In the courtyard, only Guan Peng and Zhuang Xiaotian were watching. When Chen Ming and Deng Ziyang began their duel, they watched intently, afraid of missing any detail.
They had seen Deng Ziyang demonstrate his swordsmanship before—graceful and swift, it seemed quite powerful.
However, now that he was actually fighting someone, his performance was far from satisfactory.
Graceful, yet lacking in force.
Fast in speed, yet unable to inflict damage.
After watching for a while, Guan Peng understood Deng Ziyang's swordsmanship and thought to himself: I thought my brother's swordsmanship was formidable, but it's unexpectedly all show and no substance.
Zhuang Xiaotian felt similarly.
Deng Ziyang himself felt extremely uncomfortable, sensing his strength without a proper outlet, and naturally developed a sense of defeat.
After over thirty moves, his sword momentum dissipated, and he suddenly stood still, exhaling a breath of stale air, smiling bitterly, "Senior brother's saber technique is superb; I am no match."
[You defeated a LV10 enemy and gained 50 experience points.]
Chen Ming cupped his fists and said, "Brother Deng's swordsmanship is also quite exquisite, but you lack experience in facing enemies, which is why I was able to suppress you."
Deng Ziyang thought he was just being polite, feeling even more bitter inside. He had practiced this sword technique for years, believing his strength was not weak, yet he couldn't even defeat the freshly advanced Chen Ming.
This battle nearly shattered his confidence.
He suddenly understood Guan Peng's feelings from yesterday; the intense sense of shame was so overwhelming he wanted to leave at once and hide in a place without people.
However, he endured it.
...
The second match saw Zhuang Xiaotian facing Chen Ming.
He suggested, "Brother Chen, I'm not adept with sabers and swords; how about we compare fists and feet?"
Chen Ming had no objections and agreed.
Thus, the two began sparring with fists and feet in the courtyard.
Deng Ziyang was used to seeing Chen Ming spar with his subordinates and was familiar with his "Three Talents Fist," not thinking much of it.
At this moment, when he faced Zhuang Xiaotian, he was still as composed as usual.
His stance was identical to when he sparred with Qi Jun and the others.
"He's going easy on the third brother!"
Deng Ziyang suddenly realized this, surprised beyond measure.
This was no sparring at all; he was simply feeding moves to Zhuang Xiaotian!
"Was he also feeding moves to me just now?"
No!
Impossible!
He had only just advanced to Ninth Grade; how could it be?
Deng Ziyang refused to entertain the thought any further.
After dozens of moves, Chen Ming narrowly won by one move.
Zhuang Xiaotian resignedly said, "Brother Chen's fist technique is exquisite; I am impressed."
...
In the third match, it was Guan Peng's turn.
Although he had suffered a heavy defeat yesterday at Chen Ming's hands, his fighting spirit was not diminished. With yesterday's lesson, he was confident this time he wouldn't be defeated so easily.
"Please."
Chen Ming gestured for him to proceed.
Guan Peng immediately launched an attack, thinking only of how to defeat his opponent.
Once they began their duel, Deng Ziyang and Zhuang Xiaotian watching from the side could clearly feel his change; his saber technique grew sharper.
They were astonished; in just one day, Guan Peng had made such noticeable progress?
Even so, Chen Ming continued to handle him with ease.
After watching closely for a while, Deng Ziyang noticed something was amiss—Chen Ming genuinely seemed to be feeding moves to Guan Peng. The way they fought was almost identical to yesterday.
Ultimately, unsurprisingly, after dozens of moves, Chen Ming again narrowly won by one move.
He looked at Chen Ming and said earnestly, "Brother Guan, you have indeed improved rapidly; I only narrowly won." For a moment, his feelings were complex.
...
[You once again defeated a LV11 enemy and gained 50 experience points.]
Chen Ming felt joy upon seeing this message.
Even defeating someone a level higher for the second time yielded 50 points.
He noticed the three hanging their heads; the atmosphere between them was somewhat low. He realized their self-esteem was bruised after losing to him.
They were all young men, eager to prove themselves. Losing in such a way was too damaging to their pride.
Things were not looking good.
Chen Ming thought if things continued this way, they might not want to spar with him anymore after a few more losses. Their confidence had been shattered.
He had to think of a solution…
Got it!
Chen Ming suggested, "You three haven't sparred amongst yourselves before, have you? Why not take this opportunity to spar with each other?"
This proposal caused the three to perk up and exchange glances.
"Right, if I can't beat Chen Ming, surely I can beat the other two?" The thought flashed through their minds almost simultaneously.
While watching from the sidelines just now, they felt the other's strengths to be about the same; their weaknesses were clear and beatable.
It would be a good way to regain some confidence.
"Alright!"
"Good idea."
"Just what I wanted."
The three agreed in unison.
...
After some consideration, Deng Ziyang sparred with Guan Peng first.
They were both full of confidence, but once they exchanged blows, they suddenly realized things weren't like they imagined.
"How can his saber be so fast?"
Deng Ziyang was surprised; Guan Peng's saber seemed heavy, yet its speed was unexpectedly quick—not as fast as his sword, but certainly not clumsy.
This placed tremendous pressure on him.
It bore no resemblance to the slow clumsiness seen while spectating just now.
"How is his sword technique so sharp?"
Guan Peng was equally surprised; Deng Ziyang's sword technique was not only fast but also targeted his weak points, forcing him to be exceptionally attentive; any negligence could lead to immediate defeat.
Both felt that the other was playing them, thus dropped their disdain and focused entirely, not daring to relax for even a moment.
Watching nearby, Zhuang Xiaotian felt that the two had transformed, their sword and saber techniques startling him and rendering disbelief, "How did they suddenly become formidable?"
After several dozens of moves, neither could overcome the other.
Both grew somewhat exhausted and tacitly stopped, declaring it a draw.
Due to the heavy energy expenditure, the subsequent sparring was postponed till tomorrow.
Soon enough, they dispersed, returning to their own courtyards to practice.
After this battle, all three realized it wasn't their companions who were weak, but Chen Ming was too strong, thus highlighting their weaknesses. In reality, the three were evenly matched.
...
A month soon passed by.
One morning, Chen Ming stepped out to feel the chill, looking up to see a dark sky and leaves covering the courtyard.
He inhaled the desolate air, thinking, "Winter is almost here."
After washing up, he found over twenty young boys in the courtyard, the oldest thirteen or fourteen, the youngest nine. These were all children from nearby households, sent to learn martial arts from him.
Chen Ming naturally didn't refuse, the more the merrier; teaching ten was no different than teaching twenty.
The news of him becoming a martial artist had spread.
The eldest brother conveyed their parents in heaven, overheard by the sister-in-law.
Then, the maid Xiao Hong inadvertently let slip the news, and soon it was widespread.
Thus, more people sent their children, hoping for them to learn a few martial arts skills, or at least establish a connection with the Chen Family.
This mostly reflected the thoughts of those sending children to learn martial arts.
Chen Ming taught for an hour as usual before going for breakfast, finding only his sister-in-law Wei and his little nephew at the table, asking, "Where's my elder brother?"
"Your brother didn't return last night."
"What's the matter?"
"It seems there's an issue with the medicinal herbs." Wei only vaguely knew something, but wasn't too concerned. Now with Erlang in the family, she was naturally more assured, unlike before when she panicked over small matters.
"Hmm."
Chen Ming said nothing, knowing this trouble was likely significant.
His brother was very devoted to the family, never visiting those entertainment venues. The last time he stayed overnight at the pharmacy without returning was during his time in prison.
"Erlang, your courtyard can't have no one serving you; now that more people are coming to learn martial arts from you, someone must help. I've picked two smart ones; do you want to meet them?"
"Sister-in-law, you can make the decision."
Chen Ming didn't care much about this.