NOVEL WEB Ch. 71
Chapter 71: Backing
Gu Yuantao lowered his head to inspect the slash on his sleeve. His already cold expression turned even icier.
He said nothing, seemingly lost in thought about the battle just now.
Chen Ming turned to look at Zhou Weihao. “Brother Zhou, does Chen have the qualifications to duel you?”
Zhou Weihao replied indifferently, “You just had a match with my cousin. I don’t want to take advantage. Maybe next time.”
“That’s fine.”
Chen Ming knew better than to push it.
Most people in this world place too much importance on winning and losing; they worry too much.
Forcing a sparring match would only breed resentment—unnecessary.
What he sought were martial artists like Gu Yuantao—those who wanted to temper themselves through real combat and improve their strength. Such people often became regular sparring partners.
“I’ll take my leave.”
After a while, Gu Yuantao snapped back and left with his companions.
Once they were gone, Chen Ming’s expression grew serious.
Gu Yuantao’s problem wasn’t unique—though his cultivation was much higher and his swordsmanship quite impressive, he lacked practical combat experience.
But Sun Shicai was different!
He had been promoted to a seventh‑rank patrol envoy based on his merits—fighting his way there with blade and spear, incomparable to those from noble households.
And he’d been seventh‑rank for at least two or three years; he was likely not far from sixth rank.
He was definitely a formidable opponent.
Even facing him head‑on, Chen Ming couldn’t be completely confident.
What’s more, he was a patrol envoy of the Six Doors Authority—killing him would spell huge trouble.
Lost in thought, Chen Ming opened his cultivation panel:
【Level: 30】
【Current Points: 4450】
【Cultivation Method: “Iron Horse Stance” (5th layer, perfect), “Three Suns Body Tempering” (7th layer 101/50000)】
【Martial techniques: “Three Talents Fist” (complete), “Eight Trigrams Saber” (complete), “Zhuang’s Flying Knives” (complete), “Swallow Returns Sword” (proficient 434/10000)】
In these twenty days, he had earned over four thousand experience points.
At this rate, pushing “Three Suns Body Tempering” to ninth‑layer perfection would take at least two years.
If he could find a few more seventh‑rank martial artists to spar with, he could significantly shorten that time.
But that wasn’t what he should focus on now.
With a major clash imminent, any increase in strength would be beneficial.
Chen Ming thought it over and decided to allocate all experience points to Swallow Returns Sword.
The boost in combat effectiveness was greater.
Immediately, his Swallow Returns Sword technique showed (proficient 4884/10000).
In that instant, countless insights into the sword art flooded his mind.
Half an hour passed.
Chen Ming exhaled a murky breath, a flicker of joy in his eyes.
The improvement in his swordsmanship gave him more confidence for the looming great battle.
…
That night, around the Hour of the Dog (19:00–21:00), Zhang Mingyu, Xiao Zhuyun, and Huo Qianqian arrived at Chen Ming’s home in quick succession through the back gate.
Chunxiang and Xixiang led the three into his small courtyard.
They had all donned black clothes—as if hoping to attract no attention.
Inside the house were three chairs. Chen Ming gestured for them to sit and asked, “After returning, did any of you think of a better approach?”
Zhang Mingyu spoke first. “I thought it over. That damned dog was sly, conniving, and extremely cautious. When it comes to schemes and plots, I can’t match him. No point embarrassing myself.”
Huo Qianqian also shook her head: “I couldn’t come up with anything worthwhile.”
Finally, Xiao Zhuyun didn’t give her own suggestion but asked earnestly, “Young Master Chen, have you thought of a plan? If so, why not share it so we can discuss it.”
Chen Ming lifted his teacup and sipped slowly, then said, “Actually, killing him isn’t hard—it’s how to avoid the aftermath that’s difficult. Miss Xiao, I trust you’re not reckless. Since we’re dealing with a seventh‑rank patrol envoy, I’m sure you have a plan for handling the aftermath?”
Both Zhang Mingyu and Huo Qianqian looked at Xiao Zhuyun.
They had previously been driven by a desire for revenge and thought things too simplistically, believing that as long as they exposed Sun Shicai's crime of murdering his master, their vengeance would be entirely justified.
Now, after hearing Chen Ming's words, they couldn't help but worry about the aftermath.
Xiao Zhuyun hesitated briefly but then spoke up. “For the past six months, I’ve been secretly investigating this man. I discovered that he has ties with pirates. With this, it should be enough for the Six Doors Authority to expel him.”
So that was it.
Chen Ming had figured she wasn’t a brainless woman.
She wouldn’t try to kill a patrol envoy of the Six Doors without any preparations.
Xiao Zhuyun continued, “However, if I report this, he’ll either be thrown into the Six Doors prison or go on the run. In either case, avenging my master and retrieving our sect’s relic will become much harder.”
Chen Ming, upon hearing this, grasped her intentions. “So, your plan is to either capture or kill him first, and then have someone report him to the Six Doors. At that point, they’ll just think he fled out of guilt and won’t investigate us.”
Xiao Zhuyun smiled. “Young Master, you are indeed clever—you guessed it right away.”
As she finished speaking, she saw his fingers lightly tapping the armrest of the chair as he fell into thought.
She was very patient and didn’t rush him, simply sitting quietly and waiting.
Even as the other two began to grow anxious, she remained calm and composed.
Finally, Chen Ming stopped tapping and looked up. “Miss, have you considered one thing—who is backing him?”
Xiao Zhuyun was slightly stunned. It was true; she hadn’t thought of that. She countered, “Why does Young Master think he has someone backing him?”
Hearing that, Chen Ming knew she didn’t understand the dynamics of officialdom. “There are many seventh‑rank martial artists in the Six Doors, but patrol envoy positions are limited. Not just anyone can take one. Sun Shicai is young, from an ordinary family, and his sect isn’t prestigious. Even if he has some merit, how did he become a seventh‑rank patrol envoy so quickly after his breakthrough?”
The Six Doors is far more cutthroat than noble families or sects.
The martial exam is held annually, which means a flood of newcomers every year. But the number of positions stays the same. To get promoted, you have to queue up.
According to Zhuang Xiaotian, without connections, it’s nearly impossible to become a seventh‑rank patrol envoy.
Many people spend decades just to get from seventh to sixth rank—and still fail.
Back then, he had wondered which divine being Sun Shicai had worshipped to land that patrol envoy position at such a young age.
Xiao Zhuyun’s expression turned solemn. “So Brother Chen is saying… someone might be protecting him?”
Chen Ming replied, “That’s one possibility. Best case scenario, his backer doesn’t care to protect him—then everyone’s happy. But we must plan for the worst.”
Xiao Zhuyun’s face changed slightly. With a tinge of fear, she said, “I was being naive. Thank you, Brother Chen, for the warning. Otherwise, if someone was truly protecting him to the death, I would’ve dragged everyone down with me.”
Unconsciously, she had started referring to him as Brother Chen.
“So, Brother Chen, what do you suggest we do?”
It was rare to meet someone who could accept advice and was humble about it.
Chen Ming’s impression of her greatly improved.
Working with someone like that was far less of a headache.
He said, “I think we should first test the waters and find out who’s backing him. Get someone unrelated to us to report him to the Six Doors. Ideally, choose someone who’s his enemy. Then we’ll see who steps in to protect him—and from that, we’ll know who’s behind him.”
Xiao Zhuyun agreed immediately. “That’s easy. I’ll handle it tomorrow.”
“There’s one more thing.”
“Please speak, Brother Chen,” Xiao Zhuyun said, now treating him with greater deference.
Chen Ming said, “I want to test your martial skills.”
“Ah?”
He explained, “Forgive my bluntness, but Sun Shicai fought his way up from the bottom. He’s not like those pampered noble sons with no combat experience. He’s a formidable enemy. I need to know what your skill level is—so when we fight together, we’ll have better coordination.”
“Alright.”
Seeing that his reasoning was sound, Xiao Zhuyun agreed immediately.