Promotion, Swift Promotion

Dock, warehouse.

"Brother Lin, are you sure about this?"

Wu Yong held the wooden stick, looking somewhat at a loss at Lin Fan, who had already taken off his shirt, revealing his well-built upper body. He was patrolling the dock, and who would have thought that as soon as Brother Lin returned, he would drag him into the warehouse, hand him a stick, and tell him to hit him with it.

He was bewildered by this.

"Mm-hmm, come, wait a moment."

Lin Fan seemed to have thought of something, took the stick, and ran his hand over it. It was smooth and flat, with no splinters. He then handed the stick back to Wu Yong.

"Hit harder."

After speaking, he took a deep breath, straightened his arms forward, looking as if he were channeling energy. Then he looked at Wu Yong, saying nothing, his gaze very clear: Go ahead.

Chen Niu's words had given him some inspiration. He thought about how he had learned Basic Staff Technique by randomly swinging a stick. So, if someone were to hit him with a stick, using external force, could he learn an external martial art similar to Iron Cloth Shirt or Golden Bell Shield?

He couldn't access martial arts right now, so he could only rely on the advantages of his cheat to strengthen himself first.

If it didn't work, at most he would just suffer a little.

But what if it actually worked?

Wu Yong had never heard such a request before, but seeing how serious Brother Lin was, he gripped the stick with both hands. "Brother Lin, then I'm really going to do it. If it hurts, don't blame me."

"I won't blame you. Hurry up."

"Okay, here I come then."

"Go ahead."

"I'm really coming then."

Lin Fan turned back impatiently, wanting to say, Can you stop dawdling? Just then, he saw Wu Yong let out a low growl, swinging the wooden stick with all his might towards his back.

Holy crap!

Startled by the situation, Lin Fan quickly turned back, took a deep breath, and arched his back.

Bang!

The stick landed, making solid contact with his back. A dull thud echoed in the warehouse. Lin Fan's face turned red at a visible speed, his cheeks trembling, and he let out a muffled groan of pain.

It hurt, it really hurt.

His entire skeleton felt like it was falling apart.

"Brother Lin, how is it? Are you okay?" Wu Yong asked with concern.

"N-no, I'm fine."

Lin Fan endured the pain, his words as stubborn as ever.

He hadn't expected being hit with a stick to hurt so much. No wonder when he hit Zhao Er back then, he could make him cry and beg for mercy. This pain was real.

"How can you be fine? Look, it's already swollen, with obvious stick marks." Wu Yong was genuinely afraid that Brother Lin would get angry and snatch the stick to hit him back.

Nonsense.

Of course it's swollen.

I'm not made of iron.

However, when he looked at his status panel, there was no change.

Was it useless?

Or was it not enough?

After much thought, he concluded it definitely wasn't enough. It was impossible to gain enlightenment with just one hit.

"Continue. Come on." Lin Fan eased the pain and told Wu Yong to hit him himself. Wu Yong hesitated.

"Brother Lin, stop playing around. If something goes wrong, I'll be heartbroken. There's no hurdle in this world that can't be overcome. There's no need for this."

Wu Yong tried to comfort him, thinking Brother Lin must have suffered a blow.

The only possibility for a man to punish himself like this was heartbreak, but he didn't remember Brother Lin getting close to any girls.

"Playing? This isn't playing, it's training. We're in a gang, and it's common to be attacked by underhanded means. If you want to be strong, you have to endure hardship. Stop talking nonsense and hit me when I tell you to." Lin Fan urged him.

Training?

Wu Yong sighed inwardly. He knew Brother Lin had always talked about martial arts before, but those were things from storybooks. Where were there any real martial arts? They were just fabrications by people with too much free time.

Seeing Brother Lin's insistence, he didn't say anything more. He raised the stick and swung it towards Brother Lin's back again.

Bang!

Bang!

The dull thuds of the stick echoed in the warehouse.

Hearing the commotion, some gang members, confused, followed the sound. When they saw Wu Yong furiously hitting Lin Fan with a stick, their expressions varied, but one thing was common: Isn't Lin Fan an idiot?

"What are you doing?"

A stern voice boomed.

The gang members turned around and immediately straightened up upon seeing the person who arrived, saying respectfully, "Hall Master."

Wang Changhai frowned, "Not patrolling the pier properly, slacking off all day. What if the Fierce Tiger Gang comes to cause trouble?"

"Hall Master, it's not that, look..." A gang member pointed towards the situation inside the warehouse.

Wang Changhai looked over suspiciously. He was about to ask what the noise inside was about, but when he saw the situation, he was stunned in place.

What are they doing?

In his eyes, Lin Fan, shirtless, had a flushed face and gritted his teeth as a gang member whipped him with a stick. Looking at the force of the swing and the muffled groans as the stick landed, Wang Changhai felt his gums ache.

This has to hurt like hell!

Bang!

Crack!

A crisp sound echoed as a wooden stick, at least two fingers thick, snapped in two.

Wang Changhai was dumbfounded. He had never imagined someone could be so ruthless to themselves. He immediately stepped forward and asked, "What are you doing?"

Wang Changhai was utterly confused, wanting only to understand the situation.

"H-Hall Master." Wu Yong jolted and greeted respectfully.

At this moment, Lin Fan's breathing quickened slightly. His heart was filled with joy. It worked, it really worked! Just now, his status panel had appeared, and a prompt had appeared in his mind.

[Learned Beginner Body Refinement] [Beginner Body Refinement Proficiency +1] [Beginner Body Refinement (Untrained 1/100)]

"Hall Master, Wu Yong is helping me train," Lin Fan suppressed the joy in his heart and appeared very respectful when facing the Hall Master's inquiry.

The Hall Master was a man of status. When out and about, face was most important, especially the respect of his underlings.

"Train?"

Wang Changhai's mouth hung open, his eyes bewildered. He had never seen anyone train like this.

Lin Fan said, "Yes, Hall Master. As your subordinate, I wish to have a strong body to clear away all scoundrels who stand in your way. When you are in danger, I hope to use this body to buy you enough time to escape."

Indeed, when he said these words.

Wang Changhai's gaze towards Lin Fan changed.

"Good, good, good! I never expected to have a subordinate like you by my side, Wang Changhai."

Wang Changhai saw the sincerity in Lin Fan's eyes, not a trace of pretense, only genuine feelings.

The surrounding gang members looked at Lin Fan with changed expressions.

Huh? Brother, since when did you become so eloquent? The way you put it makes us sound like useless trash.

At this moment, Wang Changhai noticed the muscles on Lin Fan's body and couldn't help but reach out and touch them. "Such strong muscles! A body like this has strength, has combat power!"

Then he looked at the gang members beside him.

"Lift your shirts."

The subordinates lifted their shirts, revealing either small bellies or skeletal frames.

Wang Changhai shook his head. "Look at yourselves, then look at Lin Fan. How can your bodies be acceptable?"

Disappointment, utter disappointment.

When he saw Lin Fan's back, red and swollen, even oozing beads of blood, he gasped, "Aiya, this back! How much suffering must this have taken!"

Lin Fan said firmly, "Only by enduring hardship can I have the ability to let the Hall Master sleep soundly. For the Hall Master, this subordinate is willing to go through fire and water."

"Ah..." Wang Changhai tilted his head back at a forty-five-degree angle, moved by Lin Fan's words, unwilling to let tears fall. He exclaimed, "Good, well said."

Then, as if making a decision, his expression turned serious.

"From now on, you are the leader of Jili Pier. Everyone here is under your command. You only need to report any matters to me."

Promotion, it must be a promotion. Where can I find a subordinate like this? And he clearly has skills. Wang Changhai truly has no one to use. As the Hall Master of Loyalty Hall, he is the weakest, with no one capable by his side. As the saying goes, trust is essential for employment. He trusts his own judgment completely; this kid is definitely reliable.

A commotion, shock.

The surrounding gang members looked at Lin Fan in shock. They didn't expect him to become a leader just like that? Looks like he's become a favorite of the Hall Master.

It seems he hasn't even been in the Loyalty Hall for two months.

This rate of improvement is a bit too fast.

At this moment, the eyes of everyone present were filled with various emotions.

Envy, jealousy, admiration.