"...That's how it is."
Following Wen Zehao's instructions, Chen Ming explained it once to Huo Qianqian, who stood opposite him.
Huo Qianqian, dressed in light blue training clothes, listened expressionlessly, her eyes fixed on the newly budded flowers on the nearby tea tree.
Standing nearby, Wen Zehao was very pleased with his performance and said warmly, "Junior Sister, Chen Ming and I started learning martial arts here the same year, and we have a good relationship. You mustn't believe others' slander..."
Huo Qianqian still did not react.
Only the maid Chunmei, who knew her temperament well, realized that things were taking a bad turn, and frantically signaled to Wen Zehao to stop speaking.
Unfortunately, Wen Zehao had eyes only for Huo Qianqian and noticed no one else.
Seeing that he had no further part in the conversation, Chen Ming excused himself and left.
As he walked away, Huo Qianqian gave Wen Zehao a cold glance, "Wen Zehao, do you take me for a three-year-old child?"
Wen Zehao was taken aback, "What do you mean by that?"
"Hmph."
Huo Qianqian turned and left.
The maid Chunmei stomped her foot, gave him a look of frustration, and chased after her lady.
"Junior sister..."
Wen Zehao shouted urgently but did not dare to follow into the courtyard. He could only wait anxiously at the gate.
...
Idiot.
As Chen Ming walked away and heard Wen Zehao's aggrieved shout, he assessed him in his mind.
In the future, if Huo Mansion is left in the hands of such a person, its prospects would not be promising.
He shook his head and returned to the training ground.
Then, he began sparring with the trainees.
[You have defeated another LV7 opponent, earning 2 experience points.]
[You have defeated another LV8 opponent, earning 2 experience points.]
...
Zhang Mingyu sat in the pavilion, leisurely drinking tea with his fifth junior brother, glancing over occasionally.
This is why he didn't oppose Chen Ming sparring with his students— it made things much easier for him.
"Chen Ming indeed has some talent in fist techniques."
He commented, "Haven't seen him for a few days, it seems his skills have improved."
Finished speaking, he glanced at Hong Mingquan, "Do you think, with his level, he's qualified to be an instructor?"
Hong Mingquan laughed, "Chen Ming can handle these youngsters well, so he's certainly more than qualified to be an instructor."
Zhang Mingyu drank a cup of tea and tentatively asked, "Junior brother, if I suggest to Master that he replace me in teaching these youngsters, do you think Master would agree?"
"That's hard to say. Master is unlikely to let an outsider be an instructor."
"Sigh."
Zhang Mingyu sighed lightly.
Compared to being here as an instructor and teaching these trainees, he longed to venture out into the world. However, Master had never allowed him to leave.
He naturally dared not defy Master's orders.
The appearance of Chen Ming gave him a glimpse of hope.
No matter the outcome, he had to give it a try.
...
Over the entire morning, seventeen people came to spar with Chen Ming, providing him with a total of 34 experience points. This was a significant decrease compared to before.
The only good news was that the minimum experience points had now become two points.
He comforted himself with this thought.
In the afternoon, Chen Ming went to the Deng Mansion to spar with Qi Jun and the others.
"Senior Brother Chen, you finally came."
Qi Jun and the others were very enthusiastic. Ever since they knew their eldest brother was going to take the martial arts exam, they were also restless and full of interest, waiting for their eldest brother to enter the Six Gates and accomplish something big together.
Rarely, all of Deng Ziyang's eight young followers were present.
Upon leaving, Chen Ming had gained 16 experience points.
In total, he had acquired 50 points.
...
Thus, Chen Ming spent his days sparring to earn experience points and his nights at home studying that cultivation technique. Life was quite fulfilling.
Half a month passed in a blink.
At dawn this morning, a group of boys around the age of ten were already standing in the courtyard, lined up from tallest to shortest, awkwardly practicing their stances.
Chen Ming, holding a ruler, patiently corrected their postures one by one.
He said, "As usual, the last three standing will be rewarded with maltose."
Hearing about the maltose reward, many of the little ones began to salivate, determined to earn it.
After a while, some couldn't hold on anymore. It was like a chain reaction, and several gave up one after another.
In the end, just four were left, each with trembling legs but still gritting their teeth and persevering.
After a while, finally, one person dropped out.
Three remained.
Chen Ming did not call out to stop, for next came the competition between these three.
In the end, a little boy named Li Jian held out the longest. His clothes were the most worn, yet his perseverance was the strongest.
He lived in the next alley. His father and brother were carpenters.
After receiving the maltose, Li Jian did not immediately open and eat it but carefully tucked it into his arms.
"Next, let me see if any of you were slacking off."
After letting them rest and regain some strength, Chen Ming had them stand ready and then gave them a push.
With one push, they tumbled over.
[You have defeated an LV0 opponent again, earning 2 experience points.]
...
This is why Chen Ming took these people in.
It allowed him to easily gather experience points.
This system is very rigid; as long as he knocked down another person, it counted as a "defeat," with a minimum reward of two experience points each time.
Even if the opponent was just a ten-year-old boy.
These ten boys provided him with 20 experience points daily.
It was much easier than being a sparring partner at the Huo Mansion.
If one day, he recruited a hundred students, he'd earn two hundred points daily.
Chen Ming felt that this was like exploiting a loophole in the system.
...
Around eight o'clock, these little boys left.
It had been agreed from the start to teach for one hour in the morning.
Afterward, it was breakfast time.
While eating breakfast, Chen Ming opened the panel.
[Level: 10]
[Current points: 960]
[Cultivation Techniques: Iron Horse Stance (Fifth Level Perfection), Three Yang Body Refining Skill (Beginner 2/100)]
[Martial Skills: Three Talents Fist (Proficient 27/500+), Eight Trigrams Saber Technique (Beginner 55/100+)]
"So, that unnamed cultivation technique is called Three Yang Body Forging."
He felt a surge of delight in his heart.
After half a month's study, he finally understood this technique last night.
Now, he could directly add points to increase proficiency.
After breakfast, Chen Ming returned to his yard and added a hundred points.
[Level: 10]
[Current points: 860]
[Cultivation Techniques: Iron Horse Stance (Fifth Level Perfection), Three Yang Body Refining Skill (First Level 2/1000)]
[Martial Skills: Three Talents Fist (Proficient 27/500+), Eight Trigrams Saber Technique (Beginner 55/100+)]
Immediately, he felt a warm current spread throughout his body, causing a subtle change. However, the change was so small that its impact was not yet noticeable.
"Strange, the first level only requires a thousand experience points?"
Chen Ming found this idea somewhat unreasonable.
Iron Horse Stance needed a total of two thousand experience points to reach the fifth level. Why would advancing require fewer points after leveling up?
"It seems there's much more to explore about this system."
Suddenly, someone anxiously called outside, "Young Master, an officer from the Six Gates has arrived."
The people from the Six Gates?
Chen Ming's gaze sharpened. He responded and went out.
...
In the hall, a constable in black uniform, with a piercing gaze, sat imposingly. He was young, yet the uniform and the saber at his waist imparted a certain authority.
Chen Rui sat accompanying him, clearly trying to appear calm but actually very nervous. It was not until he saw his brother arrive that he exhaled in relief and quickly said, "This is Sir Wang from the Six Gates. He said he has some questions for you."
"I'll leave you to talk."
With that, he left.
Chen Ming examined this constable in black, indicating his rank in the Six Gates was the lowest, ninth grade.
Even so, he was still an official.
Since ancient times, civilians have not contested with officials.
Chen Ming respectfully bowed, "I'm not sure what Sir Wang wishes to ask. I'll certainly answer candidly."
Wang Mingyang was also scrutinizing him, not missing a single detail. As soon as he spoke, it was aggressively, "Was it you who killed Xiao Lin?"