"How was it? Did you feel it?"
Coach Zheng stood beside Fang Qingyu's fist and asked softly.
"Yes."
Fang Qingyu forcibly suppressed his shock and nodded.
He had never expected martial arts to bring him such a tremendous shock in just two short days.
First there had been the claim about meridians, and now there was this time that seemed to have come to a standstill.
It was a little too fantastical.
"This is a breathing method specifically used for combat. You thought time had stopped, but in reality, it simply focuses your concentration on a single point and pushes it beyond its normal limits."
At a glance, Coach Zheng knew what Fang Qingyu was thinking and calmly explained.
"A breathing method?"
Fang Qingyu frowned and muttered.
"That's right. Just now, I was only having you remember that feeling. Next, I'll teach you how to enter this state. Generally speaking, how long this state can last determines how long you can fight."
As he spoke, Coach Zheng led Fang Qingyu to stand to one side.
He raised three fingers. "Inhale for three seconds, hold for two, exhale for four, then repeat in rhythm with my knuckle taps."
His fingers tapped out a regular rat-a-tat against the frame.
"Expand your ribs when inhaling through your nose, and draw in your abdominal muscles when exhaling."
Coach Zheng suddenly punched Fang Qingyu lightly in the side of the waist.
At the instant when he should have been winded, the impact was neutralized by the precisely controlled rhythm of his exhalation.
When Fang Qingyu completed his third full breathing cycle,
that special frequency returned.
Coach Zheng's fingers, which had been tapping the frame continuously, slowed down once more.
However, the good times did not last.
In less than two seconds, Fang Qingyu exited that frequency again.
His vision returned to normal.
"Do you remember how you practiced just now?"
Coach Zheng asked when he saw this.
"I remember."
Fang Qingyu nodded seriously.
This was premium practical knowledge that would be useful in actual combat.
"Good. From here on, just practice slowly. But remember, this is only a state of intense concentration. What should be fast will still be fast. If your body can't keep up with your reactions, you'll still get hit."
"Okay."
After listening, Fang Qingyu exhaled.
Actually, he had noticed it the first time he entered this state. He had thrown a punch at Coach Zheng then.
But Coach Zheng had dodged it.
His body simply could not keep up with his reactions.
With that, Coach Zheng led Fang Qingyu to the punching-post area.
"Before practicing weapons, practice your fists first."
"Start by performing Basic Fist Technique once. Let's see which fist technique suits you."
"Okay."
Fang Qingyu nodded in agreement.
After assuming Hidden Dragon Stance, he activated his Martial Seed and performed Basic Fist Technique once with all his strength.
Coach Zheng silently watched him finish, then said, "Baji Quan suits you better."
"Sure."
Fang Qingyu answered immediately.
Even people who had never practiced martial arts had probably heard of Baji Quan.
It was forceful and swift, with tremendous destructive power!
It suited him perfectly.
"Fine. I can't teach Baji Quan, so wait here."
Seeing that Fang Qingyu had no objections, Coach Zheng turned and went to call someone.
Fang Qingyu was left standing beside the punching post, watching the others practice.
He had not paid much attention in the ordinary class before.
Only now did he realize that these people were far too strong.
Take Qi Hao, for example. When he practiced his punches, his face was ferocious enough to scare the wits out of someone before the fight even began. He could probably overwhelm his opponent through sheer force of presence.
And though the punches he landed on the punching post were not particularly loud,
Fang Qingyu felt that if a real person had been standing there,
their skull would probably have been blown apart.
Moreover, everyone here was a Martial Arts Apprentice.
Unlike the ordinary class, where Martial Arts Apprentices were rare and most people had ordinary laborer professions.
The separation between ordinary and formal classes was quite appropriate.
It was not long before
Coach Zheng returned with another person.
Fang Qingyu was just about to greet him when he froze upon seeing who it was.
"It's you?"
The newcomer also recognized Fang Qingyu and spoke with a smile.
"You two know each other?"
Coach Zheng looked surprised.
"We crossed paths once at the club before."
The newcomer was a red-class professional.
Whisperer.
"Call him Brother Zhao."
Hearing this, Coach Zheng nodded and introduced him to Fang Qingyu.
"Brother Zhao."
Fang Qingyu nodded and greeted him.
"Coach Lin was supposed to come, but he was unavailable. As it happens, I know a little about martial arts myself, so teaching you the basics of Baji Quan won't be a problem~"
Brother Zhao seemed to notice Fang Qingyu's confusion and offered an explanation.
After speaking, he took a stone from inside his robes.
"Before you practice, you need to understand what the basics of Baji Quan are."
With that, he tossed the stone into the air.
When it fell in front of him,
Brother Zhao suddenly took a small step forward with his left foot, while his right hip twisted like a spring.
Fang Qingyu did not even see the movement's trajectory clearly. He only saw Brother Zhao's right elbow sweep diagonally upward from below with a ripping whoosh. The instant his elbow joint struck the stone, it exploded with a muffled thunderclap.
The stone burst apart in midair.
"If you want to practice Baji Quan, you have to be harder than your opponent, no matter what your opponent is."
"So? Do you still want to practice?"
Brother Zhao patted his elbow and asked with a smile.
"I do!"
Fang Qingyu suppressed his excitement and nodded.
He was not afraid of exhaustion, and even less afraid of pain. What he feared was practicing a fake martial art.
With this kind of power, what was there to hesitate about?
"Fine. I'll teach you."
With that, Brother Zhao led Fang Qingyu to one side.
Coach Zheng stood where he was, watching Fang Qingyu's back.
That fellow Old Qin really had not been lying this time.
From what he had seen so far, Fang Qingyu was indeed a promising prospect.
Even though he knew how arduous the road ahead would be,
his eyes held no fear or hesitation. Instead, his blood seemed to be surging with extreme excitement.
Meanwhile,
"Brother, are you a Daoist priest?"
Several hours later, Fang Qingyu lay on the ground with vacant eyes and asked in a murmur.
Brother Zhao—Zhao Feng—was squatting on the ground, applying something to Fang Qingyu's limbs.
While practicing Baji Quan, the two of them had already learned each other's full names.
Zhao Feng was not pretentious. After practicing for a while, he told Fang Qingyu to drop the Zhao and just call him Brother.
"Yeah. How did you know?"
Zhao Feng continued rubbing the medicine on him, looking quite pleased.
"You keep calling yourself 'this Daoist.' It would have been difficult not to figure it out."
Fang Qingyu endured the pain and rolled over.
Although Zhao Feng was usually gentle and soft-spoken, he showed no mercy at all when teaching.
Fang Qingyu was now certain that there was not a single uninjured patch of flesh on his body.
But all of this was worth it.
Detected Class Advancement Skill "Baji Quan" activating (15/100)
This was the third Advancement Skill he had gotten his hands on!
The second was Dragon Hibernation Breath, which he had just acquired.
He had suddenly gained two more skills to grind.
"Heh heh, how is it? Does it still hurt?"
Zhao Feng asked cheerfully.
"Much better. What medicine is this?"
Fang Qingyu pulled his Training Uniform back on.
"Medicine for bruises and injuries. It's yours. You'll need it when you practice Baji Quan from now on."
Zhao Feng casually tossed the medicine bottle to Fang Qingyu.
"Uh."
Feeling the coolness spreading across his body, Fang Qingyu knew the medicine was not cheap.
He did not know whether he should accept it.
"Take it. It didn't cost much."
"When you meet a junior who is practicing martial arts in the future, you can lend him a hand too."
Fang Qingyu pondered this. "Is this what the Daoist Sect calls karma?"
"Haha, you could put it that way."
Zhao Feng laughed heartily.
"All right, I should get going. Starting tomorrow, Coach Lin will come teach you."
"Goodbye, Brother."
Fang Qingyu could only sit on the ground and wave.
"Goodbye."
Zhao Feng seemed to have something urgent to attend to. He left in a hurry and soon disappeared through the martial arts gym's entrance.
There were only a few minutes left until class ended at midnight.
Qi Hao soon came over.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk."
"Qingzi, I'm sorry."
"?"
Fang Qingyu extended a hand toward him, a question mark popping into his head.
Qi Hao slung Fang Qingyu's arm over his shoulder, pulled him to his feet, and led him outside.
"I forgot to remind you not to choose Baji Quan."
"Why?"
Fang Qingyu slightly furrowed his brows.
He had practiced for over an hour, yet he still liked this fist technique very much.
"Baji Quan is basically self-mutilation! Didn't you just experience it!?"
Qi Hao looked at Fang Qingyu in astonishment.
Of course Fang Qingyu understood.
During that hour or so, Zhao Feng had struck him at least a hundred times, hitting nothing but bones and various spots that caused numbness.
But—
"Have you ever heard a saying?"
"Any suffering that doesn't kill you will only make you stronger!!"
Before you continue