I can only beat noobs.

Chapter 12 Mechanism
In the morning, it's still dark.

The backyard of the Deng residence.

Deng Ziyang was practicing Zhan Zhuang (standing meditation), and with each breath, a surging power seemed to be contained within his body, expanding and contracting.

Gradually, everything returned to calm.

He slowly opened his eyes, a glimmer of light flashing in them.

"almost!"

He clenched his fist, thinking, "The stance training the old man taught me is indeed quite effective."

It seems it's time to leave the Huo residence.

Although Huo Chengkun, that old fox, refused to accept him as a disciple, he had not been without gains during his years at the Huo family mansion.

After making the decision, Deng Ziyang felt relieved and went back to his room to change his clothes.

"Master."

Outside the door, a personal attendant reported to him, "Last night, after you went to bed, Third Master Qi and Second Master Peng got into a fight."

"What's the reason this time?"

Deng Ziyang spoke calmly, saying that it was normal for his subordinates to have conflicts, and as the eldest brother, he often had to settle disputes among his underlings.

"Second Master Peng mocked Third Master Qi for losing twice to an unknown nobody. Third Master Qi couldn't stand it, so he started fighting with him."

"Is Qi Jun injured?"

"No... Young Master, this time, it was Second Master Peng who lost to Third Master Qi by one move."

"?"

Deng Ziyang paused in washing his face. "Is that really true?"

"It's true."

Deng Ziyang threw down the towel and hurriedly went out to find Qi Jun and Peng Ruizhao.

These two were the strongest among his men. They were ranked according to their strength from the beginning.

Peng Ruizhao's strength has always been superior to Qi Jun's. In every encounter, Qi Jun has come out on the losing end.

This time, Qi Jun actually won a move?
Deng Ziyang found Peng Ruizhao, who was still half asleep. When asked what happened, Peng Ruizhao's face turned red, and he said loudly, "I drank too much last night and was careless..."

"So, you really lost a move?"

"..."

Deng Ziyang didn't ask any more questions, but said, "Wait a moment, you two can spar again."

"Okay." This was exactly what Peng Ruizhao wanted.

So Deng Ziyang sent someone to bring Qi Jun over and have the two fight again.

After exchanging dozens of blows, Peng Ruizhao ultimately prevailed, letting out a cold snort, "I knew it! I was careless last night..."

Deng Ziyang asked Qi Jun, "Why did you suddenly seem to have a breakthrough? You can fight back and forth with the second brother."

In the past, he would be defeated in a dozen or so moves at most.

Qi Jun lost to Peng Ruizhao again, and was quite unwilling to accept it. He said, "It must be because he's been drinking too much lately and has become lax."

Deng Ziyang said thoughtfully, "Chen Ming, this sparring partner, is actually quite interesting."

Qi Jun remained silent.

In fact, he knew in his heart that it was probably the reason for his two defeats to Chen Ming, but he just didn't want to admit it.

Deng Ziyang suggested, "I'd like to invite him to be your sparring partner. What do you think?"

Peng and Qi did not object.

……

"You want me to be your sparring partner?"

At noon, Chen Ming finished his sparring session for the day and left the Huo residence. He ran into Deng Ziyang again and felt like he had been hit on the head by a windfall when he heard Deng Ziyang's invitation.

Is there such a good thing?

Seeing his stunned expression, Deng Ziyang laughed and said, "Of course I won't let my brother work for nothing. I'm not that stingy Huo Chengkun. Your training is not easy, so you must need 'Qi and Blood Pills'. I'll give you three pills every month. You just need to spar with me three times a day."

Not only are there sparring partners delivered to your door, but you can also get "Qi and Blood Pills".

What a wonderful person!

Chen Ming sighed inwardly, grasped his hand, and said, "Don't say anything more, I will do my best."

Deng Ziyang was delighted to see that he had agreed so readily, saying, "It's a deal."

This is a true win-win situation.

Then, he once again boarded Deng Ziyang's carriage and headed to the Deng residence. That afternoon, Chen Ming stayed at the Deng residence until evening before leaving, carrying the 50 experience points he had gained, and returned home fully loaded in Deng Ziyang's carriage.

……

Over the next few days, Chen Ming went to the Huo residence in the morning and the Deng family in the afternoon. He racked up experience points until his hands were sore.

He quickly discovered a hidden mechanism.

As long as he fights someone of a higher level, no matter how many times he wins, he will always get at least 10 experience points.

Indeed, fighting monsters of a higher level is the right approach.

In the Deng family, Deng Ziyang's eight core brothers were all above him in rank. He mainly served as their sparring partner.

Therefore, you can gain 30 experience points every day at the Deng residence. Adding that to the 15 PM experience points, that's 45 points a day.

All told, it would take him at most a little over a month to accumulate enough experience points to upgrade "Iron Horse Stakes" to the fifth level in one go.

Five days have passed in the blink of an eye.

That morning, as soon as Chen Ming entered the Huo residence, he was stopped by Huo Qianqian's maid, who said, "My young lady wants to see you."

The little maid glared at him angrily, clearly having a problem with him.

"Please lead the way."

Chen Ming was also quite curious about how Huo Qianqian planned to deal with him.

It's the same secluded little courtyard as last time.

Huo Qianqian had changed into a lake-green outfit and looked serious. When she saw him arrive, she shouted, "Today, I will avenge myself! Take this!"

They didn't give him a chance to speak at all, and started attacking him right away.

So all this time she's been keeping quiet because she's waiting to heal her injuries so she can take revenge herself?

Chen Ming's impression of this unruly girl has changed somewhat.

In this world, it's already quite rare to not seek revenge from your family's powerful backers after suffering a loss.

To be honest, Huo Qianqian's moves were much more fluid and powerful than last time.

However, he wasn't the same person he used to be. He handled her advances with much greater ease.

After thirty moves, he finally found an opening and flicked her forehead with his finger.

"Ouch!"

Huo Qianqian winced in pain, clutching her forehead and glaring at him fiercely. She didn't hit him again, but simply stormed off.

You have defeated another level 8 enemy, gaining 30 experience points.

So, this means they've admitted defeat.

"Huh, why is it still 30 points?"

Chen Ming was very surprised.

I remember the last time I defeated Huo Qianqian, it was also with 30 points.

"Is it because her level is so much higher than mine?"

His experience points have been accumulating but haven't been added to "Iron Horse Stakes," so he's currently still at level 5.

In other words, this system encourages me to take on challenges beyond my current level.

……

From then on, Huo Qianqian would send her maids to stop Chen Ming every morning and take him over to spar with her.

As time went on, her moves became more and more refined, and Chen Ming found it increasingly difficult to keep up. By their sixth encounter, he had almost lost a move.

Left with no other choice, he had to upgrade "Iron Horse Stakes" to the fourth level that very night.

【Level: 7】

Current points: 145

[Technique: Iron Horse Stakes (Fourth Level 1/1000+)]

Martial Arts Skills: Three Talents Fist (Mastery 10/500+), Eight Trigrams Saber Technique (Beginner 12/100+)

As a result, Deng Ziyang's experience points will naturally decrease.

There is no way around this.

Fortunately, he had been training with the beginner students these past few days and had achieved remarkable results. Huo Chengkun noticed this and even praised him once.

He took the opportunity to offer to be a sparring partner for the intermediate class students, and Huo Chengkun agreed.

(End of this chapter)