Zhang Mingcheng

Inside the Tiger Fiend Fist training room at Mingxin Martial Arts Hall.

"Bang!"

A muffled boom rang out as Chen Mochuan's punch sent a specially reinforced heavy sandbag swinging high into the air. The noise caught the attention of several other members in the room.

Seeing the effect of a punch he'd thrown with all his strength, Chen Mochuan felt a surge of delight well up inside him.

At the same time, the information on the Golden Light Screen refreshed:

[You devoted yourself wholeheartedly to training and gained a deeper understanding of the Tiger Fiend Fist.]

[Tiger Fiend Fist: Proficiency (100%) → Mastery (1%)]

After nearly a month of continuous hard training, Chen Mochuan had finally raised this powerful fist technique to an entirely new level: Mastery. He felt even more confident about tomorrow's midterm exam.

To consolidate his newly achieved breakthrough, he practiced around the sandbag for a while longer. When he began to feel a little tired, he stopped to drink some water and rest. Just then, a warm male voice came from beside him.

"Hey, sorry to bother you for a moment."

Chen Mochuan turned to look. The speaker was a middle-aged man of average height with a refined face, seemingly around forty.

He recognized the man. Not only was he the oldest student in this Tiger Fiend Fist training room, but Chen Mochuan also saw him training diligently almost every evening he came here. He was a familiar face.

However, the middle-aged man didn't seem particularly gifted in martial arts. Despite training hard, judging from his usual performance, his Blood-Qi Value had probably yet to break through the seventh rank. He was only a Sixth-Rank Martial Warrior.

"Is there something you need?" Chen Mochuan asked politely.

The middle-aged man smiled, his manner earnest. "I've noticed you've gotten very skilled at the Tiger Fiend Fist, so I wanted to ask—would you be willing to spar with me?"

When Feng Shi wasn't around, Chen Mochuan preferred to train alone. He was just about to politely refuse when the man continued:

"I know you train very hard and your time is precious. I wouldn't expect you to spend it for nothing. How about this... I'll pay you six hundred yuan for an hour of sparring. What do you say?"

Chen Mochuan was taken aback. Only then did he realize the man wanted to hire him as a sparring partner.

He just hadn't expected the "hourly rate" for a Fourth-Rank Martial Artist like himself to be so high.

A proper Martial Artist could easily charge tens of thousands for a single lesson, but the man's offer was clearly above the going rate for someone of Chen Mochuan's current rank.

Seeing that Chen Mochuan didn't answer right away, the middle-aged man assumed he wasn't satisfied with the price. After a moment's thought, he offered more. "Then how about eight hundred yuan an hour? I won't take up too much of your time. Two or three sessions a week would be enough, and we can schedule them entirely around your convenience."

Chen Mochuan felt a flicker of alarm. That amount would be more than enough to hire even experienced Seventh- or Eighth-Rank Martial Warriors as sparring partners.

He'd been worrying about money not long ago. This was like finding a pillow just when he was nodding off—but could anything this good really be true?

He worried the man might have some ulterior motive, but didn't want to pass up such a good chance to earn money. After a brief hesitation, he answered honestly, "If I'm not mistaken, you're a Sixth-Rank Martial Warrior. My Blood-Qi Value is only at the fourth rank. I honestly can't see how I'd be able to help you much in a sparring match."

"Good eye, young man. My Blood-Qi Value is 6.88, so yes, I'm a Sixth-Rank Martial Warrior." The middle-aged man nodded, then gave a helpless, rueful smile.

"To be honest, I've been practicing the Tiger Fiend Fist for over two years, but I've never managed to get past the Proficiency level."

"Watching your stance and how you put power into your punches just now, it was obvious you understand this technique better than I do. So I thought that sparring with you might let me feel the difference firsthand and see if I could make a breakthrough."

Chen Mochuan understood.

He usually focused entirely on his own training when he came here and had never paid much attention to other people's skill levels. Only now, after the man mentioned it, did he realize that Mr. Zhang really was limited in talent. Despite training so diligently for over two years, he was still stuck at the Proficiency level.

Still, Chen Mochuan quickly accepted it. People had different levels of martial arts talent; otherwise, the school wouldn't have separate academic and martial arts departments.

The man was already at an age when most people had settled into their ways, yet he still had such passion for martial arts and devoted so much time and effort to it. It was genuinely admirable.

Perhaps the man had seen how quickly Chen Mochuan was improving and assumed he'd discovered some special trick. That was why he wanted to spar and look for inspiration.

"To be frank, I'm figuring things out as I go myself. I don't really have any experience teaching others how to improve their fist techniques."

"No problem, no problem." The middle-aged man hurriedly waved his hands. "Just use the Tiger Fiend Fist normally when we spar. How much I learn is up to me. Whether I gain anything or not, I won't blame you. So... does that mean you agree?"

Seeing how sincere the man was, Chen Mochuan nodded. "All right. Shall we start now?"

"Great, I like your decisiveness! I'll transfer you the money first." As he spoke, the middle-aged man reached for his Personal Terminal.

"Wait," Chen Mochuan said quickly, stopping him. "Let's spar for a bit first. You can decide after you see how it goes." He wasn't shameless enough to take the money before he'd done anything.

"You're an honest young man! All right, let's give it a try." The middle-aged man smiled and introduced himself. "My surname is Zhang. Zhang Mingcheng."

"Chen Mochuan."

After exchanging names, the two walked to an empty corner of the training room, took their stances, and began to spar.

During the match, Chen Mochuan noticed that Zhang Mingcheng had also mastered Clear Force, but his use of it was stiff and clumsy. He was even less nimble than Chen Mochuan, who had only grasped Clear Force a month earlier.

His Tiger Fiend Fist moves were just as rigid, as if he were copying them straight from a manual, with no ability to adapt in the moment. It was clear that two years of hard training had only taught him the basics.

Still, with a formidable Blood-Qi Value approaching 7, every one of Zhang Mingcheng's punches carried tremendous weight. He put Chen Mochuan under considerable pressure, clearly overpowering him in strength.

However, a steady opponent with the advantage in strength was exactly the kind Chen Mochuan liked most right now.

Sustained pressure could bring out more of his potential, helping him adapt to and consolidate his martial arts techniques more quickly in actual combat. Besides, the man was willing to pay him a decent fee.

Compared to Chen Mochuan's composure, Zhang Mingcheng was even more delighted.

He'd dreamed of mastering martial arts since childhood, but his talent was simply too mediocre. When he was young, he'd had to struggle to make a living and temporarily set his martial arts dream aside.

Only after weathering many ups and downs in the business world and building a considerable fortune did he return to his old dream, nearing the age of forty. With ample resources, he'd managed to raise his Blood-Qi Value to nearly the seventh rank.

He had chosen Mingxin Martial Arts Hall both to train and to expand his connections in the martial arts world.