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n“This guy is just too poor,” Chen Yiming sighed.

nThe loot that he found on Tang Zhenfeng’s body was

ntens of thousands of yuan in cash, some rations, a bottle of water, and a small porcelain bottle.

nIt was understandable that he didn’t have much cash on him. After all, he just needed some small change to use. However, although this person was a martial arts expert who had undergone five transformations, other than a bunch of pills in the porcelain bottle that he did not recognize, there was nothing that seemed valuable.

nChen Yiming looked at the large sword on the ground and seemed to have understood something

nTang Zhenfeng had been injured in front of everyone, but no one other than him was interested in this person.

nAfter completing his search, he dragged the corpse to a courtyard.

nThe windows and doors of the house were broken, and it was clear that no one had lived there for a long time.

nChen Yiming chose a spot filled with soil that was used for growing flowers. Using the large sword, he quickly dug a huge hole in the ground.

nAfter burying the corpse, he turned back the way he came and covered the bloodstains along the way with mud.

nThis way, as long as no one sent out professional detectives to investigate, it would be a long time before it was discovered that this person had gone missing.

nChen Yiming checked carefully to see if he had missed anything. He then found a piece of cloth to wrap up the large sword. Instead of returning to where Zheng Qiming was to join in the commotion, he went straight home.

nThe next morning, at the eastern branch of the Mantis Snake Sword School, a group of trainees gathered together and discussed the hot news from the night before.

n“Last night, Zheng Qiming from the Zheng clan fought more than ten experts all by himself. He killed them all and no one else dared to attack him. I heard that blood was everywhere.”

n“Why do you think so many people were trying to get involved? In my opinion, it’s completely a trap the Zheng clan made on purpose to let Zheng Qiming have a chance to experience actual combat.”

n“If you ask me, the Li clan is in a really sorry state. The sword manual passed down in their clan is gone just like that. The clan might even fall into decline.”

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n“I think there must be a conspiracy here. Otherwise, how could all these coincidences occur together? Once something happened to the Li clan, they immediately turned to the Zheng clan for protection.” Chen Yiming practiced his swordsmanship alone in the corner. He split his attention between the two tasks and eavesdropped on the conversations to gather information from the other trainees.

nFrom their discussions, Zhang Qiming had successfully broken through the attackers and returned to the Zheng clan unscathed the previous night. This was likely to be true.

nThe other information might not be true. There might be some discrepancies as the rumors spread, and they could not be trusted completely.

nNear the time of the morning cultivation class, Zhang Youde entered and immediately approached Chen Yiming.

n“Junior Brother Chen, when did you leave last night? I wanted to find a place to hold a celebration with you,” Zhang Youde called out.

n“I thought it was rather pointless, so I left,” Chen Yiming replied.

nHe did not reveal any details about his departure to prevent himself from saying anything wrong. “That’s true. Their level is still far from us. I couldn’t make out much even after watching for a long time,” Zhang Youde said with a smile. “But Zheng Qiming is really amazing. He defeated all his opponents in just a few moves.”

n“Has the matter regarding the shops been settled?” Chen Yiming asked.

nHe changed the topic.

n“There’s no problem. I couldn’t find you last night, so I went straight back to the manor to settle the matter. My uncle has undergone six transformations after all, and is on the same level as before the Li clan before the incident. They wouldn’t dare to go back on their word,” Zhang Youde replied.

nChen Yiming understood immediately.

nPreviously, he had said that others would give face to a genius student like him and the second generation of the Zhang clan, but that was only an excuse. The main reason was because they were giving face to an expert who had undergone six transformations from the Zhang clan. “I see. How should we deal with the three shops in the future?” Chen Yiming asked.

n“I plan to set up a company directly and put the shops under the company’s name. What do you think?” Zhang Youde asked.

n“I have no objections.” Chen Yiming nodded.

n“Then it’s settled. If we continue to work together in the future, we can just use that company’s name,” Zhang Youde added. As the two of them became partners, the small conflict between them due to Hu Shixin would naturally fade away.

nChen Yiming also had to slowly step out of the school and make more friends in the martial arts world.

nZhang Youde had the same thought.

nDuring lunch break, Wang Bowen brought Chen Yiming to the library at the Mantis Snake Sword School headquarters. The library was located on the third floor of the headquarters. The small room was the only one that was guarded. Only core disciples could enter and access the information stored there.

nInside the library was a large number of notes left behind by the seniors from the martial arts school. It was the Mantis Snake Sword School’s most precious treasure.

nWang Bowen explained the rules of the library to Chen Yiming.

n“You can enter the library four times every month, for up to three hours per visit,” Wang Bowen explained.

n“There’s actually a time limit?” Chen Yiming was shocked.

n“It’s mainly to prevent disciples from relying too much on their predecessors’ experience, so it was deliberately set up,” Wang Bowen explained. “After all, there’s no path that’s completely the same in martial arts. If you try to solve all the problems you encounter by reading these notes, what can you do if you encounter problems that even your seniors did not experience?”

n“I understand,” Chen Yiming replied.

nIn terms of martial arts, others’ experience could only be used as a reference. It was mainly up to oneself.

nAfter the two entered the headquarters, they went straight to the library.

n“Granny Wei, he’s a core disciple candidate, Chen Yiming,” Wang Bowen introduced. “Got it. Go on in,” Granny Wei said as she glanced at Chen Yiming.

nThis was Chen Yiming’s first time here, so he followed Wang Bowen and didn’t dare to speak carelessly.

nAfter the two of them signed in, they entered the library.

nThe library was divided into two rooms on the left and right. On the left were the notes left behind by the seniors of the school and some miscellaneous information. On the right was the collection of martial arts techniques.

nWang Bowen led Chen Yiming into the room on the left.

nThere was only a female disciple reading through the information inside, and she ignored the two who had entered.

n“The books in this room can be used freely. If you have time, you can come over and read through the information to supplement your knowledge of martial arts,” Wang Bowen said softly. Chen Yiming nodded.

nNext, Wang Bowen brought Chen Yiming to the room on the right.

nWang Bowen pointed at the bookshelf and said with a smile, “Martial arts cultivation techniques are different from the books over there. On the bookshelf are only the introduction to the cultivation techniques. One needs to pay to read the actual books on the techniques.”

nHearing this, Chen Yiming tried to flip through a few thin booklets.

nSure enough, there was only some basic information about the cultivation techniques recorded on them.

n“The price isn’t too high. This is just to prevent disciples from biting off more than they can chew. Typically, one would reach their limit after learning one to two additional cultivation techniques,” Wang Bowen continued.

n“I’ve taken note of all this, Senior Brother,” Chen Yiming said with a nod.

n“If you’re interested, take a look first. I’ll wait for you outside,” said Wang Bowen with a smile.

nAfter Wang Bowen left, Chen Yiming’s eyes lit up as he stared at the various martial arts techniques on the bookshelf.

nIn order to let the trainees concentrate on practicing the Mantis Snake Sword Technique, the school established a good foundation for the first three transformations. Students who were not core disciples were not allowed to enter the library.

nEven though Wang Bowen and Chen Yiming had gotten close, he had never told him about this.

nThe Water-drop Sword Technique cost 10 million yuan. Thunder Movement Technique, 7 million yuan.

nRed Sun Saber Technique, 9 million yuan.

nCloud-Treading Technique, 12 million yuan.

n“This is too expensive,” Chen Yiming lamented in his heart.

nThis wasn’t a high price for core disciples of the school who had undergone at least three transformations. However, right now, Chen Yiming couldn’t afford it.

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