Shi Fen Talks Luo Feng Into It

On the day of the math exam, Luo Feng fainted in the examination room again.

When Shi Fen heard the news, he went out of his way to "visit" Luo Feng.

That evening, Shi Fen barged into Luo Feng's home with a smug grin and teased him, though he already knew the answer. "Bro, how'd a math test manage to knock you out? I didn't teach you all that math for nothing, did I?"

Luo Feng took the teasing in stride, looking perfectly calm and composed. "The last question was just too hard. I studied it for ages and still couldn't figure it out. I was desperate to solve it and put too much pressure on myself. Then my head started hurting terribly, and I passed out."

"Hm? You solved all the questions before that?" Shi Fen asked curiously.

Luo Feng gave a slight nod in reply.

Shi Fen immediately perked up, thinking to himself, No wonder he's Luo Feng. I only gave him a little help, and history has already changed so much.

"Then your total score on the college entrance exam should be pretty high," Shi Fen continued.

Luo Feng stared at Shi Fen, his expression odd. "The college entrance exam?"

"Uh."

Shi Fen realized he'd been speaking from his God Perspective and had accidentally let something slip. He hurriedly played it off without changing his expression. "Didn't you have a mock exam before? That counts as a college entrance exam too."

Luo Feng didn't press the matter. Smiling, he said, "I suppose so. Math was so hard that no one else could have scored higher than me. The cutoff for this year's colleges should be much lower, so I should be a shoo-in for First Military Academy."

Shi Fen pursed his lips, looking somewhat disdainful as he spoke at length. "What's so great about military academy? I'm planning to meet the physical standards and go straight to the Martial Artist assessment. I've heard from my clients that becoming a Martial Artist with the Extreme Martial Arts Hall is much better than going to military academy.

"Not only do you get higher status, you make more money, too.

"The Martial Arts Hall even gives you a villa. How many years would you have to work after military academy before you could afford one?

"If I can become a Martial Artist, I'm not going to some damn university. Top universities have been inviting me since I was little, but I know becoming a Martial Artist is the best path.

"How many college students are there in the whole human race? Tens of millions, right?

"Martial Artists? Could there even be a million of them across the whole human race?

"If we're going to do it, you and I should become the real elites of humanity."

Luo Feng patiently listened to his friend go on, his eyes growing brighter and brighter. He'd heard about this, too.

But he was hesitant. Unlike Shi Fen, he had a family to look after. His parents were getting on in years, and his younger brother still needed his care. Luo Hua was earning pretty well now, but he was still disabled, and getting around and managing daily life were difficult for him.

Seeing Luo Feng hesitate, Shi Fen decided to drop a bombshell.

"I've heard there's a miraculous drug in the Martial Artist Circle that can regrow severed limbs. If you had enough money to buy it, you could get Luo Hua back on his feet."

Luo Feng jumped up, gripping Shi Fen's arm tightly with both hands. He stared straight into Shi Fen's eyes, his voice trembling with excitement. "Brother Shi, is that true?"

At that moment, Luo Hua was outside, being pushed around the neighborhood in his wheelchair by their parents. Apart from Luo Feng, no one else was in the house.

Feeling the terrifying strength in Luo Feng's grip, Shi Fen was taken aback. Luo Feng's strength was definitely far beyond a thousand jin. He forcefully shook Luo Feng's hand off and rubbed his arm in displeasure, looking helpless.

Luo Hua really was Luo Feng's soft spot. Luo Feng cared too much about his family.

"Why would I lie to you? Go ask the instructor at the Martial Arts Hall tomorrow, and you'll find out everything." Shi Fen pretended to keep rubbing his arm, then added, "While you're there, get your strength tested. For some reason, I feel like you're a lot stronger than me."

Luo Feng could think of nothing but that miraculous drug now. He didn't care about anything else. He grabbed Shi Fen and rushed outside.

"Why wait until tomorrow? The Martial Arts Hall's still open. Let's go now."

"Uh."

Shi Fen had underestimated how fiercely Luo Feng protected his family. He had no choice but to follow close behind.

He had to hurry, because Luo Feng was dragging his hundred-some-jin body along with such force that if he lagged a few steps behind, he'd be "flying" through the air.

The two of them dashed into the Martial Arts Hall.

Whenever Luo Feng saw someone he knew, he asked, "Good evening. Do you know where Instructor Jiang Nian is?"

After asking several people, Luo Feng learned from one of them that Instructor Jiang Nian was on the third floor. He immediately pulled Shi Fen along and charged upstairs.

Jiang Nian was on the third floor, training several students.

Luo Feng rushed up, then immediately slowed down. He waited respectfully for Jiang Nian to finish and for the students to leave. Only then did he approach Jiang Nian. After politely greeting him, Luo Feng humbly asked, "Instructor Jiang Nian, is there any drug in the world that can regrow severed limbs?"

Jiang Nian had been about to head home after work. Luo Feng's question caught him off guard, but he quickly answered. "There is. It's an American drug, though, and it's quite expensive. I heard a dose costs thirty billion Huaxia Currency."

As an instructor at the Extreme Martial Arts Hall, Jiang Nian had access to a lot of information. He knew about this, and it wasn't a secret, so he told Luo Feng the truth. Jiang Nian knew why Luo Feng was asking. It had to be for Luo Hua.

"What? Thirty billion Huaxia Currency?" Luo Feng was stunned.

"And that's if you can find it. It's usually unavailable, no matter how much you're willing to pay," Jiang Nian added.

Luo Feng's eyes widened. Three hundred billion was an astronomical figure to him. He had no idea how many years it would take him to earn that much.

And even if he had three hundred billion, he still might not be able to buy it. That was the cruelest part.

Seeing that Luo Feng seemed to have taken a heavy blow, Shi Fen reminded him, "Luo Feng, I think your strength should already be over 900 kg. Once you become a Martial Artist, as long as you're strong enough, what can't you do? It's only three hundred billion."

Luo Feng suddenly snapped out of it. Without a word or even looking back, he rushed over to the Punch Force Tester.

Jiang Nian gave Shi Fen a faint sideways glance, his lips twitching. Only three hundred billion? I've never seen three hundred billion in my life.

He understood that the boy was young and full of ambition. And with Luo Feng's brother in the picture, he didn't mock him. He simply watched Luo Feng, hoping he'd give him a little "surprise."

Standing in front of the Punch Strength Tester, Luo Feng was in turmoil. His younger brother had just found a glimmer of hope of standing again, only for Instructor Jiang Nian to smash it with the news that the drug cost three hundred billion and was effectively priceless. Three hundred billion! The figure filled him with despair.

If it were three million, he felt he could earn it sometime in his lifetime.

Three hundred billion? It was far too difficult.

Perhaps, just as Shi Fen had said, only a powerful Martial Artist could earn that kind of money.

Luo Feng already knew what he had to do: become a Martial Artist!

His gaze gradually grew resolute. Three hundred billion—if one year wasn't enough, then two; if two years weren't enough, then three. Sooner or later, he would earn it! He hadn't made it this far from the slums by relying on luck. He'd fought for everything he had. Otherwise, he wouldn't have earned the nickname "Madman."

He drew a deep breath, his gaze turning inward. If anyone looked closely, they would have noticed a trace of madness in his eyes. After taking such a blow, "Madman" Luo Feng was back!

He clenched his fist, filled with defiance toward fate and a fierce madness. He felt as if his body were burning. At that moment, he poured everything he had into a punch against the Punch Strength Tester.

A thunderous BOOM rang out, and a number appeared on the screen.

"1165 kg."

"Holy crap."

"Oh my God."

"Hm?"

All three of them exclaimed at the same time.

The first two exclamations came from Jiang Nian and Shi Fen. As for Luo Feng, he stared at the number, stunned, and couldn't help letting out a disbelieving sound.

Jiang Nian felt as if he'd struck gold. He'd always liked Luo Feng, but he hadn't expected him to improve so much all at once. The title of genius was now well deserved. An eighteen-year-old Quasi-Fighter!

Jiang Nian figured this year's "year-end bonus" would be enormous.

Shi Fen, meanwhile, thought the number was far too high. It was nearly 100 kilograms above the number he remembered. Could this be the power of anger? Shi Fen wondered.

Excited, Jiang Nian said, "Quick, hit it a few more times for me."

Luo Feng immediately understood. His fists flashed like lightning as he struck the punching target in a frenzy, landing dozens of punches at full strength.

A string of numbers flashed across the Punch Strength Tester's screen.

"1108 kg, 1092 kg, 1087 kg, 1101 kg, 1054 kg..."

Jiang Nian stared at the display, grinning from ear to ear.

After throwing dozens of punches and venting his frustration, Luo Feng felt a little better.

As soon as Luo Feng lowered his fists, Jiang Nian hurried over with a warm smile. "Luo Feng, how do you think you did on the college entrance exam?"

"Um... I should be well above the cutoff for ordinary colleges," Luo Feng said after a brief pause.

Jiang Nian grew anxious. It'd be such a waste for a promising young man like this to go to university. He hurriedly said, "What's the point of university? You're only eighteen, and with talent like yours, going to university would be a waste. Once you become a Martial Artist and join our Martial Arts Hall, then you'll—"

"Instructor, I understand what you mean. I'm willing to take the Quasi-Fighter practical assessment and become a Martial Artist," Luo Feng replied firmly.

Hearing this, Shi Fen was delighted. He'd accomplished what he'd set out to do today. Though he wouldn't change Luo Feng's fate, he also didn't want Luo Feng to stray from his path and end up worse off.

Seeing how decisive Luo Feng was, Jiang Nian's face immediately lit up with a smile. He said warmly, "Once you become a Martial Artist, join my Extreme Martial Arts Hall. If you join us, we'll give you a detached villa in the best area, along with a monthly base salary of twenty thousand Huaxia Currency.

"Of course, you won't be allowed to sell the villa..."

As Luo Feng listened to the many benefits offered by the Extreme Martial Arts Hall, he was completely stunned.

Shi Fen had been standing off to the side, watching the show. By now, he was practically invisible. The other two were happily chatting away, completely ignoring him.

He was perfectly happy with that.

Luo Feng deserved the spotlight. Shi Fen wasn't going to steal it from him, much less compete with him to show off what he could do.

He wasn't doing this just to keep a low profile. He truly hoped that his good friend Luo Feng could make a name for himself sooner and escape his current "predicament."

They had grown up together for eighteen years. Their friendship was rare and unbreakable!

Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone out of his way to guide Luo Feng in advance.

If Shi Fen had been someone who liked showing off, he would have revealed his Spiritual Force the moment he awakened it. Just being a Spiritual Force user would have stolen plenty of the spotlight.

But that simply wasn't who he was.

Seeing the two of them chatting happily, Shi Fen pretended to sigh and said, "I'm heading home." Then he quietly slipped away.