Chapter 23: Arrangement

Translator: Atlas Studios  Editor: Atlas Studios

“Amazing! Junior Brother Chen really isn’t an ordinary person.”

Zhang Youde wasn’t feeling dejected at all, despite his defeat. Instead, he praised Chen Yiming.

“I was just lucky! I only have the advantage in terms of the sword technique. When Senior Brother completes the third transformation and I am only at the level of the second transformation, I will definitely not be your match,” Chen Yiming replied humbly. He didn’t brag or anything after having defeated Zhang Youde.

It was better to avoid unnecessary trouble. He just wanted to get it over and done with quickly since they were not close to each other.

When he heard Chen Yiming’s words, Zhang Youde realized that he was looking for an excuse to leave again. Hence, he quickly revealed his true motive.

“Junior Brother, have you heard of the Mutual Aid Association?”

“Mutual Aid Association?”

“You haven’t been in the martial arts world for a long time, so you don’t know how it works behind the scenes. At the top of the martial arts world in East Lake City, the martial arts warriors use their power to control everything. The middle and lower levels are controlled by the big clans and corporations. All these powers have a tacit agreement to work together and turn away outsiders. Without connections, it’s very difficult for you to find a suitable job and buy the resources needed for cultivation.”

“The Mutual Aid Association is an organization jointly established by the juniors of small and medium-sized martial arts clans in the eastern region of the city.”

“Are you inviting me to join this organization?” Chen Yiming probed.

At this point, he already vaguely understood Zhang Youde’s true objective.

“That’s right. It’s unrealistic for one person to fight alone in the world of martial arts. They will waste a lot of time on trivial matters and delay their own cultivation progress, missing out on the best years for their cultivation.”

“Junior Brother, you should be the type that is considered a pearl lying in the dust. At the age of 14 or 15, you were unable to discover your talent in time and wasted a lot of time studying in school. It was only after you joined the martial arts school that you quickly unlocked your potential.”

“You must know that the first transformation is only the beginning. The further you go, the less you will be able to rely just on your talent alone. You still need the corresponding cultivation resources.

Zhang Youde was in no hurry. He explained the situation bit by bit.

“A pearl lying in the dust? So that’s how everyone sees me.”

Chen Yiming heaved a sigh of relief.

All along, no matter how he tried to conceal it, his body’s martial arts talent was extremely poor and this could not be changed.

He could not transmigrate to the past and use the martial arts talent system to increase his swordsmanship talent from the moment his body came into contact with martial arts.

“With the martial arts talent that Junior Brother Chen has displayed so far, if you join the association, we will definitely arrange the best resources for you so that you can focus on your cultivation without any worries. We can provide support for you up to the sixth transformation.”

Zhang Youde was confident that Chen Yiming wouldn’t reject his offer.

The advantage of having access to cultivation resources wasn’t very attractive to Chen Yiming. He didn’t need them since he had a special ability, but he pretended to be interested.

“I don’t know what conditions there are for joining this association. I want to understand it fully before I make my choice.”

Chen Yiming was a cautious person. There were too many conditions, he wouldn’t consider it even if there were many benefits as well.

“Mutual aid. The organization’s purpose is to help each other. Therefore, it won’t use rules to restrict the members. You only need to allow the organization to use your name. It’s equivalent to you being affiliated with the organization. When it needs members to contribute, it will announce them in the form of tasks. The organization will provide generous rewards for completing the tasks.”

Zhang Youde didn’t hide anything, directly stating the relevant conditions.

“So my name will be used to get things done?”

Chen Yiming immediately understood the core of how the organization operated.

The organization called the Mutual Aid Association was a group of second-generation martial artists from the clans. They roped in a group of commoner disciples and then used these people’s names to control various businesses in East Lake City.

“You can go home and think about it. Just give me an answer in a few days.”

Zhang Youde had achieved his objective, so he didn’t say anything else and quickly left.

…

After Zhang Youde disappeared, Chen Yiming didn’t think too much about it. He got back on his bicycle and cycled for 10 meters to reach his house.

“Son, are you hurt? Why did you get into a fight with someone at our doorstep?”

The moment they entered the house, Madam Chen rushed over before Chen Yiming could even take a sip of water.

Father Chen and Chen Yingying followed behind with worried expressions.

“Mum, if nothing much, don’t worry. That person is my senior brother from the martial arts school. He was looking for me to discuss some private matters.”

Chen Yiming didn’t want his family to worry too much, so he told them everything.

“You call this fine? The two of you were fighting.”

Madam Chen didn’t believe him and waited for Chen Yiming to explain further.

“Yes, don’t hide anything from your family. We’ll bear the burden together. If it doesn’t work out, we can just move.”

Father Chen also spoke at this time. As the head of the family, he had to step up and keep the morale high.

“Brother, are you hurt?” Chen Yingying asked softly.

She did not care about what had happened. She only hoped that her brother was not injured.

“Don’t worry. That was just my senior brother testing my strength. He wanted to invite me to join an organization.”

Seeing that he smooth over it, Chen Yiming explained some of the details.

“Testing you?”

“Yes, it’s like trying out for a part-time job.”

Chen Yiming tried his best to explain in a way that they could understand.

“That’s good. We were worried that you might have made enemies outside and someone might come knocking on our door.”

Madam Chen told him what they had thought.

The world was in chaos, so they had to be worried about Chen Yiming’s safety.

“By the way, Dad, Mum, I’ve already reached the stage of the first transformation. In the future, I can rely on my martial arts skills to earn some money. Dad, if you have time, ask around about the houses in the city center and see how the prices are. If there’s really no other way, we can rent a house to stay in first.”

Chen Yiming didn’t want to talk to his family about the organization, so he brought up the plan to move to a new house.

“What does the first transformation mean?”

Madam Chen didn’t understand any of this and waited for her son to explain.

“It’s the first stage of martial arts, the first stage of the disciple stage. You won’t understand if I go into too much detail. Anyway, we have to move to a residential area in the city center as soon as possible. The village isn’t safe,”

Chen Yiming briefly explained the basics of martial arts.

“Alright. I’ll go out tomorrow morning and see what I can find out.”

Father Chen knew that his son was more knowledgeable than ordinary people, so he promised to do it as soon as possible.

Madam Chen suddenly thought of something and hurriedly said, “Old man, I’ll go with you tomorrow. I have a relative who works at a real estate agency. We can ask her directly.”

Then, Father Chen and Mother Chen left Chen Yiming behind and began to discuss their plans for the next day.

When Chen Yingying saw that there was nothing else to say, she turned around and went to the kitchen. She used a damp cloth to bring out the black pork that had been simmering over a small fire.

The black pork was made by Madam Chen who had added some soup ingredients and simmered it in a small pot for more than an hour.

“Smells good!”

Chen Yiming inhaled the fragrance of the black pork from the pot and his stomach rumbled.

Usually, he would have already eaten by this time. Today, he had been delayed by Zhang Youde for nearly half an hour and was extremely hungry.