Boxing Friends, Stronger

The Stretchy Shirt Strongman remained silent, his eyes fixed firmly on Fang Cheng.

Standing over six feet tall with a broad, hulking build, he was intimidating without saying a word.

Fang Cheng grew vigilant. He angled his shoulders slightly, placed one foot ahead of the other, and assumed a low-hand stance.

He could switch between offense and defense at any moment.

The Stretchy Shirt Strongman stopped, keeping just over an arm's length away.

Then, with a puzzled expression, he asked:

"You've trained in Boxing too? Are you in the business?"

Fang Cheng couldn't help but freeze for a moment as he looked at the bear-like man before him.

The Stretchy Shirt Strongman's brows relaxed slightly, and he continued with considerable interest:

"Just now, you used your eyes and feints to trick him into giving up the knife. And that changing Hook was pretty impressive!"

"Have you competed before? We can spar sometime if you're free."

There was even a hint of admiration in his words.

"Ma Ge..."

A Dong groaned as he finally recovered from having his "guts blasted out."

After Fang Cheng had knocked Huang Mao unconscious with one punch, the criminal law provisions on excessive self-defense had instantly flashed through his mind.

So while his next two consecutive strikes were fast, he had held back considerably.

After all, it was his first time beating someone with Iron Fist. He found it hard to control the force and was afraid of actually causing internal bleeding.

"Oh—"

The Strongman suddenly understood. He then forcefully Wiped his face and put on a fierce expression.

"I don't care whether you're in the business or not!"

"Isn't paying back debts only natural? Does owing money mean you get to act righteous?"

He shouted loudly, then Turned His Head toward the onlookers and Security Guards.

"Isn't that right? Everyone, tell me, what did we do wrong?"

Seeing that he did not seem particularly hostile, Fang Cheng Sighed in Relief slightly.

"You're causing trouble here and disturbing the other patients' rest. If there's a dispute, you can ask the police for help and settle it at the station."

Hearing Fang Cheng say this, A Dong curled his lip and couldn't help retorting:

"Do you know who we are? We're from the Poisonous Snake Gang—"

"Cough, cough!"

The Strongman suddenly coughed twice, quickly taking over the conversation as he explained:

"We're debt collectors from a legitimate finance company."

Fang Cheng had no interest in their exact background. He merely continued persuading them politely and reasonably:

"What's the point of taking the child away? He has leukemia. If his condition Worsened during that time, who would take responsibility?"

"According To the law, you would definitely be charged with negligent homicide. Or are you willing to cover the child's living and medical expenses?"

"Once his illness is cured, you can make trouble if there's trouble and collect debts if there are debts. Even if it goes to court, you'll have more on your side."

"What you said... seems to make a lot of sense."

Perhaps persuaded by Fang Cheng's polite attitude, the Strongman stroked his chin and couldn't help pondering it.

"Since you put it so reasonably, fine. I'll give them another month."

"They should be able to scrape together the interest within a month, right?"

He Turned Around and looked at the anxious young couple.

"Thank you, thank you!"

The young couple clutched their child tightly and nodded again and again.

It was unclear whether they were thanking the thugs or Fang Cheng.

The Strongman Shook His Head and cursed quietly, "What a fucking mess."

Then he walked over to Huang Mao, who was still sleeping like a baby, and slapped him across the face.

Huang Mao let out a muffled groan and slowly woke up.

Looking at the unexpectedly harmonious scene before his eyes, he couldn't help Murmuring:

"Bro, didn't you say you wanted me to be more ruthless?"

"Shut up!"

The Strongman barked, then instructed another Thug:

"A Dong, take him downstairs to register and see if he has a concussion. A Boxer's fists aren't for show."

Just Then, as the three men decided to let the matter rest and prepared to leave,

the Strongman seemed to suddenly remember something and turned back.

After rummaging through his Pocket for a while, he pulled out a crumpled Business Card and handed it to Fang Cheng.

"Keep in touch when you're free. I'll introduce you to some boxing friends. Sparring with each other is how we improve."

With that, he smiled and left with his two Thugs.

Fang Cheng neither agreed nor disagreed as he looked at the Business Card.

"Black Snake Finance Company. Collection Team Leader. Ma Donghe."

As the three debt collectors reached the elevator, faint troubled voices could still be heard.

They seemed to be discussing how exactly they should explain this to their Boss after returning.

With no more excitement to watch, the crowd gradually dispersed as well.

The Security Guards came up to Fang Cheng one by one, sincerely thanking him for solving a work-related problem for them.

In the end, only the young couple remained, still holding their child tightly as they sat dazedly on the floor, not yet recovered from the shock.

"I knew it!"

"How could those Poisonous Snake Gang guys react so fast..."

Li Dingjian emerged from somewhere, muttering under his breath after pulling down his mask, his expression noticeably relaxed.

Then he gave Fang Cheng an odd look, sizing him up from head to toe as though seeing him for the first time.

"What, you don't recognize me?"

Fang Cheng remained calm as he adjusted the sleeves that had been pulled up during the fight.

Li Dingjian reached out and squeezed his arm, clicking his tongue in amazement.

"You little brat, you've been secretly training martial arts all this time? You're getting more handsome by the day..."

"Cheng Cheng, what happened? I heard you got into a fight with some hooligans?"

While Speaking, hurried Footsteps sounded from behind him, along with Li Biyun's anxious voice.

Fang Cheng Turned His Head and saw the worry written all over his mother's face, so he quickly explained:

"No, those people weren't hooligans..."

"Sis, you missed quite a show."

Li Dingjian quickly took over, saying animatedly:

"Those punches A Cheng used to beat up the hooligans just now were like Boxing King Descends. He's got a bit of Brother-in-law's old flair!"

Fang Cheng and Li Biyun turned their heads in unison and glared fiercely at him.

Li Dingjian smiled awkwardly, immediately shut his mouth, and shrugged apologetically.

His maternal grandfather had already been awakened by the commotion.

Fang Cheng stayed in the hospital room with his mother and uncle, keeping him company and chatting for a while.

Of course, most of the time they were the ones talking. His maternal grandfather could only nod and respond with muffled grunts.

According to the Doctor, the tubes could probably be removed in two days. He would be able to eat some liquid food and speak normally.

After they changed the IV medication and the old man fell asleep from exhaustion, Fang Cheng's mother and uncle each left to attend to their own matters.

The room fell silent once more.

Only the occasional beeping of the monitor remained, along with faint Words drifting in from the Corridor.

Fang Cheng sat there doing nothing, feeling somewhat bored.

So he Stood Up, placed Both Hands against the cold tiles, and began practicing Push-Ups.

Once a habit formed, it became difficult to change.

Even slacking off for a little while made him feel guilty.

It was as if his future self, after suffering failure, would look back and condemn the current him for not working hard enough.

That Strongman named Ma Donghe was no ordinary Thug.

Fang Cheng had felt an intense oppressive force from him, as though he were being watched by a ferocious beast.

It even surpassed the feeling given to him by the Professional Coaches and Boxers at the Club.

That sense of pressure was not merely due to the difference in physique. It Should Be an Aura cultivated through frequent fighting.

Fang Cheng had appeared calm just now, but his body had remained tense the entire time, guarding against his opponent suddenly attacking.

Perhaps his current Boxing technique was already enough to contend with a Professional Boxer.

But before absolute strength, any technique was nothing but clouds.

If the other side had not chosen to back down and they had truly fought, Fang Cheng did not dare guarantee that he could escape unscathed.

When men encountered Danger,

they either used someone else's body to vent their pressure,

or Tempered their own bodies and built up the confidence to completely defeat their opponents.

Fang Cheng chose the latter.

During this, the Nurse came in for a routine checkup.

When she caught him wildly doing Push-Ups like this, her gaze inevitably became somewhat strange.

Fang Cheng did not care about other people's eyes.

Looking at the Prompt Information continuously popping up on the Panel, he silently counted.

You completed 6 standard Push-Ups. Skill Experience +1

You completed 6 standard Push-Ups. Skill Experience +1

You completed 7 standard Push-Ups. Skill Experience +1

As the Progress Bar passed the halfway point and neared the Level 0 limit, Skill Experience increased more and more slowly.

After Level Up to Level 1, ordinary training would probably become much less effective, just like with Boxing.

It was like the opponents he had encountered in two actual fights.

That Drunkard with a body full of fat could receive the Panel's rating of "Formidable Opponent."

Defeating him easily had made his experience surge by 20 points.

Yet the two Thugs who had spent years fighting in Street Brawls had only received the title of "Unknown Soldier."

The experience gained from defeating them was actually nearly the same as from the Drunkard.

But on second thought, it seemed quite reasonable.

After the Boxing Skill had reached Level 1, the Panel had given it the rating of "Expert Level."

No matter how experienced those two Thugs were at fighting, compared to an expert like him, what were they if not Rookies?

Fang Cheng got to his feet and caught his breath.

Clenching Both Hands, he Stared at the prominent Veins running across the backs of his fists.

As his Skill Level rose, his physique continued to strengthen.

Rather than saying that the opponents he faced would grow stronger and stronger,

it would be more accurate to say that the challenges he needed had to be strong enough.

The greater the difficulty, the greater the reward.

To break through the limit of the "Boxing" skill, he had established imaginary enemies, practiced Shadow Boxing, and simulated real combat.

To break through the limit of the "Push-Ups" skill, simply repeating basic movements would clearly be rather inefficient.

The most suitable method Should Be to increase the difficulty of each repetition.

Fortunately, the Prisoner's Six Arts Cultivation Method system was well-developed.

Every Fitness Skills had corresponding, sensible advanced training methods that could be unlocked in sequence and gradually improved.

That was not something he needed to worry about.