The next morning.
After washing up and getting dressed, Li Ming pushed open the door and walked towards the Six Doors.
I am in a very good mood.
How should we spend these two hundred taels of silver?
What would be a good exchange for such a great achievement?
Just as Li Ming was daydreaming about the future, he stepped inside.
A man walked towards them, exuding an air of grandeur, arms crossed. Upon seeing Li Ming, his eyes lit up, and he deliberately blocked Li Ming's path.
The constables watching the commotion were buzzing with discussion.
"I heard that Li Ming defeated an eighth-grade Qi Refining cultivator, but I don't know if it's true or not."
"The chief constable saw it with his own eyes, how could it be fake? But he was really lucky, the other ten people did all the work for him, and he got the credit all to himself."
"That's still remarkable. I've heard that Blood Fifth Brother's strength is not that of an ordinary Qi Refining cultivator. Even when he's seriously injured, he's not someone that an ordinary Body Tempering cultivator can defeat."
"However, it seems that Young Master Zhao is not entirely convinced. Is he trying to teach Li Ming a lesson after his limelight was stolen?"
"Don't you know? Zhao Youwei has always been obsessed with collecting merit points, and I've heard that many people have chosen to exchange their merit points for his."
"Heh, he can only bully ordinary constables with no connections. As for the senior constables, they just ignore him, don't they?"
Name: Zhao Youwei
[Realm: Ninth Level of Body Tempering]
[Entries: Strong Bones (White), Spear Technique (White), Fierce in Appearance but Timid in Heart (Gray), Weak in Vigor (Gray), Harsh in Tone (Gray)]
Li Ming looked at the person in front of him with surprise.
The entry is... so weak.
Where did this classic low-level villain come from?
He then searched his memory for a while before recognizing it.
Zhao Youwei is the young master of the powerful Zhao family in Qing Shi City. The family has many Qi Condensation Realm martial artists in charge, and Zhao Youwei is the direct descendant of the Zhao family. He is highly regarded, but unfortunately, his talent is mediocre.
Despite accumulating numerous resources, he is now 20 years old and has yet to even begin practicing Qi Refining.
But in my memory, I have no grudge against him, so why am I making things difficult for him today?
However, at this age, when one is most eager for fame, perhaps in Zhao Youwei's eyes, he stole the limelight?
Li Ming raised an eyebrow, not bothering with this young master of the Zhao family, and walked straight over.
However, Zhao Youwei withdrew and avoided a direct confrontation with Li Ming.
Instead, he revealed a friendly smile and said with a grin, "With the ninth rank of Body Tempering Realm, I reversed the situation and defeated the eighth rank of Qi Refining Realm."
"Such skill is extremely rare, even in Qing Shi City."
"I admire you."
Zhao Youwei's words alerted Li Ming.
Why would you lick him for no reason?
Although I'm handsome, my sexual orientation is perfectly normal...
Li Ming's lips curled into a smile, and he asked softly, "Young Master Zhao, what brings you here?"
Zhao Youwei chuckled and said, "Hehe, it's nothing. I just see that Brother Li has outstanding talent and would like to invite him to join the Zhao family."
"Oh?" Li Ming looked at Zhao Youwei with a puzzled expression, but remained unmoved.
Things can't be that simple.
What is my value now that makes him have his eye on me?
Most likely, they were jealous of his "lucky break" and the great achievement he made.
After all, resources are limited in every place, and once used, they are gone forever. Some rare items may be hard to find again next time.
In this small place, even a great achievement is hard to come by.
On ordinary days, many constables are openly and covertly vying for power.
"Don't you know that our Zhao family is the most powerful and influential family in Qing Shi City?" Zhao Youwei said with an arrogant expression.
"oh."
"Moreover, the Zhao family's foundation is probably stronger than that of any other family."
"oh."
Li Ming spoke calmly. He was not a local and had no concept of the power distribution in Qing Shi City.
Even if, according to him, the Zhao family's strength in Qing Shi City is indeed among the top, or even the strongest.
But what does that have to do with him?
The Zhao family doesn't belong to him.
This Qing Shi City wasn't owned by the Zhao family either.
When Zhao Youwei saw Li Ming's expression, he was immediately displeased. This guy was too ungrateful!
Suppressing his displeasure, he said, "If you join my Zhao family, it won't be difficult for you to reach the Qi Refining Realm."
"Ordinary people don't have this opportunity."
"Then what do I need to give in return?" Li Ming asked in return.
He was certainly not so naive as to believe that a free lunch would fall from the sky.
Zhao Youwei said in a gentler tone, "All I need is for Brother Li to transfer your great contribution to me. Of course, I will compensate you."
He secretly resented Li's good fortune, thinking how he had managed to achieve such a great feat.
These days, he has been running around and using his connections with the Zhao family to obtain several merits, but he is still one merit away from what he wants.
Li Ming frowned slightly; he knew he had a purpose in making this great contribution.
How could I possibly agree to something so casually? I don't even know if they're just making empty promises.
"Let me think about it."
Hearing Li Ming's ambiguous words.
Zhao Youwei snorted coldly, his tone laced with threat, "Brother Li, you'd better think it over. If you refuse..."
After saying that, he turned and left.
The suppressed impatience in his eyes was completely undisguised.
The last sentence even made it explicit.
What I want, you have to hand over!
He thought to himself, "Does he think he's so great just because he killed a Qi Refining Realm martial artist?"
He had previously been humiliated by several constables at the Condensation Realm, and now he was facing Li Ming, who wasn't even at the Qi Refining Realm.
How dare they be so arrogant?
Do you think you can rest easy just because you have the backing of the Six Doors? ... That's too naive.
"Hehe, whatever."
Li Ming shrugged and turned to walk towards the chief constable.
He might have been somewhat afraid of the Zhao family's power, but after he killed Blood Fifth... he suddenly realized that in this world, the weaker you are, the more you will be bullied. You will never know your limits unless you push yourself.
He was backed by the imperial court, and although he was just a minor constable, given the size of the Zhao family, they could only do dirty tricks in secret and wouldn't dare to openly target him.
The constables who were chatting in twos and threes not far away, seeing that there was no more excitement to watch, dispersed and disappeared.
No one wanted to get involved.
One is a rising star in the Six Doors, and the other is the eldest son of the Zhao family.
People who just want to have fun are simply looking for entertainment.
Chief Police Station.
Lin Qiancheng was handling official business at the time. Upon seeing Li Ming arrive, he immediately put down the documents in his hand and praised him:
"Li Ming, you did a good job. This time you fought against Blood Fifth Brother and overcame your superior, bringing fame to our Six Doors. Not bad."
"This Blood Fifth Brother was arrogant and underestimated his enemy. We discovered all the information on him, which was tantamount to capturing him alive. All the credit this time is naturally yours."
"This achievement is enough to promote you to bronze-level constable. The Six Doors will certainly not be stingy in rewarding meritorious officials."
"Now that you have perfected your body tempering, the next step is to nurture your Qi seed, develop your Qi sense, open up your Qi sea, and break through to the eighth-grade Qi Refining Realm."
What are your plans?
Li Ming was somewhat surprised to see that Lin Qiancheng knew so much about his cultivation level.
However, considering that the other party was a powerful expert who was about to step into the Grandmaster realm, he didn't think too much about it and said, "This subordinate is planning to use all the rewards to help me step into the Qi Refining realm. What guidance does Lord Lin have?"
Although he didn't know why Lin Qiancheng thought so highly of him and intended to cultivate him, he naturally wouldn't offend him.
"Good!" Lin Qiancheng looked at Li Ming with great satisfaction.
The reward this time was substantial, equivalent to several hundred taels of silver, enough for an ordinary person to become a wealthy man, get married, have children, and live a carefree life. However, Li Ming did not hesitate to exchange his merit for the opportunity to enter the Qi Refining Realm... With such a mindset, he believed that Li Ming's martial arts achievement would definitely not be low.
That's right.
Lin Qiancheng had high hopes for Li Ming. He had witnessed Li Ming's entire victory over Xue Laowu. Afterwards, he patted Li Ming on the shoulder and sensed that the boy's blood and energy were like a surging torrent, and his bones were like iron, indicating that he had reached the pinnacle of body tempering.
Furthermore, he sensed a special power within Li Ming's body.
This made him suspect that Li Ming might have a special constitution.
With such talent, if he were to grow up, how could the mere Qing Shi City possibly accommodate him?
Lin Qiancheng stroked his beard and said:
"The cultivation method you practiced for body tempering is the Great Xuanwu Scripture, which was bestowed by the immortals and gods. Naturally, it cannot be deleted or modified, and it is an excellent foundation-building cultivation method."
"But one must not be careless at the eighth-grade Qi Refining stage."
"Qi is scattered and numerous, some strong and some weak. The strong absorb strong qi, and the weak absorb weak qi. Which kind of person do you want to be?"
“A strong person.” Li Ming did not hesitate.
"Yes, the foundation for the eighth-grade Qi Refining stage is related to the future Qi Condensation, Core Formation, and becoming a Grandmaster. Therefore, the choice of Qi is of utmost importance."
"Many ordinary martial artists cannot find a good source of Qi, so they have no choice but to break through directly and absorb the spiritual Qi that is readily available in the world. As a result, their strength is far inferior to others, and once they fall behind, they fall behind again."
"There are ways to make up for it later, but the cost will be considerable..."
Do you know why that young master of the Zhao family joined my Six Doors?
Li Ming hesitated for a moment before asking, "For the sake of good fortune?"
Lin Qiancheng nodded and said, "Yes."
"You should know that although Cangzhou is classified as a lower state, it once produced a peerless expert."
"His name is—the Azure Emperor."
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