I can only beat noobs.

Chapter 122: Heavy Gifts
After a while, the carriage stopped, and Chen Ming said, "I'll be right back, in no more than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn."

Su Zhining raised her eyelids to glance at him, nodded slightly, indicating that she understood. After he got off the carriage, she closed her eyes again.

A moment later, her brows suddenly furrowed slightly.

She possessed a secret technique called "earth hearing," which allowed her to hear even the sound of a mosquito flying by clearly within a ten-mile radius.

She just closed her eyes to use this secret technique. It wasn't that she intentionally wanted to pry into Chen Ming's privacy; she had absolutely no interest in this man's private life.

This was done to ensure his safety.

As a result, Chen Ming insisted on sparring with the owner of the house. Judging from his voice, the owner was quite old.

Su Zhining could sense that Chen Ming was practicing a pure Yang technique. Last night, when Chen Ming circulated his true energy, it looked like a huge furnace in her eyes.

The cultivation technique he practices must be extraordinary, yet he's going to challenge an old man. Isn't that bullying him?
The old man dared not refuse and had no choice but to agree. After about ten moves, he admitted defeat.

Then, she heard Chen Ming say goodbye and leave, but she didn't make things difficult for him.

Before long, Chen Ming returned to the carriage. He was clearly in a good mood and instructed the driver to proceed to the next location.

Su Zhining suddenly said, "Do you need to bully the weak to keep yourself happy?"

"??"

Chen Ming was taken aback and couldn't help but wonder, could it be that she had been secretly following him?
He said, “You are a disciple of a major sect, how could you understand the difficulties of us common people? I want to learn from the strengths of all schools, but sword and saber manuals don’t fall from the sky. What can I do? I can only learn by sparring with others. Unfortunately, some people are stubborn and unwilling to pass on their own martial arts. They don’t realize that such self-imposed limitations will only make each generation worse than the last.”

"He doesn't want to spar with you, so you shouldn't force him."

Chen Ming looked at her and asked with interest, "Is this the fairness in your Heavenly Dao Alliance's eyes?"

Su Zhining looked directly at her and said seriously, "Yes. So, don't do that next time."

Chen Ming praised, "He truly deserves to be called the leader of the righteous path in the world today. I admire him."

Then she added, "It just so happens that I recently encountered a difficult problem and would like to ask you for advice."

Su Zhining said, "Go ahead."

“Once, I passed through a village and discovered a villain who had poisoned the entire village with a deadly poison. The only way to survive was to take the antidote within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. The villain then wrapped the antidote in oiled paper and had a villager swallow it. The antidote could only be retrieved by cutting open his stomach. The antidote packet was too big; if his stomach was cut open, he would surely die.”

After Chen Ming finished speaking, he looked at her with a deep gaze. "Tell me, should I cut open that villager's stomach and kill him to save the entire village, or should I avoid killing and watch dozens of villagers die from the poison?"

Su Zhining's delicate eyebrows furrowed tightly, and her originally clear and bright eyes were filled with contradiction and entanglement, leaving her speechless for a long time.

Chen Ming watched her struggle with her dilemma.

This is a classic trolley problem, an ethical dilemma. It's perfect for putting a saintly woman like her through a difficult time.

……

It wasn't until Chen Ming had finished challenging the three sixth-rank cultivators that Su Zhining finally remembered to ask him. Her brows were still furrowed, and she asked in a somewhat urgent tone, "What were you made of back then?"

Chen Ming laughed and said, "I didn't do anything. Because I made up this story."

"what?"

A look of blankness flashed across Su Zhining's eyes.

Chen Ming's smile faded, and he said, "Although the story is fake, such things will definitely happen, and you will definitely encounter them in the future."

A flash of anger crossed Su Zhining's eyes. Her eyebrows shot up, and her fair, jade-like ears turned red, as if she were about to strike someone at any moment.

At this moment, she was no longer an ethereal fairy untouched by worldly affairs; she had become somewhat human.

However, she ultimately did not take action. After a while, she adjusted herself and returned to her original state.

It must be said that her emotions are quite stable.

Chen Ming knew when to stop and didn't provoke her again.

Throughout the day, he challenged almost every sixth-rank martial artist in Qingfeng City who had no background, and most of them dared not refuse.

For the few who had a stubborn temper, Chen Ming first tried to reason with them, but if they didn't agree, he would take direct action without giving them any face. He would beat them down, gain the experience points, and then leave.

As his strength grew, he became less restrained in his actions. As a martial artist, if you don't dare to be assertive when facing someone weaker than yourself, you deserve to be looked down upon.

……

As dusk approached, Chen Ming returned home. As he alighted from the carriage, he glanced at Su Zhining, noticing she sat there motionless, showing no intention of getting off. With any other woman, he would have assumed she was angry, but this was the exceptionally emotionally stable successor of the Heavenly Dao Alliance; she wouldn't be so petty.

She just probably didn't want to go in with him.

When the gatekeeper, Old Li, saw him, he quickly came over to report, "Second Master, someone is waiting for you. They say they've come to deliver something and want to hand it to you personally."

"Oh?"

Chen Ming was a little curious, so he went over to meet the young man. He looked like a shop assistant, and although he looked young, he had a very calm demeanor.

The young man said neither humbly nor arrogantly, "Second Master Chen, this was sent by my master. My master instructed that the item can only be given to you after seeing the token."

Token?

Chen Ming's heart skipped a beat. He took out the token with the character "Yuan" on one side and asked, "Is this it?"

Upon seeing the token, the young man's expression turned solemn. He bowed respectfully and handed over the wooden box, saying, "Please accept this. I'll take my leave now."

After saying that, he left.

Chen Ming put away the token, opened the box, and saw that it contained some books. The cover of the top book read "Seven Star Sword Technique".

"Could it be..."

No way?
He flipped through it and found "Falling Leaf Blade Technique," "Divine Speed ​​and Illusionary Shadow," and "Jade Breaking Skill"...

It's full of martial arts manuals, and not the common kind, but second-rate ones. It includes knife techniques, sword techniques, fist techniques, movement techniques, and so on.

There are thirteen books in total.

"hiss--"

For the first time, Chen Ming truly understood what it meant to be rich and powerful.

This is something money can't buy.

Back then, Guan Peng signed a contract to sell himself to the Sihai Group, all for the sake of obtaining a third-rate martial arts technique.

Those dozen or so sixth-rank cultivators today, after struggling for half their lives, mostly only managed to obtain a second-rate cultivation technique, and even that was the most ordinary kind.

Any one of these thirteen martial arts manuals would be enough to make many seventh-rank martial artists risk their lives for him.

What a generous act!
Chen Ming felt quite emotional, but to be honest, these techniques and martial arts skills were not of much value to him personally.

In martial arts, quality is more important than quantity. Mastering ten different martial arts techniques is not as valuable as mastering one sword technique to perfection.

As a player who only adds points to his stats, why would he need to master the strengths of many different schools? It's just an excuse.

Learning these martial arts techniques is a waste of his time and precious experience points.

Of course, it's not entirely useless. It can be passed on to those around you, such as the two maids, Wu Bofu and Liu Zhongda, or the guard Gu Junrong, and so on.

With these secret manuals, the Chen family will become a powerful force within ten or eight years.

……

After dinner, Chen Ming sat in his room flipping through a manual when he suddenly heard Su Zhining's voice, "With these techniques, you won't need to spar with anyone anymore."

These cultivation techniques were indeed sent over by someone she had arranged.

Chen Ming disagreed with her, saying, "Techniques are static, but people are dynamic. Only by sparring with others can you truly understand what those sword techniques and saber moves are like. However, I can promise you that I won't go to spar with those old men again."

If you accept a favor from someone, you should fulfill their request. You can't take advantage and then complain.

Anyway, he'll soon break through to the fifth rank, so there's no need for him to look for those sixth-rank individuals.

Su Zhining didn't say anything more, and Chen Ming thought she had already left, but then she suddenly said, "If that story is true, what would you do?"

He chuckled inwardly; she was still agonizing over that "trolley problem."

He said, "According to the principles of your Heavenly Dao Alliance, it's natural to kill one person to save the other dozens. Is there even a need to ask?"

Su Zhining said quietly, "But that person is innocent too."

P.S.: This is the third update, please vote with monthly tickets.

(End of this chapter)