I tricked you into thinking you had the makings of an emperor, but you actually did it?

The young talents of the Central Region asked Shen Ming many questions about the Northern Region, and Shen Ming also asked about the Central Region.

What people in the Central Region talk about most are naturally the sacred lands and traditions, the great clans and dynasties, and the academies and schools.

And ancient giants with lifespans of thousands of years, and powerful beings above the Dominator Realm.

They were happy to tell Shen Ming these things, their tone full of pride, starting with the five major clans of the Central Region.

They are the Cui, Lu, Zheng, Wang, and Li families, known as the Immortal Family, with a lineage spanning tens of thousands of years.

The people on this ship are from these five families, although they are collateral descendants.

They invited Shen Ming to stay on the ship and travel together to the Northern Region.

Their large ship was much faster than Shen Ming's flying boat, and they could reach the coast within a month.

Shen Ming naturally wouldn't refuse and moved into an antique-style room in the ship's upper deck.

"At this age, someone at the Yuantai realm must have forged countless Yuantai."

"It's hard to say. With such rapid progress, even if one only has one Golden Platform, one can be considered a genius. Two Golden Platforms would make one a prodigy."

"Three rooftops, that's a first-rate genius, hahaha, they're all big shots in the Central Region."

The flourishing of martial arts in the Central Region has given rise to many standards and interpretations.

Even the praise of "genius" has different levels, such as ordinary genius, first-class genius, and top-level genius.

Shen Ming was the first young martial artist from the Northern Region they encountered, so it was inevitable that they would discuss him, though the tone was mostly teasing.

"How about we challenge him to a duel? A showdown between the Northern and Central Regions!" someone suggested.

The others' eyes lit up when they heard this, showing great interest.

"Guests are guests, and if we defeat him, what will others think of us on the journey? Don't be rude," Su Feng said.

His words were effective; the others immediately abandoned the idea, and the person who had made the suggestion chuckled and said, "Senior Brother Su, I was just joking."

……

The next day, Shen Ming woke up in a carved bed with the bed curtains hanging softly and a comfortable and warm brocade quilt beneath him.

"Ah, that feels good."

Shen Ming has been adrift at sea for more than two months, and he still feels a sense of unreality.

"The people of the Central Region are proud and arrogant, but they are also warm and generous; both qualities coexist."

Shen Ming thought that as a cultivator from the Northern Region, he should behave properly and give back in some way.

But after thinking it over and over, I still couldn't come up with a good idea. Giving someone else the boat fare directly was definitely not an option.

After washing up, he pushed open the door and went out. His room was on the third floor, and he could see the deck from the corridor.

At this very moment, on the deck, a boy of twelve or thirteen is practicing swordsmanship.

The sea breeze ruffled his clothes, and his hair flew in the wind.

The boy's eyes were fixed on the sword in his hand. Every move he made was powerful and vigorous. The flashing sword seemed capable of cutting through the sea breeze.

However, his movements slowed down, and his brows furrowed tightly, as if tied in a knot that he couldn't untie.

Shen Ming's eyes lit up; this was a perfect opportunity to offer some pointers.

Although he had never devoted much attention to kendo, his skill in kendo was first-rate, and he could see the boy's problem at a glance.

They broke through the barrier and went straight to the deck.

"Your swordsmanship has the wind attribute, making it swift and powerful, but it lacks a bit of agility and fails to bring out the essence of sword intent," Shen Ming said.

The boy's brow remained furrowed, his eyes revealing suspicion.

It's not hard to spot the problem; the difficulty lies in how to teach it.

"Watch it."

Shen Ming was too lazy to organize his thoughts, thinking that if the other party had a talent for swordsmanship, they could comprehend it directly.

He drew his Mingxin Sword and followed the opponent's sword style, displaying the essence and charm of swordsmanship.

This doesn't mean he directly copied someone else's swordsmanship, but rather that the boy hadn't achieved true swordsmanship enlightenment.

Shen Ming directly deduced the sword technique from the sword stance he had just seen, which was a piece of cake for him, given his sixth-level Sword Heart Clarity.

As soon as the sword whistled through the air, the boy's brows relaxed instantly, and his eyes gleamed.

He cultivates the Swift Wind Sword Path, pursuing the sword intent of wind.

Shen Ming practiced his sword technique from earlier with perfect naturalness, the sword wind possessing a unique rhythm, which greatly benefited him.

"Cui Fei, breakfast is ready!"

Just then, a voice interrupted his comprehension.

Shen Ming stopped wielding his sword and saw the graceful woman standing there.

I saw her among those people yesterday; her surname is Cui and her given name is Li.

Among the young talents on this ship, his status is similar to that of Su Feng.

"sister!"

The boy said angrily.

"Come back!" Cui Li's voice was several decibels louder than before.

Cui Fei had no choice but to walk back dejectedly, but he didn't forget to thank Shen Ming.

“Brother Shen, my brother is restless and needs to calm down. Please don’t teach him; let him figure it out slowly,” Cui Li said.

Shen Ming was somewhat puzzled. Logically speaking, the more things were like this, the more he should seek guidance from someone and seek enlightenment as soon as possible.

On second thought, it might be because the customs and atmosphere in the Central Region are different.

Seeing that he hadn't grasped the underlying meaning of her words, Cui Li felt somewhat helpless and pulled her younger brother back to their room.

"Sister, I almost..." Cui Fei said.

"Forget everything he just taught you."

Cui Li said, "The way of the sword is not like other martial arts. You must be single-minded. If you listen to too many distractions, it will interfere with your way of the swift sword."

"Sis, you're looking down on him, aren't you? But I feel his swordsmanship is really impressive." Cui Fei pointed out his sister's little secret.

"How powerful can the swordsmanship of the Northern Region be?" Cui Li asked subconsciously.

Then he immediately pricked up his ears to make sure that Shen Ming outside the door had gone far away before he felt relieved.

Cui Fei was right; she was indeed worried that Shen Ming would lead her younger brother astray.

“You’re so young, and you haven’t even figured out your own swordsmanship yet. How can you teach others?” Cui Lixin said.

Shen Ming was unaware of all this and continued walking around on the large ship.

He discovered that, compared to his own sea voyage, these young talents from the Central Region knew how to enjoy themselves. They not only had cultivation rooms, but also passed the time through entertainment.

Around noon, Shen Ming saw them flying kites.

It involves flying kites on the deck. The kite strings are specially made and require internal energy to maintain.

True energy is attached to a kite string that is hundreds of meters long, and you have to keep it from breaking at all times. It's a test of control.

Now, the kite, 100 meters in the sky, is shaped like a fiery red phoenix.

The owner of the kite was the woman in red who had left a deep impression on Shen Ming yesterday.

She was plump, had a fiery temper, and spoke very loudly; I remember her name was Zhang Yuyan.

"Haha, you men aren't any better either."

Zhang Yuyan was smug and shouted at the people next to her.

Suddenly, her phoenix kite attracted the attention of a bird, which took the kite as prey and swooped down.

"Don't come any closer!"

Zhang Yuyan shouted as she tried to control the kite to avoid it.

But the sky is the domain of birds. After a few rounds, the bird tore the kite apart and the kite string broke.

"Damn beast!"

Zhang Yuyan was furious. She took out a crossbow from her storage bag and aimed it at the sky.

"Sister Su, Senior Brother Su said not to provoke flying beasts," someone immediately reminded her.

"It's just a bird, what's there to be afraid of!"

Without a second thought, Zhang Yuyan pulled the trigger, and it must be said that she was quite accurate, shooting the bird through with a single arrow.

Zhang Yuyan snorted coldly, feeling relieved, but just then, a shrill cry came down.

"Windbreaker Beast!"

Everyone's expression changed.