Rivalry and Rising Strength

Rivalry and Rising Strength

During the training that followed.

Chen Sheng took the initiative to increase all his training weights by five kilograms.

For chest presses, he added ten kilograms outright.

At first, Brother Qiang was a little worried.

After all, strength training aimed to maximize the load on the muscles.

One careless move, and instead of improving, he could injure himself.

However, as the training continued, the shock in Brother Qiang's heart became increasingly obvious.

By the end, it was written all over his face, impossible to hide.

Although Chen Sheng looked like he was struggling, he actually held on.

For someone who had only barely managed the lowest-level training sets yesterday, this was a world of difference.

Watching Chen Sheng complete one exercise after another.

Brother Qiang became more and more certain that Chen Sheng was indeed "one of those people."

Even Coach Jack and his companion beside them stopped what they were doing and stared blankly at Chen Sheng.

"I remember that the day before yesterday... he couldn't even do three sets with 10-kilogram dumbbells, right?"

At that moment, Chen Sheng was doing chest presses.

A five-kilogram weight plate had been added to each side of the barbell.

From someone he had once looked down on completely to someone who could now run faster than him and whose training weight was even close to catching up with his.

Watching the scene before him, recalling Chen Sheng's mockery during their run, A Wei's grip on his dumbbells kept tightening.

If the other guy kept improving at this rate, wouldn't he get mocked every time he came to the gym? In A Wei's mind, he had automatically labeled Chen Sheng as an upstart drunk on success.

The thought made his chest feel stifled.

To avoid being overtaken by Chen Sheng, he desperately wanted to do something.

Suddenly,

A Wei's expression hardened, as if he had made up his mind.

"Coach, I want to add some weight too."

He looked up and made the suggestion to Jack.

"A Wei, you—"

Coach Jack immediately wanted to talk him out of it.

Though he didn't think much of Chen Sheng either, A Wei's current limit was 23 kilograms. Any more, and he could lose strength and hurt himself.

But A Wei ignored his advice entirely. He picked up a 25-kilogram dumbbell and gritted his teeth as he lifted it.

Then, he began doing dumbbell lateral raises.

This movement required holding a dumbbell in each hand, then repeatedly raising and lowering both arms.

With 25 kilograms, A Wei was clearly lifting with great difficulty.

After barely finishing one set, A Wei felt an intense aching swell in his shoulder joints.

But he had no intention of giving up.

After resting briefly, he prepared to continue.

One set.

Two sets.

Three sets.

Until the fourth set.

When A Wei lifted the dumbbells again, his arms began trembling uncontrollably.

But he glanced at Chen Sheng.

To avoid being overtaken, he still decided to finish the workout.

However, after only a few reps, A Wei's face flushed bright red, and he looked like he was about to give out.

But when he looked at Chen Sheng.

He somehow found a burst of strength and actually forced himself through the fourth set.

"Not bad, kid!"

Coach Jack couldn't help patting A Wei on the shoulder.

"I didn't expect you to really stick it out."

A Wei chuckled without saying anything, instead shooting Chen Sheng a provocative look.

However, Chen Sheng had never paid attention to him at all and was fully immersed in his own training.

Seeing this,

A Wei snorted coldly.

In his view, the reason Chen Sheng's strength had improved so quickly these past two days was probably just because he had only recently started training, making the results more noticeable.

It wouldn't be so easy for him to surpass A Wei from here on out.

"Little Chen."

While Chen Sheng was resting midway through his workout, Brother Qiang suddenly spoke.

"Do you have anything to do after you finish training?"

"Nothing. What's up?" Chen Sheng looked at Brother Qiang in confusion.

Brother Qiang was holding his phone, seemingly looking at some message.

"Afterward, I'll take you to meet someone."

At that,

Chen Sheng's doubts were not answered. Instead, he became even more confused.

Brother Qiang smiled mysteriously.

As if to persuade Chen Sheng to agree,

he picked up a dumbbell beside him.

This dumbbell weighed a full 50 kilograms.

Yet in Brother Qiang's hand, it seemed as light as nothing.

The next second, something happened that nearly shattered Chen Sheng's worldview.

Brother Qiang gripped the bar with both hands and gave it a light bend.

The metal bar instantly bent downward.

With a swish.

Chen Sheng's pupils contracted, and he shot to his feet.

"Brother Qiang, this..."

He pointed at the bent dumbbell, his face full of shock.

Other than himself, could there really be someone else in this world—

"Little Chen, I know what you want to say."

"But this little bit of skill is nothing."

"If you're interested, I can take you to meet someone even stronger."

Brother Qiang explained with a smile.

At that,

Chen Sheng's eyes immediately lit up.

"Brother Qiang, don't tell me you're some reclusive Martial Arts Expert?"

"You've taken a liking to my talent and want to accept me as your disciple?!"

"No problem!"

"I'm willing to become your disciple!"

Chen Sheng swept out a hand.

He made the decision for Brother Qiang on the spot.

"Master, I—"

"No, no, no!"

Seeing that if he was two seconds later, he would gain a disciple, Brother Qiang hurriedly stopped him.

"I'm no Martial Arts Expert. It would be useless for you to take me as your master."

Chen Sheng was still somewhat unwilling to give up.

Although he could grow stronger through the Golden Finger.

Growing stronger was an aspiration.

Becoming a Martial Arts Expert was a dream.

The two did not conflict.

What if there was some internal energy or something? If he learned it, maybe his attributes would rise rapidly too.

"Brother Qiang, just accept me. As long as you teach me kung fu, I'll take care of you in your old age."

Chen Sheng pounded his chest with a thump.

"Get lost!"

"I have a daughter. I don't need you to take care of me in my old age!"

Brother Qiang gave the back of Chen Sheng's head a helpless slap.

"Just train properly."

"You're right, I do like your talent."

"If you really want to learn martial arts, I can introduce you to someone later."

"That person is a true Martial Arts Expert."

"As for whether you can pass, that will depend on how you perform."

As he spoke, Brother Qiang discreetly pointed at the camera on the wall and winked at Chen Sheng.

At that,

Chen Sheng recalled Brother Qiang checking his phone earlier.

He immediately understood.

"Brother Qiang, give me the full package!!"

"I want the heaviest one!"

"Quit fooling around and get back to training."

"Oh."

An hour passed.

After the workout ended, Brother Qiang left the strength-training area first and told Chen Sheng to wait where he was.

Chen Sheng knew.

Brother Qiang had gone to find that "Martial Arts Expert."

Filled with excitement, Chen Sheng sat on a chair and checked the results of today's workout.

Sure enough.

After this workout, his Strength attribute had increased by another 0.02, taking another step closer to the range of normal humans.

The fatigue in his muscles was also slowly fading.

After sitting for a while longer.

Just as Chen Sheng was debating whether to train a little more, Brother Qiang returned.

"Come on. I'll take you to meet someone."

Chen Sheng immediately stood up and followed behind Brother Qiang with an excited look on his face.

The two walked deeper into the gym until they finally reached a door in the VIP area.

At that moment,

dull impacts sounded from inside the room.

"Tiger Brother, I brought him."