Mechanism

Before dawn, in the early morning.

The rear courtyard of Deng Manor.

Deng Ziyang was practicing his stance. With every breath in and out, it seemed as though a surging force within his body was expanding and contracting.

Gradually, everything returned to calm.

He slowly opened his eyes, a crystalline gleam flashing through them.

"Soon!"

He clenched his fists, thinking, This stance technique the old man taught me really does have something to it.

It seemed it was time to leave Huo Manor.

Although that old fox Huo Chengkun had always refused to take him as a disciple, his years at Huo Manor had not been without gains.

Having made up his mind, Deng Ziyang felt entirely at ease and returned to his room to change.

"Young Master."

Outside the door, a personal attendant reported, "Last night, after you went to sleep, Third Master Qi and Second Master Peng got into a fight."

"What was it over this time?"

Deng Ziyang's tone was calm. It was perfectly normal for the men under him to have conflicts; as their big brother, he often had to judge right and wrong for his juniors.

"Second Master Peng mocked Third Master Qi for losing twice to a nobody. Third Master Qi couldn't swallow the insult and started fighting him."

"Was Qi Jun hurt?"

"No... Young Master, this time, Second Master Peng lost to Third Master Qi by one move."

"?"

Deng Ziyang paused while washing his face. "Is that true?"

"Absolutely true."

Deng Ziyang tossed aside the towel and hurried out to find Qi Jun and Peng Ruizhao.

These two were the strongest among the brothers under him. Their ranking had originally been determined by strength.

Peng Ruizhao had always been stronger than Qi Jun. Whenever they fought, Qi Jun was always the one at a disadvantage.

This time, Qi Jun had actually won by a move?

Deng Ziyang found Peng Ruizhao, who had yet to wake up, and after questioning him, saw his face flush red as he said loudly, "I drank too much last night and let my guard down for a moment..."

"So you really lost by one move?"

"..."

Deng Ziyang did not press further. Instead, he said, "Later, the two of you will spar again."

"Fine." It was exactly what Peng Ruizhao wanted.

Thus, Deng Ziyang sent someone to fetch Qi Jun and had the two fight once more.

They exchanged several dozen moves. In the end, Peng Ruizhao still edged him out in skill. With a cold snort, he said, "See? I told you, I only let my guard down last night..."

But Deng Ziyang asked Qi Jun, "Why does it seem like you suddenly saw the light? You were able to go back and forth with Second Brother."

Before, he would lose in no more than a dozen moves.

Having lost to Peng Ruizhao again, Qi Jun was somewhat unwilling to accept it. "He must have been drinking too much lately and grown lax."

Deng Ziyang said thoughtfully, "This sparring partner, Chen Ming, is rather interesting."

Qi Jun fell silent.

In truth, he also knew that it was most likely because he had lost to Chen Ming twice, but he simply did not want to admit it.

Deng Ziyang suggested, "I want to invite him to be your sparring partner. What do you think?"

Neither Peng nor Qi objected.

"Invite me to be a sparring partner?"

At noon, after finishing the day's sparring at Huo Manor, Chen Ming ran into Deng Ziyang again as he was leaving. Hearing the invitation, he felt as if a pie had fallen from the sky and smashed him on the head.

There was such a good deal?

Seeing him freeze, Deng Ziyang smiled. "Of course, I won't have a brother work for nothing. I'm not a miser like Huo Chengkun. Cultivation is not easy for you, and you surely need Qi and Blood Pills. I'll set aside three for you every month. You only need to spar three times a day."

Not only would sparring partners come right to his door, but he would also receive Qi and Blood Pills.

What a truly good man.

Chen Ming sighed inwardly and clasped his hand. "Say no more. I will certainly give it my all."

Seeing him agree so readily, Deng Ziyang was also delighted. "A deal, then."

This was a true win-win.

Then, Chen Ming once again boarded Deng Ziyang's carriage and headed for Deng Manor.

That afternoon, Chen Ming stayed at Deng Manor until dusk before leaving. With the fifty experience points he had gained, he rode home in Deng Ziyang's carriage, returning with a full load.

Over the next few days, Chen Ming went to Huo Manor in the morning and the Deng Family in the afternoon. He farmed experience points until his hands went numb.

Before long, he discovered a hidden mechanism.

As long as he fought someone of a higher level than himself, no matter how many times he defeated them, he would receive at least ten experience points.

Sure enough, fighting monsters above his level was the right answer.

Among the Deng Family, Deng Ziyang's eight most trusted brothers were all at higher levels than him. He mainly served as a sparring partner for those people.

Thus, every day at Deng Manor, he could gain thirty experience points. Adding the fifteen from the morning, he earned forty-five points a day.

At that rate, in at most a month or so, he would save enough experience points to raise Iron Horse Stance to the Fifth Layer in one go.

In the blink of an eye, five days passed.

That morning, Chen Ming had just entered Huo Manor when Huo Qianqian's Maid stopped him again. "My young lady wishes to see you."

The little maid glared at him furiously, clearly holding a grudge against him.

"Please lead the way."

Chen Ming was also rather curious about how Huo Qianqian intended to deal with him.

It was the same secluded little courtyard as last time.

Huo Qianqian had changed into a lake-green martial outfit. Her face was solemn, and when she saw him arrive, she snapped, "Today, this young lady will wash away her former shame. Take this!"

She gave him no chance to speak and attacked immediately.

So she had remained quiet all these days because she wanted to wait until her injuries healed before taking revenge herself?

Chen Ming's impression of this spoiled young lady improved somewhat.

In this world, after suffering a loss, being able not to seek out one's family backing to vent one's anger was already quite rare.

And indeed, Huo Qianqian's moves flowed together far more smoothly, and their power had increased considerably from last time.

But he was no longer the same person he had been before. Dealing with her attacks was even easier now.

After thirty exchanges, he finally caught an opening and flicked a finger against her forehead.

"Ow!"

Huo Qianqian clutched her forehead in pain and glared viciously at him. Yet she did not attack again, only storming away in a huff.

You have defeated an LV8 enemy again and gained 30 experience points.

So, she had conceded.

"Eh, why was it still thirty points?"

Chen Ming was greatly surprised.

He remembered that when he defeated Huo Qianqian last time, he had also received thirty points.

"Was it because her level was far higher than mine?"

He had been saving his experience points and had not added them to Iron Horse Stance. He was still Level 5.

In other words, this system encouraged me to challenge opponents above my rank.

After that, Huo Qianqian sent her maid every morning to stop Chen Ming and bring him over to spar with her.

As time passed, her moves became increasingly refined, while Chen Ming found dealing with her increasingly difficult. By their sixth fight, he had nearly lost by one move.

Left with no choice, that night, he raised Iron Horse Stance to the Fourth Layer.

Level: 7

Current points: 145

Cultivation technique: "Iron Horse Stance" (Fourth Layer 1/1000+)

Martial skills: "Three Powers Fist" (Mastery 10/500+), Bagua Saber Technique (Beginner 12/100+)

As a result, the experience gains from Deng Ziyang's side naturally decreased.

There was nothing to be done about that.

Fortunately, over these days, he had achieved remarkable results as a sparring partner for those youths in the Beginner Class. Even Huo Chengkun had noticed and praised him once.

He took the opportunity to request becoming a sparring partner for the Intermediate Class students, and Huo Chengkun agreed.