Patterns

Tap tap tap tap tap!

In the Dream World, hurried footsteps sounded continuously.

Chen Feng, clutching his right arm, rushed out of the Martial Arts Hall at high speed, a flash of shock and doubt crossing his face.

He completely did not expect the Masked Man to be so terrifying.

With just one punch, the Masked Man had directly broken the bones in his right arm. Even using Exploding Fist, he had been utterly unable to contend against him.

Within his Perception Talent, the other party was like a horrifying humanoid beast. The intense malice was like a storm, destroying everything.

"At least Professional Grade, and definitely stronger than Coach Lu!"

"Even compared to the shadow monster in that alleyway that day, he probably wasn't inferior."

As the thought flashed through his mind, Chen Feng suddenly discovered that the malice in his perception had quietly dispersed.

Pausing, he ignored the pain in his right arm and hurriedly looked back.

Beneath the two-story Martial Arts Hall building, the Masked Man in a White Martial Arts Uniform had not chased after him.

Those pitch-black eyes watched him leave from afar. The entire person stood motionlessly at the entrance of the massive wooden doors.

"What's going on?"

Chen Feng was puzzled, but he also felt fortunate.

It was good that the Masked Man had not pursued him.

Tap tap!

Then, footsteps sounded.

But he saw the Masked Man suddenly turn around and quickly disappear through the Martial Arts Hall entrance.

It looked like the Masked Man had returned to the training room.

"He went back?"

"Could it be because he can't leave the Martial Arts Hall?"

As the speculation arose, Chen Feng felt a trace of chill.

The world spun, and mist rose.

The next second, the world before his eyes changed. He once again saw the familiar ceiling and the patterned curtains fluttering in the wind.

"I'm back."

Huff!

Letting out a breath, a trace of relief flashed through Chen Feng's eyes.

The chill he had felt in the Dream World had not faded. He instinctively touched his face.

Only then did he discover that his body in reality had, without him noticing when, broken out in a cold sweat. Half the pillow had been soaked.

"Was it because of the Masked Man?"

Expressionless, Chen Feng lay in bed for several minutes, staring straight at the ceiling.

There was always someone stronger, and always a higher sky beyond the sky.

The Masked Man's strength was extraordinary.

For a time, the slight pride he had felt after gaining the Exploding Fist skill drifted away like willow catkins in the wind.

"I shouldn't explore the Martial Arts Hall for now."

"At the very least, I'll wait until the day I can defeat the Masked Man."

Shaking his head inwardly as he reflected on himself, Chen Feng's gaze once again became calm and sharp.

Then he rolled out of bed and pulled open the curtains.

Only then did he discover that the right arm he had fractured in the Dream World was completely intact.

"Getting injured in the Dream World won't affect reality?"

"No."

Carefully sensing himself, with the help of his Perception Talent, Chen Feng noticed a few differences.

Although his right arm was not fractured, he could feel that his mental state had worsened somewhat.

With that thought, he quickly walked into the bathroom.

The square mirror against the wall reflected him. Looking along the flow, he seemed to have grown a little stronger again.

The physical improvements brought by becoming proficient in Judo had made his deltoids and trapezius muscles even more prominent, while his arms had grown noticeably thicker.

Yet in contrast, Chen Feng clearly saw that his complexion was somewhat pale.

He looked as though he had stayed up all night, somewhat haggard.

"It seems that being injured in the Dream World drains my mental energy in reality."

"And this was only a fractured arm. If I died in there..."

Chen Feng's eyes flickered as he deduced that the consequences would certainly be severe.

Thinking of this, he became even more certain that he needed to stay far from the Martial Arts Hall next time he entered the Dream World.

"As for those glowing orbs I sensed, once I become stronger..."

"I'll definitely retrieve them with my own hands and avenge this broken arm!"

His gaze hardened. Chen Feng immediately twisted open the faucet, cupped water in both hands, and bent down to splash it across his face with the sound of waves.

The icy stimulation completely dispersed all his negative emotions and lingering shadows.

Before long, after briefly tidying up and washing, he entered the rhythm of a new day.

Bang!!

At one thirty in the afternoon, inside Yan Wu Academy.

Twenty to thirty students arrived one after another, while the sounds of Sandbags being struck rang out without end.

"Why does your complexion look so bad?"

Lin Hao wore a gray short-sleeved workout shirt. Seeing Chen Feng arrive looking haggard, he could not help feeling surprised.

"I didn't sleep well last night."

Chen Feng shook his head and casually made up an excuse.

"Oh?"

Raising his brows, Lin Hao's gaze shifted as though he had thought of something.

"I get it. Men, you know."

He gave a lecherous grin that made Chen Feng want to slap him.

"By the way, as soon as I arrived today, I heard people saying..."

"Someone hit 100 kilograms on the Punch Force Tester yesterday!"

His eyes bright, Lin Hao quickly changed expressions and looked at Chen Feng curiously. "Tell me honestly, was it you?"

"Zheng Qiang, do you think it was him?"

On the Practice Field, ever since their sparring session that day, quite a few people had begun secretly paying attention to Chen Feng.

Now that he had arrived, Zheng Qiang and Yu Shan, who were sparring in an open area, both had their eyes flicker.

"His punching force the day before yesterday probably wasn't even at 100 kilograms..."

Zheng Qiang looked at Chen Feng's somewhat haggard face in the distance. Though surprised, he did not pay it much mind.

His gaze flickering, he speculated, "Of course, we can't rule out the possibility."

"However, I think Xu Dongtai is more likely."

"Zhou Hengtao from Sanshou Class Two is also close to that level."

Hearing this, Yu Shan nodded. That was more or less what he had been thinking.

Turning to look at another location in the open area, they saw a burly figure striking a sandbag.

The hundred-kilogram hanging sandbag swayed continuously, dull booms erupting like thunder.

A few days ago, Xu Dongtai's punching force had already been 99 kilograms.

If he had eaten some nutritional products and supplements these days, or improved his fighting techniques further...

Then breaking through 100 kilograms was not impossible.

"Dong Ge, do you think it was that kid?"

Lackey Zhou Xin held a towel and sports bottle as he stood beside the sandbag, carefully withdrawing his gaze from afar.

He had been with Dong Ge the entire time, so he naturally knew that Xu Dongtai had not tested his punching force yesterday at all.

"Whether it was him or not doesn't matter anymore."

His tone cold, Xu Dongtai threw another punch at the sandbag.

The tough leather dented, and the hanging iron chains clattered.

"My personal trainer got me a dose of Secret Medicine. I'll have it by tomorrow night."

"After taking it, my physique will improve by ten to twenty percent in the short term. My strength will definitely reach Amateur Rank 6."

"By then, I'm completely confident I can beat him in the assessment melee."

Words fell.

Bang!!

Another punch blasted out.

A flicker of coldness and contempt quietly passed through Xu Dongtai's eyes.

No family background.

No resources.

What could you use to compete with me for a Core Disciple spot?

At once, Straight Punches came one after another, and dull booms exploded through the air.

The commotion was so great that it drew everyone's attention in the blink of an eye.

Seeing this, Zhou Xin's face was full of proud satisfaction, as though he shared in the honor.

Even when facing Chen Feng's surprised gaze, he was full of confidence and no longer avoided eye contact.