Chapter 5: 50 Points
With the first example set, the others couldn’t help but feel eager to try.
They were all young and spirited, and having practiced martial arts for a few months, naturally wanted to test their skills.
Very soon, someone stepped forward voluntarily.
Then came the third, the fourth...
By the end, they were practically scrambling to be first.
Chen Ming treated everyone equally, allowing each person to fully perform the thirty-six moves of the Three Talents Fist before defeating them.
【You have defeated an LV1 enemy. Gained 2 experience points.】
【You have defeated an LV1 enemy. Gained 2 experience points.】
【You have defeated an LV2 enemy. Gained 5 experience points.】
...
Every time he defeated a student, a prompt would pop up before his eyes.
Chen Ming felt a sense of joyful harvest.
These youths had varying levels of skill.
The weaker ones weren't even familiar with the moves.
Some were quite strong—having already gotten the hang of Iron Horse Stance, and their techniques looked rather decent.
He had to take them seriously, lest he suffer an upset.
Hong Mingquan watched from the side and quickly felt at ease.
This Chen Ming was clearly measured in his strikes, not injuring any of the students.
Moreover, his Three Talents Fist was practiced to a very refined level, more than enough to handle these newcomers.
Through the sparring, Hong Mingquan could instantly spot where each of these kids fell short in their forms and execution.
After each bout, he would pull the student aside to point out the weaknesses—what moves needed more drilling. Hmph, fifty extra reps every day.
Hong Mingquan’s teaching style was nothing if not direct and blunt. Didn’t practice well? More practice.
Still not good enough? Practice even more!
If that still didn’t work, then it must be your lack of talent!
What adaptive teaching?
That didn’t exist.
...
By the time Chen Ming defeated the last student, it was already noon.
Even though his Iron Horse Stance had broken through to the second level, he was still panting from exhaustion.
He had fought fifteen rounds in total—an intense test of endurance.
But when he saw the prompts from defeating enemies, he felt all the fatigue was worth it.
【You have defeated an LV3 enemy. Gained 10 experience points.】
Huh?
Chen Ming was surprised at the content of the prompt.
LV3?
Same level as me?
He turned his head to look at the boy who had just walked off.
The boy had fine features, fair skin, and pride subtly glinting in his eyes.
During their spar, he had already sensed it—this youth’s Three Talents Fist was the most well-practiced among the newcomers.
He could even exchange blows with him evenly.
“He was hiding his true strength just now.”
“Why would he do that?”
Chen Ming was quite curious, and he memorized the boy’s name—Li Jinchuan.
...
“Hmph, he only practiced the fist technique a few years longer than me. Give me another two or three months, and I’ll surely defeat him with the Three Talents Fist.”
Li Jinchuan walked away, fists clenched tightly, a strong sense of unwillingness in his heart.
If not for being restricted to the barely-trained Three Talents Fist, he would never have lost to that guy.
“Li Jinchuan, your Three Talents Fist is amazing. How did you train it?”
At that moment, two people came up to start a conversation.
Li Jinchuan ignored them, face cold, and walked straight past.
The two were left hanging, feeling embarrassed, and fumed, “What’s so great about him? He just learns moves fast, that’s all!”
"Exactly. If he really had skills, he would've gone to Third Senior Brother long ago."
Not far ahead, Li Jinchuan heard their words and sneered inwardly.
These mediocre fools—just saying a single word to them was a waste of his time.
He hurried home to eat, then practice more.
To think he had actually lost to someone today—he had to train the Three Talents Fist ten more times as punishment.
...
"You mean Li Jinchuan? His talent is no less than Seventh Junior Brother’s. It’s just that Master said he’s too arrogant and needs to have his temper tempered. That’s why he left him with me."
In Hong Mingquan’s courtyard, he and Chen Ming were eating and chatting.
Chen Ming had asked about Li Jinchuan and received a surprising answer.
So that was it. No wonder his skills were stronger than the others', his techniques orderly and well-structured. But then, wouldn’t doing this make Li Jinchuan feel disheartened? Might he leave out of anger?
If that happened, and it turned into a classic case of “never underestimate a youth in poverty,” things could get messy.
Hong Mingquan didn’t care. "Then let him go. If he can’t even endure this, he’s definitely not a reliable person. Master would never take him in. Master always says that if someone is too sharp and ostentatious, no matter how talented, they’re not to be accepted. That kind of person is bound to bring disaster one day."
Chen Ming was sincerely convinced. "Master Huo really is farsighted and ahead of his time."
Indeed, someone with that kind of arrogance could never willingly stay at the Huo Residence, helping Huo Chengkun train students.
He was bound to seek adventure outside, and who knew what trouble he might stir up?
For Huo Chengkun, taking such a disciple might not bring any benefits. But if the disciple caused trouble out in the world, the master would definitely be implicated.
Too risky.
That old man’s number one condition for accepting disciples was probably honesty and reliability.
Just like Hong Mingquan—without any powerful background or connections, he had no choice but to rely on that big tree.
...
In the afternoon, Chen Ming returned home.
Back in the small courtyard where he lived, he opened his panel.
【Name: Chen Ming】
【Level: 3】
【Current Points: 50】
【Technique: Iron Horse Stance (Second Level 0/200+)】
【Martial Arts: Three Talents Fist (Proficient 21/200+), Eight Trigrams Saber Technique (Beginner 12/100+)】
Fifty points!
He was a little excited—more than the thirty points he had originally expected.
Among those newcomers, four were Level 2, each contributing five experience points.
One was Level 3, contributing ten experience points.
Altogether, it added up to exactly fifty points.
He put all of them into Iron Horse Stance, and instantly reached a quarter of the progress bar.
However, he had new thoughts now.
Improving realm was important, but his current method of earning experience was defeating opponents, so proficiency in martial arts was also crucial.
Before reaching the graded ranks, everything belonged to the "unranked" level.
At this stage, fights depended more on combat experience and martial skill level.
Just like those newbies today—some had practiced for months, yet half of them couldn’t even beat a thug on the street.
One reason—no experience.
And in this world, unranked martial artists were the most common group.
Chen Ming figured he could build a reputation through outstanding martial skills.
Once famous, countless people would come to him for sparring.
So, he devised a point allocation plan.
Iron Horse Stance: add 5 points.
Three Talents Fist: add 20 points.
The remaining 25 points—save them for now.
Once the points were added, Chen Ming felt a warm current surge through his body, a satisfying sensation of increased strength.
He also gained new insights into the techniques of Three Talents Fist.
The panel displayed some changes.
【Name: Chen Ming】
【Level: 3】
【Current Points: 25】
【Technique: Iron Horse Stance (Second Level 5/200+)】
【Martial Arts: Three Talents Fist (Proficient 41/200+), Eight Trigrams Saber Technique (Beginner 12/100+)】