Chapter Summaries

Fang Cheng reached Level 1 in Leg Raises, improved his attributes, and resolved to keep progressing toward his goals. At the fighting club, he learned his bid to become a Sparring Partner might succeed and planned to study Karate before facing an expert.

• Fang Cheng completed his Leg Raises training, reached Level 1, and spent four of his six Free Attributes on Constitution and one each on Strength and Agility.
• Fang Cheng overheard Zhou Yongnian and Auntie He arguing, then reminded himself to keep making steady progress toward his exams and goals.
• At the Global Elite Fighting Club, Chen Xiaohai told Fang Cheng that Human Resources might approve his request to become a Sparring Partner, and colleagues praised or warned him.
• Fang Cheng considered the employment risks of sparring and wondered how he would compensate the club if he injured his employer.
• After work, Fang Cheng planned to rent Karate competition discs to prepare for exchanging blows with an Eastern Island Karate expert.

Fang Cheng rented karate training discs from Wu Datong’s audio-visual store and found Zhou Xiumei working at North Point Night Market. When local thugs harassed her, Fang Cheng grabbed Brother Fei’s wrist, and the chapter ended as the crowd watched.

• Fang Cheng visited Wu Datong’s audio-visual store and rented two karate teaching discs.
• Fang Cheng walked to North Point Night Market, where Zhou Xiumei was selling handicrafts.
• Several thugs approached Zhou Xiumei’s stall and harassed her, with Brother Fei grabbing her sleeve.
• Fang Cheng seized Brother Fei’s wrist, and Zhou Xiumei recognized him with delight and worry.

Fang Cheng fought off Brother Fei and his gang after they surrounded him, using his boxing and Sanda skills to defeat the thugs. The fight ended with him mastering a Combat Skill, while Zhou Xiumei watched in alarm and amazement.

• Brother Fei summoned more thugs after Fang Cheng subdued him, and Fang Cheng sent Zhou Xiumei away from the fight.
• Fang Cheng knocked down several attackers with punches, kicks, and a hip toss, but the gang surrounded him and struck him with a folding stool.
• Fang Cheng activated Focus Skill and used boxing footwork and Sanda techniques to defeat the gang one by one.
• Fang Cheng knocked down the last standing thug and received 45 Boxing Experience for defeating the group.
• A panel announced that Fang Cheng had mastered a Combat Skill through diligent practice.

After defeating Brother Fei’s gang at North Point Night Market, Fang Cheng unlocked the Sanda skill and used his connection to Ma Donghe to secure Zhou Xiumei’s safety. He helped her pack up and leave, while a limping man in the crowd watched them ride away.

• Fang Cheng discovered that his Sanda skill had unlocked at beginner level despite not mastering every component technique.
• Brother Fei surrendered, and Fang Cheng asked whether he knew Ma Donghe before claiming they were boxing friends.
• Fang Cheng gave Brother Fei money for the gang’s injuries and asked him to protect Zhou Xiumei; Brother Fei agreed.
• Zhou Xiumei checked on Fang Cheng, then gathered the damaged handicrafts and closed her stall early.
• Fang Cheng rode away with Zhou Xiumei in the tricycle as a limping man watched them from the crowd.

Fang Cheng encouraged Zhou Xiumei to find a dream as they returned from their night of selling goods, and promised to tell her his own dream later. On December 3, he began a physical assessment to become a sparring partner at the Global Elite Fighting Club, impressing the watching coaches with his push-ups.

• Fang Cheng asked Zhou Xiumei about her earnings, and she calculated that her income had passed two hundred yuan for the first time before worrying about her losses.
• Fang Cheng urged Zhou Xiumei to find a dream, and she asked if his dream was to compete professionally in martial arts.
• Fang Cheng said it was too early to reveal his dream but promised to tell Zhou Xiumei privately when he had an answer.
• At the Global Elite Fighting Club, Coach Hu and Xu Maocai watched as Fang Cheng prepared for the karate department's sparring-partner assessment.
• Fang Cheng began the consecutive push-up test with steady, flawless form, impressing the coaches while Xu Maocai watched with a complicated expression.

Fang Cheng stunned the fitness club by completing 250 push-ups and breaking its long-standing record during the sparring-partner assessment. The coaches accepted his stamina but Coach Shen called for another important test.

• Xu Maocai watched Fang Cheng’s push-ups, hoping the assessment might discourage him from pursuing sparring work while considering helping with his maternal grandfather’s surgical fee.
• Fang Cheng passed 100 push-ups and kept going as students, staff, and coaches gathered to watch.
• Fang Cheng reflected that his training panel had transformed his strength, and he continued past 200 push-ups without losing his steady form.
• Fang Cheng reached 250 push-ups before Xu Maocai and Coach Shen stopped the test.
• The coaches recognized Fang Cheng’s exceptional stamina, but Coach Shen objected that sparring partners needed to pass another important assessment.

Fang Cheng passed the Sparring Partner assessment after enduring Shen Haoming’s powerful Flying Side Kick, and Shen Haoming signed his Employment Agreement. After everyone left, Shen Haoming revealed that the kick had badly hurt his foot against the force behind Fang Cheng’s target.

• Xu Maocai warned Fang Cheng that Shen Haoming was a powerful Shotokan karate fighter who favored sneak attacks.
• Shen Haoming launched a Flying Side Kick at Fang Cheng, who braced behind the kicking target and absorbed the impact without falling.
• The coaches praised Fang Cheng’s performance, and Shen Haoming signed Fang Cheng’s Employment Agreement.
• Fang Cheng left for the locker room with his Logistics Department colleagues while the other coaches dispersed.
• Shen Haoming stayed behind and winced, realizing his foot had struck something as hard as iron inside the target.

After passing the Sparring Partner assessment, Fang Cheng visited Training Hall No. 2 and watched Majima Goro brutally attack a sparring partner and Coach Shen Haoming. Majima Goro challenged him, but Fang Cheng refused until his contract was formalized, leaving the hall as a light-blue screen appeared before him.

• Fang Cheng followed Chen Xiaohai to Training Hall No. 2, where staff and fighters watched him after his record-breaking assessment.
• Fang Cheng observed Majima Goro train and then overpower a professional sparring partner during their drills.
• Majima Goro ignored the partner’s request to pause and tried to slam him, so Shen Haoming intervened and was caught in a choke.
• Chen Xiaohai told Fang Cheng that Majima Goro had acted this way since arriving and seemed to be losing control more often.
• Majima Goro challenged Fang Cheng to spar, but Fang Cheng said through Chen Xiaohai that his wish would soon be granted and left the hall.
• As Fang Cheng looked out through the venue’s glass window, a light-blue screen appeared in midair.

Fang Cheng completed his morning training, improved his Agility, and reviewed his skills and recovery. After the news reported a major explosion at the West Mountain Ruins, near the hospital where his mother worked, he tried calling her but got no answer.

• Fang Cheng practiced Shadow Boxing and Karate forms during his morning workout.
• Fang Cheng saw that his Agility had increased to 12 and checked his attributes, skills, and recovery status.
• Fang Cheng watched a report that an explosion at the West Mountain Ruins had caused a mountain fire and put Xiguan district under alert.
• Fang Cheng called his mother, who worked at Ren'an Hospital near West Mountain, but the call disconnected without an answer.

After checking on his mother and grandfather, Fang Cheng went out to shop and relax, then tested his strength at a park’s horizontal bars. He returned home as rain approached, determined to keep improving before his coming training with Majima Goro.

• Fang Cheng learned from his mother that Ren'an Hospital was safe, his grandfather could drink porridge, and his uncle was negotiating a business deal that might cover the surgery fee.
• Fang Cheng bought ingredients for dinner and noticed his Cooking and Cleaning skills were close to reaching Level 1.
• Fang Cheng visited Jiangbin Park to scout its fitness area and watched sports students and other enthusiasts perform difficult street-workout moves.
• Fang Cheng tried the horizontal bar and completed ten pull-ups despite his soreness and the amused attention of two girls.
• Fang Cheng left the park as rain began, hoping it would not disrupt his training with Majima Goro the next day.

Fang Cheng left home before dawn to practice Pull-Ups in a torrential downpour, determined to stop waiting for ideal conditions and improve his control. He found a more effective form and continued training alone in the rain.

• After completing his sixteenth Daily Training, Fang Cheng put on a raincoat and rubber shoes and left home before dawn.
• Fang Cheng went to Jiangbin Park to practice Pull-Ups, which had stalled the unlock progress for the Prisoner's Six Arts.
• Fang Cheng rejected his doubts about training in the dangerous weather, removed his soaked clothes, and began doing Pull-Ups in the rain.
• Fang Cheng activated Focus Skill and adjusted his form after realizing his arms were tiring while his back felt little strain.
• Fang Cheng engaged his back and shoulder muscles more effectively, found the right feeling, and continued his repetitions.

Fang Cheng pushed through exhaustion to continue doing pull-ups and entered a profound mental state that raised his Spirit Attribute to 20 and unlocked the Pull-Ups skill. After using Potential Activation to recover, he noticed arrows linking his four fitness skills on the Skill Bar.

• Fang Cheng continued pull-ups despite warnings that his body and mind were overexerted, then calmed himself in the rain and entered a strange mental state.
• Fang Cheng comprehended principles of Meditation, repeatedly increased his Spirit Attribute, and unlocked Pull-Ups lv0.
• Fang Cheng's Spirit Attribute reached 20 before thunder jolted him out of the mental state and brought back his exhaustion.
• Fang Cheng activated Potential Activation to regain his strength, climbed onto the horizontal bar, and admired his heightened senses and the storm.
• Fang Cheng noticed faint arrows linking Push-Ups, Squats, Leg Raises, and Pull-Ups on his Skill Bar.

Fang Cheng considered saving his fitness skills to synthesize a powerful talent and continued training as his body control improved. Two days later, he began work as a sparring partner at Global Elite Fighting Club, where his first opponent was Majima Goro.

• Fang Cheng examined his Green Excellent Beauty talent and decided to keep pursuing the possibility of synthesizing a Gold Mythic talent.
• Fang Cheng practiced Hanging Leg Raises in the rain and sensed that his improved Spirit Attribute gave him sharper control over his muscles.
• Fang Cheng resolved to keep challenging his limits and complete five more sets of Hanging Leg Raises.
• Two days later, Fang Cheng signed his employment contract, collected his protective gear, and went to Training Hall No. 2 for his first day as a sparring partner.
• Fang Cheng warmed up while Majima Goro continued doing knuckle push-ups, preparing to face him.

Fang Cheng served as Majima Goro’s kick-pad target and studied his relentless attacks, using his heightened perception to read the fighter’s movements. The chapter ended as Fang Cheng anticipated Majima Goro’s knife-edge kick and placed the pad in its path.

• Fang Cheng watched Majima Goro condition his body with Goju-ryu’s Sanchin Kata and learned about its pain-resistance training.
• Majima Goro called Fang Cheng into the ring and launched a sudden side kick, which Fang Cheng blocked with a kicking pad.
• Majima Goro unleashed a fierce series of kicks, forcing Fang Cheng to absorb the blows and assess his strength and attack patterns.
• Fang Cheng used his keen perception to read Majima Goro’s movements and began matching the rhythm of his attacks.
• Fang Cheng anticipated Majima Goro’s knife-edge kick and placed the target pad directly in its path.

Fang Cheng sparred with Majima Goro, turning the session into a hard-fought exchange that improved his Sanda experience and earned him a higher hourly rate. Majima left excited to have found a partner who could withstand his attacks, perhaps ending his need to wait for Zheng Haokang.

• Majima Goro intensified his kicks, but Fang Cheng intercepted and blocked them while studying his technique.
• Majima Goro abandoned his kicks and charged Fang Cheng, who used Sanda grappling techniques to counter him as they struggled until training time ended.
• Majima Goro surrendered, praised Fang Cheng, and left after Shen Haoming told Fang Cheng his hourly rate would rise from 500 yuan to 1,000 yuan.
• Fang Cheng received 50 Sanda Experience, while Majima Goro admired his bruised limbs and said he might not need to wait for Zheng Haokang anymore.

Fang Cheng pushed his Sanda practice to Expert Level and earned five free attribute points. He decided to save them until the next day, leaving the club with plans to prepare before raising his Constitution further.

• Fang Cheng struck and caught a heavy sandbag during training, earning experience in Sanda, boxing, and focus.
• His Sanda reached Expert Level, unlocking Sanda Lv1 and a reward of five free attributes.
• Fang Cheng reflected on how his improved perception and reactions had helped him use joint locks and intercept Majima Goro in close combat.
• He judged that his fighting skills now gave him an advantage over Coach Hu and could help him challenge stronger opponents.
• Fang Cheng chose not to spend his free attributes yet, then headed to the bathroom to leave the club.

Fang Cheng trained the Back Bridge without relying on skills and unlocked it after gaining a deep understanding of the movement. After assigning four free attribute points to Constitution and one to strength, he felt stronger and turned his attention to the final Prisoner's Six Arts skill, Handstand Push-Ups.

• Fang Cheng practiced the Back Bridge, first working through easier bridge variations to prepare his stiff torso and lower back.
• Fang Cheng sensed the muscles used in the movement and entered a focused mental state, unlocking Back Bridge Lv0.
• Fang Cheng assigned four free attribute points to Constitution and one to strength, then felt his fatigue disappear and his body grow stronger.
• Fang Cheng considered learning meditation properly and marked his progress, noting that only Handstand Push-Ups remained among the Prisoner's Six Arts.

After testing the limits of his enhanced physique, Fang Cheng left the bathhouse and encountered Zhou Xiumei haggling with a gas delivery worker. He easily carried her heavy gas cylinder upstairs, leaving the worker stunned and Zhou Xiumei flustered.

• Fang Cheng reviewed his training gains and considered saving Potential Activation as a trump card.
• Fang Cheng left the bathhouse after greeting Aunt Li, while the neighborhood women praised him and gossiped about his family.
• Fang Cheng bought ten beef-filled buns and two bags of soy milk from the breakfast stall.
• Fang Cheng found Zhou Xiumei arguing over the price of carrying a gas cylinder upstairs.
• Fang Cheng lifted the nearly fifty-kilogram gas cylinder with one hand and carried it toward the stairs.

Fang Cheng helped Zhou Xiumei carry a gas tank upstairs, then returned home to finish cooking and eat. After enduring his charred rib soup, he unlocked the Gourmet skill.

• Fang Cheng carried the gas tank to Zhou Xiumei's ninth-floor home and reconnected it in the kitchen.
• Zhou Xiumei told Fang Cheng she had soaked and washed his clothes, and he invited her and Grandma Zhou to lunch.
• Fang Cheng returned home, discovered he had overcooked the ribs, and prepared a meal that brought his Cooking skill close to leveling up.
• Fang Cheng ate several bowls of rice while watching the news report that the Western Mountains fire had been extinguished and the West Pass District alert would be lifted in stages.
• Fang Cheng ate a charred rib and unlocked Gourmet Lv0.

Fang Cheng’s reputation as a durable sparring partner spread through the fighting club, bringing him more work and higher income. After a long day, he discovered that eating meals also increased his Gourmet Experience, leaving him ready to keep training and eating to improve.

• Fang Cheng trained with Majima Goro in moving-target drills, gained experience, and received an invitation to visit Majima Goro’s home.
• Fang Cheng accepted more sparring work, set a mid-range hourly rate, and was greeted by fighters seeking sessions with him.
• Coach Shen Haoming treated Fang Cheng warmly because he had become a durable partner who could handle Majima Goro.
• Fang Cheng ate a bento during an evening break and gained Gourmet Experience, then decided to keep eating to develop the skill.