Does the Martial Arts Hall Provide Food?

"You're here to apply for the sparring partner job?" In a spacious room with a mahogany style, a short man sat in a large leather chair. He was about forty years old, with a thin face showing stubble that had been shaved. His wide martial arts uniform made him appear particularly small. Coupled with the shrewdness in his eyes and a slightly sharp voice, it was hard to associate him with a martial arts hall; he seemed more like a shrewd businessman.

"Yes," Mu Fan lowered his eyelids and leaned forward slightly.

"I am Chanisen, a middle-level manager of the Starfall Martial Arts Hall. The second and third floors are exclusive areas for our VIP clients. Your task as a sparring partner is to be a practice target for the guests, in other words, a sandbag, because you cannot fight back. The salary is paid daily, 500 Star Coins per day. Any tips given by guests are yours personally. The martial arts hall provides food and daily treatment. If you are accidentally disabled, there will be a one-time compensation of 30,000 Star Coins with no other responsibility. Heh~~ If you accept, sign here." After speaking, he picked up a contract from the table and threw it over.

Mu Fan looked at the contract in front of him. To put it plainly, it was just two simple pieces of paper. After scanning it to confirm everything was correct, he signed his crooked name.

"Tear off your copy of the contract, Man Kun. Take this kid to the first floor to take a shower, change clothes, and then tell him the specifics. He'll start work officially this afternoon."

"Yes, boss."

When the mahogany door closed, Chanisen rubbed his chin and chuckled softly, "Another foolish kid. Is money that easy to earn? The sandbags in the martial arts hall are a bit insufficient these past few days, tsk~"

Taking the elevator back down the same way, they reached the first-floor lobby. Turning right at the exit, Man Kun pointed to a row of rooms ahead and said, "Those are the shower rooms. Kid, pick any one and go take a shower first. You smell too much of engine oil. I'll get you a set of training clothes to change into later. This is provided free of charge by the martial arts hall."

Ten minutes later, Mu Fan stood at the lobby entrance wearing a gray training uniform. Man Kun walked over and his eyes lit up. "Kid, you look sharp!"

Mu Fan was already tall, and the clean training uniform made him appear even more upright. With the oil and dirt gone from his face, the youthful vigor unique to young people radiated from him. His eyes were bright and resolute. Standing there, he was like a cheetah poised to strike.

"First, go to Training Ground 5. I'll explain the basic steps for a sparring partner, and then we'll do some anti-strike training. This money isn't as easy to earn as you think. I don't want you to end up disabled."

Training Ground 5, the training area specifically for Starfall Martial Arts Hall staff, was already lively. A group of people also wearing gray training uniforms were sparring with each other.

"Haha, is this a rookie? Not even twenty yet, coming here at such a young age to earn disability compensation? Hahahahaha." A burly man with a scar on his forehead, standing at least 1.9 meters tall, easily handled the attacks in front of him with a single arm holding a punch mitt. As he casually scanned the area, he spotted Mu Fan being led by Man Kun. Seeing his thin frame, he couldn't help but laugh loudly.

"Jerff, shut your stinking mouth. If you want to make money in the martial arts hall, be honest. If you mess up the boss's business, you know the consequences." Man Kun's gaze swept over the burly man, and by the end of his words, a chill had permeated the air. Jerff was a troublemaker among the martial arts hall's sparring partners. He was thirty-three years old this year and came from a mercenary background. Later, he angered someone he shouldn't have by ruining a client's business, and since then, he had withdrawn from the life of licking blood from a knife. Because he had a lot of strength, he came to the Starfall Martial Arts Hall two years ago. Due to his outstanding Physical Standard of level 13, which was much higher than the current average of level 6 for ordinary people, and his rich combat experience, Jerff had never been seriously injured and gradually gained some fame in the sparring circle. Now everyone was warming up, and Jerff, who had always had a vicious and belligerent mouth, naturally wouldn't miss the opportunity to have some fun when he saw Mu Fan.

"Hmph, kid, if you're scared, hurry up and get lost. Four guys like you have already been beaten disabled before. But you can't leave even if you want to, you must have signed the contract, right? Fight at least three matches first, little rookie, hahaha." Jerff stared at Mu Fan again, then turned around and laughed loudly.

Mu Fan calmly glanced at Jerff and then withdrew his gaze. Jerff seemed angered by this dismissive attitude. With Man Kun present, he couldn't flare up, so he roared at the person hitting in front of him, "Damn it, why are you like a woman, soft like a puddle of water, use force!! Use force! Like a mosquito, you're really useless!"

Walking to an empty space on the side, Man Kun stopped and took out a handheld punch mitt from the wooden cabinet next to him, tossing it to Mu Fan behind him. "Kid, hold it properly, hold it steady with both hands. First, practice sparring with the punch mitt. The guests in the martial arts hall have varying punch strengths. This is the only tool to protect yourself. If you don't hold it properly and it slips, you could be seriously injured. Come, try it."

Mu Fan took the punch mitt, put it on his right forearm, and swung it. Then he bent his elbow and held it vertically in front of his chest. He didn't use his left arm to support it, but kept it loosely by his side just in case.

"Heh, kid, you're being overconfident. Let me teach you a lesson first." Man Kun had a Physical Standard of level 11. The instantaneous explosive punch force for the Federation's level 6 Physical Standard was 75kg, followed by 150kg, 250kg, 400kg, 600kg, and 850kg corresponding to levels 7 to 11. After that, the standard increased by 50kg for each level. Seeing that Mu Fan didn't follow his instructions, he couldn't help but feel a little annoyed. His appreciation for this kid didn't mean he wouldn't discipline him. If he encountered someone who hit hard, not holding it steady with one punch could lead to a serious arm injury.

Man Kun held back half of his strength, suddenly turned around, and quickly threw a punch, intending to knock Mu Fan back and teach him a lesson.

Bang A muffled sound like hitting worn leather. The expected feeling of being repelled by a heavy punch didn't appear. Man Kun frowned. Mu Fan stood steadily in front of him, his right leg slightly bent, his left foot at a right angle diagonally placed. His entire body, except for his right arm and the scattered hair on his forehead, didn't budge at all.

Hiss I've found a treasure. Man Kun knew exactly what this meant. He didn't expect such strength in that thin body. Being able to easily withstand a punch at the level 9 standard meant his overall standard wouldn't be lower than his own!! Interesting!

"Good kid, I underestimated you. Pay attention yourself. There are equipment over there you can train with, or you can train with others. Do you have anything else to ask?" Man Kun pointed to the group of people to the right. Dozens of meters behind them were various pieces of equipment piled up.

"Yes!" Mu Fan's voice suddenly rang out, strong and powerful, even surprising Man Kun.

"Speak."

"Does the martial arts hall provide meals?" Mu Fan's eyes suddenly shone with a fervent light.

"Yes, breakfast and lunch are provided by the martial arts hall, dinner is on your own." Man Kun looked at Mu Fan with a strange expression. Was there anything strange about that?

"Then can I eat first before going to work?"

"Of course you can. In another hour, you can go to Restaurant 3 for lunch. There's an hour and a half break for lunch. Then be here on time to gather, and I will assign your sparring tasks for the afternoon. If you are more than five minutes late, you will be fined 50 Star Coins. If you are more than 30 minutes late without a reason, you don't need to come anymore." Man Kun felt uncomfortable looking at the heat in Mu Fan's eyes and answered as quickly as possible.

"Thanks, I'll go train now. You can hit again later."

Man Kun watched the young man in front of him suddenly seem to gain motivation, completely different from his previous calm demeanor. He chuckled, "I was just giving you a heads-up. Kid, go train over there yourself. I'm going to report today's situation to the boss. Come back after you've eaten your fill at noon, don't be late."

"Okay." Hearing the words "eat your fill," Mu Fan felt a surge of energy throughout his body, even feeling a bit... a bit absent-minded.

Man Kun looked at the young man in front of him, shook his head with a smile, and turned to leave.

Mu Fan walked step by step towards the sandbags and punching machines over there, his eyes a little vacant as he punched the sandbags one after another. "Thump, thump," each hit was unusually rhythmic, but if you stood nearby for a while, you could clearly tell that Mu Fan was spacing out...

***

PS: Thanks to book friend "Dark Purity" for the 1888 reward!