Why Must Men Make Things Hard for Men

Bang~!

Fist and palm collided violently. Feeling the force transmitted from the other man's palm, Chen Mo immediately had a measure of his opponent.

A little stronger than Guo Wenbai, but not by much. He was clearly no match for Chen Mo.

Chen Mo deliberately controlled the speed and force of his punches, testing things again and again.

Before long, Chen Mo had adjusted his strength to Deng Qi's level.

Deng Qi's fist technique had likely reached the Great Accomplishment Realm. There were almost no flaws to be found; his moves were smooth and natural, flowing like clouds and running water, carrying a subtle charm of borrowing force to return force. If Chen Mo's Fierce Tiger Fist had not reached the Perfection Realm, he might well have fallen into Deng Qi's trap.

"This palm technique is rather interesting..." Chen Mo said with keen interest.

Only by fighting opponents of different styles could he accumulate practical combat experience more quickly.

Chen Mo was fairly satisfied with Deng Qi. Though Deng Qi could not let him fight to his heart's content, he could take a beating well enough. His hands would not go numb and his combat strength visibly decline after just a few dozen exchanges. That sort of thing was such a killjoy.

Guo Wenbai: ???

Meanwhile, Deng Qi was just like Guo Wenbai had been before—more alarmed the longer they fought, less certain of victory, and less confident he could win. Yet he did not panic. He did his utmost to steady his mindset and search for an opportunity.

Chen Mo was only fifteen, after all, and lacked practical combat experience. He might not reveal any flaws in a short time, but once the fight dragged on, an experienced martial artist like Deng Qi would surely hold the advantage and be able to maintain a steadier output.

Mm, that had to be it.

Deng Qi encouraged himself.

And so...

Twenty moves!

Fifty moves!

A hundred moves!

After a fierce battle of a hundred moves, Deng Qi had not found a single exploitable flaw in Chen Mo. Instead, he could clearly feel numbness and pain beginning to spread through his palms.

Although his fist technique could deflect part of the force Chen Mo sent at him, some of it still landed on his palms. Deng Qi had not cultivated a Body Hardening Cultivation Technique, so he certainly could not endure such punishment for long.

But he did not give up. He continued to persevere.

As an outsider who had married a direct-descendant young lady of the Guo Family, moved into the core ancestral land, and participated in high-level meetings, Deng Qi had relied on his formidable strength.

He was unwilling to lose so easily to a fifteen-year-old youth!

Another hundred moves passed. Chen Mo's breathing remained steady, without the slightest hint of fatigue. He even seemed capable of fighting for another three days and three nights, growing more excited the more he fought. Deng Qi felt increasingly helpless and weary.

Knowing full well that he could not win, yet having to keep fighting—and clearly being treated as a sparring partner—felt truly awful.

After several dozen more moves, Chen Mo still showed no intention of stopping. Having seen how things stood from the sidelines, Guo Wenbai could only helplessly interrupt their sparring match.

"Guest Official Chen, Brother Deng, how about we stop here for today?"

Chen Mo withdrew his fist and stood upright, his expression unchanged. Rather than responding immediately, he looked at Deng Qi in the distance.

"Brother Deng, what do you think?"

What else could I think? Only an idiot would keep fighting you!

Though his heart was full of complaints, Deng Qi showed not the slightest impatience on his face. He replied with feigned calmness.

"There will be plenty of opportunities to spar in the future. It is already getting late today, so how about we leave it here?"

"Fine. Brother Deng's palm technique is exquisite and admirable. Let's continue tomorrow." Chen Mo's face was full of anticipation.

Deng Qi: "..."

I really want to refuse!

After speaking, Chen Mo turned his gaze at just the right moment toward Guo Wenbai and Guo Shao, who were nearly laughing aloud at the edge of the Training Ground.

"Of course, I cannot favor one over the other and neglect Brother Wenbai and Brother Shao. Tomorrow, Chen shall continue seeking instruction from the two of you."

Guo Wenbai: "..."

Guo Shao: "..."

I really want to refuse outright, but I just can't bring myself to say it.

Why must men make things hard for men?

Guo Mingxuan and the others now looked at Chen Mo completely differently. He had fought Guo Wenbai for a hundred moves, defeated Guo Shao in three saber strikes, then fought Deng Qi for over two hundred moves without losing, even faintly gaining the upper hand. Chen Mo was truly strong.

He absolutely could not be regarded as an ordinary fifteen-year-old youth. He was a super genius!

If they could build a good relationship with Chen Mo, it would undoubtedly bring them enormous benefits.

Thus, during the teaching sessions that followed, Chen Mo could clearly sense the Young Masters and Ladies constantly expressing goodwill toward him.

Since the sparring had taken up some time, only a little over two hours remained for teaching Guo Mingxuan and the others.

It passed quickly.

With Chen Mo's realm and understanding of martial arts, teaching several martial artists in the Strength Refining and Inner Strength Realms posed no problem at all.

He neither held anything back nor showed off excessively, teaching them step by step.

Afterward, Chen Mo politely declined Deng Qi and the others' invitation to dine together and returned home. Pretty Maid had already prepared dinner, so he could start eating the moment he arrived.

Seeing a bag of jerky on the table, Chen Mo asked in confusion, "What is this?"

"This is the payment for Guest Official's instruction of the Young Masters and Ladies—five jin of Exotic Beast Jerky in total," Pretty Maid explained.

Chen Mo nodded to show that he understood and gestured for her to leave, causing a look of disappointment to appear on Pretty Maid's face.

The Guo Family had tasked her with serving Chen Mo as well as possible. The moment he arrived at the Guo Family, he was already receiving treatment that only long-established Guest Officials could enjoy. This showed just how highly Chen Mo was valued.

If she could climb onto Chen Mo's bed, she would rise to the heavens in a single step.

Unfortunately, she had practically made her intentions obvious these past few days, yet Chen Mo had shown no reaction at all.

Didn't they say young martial artists were full of vigor and hot-blooded, that they would ignite at the slightest spark when it came to men and women? Why does this Guest Official Chen seem so different? Is it because he is still too young? Pretty Maid withdrew outside, her mind filled with confusion.

Chen Mo had naturally noticed Pretty Maid's thoughts, but he did not want to do that sort of thing with a Guo Family maid within the Guo Family's ancestral land.

To be honest, if they were outside, he certainly would not refuse. But here, it was absolutely impossible.

He simply felt that this woman was "poisonous."

His gaze settled on the five-jin bag of Exotic Beast Jerky on the table. Chen Mo had to admit that the Guo Family was truly willing to spend on him. The treatment was highly satisfying, but unfortunately, this was not a place where he could remain safely and steadily for long.

Beneath this calm surface, there were likely monstrous waves surging toward the sky. One careless step, and Chen Mo would face a lethal threat. That was not something he wanted to encounter.

So it was better to remain cautious.

After testing for poison with a Silver Needle and finding neither the food nor the jerky poisoned, Chen Mo finally relaxed.

He sampled a little of the Exotic Beast Jerky and found that it contained even more energy than the prepared Exotic Beast Meat on his plate. It would take no fewer than twenty jin of Fresh Exotic Beast Meat to make these five jin of jerky.

The only unpleasant part was that the jerky was rather hard on the teeth.

"I merely acted along with your little play, yet you gave me so many benefits. What exactly are you after? Surely you do not think generous treatment alone will make me devote myself to you?" Chen Mo could not understand it.

He generally did not waste energy dwelling on things he could not figure out.

After eating and drinking his fill, Chen Mo put away the Exotic Beast Jerky. He planned to enjoy this high-energy jerky when he broke through to the next realm. After practicing the Fierce Tiger Fist more than ten times in the courtyard and exhausting the energy from the Exotic Beast Meat he had eaten for dinner, he continued studying the Pharmacopoeia.

Over the following days, Chen Mo went to the Training Ground every afternoon to teach Guo Mingxuan and the others, and he also sparred with Deng Qi and the other two.

But after only a few sparring matches, the three began making all sorts of excuses. Either their wives had been too fierce the night before and they were not in good condition today, or they had Lineage assignments coming up and could not fight anyone.

Guo Shao was the most outrageous of all. He simply stated outright that he was no match for Chen Mo and did not want to get beaten up.

He was cowardly with perfect justification.

Thus, more than ten days flashed by. Chen Mo's life became extremely regular and entirely without incident. He gradually adapted to his current life, though its calmness made it difficult for him to believe.

That night, looking at the Turtle Breath Health Cultivation Technique on the panel, which had once again become available for Epiphany, Chen Mo let out a long breath.

"The cultivation technique can finally advance."

His recent life had been far too peaceful, so peaceful that it felt unreal. He always felt that something detrimental to him was brewing behind the scenes. Only by increasing his own strength could Chen Mo gain greater confidence in facing the crises that might arise next...