I can only beat noobs.

Chapter 31 Entrustment
After Hong Mingquan finished speaking, he passed by Chen Ming and went into the mourning hall to keep vigil, not giving him a chance to ask questions.

He could only suppress his doubts.

After a while, the time came.

Huo Qianqian, Zhao An, and other disciples helped the coffin out the door, followed by a long procession of guests to send Huo Chengkun off on his final journey.

The funeral procession didn't stop until it reached outside the south gate of the city.

In the end, Chen Ming and the others watched as Huo Qianqian and her group of personal disciples, along with some nominal disciples, disappeared at the end of the official road with the coffin.

Huo Chengkun's coffin was to be sent to a place called Xiaoshui, to be buried with his deceased wife.

Hong Mingquan was also in the funeral procession, but he had just told me to come see him that night.

This is what Chen Ming finds most strange.

Another thing he noticed was that his fourth brother, Sun Shicai, was not in the funeral procession. It was somewhat unreasonable that he wouldn't even come to his master's funeral.

Once the funeral procession had gone far away, the crowd began to disperse.

Some people whispered among themselves that with Old Master Huo's death, the once-grand Huo family mansion was likely to vanish like stars in the wind.

"Actually, with the abilities of Old Master Huo's disciples, if they were willing to work together, the Huo family's influence wouldn't be any weaker than before. It's just a pity..."

Clearly, many people could see that Huo Chengkun's disciples had different intentions.

"Hey, Old Master Huo's fourth disciple, he's clearly in the city, yet he didn't even come to his master's funeral, such a big event, really..."

“Master Li, please be careful with your words. That man is now a patrol officer of the Six Doors.”

"So what? Such an unfilial person is despicable."

"..."

Chen Ming didn't listen any further and left immediately.

……

Deng Mansion.

Deng Ziyang was drinking alone in silence when he saw Chen Ming come in. He said happily, "Senior brother, you've come at the right time. Come, have a couple of drinks with me."

Chen Ming sat down opposite him and said with emotion, "I never expected that Master Huo's death would be such a blow to Brother Deng."

"fart!"

Deng Ziyang slammed his cup on the table, his face full of anger. "I'm just indignant. That day, when that old bastard refused to take me as his disciple, I swore in my heart that one day I would trample all his disciples under my feet in front of him!"

As he spoke, he began to grit his teeth, "But that old scoundrel actually died like that. Isn't that hateful?"

Chen Ming refilled the empty glass in front of him with wine and said, "Although he is dead, his apprentice is still here. He will not be able to see it anymore, but all the people in the city can see it."

Deng Ziyang downed the wine in his glass in one gulp and said, "Hey, he got off easy."

Chen Ming offered a few more words of comfort, and Deng Ziyang gradually came to terms with it.

"Perfect timing, there's something I wanted to ask your opinion on." He seized the opportunity to change the subject, "I'm thinking of opening a martial arts school that specifically teaches children introductory martial arts. Are there any tricks to it?"

"Open a martial arts school?"

Deng Ziyang frowned. "Forgive my bluntness, but with your strength and character, if you were willing to marry the daughter of a wealthy merchant, it wouldn't be difficult for you to acquire a more advanced martial arts technique with her resources. After ten years of dedicated practice, you might even reach the sixth rank. That's the right path. Why go through all that trouble and open some damn martial arts school?"

Chen Ming naturally knew that the life plan he was talking about was indeed a shortcut to transcending social classes for someone from a poor family like him.

On Earth, many people follow this path, commonly known as "phoenix men" (men from humble backgrounds who achieve success despite adversity).

However, if given a choice, who would want to be a "phoenix man" (a man from a poor background who achieves success)?

He said, "Back then, I studied martial arts at the Huo family mansion for several years, but I never grasped the essentials. When I asked the instructor, he simply ignored me. I wasted several years like this, achieving nothing. It wasn't until after I left the Huo family mansion and practiced repeatedly on my own that I slowly began to understand the secrets..."

“I think there are countless people in the world as dull as me. So I want to open a martial arts school so that children like me won’t waste their time because of unscrupulous instructors.”

Hearing his words, Deng Ziyang's expression became somewhat complicated. "You... why do you always do silly things? You just like doing these thankless tasks."

He suddenly remembered Huo Chengkun's words: a martial artist needs a pure and innocent heart. Perhaps it was precisely because Chen Ming possessed such a pure and innocent heart that his cultivation had progressed so rapidly.

Chen Ming said, "Please teach me, Brother Deng."

Deng Ziyang said, "Since you want to open a martial arts school, I naturally won't stop you. However, opening a martial arts school is not an easy thing; there are many intricacies involved..."

……

…………

When Chen Ming left the Deng family, he was still processing the news he had just received from Deng Ziyang.

"Fortunately, I specifically asked Deng Ziyang before opening the martial arts school, otherwise it would have caused trouble."

Ancient times were different from Earth; in addition to national laws, there were also clan rules. Similarly, every industry had its own set of rules.

In Qingfeng City, there is a martial arts guild whose members are twelve martial arts schools in the city. They have established a rule, which is actually just an excuse to unite and prevent others from entering this industry.

There are two ways to open a new martial arts school. One is to have three established martial arts schools jointly guarantee the business.

Forget about this one. Not even Deng Ziyang would have that kind of face.

The second rule is to accept the guild's test and fight three matches. If you win all three matches, you will be qualified to open a martial arts school.

There is also a strict rule that one must have at least an eighth-grade cultivation level to open a school and teach students.

Of course, if the dragon crossing the river has enough strength, such as a sixth-rank expert, then naturally no one would dare to say a word against it.

"This is the world of martial arts."

Chen Ming felt that he had finally touched a corner of the martial arts world, and he was eager to try it out.

However, let's raise our cultivation to the eighth rank first.

……

After nightfall, Chen Ming still went to the Huo residence to keep his appointment.

When the doorman opened the door, he seemed to have aged ten years. The servants in the Huo family were undoubtedly the most affected by Huo Chengkun's death.

Chen Ming didn't say he was looking for Hong Mingquan; he only said he had left something there and was looking for it.

The gatekeeper didn't suspect anything and let him in.

He went directly to the courtyard where Hong Mingquan lived.

Fifth Senior Brother.

He shouted from outside the yard.

"Is it Uncle Chen?"

A somewhat childish voice came from inside, and then a lantern was seen being carried out of the house; it belonged to a boy of eleven or twelve years old.

It was Hong Mingquan's son, Hong Zilin.

Chen Ming asked, "Zilin, is your father here?"

"Greetings, Uncle Chen."

Hong Zilin came to open the door and said, "My father isn't here. He sent my uncle over because he has something to ask of you. Please come in and talk, uncle."

Chen Ming wasn't too surprised to see that he acted like a little adult, possessing a maturity and composure far beyond his peers.

In this era, many children are quite precocious, especially those from poor families.

Several of the children who learned martial arts from him are already like little adults.

"it is good."

Chen Ming followed him into the house and found that Hong Mingquan's wife, Li, was also in the inner room. He quickly bowed and said, "Greetings, Sister-in-law."

Although people in the martial arts world don't have as many rules, it was still very inappropriate for him to be in a room with a mother and child in the middle of the night.

He asked, "I wonder what brings Senior Brother Hong here?"

Hong Zilin said, "Uncle Chen, this is a letter written by my father. You'll understand it as soon as you see it."

Chen Ming took the letter, opened it, and read it quickly, finally understanding why Hong Mingquan had summoned him.

She wanted him to help take care of her wife and son.

The letter said that this trip might take ten days to half a month. The nun didn't know if she would return to the Huo family, so she wanted to entrust her wife and children to him.

Chen Ming found it strange. His relationship with Hong Mingquan was not so close that he could entrust his wife and children to him.
I wonder if Hong Mingquan was just desperately trying anything.

Although it was a bit troublesome, he really couldn't refuse.

There was nothing they could do; Hong Mingquan had given them too much.

He actually offered the Five Elements Knife Technique as payment.

This sword technique is far superior to the "Eight Trigrams Sword Technique" and is Huo Chengkun's signature sword technique.

This is one of the things he urgently needs.

The Eight Trigrams Knife Technique is still too rudimentary. It can only bully martial artists from humble backgrounds like Zhuang Xiaotian and Guan Peng. It won't work against scions of prestigious families.

Hong Zilin presented a thick manual and said respectfully, "This is what my father asked me to give to you, Uncle."

Chen Ming took it, looked through it, and put it in his pocket, saying, "Are you coming with me now, or will you come to pick me up tomorrow?"

Hong Zilin decisively said, "Let's go now."

Soon, the mother and son came out carrying their bundles.

(End of this chapter)