Chapter 25: Sparring
In the courtyard, only Guan Peng and Zhuang Xiaotian stood as spectators.
Once Chen Ming and Deng Ziyang began their match, they watched with unblinking eyes, afraid to miss a single detail.
They had seen Deng Ziyang demonstrate his swordsmanship before—graceful, elegant, and incredibly swift—it had seemed quite formidable.
Now, when put into actual combat, it turned out to be rather underwhelming.
It was agile, yes, but lacked strength.
Though fast, it failed to inflict any real harm.
Guan Peng only needed a short while before understanding the essence of Deng Ziyang’s sword technique.
He thought to himself, “I thought Big Brother’s swordsmanship was impressive, but it turns out it’s all style and no substance.”
Zhuang Xiaotian shared a similar sentiment.
As for Deng Ziyang himself, he felt utterly miserable.
It was as though he had strength but nowhere to use it, and a deep sense of frustration welled up inside him.
After more than thirty exchanges, his sword momentum began to falter. He suddenly halted, let out a breath of stale air, and said with a bitter smile, “Senior Brother, your saber technique is superb. I’m no match for you.”
【You have defeated an LV10 enemy and gained 50 experience points.】
Chen Ming cupped his hands and said, “Brother Deng’s swordsmanship is also quite exquisite. It’s just that you lack combat experience, which allowed me to suppress you.”
Deng Ziyang took it as mere courtesy and felt even more bitter inside.
He had trained in this sword technique for so many years and believed his strength was considerable. Yet, he couldn't even defeat Chen Ming, who had just made a breakthrough.
This battle nearly shattered all his confidence.
Suddenly, he understood how Guan Peng felt yesterday.
The intense sense of humiliation made him want to run away and hide somewhere where no one could see him.
However, he held it in.
...
The second match was between Zhuang Xiaotian and Chen Ming.
He proposed, “Brother Chen, I’m not skilled in blades or swords. How about we compare fists instead?”
Chen Ming had no objections and readily agreed.
So, the two began sparring with fists in the courtyard.
Deng Ziyang had often watched Chen Ming sparring with his subordinates and was very familiar with his Three Talents Fist. At the time, he hadn’t thought much of it.
Now, seeing him fight Zhuang Xiaotian, Chen Ming remained just as composed and confident as usual.
His posture was exactly the same as when he sparred with Qi Jun and the others.
“He’s going easy on Third Brother!”
Deng Ziyang suddenly realized this and felt a storm surge in his heart.
This wasn’t sparring—it was practically feeding moves to Zhuang Xiaotian!
“Was he also feeding moves to me earlier?”
No!
Impossible!
He had just broken through to the Ninth Grade.
How could that be?
Deng Ziyang didn’t want to think about it any further.
After a few dozen moves, Chen Ming narrowly claimed victory with a single move.
Zhuang Xiaotian admitted defeat respectfully, “Brother Chen, your fist techniques are brilliant. I’m sincerely impressed.”
...
The third match was Guan Peng’s turn.
Although he had suffered a crushing defeat at Chen Ming’s hands yesterday, his fighting spirit remained high.
With the lessons learned from that loss, he was confident that he wouldn’t be defeated so easily this time.
“Please.”
Chen Ming made a gesture of invitation.
Guan Peng immediately launched his attack.
At that moment, his mind was filled with thoughts of how to defeat his opponent.
As soon as they clashed, Deng Ziyang and Zhuang Xiaotian, watching from the side, could clearly feel the difference—Guan Peng’s saber moves had become sharper and more aggressive.
They were shocked.
Just one day had passed, and Guan Peng had already improved this much?
Even so, Chen Ming still handled him with ease.
After observing for a while, Deng Ziyang noticed something odd—Chen Ming really seemed to be feeding moves to Guan Peng.
Their exchange was almost identical to yesterday’s.
As expected, after dozens of moves, Chen Ming once again claimed a narrow victory with a single strike.
Looking at Chen Ming’s serious expression, Guan Peng said, “Brother Guan, you really have improved rapidly. I only won by a hair.” For a moment, his heart was filled with mixed emotions.
...
【You have once again defeated an LV11 enemy and gained 50 experience points.】
Chen Ming saw the notification and felt delighted.
Even defeating someone one level above him a second time still granted 50 points.
Noticing that the three of them had their heads down and the atmosphere was a little gloomy, he realized they were feeling disheartened after losing to him.
They were all hot-blooded young men, in their prime age for competition. Losing like this was a heavy blow to their pride.
This wasn’t good.
Chen Ming thought to himself: if this continued, after a few more losses, they probably wouldn’t want to spar with him again.
Their confidence would be completely shattered.
He had to think of something...
Got it!
Chen Ming spoke up, “You guys haven’t sparred with each other before, right? Why not take this opportunity to have a match amongst yourselves?”
This suggestion made all three of them stir. They looked at each other.
“That’s right, I can’t beat Chen Ming, but surely I can beat the other two?” The same thought flashed through all three minds almost simultaneously.
While watching earlier, each of them had thought the others weren’t much—weaknesses were quite obvious. They believed they could easily win.
It was the perfect chance to regain a bit of confidence.
“Alright!”
“Great idea.”
“Just what I was thinking.”
All three agreed in unison.
...
After some polite pushing, Deng Ziyang went up against Guan Peng first.
Both were full of confidence, but once they clashed, they were instantly surprised.
“How is his saber so fast?”
Deng Ziyang was shocked. Guan Peng’s saber looked heavy, but its speed was no slouch.
Though not as fast as his sword, it was by no means sluggish.
It put enormous pressure on him.
Nothing like the slow and clumsy moves he saw while spectating.
“How is his sword technique so sharp?”
Guan Peng was equally stunned. Deng Ziyang’s swordplay wasn’t just quick—it targeted his weaknesses precisely, forcing him to give it his all.
A single misstep, and he would lose on the spot.
They both felt like the other had been pretending earlier.
They dropped all underestimation and focused entirely, not daring to relax for even a moment.
Watching from the side, Zhuang Xiaotian felt like both had transformed.
The sword and saber techniques shocked him. “How did they suddenly become so strong?”
After dozens of exchanges, neither could gain the upper hand.
Eventually, both exhausted, they stopped simultaneously in tacit agreement, calling it a draw.
Due to the energy spent, the next rounds of sparring were postponed to the next day.
Soon, they dispersed and returned to their respective courtyards to practice on their own.
After this battle, all three of them came to understand—it wasn’t that their sworn brother was too weak.
It was that Chen Ming was too strong, which made their own flaws seem more glaring. In truth, the three of them were evenly matched.
...
In a flash, a month had passed.
That morning, as Chen Ming pushed open the door, he felt a trace of chill.
Looking up, the sky was dark, and the courtyard was scattered with fallen leaves.
He inhaled the desolate morning air and thought, “Winter is coming.”
By the time he had washed up, more than twenty young boys were already standing in the courtyard.
The oldest was around thirteen or fourteen, the youngest about nine.
All were children from nearby households, sent here to learn martial arts.
Naturally, Chen Ming didn’t refuse.
The more the merrier.
Teaching ten was the same as teaching twenty.
The news that he had become a martial artist had eventually spread.
That day when his eldest brother went to pay respects to their late parents, his sister-in-law overheard.
Then, her maid Xiaohong accidentally let the news slip, and soon it spread like wildfire.
So more and more people began sending their children over.
Learning some martial skills was ideal, but even if they didn’t learn much, building ties with the Chen family was still worthwhile.
That was the general thinking of the families who sent their kids.
Chen Ming taught for an hour as usual, then went to have breakfast.
At the table, only his sister-in-law Madam Wei and his young nephew were present. He asked, “Where’s Big Brother?”
“Your brother didn’t come home last night.”
“Something happened?”
“Seems like there was a problem with the medicinal ingredients,” Madam Wei only knew a little and didn’t seem too worried. With Ah Ming at home now, she had more confidence.
Unlike before, she wasn’t easily flustered over small issues.
“I see.”
Chen Ming didn’t say much, but deep down he knew it probably wasn’t a small problem.
His brother was a family man, never one for nightlife.
The last time he stayed overnight at the pharmacy was when Chen Ming was imprisoned.
“Ah Ming, your courtyard can’t remain without help forever. Now that more people are coming to learn martial arts, you’ll need someone to assist. I’ve found two clever ones. Do you want to meet them?”
“Sister-in-law, you decide.”
Chen Ming didn’t care much about it.