Chapter 15 – You Experienced a Battle, Professional Experience Increased

The ultimate goal of practicing martial arts is real combat.

Lu Yuan asked Cheng Peng to spar with him. Besides wanting to better master the three basic martial arts techniques through actual combat, he also wanted to test a theory of his through this fight.

In the hall of the martial arts gym, the two young men, once again dressed in their martial arts uniforms, stood facing each other.

It was about an hour before lunchtime.

Most of the students had gone home after class, but a few stayed behind for extra practice.

There were quite a few people in the training area, and Lu Yuan and Cheng Peng occupied a small corner, barely noticeable.

Cheng Peng was a few centimeters taller than Lu Yuan and looked quite robust from years of martial arts practice.

His naturally curly short hair and bronze skin gave him a more rugged appearance compared to the average senior high school student.

“You asked for this. Don’t cry if you get beaten,” Cheng Peng said, cracking his knuckles.

“You talk too much,” Lu Yuan replied calmly.

“Hey, I’m going to make you call me dad,” Cheng Peng shouted as he charged at Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan took a deep breath, his eyes fixed on Cheng Peng’s movements.

The moves of the three basic martial arts techniques flashed through his mind.

He sidestepped to the left, trying to dodge Cheng Peng’s charge, and then took the opportunity to punch at Cheng Peng’s head.

Since this was a real sparring match, both of them were wearing protective gear.

There was no worry about accidental injuries, so Lu Yuan attacked without hesitation.

“Heh heh—”

As Lu Yuan threw his punch, he heard Cheng Peng chuckle.

Before he could react, he felt his right hand, which he had used to punch, being tightly grabbed by Cheng Peng’s two hands.

Cheng Peng then turned, positioning his back against Lu Yuan.

Then a powerful force surged through.

“Fly for me!”

Lu Yuan’s body left the ground uncontrollably, as if soaring through the clouds.

He was firmly thrown to the ground by Cheng Peng’s back throw.

“Thud—”

The fight ended in less than a minute.

“How about it? Admit defeat? Aren’t you going to call me dad yet?”

Cheng Peng stood with his hands on his hips, looking down at Lu Yuan with a somewhat smug expression.

But when he saw that Lu Yuan hadn’t gotten up from the ground after several seconds, he immediately started to panic.

“Whoa, Lu Yuan, are you okay?!”

“I didn’t even use much force; don’t tell me I hurt you!”

Cheng Peng hurriedly reached out to help Lu Yuan up.

“I’m fine.”

Lu Yuan shook his head, his expression somewhat peculiar.

Instead of looking dejected, frustrated, or embarrassed after losing, his eyes were bright, and he seemed even more excited.

[Your skill Basic Fist Technique has improved, experience points +3]

[Your skill Basic Footwork has improved, experience points +4]

[You experienced a battle, professional experience +5]

“I was right!”

“As a [Student], every exam yields much more experience points in basic subjects and professional experience than regular classwork.”

“The same applies to being a [Martial Artist].”

“Experiencing real combat increases experience much faster than practicing alone!”

The basic fist technique and basic footwork he used in the fight had significantly improved in experience points right after the battle ended.

His professional experience also increased by 5 points, almost as much as he’d get from half an hour of intense practice.

Although he had been thrown hard and felt some pain, the humiliation and soreness were nothing compared to the experience points he gained.

“Let’s go again!”

Lu Yuan got up from the ground, his fighting spirit high, and signaled Cheng Peng to continue.

“Again?”

Cheng Peng hesitated.

“The gap between us is too big. Fighting me is just asking for a beating.”

“It’s not as big as you think!”

Without further ado, Lu Yuan threw a punch straight at Cheng Peng’s face.

“Damn, you’re ambushing me?”

Cheng Peng yelped and was forced back into the fight.

Over half an hour later.

Lu Yuan hobbled out of the changing room.

His arms and legs, exposed by his short-sleeve T-shirt, were dotted with light bruises and scrapes, and one of his eyes was red.

“Lu Yuan.”

Cheng Peng cautiously supported him, looking worried as he said, “Don’t blame me for this, okay? You asked for it. If your parents ask, please don’t tell them I bullied you on purpose.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll just say I accidentally hurt myself during training.”

Lu Yuan patted Cheng Peng’s shoulder to reassure him.

At that moment, Lu Yuan felt incredibly happy.

After more than half an hour of sparring practice, he had gained a total of forty points of professional experience.

His basic fist technique had reached Level 3, and the basic footwork he had just learned today had also risen to Level 2.

This efficiency was equivalent to half a day of intense training.

“Let’s continue tomorrow. From now on, spar with me for at least half an hour every day,” Lu Yuan said to Cheng Peng.

“Again?”

Cheng Peng shook his head vigorously, “No way, no way. I can’t bear to keep beating you up.”

“Just consider it me asking for it, okay?” Lu Yuan glared at him. “Or do you want to take back all those times you made me call you dad today?”

“Well…”

Cheng Peng hesitated but eventually agreed reluctantly.

Only then did Lu Yuan nod in satisfaction.

Through this sparring session, he had gained a better understanding of Cheng Peng’s abilities.

Cheng Peng’s speed and physique were probably similar to his own, with a bit more strength, likely around 8 points but not quite 9.

The main difference between them was in their basic martial arts techniques and real combat experience.

As long as he could make up for these two aspects, he might be able to defeat Cheng Peng.

“I haven’t even used [Absolute Concentration] yet.”

Though he had been knocked down over a dozen times in just half an hour, Lu Yuan’s outward calm masked a burning determination inside.

He was set on making Cheng Peng call him “dad” in return.

Additionally, each loss still earned him an average of three to four points of professional experience.

But if he won…

How much experience would he gain then?

Lu Yuan couldn’t help but look forward to it.

June passed swiftly, and July quietly arrived.

The weather in Jiaoyan had become much hotter.

At No. 4 Senior High School in Jiaoyan.

The cicadas’ chirping was interrupted by the piercing sound of the school bell, and the previously quiet campus became lively as students poured out of their classrooms.

“One last check to make sure you’ve written your class, name, and student number,” the proctor on the podium reminded loudly while collecting the test papers.

Lu Yuan flattened his test paper on the desk, put away his ruler and pens, and walked out of the exam room with a calm expression.

Today was the day of the July Monthly Test at No. 4 Middle High School.

The last exam of the day was history.

[Your skill History has improved, experience points +18]

[You experienced an exam, professional experience +8]

Lu Yuan glanced at his [Student] professional panel.

[Profession: Student Level 4 (122/800)]

[Professional Basic Skills: Language Level 4 (23/400)]

[Mathematics Level 4 (33/800)]

[Physics Level 4 (80/800)]

[Chemistry Level 4 (12/800)]

[Biology Level 4 (2/800)]

[History Level 3 (377/400)]

[Geography Level 3 (389/400)]

[Information Technology Level 4 (12/800)]

[Professional Core Skill: Absolute Concentration Level 2 (Active)]

After this exam, even history, his weakest subject, was close to reaching Level 4.

Under the [Student] professional panel, only history and geography among the eight basic subjects had not yet reached Level 4.

“Lu Yuan.”

A soft, somewhat shy voice sounded in his ear.

Lu Yuan turned to see a girl standing in front of him.

With black, waist-length hair and a pink hairpin, her fair skin, delicate features, and slender legs under a blue school skirt made her look pure and charming.

“Do you want to go back to class together? I’d like to compare answers for yesterday’s math exam,” the girl said, nervously tucking her hair behind her ear, avoiding eye contact with Lu Yuan.

“I have something to do this afternoon, so I’m not planning to go back,” Lu Yuan thought for a moment and then politely declined her invitation. “Maybe you can ask someone else.”

“Okay.”

The girl seemed a bit disappointed by Lu Yuan’s response. When she gathered the courage to say something else, she found that Lu Yuan had already turned and walked away.