"The Fifth Level of 'Iron Horse Stance'!"
Chen Ming took a deep breath, silently sensing the changes in his body.
He felt that his spirit, physical strength, and energy had all reached an unprecedented peak.
"Let's get familiar with it first."
He didn't rush to continue adding skill points but instead spent some time to adjust his state, practicing the 'Three Talents Fist' in the courtyard.
After practicing it once, he marveled in his heart, no wonder it's the system, after adding skill points, it perfectly matched the current state.
There was no situation where his strength increased drastically but he couldn't control his power.
So, he sat down again, opened the panel, and directly maxed out the proficiency level of the Fifth Level of 'Iron Horse Stance'.
[Level: 10]
[Current Points: 5]
[Cultivation Technique: 'Iron Horse Stance' (Fifth Level Perfection)]
[Martial Skills: 'Three Talents Fist' (Proficient 27/500+), Eight Trigrams Saber Technique (Beginner 55/100+)]
In an instant, he felt a terrifying force surge from within, tearing apart his muscles and bones. A massive pain engulfed him.
...
......
Evening time, dinnertime.
Chen Rui noticed that the dishes were more luxurious than usual and looked at his wife in surprise. She knew the family's situation, and recently they had been saving wherever they could. Why were there so many dishes today?
It wasn't a holiday or a festival.
Madam Wei seemed quite spirited. She saw her husband's confusion and explained, "This pork knuckle was brought by Sister Liu, these ribs were brought by Granny Li, and this..."
Chen Rui frowned and interrupted her unhappily, "You just accepted them because others brought them? Our family isn't at the point where we need others to give us food."
"It's not like that."
Madam Wei looked aggrieved, "They brought things because they wanted to ask about uncle's martial arts. It seems they want the children in their families to learn a move or two from uncle."
Chen Rui was momentarily speechless.
He knew that after the debt collectors left, several waves of visitors had come to the house until the afternoon. He thought they came to comfort his wife.
Unexpectedly, it turned out that after seeing his younger brother display his extraordinary prowess, they were also inspired to have their children learn martial arts.
Although Madam Wei was misunderstood by her husband, after explaining, she wasn't angry anymore. She felt particularly happy, experiencing for the first time the taste of becoming the center of neighborhood social interactions. This experience of being in the spotlight made her magnanimously forgive her husband's blunder.
At this point, the dishes were all served. Yet, no one picked up their chopsticks.
Chen Lide sat beside his mother, his eyes fixated on the plate of braised ribs, swallowing hard.
The last time their family had ribs was months ago.
After a while, Chen Ming finally arrived. He called out, "Big brother, sister-in-law," and then sat down.
For some reason, Chen Rui felt that his brother seemed different but couldn't pinpoint what it was.
Seeing him staring all the time, Chen Ming asked, "Brother, is there something on my face?"
"You..."
Chen Rui paused, then said, "This afternoon several neighbors came with gifts, saying they want their children to learn some martial arts from you. They're close neighbors, and your sister-in-law couldn't refuse, so she accepted their gifts... If you find it difficult, I'll return the gifts tomorrow."
When Chen Lide heard about learning martial arts, he finally shifted his eyes away from the ribs and looked at his uncle eagerly.
Madam Wei also looked at him nervously, afraid that he would turn down the offer.
Chen Ming thought for a moment, then said, "That's not necessary. Here's the deal, after I finish my tasks these days, I'll teach them some basic stuff in the morning."
"Alright."
Chen Rui's expression suddenly relaxed.
Chen Lide shouted loudly, "Uncle, I want to learn, too."
Madam Wei beamed, placing the first piece of rib into Chen Ming's bowl, "Let's eat first, the food will get cold."
...
Wanli Gambling House.
Few people knew that Old Ghost Xiao wasn't actually that old, just a little over forty, only prematurely aged, with most of his hair turned white and deep wrinkles on his face, making people mistakenly believe he was very old.
He sat in a grand armchair, holding a pair of iron balls in his left hand, slowly rotating them.
In the room, a few bruised and battered people knelt, crying, "Boss, you have to stand up for Scarface. That Chen kid doesn't respect you at all; Scarface's hip bone was broken, and the doctor said he might never walk again in this lifetime..."
Old Ghost Xiao closed his eyes, listening with a sullen face, clutching the iron balls tightly, producing a "creaking" friction sound.
Finally, he opened his eyes, his gaze even darker than his expression, "Fools!"
"I sent you to collect debts, not to fight!"
"You rely on being able to fight and resort to violence at the slightest provocation, and now you've hit a brick wall? Do you want me to clean up after you?"
"You even want to incite me to take revenge for you? Can't you use your brains for once? Did that Chen kid's martial arts fall from the sky?"
"His master is Huo Chengkun, a Rank Six expert. Even the Giant Tiger Gang doesn't dare to provoke them. Are you trying to get me killed?"
The people kneeling below, seeing his anger, became silent and fearful, each one loudly proclaiming they didn't dare.
Old Ghost Xiao looked at these worthless subordinates, hating them so much he wanted to kill them all.
He had long told them not to mess with families who practice martial arts.
Yet, they were brazen enough to even target the family members of someone who learned martial arts from Huo Chengkun; they really didn't know how to write the word "death."
A subordinate on the ground softly argued, "Scarface investigated, that Chen Ming left the Huo Mansion four years ago, because his aptitude was too poor, he was expelled..."
Old Ghost Xiao sneered, "He ruined Scarface in just two moves, yet you say his aptitude is poor? Then what are you?"
The man was at a loss for words, unable to respond.
"How many times have I taught you, don't take rumors to be true, otherwise, you won't even know how you died."
At this moment, a middle-aged man standing behind Old Ghost Xiao spoke, "Big brother, think about how to deal with the aftermath instead?"
"Hmph."
Old Ghost Xiao said, "Who caused the trouble, who will deal with it..."
...
......
"Not good, those debt collectors have come again!"
After dinner, Chen Ming had just returned to the small courtyard when he heard a loud shout.
With a quick flicker, he darted to the gate swiftly, looking outside to see the people from earlier standing at the door.
Scarface was lying on a door plank carried by his subordinates, looking a bit pale.
In the alley, many neighbors, hearing the commotion, came out to watch the spectacle.
Soon, Chen Rui also came out, standing together with his brother.
Chen Ming said calmly, "What, dissatisfied?"
Scarface, weakly, said, "I wouldn't dare. Today, my eyes were blind, offending you, sir, and I came to apologize."
Saying this, two subordinates carried a box over, placing it by the door, opening the lid to reveal a pile of shiny silver.
Then, the group all knelt down, "Please, sir, be magnanimous and forgive our ignorance."
Chen Rui was stunned, at a loss, instinctively wanting to say something, but quickly looked at his brother. Seeing his indifferent face.
He just heard him say calmly, "You didn't offend me, you offended my brother."
Hearing this, Scarface immediately turned to Chen Rui, "Mr. Chen Rui, it's my fault for being blinded by greed, altering the words on the IOU, and framing you. It was also wrong of me to lay hands on you..."
As he spoke, he knelt down with the one good leg he had left and knocked his head on the floor.
Chen Rui had never seen such a scene and felt a bit uneasy.
His brother, however, still wasn't satisfied, "You also laid hands on my brother."
"I was wrong. I shouldn't have laid hands..."
Scarface straightened up and slapped his own face hard, producing a loud "smack."
Then another slap, on the other side of his face.
Chen Rui's eyelids jumped violently, seeing how hard he hit himself, leaving his face swollen and red. He couldn't bear to watch, tugging gently at his brother's sleeve.
"Enough."
Chen Ming finally spoke, "Let today's matter be settled here. Leave."
Scarface and his group of subordinates left, feeling relieved as if granted amnesty.
The remaining neighbors in the alley, witnessing the scene, said nothing, only looking at the Chen brothers at the door with eyes full of respect.
An eerie silence enveloped the scene.
Those thugs, who were so arrogant and fierce during the day, now knelt at the Chen family's door, kowtowing in apology to the Chen brothers.
Such a powerful display deeply etched itself into their hearts.