Chapter 114 – The Meeting

[Spirit Crane Body lv2 (48/200)]

After this battle, the experience points for the Spirit Crane Body increased by more than twenty points in one go.

This was much more effective than Lu Yuan’s usual training by himself.

When he practiced the Spirit Crane Body once and then used a stick to hit his body repeatedly, the entire process would only increase his experience points by two or three points.

Taking a barrage of attacks from the Force King’s storm-like output was equivalent to several days of hard training.

“After all, it’s nearly a ton of boxing power. A punch hitting the body not only impacts the flesh but also stimulates Bone Training…”

Although the [Spirit Crane Body] could reflect Lu Yuan’s body training progress to some extent, it was not exactly [advanced body training].

Many of the benefits Lu Yuan received were not fully displayed on the panel.

“I’ll do it like this from now on. Using the opponent’s attacks to help me train my body. Isn’t there a saying that getting beaten up is the fastest way to grow?”

“But not today…”

Lu Yuan rubbed a few spots on his forearm and other places.

These areas were the most frequently hit by the Force King’s attacks, and the bones were already injured.

He needed to recuperate in time to avoid leaving difficult-to-heal injuries in the future.

“The Force King should have started Bone Training, his flesh is exceptionally thick, and his bones are hard as hell…”

Lu Yuan pushed open the door to the Lounge, passed through the public rest area, and headed straight to his private Lounge.

He thought about the last moment on the arena when he used the lv2 [special exertion], fearing that the explosive force might kill the Force King, so he deliberately channeled it into the arena.

It directly blasted a big hole in the high-strength concrete arena.

But the fact that most of the Force King’s body could be embedded in it proved that his head and body were indeed tough enough.

Most likely, he had reached Bone Training.

“The different stages of body training not only have significant differences in physical defense but also seem to lack clear standards for strength and speed…”

“That’s right, different martial arts styles have different focuses.

For example, the Crane Style focuses on speed, and a set of crane stance training mainly increases agility points.

The higher levels of the Spirit Crane Body are probably the same.

Some martial arts sects might focus on strength and defense…”

“Everyone has their own strengths. Unless you get into a real fight, you can’t really know who’s stronger!

General power rankings… are utterly meaningless!”

Lu Yuan opened his locker and took off the mask from his face, placing it inside.

The three-eyed goat head mask had some dust and bloodstains from the previous fight.

Lu Yuan grabbed a tissue and gently wiped it, his mind wandering casually.

“Feast Eater… At this point, Feast Eater should be somewhat famous during the Boiling Night.”

…

“Bang! Bang!”

In the early morning forest, a series of light collision sounds could be heard.

Gradually, the sound transformed into a “thud! thud! thud!” rhythm.

It sounded like someone was hammering a thick wooden board.

“Thud!”

Lu Yuan stopped his hand and carefully inspected the marks on the trunk of a camphor tree in front of him.

At the spot he had just struck, the bark had almost completely fallen off, and the inner trunk was in tatters.

Barely visible were a few faint indentations of finger and palm prints.

Lu Yuan slowly moved his fingers, checking his professional panel.

[Your skill basic finger techniques has gained a boost, experience points +4]

[Your skill basic palm techniques has gained a boost, experience points +3]

[Your skill crane boxing has gained a boost, experience points +2]

[Profession: Martial Artist lv6 (534/3200)]

[Basic professional skills: basic palm techniques lv4 (524/800)]

[basic finger techniques lv3 (334/400)]

After this morning practice session, his experience points for basic finger techniques had increased by more than thirty points, and his experience points for basic palm techniques had also increased by about twenty points.

Crane boxing had the least increase, only gaining single-digit experience points, which made sense since it was an advanced boxing technique.

“Luckily, these are just basic skills. With [absolute concentration] activated, even practicing on a wooden stake yields a decent amount of experience points.”

Lu Yuan picked out the wood chips and fibers from under his nails, bringing them close to his nose to catch a whiff of the pleasant fresh wood scent.

Some tree bark and wood chips were scattered at his feet, along with a few camphor leaves that had been shaken loose.

The camphor tree he had specifically chosen, thick enough for a person to wrap their arms around, now had a noticeably white patch on its trunk, looking somewhat pitiful.

“Maybe I should bring a wooden board or an iron plate for practice tomorrow…”

A wave of guilt washed over Lu Yuan.

If a park ranger saw him damaging the trees like this, he would definitely get fined.

It was all due to the influence of TV shows and novels.

In the novels and TV shows he watched, the protagonist would practice martial arts by relentlessly attacking a large tree.

The more trees they took down, the stronger they appeared.

So, when he came for his morning martial arts practice and saw this grove of camphor trees… he just couldn’t resist.

“The ultimate move of the Spirit Crane Technique that Qin Feng has mastered is related to palm techniques and finger techniques.

If I don’t advance these two basic skills to the beginner advanced level, it will be very difficult to grasp even a bit of it…”

Lu Yuan was currently working on both ends.

On one hand, he was mimicking at the “end point,” and on the other, he was catching up from the “starting point.”

He had no idea when he would achieve any real success.

Taking a deep breath of the fresh morning air, Lu Yuan stepped out of the camphor grove.

He walked along the leisure running path at the edge of the woods, heading out of the park. The dew on his clothes made him feel a cool breeze as it blew past.

It was now 7:15 in the morning, and there were quite a few people out for their morning exercises.

As he walked, Lu Yuan gradually broke into a run.

While running, he consciously controlled the slight undulations of his muscles under his sports jacket.

Since [special exertion] had reached lv2, Lu Yuan’s ability to control his muscles had reached a new level.

He began experimenting with how to better utilize this ability, such as making his muscles appear less exaggerated.

And how to control the activation degree of [special exertion]?

Sometimes, not all opponents needed a triple strength burst to be defeated.

Maybe 1.5 times or 2 times the strength would be enough.

Before he knew it, Lu Yuan had run the several kilometers from the forest park to his home.

With his constitution points at 16, Lu Yuan appeared calm and collected. He didn’t break much of a sweat, as if he had just taken a short walk around the block.

He bought some beef patties, deep-fried dough sticks, and eggs from a breakfast shop on the neighboring street, then slowly strolled back home.

But as he reached the street corner, he saw three or four police officers in blue uniforms standing in front of his family’s small shop.

A police car was also parked by the shop entrance.

What happened?!

Lu Yuan was instantly alarmed and ran over without further thought.

As he approached the door, he saw Zheng Qiuling beaming with joy, holding a middle-aged police officer’s hand, and saying, “You’re all so kind. This is what we should do as good citizens. How could we accept any reward…”

“Uh…”

Lu Yuan was taken aback. Zheng Qiuling spotted him and her eyes lit up. She waved him over.

“Xiao Yuan, you’re back just in time. Come here.”

Lu Yuan walked over calmly. Zheng Qiuling grabbed his hand and, smiling, introduced him, “Come, say hello to the Captain… Captain Ge, this is my son, Lu Yuan. He’s in his senior year.”

At this point, Lu Yuan finally got a good look at the person who had been talking to his mom.

A square face with a slight smile.

Who else could it be but Ge Wenjun?

…

“Lu Xinghua’s report was commendable. The city has decided to honor him as an outstanding citizen of the year, with a special reward of half a million yuan.”

While Zheng Qiuling was busy attending to the shop, Lu Yuan obediently poured tea for Ge Wenjun and spoke to him in a low voice.

He filled a disposable paper cup with tea leaves and hot water, then handed it to Ge Wenjun.

Hearing Ge Wenjun’s words, Lu Yuan was slightly surprised and couldn’t help but ask, “Just for filing a report, there’s a half-million yuan reward? It can’t be that simple, right?”

“Of course, it’s not that simple.”

Ge Wenjun raised the tea cup to his face and gently blew on it, then couldn’t help but compliment, “This tea is really good.”

Lu Yuan couldn’t help but smirk.

Of course, it’s good. Zheng Qiuling had opened the most expensive box of tea leaves in the shop especially for this occasion.

“It’s mainly to reward your efforts. Since you can’t show your face, we’ll let your dad accept it on your behalf. By the way, where is he?”

“He took my grandfather to the countryside. They should be on their way back now.”

Lu Yuan replied casually, thinking about what Ge Wenjun had just said. Then he tentatively asked, “Did Yellow Bear arrange this?”

“I knew you must have had contact with them!”

Ge Wenjun’s eyes lit up, looking as if he expected this all along.

“Naturally, it was their directive. You’re lucky and quite impressive yourself. At such a young age, you already have the chance to interact with them, maybe even join them. From what I can tell, they seem to value you highly…”

Ge Wenjun took a sip of the hot tea from the paper cup, unable to hide his envy and admiration.

“Is it really as good as you say?”

Lu Yuan replied nonchalantly, mainly to gauge how much Ge Wenjun knew about Yellow Bear.

“It’s far better than I can describe!”

Ge Wenjun put down the paper cup and spoke to Lu Yuan with a serious expression:

“Do you think just anyone can get this opportunity? Back when I was in the army, they came to recruit. Even the best person in our unit got eliminated in the interview. This time, even the most ordinary member they sent is treated with utmost respect by the top city officials. What do you think?”

“Got it.”

Lu Yuan glanced at his mom, who looked so happy her smile nearly reached her ears. His gaze softened slightly.

He then turned to Ge Wenjun and said, “I understand the benefits. Did they ask you to pass any message to me?”

Remembering Gao Qing’s earlier “warnings,” Lu Yuan’s eyes flickered. “They’re not going to take me away immediately, are they?”

Hearing this, Ge Wenjun put down the tea cup and gave him a peculiar look.

“How did you know?”

“…”

…

“They’re inside. You can go in yourself. I don’t know who’s looking for you; they just told me to bring you here.”

The police car came to a slow stop by the street, and Ge Wenjun, who was driving, pointed to the direction across the street and turned to Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan looked in the direction Ge Wenjun indicated.

He saw a café named “Manke,” with an entire glass exterior wall, allowing a clear view of the people inside enjoying their coffee.

He scanned the café briefly but didn’t spot anyone familiar near the windows.

“Got it.”

Lu Yuan nodded, said goodbye to Ge Wenjun, and got out of the car, heading across the street on his own.

“Which Yellow Bear member would come to meet me specifically?”

Lu Yuan pondered as he crossed the road.

He only knew two members of Yellow Bear: Zhou Ling and Gao Qing.

Considering the chosen meeting place, the probability pointed more towards the latter.