I can only beat noobs.

Chapter 71 Backer
Gu Yuantao looked down at the tear in his sleeve, his already cold expression growing even colder. He remained silent, head bowed, seemingly recalling the battle that had just taken place.

Chen Ming turned to Zhou Weihao and asked, "Brother Zhou, am I qualified to fight you?"

Zhou Weihao said calmly, "You just had a fight with my cousin, I don't want to take advantage of you. Maybe next time."

"Alright."

Chen Ming also knew that such things couldn't be forced.

Most people in this world take winning and losing too seriously and have too many concerns. Forcing such people to spar will only create hatred in the end, which is unnecessary.

What he was looking for were martial artists like Gu Yuantao, who hoped to hone their skills and improve their strength through actual combat. Such people could often become regular sparring partners.

"Farewell."

After a while, Gu Yuantao finally snapped out of his reverie and left with his men.

After seeing them off, Chen Ming's expression turned serious.

Gu Yuantao's problem is the same as everyone else's. Although his cultivation level is much higher and his swordsmanship is quite good, he has little practical combat experience.

But Sun Shicai was different!
He rose to the rank of seventh-grade inspector through merit, earned it through hard work and fighting, and was far superior to those from prestigious families.

Moreover, he was already a seventh-rank official at least two or three years ago, and he's probably not far from being a sixth-rank official.

This is definitely a formidable opponent.

Even facing the enemy head-on, Chen Ming wasn't entirely confident.

Moreover, this person is a patrol officer of the Six Doors; killing him would have too many consequences.

On a whim, he opened the panel.

【Level: 30】

Current points: 4450

[Techniques: Iron Horse Stake (Fifth Level Perfection), Three Yang Body Forging Technique (Seventh Level 101/50000)]

Martial Arts: Three Talents Fist (Mastery), Eight Trigrams Saber Technique (Mastery), Zhuang Family Flying Knife (Mastery), Swallow Return Sword Technique (Proficiency 434/10000)

In these twenty days, I've accumulated over four thousand experience points. At this rate, it would take at least two years to raise the "Three Yang Body Forging Technique" to the ninth level of perfection.

If I could make more acquaintances with seventh-rank martial artists to spar with, it should shorten the time considerably.

Of course, that's not something we should be thinking about right now.

With a major battle imminent, any increase in strength would be beneficial.

After thinking for a moment, Chen Ming decided to add all his experience points to the Swallow Return Sword Technique. This would provide a greater boost to his combat power.

Instantly, his Swallow Return Sword Technique became (Mastery 4884/10000).

In an instant, a multitude of insights about this sword technique spontaneously surfaced in his mind.

Half an hour passed.

Chen Ming exhaled a breath of stale air, a hint of joy flashing in his eyes. The improvement in his swordsmanship gave him more confidence for the upcoming battle.

……

That night, around 7 PM, Zhang Mingyu, Xiao Zhuyun, and Huo Qianqian arrived at Chen Ming's house one after the other, entering through the back door.

Chunxiang and Xiaxiang led the three of them to his small courtyard.

The three of them coincidentally wore all black, presumably because they thought it would draw less attention to themselves.

There were three chairs in the room. Chen Ming gestured for the three of them to sit down and asked, "After you go back, have you thought of any other good ideas?"

Zhang Mingyu was the first to speak, "I went back and thought about it. That scoundrel is cunning and treacherous, and extremely cautious. I can't compare to him in terms of scheming and trickery. So I won't embarrass myself by offering my opinion."

Huo Qianqian also shook her head, "I can't think of any good ideas."

Finally, it was Xiao Zhuyun's turn. She didn't express her own opinion, but asked sincerely, "Young Master Chen, have you thought of a plan? If so, please share it so we can all discuss it."

Chen Ming picked up his teacup, took a sip, and slowly said, "Actually, killing him isn't difficult; the difficulty lies in preventing future troubles. Miss Xiao, I believe you are not a reckless person. Since you're dealing with a seventh-rank inspector, you must have a plan for the aftermath, right?" Zhang Mingyu and Huo Qianqian couldn't help but look at Xiao Zhuyun.

They were eager for revenge and thought too simply that as long as they made it public that Sun Shicai had murdered his master, their revenge would be perfectly justified.

Now that Chen Ming has said that, I can't help but worry about how to handle the aftermath.

Xiao Zhuyun hesitated for a moment, then spoke up, "For the past six months, I have been secretly investigating this person and discovered that he is colluding with pirates. This is enough for the Six Doors to dismiss him."

It turned out to be the case.

Chen Ming knew she wasn't the kind of woman who acted without thinking; she wouldn't go and kill a Six Doors inspector without any preparation.

Xiao Zhuyun continued, "However, once this matter is reported, he will either be imprisoned in the Six Doors prison or escape. No matter which outcome, it will be difficult to kill him for revenge and retrieve my sect's relics."

Hearing this, Chen Ming roughly understood her thinking. "So, you plan to catch or kill him, and then have someone report him to the Six Doors. At that time, the Six Doors will only think that he fled to avoid punishment. Naturally, they won't pursue the matter against us."

Xiao Zhuyun smiled and said, "Young Master is indeed quick-witted; you guessed it right away."

After he finished speaking, he tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest of the chair and fell into deep thought.

She was very patient and didn't rush me; she just sat there and waited.

The two people beside her were getting impatient, but she remained calm and composed.

Finally, Chen Ming stopped tapping his fingers, looked up, and said, "Have you ever thought about this, young lady? Who is his backer?"

Xiao Zhuyun was slightly taken aback; she hadn't considered this question before. She countered, "Why does the young master believe he has powerful backers?"

Hearing her say that, Chen Ming knew she didn't understand officialdom. "There are countless seventh-rank martial artists in the Six Doors, but there are only so many patrol officers. It's not something anyone can just do. Sun Shicai is so young, from an ordinary family, and his sect isn't particularly prestigious. Even if he has made some contributions, what makes him think he can become a seventh-rank patrol officer so soon after breaking through to the seventh rank?"

The Six Doors (a government agency) has a much larger recruitment pool than aristocratic families and sects. The martial arts examination is held annually, meaning a large number of new people flood in every year. However, there are only so many positions available, so if you want to get promoted, you have to wait in line.

According to Zhuang Xiaotian, within the Six Doors, without connections, it's virtually impossible to rise to the rank of seventh-grade inspector. Many people have toiled for decades. There are also many who struggle to even climb from seventh to sixth grade.

At the time, he wondered which deity Sun Shicai had worshipped to become a seventh-rank inspector at such a young age.

Xiao Zhuyun's expression also turned serious. "Brother Chen, do you mean someone will protect him?"

Chen Ming said, "This is only one possibility. The best outcome is that his backer doesn't want to protect him. That would be great, of course. But we must consider the worst-case scenario."

Xiao Zhuyun's expression changed slightly, and she said with some lingering fear, "It was my oversight. I am grateful for Brother Chen's reminder; otherwise, if someone had really tried to protect him, I would have really caused everyone a lot of trouble."

Without realizing it, she started calling Chen Ming "Brother Chen".

"Then, according to Brother Chen, what should we do?"

It's rare to meet a woman who listens to advice and is also humble.

Chen Ming's impression of her changed drastically; working with someone like her would be much less troublesome.

He said, "I think the best course of action is to test the waters and find out who his backer is. First, find someone insignificant to report this to the Six Doors, preferably someone who is Sun Shicai's enemy. Then, we'll see who protects him and know who his backer is."

Xiao Zhuyun immediately agreed, "This is easy, I'll take care of it tomorrow."

"One more thing."

"Brother Chen, please speak." Xiao Zhuyun valued him even more now.

Chen Ming said, "I would like to test your martial arts skills, young lady."

"what?"

He said, "Excuse my bluntness, but Sun Shicai fought his way up from the bottom. He is far superior to those inexperienced young masters from noble families. He is a formidable opponent. I need to ascertain the extent of your strength first so that we can work together more effectively."

"it is good."

Seeing that what he said made sense, Xiao Zhuyun immediately agreed.

P.S.: Requesting monthly votes.

(End of this chapter)