Chapter 126: Lion Pouncing on a Rabbit

"It was just a small matter."

Chen Ming didn’t take it to heart. In a vast forest, there were all kinds of birds.

In this world, there were people like Zhou Weihao, warm-hearted and always putting friends' matters before themselves. There were also people like Li Qingchang, who couldn’t see the bigger picture—achieving a bit and then becoming unbearably smug, as if he wished the entire world to know.

For such people, he didn’t even have the mood to slap their faces.

Chen Ming changed the subject. "Brother Feng, your family has a deep heritage. Do you know much about the Heaven's Path Alliance?"

He had just asked Gu Yuantao, but Gu Yuantao didn’t know much either—only some generic information he had already heard before.

Feng Siyuan clapped his hands and said, "Now that’s the right person to ask. Some time ago, there were constant rumors that the Heaven's Path Alliance would send disciples to deal with the monsters from the Cult of Eternal Life. I specifically asked around, but unfortunately, no disciples of the Heaven's Path Alliance ever appeared. I didn’t get the chance to connect with them."

There was some regret in his tone.

Chen Ming thought to himself, in fact, not only did disciples from the Heaven's Path Alliance come, but you even met them.

"Although the Heaven's Path Alliance is the foremost among the Nine Great Sects, famed across the world, most of the rumors about them are just hearsay. Have you ever heard of any confirmed deeds of their disciples in Jiangzhou?"

Among those in the courtyard, except Gu Yuantao who was still in a daze, Chen Ming and Zhang Mingyu both listened attentively, trying to recall. Then they both shook their heads.

They truly couldn’t remember any such credible rumors.

Feng Siyuan lowered his voice and said, "It’s said that this was because the Heaven's Path Alliance acted too domineeringly and made too many enemies. So, starting three hundred years ago, every time disciples of the Heaven's Path Alliance went out for tempering journeys, they were ambushed by mysterious assassins. Even when the experts of the Heaven's Path Alliance retaliated afterward, it still failed to intimidate those people."

"Such targeted ambushes against their disciples continued for many years. As a result, numerous battles broke out between Divine Repository Realm experts, shaking the heavens and earth."

"Later on, the higher-ups of the Heaven's Path Alliance went on a massive killing spree to intimidate their potential enemies—every person involved in the ambushes, their affiliated sects and families, were all exterminated. During that period, blood flowed like rivers across the Great Jin Dynasty. Countless forces, sects, and aristocratic families were annihilated."

"These bloody massacres eventually provoked a few reclusive old monsters, who fought a great battle with the Heaven's Path Alliance’s experts. That battle shattered the heavens and overturned the mountains and rivers. Countless civilians perished. Eventually, the imperial family of the Great Jin intervened to mediate and put an end to the catastrophe."

Chen Ming and Zhang Mingyu stared at each other in shock, feeling like they were listening to a myth. It didn’t seem real.

Seeing their reactions, Feng Siyuan guessed what they were thinking and chuckled. "When I first heard this story, I had the same reaction as you. Then, I went and checked the county chronicles."

"Guess what? Many county chronicles recorded that three hundred years ago, there were several years of frequent natural disasters—earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides, rivers changing course… resulting in population being halved in some counties. What’s even scarier is that these disasters affected more than half of the prefectures in the Great Jin. If you don’t believe me, you can look it up."

Chen Ming thought for a moment. Considering the Heaven's Path Alliance’s way of doing things, it wasn’t surprising they made enemies everywhere.

Zhang Mingyu couldn’t help but ask, "What happened afterward?"

Feng Siyuan replied, "After that, the Heaven's Path Alliance added a new sect rule: they would never interfere in the feuds between martial artists. Moreover, ever since then, their disciples started acting extremely low-key—like dragons that show their heads but not their tails."

At this moment, Zhang Mingyu couldn’t help but ask, "Why do disciples of the Heaven's Path Alliance have to go out for tempering journeys? Why not just stay in the sect and cultivate until they’ve mastered their martial arts before coming out?"

Feng Siyuan looked mysterious and said, "Do you know why the Heaven's Path Alliance is so powerful that they can oppose the entire world with just one sect?"

Zhang Mingyu quickly asked, "Why?"

Feng Siyuan answered, "Because the Heaven's Path Alliance is favored by the Heavenly Dao. They act on behalf of the heavens and can borrow the power of the Heavenly Dao."

"Ah?"

Feng Siyuan continued, "But not just anyone can be favored by the Heavenly Dao. Only those who are utterly selfless and possess a heart of sincerity can cultivate the supreme techniques of the Heaven's Path Alliance. Moreover, after reaching a certain stage in cultivation, they must enter the world and temper themselves to progress further."

Zhang Mingyu listened, dumbfounded. "There’s really such a cultivation method in this world?"

Chen Ming suddenly recalled the changes that happened to Su Zhi Ning that morning. She even formally thanked him afterward. So it was truly a breakthrough.

What was this, heart-path flow?

As long as one’s state of mind progressed, their strength would also rise?

At this moment, Feng Siyuan added, "Haven’t you noticed? In Jiangzhou, most aristocratic families are only a few hundred years old. It’s rare to find one older than three hundred years. Even the Three Great Aristocratic Families and the Four Great Sects all rose within the past two hundred years..."

At that moment, Gu Yuantao finally finished his reflection and walked over. He suddenly said, "Our Gu Family also started to rise only two hundred and fifty years ago."

That alone served as indirect proof of Feng Siyuan’s words.

……

After nightfall, Feng Siyuan and the other two had already left.

Chen Ming was again reading that 《Phantom Form and Shadow》, but after a short while, he began to lose focus. In the end, he shook his head and closed the book.

Relying on a manual to learn an internal technique was something he could barely manage. But a movement technique was far too complicated—there were too many maneuvers and numerous terms referencing the Eight Trigrams’ directions. To him, it felt like reading the heavenly script.

At that moment, footsteps sounded outside.

Chunxiang whispered, "Young Master, Young Master Zhao is here."

Chen Ming rose and went out to greet, only to see Zhao Xiyan wearing male attire and holding that folding fan, standing in the courtyard. Moonlight spilled over her body, and her gaze carried a unique charm.

Compared to the first time they met, she had grown taller, more mature. Her figure had become slender and tall. She was no longer a flat-chested girl.

She stood in the courtyard without entering the room and spoke, "You’re going to deal with the Qi Family?"

In fact, though she had visited his home many times, she always stayed in the courtyard. Her personal maid always accompanied her, and she had never entered his room.

From this, it was evident that she had clear boundaries in certain matters.

Chen Ming sat down at the table and said, "They jumped out on their own. It’s the perfect time to deal with them."

Zhao Xiyan said softly, "My father is taking me to Jiangzhou tomorrow to visit an elder. I fear it will be ten days or half a month before I return."

Zhao Shouchang bringing her to Jiangzhou at this timing made it clear—he didn’t want her to interfere in the feud between Chen Ming and Jinyuan Prosperity Trading.

Chen Ming smiled, "It’s fine. Don’t worry, just go."

Zhao Xiyan looked a bit concerned. "That Qi Yanhong is no ordinary person. There are a lot of connections behind him. Can you handle it? Actually, if you could wait a bit longer until you reach Fourth Grade, it’d be much easier."

"Qi Yanhong isn’t a fool. You think he’d sit and wait to die?"

"That’s true. Just be careful. If it really doesn’t work out, consider reconciling with the Qi Family."

"Don’t worry. I’ve got a plan."

"I have to go. I snuck out. If my father finds out, I’ll be grounded again."

"Mm, head back."

Chen Ming watched her leave, the smile on his face slowly fading.

Suddenly, Su Zhi Ning’s voice rang out from behind. "She suits you well."

"Thanks."

Chen Ming didn’t turn around. He had already grown used to her appearing and disappearing like a ghost.

"You don’t seem too happy?"

"How could I not be?"Chen Ming turned around and changed the subject. "There are many parts in 《Phantom Form and Shadow》 I don’t understand. Miss Su, could you give me some guidance?"

"I can."

……

At the Qi Residence, Qi Xingdong had just returned home when he was stopped by the steward, who said the master wanted to see him.

He went straight to the study. As soon as he entered, he asked anxiously, "Father, how did it go?"

Qi Yanhong sat in the grand armchair, his expression heavy. "Young people are always impulsive—even a Third Grade Expert’s face means nothing to them."

Hearing this, Qi Xingdong’s heart sank halfway. He asked, "Then what do we do next?"

Seeing his useless expression, Qi Yanhong felt a surge of anger but could only suppress it.

He had many sons, but none were successful. This third son was the only one he could still count on.

He said in a deep voice, "Inspector Zhao will head to Jiangzhou tomorrow for a report and will bring his daughter along."

Qi Xingdong’s eyes lit up, and he said excitedly, "So the Inspector doesn’t think highly of that brat? Hah, I knew it! That kind of pauper background—how could he ever win over Lord Zhao?"

Qi Yanhong’s face remained expressionless. "At this point, we have no retreat. I’ve contacted your Fifth Uncle. Don’t go out for the next few days."

Qi Xingdong’s heart skipped a beat when he heard “Fifth Uncle.” "To deal with that brat, is it really necessary for Fifth Uncle to act?"

That “Fifth Uncle” was their Qi Family’s ultimate trump card, hidden for over a decade. Using him just for someone like Chen Ming seemed like a waste.

Qi Yanhong said, "Dong’er, remember this—when a lion hunts a rabbit, it must use all its strength. Once we decide to act, we strike with thunderous force and leave no room for the opponent to breathe."

Although Qi Xingdong didn’t agree, he could not argue against it.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.