Tough Guy Shen Qian

Shen Qian looked at Zhao Xin in surprise.

He hadn't expected the other man to possess such ability. Honestly, among people their age, this already counted as above average.

Zhao Xin clearly had what it took to pass the Martial Arts College Entrance Exam with ease, so why was he so determined to join the military?

A trace of doubt flashed through Shen Qian's mind.

What was so bad about Martial Arts Colleges?

Were the senior girls not wild enough, or the junior girls not cute enough?

"Here is your membership card. Please keep it safe."

The smiling Zhao Xin had already finished getting his card. He waved the silver-toned card in his hand and shot Shen Qian a provocative look.

The rankings displayed on the big screen changed, and Zhao Xin's name appeared in 38th place.

Zhong Xiaoli was also very pleased with her son's performance. Just as she was about to call Zhao Xin away, he remained still, staring at Shen Qian with an unmistakable look in his eyes.

Hearing Manager Zheng and the martial arts gym staff praise him, Zhong Xiaoli was in no hurry to leave either. She stood off to the side with Zhao Xin and waited.

Want to see me make a fool of myself?

Shen Qian shrugged indifferently and stepped onto the Simulation Machine as well.

After putting on the helmet and waiting for his spine to connect to the machine, Shen Qian's vision went dark. He appeared in an open area, with an immobile wooden post placed ahead of him.

He did not deliberately conceal his strength. Two weeks had passed, and Shen Qian also wanted to see how much progress he had made.

With that thought, he shot forward and slammed a fist into the wooden post.

Beep! Beep!

Shen Qian removed his helmet and looked at the figures that appeared on the screen.

"Age: 17. Burst Strength: 126 kg. Instantaneous Speed: 10.8 seconds per 100 meters. Potential Index: 70."

"How is that possible?!"

Before anyone else could react, Zhao Xin was the first to fly into a rage.

His Potential Index was only 68, while Shen Qian's was actually 70... Those two points of difference made him feel as sick as if he had swallowed a fly.

His strength was only slightly higher than Shen Qian's, but with a one-year age difference between them, a mere five kilograms of strength meant nothing.

This result also surprised Manager Zheng and the others. No one had expected the shabbily dressed Shen Qian to have even greater potential than Zhao Xin.

"Wow, you're amazing! With a Potential Index of 70, you can get another 30% off on top of the 10% discount!" Xiao Xuan was genuinely happy for Shen Qian.

"Are you sure there's nothing wrong with the Simulation Machine?" Zhao Xin asked stubbornly. "Let him test again!"

"Student Zhao, there's no way the Simulation Machine could malfunction." Manager Zheng patiently explained in a low voice, "Besides, having him test again would violate the rules."

Manager Zheng and the others could not understand Zhao Xin's mixture of shock, humiliation, and fury. This boy had clearly been smiling politely at him just two weeks ago, trying to befriend him...

Wait, if Shen Qian had this kind of ability, getting into a Martial Arts University should not have been a problem. So why did he want to enlist?

The exact same question Shen Qian had just pondered surfaced in Zhao Xin's mind.

Could he know... that news?

Shen Qian watched curiously as Zhao Xin's expression changed repeatedly. In the end, Zhao Xin left with a grim-faced Zhong Xiaoli, looking uncertain and alarmed, as though he had suffered some kind of shock.

Shen Qian could finally get his card in peace.

"This is a Gold membership card. Once you add credit to it, you can enjoy a 37% discount when paying with this card. Our fees are charged by time slot. Depending on the cultivation room level, prices range from 88 to 888 per hour. You can also book a block of time, which comes with a much better discount. All members may freely use the public areas on the first floor at no additional charge..."

Shen Qian listened and indicated that he understood. The martial arts gym's billing system was actually similar to that of the VR Hall. The only thing that pained him was the additional 1,000 yuan card fee, along with the 5,000-yuan minimum top-up...

Of the 10,000-yuan reward from the police station, Shen Qian had spent more than 2,000 yuan on raw materials for making potions. He now had less than 8,000 yuan left on him, and more than half of it was about to disappear in an instant.

The saying that scholars came from poor families while martial artists required wealth was indeed true.

Beep, beep. Your one-day experience card for being a ten-thousand-yuan household has expired... Shen Qian looked at his shriveled bank balance with some heartache.

"I'll take a Gold Cultivation Room for 288, booked for half a day."

Originally, Shen Qian had planned to use a Platinum Cultivation Room, which started at 588, but after calculating the cost, he gave up on the idea. A Gold Cultivation Room would barely be enough.

"Certainly. The original price for booking a Gold Cultivation Room for half a day is 3,000. After the 37% discount, the total is 1,890 yuan."

After the money was deducted from his card, Xiao Xuan led Shen Qian to the third floor and opened the cultivation room door for him.

Once he entered the cultivation room and shut the door, the lights came on automatically. A huge electronic clock stood by the entrance, beginning a twelve-hour countdown the moment the door closed.

Shen Qian checked his wristband. It was only a little past seven in the evening. He could stay until seven tomorrow morning, have breakfast at the martial arts gym cafeteria, and then head to school just in time.

The Gold Cultivation Room before him was roughly seventy square meters. Besides the main hall filled with various body-tempering equipment, there was also a lounge with its own bathroom.

There was also a glass cabinet embedded in one wall, stocked with all kinds of food and drinks for replenishing stamina, as well as even some off-brand Body Tempering Potions...

Of course, just like at a hotel, only bottled water, bread, and tissues were free.

Shen Qian was in no hurry to begin body tempering. He needed to take his medicine first.

Shen Qian took a thermos from his bag. Inside was the second dose of Stamina Potion he had stayed up until midnight to make.

What he had given Wang Yangming was only a small portion of the diluted essence.

It was not entirely because Shen Qian was stingy. The medicinal effects of the Body Tempering Potion produced by Canglang Pharmaceuticals took two months to be fully absorbed, whereas the Stamina Potion produced by the system worked quickly but was more than ten times as intense.

Last time, Shen Qian had passed out from the pain even while the system was running on autopilot. One could easily imagine what would happen to an ordinary person.

The amount Shen Qian had given Wang Yangming was the amount a normal person could digest at once. After seven days, he could begin the next course of treatment... All of this was clearly recorded in the prescription.

Only Shen Qian could continue doing his best to absorb the medicinal effects even while unconscious.

Thus, with the system daddy to rely on, Shen Qian still decided... to down it in one gulp.

No matter how painful it was, he would not feel it anyway. Afterward, he could only look at the dry text records and tell himself he had worked hard.

When he opened the lid, a dense medicinal fragrance drifted out. However, the thick walls kept anything from escaping... including Shen Qian's possible screams later.

This was another major advantage of the private cultivation room that Shen Qian had taken a liking to.

He stripped naked and jumped into the two-meter-wide bathtub. Tilting back his head, Shen Qian drained the Stamina Potion in the thermos in one gulp.

Shen Qian stood motionless, his face filled with determination.

He wanted to try experiencing the Stamina Potion's effects while conscious. If he could endure it, it would be a rare tempering for both his willpower and Mental Power... Hiss!

An indescribable, overwhelming pain swept through his limbs and bones in an instant. Without even thinking, he shouted, "Take over!"

The world fell silent.

Shen Qian's consciousness sank contentedly into darkness, but his body remained standing tall, like a tough guy.