I Only Stomp on Weaklings

"How should I address you, sir?"

After entering the Heavenly Prison, Chen Ming asked for the name of the First Grade man in purple.

"Tang Shouzheng," the man said casually. "You don’t have to be so formal. If you don’t mind, just call me Brother Tang."

"How could I—"

"Are you looking down on me?" Tang Shouzheng feigned anger.

Seeing it had come to this, Chen Ming naturally went with the flow. "Brother Tang."

Tang Shouzheng showed a satisfied smile. "That’s more like it, Brother Gu. Before meeting you, I’d already heard about your deeds. At the tender age of twenty, you’ve already reached Second Grade and slain three First Grades. Such a groundbreaking act indeed wins admiration."

"Brother, you’re too kind."

"Haha, Brother Gu, your future is limitless. Who knows, I may need to lean on you for support later on."

So, that’s what his intention was.

Chen Ming thought, well, you’re destined to waste your effort on this.

Twenty days from now at the Zhongyuan Night Banquet, either he breaks free from the control of the Gu Family, or he’s confined by the Gu Family, or secretly put to death.

In any case, there will be no such person as Gu Xianyu in the future.

However, this Tang Shouzheng being willing to lower expectations is beneficial to him, making things easier to handle.

The two conversed as they walked, and every prison guard they encountered along the way saluted Tang Shouzheng without even asking a question, showing his rather high status.

Casually, Chen Ming asked, "Brother, I’ve heard that the Heavenly Prison has nine layers in total, is that true?"

"In fact, I’m not sure myself."

"Huh? Even brother doesn’t know?"

"It’s said that this Heavenly Prison was built during the Longevity Immortal Dynasty when the Emperor of Eternal Life broke several Immortal Mansions, imprisoning the captured immortals in various layers of the Heavenly Prison. Unfortunately, the Longevity Immortal Dynasty collapsed eight thousand years ago. Now, only the first five layers can be opened. The method to open the last four layers has long been lost."

"I see."

Chen Ming hadn’t expected this Heavenly Prison to have such a long history, so he asked, "Are there really immortals within the Immortal Mansions?"

"Of course there are, but only after reaching the Divine Treasure Realm can one have the opportunity to enter the Immortal Mansion. I don’t know if in my lifetime, I’ll have the chance to witness the grace of immortals." Tang Shouzheng said longingly.

Chen Ming thought, the so-called "immortals" of this world aren’t very impressive if they can be captured by a mortal Emperor, indicating their strength isn’t that great.

As they spoke, they had already arrived at the door leading to the third layer.

The first layer of the Heavenly Prison houses ordinary prisoners.

The second layer houses Third Grades and Second Grades.

The third layer detains First Grades.

The fourth layer holds the strong of the Divine Treasure Realm.

As for the fifth layer, even Tang Shouzheng doesn’t know, for the door to the fifth layer has never been opened since he came to the Heavenly Prison.

...

"Come to my side."

Tang Shouzheng said as he took out a seal from his bosom. The seal lit up and flew to the big door, merging into it.

Immediately, the thick door silently opened, revealing a dark passage.

Tang Shouzheng retrieved the seal and explained, "This seal can only be used twice, once to enter and once to exit, then it’s useless. To come in again tomorrow, I’d have to apply to Lord Lei, which is quite troublesome."

Chen Ming gratefully said, "I see, I didn’t expect it to be so troublesome. Thank you very much, Brother."

"We’re brothers, so there’s no need for such formalities. Go on in."

Tang Shouzheng spoke as if they were already close friends.

After entering the third layer, Chen Ming felt extremely oppressed. His Divine Sense was suppressed by an invisible force within the Mud Ball Palace, making his realm seem to regress to Third Grade, which felt very uncomfortable.

Tang Shouzheng saw his uncomfortable expression and laughed, "The third layer is an independent space with its own rules. Here, Divine Sense is restricted. So detaining First Grades here, no matter how strong they are, they can’t cause trouble.

"Currently, there are thirty-seven prisoners on this third layer. Eighteen of them, not even I have the authority to interrogate. As for the remaining nineteen, you can choose any one."

Chen Ming nodded to show his understanding.

Those eighteen are the so-called "political prisoners," not just anyone can interrogate them.

He said, "Brother, you’re the most familiar here, why not recommend one?"

Tang Shouzheng said, "Alright."

So, Tang Shouzheng called a prison guard to start the interrogation of prisoners one by one in this layer.

The First Grades detained in the Heavenly Prison all have considerable backgrounds. They’re either a generation of great bandits or regional tyrants.

Unfortunately, once thrown into the Heavenly Prison, they’re like tigers with their claws and teeth removed, eagles with their wings clipped, and can only be humiliated by a Second Grade junior like Chen Ming.

Without being able to use Divine Sense and having been sealed by the Dragon Sealing Needle for so long, their strength is often less than one or two tenths. How could they be a match for Chen Ming?

Especially since Chen Ming had improved "Heaven and Earth Solitary Swan" to the sixth level, making up for his biggest shortcoming.

Of course, this almost consumed all the Experience Points he had accumulated these days.

[You defeated an LV97 opponent and gained ninety-five thousand Experience Points.]

[You defeated an LV98 opponent and gained one hundred thousand Experience Points.]

[You defeated an LV99 opponent and gained one hundred and five thousand Experience Points.]

...

Chen Ming tortured eighteen First Grade martial artists in succession, feeling a sense of accomplishment and amassed nearly two million Experience Points.

He was eager to try, "Brother, have someone bring up the last one."

Tang Shouzheng was greatly astonished, having witnessed firsthand how he defeated one First Grade expert after another.

One must know that the temperament, Martial Skill, and experience of a First Grade expert are not something a young man who has just entered Second Grade can compare to. At first, he harbored a mindset of watching a joke.

Unexpectedly, this kid’s strength is truly amazing. The depth of his Swordsmanship is almost on par with himself. His Body Technique is also incredible, coming and going like a phantom.

This young man has an astonishing intuition, almost as if he can foresee the future, havin several times used this intuition to avoid the killing moves of those First Grade experts.

Watching him made Tang Shouzheng break into a cold sweat, not expecting him to dodge in advance, leaving people in awe.

Don’t be fooled by him just breaking through to Second Grade, given the strength he exhibited, there probably aren’t many in Second Grade who could match him.

Are young people this strong nowadays?

Tang Shouzheng swallowed silently, and only upon hearing his words did he wake as if from a dream and said, "The last person might not be able to be brought up."

"Oh? Is there anything inconvenient?"

"Just follow me, older brother."

Tang Shouzheng said.

If calling him "older brother" before was somewhat out of a utilitarian mindset, at this moment there is some sincerity in it. From the heart, he admits he has the qualification to call each other brother.

Chen Ming followed him, arriving at a prison cell, looking inside and seeing an old man sitting cross-legged, motionless, and with no breath.

At first glance, he looked like a corpse.

Tang Shouzheng said, "This person is a cultivator with strength equivalent to a First Grade Martial Artist, locked up fifty-seven years ago. Since then, he has been like this, not speaking, not moving, not eating, not drinking, like a corpse. However, every few years, people from the Heavenly Master Mansion come to see him, saying he’s only in a state of fake death, not truly dead. So, he’s been locked up like this."

Chen Ming was astounded.

Fifty-seven years without eating or drinking, yet not dead; the cultivator’s means are truly strange. Martial Artists cannot achieve this anyway.

Just as he was thinking, he felt the Turtle Shell in his bosom move.

Suddenly, the old man in the cell opened his eyes and looked at him, revealing a weird smile.

"What the hell!"

Chen Ming was startled by this scene, thinking the old geezer had come back from the dead.

"What’s wrong, older brother?"

Tang Shouzheng looked at him strangely.

"He—"

Chen Ming saw that he didn’t seem to see the scene of the old man opening his eyes, and looking again, the old man in the cell still maintained his original appearance, as if what he saw was just an illusion.

His mind stirred, choosing not to disclose what he saw, "I remembered an important appointment I nearly forgot, brother, please escort me out."

"Haha, I thought it was something else, let’s go."

...

Just after Tang Shouzheng escorted Chen Ming out, someone reported that the cultivator on the third level had died, and the corpse had turned to ashes.

He quickly went to report to the higher-ups and received a new Seal, once again heading to the third level. When he looked inside, sure enough, the cultivator who sat in the cell for fifty-seven years was gone, with a pile of ashes in his place.

"How did everything become alright, and suddenly die?"

Tang Shouzheng was puzzled, suddenly thinking of Gu Xianyu’s unusual behavior at the door, and his heart felt some uncertainty.

However, before he left, he glanced inside again, and the old man was still perfectly fine.

It should just be a coincidence.

He thought, immediately ordered people to invite those from the Heavenly Master Mansion.

Professional matters naturally need professionals to handle.

Soon, the Heavenly Master Mansion sent someone over, even the head disciple of the current Heavenly Master, indicating their importance on this matter.

The disciple of the Heavenly Master Mansion quickly confirmed the old man’s death and then left swiftly.

Thus, the prison erased the old man’s name.

...

After leaving the prison, Chen Ming got on the carriage sent by the Gu Family, but couldn’t forget that scene inside the prison, always feeling uneasy.

He reached to grasp the Turtle Shell in his bosom, thinking, "What exactly happened just now?"

Thinking for a while, he couldn’t grasp it clearly.

As usual, he returned to Duke Jingguo’s mansion, returned to his room, took out the visualization map, and started cultivating.

Unknowingly, night fell.

In a state between dreaming and waking, Chen Ming was pulled into a strange space by a peculiar force.

When he regained his senses and opened his eyes, he saw a stone chamber and a gentle-faced Taoist sitting in front of him, smiling and saying, "Poor Taoist Wangchenzi greets young friend."

It was really that old geezer!

Chen Ming immediately recognized the old Taoist as the cultivator locked in the third level for fifty-seven years. Surprisingly, he had escaped.

This is trouble.

He calmly said, "What intention does senior have in bringing this junior to this place?"