Chapter 32: Challenge Letter
Chen Ming quietly took the Hong mother and son out of the Huo Residence and, upon returning home, settled the two of them in the guest room.
After that, he returned to his small courtyard, lit an oil lamp, and took out the Five Elements Saber Technique, studying it under the firelight.
After reading a few pages, he knew it was the real deal.
The internal cultivation mantras written on it shared the same lineage as the Eight Trigrams Saber Technique, but were even more profound.
With the accompanying illustrations and cross-referencing the moves with the fight between Zhao An and the man surnamed Guo a few days prior, he reached his conclusion.
However, relying solely on the illustrations, it was difficult to fully reconstruct all the details of the techniques.
At least, he didn’t have that ability.
“I should first memorize the saber manual thoroughly. When Hong Mingquan returns, I’ll have him teach me.”
Chen Ming thought to himself, focusing intently on the saber manual.
He became so absorbed in his reading that he didn’t realize how late it had gotten.
Suddenly, his ears twitched. He heard a sound outside.
Thinking it was the two maids, he was about to speak when he heard the sound of something cutting through the air.
A small stone pierced through the window paper and landed on the table in front of him.
Wrapped around the stone was a piece of paper.
Chen Ming’s eyes narrowed.
Seeing there was writing on it, he unfolded the paper.
Scrawled in messy handwriting was a single line: “See you in the back alley in a quarter of an hour, let’s settle this once more.”
“A challenge letter?”
He was a bit puzzled. Settle this once more—that meant it was someone he had already fought with…
Could it be her?
Chen Ming thought about it again and again, and only one person came to mind.
That blue-robed young lady he had fought at the Huo Residence a few days ago.
Of those he had fought recently, she was the only one likely to come find him for a rematch.
“Could this be a trap?”
That was his first instinct.
But then he realized he was overthinking it.
If she were targeting Hong Mingquan’s wife and child, there’d be no need for such a diversion.
If her senior brothers and sisters came with her, even more of them, he wouldn’t be able to stop them anyway.
...
A short while later, Chen Ming, holding a long saber, arrived at the back alley.
As expected, he saw a figure standing on the wall of his backyard, dressed in night attire, her posture graceful.
Judging by her silhouette, it was the same blue-robed young lady.
“My senior brother said that when you fought me a few days ago, you deliberately lost. Is that true?” she asked.
As soon as she spoke, it was indeed that familiar voice.
Chen Ming said, “So it’s you, young lady. I truly wasn’t your match and admitted defeat willingly.”
She had three senior brothers, and one of them was likely a Sixth Grade martial artist. He really didn’t want to cause trouble.
“Hmph, I trust my senior brother’s judgment. Let’s fight again.”
“I’d rather not…” Chen Ming really didn’t want to fight her again. If he lost, he’d lose experience points—it was too much of a loss.
“That’s not up to you. Take this!”
Zhong Shuyu had already drawn her sword. Without giving him a chance to speak, she lunged forward and thrust it at him.
This strike was aimed directly at the heart—vicious, fierce, and utterly merciless.
Chen Ming hurriedly drew his saber to block.
Each of her strikes was faster than the last, like a storm of wind and rain, every thrust aiming at a vital point.
The more Chen Ming fought, the more shocked he became.
This wasn’t just a spar.
One misstep, and he could lose his life right there.
Only then did he understand what she meant by “not up to you.”
She had actually forced him to go all out in this way.
His strength was indeed slightly inferior to hers, and what he relied on was his mastery of the Eight Trigrams Saber Technique, as well as the fact that her swordsmanship was not yet refined.
The technique she was using was almost identical to the Five Elements Saber Technique.
Her control over the sword technique lacked maturity, and the transitions between moves were not smooth—clear signs of insufficient combat experience.
But now, by going all out, she was actually masking the flaws in her swordsmanship.
For the moment, Chen Ming found it difficult to come up with a way to fake a defeat without harming her or getting hurt himself.
If he wasn’t careful, a fake defeat could turn into a real one. If he got stabbed, it wouldn’t be a joke.
This girl fought ruthlessly.
She wasn’t like Huo Qianqian, the kind of pampered lady raised in deep chambers. She was very likely someone who had real blood on her hands.
Chen Ming focused entirely on defending himself, not daring to be distracted in the slightest.
At the same time, he compared her sword moves with the techniques in the saber manual…
When they reached around forty moves.
He saw the girl slightly shift her stance, and just as her long sword was about to strike, a flash of insight struck him—he predicted she was about to use “Extreme Misfortune Begets Fortune.”
His hands moved faster than his thoughts. The long saber had already swung, landing directly on the weakest part of her sword.
A metallic clang rang out.
The girl’s long sword flew out of her hands.
She cried out, “Aiyo,” and stepped back twice, clutching her wrist and glaring at him angrily.
Chen Ming’s heart skipped a beat.
This was bad—he had thoroughly offended her now.
Should he… kill her to silence her?
That thought flashed through his mind but was instantly dismissed.
Things hadn’t gone that far.
Zhong Shuyu’s voice was filled with anger. “So you really held back last time.”
Chen Ming explained, “I really didn’t. I just recently obtained the Five Elements Saber Technique manual. That’s why I’m familiar with your moves. I only narrowly won by half a move.”
“You actually used that crude Eight Trigrams Saber Technique to defeat my Swallow Returns Sword Technique.” Zhong Shuyu grew more and more furious as she spoke.
Suddenly, her eyes widened as she looked behind Chen Ming, as though she had seen something terrifying.
Chen Ming instinctively turned to look. Just as he did, he sensed a sinister wind rushing at him.
Without thinking, he swept his saber, knocking the object away.
Clang!
It was a hidden weapon—a plum blossom dart.
He glanced down at the dart under the moonlight and saw a faint blue glow shimmering on its surface. His eyes narrowed as he said with a blank expression, “Young lady, there is no enmity between us. Why resort to such a lethal move?”
“Tch, when wandering the jianghu, one must use every trick to deal with enemies. Consider this a lesson. If you remain so soft-hearted next time, you won’t be so lucky.”
After speaking, Zhong Shuyu flipped onto the wall. With a few swift movements, she disappeared without a trace.
[You have defeated an LV12 enemy. Gained 150 experience points.]
The notification finally appeared.
Just now, because Chen Ming hadn’t seen the “enemy defeated” prompt, he had remained cautious and avoided being ambushed.
“So… from the system notifications, I can tell whether the opponent is faking defeat or truly admitting it.”
He had uncovered another hidden function of the System.
Chen Ming tore off a strip of cloth, wrapped up the plum blossom dart on the ground, and picked it up.
Though both were willful young ladies, compared to this blue-robed girl, Huo Qianqian was far kinder.
It’s true—people fear comparisons.
...
Chen Ming climbed back over the wall into his home. When he returned to the courtyard, he saw a small figure pacing at the door.
“Uncle Chen.”
The figure spoke first—it was the voice of Hong Zilin. He asked softly, “Was it someone coming to cause trouble for us?”
Chen Ming hadn’t expected to alarm him and said, “No, it was someone coming for me.”
“Oh.”
“Alright, it’s late. Go back to sleep.”
“Yes, Uncle.”
Hong Zilin gave a bow and turned to leave.
Back in the guest room, as he pushed the door open, his mother asked softly, “How did it go?”
“The person’s been driven away by Uncle.”
“Were they after us?”
“Yeah.” Hong Zilin said, “Now I understand why Dad wanted us to follow Uncle Chen. He didn’t want us to worry, so he lied and said they were after him.”
“Hmm.” Madam Li said worriedly, “I wonder who your father offended. He gave such solemn instructions before leaving, asking us to follow that man.”
“Father must have had his reasons. Mother, it’s late—let’s sleep.”
“Sigh…”
...
......
Back in his room, Chen Ming couldn’t sleep. He picked up the saber manual again and resumed studying.
“She just said the sword technique she used was the Swallow Returns Sword Technique. But why is it almost identical to the Five Elements Saber Technique?”
“Could it really be, as the rumors say, that the Five Elements Saber Technique was originally a sword technique forcibly modified into a saber technique just to mislead others?”