Chapter 174: Chapter 165: Celestial Extreme Sect

"Young master, young master—"

Inside the room, Feng Siyuan, who hadn’t slept all night, was sitting in front of the bed, holding a broken jade pendant in his hand, looking dejected. Suddenly, hearing the urgent voice of the housekeeper outside, he irritably reprimanded, "Early in the morning, rushing around like this, what does it look like?"

The housekeeper outside said anxiously, "It’s a message from the family head, it’s a red letter."

What?

Upon hearing it was a red letter, Feng Siyuan’s face slightly changed, and he immediately put away the jade pendant, got up to open the door.

At Guanglong Trading Company, letters are divided into several colors: ordinary letters are white, somewhat urgent ones are yellow, and red represents urgent matters that must be dealt with immediately.

Feng Siyuan didn’t dare to neglect, took the sealed letter from the housekeeper’s hand, and instead of opening it directly, went to find Old Huang.

Nominally, he is the person in charge of Guanglong Trading Company in Jiangzhou City. In reality, he has neither strength nor prestige, and all affairs depend on Old Huang.

He naturally had to show enough respect, this kind of letter must be opened in front of Old Huang.

Old Huang’s courtyard was not far away, and Feng Siyuan quickly arrived outside the courtyard door, "Old Huang, my father sent a red letter, and I need you to make the decision."

The door of the courtyard opened automatically.

He went in, inside, Old Huang was sitting alone on a chair, eating. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

He took out the unopened letter and said, "It’s this."

Old Huang said, "Open it."

Only then did Feng Siyuan open the letter, unfolded it, and his expression suddenly became somewhat unpleasant.

Old Huang glanced briefly and had already seen the contents of the letter. It was just one line, instructing Feng Siyuan not to get involved in the grievances between Qin Changyuan and Chen Ming.

The implication being, offending the most outstanding disciple of the Qin Family for the sake of one Chen Ming is not worthwhile.

He asked, "How does Third Young Master plan to handle this matter?"

Feng Siyuan angrily said, "My father is muddleheaded. He wants me to betray a friend? Not a chance. As long as I am still the person in charge in Jiangzhou City, I will never betray Brother Chen."

Old Huang looked at him unexpectedly and said, "Aren’t you afraid the old master will remove you from your position?"

Feng Siyuan said angrily, "If he removes me, so be it. What’s so precious about this ridiculous position? If Feng Siyuan would betray a friend for this, how could I still have a face in Jiangzhou?"

Old Huang was about to say something when the old housekeeper came to report again, "Young master, Mr. Chen has left with two maids."

"What?"

Feng Siyuan became anxious, jumped up, cursed, "Why didn’t you stop them?"

He hurriedly chased out.

...

Chen Ming’s carriage had already left the Feng Mansion gates. The driver was the one brought over from Qinghe City, with Chen Ming and the two maids sitting inside.

Dongxiang suggested, "Young master, in this Jiangzhou City, there are people who can rival Qin Changyuan. Aren’t you friends with Pan Dingqian from the Governor’s Mansion?"

"Forget it."

Chen Ming decided not to seek out Pan Dingqian. This past month, Zhou Weihao and Gu Yuantao came to him from time to time, along with people from the Xiaoshui Sect who also came twice. Even Jiang Yingxue sought him out.

But Pan Dingqian hadn’t come at all.

Though he didn’t know the reason, one thing was clear, he didn’t consider him a friend.

Besides, Chen Ming didn’t need anyone else to back him up, he was just worrying that no one was looking for trouble with him.

"Brother Chen—"

At this moment, Feng Siyuan’s voice came from behind, he leaned out and saw Feng Siyuan running out, so he told the driver to stop.

Feng Siyuan, panting heavily, reached the carriage angrily and said, "Why did you leave without saying goodbye?"

Chen Ming laughed, "Actually, I dislike farewell scenes the most. So I told them not to inform you. I left a letter for you."

"Are you afraid of dragging me down? Then you’ve underestimated me, Feng San. Others may fear the Qin Family, but I do not. Stay in my mansion peacefully..."

"Brother Feng!"

Chen Ming interrupted him, saying, "If you, Feng San, just care about your reputation, won’t you make me unjust?"

"I didn’t—"

"No need to say it. Trouble that I caused myself, how could I implicate my friends? If you still consider me a friend, say no more. When we return to Qingfeng City, we’ll drink together."

"Brother Chen—"

Feng Siyuan held his hand tightly, his voice choked with emotion, "Why must you endure this?"

...

...

Night, Celestial Fragrance Pavilion.

In a secluded small courtyard, a young man of remarkable presence was drinking sullenly, cup after cup, seemingly determined to drink himself into oblivion.

Opposite him, a pretty girl in green was playing the zither, her charming eyes occasionally casting glances at the man.

"The Ji Family is really going too far."

At the table, several young people were drinking with him when suddenly, one of them spoke indignantly.

"With Brother Han’s strength, he could have definitely been ranked on the Cyan Cloud Ranking. But the Ji Family schemed to have people obstruct him on his way, causing Brother Han to miss the Martial Arts Gathering. It’s truly hateful."

"This time, the Cyan Cloud Ranking was completely overshadowed by that guy named Chen. If Brother Han had participated, how could there be a place for that Chen guy?"

"Exactly..."

The group chimed in agreement.

Han Xiangcheng felt even more frustrated and drank even more fiercely.

This time, he was going to handle a matter for his senior brother, but encountered several groups of people blocking his way, all of whom were quite formidable, entangling him all along the journey, causing a significant delay.

And thus, he missed this session of the Cyan Cloud Ranking.

Han Xiangcheng was well aware that those who obstructed him must have been sent by the Ji Family.

Half a year ago, he had a conflict with a direct descendant of the Ji Family and, in a moment of anger, fought with him, defeating him in front of others, hence forming a grudge.

Afterward, his uncle punished him with months of confinement.

Little did he expect the Ji Family to bear a grudge, and during his outing, to set a trap for him.

Now at twenty-four years old, missing this chance meant he’d never make it to the Cyan Cloud Ranking again.

The Cyan Cloud Ranking could significantly raise their Celestial Extreme Sect’s reputation.

Currently, only three people were left in the Celestial Extreme Sect, and the most important thing for them was to rejuvenate the sect.

To rejuvenate the Celestial Extreme Sect, the first step was to enhance their fame.

In the last Cyan Cloud Ranking, his senior brother missed it due to age and cultivation reasons.

This time, he was determined to succeed, but who would have thought he’d be outmaneuvered by the Ji Family again.

The anger in Han Xiangcheng’s heart was imaginable, but the Ji Family’s influence was too overwhelming for their Celestial Extreme Sect to provoke. Filled with resentment and having nowhere to vent, he could only drink his sorrows away at the Celestial Fragrance Pavilion.

"Nowadays, that Chen guy is so glamorous, even the fairy-like Miss Mudan has been captivated by him."

Suddenly, one of them said, "Brother Han, why not just challenge that Chen? As long as you defeat him, you can take his place, ranking sixth on the Cyan Cloud Ranking. Who knows, you might even win Miss Mudan’s heart."

Hearing this, Han Xiangcheng paused in his drinking, obviously somewhat tempted.

Then he suddenly recalled his uncle’s warning: to secure the Cyan Cloud Ranking, the only chance is at the Martial Arts Gathering in the World’s First Pavilion. Once the ranking is set, those aristocratic families and sects won’t allow others to challenge their disciples.

Though Chen Ming had no notable family background, the Feng Family was not to be trifled with.

"Not wise. I’ve heard that Chen Ming’s swordsmanship is exceptionally advanced, even Jiang Shihua and Ji Qianxing were no match for him..."

"Hmph, those aristocratic disciples are just embroidered pillows. What about that Ji Family genius? Didn’t he also fall under Brother Han’s hand knife? I refuse to believe that Chen is a match for Brother Han."

"Chen Ming has good relations with the Feng Family of the Guanglong Trading Company and has been living there. I’m afraid Brother Han won’t even be able to enter the Feng Mansion."

"I heard that Chen Ming has already moved out of the Feng Mansion."

"When did this happen? How come I didn’t know?"

"Just today. Hehe, the Feng Family is in business, how could they offend the Qin Family over someone like Chen Ming?"

Upon hearing this, Han Xiangcheng slowly put down his bowl, a light flickering in his eyes, "Is this really true?"

"Of course, it’s true. I’ve already discovered his whereabouts. It’s right beside a small clinic in the east of the city. I can take you there now."

Bang!

Han Xiangcheng slapped his wine bowl onto the table and shouted, "Let’s go!"

And so, the group marched out of the Celestial Fragrance Pavilion grandly towards the east of the city.

...

Inside the Evergreen Hall, a lone lamp flickered like a bean on the table.

Elder Sun was explaining some questions on medical books to Chen Ming.

"Thank you, Elder Sun, for clearing my doubts. I won’t disturb your rest any longer."

After finishing his questions, Chen Ming stood up to take his leave.

Exiting the clinic, he went to a small courtyard behind it. After moving out of the Feng Mansion, he thought long and hard and decided to seek out this mysterious Elder Sun.

Yu Haitang valued this elder so highly, there must be a reason.

For now, this Elder Sun was cordial to him, and he might even save his life at a crucial moment.

Chen Ming had just returned to the courtyard when he heard a loud shout, "Does Chen Ming reside here? Han Xiangcheng of the Celestial Extreme Sect has come to challenge you."

Came so quickly!

He had just moved out from the Feng Family, and here comes a challenger. He would never believe there was nothing fishy about this.