Sparring Partner

The moment the young man stepped onto the platform, his gaze sharpened like lightning. His focus made Zhao Rui instantly get serious.

This kid was definitely a martial arts prodigy.

Just that sheer presence alone put him far beyond an ordinary person who treated everything carelessly.

Sure enough, as soon as they exchanged blows, Zhao Rui knew his judgment had been right. The young man had sharp martial instincts; he could execute moves with effortless ease, his swordplay swift as a shooting star chasing the moon, yet extraordinarily nimble.

Against him, Zhao Rui, who was a rank higher and fighting barehanded, was clearly at a disadvantage.

"Damn!"

Zhao Rui couldn't help cursing inwardly. Talent really was a pain in the ass.

He had no choice but to give the fight his full attention. He had to control his Internal Energy while dealing with the other guy's attacks, which came like a raging storm.

They hadn't even fought for half an hour, and he was already drenched in sweat, feeling tremendous pressure.

"Coach, let him be my sparring partner from now on. He's pretty good at adapting!"

The young man lowered his sword and stood upright, then looked toward the coach and spoke.

"Sure, no problem."

The coach answered from the sidelines.

The young man then looked at Zhao Rui and said, "If you can't keep your power suppressed, you can gradually let loose."

With that, he turned and stepped off the platform.

Zhao Rui felt his face burning with embarrassment. He'd actually been looked down on by a kid.

Whatever. I'll let your youthful arrogance slide for the sake of the advancement points.

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

Looking at the progress bar, which had reached five percent, Zhao Rui felt a little better.

If you were going to steal something, you had to feel a little shame about it!

You couldn't steal someone's stuff and then complain that they thought you were lousy!

That would be utterly unprofessional.

After testing things for a while, Zhao Rui had more or less figured out the system's percentage progress standards. An hour of sparring with the full set of moves could generally raise progress by around ten to fifteen percent.

That was fairly efficient.

Some martial arts were exceptions, though. With high-level martial arts, progress clearly slowed down quite a bit.

This Taiyi Light Splitting Sword was obviously a high-level sword art.

"Thanks for your hard work!"

When Zhao Rui stepped off the platform, the coach handed him a bottle of Gatorade and asked with a smile, "I heard you just finished the Gaokao. How did you do?"

"Not bad. So-so."

"Mm. I watched you fight just now. You've had proper training, and your fundamentals are solid."

"I've just been studying and training hard. I can't compare to that young kid just now. He's really talented!"

Zhao Rui replied.

"Haha, he's one of our martial arts school's star students, and he's got a shot at making the district's top ten. He thinks you're a good fit for him, so practice with him more often. I'll pay you six hundred per session!"

"Six hundred?"

Zhao Rui's eyes lit up. That was a solid six hundred yuan per session. If he did five or six sessions a day—cough, cough!

He was going to get rich!

"No problem, Coach! Just call, and I'll be there!"

Zhao Rui's dedication to his work was admirable!

After everyone rested for a while, the young man got up again and clapped his hands at Zhao Rui. "Come on!"

Seeing this, the coach nudged Zhao Rui and said apologetically, "That's just how he is. Go on!"

"It's fine!"

Zhao Rui gave a "simplehearted" smile, got up, and walked through the entrance onto the platform.

The young man furrowed his swordlike brows. His sword tip angled toward the ground, while his left hand formed a sword sign and rested against his right wrist. He stood as straight as a pine, his aura drawn inward.

The sword trembled lightly with his breathing, as though it contained some mysterious rhythm.

"Taiyi Asks Heaven, Light Splitting Shadow Stealing!"

The young man gave a quiet shout. His figure seemed to float among shifting lights and shadows, and in an instant he was already rushing toward Zhao Rui with his sword.

Zhao Rui's palm struck like a mountain. He met the attack head-on with Pangu Chiseled Stone, secretly circulating Internal Energy through his palm. It landed with a rumble like a boulder hitting the ground, yet also seemed like a giant axe descending from the sky, its force thundering forward.

The two exchanged blows in a flash, their figures crossing seven or eight times. Their footwork intertwined, and Zhao Rui had already closed to within half a foot of the young man.

The young man remained calm in the face of danger. Holding the sword backward, he braced his elbow and stepped with his hips, then swept his sword across, forcing Zhao Rui back.

"Again!"

The two were caught up in the fight. They separated only briefly before leaping back at each other.

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

By the time the young man's breathing had grown ragged and he withdrew his sword to call it quits, the experience progress before Zhao Rui's eyes had already reached fifteen percent!

The young man was exhausted. How could Zhao Rui be any less tired?

Now he deeply understood how hard it was to work. He not only had to keep the customer happy, but also had to avoid getting hurt himself.

Life as a wage slave wasn't easy!

"That's enough for today. Cheng Bin, go to the meditation room and reflect on that exchange!"

The coach called to the young man—Cheng Bin.

The young man nodded, turned, and stepped off the platform.

"Good fight. You put pressure on him, but also gave his moves just the right amount of room to express themselves!"

The coach praised Zhao Rui.

"I'm exhausted. No wonder so few people want to be sparring partners! Coach, how much do I get for half an hour?"

"Don't worry. I'll count half an hour as three hundred!"

"Great, Coach. I'll rest for half an hour. Call me if another client shows up!"

Zhao Rui climbed off the platform with a pleased grin, picked up the bottled water underneath it, and gulped it down.

Hearing Zhao Rui's words, the coach paused for a moment, then smiled.

There were plenty of students at the martial arts school, but not that many hired sparring partners. After all, most of the time, they were busy refining their own techniques and power.

Zhao Rui waited beside the platform for most of the day. In the end, he simply sat down and began cultivating on his own.

With the advancement points he'd added, his Ethereal Divine Skill had now reached eight years of cultivation.

That included the advancement-point bonuses from Taihang Thirteen Palms, Cloud Hand Plucks Stars, and Wing Chun Inquiry.

Zhao Rui had accumulated Wing Chun Inquiry during his last sparring session with Bai Xuening before the Gaokao.

After learning the whole set, Zhao Rui had practiced it once. It wasn't his style, so he'd only familiarized himself with it before setting it aside.

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

"Your shift's over. Come back this afternoon, or if you live nearby, you can wait for my call. We usually have more students sparring here in the evenings!"

The coach went over some of the martial arts school's usual routines.

Zhao Rui nodded, picked up his backpack, and walked out of the school.

Outside, the sun blazed in the sky, and the air was stiflingly hot. Even with his Internal Energy regulating his body, he still felt terribly uncomfortable.

As soon as he took the elevator downstairs, his phone rang.

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

Yang Fan's voice was mysterious and sly.

"I've got something to do tonight. I might not be free until after nine."

"Damn, are you dating someone? Tell me, who is it? Someone from our class? Bai Xuening?"

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

"Working as someone's dog?"

"More or less."

"Holy crap, did you go wash people's feet?"

"Knock it off. It's martial arts sparring!"

"You scared me. If you're really short on money, just tell me, bro. Don't ever sell yourself, okay? And if you do, sell yourself to me first!"

"Damn, you're a beast. You'd even go after your own bro!"

"Haha, you're too late to figure that out!"

Yang Fan chuckled, then added, "I'll take a cab over to pick you up tonight. Dress sharp."

"Got it!"

Zhao Rui replied, then hung up.

(End of chapter)