for him. Don’t blame yourself for this."

Zhong Shuyu couldn’t utter a word, only tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Huh?"

Suddenly, the red-clad woman let out a light gasp, staring intently in the direction of the Chen Mansion, muttering, "A breakthrough in the heat of combat?"

Breakthrough in the heat of combat?

Upon hearing her, Zhong Shuyu’s heart quivered, and inexplicably, a glimmer of hope arose in her heart once more.

...

"They’re here!"

Chen Ming was contemplating the "Divine Phantom" when he suddenly heard Su Zhining’s warning.

Finally, they’re here.

He closed the manual in his hands, feeling a sense of excitement, grabbed his sword, pushed open the door, and walked into the courtyard, looking up outside.

This time, four pirates came. Meaning, killing them would be burden-free.

So far, he had engaged with countless opponents, but only ten had perished by his hands.

The experience gained from killing an enemy was several times more than defeating them. Tonight could yield a fortune.

A few seconds later, Chen Ming caught sight of four figures rushing towards him.

He said, "Miss Su, help me stall the Fifth Grade one for ten breaths, but don’t kill him."

"Alright."

The four pirates dressed in night attire, upon seeing Chen Ming standing in the courtyard, launched their attack without any unnecessary words.

They all wielded sabers, flanking from the front and both sides. Against a Sixth Grade, these four chose to attack together, showing they had no martial ethics.

Facing three Sixth Grades and one Fifth Grade attacking together, even with Chen Ming’s current strength, he had no chance.

The difference between Sixth Grade and Fifth Grade was a full realm, a fundamental gap.

Buzz!

With a sword hum, the figure of the man in black in the center suddenly paused and stopped, creating a gap in the perfect encirclement formed by the four.

Chen Ming, with his rich combat experience, seized this flaw and drew his sword.

In the darkness, it seemed like a clear phoenix cry resounded!

Fiery energy instantly engulfed the three men in black.

"Nine Revolutions Nirvana!"

The deadliest strike from the "Vermilion Bird Swordsmanship," specifically to handle group attacks, highly lethal.

On the side, Su Zhining, who was tasked with stalling Wan Laosan, couldn’t help but glance over, a hint of surprise in her eyes, his mastery of this swordsmanship was quite commendable.

She was even more intrigued, wondering how he managed to practice swordsmanship to this degree, given his learning aptitude and abilities displayed last night?

She had inquired, this man had always been using a saber before, only recently switching to swordsmanship.

...

"No!"

Wan Laosan caught sight of his three sworn brothers being slain with a single sword stroke, his eyes flared with rage, and he was about to rush over to kill that kid and avenge his brothers.

Buzz!

At that moment, another streak of Sword Qi attacked, forcing him to retreat another step.

He roared, "Who are you? Dare you come out and fight your Grandpa?"

Buzz!

In response, another Sword Qi came.

Wan Laosan didn’t even know where the Sword Qi came from, his heart filled with hatred. To his dismay, there was such a master hidden by Chen Ming’s side.

Damn it...

No matter how resentful he was, he knew the reasoning behind leaving a green mountain and not worrying about having no firewood to burn.

He was already contemplating retreat.

...

[You killed an LV47 enemy, gaining 20,000 Experience Points]

[You killed an LV46 enemy, gaining 20,000 Experience Points]

[You killed an LV47 enemy, gaining 20,000 Experience Points]

Seeing the prompts before him, Chen Ming no longer hesitated, silently intoning, "Allocate points!"

He directly allocated ten thousand points into "Yin Yang True Skill."

With a blast.

He only felt a surge of power within his body, True Qi expanded again, reaching an extreme, just as he felt his meridians couldn’t bear it and were about to explode, as if something broke through.

The vast True Qi finally had a channel to freely flow into.

This was the Sea of Qi.

Fifth Grade, Sea of Qi Realm!

The Sea of Qi, indeed like a sea, the amount of True Qi it could accommodate was dozens, even hundreds of times more than before.

[Level: 50]

[Current Points: 213452]

[Cultivation Technique: "Iron Horse Stance" (Fifth Level Perfection), "Yin Yang True Skill" (Fifth Level 6781/1500000)]

[Martial Skill: "Three Talents Fist" (Great Mastery), "Eight Trigrams Saber Technique" (Great Mastery), "Zhuang’s Flying Knife" (Great Mastery), "Swallow Returning Sword Technique" (Great Mastery), "Vermilion Bird Swordsmanship" (Proficient 3123/500000)]

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

"Hmm?"

Su Zhining couldn’t help but look at him again, this time not just surprised, but somewhat incredulous: he had actually reached Fifth Grade.

So fast!

Even for a genius like her, it took over a year to progress from Sixth Grade to Fifth Grade.

And Chen Ming, if she remembered correctly, had just broken through to Sixth Grade seven months ago.

His speed of improvement was actually twice as fast as hers.

How is this possible?

It’s not that there are no people in the world whose cultivation advances faster than hers, but nearly double is theoretically impossible.

True Qi requires an accumulation process, and the more profound the martial art, the slower the growth of True Qi. This person practiced Pure Yang Technique, and Pure Yang True Qi is notoriously slow in growth.

While she was stunned by this, Chen Ming spoke, "Thank you, Miss Su, for your assistance."

Su Zhining was taken aback, quickly understanding he meant he was ready to take action himself.

No wonder he only needed her to hold off that Fifth Grade for ten breaths, he had already planned to use the momentum and confidence from killing the three Sixth Grades to break through to Fifth Grade. Then, he would address that Fifth Grade.

It was hard to say if he was confident or arrogant.

Su Zhining silently withdrew her hand.

Wan Laosan suddenly felt the pressure lighten, glancing up to see Chen Ming standing before him. Seeing this enemy who killed his three sworn brothers, his eyes filled with murderous intent.

At this moment, he realized he had fallen into a trap. The hidden adversary’s strength was far beyond his own.

Tonight, it seemed the odds were against him.

Now, he finally spotted a chance for a comeback.

The opponent was too arrogant, too overconfident in themselves, letting Chen Ming face him alone, clearly planning to use him as a whetstone.

If only he could use thunderous methods to capture Chen Ming alive, there might still be a glimmer of hope.

Just a newly-broken-through Fifth Grade—

At that moment, Chen Ming made his move.

In an instant, Wan Laosan felt himself engulfed by endless sword shadows. His shock was immense, finally understanding why his three brothers were slain in a single encounter.

This person’s swordsmanship was so high, a formidable opponent!