Chapter 338: Chapter 180: The Stars Surround the Moon
Seeing Chen Cheng get rid of the courtyard weeds so casually and effortlessly, she felt his methods were nothing short of divine.
Mu Xiaowan was both shocked and delighted, and she asked, "Brother Cheng, have you cultivated Saber Intent?"
Chen Cheng smiled faintly. "I’m still a long way from cultivating Saber Intent. Just now, I was only using my Qi Blood Power to forcefully exhibit a fraction of its might."
Mu Xiaowan clicked her tongue in amazement. "Just a fraction of its might is already this formidable. If you unleashed the full power of the Saber Intent, how incredible would that be?
I bet with its power fully displayed, a single person could fight an entire army."
"It’s not quite that exaggerated. Realm Power is formidable, but it has its limits," Chen Cheng said, shaking his head slightly.
He had demonstrated the Qingfeng Saber Intent in front of Mu Xiaowan mostly to broaden her horizons. If she could gain some enlightenment from it, it would be a great boon to her Cultivation of the Phantom Sword Stance.
Mu Xiaowan looked pensive. After a long moment, her eyes suddenly lit up, and she said joyfully:
"Brother Cheng, watching your Saber Intent just now, I think I understood something.
The aura of the Saber Intent seems very similar to the aura my master exudes when using the Phantom Sword Stance, only it’s much sharper.
A Realm must be a step beyond Momentum, and Momentum... it seems to be built upon the foundation of Perfect Level Swordsmanship..."
She trailed off, falling silent as she was once again lost in thought.
’It seems Xiaowan’s aptitude for comprehension is even higher than I imagined,’ Chen Cheng thought, nodding slightly.
Not wanting to disturb Mu Xiaowan’s contemplation, he began to slowly walk around the courtyard.
He began to circulate his Qi Blood Power faintly. Within a radius of several feet, ripples began to emanate through the air.
The severed weeds and dust on the ground lifted into the air, immediately converging in one direction...
Great Power Realm!
He was now unleashing the full might of this Realm, one he had already mastered completely.
However, the amount of Qi Blood Power it consumed was far less than what he had used to demonstrate the Qingfeng Saber Intent moments before.
RUSTLE! RUSTLE! RUSTLE! RUSTLE...
In just a few dozen breaths, drawn by the Great Power Realm, all the weeds, dust, and miscellaneous debris were neatly stacked against the courtyard wall.
The courtyard grounds were now clean and tidy, looking as if they had just been meticulously swept.
Had anyone been watching, their jaw would have surely dropped, and they would have claimed to have witnessed a divine miracle.
To Chen Cheng, however, this was merely a trivial trick.
’Different Realms have different specializations. The Great Power Realm, with its ability to exert immense pressure and a pulling force, is actually quite suitable for cleaning a courtyard.’
’The Qingfeng Saber Intent, on the other hand, could hardly accomplish such a task.’
’Of course, the Great Power Realm also lacks the sharp, lethal power of the Qingfeng Saber Intent.’
’Each has its own unique advantages!’
’So, how would I use Realms against an enemy? Beyond a simple contest of Realm Power, mastering a sufficient variety of Realms would provide an endless array of tactics.’
’With the Realms I currently command, I’d be inclined to use the Great Power Realm to control an opponent and the Qingfeng Saber Intent to execute them.’
’The combination of surprise and lethal sharpness... yes, that would be more than formidable enough.’
With the power of a single Realm, whether it was the Great Power Realm or the Qingfeng Saber Intent, Chen Cheng wouldn’t dare claim he could face down an army of thousands.
But with the two combined, he wouldn’t fear facing even a Thousand-man Camp clad in full Armor!
He pushed open the door to the main house and stepped inside. The room was sparse, containing only a simple table, chairs, and benches, along with the ancestral tablets on the wall.
The doors and windows had been kept shut, so the room was still relatively clean, save for a layer of dust. That would have to be wiped away carefully with a damp cloth.
When he returned to the courtyard, he saw Mu Xiaowan still standing there in a trance, apparently still deep in comprehension.
Chen Cheng decided not to disturb her. He went to the kitchen, grabbed a bucket, and headed out to fetch water.
The moment he opened the courtyard gate, he saw a crowd of his Locust Tree Lane neighbors gathered outside.
"Master Chen..."
"Master Chen..."
...
Wang Laoshu’s family and several others, young and old alike, were prostrated on the ground, kowtowing to him.
In the alleys of the slums, which were much like small country villages, news of any disturbance spread like wildfire.
Thus, Chen Cheng’s return to Locust Tree Lane could not be kept secret.
Chen Cheng was baffled by the sight. He frowned slightly and said, "Uncle Laoshu, what is all this? Please, get up and speak."
The crowd remained kneeling, refusing to rise. Wang Laoshu’s face was flush with emotion, and his voice choked as he pleaded, "Master Chen, I beg you, please help this old one!"
"Please, Master Chen, stand up for us!"
...
The rest of the crowd also wore looks of misery as they cried out their pleas.
A few had already started weeping and wiping away their tears.
Coming from a humble background himself, Chen Cheng understood the way these common folk operated. ’Don’t tell me they saw I’ve become successful and are here to borrow money,’ he thought.
’If they’re here to borrow money, I can’t lend it to them. After all, you should only carry a bowl as big as your hand, and only eat as much as your bowl can hold.’
’Even if I lent them a large sum of silver coins, they wouldn’t know how to manage it. It would more likely bring them harm than good.’
’But today is the joyous occasion of bringing Mu Xiaowan home for our wedding ceremony. I shouldn’t spoil the mood. I’ll just give them a few taels of silver and call it a day.’
With this in mind, Chen Cheng’s voice deepened. "All of you, stand up and talk! If you don’t explain what’s going on, how am I supposed to help you?"
Only then did the crowd finally rise, with Wang Laoshu taking the lead in explaining their plight while the others chimed in with details.
They explained that after the Ba Dao Gang took over the surrounding streets, they had been constantly raising the protection fees.
These poor neighbors of his were being pushed into a desperate corner.
This was especially true for Locust Tree Lane. The Ba Dao Gang’s Leader, Zhai Yongba, had taken a liking to the lane’s feng shui and decided he wanted to build his gang’s headquarters right there.
As a result, he was trying to buy up everyone’s homes.
If he were buying them at fair market price, it would have been acceptable. The residents could have sold their homes and simply bought new ones in another slum.
But the Ba Dao Gang was ruthless. They were only willing to pay half the market price.
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