The difference is clear

Senior Brother Chen?!

Upon seeing the Zhong Kui-like, intimidating expression on Chen Ping's face.

The arrogant flames on the faces of Wang Jinquan and his group were instantly extinguished.

Wang Jinquan's mouth twitched as he shot a vicious glare at Zhou Kai...

This brat really did have something going on with Chen Ping!

"Let's go!"

With a low shout.

Wang Jinquan didn't even care about the person being held by Zhou Kai, turning around and leading his lackeys away in a dejected retreat.

Seeing this, Zhou Kai released the wrist he had been gripping.

"Damn, feels like the bone cracked..."

The man's lips were purple and his face flushed red, yet he didn't dare let out a single peep.

If even Brother Wang had chickened out, what else could he say?

He could only tuck his tail between his legs and scramble away.

Watching their retreating backs, Zhou Kai asked Chen Ping, who had walked up beside him, "What's their deal? Nothing better to do?"

Chen Ping frowned and shook his head. "They're just rat droppings. The one who just fought you only got promoted to a student last month."

"Instead of training properly, he spends all day hanging around with Wang Jinquan."

Chen Ping's disgust was merciless, devoid of any social tact, and far harsher than when he had scolded Du Feng the other day.

Zhou Kai was somewhat surprised to hear this.

When he had mentioned the first-floor members earlier, Chen Ping had also looked at them with disdain.

It seemed the Falcon Wing Boxing Gym was not as unified as it appeared.

The management was lax, and it was a den of filth.

Chen Ping seemed to see through Zhou Kai's thoughts and said in a deep voice, "Don't go looking for trouble usually. But, if anyone messes with you, one word—fight!"

"As long as you want to reach higher levels of martial arts, these stumbling blocks will eventually have to be trampled under your feet."

Zhou Kai nodded. "Understood."

He finally understood... Coach Chen's status in Falcon Wing was far from ordinary.

And now, this big shot was willing to back him up.

For the first time in a long while, Zhou Kai felt a sense of warmth.

Life, it seemed, was truly starting to look up.

"Find a place to rest. After the test, I'll take you to see the teacher."

Chen Ping dropped these words and turned to leave.

At a little past nine in the morning, Ma Yifan leaned over.

"Brother, confident about the minor exam today? I think you've got a great shot."

Zhou Kai had a good impression of this guy he'd met by chance who was willing to help, so he was happy to chat a bit more.

He said casually, "Should be no problem."

Ma Yifan smacked his lips, looking envious. "I got here two weeks before you; talent is a real bitch."

At least two-thirds of the members in the gym had no interest in ancient martial arts at all, coming purely to learn a few self-defense moves under the reputation of Chen Ping, a "former national fighting champion."

There weren't many who were genuinely interested in ancient martial arts like Ma Yifan, and due to all sorts of messy reasons, the first-floor basic members only managed to send one to three people up to the next level each month.

It was purely a case of picking the tallest among the short.

But there was no helping it.

Even without asking around, Zhou Kai had heard news about "the decline of ancient martial arts," "the death of martial studies," and "waves of gym closures."

That Falcon Wing could still maintain such a large operation in this environment was already a miracle.

"Don't overthink it. Come on, I'll spar with you."

Zhou Kai suddenly stood up and beckoned to Ma Yifan.

"Alright! I knew helping you kid wouldn't be for nothing!"

"Next time even if your ex-girlfriend comes to kill you, I'll hold the line for you! Worst case, I'll cover the bride price for you, haha."

Ma Yifan grinned and laughed heartily.

Zhou Kai took it as a joke.

These words, however, precisely struck the landmine of Lu Yan, who had just walked through the door.

Lu Yan frowned, her delicate brows knitting together: "Xiao Kai, when did you start seeing someone?"

Zhou Kai felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up and hurriedly waved his hands: "I'm not! Brother Ma is just joking!"

Ma Yifan's gaze darted back and forth between the two of them, revealing a "I get it" smirk.

Zhou Kai had no choice but to tell him to go wait on the sidelines.

"Sis, you're awake? I thought you'd be out for the whole day, so I already took the liberty of asking for leave for you."

Zhou Kai walked up to greet her.

The tips of Lu Yan's ears were a soft, rosy pink.

"Thanks... um, is this yours? You dropped it."

She pulled a card from her pocket, her eyes filled with confusion: "I don't remember having this."

This action was clearly a way to change the subject, as she didn't want to dwell on the embarrassing memory of getting dead drunk and being carried home by her younger brother.

"Let me see."

Zhou Kai took it from her; the craftsmanship was exquisite, and the texture was rigid.

On the front were a few gold-stamped characters:

[To Sleepless Dreams]

Flipping it over, there was a string of specially encrypted phone numbers.

"Dreamless" again.

What on earth did these persistent ghosts want!

This card had likely been slipped into Lu Yan's pocket by someone while he was busy paying the bill.

Zhou Kai's expression darkened.

The two words "Dreamless" were like a bomb, constantly reminding him of the dangers both inside and outside his dreams, making him feel deeply uneasy.

"Xiao Kai?"

Lu Yan wasn't wearing makeup today, and there were faint dark circles under her eyes, but it didn't affect her looks in the slightest; she had the vibe of a natural-born beauty.

She looked at him with confusion.

Zhou Kai gripped the card tightly and shoved it deep into his pocket.

He let out a dry, awkward laugh: "It's nothing, just a piece of junk ad card."

"Sis, you go rest for a bit. I'm going to go spar with him."

Lu Yan pursed her lips: "Mm, alright. Good luck."

The time for the minor assessment was approaching, yet Chen Ping still hadn't shown up.

As usual, Du Feng was teaching in his stead and concurrently serving as the examiner for the assessment.

Soon, the assessment began.

Du Feng had the members who wanted to participate line up and spar with him one by one.

Anyone who could last ten moves would be exempt from future tuition fees and could go to the neighboring student area for advanced training.

This time, Ma Yifan was feeling very confident. After being fed moves by Zhou Kai for half an hour, he felt like he was back in top form, so he stood at the front of the line.

Zhou Kai, meanwhile, had been dragged by him to stand in second place.

While they waited, Ma Yifan winked and whispered: "Du Feng only got promoted to a student last month."

"He's probably the one who goes easiest on people among that whole group."

"Since he's the examiner this time... what do I have to be afraid of? Let's go!"

Zhou Kai frowned slightly.

If skill levels were divided into Level 1 Novice, Level 2 Proficient, and Level 3 Mastery.

Du Feng's mixed martial arts should be in the Level 2 range.

As for Chen Ping, he was at least Level 3 or even higher.

Since they were both at Level 2, and he had the bonus of Light Footwork, he had this guy in the bag.

"Coach Chen isn't here, but don't expect me to go easy on you."

Not far away, Du Feng struck a coaching pose, the smile on his face still relatively gentle.

The minor assessment officially began.

However, at that very moment, a discordant voice drifted over from the neighboring student area; the voice arrived before the person did.

"Du Feng, you trash who hasn't even mastered the Falcon Strike Technique, you think you're qualified to be an examiner?"

"Is this how Chen Ping leads his members?"

Among a group of students all over 1.8 meters tall, a man under 1.75 meters with a physique resembling Popeye the Sailor Man walked out with a sneer.

Who else could it be with such obvious features but Wang Jinquan?

With Chen Ping absent, wasn't this the perfect time for him to let loose?

Besides, he was doing this for the sake of the martial arts gym!

He just hoped the quality of the students would be a bit higher from now on.

His reason for acting was upright and legitimate; he figured that even if Chen Ping found out later, there would be nothing he could do to him.

Since he had a righteous cause.

He walked up to Du Feng with his head held high and chest puffed out, ordering, "Get lost, today, I'm taking over!"

Du Feng's expression froze instantly, his mouth twitching as he said, "Brother Wang, don't be like this..."

Wang Jinquan let out a cold, malicious snort: "Heh, Du Feng, are you getting too big for your boots?"

"If you don't want a beating, go stand to the side!"