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nAt the entrance of the stronghold, looking at the distant horizon, a black dot gradually became larger, and dust filled the air along the way.

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nChen Yiming held a transparent energy thread in his hand and dragged the severely injured strange bird back to the stronghold.

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nMost of the strange bird’s neck bones were dislocated. From time to time, it would touch the uneven ground. There was a cracking sound, followed by continuous cries.

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nChen Yiming wasn’t a medical expert, so he didn’t know how to fix its neck. Before returning to the stronghold, he could only get the strange bird to endure it.

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nCreatures at the level of the strange bird had very strong vitality. If he did not deliberately kill it, it would not be a problem.

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nThe people staying at the stronghold had already been alerted to the battle a few kilometers away.

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nOn the roofs, on the streets, and in midair, martial arts experts of different levels gathered in groups of two or three, watching to see what would happen.

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n“He’s back! He’s back!”

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n“It looks like a corpse. The strange bird must have been killed.”

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n“Wait, why is there a wailing sound? The corpse seems to be moving!”

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nWhen they were a kilometer away, the fact that the strange bird was still alive was revealed, and it quickly caused a commotion.

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n“It was captured alive!”

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n“Oh my god, it’s too big! I thought it was a giant bird that was 10 to 20 meters long.”

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n“How wild. I’m willing to admit you are the strongest!”

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nCountless cries of surprise, praise, and praise rang out.

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nThe strange bird with a huge body was being dragged around by a human, and it was still alive. This shocked the entire stronghold.

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nThe difficulty of killing an otherworld creature compared to capturing one alive was on completely different levels. Almost no one had seen such a situation before.

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nIn front of a shop selling martial arts equipment, a one-armed old man nimbly locked the door with his remaining hand. He grabbed the arm of an 18-year-old girl beside him and leaped onto the rooftop.

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nLooking at the huge creature that was being dragged along, the old man couldn’t help but cry. He sobbed and said, “We were in a similar situation back then, but the outcome was completely different. Xiaochun… if only we were still young now, how good would it be!”

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nThe girl quickly took out a tissue and handed it over. “Grandpa, you are missing Grandma again.”

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nThe old man took a while to calm down and wiped his tears with a tissue. “It’s alright. That’s all in the past. We have to look forward.”

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nThe girl asked curiously, “Grandpa, you haven’t told me much about Grandma.”

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nThe old man shook his head helplessly. “They are all sad memories. There’s nothing much to say.”

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nWith that, he pointed ahead. “Do you see that huge creature? In the past, the team your grandmother and I were in was targeted by a giant bird.”

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nThe girl did not ask further. The outcome was obvious.

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nThe corners of the old man’s eyes, which had just been wiped dry, suddenly welled up with tears again. He sighed and said, “Your generation is really born in a good era! It probably won’t be long before this stronghold becomes a real city.

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nOn the other hand, your grandmother and I took the risk to enter the space-travel passage in order to make a further breakthrough. We had no way out and could die at any time.”

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nAfter hearing the old man’s words, the girl’s mood fell.

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nShe roughly imagined that scene in her mind. The weak humans were like small insects on the ground, and the giant birds could toy with them however they wanted.

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n…

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nAt the training ground in the military camp, Chen Yiming threw the strange bird on the ground. Soldiers stood guard around it and stopped the onlookers from getting too close.

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nChen Yingying walked around the strange bird and said, “Brother, didn’t you say that it was alive? Why isn’t it breathing through its nostrils? Did it die when you weren’t paying attention?”

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nChen Yiming rolled his eyes and thought to himself, “That’s because I’m here. Otherwise, you would have dissolved once the strange bird sneezed.”

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nHe explained, “I taught the strange bird a lesson. Look at its two heads. One can spit poison, and the other can spit lightning. Its abilities are quite good. I want to see if I can raise it as a pet.”

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nChen Yingying’s eyes widened and she took a few steps back. “Poison? Isn’t it better not to keep it?”

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nChen Yiming nodded and said, “You don’t like it? Then we can roast it for food. The stronger the creature, the better the quality of the meat.”

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nHe looked at the strange bird and imagined what it would look like after it was roasted. He could not help but feel a little hungry. He thought that he should be able to finish all of it if he transformed into a giant.

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nThe strange bird suddenly felt that things were about to take a turn for the worse, and its entire body trembled uncontrollably.

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nChen Yingying pointed at the strange bird and shouted, “It moved! It moved! It’s really still alive.”

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n“Then I’ll kill it. Let’s make it a roast bird tonight.”

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nChen Yiming informed his sister and used his spiritual power to restrain the strange bird.

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nThe strange bird’s premonition came true and it immediately wanted to struggle. However, every part of its body was controlled by a strong force and it could not move at all. Tears flowed from the corners of its eyes.

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nWas its life going to end just like that? It really regretted its actions!

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nChen Yingying suddenly changed her mind and said, “Forget it. It’s a waste to eat it. It should be handed over to a research institute to maximize its value.”

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n“That works too. There are people in the otherworld who are stronger than this guy. We can find more for food.”

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nChen Yiming agreed and released his control over the strange bird. At the same time, his spiritual power turned into two sledgehammers and struck at the two heads of the strange bird.

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nThis time, the strange bird could not struggle even after it was released from its restraints and fainted on the spot. It had received spiritual damage and could not even control its body.

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n…

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nNot long after, his sister’s archery teacher, Wu Youjia, came over with an old professor.

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nHe was dressed in simple clothes and some of his hair was white. However, his footsteps were steady and he did not seem to be faltering at all.

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n“Sir, this is Professor Li. He happened to be sent to the stronghold and is the most powerful expert from the Heavenly Shadow Research Institute in the capital,” Wu Youjia introduced.

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n“Is he in the field of biological research? Is he a professional? I’m looking for an expert beast tamer,” Chen Yiming asked.

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n“Beast taming is a branch of biological research. It happens to be within the scope of my research. Don’t worry and leave it to me. I won’t disappoint you,” Professor Li said confidently.

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nChen Yiming nodded. “Then let’s give it a try.”

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nWhen Professor Li heard this, he smiled. “Please do me a small favor. Control this big fellow. We have to inject it with a drug to suppress its internal force activity.”

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nChen Yiming replied, “I just gave it a strong blow with my spiritual power. It won’t wake up for at least half a day.”

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nSoon, under Professor Li’s command, a team of soldiers carried a special syringe over.

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nThe tube was one meter in diameter and two meters long. It was filled with a purple liquid, and the needle as thick as a fist. It shone with a metallic luster and looked very different from normal syringes.

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nChen Yingying moved closer to Chen Yiming and whispered, “Brother, will the strange bird die if such a large amount of liquid enters its body?”

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nShe had been afraid of injections since she was young. When she saw the needle that was as thick as a fist, her entire body felt uncomfortable.

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nChen Yiming raised an eyebrow and said in a low voice, “How would I know? Since Professor Li gave the order to do this, it shouldn’t be a problem.”

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nAt the same time, he was a little worried. The strange bird had suffered heavy injuries both physically and mentally, and its condition was definitely not good.

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nIf it died in an accident, after being injected with such a large tube of purple liquid, it would not be suitable for eating anymore. It could only be given to the relevant research institutes for dissection.

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nJust as Chen Yiming was feeling conflicted, Professor Li walked to the neck of the strange bird and used his hand to push away the feathers on it to find the location of the large veins.

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nThe soldiers carrying the huge syringe walked over and stabbed the needle into the large vein.

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nThe strange bird did not move at all, and the soldiers heaved a sigh of relief. The last person started to pour the liquid into the tube and inject it into the bloodstream.

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nDuring the injection, Chen Yingying hid behind Chen Yiming, not daring to look at it.

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nSeeing this, Chen Yiming found it funny. He realized that this was another great way to deal with Chen Yingying.

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nThe injection only ended about five minutes later.

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nAfter that, the strange bird was tied up securely by nearly 100 soldiers. Due to the rules of the otherworld, it could only be dragged away by hand.

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n…

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nOpposite the exit of the space-travel passage, at the Myriad Phenomena Restaurant,

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nin one of the private rooms, the table was filled with white wine. A few martial artists were drinking and chatting.

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n“At that time, I saw a giant fighting a giant bird from afar. The giant bird swooped down from the sky, but I didn’t expect it to be controlled by a huge hand. It was a little like how we catch chickens before we kill them.”

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n“Tsk! Stop making things up. How can a human become a giant? Although I haven’t studied much, I still have some common sense.”

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n“You don’t believe me? I really saw it with my own eyes. I happened to be passing by at that time.”

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n“Alright, alright. Let’s drink. The martial arts factions that just arrived at the stronghold should be preparing to set off. After this round, we’ll go into battle together.”

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n“Cheers!”

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n“Take it easy. You’ll cause trouble if you drink too much.”

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n“He’s not an ordinary person. Isn’t alcohol easy to deal with?”

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nAs for the topic of the giant and the giant bird that they had just talked about, no one cared too much. They treated it as if that person had drunk too much and was just exaggerating.

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nAfter a few more mouthfuls of wine, even the person who had witnessed the incident forgot about it and focused on drinking.

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n…

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nOutside the stronghold, there were nearly 10,000 people organized into dozens of teams.

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nMany martial arts factions joined forces with a portion of the independent martial artists and prepared to set off for the rocky plains.

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nA teacher from the martial arts academy warned the students in front of him, “Pay attention. I’ll emphasize again that you must follow the instructions. You are not allowed to leave the team and act on your own.”

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nThe students shouted in unison, “Got it.”

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nNext, the teacher from the martial arts academy started to call out the names on the list to confirm if all the students were present.

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nAfter the roll call ended, a student asked, “Teacher Hong, what level was that huge creature from before?”

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nThe teacher glared at him and said angrily, “Why are you asking this? That realm is too far away from you. It might not be a good thing to know about it.”

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nThe students were clearly very interested in this. Another student asked, “Teacher Hong, can you tell us about it? Otherwise, I’ll feel uncomfortable.”

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nThe teacher shrugged helplessly and said, “If I really knew, would I have stayed in the martial arts academy to teach you? I can only roughly judge that it’s at least a powerful creature equivalent to the third stage of the warrior realm.”

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nTeacher Hong had just replied to a question when another student asked, “How can we cultivate to that level? Teacher, tell us about the situation at the third stage of the warrior realm.”

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n…

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nAt night, the stronghold was brightly lit and filled with people.

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nDuring the day, Chen Yiming had dragged the huge strange bird back, causing a huge impact.

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nThe effect was equivalent to a form of stimulation. It was like a friend telling you that a bull market had arrived, and the hundreds of thousands of yuan he had invested had become a few million yuan overnight.

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nOr a friend telling you about a profitable business and inviting you to invest money into it.

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nAt the shooting range in the military camp,

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nbecause the torch had not been lit, it was relatively dim compared to most of the other places in the stronghold.

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nHer sister’s martial arts teacher, Zhao Meijing, had asked Chen Yiming out to discuss something.

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n“Teacher Zhao, I’ve been a little busy recently, so I didn’t have the time to pay attention to the situation in the military camp,” Chen Yiming apologized.

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nOn the way to the otherworld, he had impulsively taken advantage of Zhao Meijing. Later, when he encountered the matter with the evil organization, he had forgotten about her. No matter how he tried to defend himself, it was all his fault.

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n“It’s alright. I understand. National affairs are important,” Zhao Meijing replied with a nod.

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nChen Yiming heaved a sigh of relief. Those who knew about this incident were all higher-ups in the government. They probably wouldn’t spread the news. Otherwise, he would have been screwed over long ago.

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nThinking of this, he asked, “How is Teacher Zhao’s cultivation going? Are you adapting to the environment in the otherworld?”

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nZhao Meijing smiled and said, “I was just about to tell you the good news. After practicing the technique you left behind at the East Lake Martial Arts Academy, I broke through to the warrior realm last night.”

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nChen Yiming gave her a thumbs up and said, “Congratulations, Teacher Zhao, for breaking through to the warrior realm! Why didn’t you mention this during the day?”

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nAs soon as he said this, he realized that he had said something wrong. Was there a need to ask when Zhao Meijing was looking for him alone? Her intentions were obvious.

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nZhao Meijing blushed and hesitated for a moment before continuing, “Internal force is a completely unfamiliar field to me. I want to practice it once. Help me see if there’s anything that needs to be corrected.”

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nChen Yiming nodded and smiled. “No problem.”

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nWhen Zhao Meijing received an affirmative reply, she could not hide the smile on her face. She walked two meters away and pulled out her sword from its sheath. She used the internal force that had just been born in her body to practice the Mantis Snake Sword Technique.

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nUnder the cover of the black fog internal force, the longsword in her hand was like a venomous snake that had appeared from the darkness. It came and went without a trace, and from time to time, it would pierce through the air, fully displaying the advantage of this sword technique.

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nAfter finishing the full sword technique, Chen Yiming praised, “Teacher Zhao, your swordsmanship has a solid foundation. Other than the fact that your control of internal force isn’t smooth enough, there aren’t any other problems.”

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nZhao Meijing nodded and asked in a voice as soft as a mosquito, “Can you teach me?”

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nChen Yiming was taken aback. What was there to teach? It wasn’t like practicing sword moves in the disciple realm. In the next moment, he understood what Zhao Meijing meant.

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nHe did not want Teacher Zhao to be sad, so he walked close to her and held her left hand in one hand and her sword-wielding hand in the other.

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nThen, he let Zhao Meijing step on his feet. Finally, he used his spiritual power to control Zhao Meijing’s internal force.

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nWith his current spiritual power, he could easily mobilize the power of nature. Even if the internal force was not his own, it was at most equivalent to a simplified version of the power of nature. It was easy for him to control.

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nJust like that, Chen Yiming taught Zhao Meijing how to use her internal force step by step.

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nDuring the process, it was inevitable that there would be some contact between the sensitive areas of both sides, but neither of them paid attention to it. This was because in martial arts, this was just like a male doctor treating a female patient.

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n…

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nThe night was enchanting. Most of the soldiers in the camp had been transferred to the rocky plains.

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nThings like the night practice, the night archery training and so on were all temporarily put on hold. The shooting range was quiet, and only the sound of rushing wind could be heard from time to time.

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nAfter being taught by Chen Yiming, Zhao Meijing felt that she had gained a lot. She wanted to strike while the iron was hot, so she suggested that they continue.

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nChen Yiming had been teased to the point where his blood was pumping around fiercely. He wanted to reject her, but he couldn’t bring himself to do so. He could only agree to Teacher Zhao’s request and continue teaching her swordsmanship.

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nThe sound of the sword piercing through the air had changed at some point… With a low growl, Chen Yiming’s blood calmed down and he carried the air of a sage.

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