8 a.m.
Sunlight splashed across the glass curtain wall, burning into flowing sheets of gold leaf.
Fang Qingyu pushed open the revolving door and walked out of the building.
He stepped onto the street.
At last, he had finally been discharged.
He had lain in bed for five whole days.
He was already a little impatient to return to his fulfilling life from before.
He took out his phone and called a Didi.
He got into the car and headed straight for Chenfeng Martial Hall.
The car slowly came to a stop in front of Chenfeng Martial Hall.
Fang Qingyu walked straight through the entrance.
This time, he was no longer ignored when he crossed the threshold like before.
Quite a few Formal Disciples were there, and they all turned to look at Fang Qingyu at once.
"Are you completely recovered? Don't push yourself."
Coach Zheng raised her delicate brows slightly when she saw Fang Qingyu approaching.
"I'm fine. The doctor said I could be discharged, so I left."
Fang Qingyu wasn't foolish enough to do something that would damage his foundation.
Coach Zheng heard this and the corners of her mouth curved up slightly.
"Then go test your punching power first."
"Okay."
Fang Qingyu nodded.
As it happened, he hadn't tested himself during those few days when he had improved previously.
He was curious how much punching power he had now.
He arrived in front of the testing machine.
Fang Qingyu suddenly felt a tremor behind him.
He turned around.
Only then did he discover that a group of Formal Disciples were following from a distance. When they saw him turn around, they hurriedly pretended to look elsewhere.
Fang Qingyu found it a little amusing.
But if they wanted to watch, so be it.
It wasn't some great secret, anyway.
He turned around and threw an unremarkable straight punch.
The full-force burst of power he hadn't felt in a long time gave him quite a thrill.
Bang—
215 KG!!!
Fang Qingyu turned to look at the number on the screen and was quite satisfied.
After all, he had only reached 180 KG last time.
After maxing out several professions over those few days, he had increased by a full 35 KG.
That speed could hardly be called slow.
However, Coach Zheng and the group of Formal Disciples secretly watching from behind weren't surprised by how quickly Fang Qingyu had improved.
Instead, it was because—
with 215 KG of strength, he had gone head-to-head with the Evil Navel.
"You've reached minor mastery in your martial technique?"
Coach Zheng turned around in surprise, her face filled with astonishment.
Before Fang Qingyu could speak, she immediately urged him, "Try using Baji Quan."
Fang Qingyu nodded.
After raising Baji Quan to Level 2, he indeed hadn't displayed it at the martial hall.
He took a small step back and viciously drove a Ding Xin Elbow into the force-testing plate.
Bang—
279 KG!!
"Whew, you really have reached minor mastery!?"
Coach Zheng's eyes were filled with shock.
She immediately pulled out her phone and opened the camera.
The Formal Disciples behind them also felt their scalps go numb.
"When did you reach minor mastery?"
After taking the photos, Coach Zheng turned and asked him.
"A few days ago, after I killed that thing."
Fang Qingyu couldn't possibly say that he had reached minor mastery right after entering the field, so he pushed the timing back a few days.
"Then you probably had an epiphany during a life-and-death battle?"
Instructor Qin frowned slightly as she listened.
"Uh, probably."
Fang Qingyu followed her lead.
Instructor Qin stood there thinking for a moment, then her expression suddenly grew even more serious.
"Come on. From now on, your time will be spent primarily training your foundation and practicing Slaying Thunder."
"Okay."
Fang Qingyu naturally had no objections.
He had been impatient to begin for a long time.
Coach Zheng nodded in satisfaction and turned toward the wooden dummy area. Seeing a crowd of Formal Disciples standing behind her, she angrily shouted before they could say anything,
"What, are you all free? Hurry up and go train! Whatever it is can wait until class is over."
The group glanced at one another and quickly dispersed.
No one dared provoke Zheng the Ruthless.
"You're now the hottest commodity in Qingjian City's martial hall circles. I expect many people will try to recruit you into their associations. You can refuse, but until they show malicious intent, there's no need to antagonize them. Understand?"
Zheng Lin walked alongside Fang Qingyu toward the wooden dummy area, speaking softly as they went.
"Understood."
Fang Qingyu nodded as he listened.
This was no longer something a martial hall would teach.
Standing beside the wooden dummy, Zheng Lin tossed Fang Qingyu a broad saber and said,
"Don't think you can relax just because you've reached minor mastery in Baji Quan. Slaying Thunder will be more useful than Baji Quan in many situations."
Fang Qingyu nodded deeply in agreement.
If he had reached minor mastery in Slaying Thunder that night and had also possessed a saber,
he couldn't say he wouldn't have been injured, but at least he wouldn't have ended up in such a miserable state.
"Begin!"
As flashes of saber light began to flicker beside the wooden dummy,
the activation experience that had remained motionless on the panel for so long came alive once more.
Advancement Skill "Slaying Thunder" activation experience +1
After he had finished training last time, with Coach Zheng's personal guidance, his progress had already reached 45 percent.
Its activation speed was about the same as Baji Quan's.
If he worked a little harder today, he would be able to enter the field!
At the same time, Zheng Lin stood to one side. After pointing out several mistakes in Fang Qingyu's movements, she took out her phone.
She opened Team Leader Lin's WeChat.
She sent over the photos she had just taken.
"Fang Qingyu has reached minor mastery in Baji Quan. Current punching power: 215 KG!"
"Mm, I've already reported it up the chain."
Team Leader Lin replied very quickly.
Only then did Zheng Lin put her phone away in satisfaction.
That was all she could do.
The rest depended on whether Fang Qingyu could live up to expectations.
Time slowly reached noon.
The sound of a blade tearing through the air suddenly exploded.
Fang Qingyu could feel the broad saber trembling in his palm, like a silver snake that had come alive.
The steel coating on the wooden dummy gleamed coldly beneath the midday sun.
The final slash!
The force of his twisting waist and hips rose along his spine, section by section, while his shoulder blades were like a drawn bowstring.
The instant the blade cut into the steel layer, Fang Qingyu clearly sensed the vibration of metal fibers snapping apart.
"Clang—"
Amid the teeth-grating sound of metal ripping, the three-centimeter-thick steel layer split open.
Congratulations, you have activated the Advancement Skill "Slaying Thunder"
Coach Zheng also hurried over from the other disciples' side.
"Not bad."
Her eyes still held approval.
His repeated, astonishingly fast mastery of martial techniques was not merely a display of talent.
It was also the best embodiment of the principle that hard work would be rewarded.
"Thank you, Coach Zheng."
Fang Qingyu sheathed the saber and thanked Zheng Lin.
"It's nothing. This is the result of your own hard work. From now on, stay here and train Stance Training Fist Technique on your own."
Zheng Lin waved her hand.
"Remember, your physical body is your foundation."
"Understood."
Fang Qingyu nodded.
Zheng Lin soon turned and left.
She left the time to the other disciples who had been waiting nearby for quite some time.
"Hello, I'm Song Ran."
The first person to approach Fang Qingyu was a rather thin young man in his twenties.
"Hello, I'm Fang Qingyu."
Fang Qingyu shook his hand.
"Don't misunderstand. I'm not here to invite you to join an association. I have something else to discuss with you."
Seeing the puzzled look on Fang Qingyu's face, Song Ran explained,
"My uncle works for the Regulatory Bureau. If people like us get into trouble, the Regulatory Bureau is responsible for handling it. That night, wasn't your car wrecked by a criminal?"
"Right."
Speaking of this, Fang Qingyu was just about to ask the insurance company about it.
"The Regulatory Bureau took some of the criminal's assets and used them to replace your car with a new one. Want to go take a look?"
Song Ran smiled and pointed outside.
"Huh?"
They could do that?
When the two of them walked outside the martial hall, Fang Qingyu saw a brand-new A8 "Suit-Wearing Bandit" parked by the roadside. After thinking it over, he turned and nodded to Song Ran in thanks.
"Thank you."
The Regulatory Bureau employee who had spoken with him that night was named Song Ming.
Later, at the Divine Management Bureau's hospital, Instructor Qin had mentioned him to Fang Qingyu.
He was one of the few people in the Regulatory Bureau who would stand on the martial halls' side. Although he was somewhat obnoxious, he was still worth befriending.
Therefore, Fang Qingyu had no intention of refusing Song Ran's goodwill.
"It's nothing, just a car. Don't take it to heart. I only used this opportunity to get acquainted with you."
Song Ran hurriedly waved his hands when he saw this.
As he had said, these material things truly amounted to less than a hair to Fang Qingyu now.
Song Ran then handed Fang Qingyu the documents, keys, and other items.
"I'll be going. Keep it up."
As soon as he finished speaking, Song Ran bolted away.
Only a crowd of people remained.
They all swarmed over at once.
Before you continue