This Kid Was Pretty Strong

"All right, our noble future knights have arrived. Good luck, everyone!" Jeff suddenly called out while Han Shuo was talking to Gar.

As Jeff's voice faded, a dozen or so knight trainees filed through the hall's doorway, dressed in fine clothes and wearing exquisite swords. Most were young men, with only a very few young women among them.

Once inside, they carefully inspected the living punching bags in the hall with haughty, appraising looks. The warriors in the hall drew their attention first, as these men were much stronger than ordinary people and offered the greatest benefit to their combat training. Naturally, they received attention first.

Some warriors, led by Gar, were the first to catch their eyes. Once both sides willingly agreed on a price, the trainees took them to the Trial Ground to train. Gar was among them, and before leaving, he gave Han Shuo a regretful look from afar.

Among the living punching bags, the warriors were the strongest and offered the greatest benefit to the knight trainees' combat practice. Naturally, hiring them cost the trainees far more than hiring ordinary, well-built commoners.

After the warrior punching bags scattered through the hall were hired first and taken away, only commoners remained. Among them, those with powerful limbs and sturdy builds became the first choices.

One after another, these men flexed their massive muscles and struck bodybuilding poses that declared how strong and muscular they were. With ingratiating smiles, they watched those future knights, hoping to be chosen and earn a generous payment.

Han Shuo's build had never been eye-catching. Among these tall, burly men, their huge bodies completely blocked him from view, leaving him even more overlooked. As he watched the knight trainees choose their targets and leave one after another, he could not help growing anxious.

Three burly men stood around Han Shuo on three sides, almost completely blocking his body. Some knight trainees probably could not see him at all. As his anxiety grew, he began looking for a way to stand out.

"Hey, big guy, let me through!" Han Shuo patted the roughly two-meter-tall mountain of flesh in front of him and spoke with a friendly smile.

The burly man had bronze skin and, seen from behind, a broad back and thick waist. His height of around two meters, combined with his knotted, powerful muscles, made him look like the bodybuilders Han Shuo had seen before.

Hearing Han Shuo, he turned and shot him a vicious glare. His right biceps suddenly bulged, the muscle tightening into a small mound of flesh. Only then did he give a smug sneer and turn away without a word.

Damn it, you think being big makes you special? Han Shuo sneered inwardly as well. He reached out with his left hand, rested it against the man's lower back, then abruptly shoved hard.

Thud, thud, thud! The massive muscleman stumbled as Han Shuo's powerful shove struck his lower back, sending him staggering three steps forward.

The hall was already packed with so many mountains of flesh. His sudden lurch immediately brought disaster upon several men beside him, forcing them aside as well. For a moment, the space in front of Han Shuo erupted into chaos.

"Damn it, Daniel, are you trying to break the rules?" After steadying themselves, the other mountains of flesh struck by the man named Daniel immediately shouted at him in anger.

"It wasn't me. That kid behind me was causing trouble!" The muscleman, Daniel, protested his innocence to the burly men beside him, then glared savagely at Han Shuo and snapped, "Kid, are you trying to die early?"

By then, Han Shuo had seized the chance to slip out from among them and reach the edge of the hall, securing a relatively good position. At Daniel's words, he gave a cold chuckle and raised his right arm, copying Daniel's earlier bodybuilding pose. He flexed his biceps in a display of strength, raised his eyebrows, nodded, and gave Daniel a provocative look.

Just then, several more knight trainees entered from outside. They had intended to choose punching bags farther back, but seeing what looked like an entertaining spectacle here, they paused their hiring and watched with interest instead.

Han Shuo had chosen to strike that arrogant, provocative pose precisely because he had spotted these new knight trainees coming in. Judging by his build, getting chosen from among these men seemed rather difficult.

Relying on his physique and boasting alone would probably do little to make him stand out. The quickest way was to use overwhelming strength to defeat a mountain of flesh here first. Only then could he make the knight trainees see him in a different light.

Yet although Han Shuo had struck an arrogant, provocative pose, everyone else merely thought he was an idiot. When a mountain of flesh like Daniel struck such a pose, it naturally looked thoroughly intimidating.

But for Han Shuo, who was only 1.7 meters tall and slightly built, to act so arrogantly among these mountains of flesh could only be called-ridiculous, and courting death!

"Ha! Kid, since you're looking to die, I'll oblige!" Faced with Han Shuo's provocation, Daniel did not immediately fly into a rage. Instead, he was delighted. With a loud laugh, he swung up an arm thicker than Han Shuo's thigh and reached straight for his head.

In this hall, fights between living punching bags were common as they tried to stand out and attract the wealthy knight trainees' attention. There was nothing unusual about it. Han Shuo's reckless provocation suited Daniel perfectly. He thought he could use the kid to demonstrate his ferocity right before those knight trainees. With such a fine opportunity delivered to his doorstep, he was naturally pleased rather than angry.

But most brawny men were simple-minded. Given Han Shuo's build, how much strength would it take to force Daniel out of that crowd of flesh and send him crashing into others hard enough to make them stagger too? He had never considered it.

Jeff the Servant, who was responsible for registering names, could not bear the sight of Daniel reaching for Han Shuo and called out, "Daniel, he's a servant at our academy. You mustn't hurt him badly."

"I'll keep that in mind!" Daniel replied with a laugh. His right hand did not stop, already reaching toward Han Shuo.

Some kindhearted punching bags nearby, along with a few more compassionate knight trainees, looked as though they could not bear to watch. Several young female knight trainees even cried out in alarm.

Just as Daniel's palm-fan-sized hand was about to land on Han Shuo's head, Han Shuo suddenly moved, instantly changing his position. Daniel's grasping hand caught nothing.

Han Shuo gave an odd chuckle, seemingly mocking Daniel's helplessness. Then he raised his left arm again and flexed his biceps in exactly the same pose. Pointing his right hand at the little bulge on his left arm, he nodded at Daniel. Though he said nothing, his meaning was perfectly clear: "See that? I'm strong!"

"Whoa, this kid's pretty arrogant!"

"Provocation! That's outright provocation!"

"Ha, what an interesting kid!"

"..."

A string of astonished remarks came from the punching bags and knight trainees. Seeing that Han Shuo had escaped Daniel's grasp and adopted an even more arrogant, swaggering pose, their interest immediately rose. Even several knight trainees who had been negotiating prices with punching bags could not help suspending their conversations to focus on the scene.

"Kid, you dare insult me! I'm not letting you off today!" Like a bull driven into an instant rage, Daniel's face flushed crimson. Those knight trainees nearby were his sources of income. Being so blatantly humiliated by Han Shuo completely ignited his fury. From the look of him now, he had probably already forgotten Jeff's warning.

As his words fell, Daniel glared at Han Shuo with eyes that seemed about to spit fire. He clenched his right hand into an iron fist and hurled a vicious punch at Han Shuo-apparently no longer intending to grab him, but to inflict severe physical injury directly.

Given their respective physiques, the onlookers saw a world of difference between this punch and his earlier attempt, in both speed and strength. Clearly, Daniel was truly furious this time. If Han Shuo was actually hit, he would probably suffer serious injuries even if he survived.

Some of those who had been watching with kind concern began worrying about Han Shuo again.

As the attack closed in, Han Shuo pushed off his heels and abruptly twisted, miraculously avoiding Daniel's iron fist once more. Daniel's punch missed, and his momentum sent him stumbling a considerable distance forward. Several watching punching bags in front of him hastily backed away in alarm, afraid of being caught in the crossfire.

Han Shuo, meanwhile, curved both arms inward from his ribs and held them before his chest, fists facing upward and their backs pressed together. He thrust his chest high, a disdainful smile curling his lips, and struck another provocative bodybuilding pose displaying his chest muscles, biceps, and triceps.

A string of astonished cries suddenly rose from nearby spectators. The knight trainees who had initially only intended to enjoy the spectacle could not help taking Han Shuo seriously. Dodging once might have been luck, but he had evaded Daniel's iron fist again even after Daniel had become alert and increased his strength and speed. Luck alone could certainly no longer explain it.

While everyone marveled, Daniel was like a savage beast driven mad, his eyes bloodshot. With an angry roar, he charged at Han Shuo again like a whirlwind, using both hands as he tried to pound Han Shuo into a meat patty.

The miracle repeated itself. Under Daniel's ferocious attacks, Han Shuo proved as slippery as a fish and exceptionally quick, dodging strike after strike. He even found opportunities to strike all sorts of strange, flashy bodybuilding poses without repeating a single one.

Han Shuo's behavior was outright provocation, an arrogant display of showmanship!

"Wow, he's amazing! He hasn't repeated a single one of those provocative poses. I've never seen them before!" a female knight trainee exclaimed.

"This kid is pretty strong!" a male knight trainee exclaimed.

"Daniel's in trouble this time!" a massive mountain of flesh exclaimed.

"..."

The entire hall suddenly erupted into an uproar!