Chapter 312 - 157: Disloyalty (2)

Cao Miao continued,

"Last month, he said he was taking his daughter’s body back to their ancestral home. No one suspected a thing."

"Until about ten days ago, when someone in the Northern Lands saw him—saw Ye Yang—use that thing with their own eyes..."

Cao Miao paused, then let out a long sigh.

"Chen Cheng was Ye Yang’s favorite disciple. The only Celestial God Hidden Dragon Painting in the Middle Courtyard... he didn’t give it to his own daughter, but saved it exclusively for Chen Cheng."

"With that connection, even if Chen Cheng showed up today and performed exceptionally well, there’s no way he could ever enter the core circle of Dragon Mountain Hall."

Cao Miao said helplessly,

"With something like this, it’s better to be safe than sorry. To put it bluntly, Dragon Mountain Hall is now afraid of being implicated because of Chen Cheng."

"Because of this, not only will the Hall Master refuse to invest in cultivating Chen Cheng, he might even... even kick him out..."

"How can this be..."

The color drained from Zhuang Zhen’s face in an instant. She clenched her fists so tightly that her whole body trembled slightly.

"Senior Sister..."

Chen Cheng’s voice came from the arched doorway on the left side of the front courtyard.

Everyone’s gaze immediately shifted toward him.

"Master Cao, I heard everything you just said."

Chen Cheng walked over, took the Celestial God Hidden Dragon Painting from his robes, unfastened the Upper Courtyard Disciple token from his waist, and handed them both to Cao Miao. His tone was calm as he said,

"Rather than wait for the Hall Master to throw me out, I’d prefer to leave on my own terms. This way, we can both save face and not damage our relationship."

Hearing this, Cao Miao’s mouth opened, but he didn’t know what to say.

Zhuang Zhen, Fatty Fang, and Zhou An were all in much the same state. None of them wanted Chen Cheng to leave.

The problem was, suspicion had already taken root in the Hall Master’s mind.

Even if Chen Cheng stayed, he would live under endless suspicion and vigilance. A conflict would be inevitable, and when that time came, it would be far more serious than just losing face or hurting feelings.

Compared to that, withdrawing proactively to protect himself was far more in line with Chen Cheng’s usual way of doing things.

For this reason, Zhuang Zhen and the others were just like Cao Miao. In their hearts, they wanted Chen Cheng to stay, but their rational minds knew with perfect clarity that his proactive departure was, in fact, the wisest choice.

Besides, they all knew that Chen Cheng’s ambitions had never been limited to just the Martial Arts Hall.

It was only a matter of time before Chen Cheng left Dragon Mountain Hall.

The only thing they regretted for Chen Cheng’s sake was that by leaving now, he would completely miss out on the Secret Hidden Dragon Fist.

"Chen Cheng, my previous promise to you is still valid."

Cao Miao said with a serious expression,

"If you’re willing to enter a marriage alliance with a great clan, I will personally act as a matchmaker for you. Once it is done, you can likewise be taught the secret technique."

"Thank you, Master Cao, but that won’t be necessary for now."

Chen Cheng said flatly,

"The Martial Selection will be held in ten days. I want to try that path first."

"Hah, how amusing."

Before Cao Miao could speak, Kuang Yifeng happened to walk out of the inner courtyard, his voice dripping with cold sarcasm.

"Six Pillars of Blood Qi and no secret technique... When did the standards for Zhao City’s Martial Selection drop so low? In another two years, won’t any Tom, Dick, or Harry be able to give it a shot?"

"Kuang Yifeng!"

Zhuang Zhen’s pretty face turned cold, and she was just about to rebuke him sharply.

But Kuang Yifeng cut her off. "Master’s orders. You and Senior Brother Zhao are to enter the inner courtyard for a lecture. Immediately."

"You..."

Zhuang Zhen was furious, but constrained by Wan Qianshan’s authority, she couldn’t lash out. No matter how frustrated and resentful she felt, she could only force it down.

"Junior Brother Chen... Cheng."

Zhuang Zhen glanced to the side, her voice suddenly softening considerably.

"Don’t lower yourself to his level. Go home first. We’ll talk when I get back."

Chen Cheng nodded without saying much.

Kuang Yifeng let out an undisguised sneer. As his gaze swept over Zhuang Zhen, a flicker of nearly imperceptible, sinister coldness flashed through his eyes.

He immediately turned and went back into the inner courtyard, not sparing Chen Cheng another proper glance.

Zhuang Zhen and Zhao Tianlai followed him in one after the other. The door to the inner courtyard was shut tight, like a natural chasm separating the two worlds, inside and out.

"Chen Cheng."

Cao Miao said consolingly,

"You can’t rush something like the Martial Selection. Don’t let others affect your mentality. In ten days, just treat it as a chance to gain experience. Next year... or the year after at worst, you’ll definitely have a chance!"

"Master Cao is right."

Zhou An also came over to persuade him.

"Junior Brother Chen... Brother Cheng, we’ve all seen your rate of progress. As long as you keep a level head and improve steadily, your future achievements will be nothing short of amazing!"

Not far away, Fatty Fang had also wanted to step forward and offer a few words of comfort, but his dark eyes, hidden in their narrow slits, darted back and forth a couple of times. In the end, he didn’t say anything.

"Cheng."

Cao Miao gave a final instruction.

"After you leave Dragon Mountain Hall, there are two prohibitions you must strictly observe. First, you are not to act under the banner of Dragon Mountain Hall. Second, you are not to privately teach the Hidden Dragon Fist to others. As long as you don’t violate these two rules, you can still interact normally with the members of the hall in the future."

"Understood. I won’t violate them."

Chen Cheng nodded and subconsciously glanced at his internal panel.

[Hidden Dragon Fist]: Perfection, Traits (Penetrating Armor, Thunder Burst, Dragon Destruction)

Penetrating Armor: A Hidden Force Martial Arts technique, can ignore ten percent of an opponent’s defense.

Thunder Burst: A Dark Force Martial Arts technique, deeper force penetration, more powerful internal explosion.

Dragon Destruction: A Transforming Force Force Martial Arts technique, increases recoil force by ten percent.

In Chen Cheng’s opinion, now that the Traits were unlocked and fixed, the actual moves of the Hidden Dragon Fist had become useless.

’I wouldn’t even practice them myself, so why would I teach them to someone else?’

As for acting under the banner of Dragon Mountain Hall, that was even more worthless. In this day and age, how much weight did the name of Dragon Mountain Hall even carry? There was no way he would ever break such a taboo.

Afterward, Chen Cheng chatted with everyone for a little while longer before bidding them farewell and leaving.

Fatty Fang specifically ran to see him off.

"Cheng, you gotta be straight with me..."

The moment the two of them stepped outside, Fatty Fang asked impatiently,

"Did you... do it again?"

"How could you tell?"

Chen Cheng’s heart sank slightly. ’Did I slip up somewhere? That shouldn’t be possible...’

"You... you really did it!?"

Fatty Fang’s eyes flew wide open, nearly popping out of his head. His Adam’s apple bobbed violently as he stammered,

"I-I didn’t see anything... Weren’t you consistently forming One Pillar of Blood Qi every month, rain or shine? I just figured the time was about right and asked on a whim..."

"...I did."

Chen Cheng was amused. ’This fatty is a real piece of work.’

"A monster... Cheng, you kid are an absolute monster!"

Fatty Fang gulped, his voice trembling even more intensely.

"Seven Blood Transforming Force... that step stops at least ninety percent of all Martial Artists in the world... I... I’ve been stuck at this fucking bottleneck for a month without producing a single shred of Blood Qi... And you? In the same amount of time, you’ve already formed your Seventh Pillar of Blood Qi..."

"Don’t make a scene. You’ll scare the passersby."

Chen Cheng’s tone was calm as he casually swept his gaze over their surroundings.

After his Realm advancement, the acuity of his five senses and sixth sense had been forcibly raised by a large margin.

He just gave the area a casual glance.

’How many people were around? How many of them were startled by Fatty Fang? And of those who were startled, how many had racing hearts and hurried breaths?’

He could clearly perceive all details like these.

"So what’s the plan? Are we keeping it a secret this time?"

Fatty Fang immediately lowered his voice, forcing down his agitated emotions at the same time.

"It’s not that it needs to be a secret, there’s just no need to announce it."

Chen Cheng said calmly,

"Before, when my Realm broke through, I could exchange it for more resources. I can’t do that anymore. Announcing it now could just attract trouble. With the Martial Selection so close, there’s no need to create unnecessary complications."

"Makes sense."

Fatty Fang nodded heavily.

"Don’t worry, my lips are sealed... We’ll talk about it after you make the list in the Martial Selection."

"Is Seven Blood Transforming Force enough to guarantee a spot on the list?" Chen Cheng asked.

"...No."

Fatty Fang’s brow furrowed slightly as he said,

"You’ve only just succeeded, and you haven’t even reached the Entry Level for the secret technique... To be honest, your chances of making the list aren’t high..."

"I heard that the three great talents of this year’s Young Qilin Association—Zhu Qian, Huang Tao, and Qin Zhao—all formed their Seventh Pillar of Blood Qi within this month."

"By the time of the Martial Selection, even stronger competitors will appear... The difficulty is no joke."

"That’s true."

Chen Cheng nodded, then asked,

"That Qin Zhao—wasn’t he schemed against and unable to participate in the Martial Selection?"

"I heard a rumor, so I can’t guarantee it’s true."

Fatty Fang said in a low voice,

"That Qin Zhao somehow got his hands on some Treasure Medicine that heals wounds and regrows flesh. Not only have his injuries completely healed, but his physical strength has also increased by a large margin."

"There’s a Treasure Medicine like that?"

Chen Cheng’s heart stirred, and a strange glint flashed in the depths of his eyes for an instant.

"Cousin!"

Just then, a young girl’s voice called out from not far away.