"When practicing, the power of a Cannon Fist strike must be fierce, but remember one thing: if it isn't a real combat situation, always hold back some of your strength.
This will effectively protect your arms; otherwise, you can easily pull a muscle..."
Inside the training room.
Chen Wu's voice rang out continuously.
He moved among the students, correcting their form.
After these few days of practice,
at a glance, the students at least looked the part, and their shouts were endless.
Of course, that was only at first glance.
A closer look would reveal that some people's movements were still riddled with mistakes.
As he thought of this,
his gaze couldn't help but fall on a certain figure.
It was a young man with delicate features.
It was Song Jian.
Compared to the others,
this person's progress was astonishingly fast.
In just a few short days,
he had learned all the moves of Mixed Martial Arts.
Such aptitude, even with his many years of experience as a coach, could only be described as genius.
Besides him,
there was another person.
As this thought crossed his mind,
he looked up at the silent, serious-looking young man near the back.
He had been observing this person's performance for days; he was the most diligent of the group.
Unfortunately, his aptitude was lacking. Even now, his movements were still somewhat stiff.
Hu Qi was unaware of Chen Wu's thoughts.
After activating the paper crane service, he paid the fee the very next day.
After receiving two sets of Red Scale Club Martial Arts Uniforms, he became an official student.
Right now, his expression was focused.
But if one were to look closely, they would find his gaze fixed on a certain point in front of him.
[Host: Hu Qi]
[Status: Normal]
[Skill: Mixed Martial Arts (Entry-Level) △]
...
[Modification Points: 3]
'It's finally done!'
Looking at the panel—or to be precise, at the Entry-Level Mixed Martial Arts entry,
Hu Qi let out a long sigh.
After so many days of practice,
he had finally reached the Entry-Level for this thing.
Seeing the triangle symbol that appeared after it, indicating it could be upgraded,
he didn't upgrade it immediately.
Instead, he glanced at the other students around him.
Hu Qi used the excuse of needing the restroom and left the training area.
He entered the restroom.
After locking the stall door, he sat on the toilet lid and turned his gaze to the panel.
'Crimson, modify Mixed Martial Arts!'
This time, unlike when he modified the Nourishing Essence Breathing Technique, he didn't imagine raising it all the way to Perfection.
Instead, he only wanted to raise it by a single layer.
BUZZ!
The panel trembled slightly.
It was just like what happened before.
In just an instant,
the text on the panel changed.
[Mixed Martial Arts (Proficient)]
At the same time,
a flood of images poured into Hu Qi's mind—memories of him practicing Mixed Martial Arts over and over.
He raised his palm and clenched his fingers into a fist.
A feeling of fullness and power welled up inside him.
He felt as if his strength and physique had grown.
At this thought,
his eyes lit up.
He looked at the Modification Point value at the very bottom of the panel.
It had decreased by one point!
Hu Qi immediately focused on the skill again.
The text blurred for another instant.
[Mixed Martial Arts (Minor Achievement)]
More memories surfaced in his mind.
He closed his eyes for a moment to absorb them.
He raised his hand and threw a punch into the empty air.
CRACK!
A deep crack of bone and sinew echoed in the restroom stall!
Fortunately, since class was in session, the restroom was empty.
Otherwise, the sudden noise might have startled someone.
'This feeling... it's exactly the same as if I'd trained to get here myself!'
Hu Qi's eyes glinted as he looked at the panel.
—
[Mixed Martial Arts (Minor Achievement)]
[Modification Point: 1]
'Can't I upgrade it anymore?' Hu Qi felt a pang of disappointment as he noticed the triangular Rune, which indicated an available upgrade, had disappeared.
He had originally thought he could raise it directly to Great Success. After all, upgrading the Nourishing Essence Breathing Technique from Entry-Level to Perfection had only cost three Modification Points.
However, when used on Mixed Martial Arts, they could only raise it to Minor Achievement.
'If I were to explain this using game logic, it must be because Mixed Martial Arts is of a higher quality than the Nourishing Essence Breathing Technique. Then again, that might not be it. It could have something to do with the Modifier's mechanics. For now, all I can do is guess.'
TAP, TAP...
Just then, the sound of footsteps and conversation came from outside.
Hu Qi caught the sound the moment it appeared.
After his Mixed Martial Arts broke through to Minor Achievement, his five senses seemed to have become much sharper.
He immediately reached out and pressed the flush button behind the toilet seat.
Amidst the sound of a powerful flush, he opened the door, hitched up his pants as if he had just finished, and walked out.
...
Inside the training room.
It was break time, so some students were gathered in small groups, chatting and laughing. A couple of them, however, were still practicing on their own.
Chen Wu stepped out and walked over to a window in the hallway. He pulled a cigarette from his clothes and started smoking.
"Chen Wu, how's it going? Any promising prospects in this batch of students?"
Just then, a mocking voice suddenly sounded behind him.
Hearing this, Chen Wu frowned slightly and turned his head.
He saw a slender man with shoulder-length hair and an effeminate face standing behind him.
Seeing him, Chen Wu didn't reply. His chest puffed out slightly as he took a sharp, deep drag on his cigarette.
Instantly, the lit end of the cigarette dangling from his lips glowed bright red, burning down rapidly.
The next moment,
he opened his mouth and exhaled, sending a plume of white smoke straight into the long-haired man's face.
"He Chi, if you're itching for a fight, I can oblige you!"
"COUGH COUGH... You..."
The long-haired man, He Chi, was caught off guard by the face full of smoke. He couldn't help but cough twice, his expression turning ugly.
He wanted to say something, but seeing the eager look in Chen Wu's eyes, he seemed to recall their previous fights and simply let out a cold snort.
"We'll see how long you can act so arrogantly. It won't be too late for us to fight again after the rewards for this performance evaluation are handed out!"
With that, he turned and quickly left.
Chen Wu watched his retreating back. The man was one of the club's coaches, a colleague, so to speak.
There was no deep-seated hatred between the two of them, just some disputes over the allocation of resources.
But He Chi's strength was no match for his, and every time they fought, He Chi ended up losing.
Over time, the conflict between them had only deepened.
Chen Wu had a good idea why He Chi had sought him out so brazenly this time.
He'd heard that among the new recruits He Chi was training, there were two with excellent aptitude.
According to the higher-ups' evaluation system, the stronger the 'seeds' one provided, the greater the resource rewards.
As coaches, they could also benefit from this, perhaps even getting a chance to glimpse that legendary Realm within their lifetimes.
At this thought, an intense heat of longing flashed in the depths of Chen Wu's eyes.
Then he shook his head.
'Unfortunately, among the students I'm training this time, only Song Jian has decent aptitude. There's probably no hope...'
With this thought, he turned and walked toward the training room.
CRACK!
Suddenly, just as he was stepping over the threshold into the training room, a deep, crackling sound abruptly rang out.