"Grandpa, am I doing this 'Rhino Head Gazing at the Moon' move correctly?"
"Grandpa, why can't I generate the strength you talked about?"
"Grandpa, why is this 'Four Symbols Fist' so clumsy?"
"..."
Early in the morning, Qianqian pestered Huo Chengkun with questions until his head spun, prompting him to quickly say, "My dear granddaughter, how can I answer so many questions at once? Ask one at a time, and I'll answer one at a time."
Qianqian stamped her foot, "Why are you so dull? Never mind, I'll just go ask Senior Brother."
With that, she ran off with a "thud, thud, thud."
Huo Chengkun shook his head as he watched her leave, "Still such an impatient temperament."
Then he wondered, why had she suddenly become so focused on practicing martial arts?
The old servant beside him, seeing his confusion, took the initiative to explain, "Recently, Miss has been getting up before dawn every day to practice boxing. She's quite diligent."
"Oh?"
Huo Chengkun found it odd, "Why has she suddenly changed her attitude?"
This granddaughter wasn't exactly lazy, but she wasn't too enthusiastic about martial arts. In truth, her talent is quite exceptional. She's just a bit playful.
He couldn't bring himself to be harsh with her, so he left her be.
The old servant chuckled, "Perhaps she's about to get married, and she's worried about being unable to manage her husband after the marriage."
"When did this start?"
"About a month ago. At that time, she had a quarrel with the Seventh Young Master, and then she became like this."
Huo Chengkun remembered that a month ago, before Lao Qi left, the two of them indeed had a quarrel.
He became interested and stood up, "Let's go see how much progress she's made in this month."
So, master and servant went to visit the eldest disciple Zhao An.
In Zhao An's courtyard, Qianqian was consulting with Zhao An.
Huo Chengkun stood at the door without entering to disturb them. He watched for a while and was quite surprised. His granddaughter's Pile Skills had shown significant progress, reaching the Fifth Level. Her 'Four Symbols Fist' was also much more refined, no longer just a superficial display.
He felt gratified in his old age, that this wilful granddaughter finally understood the importance of martial arts.
Afraid of disturbing her, he quietly left with the old servant.
...
Unconsciously, Huo Chengkun wandered to the training ground and stood at the entrance for a while. He saw a group of people in the middle cheering occasionally.
He glanced inside and saw, through the gaps in the crowd, two people practicing sparring.
One of them was Chen Ming.
"Oh?"
Huo Chengkun was surprised. Chen Ming's Pile Skill had surprisingly broken through to the Fourth Level.
How is that possible?
If he had this level of cultivation, why did he lie to me last month and say his Pile Skill was only at the Second Level?
The more he watched, the more puzzled he became. Chen Ming's 'Three Talents Fist' was already proficient, easily grasped during the sparring. Instead of saying it was sparring, it was more like feeding moves to the opponent.
"Could I have been mistaken initially?"
"Or did he have some fortuitous encounter after leaving here?"
After watching for a while, Huo Chengkun left with his people.
As they walked some distance, the more he thought about it, the more it felt off. He said, "Tomorrow, give Chen Ming a... no, two Qi Blood Pills as compensation for being a sparring partner."
"Yes."
The old servant agreed but felt strange inside. How did the master suddenly become so generous?
One Qi Blood Pill costs fifty taels of silver. Two pills mean a hundred taels.
For the master to voluntarily give compensation was unprecedented.
Huo Chengkun remembered something else and asked, "By the way, has Deng Ziyang not come around anymore?"
The old servant replied, "He hasn't come for the past half month. I heard he switched to practice other Pile Skill and is now already a graded martial artist."
"Ha, that pest is finally gone."
Huo Chengkun had no intention of involving himself in the murky waters of the Giant Tiger Gang; he wanted to live a few more years.
...
[You have once again defeated an LV7 opponent, gaining 5 experience points.]
Chen Ming defeated the last student of the intermediate class and saw the prompt before him, revealing a satisfied smile on his face.
He noticed that as his level increased, the minimum experience points gained from defeating enemies of different levels also varied.
Currently, he was Level 7.
For those below Level 7, the minimum was only one point.
For those at the same level, the minimum was five points.
For those one level higher, the minimum was twenty points.
For those two levels higher, it was thirty points.
As for those three levels higher, he didn't know.
In the intermediate class, there were five people of the same level as him, and two of higher level.
Some students from the advanced class also came every day to spar with him, some of them one or two levels higher.
Because of limited energy, he no longer sparred with students from the beginner class.
Now, just by sparring with these students daily, he could gain nearly 140 experience points.
Half a month ago, Qianqian also reached Level 9, contributing 30 points to him daily.
These gains far exceeded his previous expectations.
Chen Ming suddenly realized that continuously suppressing his level might not be a good thing.
As he thought about this, he left the Huo Mansion.
A carriage was already waiting at the entrance.
He got into the carriage and arrived at the Deng Mansion. As soon as he entered, he saw Deng Ziyang, dressed in black, coming out to meet him.
Chen Ming said with a pleasant surprise, "Brother Deng, you've come out of seclusion?"
Ten days ago, Deng Ziyang said he would go into seclusion, and he didn't expect him to come out so soon.
Moreover, the feeling he gave now was quite different from before. Even with a smile, there was an aura of oppressive sharpness.
Chen Ming immediately understood and congratulated him, "It seems Brother Deng has successfully broken through. From now on, you are a true martial artist. Congratulations."
Deng Ziyang's expression was calm as he smiled, "I just took a step ahead. I believe it won't be long before Senior Brother catches up."
The house had already prepared a good feast, with all the brothers in high spirits celebrating for their big brother.
On such a joyful day, the afternoon's sparring was naturally canceled.
After eating, Chen Ming took his leave.
Sitting in the carriage, he felt a bit regretful, "Just a little bit more."
At first, he agreed with Deng Ziyang to spar three times a day, and he even took the initiative to suggest more matches. Naturally, they couldn't refuse.
Thus, at the Deng Mansion, he gained twenty points each day.
After half a month, he accumulated 2983 experience points, just seventeen points short of using them in one go to raise 'Iron Horse Stance' to the Fifth Level Perfection, and breakthrough to become a martial artist.
"Looks like I'll have to wait until tomorrow."
Chen Ming suppressed the agitation in his heart, thinking that whether the breakthrough happened today or tomorrow, it made no difference.
As the carriage entered an alley, he suddenly heard a commotion.
He didn't pay much attention until the coachman said, "Young Master Chen, it seems something happened at your home."
"Huh?"
He opened the carriage window and saw a group of rowdy young men gathering at his door, loudly saying, "It's only right to pay back debts. Chen Rui, you borrowed two hundred taels from our boss, and now the interest has risen to five hundred taels. Hurry up and pay back!"
His brother Chen Rui stood at the door with a medicine hoe, his face flushed, confronting these people.