I bear witness to immortality in the human world.

Chapter 151 Reaction
"came back."

Xu Hao looked at the familiar streets and sighed.

His face showed signs of hardship and bore a scar. Compared to before, he had a more profound demeanor, and his blood energy had become more robust, indicating that he had entered the third stage of blood coagulation!
After venturing out of the city for a long time, fighting and battling with many demons, and experiencing life and death twice, he finally reached the third level of blood condensation. He was able to establish his own residence in the city and could be considered a figure of some importance.

soon.

He returned to the headquarters of the Seven Martial Alliance.

Upon arriving here, they encountered Zhang He, the manager of the Green Snake Hall, who was walking out of the main hall.

"Manager Zhang."

"It's Brother Xu..."

Zhang He, who was wearing a bitter face, saw Xu Hao walk in and sensed the blood energy in Xu Hao's body after his breakthrough. He said, "Congratulations, Brother Xu, on taking this step. From now on, you will be like a dragon emerging from the abyss."

Xu Hao shook his head and said, "My meager skills are nothing compared to what a hidden dragon I am."

Although he broke through to the third stage of blood condensation, it was considered relatively late among the younger generation. Moreover, there was another person in his in-laws, Wu Ming, who entered the martial arts path even later, but achieved the third stage of blood condensation earlier than him and became a disciple of Liu Muyuan, the head of the Cautious Punishment Division.

With Wu Ming as an example, he naturally wouldn't be complacent about his achievements.

"I remember that Brother Xu and Lord Wu of the Censorate are related by marriage. Brother Xu may not know this, but Lord Wu has already cultivated his primordial spirit cultivation to the fourth level, comparable to a fourth-level expert... Now that Brother Xu has entered the third level, and with Lord Wu's guidance, his future is bright."

As Zhang He spoke, a hint of a sigh appeared in his eyes.

Just now, he was summoned by the hall master and severely scolded for his poor judgment in choosing people. Wu Ming, such a peerless genius, wanted to join the Seven Martial Alliance, but he was placed in the outer hall and then recruited by the Cautious Punishment Division.

However, he was also very aggrieved. After all, the truth was now out. Wu Ming's true talent was the Daoist lineage of the Primordial Spirit. His martial arts were able to rise steadily, mostly because of his talent in Daoist arts. But he knew nothing about Daoist arts. How could he have seen that Wu Ming had the talent in Daoist arts when Wu Ming joined the Seven Martial Alliance and then brought Wu Ming into the Green Snake Hall?
of course,

Wu Ming's martial arts talent was indeed just enough to get him into the inner hall, leaving him somewhere between accepting and not accepting. At the time, he made a mistake, causing the Green Snake Hall to miss out on such a prodigy... No, not just the Green Snake Hall, but the entire Seven Martial Alliance. With the talent Wu Ming has shown so far, it's almost certain that he will become a figure like Liu Muyuan or Yan Yuntian and take charge of a department in the future.

If Wu Ming had entered the inner hall of the Seven Martial Alliance back then, he would surely have become a pillar of the Seven Martial Alliance in the future, further developing and expanding the Seven Martial Alliance, and might even have expanded beyond Jingye City to become a larger force spanning multiple regions.

"Four Refinements of the Primordial Spirit? Daoist Techniques?"

Xu Hao was slightly taken aback by Zhang He's words.

He knew that Wu Ming was exceptionally talented. He might not have shown much talent in the early stages, but when Wu Ming achieved mastery of skills during his second blood coagulation, he had already shown his potential. Later, he stepped into the third blood coagulation stage before him and fully revealed his talent. After being taken in as a disciple by Liu Muyuan, he was undoubtedly among the top geniuses in Jingye City.

He wasn't too shocked to hear about Wu Ming's achievements, but when he learned that Wu Ming had also cultivated Daoist arts and reached the fourth level of refinement, comparable to a martial artist who had achieved four levels of blood coagulation, his heart couldn't help but be stirred.

"Gold will always shine. True geniuses, no matter what kind of predicament they are in, will eventually rise to the top."

Xu Hao murmured to himself.

Thinking back to when Wu Yu married his younger brother, Wu Ming was just an unsuccessful young man who had encountered evil spirits, lost his vital energy, and almost lost the chance to become a martial artist. Now, just a few years later, Wu Ming has risen to prominence and grown into a towering tree, far more brilliant and dazzling than him.

He knew his own situation best. He knew that reaching the third stage of blood clotting and being able to establish his own residence and become a master in the city was basically his limit. He knew that the possibility of him completing the fourth stage of blood clotting was extremely slim, and that was basically the end of his journey.

Wu Ming is only twenty-two years old this year, and everything is just beginning. It is unknown how far he will go in the future.

……

Chen Mansion.

As Chen Ding listened to the butler's report, a look of confusion appeared in his eyes.

After a period of turmoil, the Chen family's medicinal tea business has basically stabilized. Now, they are cooperating with the Seven Martial Alliance's Huishan Hall to expand production and share profits.

However, where there are interests, there are also disputes. Although Huishantang cooperates with the Chen family, there have always been disputes over the distribution of profits. Especially in the last six months, Huishantang has contributed more and put considerable pressure on the Chen family, demanding that the Chen family give up more profits. Huishantang is powerful and the Chen family is in a weak position, so there is nothing they can do but slowly negotiate.

But I don't know why.

Suddenly, Huishantang withdrew its pressure and stopped demanding that the Chen family cede more benefits.

Chen Ding was quite puzzled by this, not knowing what had happened, what had happened to Huishan Hall, or what other ideas Huishan Hall had.

"Dad, dad!"

Just as Chen Ding was puzzled, he suddenly saw Chen Gui, dressed in a brocade robe, staggering in.

Chen Gui, reeking of alcohol and with a flushed face, staggered into the main hall, calling out to Chen Ding. This sight made Chen Ding frown, his eyes showing displeasure, and he was about to reprimand him.

"Guess what happened?!" Chen Gui blurted out, swaying as he leaned closer, revealing a grinning face.

Chen Ding did not respond, but stared at Chen Gui with a stern face.

Normally, Chen Gui would have been kneeling before his father's stern expression, but today he was full of confidence, completely unfazed by the smell of alcohol, and grinned as he said:

"My brother Wu Ming has broken through his cultivation level and is about to become the person in charge!"

"?"

Chen Ding frowned and said, "What nonsense are you talking about!"

Chen Gui now holds a high position in the Chen family, mainly because he has become acquainted with Wu Ming and has a close relationship with him. The fact that the Chen family was able to reach a business deal with Huishan Hall is actually partly due to Wu Ming's influence. Perhaps the Chen family is nothing in the eyes of Huishan Hall, but Huishan Hall also wants to befriend Wu Ming through the Chen family and other peripheral relationships like Xu Hao.

After all, Wu Ming is Liu Muyuan's disciple, and no matter what he achieves in the future, he will not be an ordinary person.

It was precisely because of this that Chen Ding became much more lenient with Chen Gui than before, no longer disciplining him as much. Of course, he also paid close attention to Wu Ming. But Wu Ming had only recently entered the third stage of blood coagulation, so how could he possibly break through to the fourth stage and become a head of the Shenxing Division?
Martial arts cultivation focuses on accumulating blood and qi. Even those with superior aptitude cannot condense blood and qi so quickly.

“I’m not talking nonsense.”

Unfazed by Chen Ding's reprimand, Chen Gui, fueled by alcohol, casually pulled out a chair and sat down directly in front of Chen Ding, saying, "But he didn't break through in martial arts... hiccup."

“Father, you don’t know, his true talent is not in martial arts, but in Taoist magic. Master Liu took him as a disciple because of his talent in Taoist magic. I have inquired about it, and Taoist magic is on par with martial arts. He has already cultivated his Taoist magic to the fourth level of the Nascent Soul stage, which is comparable to the fourth level of the Blood stage. How could he not be promoted to a local leader?”

Chen Ding was stunned by these words.

Compared to Chen Gui, as a thrice-level blood coagulation expert and the head of the Chen family, he naturally had a much better understanding of Daoist techniques than Chen Gui. However, Daoist techniques were very rare in Jingye City, so he rarely paid attention to this aspect.

Wu Ming's talent in Taoist arts is so high, even higher than his talent in martial arts, and he has even entered the fourth stage of the Nascent Soul Refinement.
"So that's it."

Although he was still somewhat dazed, Chen Ding quickly connected the dots with Huishan Hall's reaction and finally understood.

Even if he didn't understand the Daoist arts, he knew what it meant for Wu Ming to be able to cultivate to the fourth level of the Nascent Soul at his age. He knew what kind of terrifying talent Wu Ming was. Before, Wu Ming might have only made Huishan Hall want to befriend him, but now Wu Ming was someone that Huishan Hall and even the entire Seven Martial Alliance were unwilling to offend!
Even though the only connection between the Chen family and Wu Ming is Chen Gui, Huishan Hall doesn't want to risk offending Wu Ming even if there's the slightest possibility. They would rather avoid all conflict with the Chen family.

Chen Gui chuckled as he got up and staggered out of the main hall.

Normally, Chen Ding would not have tolerated such an unreliable attitude and would have reprimanded him severely. But now, watching Chen Gui stagger away, he only shook his head slightly.

He was even considering whether to hand over the headship of the Chen family to Chen Gui after he grew old. Although Chen Gui's martial arts talent was far inferior to his elder brother's, he could better protect the Chen family in the future by relying on his relationship with Wu Ming.

……

The Wang family.

In the old house.

This is a mourning hall, where the ancestral tablets of the Wang family are placed.

Wang Mingxuan knelt expressionlessly on a prayer mat. He remained kneeling there for an unknown amount of time, stiff and unresponsive. After a long while, he slowly said, "Wuzheng is a rare prodigy in the Wang family. He has gone missing, missing at the border."

"Based on the information I have, although there is no specific indication, this matter is most likely related to Wu Ming."

"Wu Ming is a cunning and scheming young man. His cultivation of Taoist arts remains unknown to the world. The disappearance of Shen Lian, the true disciple of the Xuan Yu Sect, may have been caused by him. Now, all this is known, but it's too late..."

Wang Mingxuan's tone was low.

If we had known back then that Wu Ming's talent was so terrifying, we should have either won him over to the Wang family or decisively eliminated him, even if it came at a price.

But now that they know everything, it's too late. Even if they understand that Shen Lian most likely died at Wu Ming's hands, it's meaningless. Even if they tell the Xuan Yu Sect about this, the Xuan Yu Sect will not go after Wu Ming for the sake of a dead man like Shen Lian. They might even distance themselves from it and ignore it.

How did things develop to this point?

Wang Mingxuan sighed softly to himself.

The main reason was that Wu Ming had hidden his true intentions too well, and it was only today that he finally revealed his Taoist techniques, which made him realize that Shen Lianzhi's death was very likely related to Wu Ming. Thinking back, he had thought that he could resolve his grudges with Wu Ming, which was undoubtedly somewhat laughable.

One wrong step leads to another. The initial judgment of Wu Ming was flawed, and all subsequent actions were naturally compounded by mistakes. Based on the intelligence, it is highly likely that Wang Wuzheng, in conjunction with Tan Yuzhou, an elder of the Black Fiend Sect, once again targeted Wu Ming at the border, but both of them ultimately disappeared.

"This kid has grown powerful and is now impossible to deal with. He's caught in a dilemma, unable to advance or retreat... Perhaps only one last move will suffice."

Wang Mingxuan slowly got up and walked out of the old house.

(End of this chapter)