Static Electricity Control

The next morning.

When Fang Yuan entered the classroom, he noticed several classmates sneaking glances at him and whispering among themselves.

They were clearly talking about him.

Feeling a little puzzled, Fang Yuan touched his face but found no grains of rice or anything else stuck to it.

After he sat down, the fat boy in front of him, "Beef Meatball," turned around and chuckled. "Fang Yuan, I heard you went to work as a sparring partner at a martial arts gym. Did you get beaten up badly?"

The fat boy's name was Niu Dazhi, but because he was shaped like a meatball, he had been given the nickname "Beef Meatball."

Yesterday, at the gym, Fang Yuan had run into a classmate.

There was nothing surprising about word getting around.

Fang Yuan had never intended to hide it. It wasn't anything shameful, so he answered casually, "Yeah. I'm filling in at a gym, but not as a sparring partner. I'm a combat instructor."

Several nearby students gathered around, all talking at once. "Are you that short on money? You're even working part-time as a punching bag? How much do you earn for an hour of getting beaten up?"

"I'm filling in for someone. I don't get paid. Even if there's pay, it doesn't go to me."

Fang Yuan suddenly realized something. He was the one doing the work, so why wasn't he getting the wages?

Of course, it was only a passing thought. He didn't actually make an issue of it.

His classmates kept firing questions at him.

Speechless at these gossip creatures, Fang Yuan looked at Beef Meatball and said, "You've got so much meat on you, you must be able to take a beating. How about I introduce you to the gym as a 'punching bag'? You should earn plenty of pocket money."

Beef Meatball's face darkened at the retort.

Fang Yuan's Rage Points rose a little again.

Han Youwei didn't appear when school ended that afternoon.

Fang Yuan had originally thought she would invite him to spar again.

It was just as well she hadn't shown up. Constantly refusing a beautiful girl's invitations really was going too far.

After school, Fang Yuan went to fill in at the Thunder Martial Arts Gym again.

Once he entered the gym and changed into his martial arts uniform, he began moving barbells and organizing the gym's equipment.

Although he was filling in, he only worked four hours after school each day, which really wasn't enough working time.

However, the Thunder Martial Arts Gym belonged to an old army buddy of Fang Yuan's father, so the owner didn't make an issue of it.

The owner's generosity didn't mean Fang Yuan could take it for granted, so he did as much work as he could.

Whenever there was no sparring work, he helped carry things around and treated it as strength training.

While Fang Yuan was moving barbells, Manager Liu walked over, waving his work notebook. "Fang Yuan, hurry and put on your protective gear. You're up."

He was clearly waving a work notebook, yet he somehow made it look like he was waving a checkbook.

Fang Yuan looked around and asked in puzzlement, "Uncle Zhou and the others haven't gone on yet. It's already my turn?"

After all, Fang Yuan was only filling in and was certainly unfamiliar with the work.

So Manager Liu tried to assign the gym's other instructors first, only putting Fang Yuan on when the other combat instructors were too busy.

Manager Liu explained, "No, this customer specifically asked for you."

"Oh, I see. I'll go put on my protective gear."

Fang Yuan hurried toward the equipment room as he spoke, wondering as he ran whether he already had a repeat customer after only a few days of filling in.

Only when he stepped onto the martial arts platform did Fang Yuan understand what was going on.

"Why is it you?"

Han Youwei wore a neat martial arts uniform, her hair tied back in a ponytail. She smiled. "I had no choice. Every time I asked you to spar, you turned me down, so I could only come to the gym."

"Sorry. It's not that I don't want to spar with you. I really don't have the time," Fang Yuan explained.

"It's all right. When we spar, you really are always helping me improve my martial arts. I feel embarrassed constantly asking for your help, too. If it's your work at the gym, I won't have to feel bad about it."

In fact, when Han Youwei had heard from her classmates that morning that Fang Yuan was working as a sparring partner at a gym, she hadn't thought there was anything wrong with it. Instead, she had been delighted.

Because Fang Yuan's extraordinary insight really was a great help to her cultivation.

"Then let's begin. The gym charges for sparring by the hour," Fang Yuan said with a grin.

"All right. This is my first time at a martial arts gym, so I don't know the rules yet. Tell me about them first." Seeing the protective gear Fang Yuan wore, Han Youwei felt there must be a reason for it.

Fang Yuan pointed at the protective gear on his limbs and waist and explained, "Normally, you can attack any area where I'm wearing protective gear. If I get hurt there, that's on me. Any area without protective gear is off-limits. Under the gym's rules, you have to pay the medical bills if you injure those areas."

After a pause, Fang Yuan added, "But we've sparred at school before, so you can be more relaxed. Don't let those rules restrict you."

"All right, I understand. Here I come."

As Han Youwei spoke, she took an attacking stance, then sprang into a spinning side kick that swept toward Fang Yuan's chest.

Fang Yuan dodged with a Gliding Step. "That kick was fifteen centimeters too low. Forget the gym's rules. Aim your spinning side kick straight at my forehead."

"All right."

Han Youwei answered and launched her second kick, aiming right at Fang Yuan's head.

Fang Yuan used another Gliding Step to dodge while leaning backward, then saw a fair bare foot sweep above his face, the wind it stirred lifting his bangs.

Han Youwei's attacks were fierce, relying primarily on kicks.

Her long legs swept back and forth, her movements as beautiful as a painting.

As Fang Yuan practiced the Gliding Step, he analyzed Han Youwei's martial arts and offered his observations and suggestions.

After a dozen or so exchanges.

Han Youwei asked in confusion, "Why aren't you fighting back?"

"Uh, I forgot to mention that gym instructors aren't allowed to fight back by default, unless the customer specifically requests it," Fang Yuan replied.

"I see. Then I'm asking you to fight back now."

"All right. The customer is God," Fang Yuan said with a grin.

The two began fighting again, trading moves.

Fang Yuan still focused on defense, occasionally counterattacking to force Han Youwei to reserve some strength for defense.

After half an hour of sparring.

Fang Yuan noticed a ring of light appear on his attribute panel. On closer inspection, he found that his Gliding Step had leveled up, becoming: Gliding Step Lv.2 (0/100).

Fang Yuan then tested his Gliding Step and found that his reaction speed and dodging speed had both increased by about 20%.

While checking his attribute panel, he unexpectedly discovered that his Rage Points had begun rising again.

They were jumping by +3, +3, and had already done so several times.

Where were these Rage Points coming from?

Had Han Youwei actually gotten angry from fighting?

Fang Yuan leaned closer to Han Youwei to check her expression, but she was only panting slightly from the strenuous exercise. She wasn't angry.

Just from moving closer, the Rage Points that had been jumping by +3, +3 immediately began jumping by +5, +5.

In the blink of an eye, his Rage Points had risen to 182.

Fang Yuan wanted to see who had contributed so many Rage Points.

He looked around and spotted someone standing below the martial arts platform, staring at him and Han Youwei with eyes that were practically spitting fire.

Of course Fang Yuan recognized him, because he was Li Weilian.

When Fang Yuan spotted Li Weilian, he also saw a faint stream of energy surge out of Li Weilian and enter his own body.

The faint energy looked a little like flames. It was so pale that it was impossible to notice without looking closely.

Clearly, the Rage Points were coming from Li Weilian.

Looks like I really have become a demon that devours anger!

"Want to take a break?" Fang Yuan asked when he saw Han Youwei panting.

Han Youwei shook her head. "I can't get home too late, so I have to make the most of my time. I want to test the Star Slot Trait I recently absorbed. Can you help me?"

"You call the shots tonight," Fang Yuan said with a smile.

"Then let's begin."

As Han Youwei spoke, she attacked again.

This time, however, she no longer used kicks. Instead, she closed in to grapple, using throwing techniques.

She seized Fang Yuan's arm, then leaped up and thrust both legs forward, clamping them around his neck. Twisting her body, she executed a triangle choke and threw Fang Yuan toward the ground.

This move used the strength of the thighs to strangle the opponent.

At full strength, it could snap an opponent's neck with the legs.

Of course, this kind of move required clamping the opponent's neck between the thighs, making the position more than a little delicate.

And Han Youwei had such a wonderful figure that, when she executed the move, her movements were as graceful as a lively mermaid.

With his neck caught, Fang Yuan was just about to counterattack and break free.

Right at that moment.

Han Youwei said softly, "Static Electricity Control."

Bzzzt...

The sound of an electric current flooded his ears. Fang Yuan instantly felt his body go numb, unable to react at all, and Han Youwei slammed him straight to the ground.

The two fell to the ground in an indescribably exquisite position.

It took quite a while for the numbness in Fang Yuan's body to fade.

Just as he was about to free himself from Han Youwei's legs, he suddenly noticed his Rage Points skyrocketing in jumps of +10, +10.

Although he still didn't know what Rage Points were for, they ought to be beneficial to him.

So Fang Yuan kept pretending his body was numb and lay there, letting his Rage Points continue soaring.

Within a few seconds, his Rage Points jumped by +10 more than a dozen times, finally stopping at 412.

Seeing Fang Yuan lying motionless, Han Youwei worried that she had been too rough. She hurriedly helped him up and asked, "Are you all right?"

Fang Yuan sat up and replied, "I'm fine."

"You scared me to death. I thought I'd gone too hard and broken your neck." Only then did Han Youwei let out a breath.

"Am I really that squishy?" Fang Yuan joked.

More concerned about her new ability, Han Youwei asked, "How was the Static Electricity Control I just used? Were you able to analyze any data?"

Fang Yuan took the work notebook hanging beside the martial arts platform, flipped to the back, and set it on the ground to begin writing and sketching.

"The instant you attacked, you released an electric current that entered my body. Within 0.3 seconds, my body went numb. I couldn't move at all, and I could hear an electric buzzing in my ears."

The two sat cross-legged on the martial arts platform. Fang Yuan began explaining, while Han Youwei listened attentively, nodding as she listened.

"If I'm not mistaken, your Static Electricity Control requires physical contact to activate. Is that right?" Fang Yuan asked.

Han Youwei nodded. "That's right. It requires physical contact."

"After the current entered my body, I was paralyzed for 2.1 seconds..." Fang Yuan wrote the figure in the notebook.

Han Youwei frowned in confusion and asked, "Only 2.1 seconds? You seemed to be lying there for a long time."

"Ahem..."

Fang Yuan coughed twice and changed the subject. "That's not important. You need to trust my judgment. The paralysis lasted 2.1 seconds. However, we still don't know whether the duration is affected by the target's attributes. If you can display Static Electricity Control on the surface of your body, I might be able to give you more accurate data."

Without hesitation, Han Youwei raised her hand and gathered a ball of static electricity in her palm.

Fang Yuan guided Star Power into his eyes and tried to examine the ball of static electricity.

Soon, an attribute box appeared above it.

[Static Electricity Control: A superpower trait from the Rift Electric Eel. Through physical contact, it can send an electric current into the target's body, paralyzing it. The paralysis effect depends on both parties' Spirit attributes and Star Power levels.]

"So that's it. This trait is related to Spirit attributes and Star Power levels." Fang Yuan stated the conclusion directly.

After they finished discussing the effects of "Static Electricity Control."

Han Youwei looked up at the clock on the wall and hurriedly stood. "It's eight thirty. I have to go home. Thank you for today. See you tomorrow."

Fang Yuan waved goodbye to her and watched her leave the gym.