Strongman: Watch Me!

"Who arranged for me to get in?" After Wei Zhigao left, Su Chen examined the Message Communicator in his hand. It came with a matching manual and looked like an old-fashioned cellphone from his previous life, even complete with physical buttons.

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Because of the fog, its communication range was limited to Southwind City. It could be used for temporary short-range messaging, and for now, it only had one contact—Wei Zhigao.

"Did I misunderstand the victim?"

Su Chen fiddled with it carefully. The metal casing had a pretty nice feel to it.

"Forget it. I'll take the benefits first."

Since he could not figure it out, Su Chen could only set it aside for now. At least he could freeload quite a few good things.

A first-rank upper-tier physical profession was definitely stronger than a Fighter.

Based on the simple information Wei Zhigao had given him, the Gale Walker focused more on speed, with a slight boost to strength.

The Strongman, meanwhile, purely enhanced strength. Among low-rank professions, they generally did not conflict.

As for prospects, the Gale Walker was definitely better.

After heading out to check the schedule at the end of the corridor, Su Chen memorized the classroom for the physical training class and exercised for a while.

[Strongman: 20%]

[Molten Stone Training Method—Beginner: 65%]

Although the Molten Stone Training Method was an F-rank training method, progress was still quite fast at the beginner stage.

There were more Inspection Guards in the academy now. Everyone entering or leaving had to undergo strict inspection, while many secluded corners inside were being searched inch by inch.

What he saw along the way made Su Chen wonder, "Is that attacker still inside the academy?"

"Yuan Chenyang reacted quickly... that old bastard..." In some corner of the academy, a pair of sinister eyes swept over the surroundings as someone muttered softly.

"That thing is made of special material. It'll be hard to take it out openly, and sooner or later, I'll be discovered."

"I need to think of something..."

"This place isn't simple." Su Chen arrived at the top-floor classroom. The room was sealed behind heavy metal doors. After he swiped his student card, the doors slowly retracted to either side with the grinding of massive gears.

Several people had already arrived. All of them were broad and muscular, and the looks they gave him carried surprise and suspicion.

"Is this a gym..." Su Chen looked around. The spacious room was packed with all kinds of enormous metal equipment.

"Classmate, did you... come to the wrong place?" someone asked in a muffled voice. He held something like a dumbbell in one hand, his muscles bulging.

"Isn't this physical training class?" Su Chen asked.

"It is... but..." The other person nodded, then hesitated. "Why haven't I seen you before?"

"I'm new..." Su Chen said casually. The others exchanged looks but said nothing more.

He looked around, then picked up a dumbbell. Both ends were made of black metal, and there was something like a dial on the handle.

Su Chen experimentally turned it. Blue fluorescence flowed through the patterns on the dumbbell's surface, and it felt somewhat heavier.

"Interesting..." Su Chen realized that these things really could be quite useful for training the body.

"Su Chen..." A somewhat familiar voice called from behind him.

"Old Bai?" Su Chen turned around, surprised to see Bai Fengxi in training clothes. Her hair was tied high, making her look exceptionally capable. "You train your body too?"

Old Bai?

The others' eyes widened slightly. This guy was close with Bai Fengxi?

Everyone thought Bai Fengxi was Yuan Chenyang's "student," one of the privileged second generation, naturally separated from most people by an invisible wall.

"I came to learn a few things..." Bai Fengxi answered vaguely.

Seeing that she was not surprised at all, Su Chen immediately understood. "You were the one who arranged for me to get in?"

"It was Yuan Chenyang. He doesn't plan to take on any more students, so he could only give you an opportunity." Bai Fengxi nodded.

"Thanks," Su Chen said.

Bai Fengxi accepted it calmly.

Clack! Clack!

The metal doors opened again. Even Su Chen could clearly feel an oppressive presence bearing down on him as a powerfully built man walked in, his muscles sharply defined.

Everyone gradually gathered, their expressions solemn. "Instructor!"

"That's Instructor Zheng Shi," Bai Fengxi whispered as a reminder.

Zheng Shi swept his gaze around before settling it on Su Chen. He frowned slightly and said in a deep voice, "We have a new member today, Su Chen. From now on, he'll train with us."

"Su Chen..."

"Never heard of him..."

Everyone murmured quietly. Then someone suddenly whispered in surprise, "Damn, no wonder he looked familiar. He seems to be following Teacher Jiang He's path."

"Jiang He... no wonder he's so handsome..."

For a moment, looks of envy, jealousy, and resentment came flooding over.

Even Instructor Zheng froze for a moment. Jiang He...

"Quiet..." Instructor Zheng's brows rose sharply as he barked, "Start training first. I'll guide you later. Think about what questions you want to ask me."

"Su Chen, come here."

Su Chen followed obediently, trailing Instructor Zheng to a corner. The other man had a businesslike expression as he took out a metal tablet sealed within some transparent, fatty material.

"Look at this. Memorize it." He was brief and direct.

Su Chen took it. The metal tablet inside was covered in a long string of text. After only one glance, a prompt popped up on his panel—

[First-rank upper-tier profession discovered—Gale Walker. You may take the profession upon completing the requirements.]

[Gale Walker requirement one: Three cumulative years of running time. (One year completed)]

[Gale Walker requirement two: Raise any basic physical training method to mastery.]

Su Chen raised a brow. Three cumulative years of running time—despite living so long in his previous life, it only counted as one year. He still had two years left.

That was way too troublesome. Even if he neither ate nor drank and never felt tired, it would still take at least three or four years to complete.

No wonder Wei Zhigao had reacted that way.

This profession clearly was not meant for ordinary people.

Even due to physical development, most people only began high-intensity physical training or mental meditation after reaching adulthood.

But running was an activity that could be accumulated deliberately from childhood.

With that thought, Su Chen handed the metal tablet back. What was recorded on it was slightly different from what appeared on his panel, but he was already used to that.

"You memorized it?" Instructor Zheng was surprised when Su Chen returned it after just one glance.

When other students received profession information, they wanted to read every word a dozen times over, afraid of missing anything.

Was this guy's memory really that good?

He wanted to remind him, but after reconsidering, he merely put the item away expressionlessly. "Go back and train..."

Su Chen found a corner and casually began lifting a dumbbell.

"What profession did you choose?" Bai Fengxi moved closer.

"Gale Walker," Su Chen said.

"A first-rank upper-tier one?" Bai Fengxi frowned slightly and cautiously reminded him, "The key training class has regular evaluations. If your progress doesn't meet the standard, you'll be removed."

Naturally, the academy would not let slackers eat and drink for free.

"How often?" Su Chen asked, calculating inwardly.

"Once a month."

Bai Fengxi looked at the thoughtful Su Chen and added, "As long as you've thought it through."

Instructor Zheng was inspecting them one by one, checking their training progress.

The others did not have a panel displaying such intuitive data. They could only rely on experience to judge how far their relevant professional training had progressed.

The requirements for basic physical professions were not difficult—just improve one's physical strength—but achieving a perfect advancement was somewhat harder.

"...Idiot! Did you secretly train again? Your abdominal and back muscles are obviously overdeveloped. Keep this up, and you won't be able to take the profession perfectly!"

Instructor Zheng scolded him furiously. The burly youth standing before him lowered his head and did not dare speak.

These people came from every stratum of Southwind City, but they had not reached the level where they could be groomed from childhood. Many even came from ordinary families and treasured this opportunity greatly.

Seeing this, Su Chen could not help sighing. The Strongman had been damn considerate back then. It had let him take the profession directly, saving him so much trouble.

[The Strongman sensed the host's sincere gratitude and was in an excellent mood. It has decided to eat the Gale Walker.]

What the hell?

The panel suddenly popped up, and Su Chen was horrified.

Bro, don't mess around. What if you get counter-killed? Will I still have my Strongman profession then?