Sparring

"Xiang Jianjun?"

Chen Feng raised an eyebrow slightly as he saw Security Bureau personnel entering the gold shop from afar.

One of them looked familiar from the side—it was the middle-aged man who had handled the supermarket robbery case last night.

He wondered if those two thugs had confessed yet.

The thought flickered through his mind. Chen Feng stood there for a moment, somewhat regretful that he hadn't managed to exchange contact information last night to follow up on the situation later.

"Let's go. The Security Bureau's already here. Nothing left to watch."

Lin Hao said this with a shake of his head, as if in regret.

Hearing this, Chen Feng didn't linger any longer. The Sanshou class was about to start, and he didn't want to be late.

Tap, tap!

Footsteps echoed soon after.

The two quickly changed clothes in the martial arts hall's locker room and walked into the practice field.

"A gold shop got robbed? That's insane."

"Those three thugs' backpacks were full of gold. How much money is that?"

"Even if you have the money, you need to live to spend it. I think I saw someone got shot."

The gold shop robbery had caused quite a stir, and many trainees were still discussing it.

Even Xu Dongtai was standing by the floor-to-ceiling window, frowning, his expression unpleasant.

"Interesting."

Lin Hao paused mid-step and suddenly chuckled quietly.

Chen Feng was puzzled, but soon saw the other man gloating: "I heard someone mention that Xu Dongtai's family has some connections."

"That gold shop downstairs—his family pulled some strings a while back and barely managed to get a small share of the stake."

Hearing this, Chen Feng was first surprised, then understood.

No wonder Xu Dongtai's face was so dark, and his lackey Zhou Xin was unusually quiet, not even daring to breathe loudly.

The loss from this gold shop robbery was clearly not small. A rough estimate put it at least several million.

But then—

Looking at the casual expression on Lin Hao's face, Chen Feng felt surprised again.

How could this guy be so well-informed?

Whether it was the Core Disciple matter last time or digging up Xu Dongtai's family background, it all proved that Lin Hao wasn't simple.

"What are you looking at me for?" Sensing Chen Feng's gaze, Lin Hao asked curiously.

"You've got pretty wide information channels, huh?" Chen Feng probed.

"Pfft, that's all?"

"It's just a trivial matter. Ask around a bit, and anyone would know." Lin Hao said with a grin.

Chen Feng could tell he didn't want to elaborate. Raising an eyebrow, he didn't press further.

Soon after, the two walked to a corner of the practice field and began practicing punches.

During this time, Coach Lu walked over, arriving right as the Sanshou class was about to start.

As usual, he first glanced at Xu Dongtai. Seeing his punches wild and violent, making the sandbag thud and tremble, he shook his head.

"Restless heart, uneven fists."

The thought crossed his mind. He roughly knew the reason and didn't say much.

Soon, he turned his gaze to Zheng Qiang and Yu Shan.

"Barely Amateur Third Rank. Still a long way off."

"Poor comprehension too. Probably hit a bottleneck."

Shaking his head slightly, he finally looked at Chen Feng in the corner.

Straight punch, Splitting punch, Whip fist.

The whistling sounds surged without pause. The practice wasn't too loud, but it carried a kind of calm confidence.

"This kid..."

"How does it feel like his Sanshou has improved again?"

"And his physique—he's gotten a bit more solid. Could he really have had a breakthrough?"

Raising an eyebrow, Coach Lu grew more certain of his guess.

A sharp glint flashed in his eyes. He didn't go over to ask specifically, but soon clapped his hands to draw everyone's attention.

"Today's lesson is mainly sparring practice."

"I'll start pairing you up now."

The voice echoed, full of vigor, and no one refuted it.

Sanshou was a combat skill after all; no amount of practice could match the speed of real combat.

So, as usual, every few days, Coach Lu would arrange a sparring session to test everyone's progress.

"Xu Dongtai and Yu Shan."

"Zhang Ping and Fang Yuan."

Soon, Coach Lu called out the paired names. Some eyes lit up, while others shook their heads and sighed.

"Damn, it's my turn to get beaten again."

A tall young man cursed under his breath, pulling his gaze away from Xu Dongtai.

He had thought the coach would assign Zheng Qiang, since the guy could take a hit better and was closer to Xu Dongtai's level.

Thinking that, he was about to call out to Zheng Qiang.

"Zheng—"

"Zheng Qiang, Chen Feng!"

Suddenly, Coach Lu spoke again, cutting him off.

The practice field fell silent. The tall young man stood stunned, while Xu Dongtai in the distance narrowed his eyes.

"What's going on?"

"Zheng Qiang and Chen Feng are sparring?"

The crowd couldn't believe it. Many wore surprised expressions as they quickly looked toward Chen Feng in the corner.

"Shouldn't it be me?" Lin Hao was taken aback, glancing at his companion beside him.

Hadn't he always been the one to spar with Chen Feng?

Scrub versus scrub, wasn't that it?

Instantly, confusion rippled through the crowd. After a few seconds of silence, a brief commotion broke out.

Until finally, a somewhat dissatisfied voice rang out, low and heavy.

"Coach Lu, did you get it wrong?"

Everyone turned to look.

Zheng Qiang stood in the first row on the left, with short-cropped hair, a black tank top, a sturdy build, and bronze skin.

Unlike his usual calm demeanor, his expression now was clearly displeased.

Though he was a bit behind Xu Dongtai, he was still a minor expert at Amateur Third Rank.

Compared to that, Chen Feng?

He glanced sideways, sweeping his eyes over the other man in the corner.

He hadn't paid much attention to him before, but based on his talent, he was at most just starting out in Sanshou.

Him sparring with Chen Feng?

Not only would winning be inglorious, but he'd have to hold back every move, rein in his strength, to avoid killing the guy.

What kind of sparring was that supposed to be?

"That's right, it's you and Chen Feng."

With a calm tone, Coach Lu shot him a glance.

He knew these kids were arrogant and probably hadn't paid much attention to Chen Feng.

It was only natural they couldn't see that the guy was proficient in Sanshou.

Perfect timing—a sparring session would temper their egos and let him gauge Chen Feng's current foundation.

"Coach!" Zheng Qiang called out in dissatisfaction, trying to argue his case.

He'd rather fight Xu Dongtai and get beaten up—at least then he could go all out in real combat and test himself. That was far better than bullying a weakling.

"If I tell you to go, you go. What's with all the nonsense!"

Coach Lu barked, his face stern, as if a burst of pressure radiated from him.

Instantly, the crowd's gazes shrank, and no one dared to speak up again.

Likewise, Zheng Qiang shut his mouth, deflated, and didn't dare to argue further.

"Fine, I'll do it!"

He strode to the side and claimed an empty sparring area.

His face was sour, his anger bottled up with no outlet. Soon, he raised his right arm, spread his palm, and curled his four fingers, beckoning Chen Feng from across the way.

"Come on, let's have a go."

"Fair warning—I'm not going easy on you. If you get hurt, pay for the hospital yourself. Don't expect a cent from me!"

With a provocative tone, Chen Feng said nothing the entire time, not even responding to Lin Hao.

He merely stepped forward silently, coming to a halt under each and every gaze, taking his position.

"Fine."

Calm Tone, Chen Feng seemed to be answering The Other Party's provocation.

Within his Perception Talent, he could sense A Trace of malice from Zheng Qiang.

It was mostly pure displeasure, his gaze carrying contempt and arrogance.

But that was fine.

He just had to beat him into submission.