I can only beat noobs.

Chapter 56 Breakthrough
When Chen Ming returned home, it was already completely dark. His family was sitting at the table, waiting for him to eat together.

He sat down in his seat and explained, "There was a traffic jam on the way, so I got back late. Sorry."

"It's good that you're alright." Chen Rui's mustache had grown even thicker, making him look more mature.

Only then did everyone start eating.

Chen Ming first put a piece of meat on Li Jinchuan's left, saying, "You're growing right now, so eat more meat."

Li Jinchuan thanked him, "Thank you, senior brother."

He now seems to have become a new member of the Chen family. Half a year ago, his guardian entrusted him to Chen Ming, saying that there was something he needed to do. He was supposed to stay for a month, but there has been no news since.

He has lived there ever since.

Young people are often preoccupied with their own thoughts. Living under someone else's roof, they feel inferior. If Chen Ming doesn't put some meat on his plate, he won't even touch the meat with his chopsticks and will only eat vegetables.

Chen Ming glanced at him, then his gaze suddenly sharpened, and he asked, "You've broken through?"

Seeing that he had figured it out, Li Jinchuan nodded in agreement, "Yes."

Chen Ming praised, "To have reached the ninth rank at the age of sixteen, you are indeed exceptionally talented."

Li Jinchuan blushed with pride at the compliment, "Senior brother, you flatter me."

Chen Rui and his wife didn't take it seriously at first, and Chen Ming had praised him more than once or twice, until they heard that he had advanced to the ninth rank, which surprised them.

Wei said excitedly, "Xiao Chuan is actually a ninth-rank martial artist? That's amazing!"

She knew better than anyone what a ninth-rank martial artist meant!
More than a year ago, the Chen family was on the verge of decline, but Erlang broke through to the ninth rank, and in just a few months, the Chen family was brought back to life.

Li Jinchuan became even more embarrassed, his ears turning red instantly. He stammered, "Compared to...Senior Brother, I'm...far inferior..."

At this moment, Chen Lide, who had just turned seven, became a little jealous and raised his hand, shouting, "Dad, Second Uncle, I want to learn martial arts too!"

Beside her, three-year-old Chen Lirong said in a childish voice, "Silly brother, Uncle said last month that you are not old enough and can only start learning martial arts when you are ten years old."

Chen Ming was amused by this remark and said, "Little Li Rong has a really good memory."

The family was laughing and having fun.

……

After dinner, Chen Rui called Chen Ming to his study and said he had something to discuss with him.

After sitting down in the study, Chen Ming noticed that Li De looked rather serious and knew that the pharmacy might have encountered some trouble. He didn't rush to ask, but simply said, "Lide is already seven years old. We should hire a tutor to teach him to read and write."

Whether you choose to study humanities or pursue martial arts, you need to be literate.

At seven years old, he would be starting elementary school on Earth.

Chen Rui nodded and said, "Your sister-in-law mentioned it to me a few days ago, and I've already asked someone to look for it."

He paused for a moment, then got down to business, "Does Erlang know Zhengrentang?"

Chen Ming nodded, "Of course I know, it's the largest pharmacy in Qingfeng City, a century-old brand."

“Yesterday, they sent a middleman to say that Chunhetang has overstepped its bounds and broken the rules,” Chen Rui said. “The whole thing started because I intercepted another pharmacy’s orders. Erlang, will this cause you any trouble?”

Chen Ming laughed and said, "Don't worry, in a few days this won't be a problem."

In the Great Jin Dynasty, every trade has its own rules. Martial arts schools have guilds, and naturally, so do pharmacies.

These are barriers and restrictions artificially set up by vested interests to protect their own businesses and prevent new competitors from entering the industry.

It's just like gangs dividing up territory.

As a newcomer, if you extend your reach into someone else's territory and steal their business, they will naturally react.

If it weren't for Chen Ming, an eighth-rank martial artist, things wouldn't have been just a simple reminder; the shop would have been smashed up.

This is also because the Chen family's pharmacy expanded too quickly, and in order to find new profit growth points, they had no choice but to steal business from others.

Chen Rui felt relieved after hearing his explanation. However, he still decided to avoid doing things like stealing business from others in the future, so as not to cause trouble for Erlang.

With Erlang's talent, his future achievements are limitless. To bring him trouble and affect his cultivation for a little gain would be incredibly foolish. Since ancient times, medicine and martial arts have been inseparable, and the strength and connections of Zhengrentang are far beyond what the Chen family can currently match.

……

Two days later, at dawn, the sky was just beginning to lighten.

In the Chen family's backyard, more than forty boys were already sweating it out.

As usual, Chen Ming tested each student's lower body to see if it was stable before ending the lesson.

After everyone left, he returned to his room and instructed Chunxiang and Xiaxiang to guard the courtyard and prevent anyone from entering.

He opened the panel.

【Level: 29】

Current points: 88

[Techniques: Iron Horse Stake (Fifth Level Perfection), Three Yang Body Forging Technique (Sixth Level 29965/30000)]

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

We're almost at the seventh rank!
Chen Ming felt a slight excitement. For the past six months, he had spent his days either bullying children or sparring with people far inferior to himself, and he had also gone to great lengths to build relationships with those martial artists...

Now, it's finally time to reap the rewards.

"add a bit!"

He put all 88 points into the "Three Yang Body Strengthening Exercise".

In an instant, he felt a loud bang.

A powerful force erupted from within his body, his blood seemed to boil, burning through his blood vessels, muscles, and bones...

After an unknown amount of time, things finally calmed down.

Chen Ming carefully sensed the changes in his body, feeling as if there was a furnace inside him, continuously providing him with powerful energy.

"This power seems to have increased tenfold. Is this what the seventh-grade Qi and Blood Realm is like?"

He clenched his fist, and a powerful confidence naturally arose within him that he could punch a hole in the sky.

Of course, this is just an illusion.

……

For the next few days, Chen Ming didn't go out. Apart from teaching the children, he stayed in his yard, familiarizing himself with his newly improved strength.

In fact, he hadn't decided how to announce his breakthrough to the seventh rank.

It only took seven months to go from the eighth rank to the seventh rank. Wouldn't it be too shocking if word got out?

In martial arts, the higher the level, the more difficult it is to break through, and the longer it takes.

His increasingly limited time is particularly unusual.

Just as he was hesitating, a customer arrived.

It was Gu Junrong who arrived. Before he even entered the courtyard, he shouted, "Junior brother, I have great news for you! Third senior brother has broken through... broken through to the seventh rank..."

What?
Chen Ming was somewhat surprised that Zhang Mingyu had actually broken through to the seventh rank.

Such a coincidence?
A few days ago, he said he had to go out to take care of some things; it turns out it was to break through his cultivation level.

Gu Junrong finally rushed in, his face flushed with excitement, every pore of his body radiating his joy. "Third Senior Brother wants to see you, let's go!"

"That's great."

Chen Ming gave a genuine smile.

(End of this chapter)