Sword Sovereign of the Celestial Emperor-Chapter 88, Departure (Seeking Recommendations, Seeking Collections)

For three consecutive days, Chu Ming had been cultivating the Thousand Leaves Swordsmanship in the inn.

The first day, the first move reached mastery.

The second day, the second move reached mastery. At this moment, Chu Ming also had some comprehension of the concept of speed and slowness, making his understanding of the Thousand Leaves Swordsmanship rapid and dramatic.

On the third day, although the third move did not reach the level of mastery, it did reach the stage of great success.

At this time, a message came from Red Moon saying that the Second Elder and Third Elder had arrived in Ironfire City. Liao Wu asked them to go together to pay respects, so Chu Ming had to stop his cultivation.

Both the Second Elder and Third Elder were influential elders of the Cyan Yang Sect, and their cultivation had reached the peak of the True Dao Realm. Coupled with their many trump cards, they could compete with ordinary True Dao extreme martial artists. Naturally, Ling Fan dared not neglect them and directly offered his City Lord’s Mansion as their temporary residence.

The five of them met up with Liao Wu and together walked towards the City Lord’s Mansion in Ironfire City. Because there had been no beast tide in Ironfire City for three days, martial artists in the city lived peacefully, and the number of people trading on the streets increased. During a beast tide, no one traded on the streets, and even inns would temporarily shut down during severe times.

"Gentlemen, please come in!"

Chu Ming and the others were in the inner sect attire of the Cyan Yang Sect, so the guards at the City Lord’s Mansion did not dare to stop them and let them in directly. However, two guards ran ahead to report.

Although Ironfire City was only a small city, the City Lord commanded one city’s resources, and his mansion was built luxuriously with strict defenses, housing many experts.

"The two elders invite you in!"

When Chu Ming and the others arrived at the main hall, a guard respectfully said, pointing his arm to direct them and respectfully retreating to the side.

Chu Ming and the others walked straight into the main hall. Inside, there were three people: the Second Elder and Third Elder of the Cyan Yang Sect sitting on the main seats, while Ling Fan could only sit in the secondary position.

Seeing Chu Ming and the others come in, Ling Fan sensibly stood up and excused himself, leaving the hall to the Cyan Yang Sect and also dismissing all the guards outside the hall.

"Greetings, Elders!"

After respectfully saluting, Chu Ming and the other disciples of the Cyan Yang Sect stood on either side. It was the first time he saw the Second Elder and Third Elder of the Cyan Yang Sect. They did not speak, but their mere presence made everyone feel pressured.

"I heard that you were also ambushed by men in black?" the Second Elder softly asked. Although his voice was gentle, it carried an irresistible authority. Being stared at by two peak True Dao experts brought immense pressure on everyone.

"Yes."

The few of them dared not delay and immediately replied. To be honest, although the two elders had an irresistible pressure, it was towards people like Liao Wu. For Chu Ming, his soul power was too strong, and the pressure from the two elders was negligible to him.

"Describe the situation when you were ambushed." The Third Elder spoke lightly, glancing at Chu Ming. Moments ago, he observed Chu Ming’s reaction and found that he remained calm under their pressure, showing a satisfied expression.

"It was like this..." Liao Wu stood to the side, explaining the situation they encountered. They were ambushed by men in black while on their way to Ironfire City, but the strength of those men was not high, slightly less than Liao Wu’s, so the five of them could safely reach Ironfire City.

"What about your situation?" After Liao Wu finished speaking, the two elders had some guesses and directly asked Chu Ming’s group.

"It was like this..." Chu Ming explained the prepared story, similar to what actually happened, but he didn’t specify the strength of the men in black. He only mentioned that their leader was a bit stronger than him. Red Moon and the others were not strong enough to determine the leader’s exact strength, and even if Chu Ming said the leader was as strong as Qi Yang, they probably wouldn’t believe it.

After Chu Ming finished speaking, the Second Elder nodded and softly said, "You may leave now."

Hearing this, Chu Ming and the others immediately stood up and excused themselves. When their figures disappeared from the hall, the Second Elder retracted his gaze and asked softly, "What do you think of Chu Ming’s strength?"

The Third Elder stroked his white beard, looking pensive. In his youth, he had practiced a pupil technique to observe potential and strength. At its peak, it could even glimpse the future. Unfortunately, his talent was limited, and he only grasped the basics, incapable of seeing the future but barely able to discern strength.

"Chu Ming’s current strength is roughly comparable to the lower-ranked core disciples..." the Third Elder said hesitantly.

"Impossible!" The Second Elder immediately refuted upon hearing this. A month ago, Chu Ming defeated Tianxing Zi, and his strength was at the lower end of the Cyan Yang List. It’s only been a month, yet he’s comparable to core disciples? The progress was too fast, even unbelievable for the experienced Second Elder.

"Perhaps I was mistaken..." the Third Elder said uncertainly. In fact, when he observed Chu Ming’s strength, he was unsure as well. The progress was indeed astonishing, and there was one more thing he hadn’t mentioned. He sensed a dense aura around Chu Ming, which indicated an incredible fortune.

In his lifetime, the Third Elder had met countless people, but never anyone with such overwhelming luck, not even Li Yuqing. The Second Elder’s words gave him an excuse.

He was mistaken.

...

After leaving the City Lord’s Mansion, returning to the inn, Chu Ming did not continue cultivating. If he exchanged the demon cores and materials he had now for contribution points, they would total nearly 300,000, with the demon cores making up the majority. He pondered if he should go to another city.

With the two main elders of the Cyan Yang Sect in Ironfire City, the beast tide crisis was resolved. Even if a beast tide occurred, it wouldn’t serve as training. Chu Ming came out for two purposes: contribution points and life-and-death experience.

Martial artists, whether fighting against Celestial Dippers, Earth Dippers, or Human Dippers, generally don’t break through to higher realms without life-and-death experiences.

The nearest city to Ironfire City is Cyan Smoke City, similar in predicaments but surrounded by mountains and closer to the center of the Great Yan Kingdom, where the beast tide is even more ferocious. Chu Ming shared his thoughts with the other four.

"Senior Brother Chu, we’ve decided to stay in Ironfire City and return to Cyan Yang Sect with the two elders when they go back."

Red Moon said apologetically. Throughout the journey, she felt that the four of them were always dragging Chu Ming back. He had to kill demon beasts while protecting them, so after discussion, the four decided on this course of action.