I can only beat noobs.

Chapter 80 Stories and Secrets

[You have defeated another LV38 opponent and gained 500 experience points.]

[You have defeated another LV38 opponent and gained 300 experience points.]

【…】

That day, Chen Ming spent the entire day in the Six Doors prison, bringing over the prisoners from cell B one by one, throwing them a knife, and having them spar with each of them.

It was called a competition, but it was actually a beating and humiliation.

None of these prisoners were without injuries; how could they possibly be his match?
The prisoners were all angry but dared not speak out.

However, not everyone cooperated.

One of them was a tough nut to crack; even when he heard about punishments like "solitary confinement," he just sneered and looked on with disdain.

Chen Ming had always admired such a tough guy, so he didn't make things difficult for him and had the jailer send the man back.

Then he asked a jailer nearby, "What crime has this man committed?"

"Murder. I heard that the murderer was the illegitimate son of the owner of the Sihai Trading Company. He was sentenced to death and is just waiting to be executed in the autumn."

Sihai Trading Company.

Chen Ming suddenly realized why this man dared to kill the son of the owner of the Four Seas Trading Company; he was clearly an incredibly audacious person.

In Qingfeng City, those few maritime merchant families are true behemoths, usually keeping a low profile but wielding immense power. However, their power manifests in other ways, unlike that of aristocratic families like the Gu family.

In terms of influence in officialdom, ten Gu families cannot match one Sihai Merchant Guild.

He asked curiously, "Why did he want to kill someone?"

The jailer said, "I heard it was for a widow and her child. It happened a month ago. That young master wanted to seize their house, so he had someone forge an IOU for her deceased husband and went to their door to demand money. The woman was fierce and grabbed a kitchen knife, ready to fight. The young master, enraged, tried to kill her in public. Ding Guangnan couldn't stand by and watch, so he stood up for them and beat the young master to death..."

Upon hearing this, Chen Ming immediately remembered that his sister-in-law had mentioned this matter at the dinner table. It had caused quite a stir back then.

I never expected that the tough nut to crack was the real culprit.

Chen Ming asked, "What is the background of this Ding Guangnan?"

"He's from out of town, and he never mentioned his sect or faction. But it doesn't matter which sect he's from; after killing the son of the owner of the Four Seas Trading Company, how could he possibly survive?"

Judging from the jailer's regretful tone, he felt quite sorry for Ding Guangnan.

This is probably the basic sense of right and wrong among people in this world.

As Chen Ming was thinking, two other prison guards brought over another prisoner. According to the records, this person was named Fu Zhengyang. He had been arrested a couple of days ago and was said to be from Wanzhou, which is thousands of miles away from Jiangzhou. It was impossible to verify his identity.

When the prisoner arrived, he was meek and obedient, seemingly very cooperative. This was different from the other prisoners.

The other prisoners either shouted, remained silent, or looked disdainful.

This one, however, lacked any of the arrogance of a seventh-rank martial artist. He appeared quite honest.

Fu Zhengyang looked to be about forty years old, with the air of a businessman. Although he was also wearing shackles, his collarbones weren't pierced. As soon as he entered, he bent over, his face contorted with a pained expression, and said, "My lord, I've already told you everything I needed to say. I really just came to visit relatives..."

Chen Ming waved his hand, interrupting him, "I didn't call you here to ask you about that."

Then, he gestured to the jailer to remove his shackles.

As usual, I threw him a knife.

"If you can beat me, I'll let you out. Even if you lose, I'll still give you an extra meal of meat."

Fu Zhengyang was initially hesitant, but upon hearing about the extra meal and meat, he subconsciously licked his lips. After a few seconds of hesitation, he steeled himself and picked up the knife from the ground.

He mustered his courage and said, "Sir...I'm here. Be careful."

Looking at him like this, Chen Ming couldn't believe he looked like a martial artist at all. He wondered how he had managed to reach the seventh rank.

"bring it on."

Fu Zhengyang swung his sword at him, his movements showing some skill, clearly indicating he had some martial arts training. However, the man didn't dare to actually strike him, his aim was severely off.

Chen Ming swung his knife backhand and knocked it to the ground.

"Ouch."

Fu Zhengyang was startled and took a few steps back, hurriedly saying, "Sir, your martial arts are superb; I am no match for you."

Just as Chen Ming was about to say something, he suddenly caught a glimpse of the notification that popped up in front of him, and his eyelids twitched.

You have defeated a level 42 opponent and gained 2200 experience points.

He was taken aback, thinking he had misread it, but upon closer inspection, it really was level 42.

According to the system's ranking system, level 40 and above is equivalent to Rank 6.

This person is actually a sixth-rank master!
Chen Ming's heart was pounding, but he remained calm. He called in the jailers and ordered them to put Fu Zhengyang's shackles back on and send him back to the cell.

He breathed a sigh of relief after the dangerous person was taken away, only to find that his back was soaked with sweat.

"That was close!"

Chen Ming felt a wave of fear wash over him.

Who would have thought that a sixth-rank master was hidden in a place specifically for imprisoning seventh-rank martial artists? He even unlocked the man's shackles, wanting to spar with him.

If Fu Zhengyang had even the slightest bit of murderous intent, he would most likely be dead today.

The difference between the seventh and sixth ranks is only one rank, but the gap in strength is like a chasm. They are not even in the same league.

As for why this person concealed his true cultivation level and how he managed to deceive the people of the Six Doors, he had no interest in knowing at all.

He will only refrain from getting involved in things that exceed his current level of strength.

...By the end of the day, Chen Ming had beaten up all the prisoners in cell B, a total of nine people, except for Ding Guangnan, whom he did not lay a hand on.

I gained a total of 11550 experience points, breaking the record for the highest total experience points in a single day.

This is truly a treasure trove!

Chen Ming "sparred" with each person three times, which can be said to have squeezed them dry.

There's no need to be lenient with the prisoners here.

It was already afternoon when he walked out of the prison. Before leaving, he took out one hundred taels of silver and handed it to the warden of cell B, so that all nine prisoners in cell B could have an extra meal.

It was just an extra meal, so naturally it wouldn't cost that much money. The rest was obviously a bribe for the prison warden. This was an unspoken understanding.

……

For the next period of time, Chen Ming went to the Six Doors prison every day, rain or shine.

Moreover, unlike the first day when he went empty-handed, he brought different kinds of drinks and food every day to reward the jailers.

There's absolutely no harm in building good relationships with these current officials.

Chen Ming "interrogated" the prisoners every day. Apart from not seeking out Fu Zhengyang anymore, he naturally had to spar with the other eight prisoners three times a day.

In this way, you can gain a fixed 6300 experience points every day.

This kind of opportunity to gain a huge amount of experience points every day is not something that happens all the time.

On the fifth day, new prisoners began to be brought in. A few days later, there were as many as thirteen prisoners in cell B.

Chen Ming was grinding experience points every day, completely absorbed in the game and didn't want to leave.

However, such good days cannot last forever.

That morning, Chen Ming arrived at the prison cell as usual and unexpectedly ran into Chen Yong. "Lord Chen, aren't you going to arrest anyone today?"

Chen Yong's expression was rather unpleasant. He pulled him aside and said, "I don't know who it was, but they reported your daily visits to the prison to Commander Yu. Unfortunately, he's in charge of prison matters. Because of Inspector Sun's affair, Commander Yu harbors a deep resentment towards you. He won't pursue the matter for Miss's sake. However, starting tomorrow, they won't let you in."

That damned Yu Xiuming!

You better remember this.

A cold glint flashed in Chen Ming's eyes, and his killing intent surged.

Originally, he neither liked nor disliked Yu Xiuming. However, this guy actually meddlesome and cut off his shortcut to gaining experience points.

This is a deadly feud!

He said, "In any case, thank you very much, Lord Chen, for these past two weeks."

Chen Yong said, "If anyone should be thanked, it should be Miss Chen."

“One thing at a time. I will thank your young lady myself. I also remember Lord Chen’s care during this time.”

These words made Chen Yong feel quite relieved, and the smile on his face became much more sincere. He lowered his voice and said, "Young master, you don't need to worry. Commander Yu is here in Qingfeng City to gain experience. He will be transferred away in a year or two at most. Once he leaves, Miss will naturally have a way to put you back in jail."

……

Regardless, the fact that he could play it again today made Chen Ming feel much better.

He carried the wine and food into the prison cell and distributed them to the jailers.

Then, the jailers brought the prisoners over one by one.

Following the previous order, the first to appear were the three pirates who had attacked him.

After going around in circles, he finally had Ding Guangnan brought over.

Ding Guangnan's condition was worse than before, and he had many more wounds on his body.

Chen Ming took out a bottle of wine, poured him a glass, and said, "I've heard about what happened to you. You're a true hero. I'll toast you."

Ding Guangnan didn't move, lying on the ground. It was unclear whether he disdained drinking with a lackey of the Six Doors or simply lacked the strength.

Chen Ming wasn't angry. After finishing his drink, he said, "This is the last time I've come. After today's farewell, I'm afraid we'll never have the chance to meet again. Do you have any last words?"

After a while, Ding Guangnan still did not respond.

Chen Ming sighed, drank another glass of wine, said no more, and had someone send him back to prison.

Then he left the prison.

As he walked out the door, he suddenly thought of Fu Zhengyang, who had been hiding his cultivation level.

There are many stories here, and quite a few secrets hidden within.

Here's a report on the results: initial orders reached 2300.

When I started writing this book, I made up my mind that even if the first few orders were only two hundred, I would keep writing. If it didn't pick up after a million words, I would change careers.

Longtime readers will notice that this book's style is quite different from my previous works. I have no choice; if I don't change, I'll be swept away by the tides of time.

I understand those longtime readers who couldn't get through this book. It's just that our time together has come to an end. I need to put down my bags and start anew. Take care.

Finally, I'd like to clarify that, for me, the two thousand first-day subscriptions to this book are more valuable than the six thousand first-day subscriptions to Infinite Simulation. This is because Infinite Simulation is destined to be a short-lived story.

And this one, I'll give you a number: three million words. Believe it or not!

The above word count does not include subscriptions.

Finally, please support me with your monthly vote.

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(End of this chapter)