I Only Know How to Bully Noobs

Chapter 79: Giving You Two Choices

The next morning, Gu Yuantao came knocking again. Upon seeing Chen Ming, he asked with a stern face, "Have you been holding back against me all along?"

Chen Ming hadn’t expected such a question and replied, "That depends on how you interpret it."

Gu Yuantao stared into his eyes. "I just want to know—why are you doing this?"

Yesterday, he had heard the news that Chen Ming had killed Sun Shicai at the Governor's Office.

It shocked him deeply.

A few years ago, his elder brother had once fought Sun Shicai to a draw, which spoke volumes of the latter’s strength.

As for himself, he had yet to reach his brother’s former level.

In comparison, it became evident to him that Chen Ming had been going easy on him during their sparring.

"Sit."

The two entered the courtyard where Chen Ming lived.

After inviting him to sit down, Chen Ming organized his words before saying, "Brother Gu comes from a prestigious family, so it’s natural that you may not understand a martial artist like me, who has no lineage to inherit. For me, constantly exchanging moves with different people, experiencing all kinds of martial arts, and absorbing the strengths of various schools is the only way to continuously refine my saber techniques. Brother Gu’s swordsmanship is honed to perfection and extremely exemplary. Every time I spar with you, I gain insight."

Gu Yuantao seemed to accept this explanation and did not pursue the matter further. Instead, he raised a request. "I want to know the true gap between us, so I hope Brother Chen won’t hold back."

Chen Ming looked at him. Seeing his resolute gaze, he agreed, "Alright."

Now this was a true martial fanatic—seeking out a beating willingly.

……

A moment later.

Clang—Gu Yuantao’s longsword flew from his hand, spinning a few times in the air before embedding itself into the gap between stone slabs.

He stood there, stunned, not responding for a long time.

Three moves!

He hadn’t even been able to take three moves from Chen Ming.

Moreover, Chen Ming had used his left hand due to an injury in his right.

Was the gap really that vast?

After a long while, light finally returned to Gu Yuantao’s eyes. He silently walked over, pulled the treasured sword from the ground, cupped his hands toward Chen Ming, and turned to leave.

Chen Ming watched his desolate figure and thought with some regret—after such a blow, he probably wouldn’t come again.

……

In the following days, the Six Doors Authority began taking action, arresting people everywhere and strictly investigating those with unclear backgrounds. Fights occasionally broke out.

Chen Ming, of course, stayed indoors, merely sending someone out to gather information.

Zhuang Xiaotian dropped by a few times, relaying what he had learned to Chen Ming.

What was confirmed so far was that eight scions of noble families had gone missing.

In addition, four others had been attacked, but survived thanks to expert guards by their sides.

Among the missing eight were people Chen Ming knew—Tian Qiming and Wang Ruisheng, whom he had faced at the Martial Gathering.

Also included was the young master from the He Family of Gu County, who had once come to Wu’s Martial School to “greet” Old Liu.

In other words, the son of Old Liu’s enemy.

When Chen Ming heard that name, he even wondered if Old Liu had done it.

……

On the fifth day after Chen Ming killed Sun Shicai, in the morning, a seventh-grade Patrol Envoy from the Six Doors Authority came to visit, asking to see Chen Ming by name.

Upon receiving the news, Chen Ming hurried out to greet him, seeing a man in his thirties dressed in blue official attire. He saluted and said, "Esteemed sir, may I ask what brings you to see me?"

The Patrol Envoy chuckled warmly and replied, "Second Young Master Chen is indeed as handsome and elegant as the rumors say. My name is Chen Yong. Technically, we’re from the same clan."

"Lord Chen flatters me."

Chen Ming felt puzzled—he didn’t know this person. Wasn’t he being a bit too enthusiastic?

Chen Yong said, "A few days ago, wasn’t Young Master Chen attacked by bandits? Based on your description, we caught three suspects. I’ve come to invite you to identify them."

"Well—"

Chen Ming was already thinking of how to decline.

Just for something like this, a seventh-grade Patrol Envoy came personally? Impossible.

He sensed the whiff of a conspiracy.

At that moment, Chen Yong whispered, "The young lady instructed me to come, said it was time to fulfill a promise."

Young lady?

Chen Ming’s heart stirred. "The young lady you speak of is?"

Chen Yong smiled. "I serve in the Governor’s household. I’m used to calling her young lady."

So it was Zhao Xiyan who sent him.

Chen Ming recalled that night a few days ago when she had said she’d find a place for him to spar. He had assumed she was too busy and had forgotten.

He said, "I didn’t expect you to be a trusted aide of the Governor. My apologies. In that case, let’s go."

……

Chen Ming followed Chen Yong to the main prison of the Six Doors Authority.

This wasn’t the same place Chen Ming had been held previously.

Back then, he was just a commoner, unworthy of being imprisoned here.

The Six Doors main prison held only martial artists.

It was heavily guarded, manned by fully armored warriors.

The prison gates were made entirely of steel. Once shut, even a third-grade expert couldn’t break through.

With an official warrant in hand, Chen Yong successfully brought Chen Ming inside.

As the gates opened, mechanical sounds echoed, resembling gear mechanisms.

Once they entered, the doors shut again.

Chen Ming felt the temperature drop noticeably.

Chen Yong explained, "There are three levels here. Those below seventh grade are all held on the first floor. Cell Block A holds ninth and eighth grades; seventh-grade prisoners are in Block B. Just through that door."

As Chen Ming walked through, he saw many prisoners stretching out their hands, loudly crying out their grievances.

He asked, "All arrested recently?"

Recently, the Six Doors had been capturing people everywhere. Whether they could catch the culprits who attacked the noble youths remained to be seen. But one thing was certain—Qingfeng City’s law and order would improve significantly for the next year or two.

"Yes. Most are of unknown origin—some are pirate informants, others enemy spies. Of course, there are also innocent ones. But since they can’t prove their innocence, they can only consider themselves unlucky."

"Yeah, we’ve run into a crackdown. How could we not be unlucky?"

As the two conversed, they finally passed through the central gate and entered Cell Block B.

The temperature dropped even further inside.

There were noticeably fewer prisoners in Cell Block B.

"This man is assisting me in interrogating the prisoners."

Chen Yong introduced Chen Ming’s identity to the jailers.

With the official warrant in hand, whatever he said naturally went unquestioned.

The jailers wouldn’t ask foolish questions.

Before long, the jailers brought the two of them before a cell. "These are the three who were captured yesterday. They reek of the sea—you can tell they make a living at sea without even needing interrogation."

Chen Yong asked Chen Ming, "Are these the three?"

"Yes."

Chen Ming recognized them at a glance—they were the ones who had ambushed him at his home a few days ago.

Chen Yong ordered the jailers, "Open the door."

After the jailers opened the door, he patted Chen Ming on the shoulder and said, "Go ahead. As long as you don’t kill them, you can do whatever you want."

So, the place Zhao Xiyan mentioned—where one could freely spar without rejection—was the main prison of the Six Doors Authority?

One had to admit, she was quite the thinker.

Chen Ming’s eyes lit up at once. He suddenly grabbed the departing Chen Yong and asked, "Can I use all the prisoners here?"

Chen Yong smiled. "Of course. But it’s best not to kill them, otherwise, it’ll be a bit troublesome."

Only "a bit troublesome"—the implication was that killing one or two wouldn’t be a big issue.

Chen Ming was genuinely surprised. The daughter of the Governor had this much influence?

A small detail revealed a greater truth—just how deeply corroded the so-called system of the Great Jin Dynasty was.

……

When Chen Ming walked into the cell, Blade Bro looked up from the ground. His expression changed, and he cried out, "It’s you?!"

Chen Ming pointed at him and ordered the jailers, "Take this man to the interrogation room."

"Yes."

Two jailers stepped forward and dragged him away.

"Blade Bro—"

"Blade Bro, you must hold on. Don’t sell out Seventh Bro..."

Upon hearing those words, Chen Ming couldn’t help but chuckle. Was that big fool really stupid, or just pretending?

Blade Bro shouted, "If you’ve got guts, unshackle me and fight me head-on..."

Unfortunately, his hands and feet were shackled with heavy irons, and his clavicles had been pierced. He couldn’t use his strength at all.

Like a cripple, he was dragged away by the jailers into the interrogation room.

Though called an interrogation room, it was actually a torture chamber, filled with all sorts of terrifying tools—many of which still bore bloodstains.

The moment they entered, the thick, never-fading scent of blood assaulted them.

Blade Bro’s face turned pale immediately. He roared, "If you’ve got the guts, kill me..."

Chen Ming ignored his cowardly bravado and said to the jailers, "Please, would you two big brothers unshackle him?"

That one "big brothers" made the two jailers feel as if their bones had become weightless. "You’re too kind, my lord. This man is a seventh-grade martial artist and a desperate one. If we unshackle him, I’m afraid..."

Chen Ming said, "Don’t worry. With me here, he won’t cause trouble."

Since he spoke with such confidence, the jailers didn’t argue further.

They stepped forward and removed the shackles from Blade Bro’s hands and feet, and even unlocked the chain embedded in his clavicles.

Blade Bro had already quieted down by now.

As he felt the restraints lifting and his familiar strength returning, he was a bit dazed—unsure what Chen Ming was planning.

The two jailers slipped away quickly. Their strength was low—they couldn’t risk facing the wrath of a seventh-grade martial artist.

Chen Ming picked a saber from the wall and threw it at Blade Bro’s feet. "Pick it up. Fight me. If you win, I’ll let you go."

After hearing this, Blade Bro gave a cold laugh. "You can kill me, but you can’t humiliate me. I won’t give you what you want. If you’ve got the guts, kill me."

His abdominal wound hadn’t healed, and he had been injured further when captured. He was no match for Chen Ming.

Knowing he’d lose, he wouldn’t disgrace himself.

Chen Ming wasn’t in a hurry. He said, "Do you know about a punishment in prison called solitary confinement? Locked in a small cage, where you can only hunch over—no sitting, no lying down. Utter darkness. Nothing to see, nothing to hear. Half a month in there. Can you imagine that?"

Upon hearing this description, Blade Bro couldn’t help but shiver.

He was a pirate.

Among pirates, there was a form of water torture used to punish disobedient subordinates. He had seen it before.

Solitary confinement sounded even worse.

Chen Ming said, "Don’t fight, and it’s fifteen days of solitary. Fight, and even if you lose, I’ll give you meat every day. Your choice."

Blade Bro’s eyes turned bloodshot. He picked up the saber and lunged at him like a madman.

Chen Ming countered with a single stroke and knocked him to the ground.

Right now, Blade Bro was pitifully weak—he couldn’t even withstand one move.

He lay on the floor, unable to get up for a long time.

[You have defeated an LV39 opponent again, gaining 550 experience points.]

Chen Ming saw the prompt and was overjoyed.

Finally got the bug!

So the System calculated experience purely based on level, regardless of condition.

As long as the level was there, full experience would still be awarded.

As Blade Bro caught his breath, Chen Ming said, "I’ll give you another chance."

Looking at the young man’s smiling face, Blade Bro felt as though he were staring into the face of a demon.

……

When Blade Bro was shackled again and dragged back to the cell, the big fool named Stone in the same cell asked worriedly, "Blade Bro, are you alright?"

"Blade Bro, did you talk?"

Blade Bro was tossed in and lay motionless on the ground, eyes vacant, devoid of any light.

The two were overwhelmed with grief and anger. "Blade Bro, what did that bastard do to you?"

Just then, two jailers stepped forward, one grabbing each of them. "Your turn."

"Let me go! I don’t know anything..." Stone’s face changed drastically as he struggled desperately.

"I will never betray Seventh Bro!" the big fool shouted.

At that moment, Stone could no longer hold back. "Shut up, you idiot! If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t have been caught!"

The big fool erupted in rage. "You’re the idiot! You were the one who got spotted by the Six Doors Authority first!"

Stone went berserk. "Let me go! I’m going to kill this moron first!"