I Only Stomp on Weaklings

"Qingfeng City really is bustling with merchants and travelers, and the customs are so open—quite different from other places."

At noon, an uncle and nephew pair were walking down the streets of Qingfeng City, watching the passing traders, listening to the cries of the shopkeepers by the roadside, and seeing some young men and women even walking hand in hand in the street.

This was something hard to imagine in the Capital City.

The young man kept his gaze straight ahead and asked, "Master, why are you so sure Old Qi will come here?"

"I guessed."

These two were precisely that uncle-and-nephew pair of the Gu Family, Gu Haochuan and Gu Zhengshan.

Gu Zhengshan asked humbly for guidance, "I hope Master can enlighten me."

He knew his own experience in the jianghu was shallow, and being able to go out with his master this time was a great opportunity for tempering.

Seeing him so eager to learn, Gu Haochuan was quite pleased and said, "Do you still remember where Du Rusong last showed himself?"

"Outside Jiangzhou City, he was chasing two women. In the end he was stopped by that person at Princess Mingyu’s side."

"What do you think, why did Du Rusong want to hunt down those two women?"

"To kill them and silence them?"

It had been more than half a month since the incident. What had happened in Huanshou Mountain had already been clarified by the Six Gates in Xiazhou.

Four Third Grade Golden-Clothes died, a direct descendant of the Gu Family went missing, and Du Rusong, a First Grade, was nowhere to be found. Such losses were crippling blows for Xiazhou.

Du Rusong, who later showed himself once, naturally fell under strong suspicion of grave dereliction of duty. Furthermore, he never returned to the Six Gates to report, and was suspected of already having defected.

The court was furious. This was a First Grade expert after all! Within the Six Gates he already counted as high-ranking.

Thus, the court moved with unusual speed, issuing wanted notices to every commandery: once this man was discovered, he was to be seized and brought back immediately.

Gu Haochuan said, "He’s already defected; instead of hiding, he still risked showing himself. There must be a reason he had no choice but to kill them. And that reason is very likely related to his dereliction of duty."

With Du Rusong’s strength, capturing Xie Jianqiu would not have been difficult; yet in the end, four Third Grade subordinates died, plus one Second Grade, and the missing nephew.

At that time, where was this man, and why did he sit and watch his subordinates being killed?

There shouldn’t be many things in this world that could make this man defect from the Six Gates.

The answer was already on the tip of his tongue.

Gu Zhengshan exclaimed, "Could it be... for a quota to enter a Secret Realm?"

"Perhaps. Who knows. In short, as long as we follow those two women, we’ll naturally be able to find Du Rusong. By then, we’ll naturally know where Xiaoqi is."

Gu Zhengshan nodded and said, "That Jiang Family girl is weak in strength; most likely, that secret lies with that woman surnamed Yuan."

"This Yuan Ziyi is no simple character. So young, yet she’s already stepped into Second Grade, seized the legacy of a senior in the Divine Treasure Realm, gained recognition from an Unparalleled Divine Weapon, and become a Sect Leader. She could still retreat unscathed from that dragon’s den and tiger’s lair—truly remarkable."

Gu Haochuan praised Yuan Ziyi without end. "It’s a pity that among the younger generation of our Gu Family, there isn’t a single one who matches her. Otherwise, if someone could marry her, perhaps at that palace night banquet we might be able to seize a quota for the Immortal Estate. If that happened, what would our Gu Family have to fear about not flourishing?"

Gu Zhengshan said in surprise, "Master thinks very highly of this woman. It’s just that seizing a quota for the Immortal Estate is easier said than done. Those few monsters younger than me may only be in the Second Grade, but they all possess the combat strength of First Grade. As for those three in the First Grade, there’s no need to even mention them. There are only five quotas for the Immortal Estate altogether."

Gu Haochuan also knew this was impossible and shook his head. "Let’s just hope Xiaoqi is safe and sound. Among your generation, only Xiaoqi has hope of breaking through to Second Grade in five years’ time, in time for the palace night banquet, to contend for that sliver of hope."

As he spoke, he couldn’t help but sigh. "Alas, Second Brother was far too reckless. Even if he doesn’t think much of this son, he still shouldn’t have demoted him to Xiazhou. Now look—Xiaoqi’s life and death are unknown."

"Perhaps it is precisely because he was demoted this time that he turned misfortune into blessing and broke through to Third Grade. This too is his destined fortune."

"That Du fellow had better not have harmed Xiaoqi, otherwise... hmph!"

"Master, that’s the Chen Family up ahead. According to the scouts’ report, that woman surnamed Yuan went to the Chen Family."

"Mm, let’s find a place nearby to stay first. Best not to cross paths with that Yu Haitang; she’s seen me before."

"Alright."

...

At the Chen Mansion, at the banquet.

Chen Ming finally saw his elder brother Chen Rui and his sister-in-law Madam Wei.

His elder brother looked even more steady and composed, with a bit more authority about him. As Chunhe Hall’s business grew bigger and bigger, his entire bearing had changed.

His sister-in-law Madam Wei, in every gesture, also carried a bit of a noblewoman’s air.

It could only be said that wealth truly nourishes people.

From their clothes, food, and daily use, it was clear that the Chen Mansion was no longer what it once had been.

Behind this, Yu Haitang was a major reason. If not for her, the Chen Family couldn’t possibly have what they had today. It was very likely his elder brother and sister-in-law would already be behind bars.

After all, he had been suspected of being seized by the Immortal Demon Venerable and joining the Longevity Sect; the entire family would have been dragged down with him. Collective punishment was no laughing matter.

His nephew Chen Lide was already a half-grown youth, much taller than before, almost up to his shoulder. There was a layer of dark fuzz on his upper lip, a few pimples on his face, and a determined glint in his eyes.

His niece Chen Lirong had also grown a bit. Standing beside her mother, her dark, bright eyes were fixed on Chen Ming. Suddenly she blurted something astonishing, "Mother, that older sister looks a lot like Little Uncle."

Madam Wei hurriedly said, "Don’t talk nonsense. This is Sect Leader Yuan. Children speak without thought; Sect Leader Yuan, please don’t take offense."

Just now, from the introduction, she had learned that this extremely beautiful young woman was actually the Sect Leader of the Golden Jade Hall.

She was no longer that ignorant woman of the past; she was already familiar with the various powers in Jiangzhou.

Golden Jade Hall—that’s one of the top sects in Jiangzhou. The Chen Family absolutely cannot afford to offend them. They only lowered themselves to come to the Chen Mansion for the sake of his younger sister.

"It’s fine."

Chen Ming spoke gently. He took a few items from his robe and said, "These little trinkets are for the juniors, as meeting gifts."

Chen Lide received a short sword. He drew it and saw cold light streaming off the blade; clearly, he was very fond of it.

Chen Lirong received a porcelain doll, crafted lifelike down to the smallest detail. The moment she saw it, her eyes couldn’t move away. She hugged it to her chest and refused to let go.

The little nephew Chen Lizhi, not yet four months old, also received a golden lock.

Madam Wei hurriedly said, "How could we possibly accept this?"

At this time, Yu Haitang chimed in, "This is some token of goodwill from Sect Leader Yuan. Just accept it."

Madam Wei thanked her over and over. "Then we must thank Sect Leader Yuan."

After that, she invited her to the main seat, and everyone took their places.

Tonight was a family banquet.

Chen Ming not only saw his eldest brother and sister‑in‑law, nephew and niece, but also Wu Bofu, Liu Zhongda, Hong Zilin and the others.

Seeing that all of them were safe and sound, he finally set his mind at ease.

...

That night, Chen Ming stayed at home.

Early the next morning, he left Qingfeng City alone.

He knew that as long as he left places like Qingfeng City and Jiangzhou City, Du Rusong would definitely come.

Du Rusong should also be able to guess that him running around outside alone was most likely a ploy. But he would still show up, because he had no choice.

If he couldn’t seize that Token in a short time, become the master of the Secret Realm, and step into the Divine Treasure Realm, Du Rusong would fall into endless hunts.

The rules of the Six Gates are zero tolerance for traitors, especially at the level of First Grade Purple Robe. The bounties on traitors are extremely high, meant to lure Bounty Swordmen to make a move.

Experts among Bounty Swordmen are scarce, but there are still a few of First Grade. People like that are unwilling to be bound by the Six Gates; they’d rather be free Swordmen, roaming as they please.

Normally, a Bounty Swordman has no chance to gain a place within the Six Gates.

Unless a traitor like Du Rusong appears.

Never underestimate the nose on these people. Unless Du Rusong flees far away, leaving Great Jin behind, otherwise he’ll be found sooner or later.

And when that happens, it will be a hunt without end.

Unless he can break through to the Divine Treasure Realm. Then, if he returns to the Six Gates and can "explain himself clearly," the Six Gates will naturally welcome him back with open arms.

Several Third Grades dying is, of course, a grave fault to a First Grade. But to a super‑grade Red Robe, it hardly counts for anything.

So, Chen Ming was very sure that Du Rusong would definitely make his move.

He headed south. In less than a day, he arrived at Gu Commandery, several hundred li away. Since he’d finally made a trip back to Jiangzhou, he might as well settle an old matter in passing.

That evening, he stood on a hillside, gazing at Gu Commandery City in the distance, and suddenly said, "Lord Du is here!"

No wasted words. What greeted him was a sword wreathed in blood‑light.

He’d seen this sword outside Jiangzhou City.

That time, if not for the Divine Treasure Realm expert at Princess Mingyu’s side making a move, he would have been killed or at least severely wounded.

But things were different now!

The "Taiyue Sword" in Chen Ming’s hand was already drawn, its gentle yellow radiance rising to meet that Divine Weapon.

A resounding crash rang out.

He was blasted back, flying more than ten zhang before he finally shed that surging force.

Du Rusong’s strength was indeed fiercer than Golden Jade Hall’s Second Elder; he was probably already at the Peak of First Grade.

"Good kid!"

Sure enough, Du Rusong’s tall figure appeared opposite him, his face full of disbelief. "In less than a month, you actually broke through to Second Grade! And you could take that sword from me. Who are you, really?"

Wasn’t this brat just breaking through to Third Grade not long ago?

It was only a matter of one or two months—how could he possibly break through to Second Grade so soon?

What kind of speed was that?

Back then, it took him a full five years to go from Third Grade to Second Grade, grinding his Divine Sense to perfection. This brat actually did it in less than two months.

How was that possible?

Did he mistake the person? Was this woman really not Gu Xianyu?

It completely overturned everything he knew.

Chen Ming spoke leisurely, at ease, "You’re only asking about my identity now? Too late. That day outside Jiangzhou City, you didn’t even ask a question before hunting me down. That grudge—I will settle today."

PS: I’m out of strength, only two Chapters.