Chu Ming’s sword light was too dense for the bandits in black to dodge. Their bodies were all pierced through, blood soaking the ground, and corpses densely scattered across the area.
"Thank you, young hero!"
After all the black-clad bandits were killed, Steward Lin An walked forward, gratefully speaking to Chu Ming. To be honest, when they first encountered Xue Wuhai, he was prepared to fight to the death. He never expected that Chu Ming, who had joined their caravan midway, would be so powerful that he even killed Xue Wuhai.
Chu Ming nodded slightly, his steps light as he flickered back to his horse. Lin An smiled wryly, attributing it to the pride of a genius. He then turned to comfort the caravan’s guards. Although the black-clad bandits were all killed, the guards suffered heavy casualties, originally nearly a hundred, now reduced to just over fifty, all injured.
"Thank you, young master!"
At this moment, Lin Yue’Er poked her head out from the carriage, traces of tears still visible on her face as she looked at Chu Ming, full of gratitude.
Chu Ming said lightly. In truth, he acted mainly because of Lin Yue’Er.
The caravan continued onward, but now the guards’ attitude towards Chu Ming had completely changed. Every time they saw Chu Ming, their eyes showed a hint of reverence. Even the martial artists who had been talking to him became too cautious to speak.
Chu Ming enjoyed the silence, taking out a middle-grade Spirit Stone from his Storage Ring to begin cultivation. In Xue Wuhai’s Storage Ring, Chu Ming found two thousand middle-grade Spirit Stones and hundreds of thousands of lower-grade ones. Most importantly, he discovered a top-tier Profound Level martial technique, the "Blood Sea Burial Flower" used by Xue Wuhai.
The "Blood Sea Burial Flower" is a top-tier Profound Level martial technique that requires an understanding of the Slaughter Realm to cultivate. Although Chu Ming had not comprehended the Slaughter Realm, he had understood the Slaughter Sword Intent, which shares similarities.
Therefore, in just two days, Chu Ming had already begun to understand the Slaughter Realm, starting his cultivation of "Blood Sea Burial Flower."
The "Blood Sea Burial Flower" is divided into three layers.
The First Layer surrounds the target with two blood-red flowers.
The Second Layer surrounds the target with four blood-red flowers.
The Third Layer surrounds the target with eight blood-red flowers.
After reading the introduction to "Blood Sea Burial Flower," Chu Ming exhaled slightly. It seemed that Xue Wuhai had only cultivated it to the second layer, using four blood-red flowers to surround him. If Xue Wuhai had cultivated to the third layer, Chu Ming’s attacks would have been unable to break through the defense of the blood-red flowers.
The cultivation of "Blood Sea Burial Flower" went surprisingly smoothly, even Chu Ming, who knew his comprehension was abnormal, was slightly astonished.
On the first day, he had cultivated the first layer to Mastery.
On the third day, he had mastered the second layer.
On the fifth day, as Chu Ming saw the huge black outline looming ahead, resembling a terrifying beast lurking, he had already reached the Great Success stage of the third layer of "Blood Sea Burial Flower." Mastery was only a matter of time.
"Ahead is Black Dragon City!"
On the horse next to Chu Ming, Steward Lin An’s eyes sparkled as he spoke. After a few days of interaction, he had come to understand Chu Ming’s character. Unlike typical geniuses, there was no arrogance or conceit in Chu Ming, but rather an approachable demeanor.
Chu Ming nodded slightly. Gazing at the outline of Black Dragon City, his eyes were filled with awe. Black Dragon City, one of the twelve major county cities of the Black Rock Empire, stretched for tens of thousands of miles with complex carvings and arrays on its walls, unscathed even by attacks from the Guiyuan Realm.
Although Chu Ming saw the outline of Black Dragon City, they were still a thousand miles away. Even at full speed, it would take half a day to reach it.
"Does Young Master Chu have a place to stay in Black Dragon City?"
Steward Lin An asked casually as they walked.
Chu Ming replied lightly. With seven months until the Celestial Travel Sect recruited disciples, his current strength was sufficient to directly join the Inner Sect, ranking well within it. He planned to stay in Black Dragon City for a while.
"Then why not stay with our Lin Family? We would be honored to repay your life-saving grace!"
Steward Lin An suggested promptly.
Chu Ming hesitated for a moment before nodding. He agreed because he was unfamiliar with Black Dragon City and needed to gather information from the Lin Family.
Steward Lin An was overjoyed at Chu Ming’s acceptance. Observing Chu Ming along the way, he saw someone always composed and calm, believing Chu Ming’s future was limitless. A connection with Chu Ming would only benefit the Lin Family.
Half a day passed, and Chu Ming’s group finally stood before the colossal Black Dragon City. Only by getting so close could they truly feel its overwhelming presence, a scene bustling with martial artists entering and leaving.
"No flying allowed in Black Dragon City!"
Seeing Chu Ming’s astonishment, Lin An smiled, reminiscent of his own first impression of the city, even more exaggerated than Chu Ming’s. But twenty years had passed in the blink of an eye.
"Unless you’re a supreme Transcendence Realm expert."
Lin An replied, pulling a bag of Spirit Stones from his Storage Ring and handing it to the Guard Army at the gate. Each martial artist had to pay one lower-grade Spirit Stone to enter the city.
After entering, Chu Ming’s gaze swept over the crowd, noting that those on the streets were all martial artists, mostly at the Transcendence Realm, with occasional True Dao Realm individuals. The Postnatal Realm, apart from children under ten, was unseen.
This highlighted the difference between high and low-level countries.
"Black Dragon City is primarily governed by four major forces. Avoid offending them unless absolutely necessary. Otherwise, not even escaping the Black Rock Empire will save you."
On the way to the Lin Family estate, Steward Lin An continued to explain Black Dragon City’s situation to Chu Ming, his face full of respect.