I Only Stomp on Weaklings

After midnight passed, the entire city fell asleep, and on the streets, apart from the watchmen, there was hardly anyone visible.

Chen Ming, dressed in night clothes, moved through the darkness like a ghost, incredibly fast, so fast that ordinary people had difficulty capturing his silhouette even if they saw him.

Upon reaching the fifth grade, he opened the Sea of Qi. There is a fundamental difference between the fifth and sixth grade. It’s not just the total amount of True Qi that increased by two to three times; more impressively, its output power also significantly increased.

This means that after the fifth grade, endurance and explosive power crush those of the sixth grade.

During the day, Chen Ming only used one sword strike to send Luo Hao, who was already level 49, flying, leaving the opponent with no chance to retaliate.

If he were to encounter that fifth-grade martial artist Xiao Qianhao who chased him for half a month right now, it would probably only take one sword strike.

He swept across the nighttime city until he reached a tall city wall.

Qingfeng City’s walls are ten zhang high, their surface smooth, with no place to leverage, leaving anyone below seventh grade only to sigh.

However, to a fifth-grade martial artist, this wall height is effectively nonexistent.

Chen Ming leaped, leveraging twice on the wall, and directly flipped over the wall, exiting the city.

...

Outside Qingfeng City, walking south for several miles leads to a shoal local people call Golden Wind Beach.

Chen Ming quietly reached a reef, where he immediately spotted a ship anchored on the sea, about a few hundred meters from the shore, swaying with the waves.

That should be the ship sent by Paradise Island to pick someone up.

He thought to himself, lying on the reef, patiently waiting.

It was the first time he’d heard the name Paradise Island, likely the Red Sea Monarch’s base.

The red-clothed woman turned out not to be the Red Sea Monarch, yet she was part of the Red Sea Monarch’s pirate crew.

This means there are two strong individuals above third grade within this pirate crew. No wonder Dragon King Zheng lost; facing two foes alone, it’s hardly surprising he was defeated.

Chen Ming thought, "It seems that people on land only hear rumors about pirates at sea. They aren’t even aware there’s another third-grade expert among the Red Sea Monarch’s crew."

Of course, it might be that this "Red Lady" is cleverly disguised, fooling everyone.

His thoughts wandered aimlessly.

...

Before he realized, it was already the early hours.

Suddenly, Chen Ming’s ears picked up a sound similar to a certain bird call. Then another sound resonated rhythmically; it was coming from the ship.

It sounded like some kind of secret signal.

He turned his head towards the direction of the sound and saw a group of people emerging from behind a low hill to the west, some of whom were carrying torches.

Finally, they arrived!

Chen Ming immediately spotted Zhong Shuyu among the crowd, her hands bound, looking dejected.

He gripped the hilt of his sword, preparing to take action, when suddenly Su Zhining’s voice rang in his ears, "Don’t move, there’s an ambush."

An ambush?

Chen Ming was taken aback, though he felt the red-clothed woman wouldn’t need to deceive him. He nevertheless chose to trust Su Zhining, staying put.

After a moment, the group finally reached the seaside, using torches to signal towards the ship by rotating them in circles.

Soon, a small boat was lowered from the ship anchored at sea, rowing towards the shore.

Chen Ming pondered for a moment but didn’t leave; if there was truly an ambush, he probably couldn’t leave now. The best response now was to wait and see.

He watched the group on the beach while remaining vigilant towards the hidden enemies nearby.

As the small boat reached the shore, suddenly a wild laugh rang out, "Sea General of the Sands, I’ve awaited you for a long time."

It was him?

Chen Ming was startled; the voice was too familiar. It was the fifth-grade captain Li Guangjie who had wanted to kill him earlier.

This person had brought over a dozen experts from the Six Gates.

Being able to ambush without being discovered, these experts were at least of the sixth grade cultivation.

This time, Six Gates seemed to have sent out all their top experts.

So, the ambush wasn’t targeted at him but rather to capture the Sea General of the Sands.

Just as Chen Ming was contemplating, he saw two people heading towards him, stopping ten meters away, assuming a triangular stance against him.

It seemed his whereabouts had long been uncovered.

"Given the situation, perhaps even the red-clothed woman didn’t anticipate this."

He thought to himself, deciding to continue observing the situation quietly.

...

Li Guangjie, wearing a blue official uniform, stared at the Sea General of the Sands among the crowd as if looking at prey about to fall into his grasp, "Did you really think you could escape from the palms of our Lord Zhao? His calculations are so precise, he anticipated you’d been hiding in the city. Two months ago, he had already pinpointed your location."

As he spoke, he watched the increasingly grim expression of the Sea General, "Our lord merely didn’t wish to conflict with the third-grade expert backing you. So he found a reason to deliberately leave Qingfeng City for this day. You’ve truly been fooled. Today, none of you can escape..."

The Sea General of the Sands had a fiery temper. Even after being captured once, her temper hadn’t changed as she brandished a long spear, shouting, "Less talk, if you want to capture me, first you must answer to the long spear in my hands!"

The previous year she had been taken in an ambush by Yu Xiuming, imprisoned in the Great Prison for a long time, suffering plenty. She had long harbored deep hatred for those of the Six Gates and now intended to settle both old and new grievances.

As she moved, terrifying True Qi burst forth like a dragon surging out to sea, domineering to the extreme.

Li Guangjie didn’t dare to take it lightly, drew his treasured blade, and confronted her.

Bam!

With a solid clash, the two were evenly matched.

As soon as the two started fighting, the others also joined the fray.

However, the difference in strength was vast. On the pirate’s side, apart from the Sea General, there were no notable experts. They stood no chance against these skilled Six Gates martial artists and were being overwhelmingly subdued, losing their weapons and getting captured.

Zhong Shuyu was no exception, with a blade placed across her neck, becoming a captive.

Soon, everyone’s attention shifted to the battle between Li Guangjie and the Sea General.

The two were equally matched, causing more and more commotion, both tacitly distanced themselves from the site, worried that the aftermath might harm their comrades.

Even the ship anchored at sea raised its anchor and fled swiftly.

The Six Gates personnel were powerless in this regard.

To avoid the pirates noticing, they hadn’t positioned any ships nearby; on the high seas, they couldn’t pursue even if they wanted to.

While everyone’s attention was drawn to the distant battle, Zhong Shuyu wore an anxious expression, searching around her as if looking for someone.

She knew about the lady’s arrangements and thought Chen Ming might come to rescue her tonight.

Zhong Shuyu was always uneasy, unsure if he would come.

The lady said this was a test. If he really came, it would prove he was indeed a man of integrity, worthy of trust.

If he didn’t appear, it would prove she had misjudged him.

Earlier, Zhong Shuyu had been eagerly anticipating his arrival.

Now, she was praying in her heart, "Please don’t come..."

If he came and was caught by the Six Gates, he could very well be ruined.

Suddenly, she heard a commotion behind her, the sound of fighting. Her heart skipped a beat as she stiffly turned her head to see two Six Gates experts besieging a man in black not far off beside the rocks.

Tears welled up in her eyes, flowing out unstoppably.

He still came...

For a moment, she was filled with overwhelming emotion, her heart torn apart.

...

"Unexpectedly, Zhao Shouchang holds such a grudge."

Chen Ming felt his scalp tingle when he heard Li Guangjie’s words.

Last year, Zhao Shouchang was tricked by the Red Sea Monarch, and the Six Gates’ Great Prison was raided. The Sea General was rescued at that time.

Even after all this time, Zhao Shouchang still remembered the incident, setting up this plan to redeem his face and recapture the Sea General.

What a scheming old fox!

Chen Ming thought Zhao Shouchang took his daughter to Jiangzhou City to prevent Zhao Xiyan from meddling in his feud with Jin Yuansheng. It turned out he overthought it.

Their plotting ran deep.

Then, as Li Guangjie and the Sea General began their exchange, the two Six Gates experts facing off against him also took action.

Among them, one was Fifth Grade, the other Sixth Grade. Yet their uniforms were of Seventh-Grade Patrol Envoy. This alone showed the depth of Six Gates’ resources.

Even with Fifth Grade cultivation, it was challenging to advance to Fifth Grade Captain.

All the Fifth Grade Captains Chen Ming had encountered so far had Fourth Grade cultivation. It was indeed highly competitive.

Facing the two experts attacking from left and right, he did not draw his sword but instead reached into his sleeve.

Swish, swish!

Two flashes of cold light appeared abruptly.

The two fell in response.

[You defeated an LV43 enemy, obtained 1000 experience points]

[You defeated an LV51 enemy, obtained 6000 experience points]

Chen Ming’s Flying Knife Skill, under the infusion of Fifth Grade True Qi, was extraordinarily powerful. At such close range, even the Fifth Grade expert couldn’t react in time.

These two knife throws were the highest-grade technique from the fragmented manual given to him by Zhuang Xiaotian, capable of attaching True Qi to it, reaching utmost speed.

After dealing with these two, he advanced instead of retreating, charging towards the group of Six Gates members.

He had seen clearly just now, among the eleven present, there were four Fifth Grades and seven Sixth Grades. If they all attacked together, naturally, he would have no chance but to flee.

But now these eleven were spread out, also having to watch their captives.

This was the opportunity!

Chen Ming’s ability to seize battle opportunities seemed to have become instinctive by now.

PS: Third update, asking for monthly votes. It’s the end of the month, those who still have votes, please vote quickly.