Branch Martial Arts Gym, Core Disciple

The next morning, at 7:05.

Chen Feng opened his eyes, waking up right on time again.

He stood up, adjusted to his once-again strengthened body, drew the curtains, washed up quickly, and ate breakfast.

A large bowl of noodles.

Two eggs, three packs of bread, a carton of milk.

He couldn't figure out how his stomach managed to pack in so much food, but since he couldn't, he didn't dwell on it—that had always been his way.

Then he changed into a clean set of clothes: a black short-sleeve shirt and loose shorts.

He also prepared another set for boxing practice.

Soon enough, Chen Feng grabbed his phone and left the room.

Tap, tap!

His footsteps echoed as he slowly walked out of the old cement housing complex.

The clamor of the fruit shop rang beside his ear, the honking of trucks rising and falling.

Voices, the smell of smoke, the scent of fruit.

Under the wary vigilance of his perception, everything was magnified without limit.

Until finally, he got on the bus.

He didn't sense any hostility the whole way, which somewhat surprised Chen Feng.

"Not following me anymore?"

A trace of doubt rose in his heart, and he rode all the way to the vicinity of the branch martial arts gym in Jinhua District.

Looking along the flow, a five-story building with floor-to-ceiling windows came into view.

It was oval-shaped overall, like a sports arena.

At the very top, three bold characters stood out, extremely eye-catching.

[Yan Wu Academy!]

"This is really a branch gym?"

He looked up and saw the many students coming and going through the first-floor entrance. Chen Feng couldn't help raising an eyebrow.

Compared to the sanshou class he'd been in before, this branch of the martial arts academy was undoubtedly much more impressive.

Just in terms of floor space, it was at least three to five times larger.

Surprised in his heart, he was about to step inside.

But soon, his footsteps halted.

A faint trace of malice rose. Chen Feng's gaze darkened, his face completely expressionless.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the black car appear again across the street.

In the gaps between passing traffic, he could see through the rolled-down front window two men sitting inside—one tall, one fat—undoubtedly the same pair who had followed him several times before.

"Tian Heng Society."

A cold glint flashed in his eyes. Chen Feng stood still for a few breaths.

Just as he was about to act, a soft footstep approached, and he felt someone pat him on the shoulder.

In an instant, his expression turned cold.

Chen Feng instinctively lowered his center of gravity and grabbed the newcomer's shoulder and arm.

"Hey, hey, hey—that hurts, that hurts!"

A hurried plea for mercy rang out, but the voice sounded very familiar beside his ear.

Chen Feng's motion to throw him over his shoulder stopped because of it. He turned to look and soon saw a familiar figure.

Shoulder-length messy hair, about 1.78 meters tall.

Somewhat lean, with fairly handsome features, wearing a loose gray short-sleeve shirt—it looked like he had a certain air about him.

"Lin Hao?"

Chen Feng was surprised. He did not expect it to be him.

"You really went too hard, man. I was trying to surprise you, and you turned it into a shock for me."

Lin Hao rubbed his shoulder, grimacing as he spoke.

Chen Feng sighed helplessly. He had thought it was someone from Tian Heng Society, so he hadn't held back.

Still—

"Why are you here?"

A trace of confusion in his gaze, Chen Feng asked.

"To train in martial arts, of course."

Lin Hao rubbed his shoulders and arms as the pain faded, then quickly started showing off. "I'm a Core Disciple now too. Maybe I'll even end up in the same Core Class as you."

"?"

Chen Feng narrowed his eyes.

Core Disciple?

Wasn't there only one slot?

"Hey, what can I say? I'm just too gifted, a talent for the ages."

"Yan Wu Academy couldn't bear to lose a genius like me, so they recruited me as a Core Disciple."

Lin Hao said with a grin, but Chen Feng knew that couldn't be the truth.

Nine times out of ten, This Guy had used some underhanded method.

Curiosity about The Other Party's background grew in his heart, but soon he saw Lin Hao looking across the street at him with a smile. "No wonder you wanted me to check Tian Heng Society's license plate."

"Turns out you've been tracking them all along."

"What's the deal? Spill it?"

Hearing this, Chen Feng was silent for a moment.

After thinking it over, he felt this matter probably Still Needed Lin Hao's channels to get to the bottom of it.

Better to be open than to hide it.

"What if I said I don't know the reason either? Would you believe me?"

"Oh?"

The smile faded from his face as Lin Hao met his gaze for two seconds.

"I believe you."

Pulling back his hand, he spoke with rare seriousness. "Go on. You want me to help you look into it, right?"

"Yeah." Chen Feng nodded.

"Fine."

Lin Hao was decisive, agreeing on the spot.

Then, his tone shifted, and he grinned again. "But let's get this straight—I can't do this favor for free anymore."

"I owe you one." Chen Feng said earnestly.

He believed his favor would be valuable in the future.

But that was later. Right now, what he needed most was to grasp the present.

"No problem!"

Lin Hao nodded readily, his grin like a fox's, as if he'd been waiting for those exact words.

"Come on, let's not just stand here."

"Give me three days. I'll dig up the whole story for you, clear as day."

His words carried strong confidence as he stepped forward and slung an arm around Chen Feng's shoulder.

Chen Feng's gaze flickered. He took one last look at the black car across the street.

Giving a slight nod, he walked into the martial arts gym with the other man.

Twenty minutes later.

On the spacious Second Floor Practice Field.

Chen Feng and Lin Hao, along with eighteen other Core Disciples, formed the gym's Core Class Three.

From the chatter around him, Chen Feng learned that the gym had set up five Core Classes this time.

A Full hundred Core Disciples in total.

Most had been recruited through assessments from various Branch Martial Arts Gym's training programs in Sanshou, Judo, wrestling, and the like.

They were top-tier talents, at worst at an amateur level of five or six dan.

A rare few had ordinary talent but had paid a hefty price to buy their way in.

"So, how much did you actually spend?"

Standing at the edge of the practice field, Chen Feng looked at Lin Hao with curiosity.

No wonder this guy had become a Core Disciple. Now, he finally knew the answer.

The gym's founding purpose was partly to generate revenue and support a large group of people.

Naturally, selling a few Core Disciple slots at a high price was a decent approach.

"This much."

Lin Hao held up four fingers.

"Four hundred thousand?" Chen Feng asked.

"Add another zero."

Lin Hao said with a look of exasperation: "Come on, this is a Core Disciple—they can receive the inheritance of a Martial Dao School."

"Even if your talent isn't great, as long as you can obtain the basics, it'll still strengthen your body and bring no small benefits."

"And most importantly,"

At the end, Lin Hao flashed a grin again and said: "You can also build some connections."

Words fell, Chen Feng raised an eyebrow and gave the other a deep look.

Then, before the two could say anything else, several Core Class coaches appeared and led them to their respective practice rooms.

And as it happened, their Core Class Three coach—

tall and burly, with a short crew cut and thick lips—

was none other than Cao Tong.