I Refuse

After years of training, there was no way an ordinary person could dodge this punch. It was fierce, fast, and powerful.

Even though he had held back seventy percent of his strength, it was still enough to knock an ordinary person down and temporarily strip them of their fighting ability. It was not something that could be easily blocked or avoided.

Even inside the octagon, Zhang Kui's punch carried such a biting force that no one dared take it head-on.

Lu Ren could clearly feel the force of the punch rushing toward him.

This guy!

Lu Ren stepped back with his left foot to brace himself against the ground, then swung his right fist heavily forward.

Seeing Lu Ren's fist, Zhang Kui had no intention of dodging. Instead, he raised an arm to block it.

Bang!

"Not bad strength!"

Zhang Kui was somewhat surprised.

"But your force is too scattered. A lot of your strength is being wasted."

Zhang Kui gave his habitual critique.

Lu Ren said nothing. He calmly threw a left uppercut at Zhang Kui's jaw.

Zhang Kui easily leaned aside to dodge. He twisted his waist slightly, driving power up from a kick of his foot, and before Lu Ren could react, his fist landed on the Protective Gear over Lu Ren's chest.

Bang!

A dull thud rang out as Lu Ren took the punch squarely in the chest.

"Hmph!"

Lu Ren let out a muffled groan and staggered back several steps before barely managing to steady himself. His 8 points of Spirit allowed him to see Zhang Kui's movements clearly, but his body could not react in time.

His Agility was a little low. Though it was at the average level, it was still nowhere near enough against a professional fighting coach like Zhang Kui, let alone considering that Zhang Kui was definitely holding something back.

"Ding, you were suddenly attacked. Your Physique Proficiency passively increased by 1."

Seeing that Lu Ren had caught his breath, Zhang Kui did not attack again. He took off his gloves and said, "That'll do. Sparring partners earn four hundred an hour, and the club takes a hundred as commission. Deal?"

"Alright. When do I start?"

After getting down from the ring, Zhang Kui replied, "Any time."

"I want to start now."

Zhang Kui was not surprised, as though he had met many people like Lu Ren before. He nodded slightly, then turned and shouted, "Xiao Li, come take him to the sparring room!"

Ten minutes later, Lu Ren stood inside the octagon with his Protective Gear still on and a Mouthguard in his mouth.

Xiao Li, who was checking Lu Ren's Protective Gear beside him, patted him and sighed. "Need money urgently, huh, buddy?"

Seeing Lu Ren nod slightly, Xiao Li spoke familiarly. "Everyone who does this is the same. If you want fast money without going down the wrong path or doing shady work, then the only way to earn more is with your body."

After fastening the final buckle, Xiao Li patted Lu Ren on the shoulder and said seriously, "Want to hear some advice?"

With the Mouthguard in his mouth, Lu Ren's words were somewhat muffled, but his face showed an earnest desire to learn. "Thank you. Please tell me."

Never underestimate little tricks. Sometimes, those little tricks could bring enormous benefits.

Xiao Li pointed to his own chin, waist, ribs, bridge of the nose, back of the head, and other vital areas.

"Don't use these parts to take someone else's attacks. Use your cheekbones, chest, and abdomen to absorb the hits, understand? This Protective Gear is reinforced. Some dimwits don't understand anything, and after getting hit a few times, they get carried out sideways. Not only do they fail to earn money, they end up paying a lot out of pocket."

"Understood. Thank you!" Lu Ren committed it firmly to memory. With Spirit as high as 8 points, he remembered Xiao Li's words clearly.

Xiao Li nodded slightly. "The people who hire sparring partners here are mostly newbies looking to vent. Most of them don't know any fighting techniques. As long as you make them feel good, it's fine. Of course, that's only usually the case. Anyone who can afford four hundred an hour for a sparring partner is generally not short on money. Don't overthink it. Alright, wait here. Someone will come in soon."

"Thanks for the advice!"

He silently evened out his breathing. Ever since the system's last prompt had given him a vague insight into breathing, his stamina had recovered remarkably quickly. He even found himself looking forward to whether this breathing insight would eventually become something like the breathing-based healing technique in Mission.

Lu Ren was one hundred percent certain that once he reached a certain threshold, a skill would appear.

About three to five minutes later, Xiao Li came in with a man. Judging by his clothes, he was close to forty. He wore dress pants and a shirt, with a slight belly visible beneath them. His hairline had receded badly; perhaps every remaining strand had its own name.

Someone who had spent years sitting in an office.

That was Lu Ren's assessment of him.

Xiao Li said, "Lu Ren, this is the client you'll be sparring with. Take good care of him. I'm off!"

The man smiled politely at Lu Ren. "Friend, please go easy on me later!"

Lu Ren shook his head slightly to indicate it was fine. He was quite polite, and he looked the part too.

Five minutes later, Lu Ren felt the long string of notifications in his mind about passive Physique Proficiency increases, and his mood grew excited. Looking at the middle-aged man sprawled on the ground in exhaustion, he could not help urging, "Sir, you booked two hours."

If an ordinary person had not trained, five minutes of high-intensity fighting would consume a huge amount of stamina.

The man waved his hand tiredly, his face flushed and neck red as he panted. "Let me, let me rest for a while."

Lu Ren looked troubled. "Well, boss, rest time counts toward the session too."

The man was practically sticking out his tongue as he waved with effort. "It's fine."

Seeing that Lu Ren showed no signs of fatigue, the man seemed somewhat unwilling to accept it after catching his breath. He said, "Friend, take off your Protective Gear and spar with me. I'll personally give you two thousand. How about it?"

You could do that?

Lu Ren turned to look at Xiao Li standing outside the octagon. Having seen everything, Xiao Li spread his hands, signaling for Lu Ren to make his own decision.

Lu Ren fell silent and calculated for a while before shaking his head slightly. "Forget it, sir. I think this is enough already."

No one liked getting beaten up, and Lu Ren did not want to either. Even becoming a sparring partner was something he had done out of necessity, despite the increase in his attribute proficiency.

The man froze, seemingly not expecting Lu Ren to refuse. Anger flashed across his face, but his good upbringing kept him calm. "How about ten thousand?"

Ten thousand?!

Lu Ren looked at the system proficiency notifications in his mind and hesitated. That did seem pretty good.

He could earn money and increase his Physique Proficiency.

He could not exactly refuse money for the sake of his dignity, could he?

Lu Ren efficiently removed his Protective Gear, then took his phone from the clothes beside him, opened his payment code, and held it out in front of the man.

The man readily transferred ten thousand to Lu Ren, then stood up and said, "I'll go rest for a bit. We'll continue in half an hour."

Once the man had walked away, Xiao Li entered the octagon and said excitedly, "Not bad, Lu Ren. You ran into a rich idiot on your first day. Give him hell! What's a little injury? This is too rare. People like that are obviously rich, but under a lot of pressure, mentally empty, and have a strong desire for control. Didn't you see the look on his face when you refused him?"