Realm

"Underground" fighting?

At one o'clock in the afternoon, Coach Yu appeared in the Training Room right on time, facing the questions of the group, he said slowly:

"It seems you still don't understand your situation.

"Here, there is no law, no government, and no such thing as 'underground' fighting. The ring is a legitimate business.

"The company hired you to be Warm-up Fighters at the Thunder Dragon Bar."

Warm-up Fighters...

Chen Chong and the others felt a heavy weight in their hearts.

Warm-up Fighter sounds pleasant, but in reality, it is just an appetizer—they are the dish itself.

The underground ring has no rules regarding life or death; in fact, to ignite the audience's emotions and make them spend money, blood must be shed most of the time.

"Survive three matches, and you will have the chance to become an Official Fighter, like those people upstairs. If you perform well, you can become a Contracted Fighter; the bonuses are much higher, and you won't have to live in these dorms. Or, there is even a chance to truly join the company's Security Department."

Coach Yu said:

"However, I must warn you: the mortality rate for a Warm-up Fighter's first match is fifty percent."

Hearing this number, everyone fell into a heavy silence.

Even Wang Li, who had been involved with gangs, had only dealt with city gangs, which were much more civilized than the companies out here in the Wasteland.

Coach Yu swept his gaze over them with an expressionless face:

"So, train hard these next few days; this is your chance to survive. Thunder Dragon does not keep idlers. You have about seven to ten days."

Li Xiaoguang gritted his teeth:

"Coach Yu, this isn't fair! No matter how much of a foundation we have, we can't be a match for those battle-hardened fighters after just one week of training!"

"Fair?"

Coach Yu shook his head:

"You truly don't understand where you are. There is no fairness here, only fists.

"If your fists aren't hard enough, you die."

The cold words shattered Li Xiaoguang's last shred of fantasy, and Chen Chong and the other three finally saw the reality clearly.

This is the Wasteland.

Coach Yu added:

"But don't give up on yourselves. The company provides your food and clothing, not because they want to watch you go up there and wait for death. The theme of the ring doesn't always have to be blood and death; perhaps beating you until you crap your pants is enough. Literally."

He wore a mocking expression:

"Besides, the Official Fighters haven't entered a 'Realm' yet; at most, they've touched the threshold. After all, if the gap were too large, it wouldn't be fun. They are all just greenhorns, so the outcome isn't set in stone."

"Coach, what exactly is a 'Realm'?"

Chen Chong asked.

Coach Yu looked at him and said:

"That is what I am going to teach you this afternoon.

"Fighter, Martial Artist, Qigong Master—to put it plainly, they are all the same thing: people who practice and cultivate.

"Since it is cultivation, there are different Realms. Only by entering a Realm can you be considered on the path, different from ordinary people.

"Different schools have different ways of dividing these Realms, but since the New Era, the most mainstream method—the one we use—divides the tempering of the flesh into four stages.

"The first stage is called 'Beam Setting', also known as setting the Bone Beam."

Coach Yu's voice echoed in the spacious Training Room:

"Bones are the root of a person; without bones, a person cannot stand. Cultivation is like building a house. To put it bluntly, this first stage is to first temper your bones until they are hard, making them the true main beams of the human house. Only when the skeleton is tempered well can you lay the foundation for the future and support the strength of your entire body.

"This is the training method. Watch closely."

He walked over to an Iron Man Dummy in the corner of the Training Room and began to throw punches and kicks.

A second later, Chen Chong's eyes widened.

He saw afterimages.

Bang, bang, bang-bang-bang-bang!

Coach Yu's fists and feet collided with the Iron Man Dummy, producing a continuous, thunderous sound that resonated throughout the entire Training Room!

The sound was so terrifying that one could imagine the sheer force behind it; the onlookers couldn't help but feel their teeth ache.

Yet, Coach Yu's expression remained unchanged. If they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, it would be hard to believe that the thumping sound was caused by flesh and blood striking metal.

After a while, Coach Yu retracted his limbs, leaving the Iron Man Dummy trembling violently, as if it were about to snap.

"This is... a Combat Drill. It is a training method, and also a fighting style."

For the first time, Chen Chong had an intuitive understanding of a "Realm".

No matter how powerful the martial arts masters were in his past life, they could never have produced such a display.

Yu Feng's punching power surely surpassed that of those heavyweight boxing champions.

He wasn't even wearing gloves...

Chen Chong took a deep look at the cold-faced Yu Feng, his fists clenching and unclenching involuntarily, over and over again.

Ignoring the shocked expressions of the group, Yu Feng turned on the television to the side and played a videotape. The boxing techniques demonstrated on screen were exactly the same as the ones he had just performed:

"This Combat Drill, combined with the Breathing Method, is enough to allow you to break through the barrier and successfully achieve Beam Setting."

He followed the instructional video to break down the movements once more, then set the tape to loop, telling the four of them to start practicing on their own and to ask if they didn't understand anything.

Perhaps due to the pressure from the ring, or perhaps because of Yu Feng's astonishing display, everyone was more proactive than they had been in the morning.

Chen Chong followed the demonstrations on the tape carefully, slowly becoming familiar with the movements.

This time, his progress was clearly not as fast as Li Xiaoguang's.

After all, Li Xiaoguang had a long-standing foundation and had practiced similar combat drills before, so he picked it up very smoothly.

He secretly kept an eye on Chen Chong, and upon noticing this, he felt a surge of excitement, though he immediately shook his head repeatedly, feeling somewhat embarrassed to dismiss such thoughts.

However, what he didn't know was that after the tape had looped several times, Chen Chong had slowly memorized all the movements; after a few more passes, he no longer needed to watch while practicing and could perform the entire set of techniques intermittently on his own.

His movements were very clumsy, but there was clear progress with every repetition. He had a strong ability to learn; once he understood the reason for a mistake, he would never make it a second time.

The videotape explained things very clearly, and for the parts he truly didn't understand, he went to ask Yu Feng. He discovered that although this coach, who stood like a black iron tower, was cold, he spoke more than usual when acting as an instructor and explained things clearly—at the very least, he could be considered competent. With such guidance, Chen Chong progressed very quickly.

So, by the time the day ended, Li Xiaoguang was astonished to find that Chen Chong's proficiency had once again pulled ahead of theirs.

Wasn't he very clumsy at the start?

Li Xiaoguang hissed, sucking his teeth, feeling both impressed and unconvinced.

"Continue tomorrow."

Yu Feng said indifferently:

"Put more effort into the Breathing Method and learn it as soon as possible. This is the foundation; without the Breathing Method, the Combat Drill is just a set of combat drills, a set of boxing techniques. But with the Breathing Method, the Combat Drill can accelerate your Bone Tempering and barrier breaking."

Waving his hand to let the group go upstairs to eat, he watched their backs as they climbed the stairs, especially Chen Chong's, and his eyes finally flickered with emotion.

It was indeed as he had judged: a seedling. A top-tier seedling.

Not only was his comprehension strong, but he learned everything quickly.

His temperament was also excellent; he had been very focused and hardworking both before and now, unlike the other three, who were all somewhat panicked.

When a person panics, their punches become chaotic. Yet, he could keep his composure in this environment; he was someone who could accomplish things.

And, what baffled him the most was that Chen Chong's body had a very strong capacity for adaptation.

He had looked frail before, but after a few days of training, his strength had caught up as if he were on performance-enhancing drugs, and the burden of practicing the Breathing Method wasn't as heavy as he had expected.

Such physical talent...

If he were at his old gym, he would certainly be cultivated with great care and would absolutely become an excellent fighter;

Perhaps, if his family background were better, he might even become a fighting star.

It was just a pity that the gym was long gone.

And once a seedling arrived here, there was no longer any chance for it to grow into a tree.

He only hoped he could live a little longer.

Yu Feng turned and left in silence.