Lu Chenzhou took Li Xianghua's phone and had a look.
In the video, a high school student in uniform cleanly and efficiently knocked down a vicious tattooed man twice in a row. It really was him... Maybe someone from the crowd had recorded it and posted it online. The video on Lu Chenzhou's phone had not been uploaded.
The comments section was full of applause and praise.
Some even praised Lu Chenzhou for being handsome, saying his future was boundless.
There were even people calling him their future husband. That was absurd.
Lu Chenzhou handed the phone back to his mother.
"Son, you have to be careful."
Li Xianghua was afraid that her son's sense of justice would get him hurt.
"Mom, don't worry. It won't happen again."
Lu Chenzhou reassured her.
Only after getting Lu Chenzhou's promise did Li Xianghua smile and say,
"Son, how are you so amazing? The comments said that man was an Entry Stage Martial Warrior too. He looked like he was already in his thirties, yet you subdued him in one move."
"It wasn't that I was good. He was just too weak."
Li Xianghua's eyes lit up as she said,
"You'll definitely become a Martial Artist!"
After she left, she opened the Loving Family group chat.
Li Xianghua: Chenzhou did a good deed and made the trending list. (Thumbs up)
Uncle: Amazing! My nephew has made something of himself! (Thumbs up)
Lu Guoping: Not bad. You have the bearing of a Martial Artist! (Thumbs up)
Lu Chenzhou looked helplessly at the elders showering him with praise in the group chat.
After finishing his studies, he discovered that the news had spread through the Martial Arts Society's small group chat as well.
Qin Zheng: Damn, Chenzhou, you're a little celebrity now.
Li Linling: Junior Brother's skills are already better than mine.
Qin Zheng: Senior Sister, don't be modest. You're still the ceiling of our group right now.
Lu Chenzhou sighed. Big data recommendations were getting ridiculously powerful these days.
The next day.
At Wanhua High School, during class.
Thanks to Qin Zheng's big mouth, the entire class knew about Lu Chenzhou's good deed. The teachers knew as well and were discussing Chenzhou in the office.
"Old Cui, that student of yours is impressive."
The math teacher smiled and said,
"That kid is upright... he just doesn't devote himself wholeheartedly to studying."
He had watched Lu Chenzhou's video too. His view of Lu Chenzhou being obsessed with martial arts had changed considerably. No matter what, having a student like that made him proud.
That evening, at Flying Swallow Martial Arts Hall.
"The young man who did a good deed is here."
Shi Ruyu looked at Lu Chenzhou and teased him.
Lu Chenzhou had no reply.
"..."
Shi Ruyu smiled and said,
"There's no need to be embarrassed. This is something honorable. Those who practice martial arts should roar when they see injustice on the road... of course, only within the limits of their ability. And this should have been your first real fight, right? You performed very well. You used everything I taught you, though you still weren't proficient enough. You have good comprehension, young man!"
By the time he left the martial arts hall, Lu Chenzhou's Black Tiger Fist proficiency had already reached 63%. Sparring with Shi Ruyu brought him rich gains every time.
Time flew by.
Lu Chenzhou's life followed the same three-point routine, orderly and fulfilling. That trending video soon faded without further news. These days, doing good deeds was quite common.
In the blink of an eye, it was January 1st, 2221.
Lu Chenzhou had grown another year older. He was sixteen now.
Wanhua High School.
"This time, someone from our class made it into the top fifteen in the entire school. Let's congratulate Chenzhou." The math teacher held the freshly printed report card, in an excellent mood.
For an ordinary class to achieve such a ranking was already very good.
Among all the students he had taught, fewer than ten had entered the top fifteen. The others all gave it their all, while Lu Chenzhou was obsessed with boxing. If this kid only...
Forget it. Let him be.
Qin Zheng was so envious his heart practically bled. "Come on, bro, how the hell do you study? I even drink brain-boosting potions every day... and they're fucking useless."
Lu Chenzhou did not know either.
Compared to practicing boxing, studying really was much easier.
Though Qin Zheng had not done particularly well on the exam, he was still grinning happily today.
"Chenzhou, I'm not going to the martial arts hall tonight."
"Okay."
"You're not even going to ask why I'm not going?"
"Why?"
"Senior Sister Li and I are going to see a movie."
"Oh."
Naturally, Lu Chenzhou knew why Qin Zheng was so happy.
At this stage, though, he only wanted to practice boxing and had no interest in romance. Once he became a Martial Artist, he would have plenty of time to date. Getting into Wuda came first.
Night fell over Flying Swallow Martial Arts Hall.
Shi Ruyu watched Lu Chenzhou sweat like rain.
"You grasped the knack of Soft Force very quickly. Imagine your body as a spiderweb. No matter how the prey struggles, no matter how the web sways, it will never break."
"You taught me well, Senior Sister."
Shi Ruyu said,
"Don't be modest... You've improved quickly over these three months. Your fist techniques have become increasingly rounded and smooth. Test your Blood Vitality later and see how much you've progressed. There's no rush with Black Tiger Fist. First bring Basic Fist Art to perfection. Then, when you learn any advanced fist art, you'll get twice the result with half the effort!"
Lu Chenzhou entered the Blood Vitality testing room.
After regulating his breathing for a moment, he first looked toward the Martial Dao Tree.
Basic Fist Art: Major Accomplishment (99%) Black Tiger Fist: Proficiency (50%)
"Three months to go from Major Accomplishment to perfection... This speed is completely beyond my imagination. Without the Martial Dao Tree, reaching perfection would have taken me at least a year. Of course, the martial arts hall's teaching and the martial arts supplements also played a major role."
Black Tiger Fist had improved quickly too and had long since reached Proficiency. The next realm was mastery. Once Basic Fist Art reached perfection, Black Tiger Fist would become the fist art he mainly practiced from then on.
Afterward, Lu Chenzhou tested his Blood Vitality.
1.43.
It had not reached the 1.44 standard for the Second Stage. Still, an increase of 0.1 in three months was already astonishing. Once he brought Basic Fist Art to perfection, he would definitely enter the Second Stage.
When he returned home,
Lu Guoping saw Lu Chenzhou's monthly exam results and beamed.
"Really not bad. It's enough... Just maintain this ranking, and spend the rest of your time properly pursuing martial arts. Becoming a Martial Artist is better than anything!"
Li Xianghua snorted in dissatisfaction.
"That wasn't what you said before."
Lu Guoping coughed and went off to read.
Recently, he had been studying on his own too, hoping to earn a professional certification related to prosthetics.
Lu Chenzhou's academic and martial arts results were both improving.
The household was now truly filled with harmony and joy. Lu Guoping had already decided to withdraw the money he had saved and continue enrolling Lu Chenzhou at the martial arts hall, making up for past shortcomings.
Over the next few days, Lu Chenzhou tirelessly practiced Basic Fist Art, wanting to break through the final barrier. Then, on a gloomy dawn a week later, after taking the last half vial of martial arts supplement and fully refining its medicinal power through boxing practice,
That feeling of breaking through a barrier as naturally as water flowing into a channel came over him.
Basic Fist Art: Major Accomplishment (100%) → perfection
"I broke through!"
Lu Chenzhou looked toward the flower bud. It had fully bloomed, and inside it was a white fruit that shone with a gemstone-like luster, resplendent and eternal.
It floated up, transformed into a speck of light before Lu Chenzhou, then surged into the center of the tip of the final segment of his right middle finger, disappearing within.
Lu Chenzhou focused his mind and looked. Words appeared before him.
Divine Seed · Fistheart Without Regret (Unranked), hidden in the Zhongchong Acupoint. Effect: impervious to heat and cold, strengthens the body and improves fist-art comprehension slightly.
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