Sparring

In the courtyard, Guan Peng and Zhuang Xiaotian were the only two spectators. Once Chen Ming and Deng Ziyang began exchanging moves, they watched without blinking, afraid of missing even the slightest detail.

They had seen Deng Ziyang demonstrate his swordsmanship before. It was light and graceful, swift beyond compare, and seemed quite formidable.

Yet when he truly used it against an opponent, its performance was rather unsatisfactory.

It had more lightness than force.

Though fast, it could not inflict any real damage.

After watching for only a short while, Guan Peng saw the flaw in Deng Ziyang's swordsmanship and thought to himself, I thought Eldest Brother's swordsmanship was incredible. Who knew it would be all show and no substance?

Zhuang Xiaotian felt much the same.

Deng Ziyang himself felt even worse. He only felt as though he had strength but nowhere to use it, and a sense of defeat welled up within him.

After more than thirty exchanges, his sword momentum began to scatter. He suddenly stopped, exhaled a breath of turbid air, and said with a bitter smile, "Senior Brother's saber skills are exquisite. I am no match for you."

You defeated a level 10 enemy and gained 50 experience points.

Chen Ming cupped his hands and said, "Brother Deng's swordsmanship is also quite exquisite. It is only because you lack experience fighting opponents that I was able to suppress you."

Deng Ziyang merely assumed he was offering polite words, and the bitterness in his heart deepened. He had practiced this sword technique for so many years and had thought his strength would surely not be weak. Yet he could not even defeat Chen Ming, who had only just broken through.

This battle had nearly beaten all his confidence out of him.

He suddenly understood Guan Peng from yesterday. That intense humiliation made him want nothing more than to leave at once and hide somewhere no one could see him.

Still, he endured it.

The second match was Zhuang Xiaotian against Chen Ming.

He proposed, "Brother Chen, I am not skilled with sabers or swords. Why don't we compare our fists and kicks instead?"

Chen Ming had no objection and agreed.

Thus, the two sparred with their fists and feet in the courtyard.

Deng Ziyang often watched Chen Ming practice with his men, and having grown accustomed to seeing his "Three Powers Fist," he had not thought much of it.

But now that Chen Ming was fighting Zhuang Xiaotian, he remained as composed and effortless as ever.

That bearing was exactly the same as when he normally fought Qi Jun and the others.

"He is going easy on Third Brother!"

Deng Ziyang suddenly realized this, and stormy waves surged through his heart.

How was this sparring? He was practically feeding Zhuang Xiaotian moves!

"Was he feeding me moves just now too?"

No!

Impossible!

He had only just broken through to Ninth Rank. How could that be possible?

Deng Ziyang refused to think any further.

After several dozen exchanges, Chen Ming narrowly won with a single move.

Zhuang Xiaotian conceded, "Brother Chen's fist technique is exquisite. I am impressed."

The third match was Guan Peng's turn.

Though he had only just suffered a crushing defeat beneath Chen Ming's saber yesterday, his fighting spirit was still blazing. With yesterday's lesson in mind, he was certain he would not lose so easily this time.

"Please."

Chen Ming made a gesture of invitation.

Guan Peng immediately attacked. At that moment, his mind was filled with only one thought: how to defeat his opponent.

The instant the two began fighting, Deng Ziyang and Zhuang Xiaotian, watching from the side, could clearly sense the change in him. His saber momentum had become sharper.

They were greatly surprised. In merely one day, Guan Peng had improved so noticeably?

Even so, Chen Ming still dealt with him with ease.

After watching carefully for a while, Deng Ziyang spotted some clues. Chen Ming truly seemed to be feeding Guan Peng moves. The situation of their exchange was almost identical to yesterday's.

In the end, as expected, after several dozen exchanges, Chen Ming once again narrowly won by one move.

He watched Chen Ming say with a solemn expression, "Brother Guan's progress is truly astonishing. I only won by a narrow margin myself." For a moment, his heart was filled with mixed emotions.

You defeated a Level 11 enemy again and gained 50 experience points.

Seeing this notification, Chen Ming was delighted.

Even when defeating someone one level above him for the second time, he still received 50 points.

Seeing the three of them lowering their heads, with the atmosphere between them somewhat gloomy, an idea stirred in Chen Ming's mind. He knew that after losing to him, their pride had taken a blow.

They were all hot-blooded young men, at the age when they strove to outdo others. Losing like this hurt their pride too badly.

This was a little troublesome.

Chen Ming thought, If this continues and they lose a few more times, they probably won't want to spar with me anymore. I'll have beaten all their confidence out of them.

He needed to think of a way...

Got it!

Chen Ming said, "You probably have not sparred with each other before, right? Why not take this opportunity to spar among yourselves as well?"

This suggestion made all three of them stir. They exchanged glances.

"Right, if I can't beat Chen Ming, can't I beat those other two?" This thought flashed through all three minds almost at the same time.

While watching earlier, each of them had thought the other two were nothing special, with glaring weaknesses. They could easily defeat them.

This was the perfect chance to win back some confidence from them.

"Good!"

"Good idea."

"Just what I wanted."

The three agreed in unison.

After some mutual yielding, Deng Ziyang fought Guan Peng first.

Both were brimming with confidence, but the instant they exchanged blows, they abruptly discovered that things were not as they had imagined.

"How can his saber be so fast?"

Deng Ziyang was shocked. Guan Peng's saber appeared heavy, yet its speed was not slow at all. Though not as fast as his sword, it was by no means cumbersome.

It brought him immense pressure.

He was nothing like the slow and clumsy figure Deng Ziyang had seen while watching from the sidelines just now.

"How can his swordsmanship be so fierce?"

Guan Peng was equally shocked. Deng Ziyang's swordsmanship was not only fast, but specifically targeted his weak points, forcing him to concentrate with all his strength. A single moment of carelessness would bring immediate defeat.

Both felt that the other had been putting on an act before, so they put away their contempt and focused on dealing with each other, not daring to slacken in the slightest.

Zhuang Xiaotian, watching from the side, only felt that the two had become entirely different people. Their sword moves and saber techniques made his heart tremble, and he could hardly believe it. "How did they suddenly become so much stronger?"

After several dozen exchanges, neither could do anything to the other.

By the end, both were somewhat exhausted. With perfect tacit understanding, they stopped and counted it as a draw.

Because they had expended too much energy, the remaining sparring was left for the next day.

Before long, they dispersed and returned to their own small courtyards to practice.

After this battle, all three of them understood that it was not that their sworn brothers were too weak. Rather, Chen Ming was too strong, which only made their weaknesses seem obvious. In truth, the three of them were evenly matched—six of one, half a dozen of the other.

In the blink of an eye, a month had passed.

That morning, when Chen Ming pushed open his door and stepped outside, he felt a trace of chill. Looking up, he saw that the sky was dark and the courtyard was carpeted with fallen leaves.

He drew in that desolate air and thought, Winter is almost here.

By the time he had washed up, more than twenty little boys were already standing in the courtyard. The oldest were thirteen or fourteen, while the youngest were nine. All were children from nearby households, sent to learn martial arts from him.

Naturally, Chen Ming would not refuse. The more, the better. Teaching ten was the same as teaching another ten.

News that he had become a martial artist had still spread.

When Eldest Brother went to console their parents' spirits in heaven that day, Elder Sister-in-Law overheard him.

Then Xiao Hong, Elder Sister-in-Law's maid, inadvertently let the matter slip, and before long, it spread everywhere.

Thus, more and more people sent their children over. It would be best if they could learn some martial arts, but even if they could not, it was still good to forge even the slightest connection with the Chen Family.

That was more or less what the families sending their children to learn martial arts were thinking.

As usual, Chen Ming taught for one shichen before going to eat breakfast. Seeing that only Wei Shi and his little nephew were at the table, he asked, "Where is Eldest Brother?"

"Your eldest brother did not return all night yesterday."

"Did something happen?"

"It seems there was some problem with the medicinal herbs that came in." Wei Shi only knew the general details and was not overly worried. Now that Erlang was in the family, she naturally had confidence. Unlike before, she no longer panicked at the slightest trouble.

"Mm."

Chen Ming said nothing, but he knew in his heart that this trouble was likely no small matter.

Eldest Brother was a family man and never went to places of wine and pleasure. The last time he had stayed overnight at the medicine shop without returning was when Chen Ming had been thrown into prison.

"Erlang, there cannot always be no one attending to you in your courtyard. There are many people coming to learn martial arts from you now, so someone must help out. I have picked out two clever ones. Would you like to meet them?"

"Sister-in-law, you can decide."

Chen Ming did not care much about this.