Talent Bro Wants a Beating

"Ah'cheng, want to make a bet?"

Inside the training room, Li Yuan suddenly spoke after taking off his protective gear.

"Bet on what?"

Xie Yucheng was rubbing Safflower Oil onto his elbows, shins, and other bruised spots.

During sparring, the intensity of physical contact far exceeded that of ordinary training.

To ensure results, both sides would communicate beforehand and try to give it their all.

They were not specially hired gym sparring partners, there just to take hits and feed moves.

But that also meant a greater risk of injury.

"How long do you think Talent Bro will take to learn the most basic fighting style?

It took us a long time to fully master the Basic Fist Techniques, Leg Techniques, and Footwork."

Li Yuan crossed his arms and looked sideways at Qin Shi, who was practicing each movement with meticulous precision. He felt rather sour inside.

In less than two hours, that guy had already begun to grasp the rhythm of offense.

His physical talent was ridiculously outstanding!

"As expected of Talent Bro. Look at those advances and retreats, that offensive and defensive awareness—he's got it down so well!"

Xie Yucheng watched carefully for a while, then shook his head.

"I train more than seven hours a day, and it took me three days to reach his current level.

This guy really does have talent. He'll probably learn the basic fighting style in four or five days.

Actually getting the hang of it will be harder. At least seven or eight days of hard work."

Old Martial Arts Fighting Style was generally divided into two stages: the brain knowing it, and the hands knowing it.

The meaning of the former was obvious.

With punches, leg techniques, and footwork alone, the three fundamental categories could be broken down into hundreds of individual movements.

Add in transitions between offense and defense, as well as linking them together, and it became extremely complicated.

It was not easy to remember everything and master it proficiently.

And even if the brain knew it, that did not mean the hands knew it too.

"Making the body remember those movements and turning them into instinct takes, at minimum, months.

If your physical condition is worse, it might even take years."

Xie Yucheng sighed with feeling.

"Haven't you seen the formidable fighters Brother Ze recruited? Their Life Force Development levels may not be high, but their attacks are insanely fierce. If we can last ten seconds against them, that counts as a success.

The boxer's path isn't easy. Without three to five years of bitter training, how could anyone ever rise above the rest?"

Li Yuan curled his lip.

"Not necessarily. Once I train for a while longer, I'll definitely catch up to them.

Ah'cheng, are we betting or not? The loser treats the other to a massage—the 188 package!"

Xie Yucheng teased him.

"Brother Yuan, why are you always thinking about Jinse Impression? Got your eye on No. 18?

Fine, I'll bet on three days. Talent Bro will get started with the fighting style and thoroughly amaze Old Liang."

Li Yuan shook his head.

"Too optimistic. No matter how good his physical condition is, muscles don't grow brains.

To get started, five days minimum—even if he eats Nutritional Paste every meal and Old Liang gives him extra lessons!"

Li Yuan said that last sentence with absolute certainty.

People were not made of iron. The body grew tired, and the mind became exhausted.

Even if someone trained desperately without regard for their life, there was no way to achieve a substantive breakthrough from zero to one in such a short time.

Xie Yucheng shrugged.

"Let's wait and see. It's only one 188 package, Brother Yuan. Don't secretly add extra time!"

As the sun shifted westward, the midsummer sunset was vast and blazing, like scattered gold piercing through the clouds and plating the low outline of Ninth High School's teaching buildings.

Qin Shi had no idea that someone was betting on him. His slightly unfocused gaze passed through his sweat-soaked hair as bean-sized drops of sweat pattered onto the floor.

His chest heaved like a bellows, driving short, rapid breaths that expelled heat from his body and formed a faint mist-like white vapor.

This fighting style consumed far too much stamina!

In Old Era martial arts novels, peerless masters would fight for days and nights on end.

Old Liang probably would not understand that at all.

For any martial artist to keep their muscles tense and their tendons and bones constantly exerting force,

they would quickly become completely exhausted and unable to continue.

It was just like strength training—it was inevitably more tiring than cardio, for the same reason!

The burden the two placed on the body was not even on the same level.

"Thinking about it that way, Ultraman running out of energy after fighting for a few minutes is pretty scientific."

Qin Shi felt as if the red light on his chest was about to start flashing too. Two whole hours of high-intensity training had pushed his body beyond its limits.

His lungs felt as though they were on fire. Every breath brought a faint stabbing pain. The muscles in his arms, thighs, soles, and everywhere else were flushed and engorged with blood.

This was the limit he approached after exhausting himself again and again.

Text from the Monument Panel appeared on his retina from time to time.

It flashed like indicator lights, informing Qin Shi of the day's training results.

[Completed one set of Exhaustion Training]

[Growth Value +50]

[Completed one set of Exhaustion Training]

[Growth Value +50...]

There were seven or eight such notifications in total.

"Today's training volume really hit the limit. From now on, I'll use fighting style practice to grind the upgrade requirements for the [Muscle Training] achievement. It's much more effective than practice routines!"

Qin Shi panted heavily while taking a short rest.

Cool air swept in through the open window and blew over his sweat-dampened young body, feeling unexpectedly refreshing.

"If I find the right posture for exerting force and perform the movements in one continuous flow, I can use [Muscle Memory] to repeat them over and over until they become instinct.

Unfortunately, I haven't practiced for long enough. A few hours of effort is nowhere near enough, so I can't make greater progress."

Qin Shi silently considered how to better make use of the achievements unlocked by the Monument.

Just now, he had continuously activated [Muscle Memory], optimizing the force paths of his punches and the movement postures for advancing, retreating, attacking, and defending.

The effect was obvious!

It proved this method worked!

"If only I had someone to spar with. The attacks and dodges would be more realistic, and it would train my reaction speed better."

Qin Shi thought for a moment, his eyes sharpening as though he had made up his mind.

Once his heart rate dropped, he headed directly toward the other corner of the training room.

"You two... classmates, could you help me with something?"

Li Yuan and Xie Yucheng, who had just finished their second round of sparring, stopped in unison.

Neither of them had expected Talent Bro to come over and strike up a conversation.

After all, what connection could New No. 1 Middle School and Ninth High School, the Metropolitan Area and Old Factory Street, possibly have?

"Brother, what is it? Just say it."

Xie Yucheng was more lively and sociable, able to chat with anyone, so he was the first to respond.

"We're sort of classmates, after all. We should help each other out."

Qin Shi paused slightly, choosing his words.

"I want to spar with the two of you and get some practice."

Xie Yucheng froze.

"No, brother, you haven't even gotten started with the fighting style yet. We've been training under Old Liang for over half a month. If we don't control our punches properly and hurt you, that wouldn't be good."

Qin Shi looked sincere as he explained.

"I think it's worth trying. Practicing alone, I can never get a good grasp of the offensive and defensive rhythm, and I can't fully concentrate either. If I had an opponent, it should be better."

Xie Yucheng frowned, about to say something, but Li Yuan stopped him and coldly refused.

"Sorry, we can't help you. If you want sparring partners, go to a gym or a cultivation hall.

We paid for Old Liang's tutoring class to improve our Life Force, not to take on Part-time Jobs."

Although Li Yuan did not much like this new student, especially after learning that Qin Shi attended New No. 1 Middle School in the Metropolitan Area, he still understood the situation clearly enough.

Old Liang obviously thought highly of this Kid. If Qin Shi got hurt during sparring, he would be the one held responsible.

There was no need to cause trouble and get punished over a little personal displeasure.

"Classmate Xie just said we should help each other. How about this? I'll treat you both to Nutritional Paste from Longxiang Ji, and you two can give me some pointers on fighting style. Sound good?"

Qin Shi did not get upset and remained sincere.

"We'll stop at the right point, just like masters at Old Era martial arts schools lending a hand."

Had Talent Bro trained himself crazy?

Had his brain been stuffed full of muscle?

Did he really want such a vicious beating?

The two looked at each other.

"Brother Yuan, Nutritional Paste tastes awful. I'm not interested, so you do it. Don't hit too hard—take it easy."

Xie Yucheng saw that Li Yuan was somewhat tempted and directly gave him the opportunity.

At the same time, he reminded him not to actually injure Qin Shi and provoke Old Liang's anger.

"Alright, I know my limits. Help him put on the protective gear."

Li Yuan nodded.

A box of Nutritional Paste cost dozens of yuan. It was not cheap.

It was a "light luxury daily necessity" that Ninth High School students could not afford.

It was enough to tempt any student in the tutoring class.

Qin Shi put on the protective gear, wrapping his head, neck, chest, abdomen, and the joints of his hands and feet.

He and Li Yuan moved more than ten steps apart, each assuming a guarded stance.

Xie Yucheng stood outside the ring, acting as an amateur referee.

"Just teach him a lesson! Let him know that getting into the Metropolitan Area isn't such a big deal. Don't let him get arrogant just because he has a little talent!"

Li Yuan clenched his knuckles and rolled his neck, relaxing his muscles as he considered which moves to use to defeat his opponent.

Whoosh!

Before he could settle on a plan, Qin Shi launched the first attack. His feet shot forward, and his figure blurred right in front of Li Yuan.

A left Jab went straight for his face!