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nNight fell.

nChen Yiming stood in the presidential suite on the 24th floor and pulled back the curtains to gaze upon the brightly lit city.

nUnlike the stronghold in the otherworld, which could only rely on the most primitive method of lighting its streets with torches, every street in the human cities on the blue planet was filled with street lamps. The lights could dispel the darkness and give people a sense of security.

nHis gaze swept across a square by the river. It was an open area made of concrete more than 100 meters wide. Searchlights were placed at each of its four corners, illuminating the square as brightly as if it was daytime.

nA long red banner was hung high above the square. On it was written, “East Lake Martial Arts Academy and Jiangdu Martial Arts Academy, Martial Arts Exchange.”

nA truck was parked at the side of the square. People in work clothes gathered at the back of the truck and quickly unloaded the items in it.

nAt the same time, various materials were being transferred to the square. A martial arts arena was being built quickly.

n…

n“Ding dong!”

nThe doorbell rang.

nChen Yiming opened the door. It was the beautiful lady who had received him. She was waiting at the door with a row of service staff carrying food trays.

n“My name is Huang Jialing. I’m your personal housekeeper during your stay,” the beautiful lady took the initiative to introduce herself.

nShe had changed into a smart black blazer with a white shirt underneath. Her long black hair was draped over her shoulders, and she had a crystal accessory in one ear. She was wearing a short skirt and flesh-colored stockings paired with red high heels.

n“Come in.”

nChen Yiming retracted his gaze and asked the service staff to bring his dinner into the room.

nSoon, dinner was served on the dining table in the room. There were a total of 11 dishes, and each of them was exquisitely made. Most of the ingredients were from rare mutant beasts.

nHuang Jialing stood to the side and waited. She stole a glance at Chen Yiming.

nSo handsome! So elegant!

nShe wanted to touch his arms and feel his muscles.

nNo! What was she thinking? She was still at work.

nHer heart could not help but beat faster. She could even hear the sound of her own heartbeat. This made her nervous, afraid that the other party would notice that she had lost her composure.

nChen Yiming glanced at his personal housekeeper.

nHe was a little dissatisfied. This was too unprofessional. Did she want to be a housekeeper or a bed partner? Did he seem like such a lustful person?

nHuang Jialing instantly held her breath. Her face turned red and her entire body stiffened.

nWhat should I do? I’ve been seen through!

nI’m doomed! Would he chase me out?

nI haven’t even spoken properly with him yet.

nAs the service staff left the room, Chen Yiming waved his hand. “You can leave first. I still have to cultivate.”

nHe thought to himself that being too outstanding was also a problem. These women were all like wolves hunting prey. He had to protect himself from them when he was outside.

nHuang Jialing’s expression turned awkward. She knew that her opportunity had been ruined.

nShe could only bow slightly and drag her stiff body out of the room.

nAfter closing the door, she punched her thigh. It hurt so much that she had to grit her teeth to prevent herself from shouting. She was angry at herself for being too clumsy. She was wearing heels so high that she could barely walk properly, but she did not manage to catch the right timing to fall into his arms.

nWhen faced with a beauty in his arms, the other party could not possibly remain indifferent, right? Unless he was not human.

nHuang Jialing was still sulking, but she had no reason to knock on the door again. She quickly went downstairs to look for her colleagues to come up with a new plan.

n…

nAfter eating his dinner, Chen Yiming went to the balcony and sat down cross-legged to cultivate.

nHe used the newly obtained half of the breathing technique to replace the space in the ring, allowing him to continue his daily spiritual cultivation.

nThe level of the female spirit was beyond his imagination. Even if he did not discover any abnormalities, he did not dare to enter the ring rashly, afraid that the other party might have used some special method to set up a trap.

nThe moonlight shining on the balcony was inexplicably drawn to Chen Yiming’s side. Soon, the outline of a silver wolf appeared.

nThe silver wolf seemed to have come alive. It raised its head high and howled at the moon above its head. Its voice was an illusion and not real.

nIn the sky, specks of moonlight gathered into a pillar of light that shot towards a balcony in the Jiangjing Hotel. This phenomenon attracted the attention of the entire Jiangdu City, and could be seen from afar.

nChen Yiming’s consciousness fused with the figure in his mind again. He leaped out of his body and stood above his head.

nWithout completing the transformation, one’s spiritual power would not be able to materialize. The human body was equivalent to a protective shell that protected one’s spiritual power.

nHis consciousness tried to separate from the figure in his mind for a short distance, wanting to verify the results from his recent tempering. However, a light breeze that could not even be felt by ordinary people felt like a destructive storm to him at this moment.

nThe part of his consciousness that had extended out from the figure in his mind was on the verge of being blown away by the storm. The enhancement from the Undying Body talent was equivalent to an improvement from a strip of paper to a rubber band.

nHe quickly retracted his consciousness back into the figure in his mind. It was already covered in wounds, as if it had been cut by countless knives.

n“It seems that I can rely on the Sword Aura to fight across realms partly because of the figure in my mind.”

nThe Sword Aura represented offensive power, and the protection of the figure in his mind represented defensive power. Both were indispensable.

nFor the octopus spirit he had encountered in Japan, which was at the level of a half-step away from the master realm, the unstable emotions represented corruption. If his consciousness was dealt a spiritual attack, it would similarly cause a lot of trouble for him.

nAt this moment, the energy from the moonlight that had gathered into a pillar baptized the figure in his mind through the figure of the silver wolf. His consciousness was also bathed in this energy.

nChen Yiming skipped over the step of using a body part as an anchor. In other words, the figure in his mind was what he used as an anchor.

nThe energy from nature was violent compared to spiritual power. Even though the energy from the moonlight was relatively gentle, and the figure in his mind was like a net that filtered this energy, it still made his consciousness feel abnormally uncomfortable. However, in the midst of pain and torture, he was inching closer to the transformation of his spiritual power.

n…

nAs time passed, the pillar of light gradually expanded in width from the size of a fist to more than a meter, completely enveloping Chen Yiming.

nThe street where the Jiangjing Hotel was located was filled with countless pedestrians.

n“What’s that?”

n“Someone must be using a high-powered searchlight to mess around.”

n“How is that possible? I can still feel an invisible pressure even though it is so far away.”

n“I think it’s just your imagination. You’re thinking too much.”

nVery few people knew what the pillar of light represented, but it did not stop them from watching curiously. From time to time, someone would point at the sky and discuss it.

nAt the front desk of the Jiangjing Hotel, a few pretty ladies were chatting excitedly. When they saw a crowd gathering on the street, they couldn’t help but run out to take a look before returning to their stations.

n“Tell us the truth.”

nHuang Jialing was surrounded by a few ladies and was not allowed to leave until she explained herself.

n“How should I know? I wasn’t even able to say much before I was chased out.”

nHuang Jialing protected her clothes with her hands to prevent them from being messed up.

n“You must know something. What’s there to hide? We’re not going to fight you for it,” a young lady with curly hair said in disbelief.

n“Tell us! Tell us! Otherwise, how can we help you come up with Plan B?” another girl tugged at Huang Jialing’s clothes and urged her.

n“Stop pulling. What if it breaks? I’ll tell you…”

nHuang Jialing raised her hands in surrender, begging for mercy.

nWhen the ladies heard that the man said he was going to cultivate and chased Huang Jialing out, they all exclaimed in surprise.

nIt turned out that it was a phenomenon caused by his cultivation. Although no one could understand it, they felt that it was very impressive. After all, that man had a status similar to a legend in Jiangnan province.

n“Then you…”

nThe girl with the curly hair hesitated and did not finish her sentence.

nThe ladies at the side also looked at her pityingly.

nHuang Jialing understood what they meant. She had an unhappy expression on her face. What if that man cultivated all night? After missing this opportunity, there might not be a second chance.

n…

nAn hour later, the cultivation of spiritual power ended.

nCompared to his first spiritual cultivation, the duration was greatly reduced.

nThis was due to his spiritual power gradually getting used to being exposed to the energy from nature. If he wanted to continue to obtain the tempering effect, he needed to slowly expose himself directly to the natural energy.

nChen Yiming stood up and prepared to carry out his daily sword training. Suddenly, he saw two familiar figures practicing their swordsmanship in the park by the river.

nIt was Shen Mengwei and her thick-skinned friend.

nUnder the illumination of the street lamps, the sword in Shen Mengwei’s hand was covered in a layer of darkness. Chen Yiming’s senses were extremely sharp, and he could sense the energy flowing on the surface of the sword even from a distance.

n“Uh… the speed of breaking through to the warrior realm is quite fast.”

nChen Yiming nodded, feeling gratified by his wise judgment.

nThere were three stages in the warrior realm. Especially for the first stage, which involved drawing concept diagrams, the speed of breaking through depended largely on one’s talent in spiritual power.

nFor Shen Mengwei to be able to complete her breakthrough in a short period of time after obtaining the cultivation technique, it was obvious that her physical and spiritual talent were both excellent. However, it remained to be seen how far she could go.

n“She also seems to have obtained guaranteed admission to the Shanghai Martial Arts Academy?”

nChen Yiming suddenly realized this problem. If he didn’t take her away, she might join another faction after some time.

nWith his status… it wouldn’t be good for him to snatch her away later, right?

nThinking of this, he no longer cared about his daily sword cultivation. He opened the door and was about to go down to discuss with Shen Mengwei about letting her join the Myriad Phenomena Sect.

n“Brother, are you done cultivating?”

nOutside the door, Chen Yingying had an excited expression on her face. She had been waiting for a long time.

n“What are you doing here?” Chen Yiming stopped in his tracks and asked.

n“That pillar of light just now…”

nBefore she could finish speaking, Chen Yiming interrupted her and continued walking.

nIt was fine if the passers-by were curious, but his sister was also joining in the fun.

n“Brother, where are you going? Wait for me.”

nChen Yingying chased after him.

nThe two of them took the elevator to the first floor. In order not to attract attention, Chen Yiming spread out his illusion-based internal force.

nThen, he walked out of the hotel lobby openly. In the eyes of the receptionists, the two people walking past were people they did not recognize at all. They only took a glance before turning back to continue their discussion.

nThe ladies didn’t realize that the entire Jiangjing Hotel had been booked. They had met Chen Yiming and the others when they checked in. It wasn’t normal for unfamiliar faces to appear at this time.

n…

nIn the park by the river, Chen Yiming brought his sister along to find Shen Mengwei and her thick-skinned friend. They introduced themselves to each other and he found out that the thick-skinned girl was called Song Shanshan.

nThe three girls started chatting, and Chen Yiming stood to the side.

n“Yingying, you’re his sister. You must be very powerful too,” Song Shanshan had a surprised expression as she asked in a low voice.

nChen Yingying looked embarrassed and explained, “No, compared to my brother, I’m way too far off. I’m still studying in the martial arts academy.”

nUnexpectedly, Shen Mengwei and Song Shanshan’s eyes were filled with envy, especially Song Shanshan’s.

nThe college entrance examination this year had already undergone many changes. If she did not improve her martial arts scores, she might even fail the entrance exams for ordinary universities, not to mention those for the martial arts academy.

nThis was no laughing matter. If she did not go to university, it would be difficult to find an office job. A little girl could not possibly do jobs that involved manual labor, right?

n“Martial arts academy…”

nSong Shanshan grabbed Chen Yingying’s hand and continued to ask about the academy. She talked non-stop about everything from her daily routine to her classes.

n“Are you all third-year students?” Chen Yingying asked after she finished talking about her life in the martial arts academy.

n“Yes.”

nShen Mengwei and Song Shanshan nodded.

n“I heard that the third year of high school is very tough but also full of unforgettable memories. It is a precious period. Unfortunately, I didn’t even have a chance to go to high school and directly skipped a grade from middle school to enter the martial arts academy.”

nChen Yingying had a look of regret on her face. None of her classmates in the martial arts academy were of the same age as her. There were even some who were five or six years older. Actually, she would have wanted to stay with her former middle school classmates.

nHowever, due to their lack of talent and the fact that all of her time was spent on practicing martial arts, even if she had some free time occasionally, they had not seen each other for a long time and had already drifted apart. They could not get along well any more.

n“You’re amazing. Mengmeng was also guaranteed admission to the Shanghai Martial Arts Academy, but she’s already in her third year of high school. She’s a few years older than you,” Song Shanshan said excitedly. She had decided to make another close friend. Even if she could not make it herself, she could still rely on her friends to help her in the future.

nShen Mengwei also said happily, “We can interact more in the future. I mean, we can ask you for guidance.”

nChen Yiming was standing not far away and couldn’t take it any longer.

nChen Yingying’s situation and Shen Mengwei’s situation could not be compared at all. In reality, his sister was just someone who had gotten in based on her connections, and was far inferior to a true martial arts genius.

n“Cough, cough!”

nHe hurried over and coughed, interrupting their conversation.

n“I didn’t get the chance to thank you.”

nShen Mengwei suddenly remembered that they had only been chatting after getting to know each other and had forgotten what they had prepared to say.

n“It’s alright,” Chen Yiming said calmly.

nAs soon as he finished speaking, he continued, “I’m actually from the Myriad Phenomena Sect. Shen Mengwei, you’re quite talented. I can provide a recommendation for you, so do consider joining the Myriad Phenomena Sect to continue your studies.”

n“The Myriad Phenomena Sect?” Shen Mengwei asked doubtfully. Clearly, she did not know much about it.

n“Ha!”

nSong Shanshan jumped up in excitement. “That’s the number one martial arts faction in Jiangnan province, Mengmeng. The Myriad Phenomena Sect is much stronger than the Shanghai Martial Arts Academy.”

nChen Yiming was almost dumbfounded. Fortunately, Shen Mengwei had a good friend who knew the situation. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have known how to convince her.

nHe had a status comparable to a country’s guardian. Only others would beg him for a favor, not the other way round.

n“But I promised Teacher Zhang from the Shanghai Martial Arts Academy…”

nShen Mengwei hesitated for a moment before saying.

nThis time, before Chen Yiming stepped in, Song Shanshan hurriedly said, “Isn’t it just an invitation to the assessment? Just reject it. Compared to the Myriad Phenomena Sect, the Shanghai Martial Arts Academy is a third-rate martial arts faction. Don’t be stupid.”

nOf course, Shen Mengwei was not really stupid. It was just that she rarely paid attention to these things and focused on her own cultivation.

nSeeing this, Chen Yiming helped her make up her mind. “The cultivation technique you used to break through to the warrior realm is from the Mantis Snake Court of the Myriad Phenomena Sect. If you enter the Shanghai Martial Arts Academy, you need to switch to the academy’s cultivation technique.

nThe Myriad Phenomena Sect has a complete cultivation technique at the third stage of the warrior realm, and even one that leads straight to the master realm. The Shanghai Martial Arts Academy doesn’t have such a thing.”

nSong Shanshan also tried to persuade her friend not to be foolish.

nIn the end, Shen Mengwei promised Chen Yiming that she would join the Myriad Phenomena Sect.

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