Morning Star Club

The wind of the punch grazed Zhou Kai's ear, yet it did not stir the slightest sound.

His figure drifted away like a weightless fallen leaf, sliding half a step lightly to the right.

Old Yang's punch, fully charged with force, missed its mark just like that.

Not only that, but in the split second he lost his balance and scrambled to find his next opening, Zhou Kai's hands had already ghosted onto him, precisely locking onto his joints.

A grappling technique?

Naive!

In the face of an absolute gap in strength, technique is nothing but a joke.

Old Yang let out a cold snort, the muscles in his arms and shoulders bulging instantly as he gave a violent shake, attempting to shatter the hold with explosive power.

But Zhou Kai did not budge an inch.

A force no less than his own—perhaps even more refined and profound—clamped down on his resistance like iron pincers, strangling his counter-maneuver in the cradle.

Thud!

A dull sound of impact against the ground.

Arm-bar, leg-sweep, executed in one fluid motion.

Old Yang felt the world spin; he lost his balance completely and, like a stone statue being toppled, slammed heavily into the soft grass.

Zhou Kai naturally hadn't used his full strength, and with the grass acting as a cushion, the impact wasn't severe.

Old Yang landed on his back with a muffled grunt, using the momentum of the fall to roll and scramble back to his feet.

But his face had already turned the color of liver.

To think he had been floored in a single move by a mere pup?

He couldn't save face after this.

Without a word, he let out a low growl and charged again.

"Not bad! His speed is way faster than Old Yang's!"

Feng Mingtai's eyes lit up; that clean, crisp throw had been a thrill to watch.

Ma Yifan let out a long sigh of relief, his palms slick with sweat.

Brother Kai had truly not disappointed him.

Before they could chat any further, Old Yang, who had lunged forward again, was already closing in on Zhou Kai.

This time, he had no intention of holding back; thick white steam puffed from his nose and mouth, and every punch was thrown with full force.

Swish, swish, swish, swish!

Several feinting jabs pierced the air, aimed at disrupting Zhou Kai's judgment.

Just as Zhou Kai raised his hands to block, Old Yang's eyes turned vicious. He dropped his body weight suddenly and unleashed a tricky hook, carrying the momentum of wind and thunder, aimed straight at Zhou Kai's ribs.

This punch was fast and ruthless; his teapot-sized fist was about to slam into Zhou Kai's waist, leaving no room to dodge.

If he were hit, it would be a "liver shot," rendering him unable to fight on the spot.

Seeing this, a flicker of worry that she tried hard to hide crossed Fischl's beautiful eyes, and she nearly blurted out a command to stop.

She could tell that Old Yang had truly lost his temper.

The fact that Zhou Kai had pushed him to the point of disregarding their agreement and throwing a heavy blow was already proof enough of his strength.

"Old Yang..."

Fischl's heart hammered against her ribs, and she was just about to speak up.

She saw Zhou Kai neither dodge nor evade; instead, he reached out his right hand and steadily caught Old Yang's heavy punch. He then leaned forward, his left hand seizing Old Yang's fist while his right hand gripped his upper arm like an iron claw. With both arms exerting force simultaneously, he pulled and jerked him toward his own chest!

Finally, he drove his shoulder into Old Yang's chest like a battering ram.

Boom!

With a dull thud, everyone watched as Old Yang's sturdy, eighty-plus-kilogram frame was lifted at an incredible angle by Zhou Kai.

He was like a sack tossed into the air, tracing a clumsy arc before crashing heavily two meters away.

Boom!

This throw was ten times more brutal than the last.

Old Yang couldn't catch his breath, his face turning a bruised purple.

He struggled to climb back up, his eyes bloodshot, his voice hoarse: "Young man, do you want to play for real with me?"

"It's up to you."

A moment later, without any suspense, Old Yang was easily floored by Zhou Kai once again.

Despite having no visible external injuries from the repeated heavy throws, his internal organs had been rattled time and again; his breathing was completely ragged, and his complexion was frighteningly pale.

"Enough! That's enough!"

"Yang Hao! Stop making a fool of yourself!"

Fischl's eyes brightened as she shouted to stop Yang Hao, who was still trying to scramble to his feet.

Yang Hao attempted to struggle, but Zhou Kai pressed a hand onto his shoulder, pinning him in place.

"Didn't we agree? Just a friendly spar."

"You are no match for me."

In terms of Comprehensive Combat techniques at Level 3, Zhou Kai and Yang Hao might have been evenly matched.

But Zhou Kai's advantage was not limited to technique alone.

In strength, he held a steady lead, and in speed and agility, he was overwhelmingly superior.

The bloodshot rage in Yang Hao's eyes gradually faded, replaced by clarity.

After a long silence, he conceded, "You're right. I'm not as good as you."

Only then did Zhou Kai release his grip and let him stand.

Avoiding his young mistress's gaze, Yang Hao kept his head low and asked in a dry voice, "An Enhanced Human? Or... a True Force Martial Artist?"

Zhou Kai was intrigued by the keywords in his question.

But just as he was about to ask for details, his view was blocked by Fischl and the other three, who rushed over in excitement.

"Enough! That's more than enough! Ten thousand a month!"

Fischl looked at Zhou Kai, her eyes filled with undisguised admiration.

"Five lessons a week. If we're busy, you get paid leave!"

Five hundred per lesson?

Zhou Kai clicked his tongue inwardly; money really meant nothing to the wealthy.

He smiled, feeling slightly awkward. "Sure, that works."

Seeing this, Ma Yifan quickly interjected, "Then... shall we count today as the first lesson?"

Fischl thought for a moment; she didn't have any plans for the day.

She nodded. "That works too."

"You'll have something to brag about from now on: being my personal coach."

"Oh, right. Yifan said you wanted to open a club to earn some extra income?"

Fischl tapped her chin with a slender finger and said casually, "Hurry up and think of a name. When we get back, I'll have someone handle the business license and all the paperwork for you."

Is she for real?

Zhou Kai was slightly stunned. He had only intended to be a private coach and had never considered opening a club.

But since Fischl had offered, he had no reason to refuse.

A name flashed through his mind—the person who had helped him so much.

"Morning Star."

"Let's call it Morning Star Club."

Fischl's gaze swept across Zhou Kai's face, and she said playfully, "Morning Star? You have quite unique taste."

Zhou Kai didn't speak.

The Morning Star he was thinking of likely had nothing to do with the one she had in mind.

Ten thousand yuan, deposited with ease.

Zhou Kai looked at the transfer record on his phone, feeling a bit dazed.

No wonder his college roommates were so desperate to get into the wealthy districts to tune pianos or fix coffee machines.

Working for the rich meant more money, less trouble, and an easy life.

Especially these young masters and misses—they were surprisingly easy to fool.

Zhou Kai gave a self-deprecating smile, shook his head, and cast the distracting thoughts aside.

After the first "private lesson" concluded, Zhou Kai stopped Yang Hao, who was preparing to leave with Fischl.

True Force Martial Artist, Enhanced Human...

Zhou Kai was deeply interested in both terms and asked for a detailed explanation.

Yang Hao replied with a gloomy expression:

"A True Force Martial Artist is the first realm of ancient martial arts. I don't know the specifics myself."

"As for Enhanced Humans..."

He said with a face full of resentment, "The professional circuit nowadays is full of those monsters who have undergone all sorts of messy modifications. For those of us who are purely natural, there's been no way to survive for a long time."

"Damn it... if one could keep competing, who would want to come out and be a..."

Yang Hao nearly let slip something he shouldn't have, but Zhou Kai still keenly captured the key information.

The threshold for the so-called "modification" of an Enhanced Human was likely not low.

Beyond money, there must be some unknown conditions behind it.

Otherwise, given Yang Hao's status as a gold belt winner and the financial power of the Fischl family, he wouldn't have failed to get on board.

Thoughts surged in the depths of Zhou Kai's eyes, and just as he wanted to ask more, Yang Hao was impatiently called away by Fischl.

He had no choice but to suppress his curiosity, planning to look it up online tonight or simply ask Senior Brother Chen Ping directly.

Night fell.

Ma Yifan dropped Zhou Kai back at Lu Yan's place, where he slept in the bedroom Zhou Qing used to occupy.

Nightmare, Zhou Kai would enter it once again tonight.

He needed to test whether the plant he found could grow in the Nursery.

If it could, what kind of buffs would it bring him?

As for the change in the location of entering the dream and its abnormal impact on the Nightmare, he now had a clear deduction.

"The Sanctuary is equivalent to an anchor point, capable of firmly fixing me in the same Nightmare space."

"This is a good thing."

Zhou Kai secretly rejoiced; it was fortunate that when he first contracted Nightmare Syndrome, he hadn't run around everywhere.

If he had changed locations every night, it would have been equivalent to changing into a brand-new, unknown death game every night.

He would have had no chance to accumulate any experience and would likely have died in some unknown corner long ago.

"On the Nightmare Syndrome Forum, no one has even mentioned this... did they not discover it? Or are they hoping other patients die sooner?"

The answer was self-evident.

For those without a fixed place to live, Nightmare Syndrome was a terminal illness in every sense of the word.

The most desperate thing in this world is not death after giving it your all.

It is being deprived of even the qualification to fight for your life.

Just past twelve o'clock.

Zhou Kai arrived in the bathroom.

After looking left and right, he simply hugged the flowerpot and lay down in the bathtub.