Sparring Partner

Chapter 18: Sparring Partner

The young man stepped onto the stage, his gaze instantly sharp as lightning. His focus made Zhao Rui get serious right away.

This kid is definitely a martial arts genius.

Just based on this presence alone, he was far beyond an ordinary person slacking off.

As soon as they started, Zhao Rui knew his judgment was correct. The youth's martial arts intuition was keen, and he handled some moves with ease. His swordplay was like a shooting star chasing the moon, incredibly swift yet exceptionally agile.

This made Zhao Rui, who was a level higher, clearly struggle with empty hands.

"Damn it!"

Zhao Rui couldn't help but curse inwardly. Talent was such a pain.

He had to give 100% of his attention, controlling his internal energy while also dealing with the opponent's storm-like attacks.

After only half an hour, he was already drenched in sweat, feeling immense pressure.

"Coach, let him be my sparring partner from now on. His adaptability is really strong!"

The young man sheathed his sword and stood straight, speaking to the coach.

"Okay, no problem."

The coach beside him agreed.

After speaking, the youth looked back at Zhao Rui and said, "If you can't hold back your cultivation, you can gradually let go."

With that, the youth turned and left the arena.

Zhao Rui felt his old face flush. He was actually being looked down upon by a kid.

Fine, for the sake of the advancement points, I won't blame your youthful arrogance.

"Martial Arts: Taiyi Light Splitting Sword (5/100)"

Looking at the 5% progress on the panel, Zhao Rui felt slightly better.

If you're going to steal things, you should have the shame of stealing!

You can't steal someone's stuff and then complain they say you're trash!

That's not professional at all.

After testing for a while, Zhao Rui had a general idea of the System's percentage progress standards. Basically, an hour of full-move sparring could increase progress by about 10% to 15%.

It was relatively efficient.

However, some martial arts were exceptions, namely advanced martial arts, where progress slowed down significantly.

This Taiyi Light Splitting Sword technique clearly belonged to the advanced category.

"Thanks for your hard work!"

As Zhao Rui stepped off the arena, the coach handed him a bottle of Jia Le Bao and said with a smile, "I heard you just finished your Gaokao. How did it go?"

"It was okay. So-so!"

"Hmm, I saw you fighting just now. You're using proper techniques, and your fundamentals are quite solid."

"Just diligent practice. Not like that young man just now, his talent is amazing!"

Zhao Rui said.

"Haha, he's one of the star disciples of our martial arts hall, a contender with hopes of reaching the top ten in the district. He thinks you're a good fit for him. If you spar with him regularly, I'll give you six hundred per match!"

"Six hundred?"

Zhao Rui's eyes lit up. This was a solid six hundred yuan per match. If he could fight five or six matches a day, cough cough!

He'd be rich!

"No problem, Coach! I'm available anytime!"

Zhao Rui's professionalism was admirable!

After a short rest, the young man stood up again and clapped his hands at Zhao Rui, "Come on!"

Seeing the situation, the coach nudged Zhao Rui and said apologetically, "That's just his personality! Go ahead!"

"It's fine!"

Zhao Rui gave a "simple" smile, got up, and walked into the arena through the entrance.

The young man's sword eyebrows furrowed slightly. The tip of his sword pointed diagonally at the ground, his left hand formed a sword seal on his right wrist, his posture was like a pine tree, and his aura was contained.

The sword body trembled subtly with his breathing, hinting at an imperceptible rhythm.

"Taiyi Asks Heaven, Light Splitting Shadow Stealing!"

The youth shouted softly. His body moved like light and shadow, and in an instant, he had already lunged towards Zhao Rui with his sword.

Zhao Rui's palm shot out like a mountain. He met the attack with Pangu Chiseled Stone, secretly channeling inner qi in his palm. It was like a giant rock landing, humming with sound, or like a colossal axe descending from the sky, powerful as thunder.

In the ensuing exchange, their figures crossed paths seven or eight times in a flash of lightning. Their footwork intertwined, and Zhao Rui closed within half a foot of the youth.

The youth remained unfazed. He reversed his sword grip, used his elbow, shifted his stance, and swung his sword horizontally, forcing Zhao Rui back.

"Again!"

The two were fighting with great enthusiasm, and after a brief separation, they lunged at each other again.

"Ten percent, twelve percent, fifteen percent..."

By the time the young man's breathing became ragged and he withdrew his sword to stop, Zhao Rui's experience points had already reached fifteen percent!

The young man was somewhat exhausted, but was Zhao Rui any more relaxed?

At this moment, he deeply understood the difficulty of working, not only having to serve customers well but also avoiding getting injured himself.

Working people have it tough!

"That's all for today, Cheng Bin, go to the meditation room to reflect on that spar!"

The coach said to the young man, who was Cheng Bin.

The young man nodded and turned to leave the arena.

"You fought well, you put pressure on him, and then released the natural flow of his moves at just the right moment!"

The coach praised Zhao Rui.

"I'm so tired. No wonder so few people are willing to be sparring partners! Coach, how much are you charging for this half hour?"

"Don't worry, half an hour is three hundred!"

"Great, Coach, I'll rest for half an hour. Call me if any clients come!"

Zhao Rui happily got off the arena, picked up the bottle of mineral water placed below, and gulped it down.

Hearing Zhao Rui's words, the coach was slightly stunned, then broke into a smile.

Although the martial arts hall had many students, not many hired sparring partners, as most of the time was spent honing their own moves and cultivation.

Zhao Rui waited at the side of the arena for more than half a day, and finally, he simply sat down to cultivate.

His Ethereal Divine Skill had reached eight years of cultivation with the attribute points added.

This included the advanced point bonuses for the Taihang Thirteen Palms, Cloud Hand Plucks Stars, and Wing Chun Inquiry.

Wing Chun Inquiry was accumulated from Zhao Rui's last spar with Bai Xuening before the Gaokao.

After learning this set of techniques, Zhao Rui practiced it once. It wasn't his style, so after a brief familiarization, he put it away.

He cultivated for two hours. When he heard the coach's voice and opened his eyes, it was already eleven o'clock in the morning.

"We're off for lunch. Come back this afternoon, or if you live nearby, you can wait for my call. We usually have more students sparring in the evening!"

The coach explained some of the martial arts hall's daily routines.

Zhao Rui nodded in agreement, then picked up his backpack and walked out of the martial arts hall.

The sun was blazing outside, making it exceptionally stuffy. Even with his internal energy regulating his body, he still felt quite uncomfortable.

As soon as he got into the elevator and went downstairs, his phone rang.

It was Yang Fan calling: "I'm taking you somewhere tonight!"

Yang Fan's voice was mysterious and full of mischief.

"I have something to do tonight, I might not be free until after nine!"

"Damn, you're not dating someone, are you? Tell me, who is it? Someone from our class? Bai Xuening?"

"What are you thinking? I found a part-time job to earn some extra cash!"

"Part-time job as a gigolo?"

"Something like that!"

"Holy crap, are you going to wash feet for people?"

"Get lost, it's a Martial Way sparring partner!"

"You scared me! If you're really short on cash, tell me, brother. Don't sell yourself short, and if you're going to sell, sell it to me first!"

"Tsk, you're a real animal, not even sparing your bros!"

"Haha, you know that too late!"

Yang Fan chuckled and added, "I'll take a taxi to pick you up tonight. Dress handsomely."

"Got it!"

Zhao Rui replied and hung up.