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 an instruction manual and looked like an old-fashioned cellphone from his previous life, even complete with physical buttons.

GOOGLE Search TWKAN

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

"Did I misunderstand the supposed victim?"

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

"Whatever. I'll take the benefits first."

Unable to figure it out, Su Chen could only set the matter aside for now. At least he could get plenty of good stuff for free.

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

According to the brief information Wei Zhigao had given him, [Gale Walker] focused more on speed, with a slight boost to strength.

[Strongman], on the other hand, purely enhanced strength. Among low-tier professions, they generally did not conflict with one another.

In terms of potential, [Gale Walker] was definitely better.

He went out to check the schedule at the end of the corridor, memorized the location of the physical training classroom, 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. Everyone entering or leaving had to undergo strict inspection, while many secluded corners inside the academy were being searched thoroughly.

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

"Yuan Chenyang reacted quickly... that old bastard..." In a corner of the academy, a pair of sinister eyes swept over the surroundings as someone muttered under his breath, "That thing is made of special material. It's 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 by a heavy metal door. He swiped his student card, and only then did the door slide apart to either side with the grinding of massive gears.

Several people had already arrived. They were all powerfully built, and the looks they gave him carried surprise and suspicion.

"Is this a gym..." Su Chen looked around. The spacious room was filled with all kinds of massive equipment, all made of metal.

"Hey, classmate, did you... come to the wrong place?" someone asked in a muffled voice. He held something resembling a dumbbell, his muscles bulging.

"Isn't this the 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 further.

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 gave it an experimental twist. Blue phosphorescence flowed through the patterns on its surface, and the dumbbell felt somewhat heavier.

"Interesting..." Su Chen realized that these things truly had considerable use in training the body.

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

"Old Bai?" Su Chen turned around, rather surprised. It was Bai Fengxi, dressed in training clothes with her hair tied high in a ponytail, looking crisp and capable. "You train your body too?"

Old Bai?

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

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

"I came to learn a little," Bai Fengxi replied 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 involuntarily.

Bai Fengxi accepted it calmly.

Clack! Clack!

The metal door opened again. Even Su Chen could clearly feel the oppressive pressure rushing toward him as a powerfully built man entered, his muscles sharply defined.

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

"That's the instructor—Zheng Shi," Bai Fengxi reminded him quietly.

Zheng Shi swept his gaze around the room before settling 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..."

The others murmured softly. Then someone suddenly exclaimed in a low voice, "Fuck, no wonder his face seemed familiar. I think he's taking Teacher Jiang He's route."

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

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

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 went along obediently and followed Instructor Zheng to a corner. The man looked all business as he took out a metal plate sealed inside some kind of transparent fatty material.

"Look at this. Memorize it." His words were brief and direct.

Su Chen took it. A long string of text was inscribed on the metal plate inside. After just one glance, a prompt popped up on his panel—

[First-tier upper-class profession discovered—Gale Walker. You may take up the profession upon fulfilling the requirements.]

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

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

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

This 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 because of physical development, people generally only began high-intensity physical training or mental meditation after reaching adulthood.

But an activity like running could be deliberately accumulated from childhood.

With that in mind, Su Chen handed the metal plate back. What was recorded on the paper differed slightly from what was on the panel, but he was already used to it.

"You memorized it?" Instructor Zheng was surprised when he saw Su Chen return it after only one glance.

When other students received profession information, they wished they could read every word a dozen times, terrified 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 hefted the dumbbell.

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

"Gale Walker," Su Chen said.

"A first-tier upper-class profession?" Bai Fengxi frowned slightly and cautioned him after some consideration, "The key training class conducts regular assessments. If your progress falls short, you'll be removed."

The academy naturally 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 making his rounds, checking everyone's training progress one by one.

Others did not have a panel that displayed data as intuitively as his. They could only rely on experience to judge how far their training in the relevant skills required by their professions had progressed.

The requirements for basic physical professions were not difficult—simply increasing the body's strength—but achieving a perfect advancement was somewhat harder.

"...Idiot! Have you been secretly training again? Your abdominal and back muscles are obviously overdeveloped. If you keep this up, you won't be able to take up the profession perfectly!"

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

These people came from every social stratum in Southwind City, but none had reached the point where they could be trained from childhood. Many even came from ordinary families and treasured this opportunity greatly.

Seeing this, Su Chen could not help sighing. [Strongman] had been damn generous back then, letting him take up the profession directly and saving him so much trouble.

[Strongman senses the host's sincere gratitude. In high spirits, it has decided to devour Gale Walker.]

What the hell?

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

Bro, don't do this. What if you get killed instead? Will I still have my [Strongman] profession then?