Chapter 39 – Soaring Experience Points

“Try attacking me with your best move.”

“No, the way you delivered that kick was good, but you aimed at the wrong spot.”

“This is the perfect moment to use a punch.”

“Again.”

“Idiot! Have you forgotten why you got hit last time?”

“Bang!”

Lu Yuan lost count of how many times Lin Zhiqin had casually tossed him aside.

Although Lin Zhiqin didn’t use much force, and there were mats on the ground, getting thrown repeatedly still hurt.

Lu Yuan took a sharp breath and stood up from the mat for the nth time, feeling his back and buttocks go numb.

Lin Zhiqin stood less than five meters away, quietly standing there.

He hadn’t moved from his spot at all.

To Lu Yuan, Lin Zhiqin seemed like an insurmountable mountain.

“I have to get past you!”

Determined, Lu Yuan’s demeanor and gaze became intensely focused.

This near-obsessive seriousness was almost unique to Lu Yuan.

At that moment, he seemed to glow faintly all over.

“Bang!”

His foot created a small indentation in the mat, and with a loud sound, Lu Yuan shot towards Lin Zhiqin like an arrow released from a bow.

Raising his right fist.

Body stretching.

Like a fully drawn bow.

His fist was the arrowhead!

Lin Zhiqin remained expressionless, not even glancing at Lu Yuan’s punch.

He casually raised his hand, lightly swatting towards the incoming punch.

But just as their fist and palm were about to collide, Lu Yuan’s fist suddenly retracted.

With his left foot pushing off the ground, his body spun like a top, and he fiercely kicked towards Lin Zhiqin’s… groin?!

Lin Zhiqin’s eyes flickered slightly, and he gently raised his leg to block Lu Yuan’s kick with a “bang.”

But Lu Yuan’s body suddenly closed in.

Both his hands appeared at Lin Zhiqin’s shoulders without warning.

“Coach.”

Lu Yuan, his eyes burning like fire, looked up at Lin Zhiqin from less than half a meter away, a slow smile forming on his lips.

“I’ve got you now.”

As he finished speaking, his expression turned fierce, and he exerted force with both hands.

“Bang!”

A figure was flung out and landed heavily on the ground.

Lin Zhiqin lightly patted his shoulder, his face expressionless as he looked at Lu Yuan, who lay sprawled on the ground, seemingly too exhausted to stand up. “That’s enough for today. Class dismissed. Go take a shower and change your clothes. I’ll be waiting for you in the cafeteria,” he said calmly.

Without looking back, Lin Zhiqin turned and left the training room.

Outside the training room, Lin Zhiqin suddenly stopped in the hallway. He glanced at the creases on his shoulder where Lu Yuan had grabbed him and carefully smoothed them out with his hand.

His usually calm eyes now showed a complex mix of emotions.

“Reached this level in such a short time.”

No one heard this musing.

Lin Zhiqin shook his head and quickly walked away.

Lu Yuan lay flat on the ground, spread-eagle, not wanting to move at all except to breathe. His hair and his martial arts uniform were completely soaked with sweat. Even if Lin Zhiqin hadn’t called an end to the class, he wouldn’t have had the strength to get up.

“What a pity,” Lu Yuan sighed softly.

It was a pity that even with [absolute concentration] in the end, he still couldn’t conquer the mountain that was Lin Zhiqin.

But…

“At least I’ve made significant progress compared to when I couldn’t even touch his clothes and got thrown out. I’ve improved a lot.”

“One day, I will…”

Lu Yuan clenched his fists, wanting to shout a slogan, but then thought it seemed too foolish. So he swallowed the remaining half of his sentence.

He lay on the mat for a good three minutes or so, regaining a bit of strength before he struggled to get up. His whole body ached, as if it might fall apart at any moment.

“It feels worse than after my first intense martial arts training.”

Lu Yuan began to worry if he’d even be able to get up for school tomorrow.

He headed to the changing room and found a shower. Turning on the faucet, warm water streamed down over his head, flowing quickly along the contours of his skin and muscles.

Most of his fatigue was washed away along with the water.

Taking advantage of this moment, Lu Yuan brought up his professional panel.

The Four Attributes remained unchanged.

He focused on the [martial artist] section.

[Profession: Martial Artist Level 4 (348/800)]

[Basic Professional Skills: Basic Body Training Level 4 (120/800)]

[Basic Fist Technique Level 4 (321/800)]

[Basic Leg Techniques Level 5 (Max)]

[Basic Footwork Level 4 (120/800)]

[Basic Grappling Level 3 (335/400)]

[Basic Palm Techniques Level 1 (56/100)]

[Basic Finger Techniques Level 1 (23/100)]

[Basic Professional Skill: Advanced Leg Techniques Level 1 (56/100)]

[Intermediate Profession Skill: Crane Stance Level 1 (5/100)]

[Attribute Points: 1]

[Skill Points: 1]

Almost every skill on the panel had improved, and there were two new skills: “Basic Palm Techniques” and “Basic Finger Techniques.”

“Professional experience has increased by over a hundred, fist technique by over two hundred, footwork by a hundred, advanced leg techniques by fifty-something, and basic grappling by over two hundred!”

Lu Yuan’s eyes widened with excitement as he looked at the soaring experience points in the skill column.

It was like watching the balance in his bank account skyrocket.

Even the experience points for basic body training had increased by more than ten points, likely from all the beatings he had endured.

“This is an enormous gain!”

He now deeply understood what it meant to be guided by a master.

The speed of improvement was like riding a rocket!

Whoever said Lin Zhiqin couldn’t teach was dead wrong—he just hadn’t wanted to teach before!

“If I max out basic body training, I’ll probably gain some constitution points. Maxing out the other five basic techniques should each give me an attribute point. That’s a total of six attribute points!”

“And that doesn’t even include the rewards from leveling up my professional level.”

“It won’t be long before my strength sees a qualitative leap!”

Lu Yuan vigorously wiped the water from his face, his eyes gleaming with excitement and anticipation.

“Hmm?”

Suddenly, he noticed a new change on his professional panel.

On the darkened panel, a new high-ranking light had been illuminated.

It was the crane stance!

“The crane stance is actually classified as an intermediate skill. Impressive.”

Lu Yuan couldn’t help but marvel softly, immediately placing great importance on it in his mind.

With the addition of the crane stance, Lu Yuan had learned a total of three new skills today.

“Looks like I’ve got more to practice now.”

After hastily finishing his shower and changing clothes, Lu Yuan headed to the dining room of the martial arts gym.

The clock on the wall showed it was 9:08 PM.

Lin Zhiqin’s special training had lasted nearly three hours.

At this hour, the dining room wasn’t very crowded, mostly occupied by students who were finished with practice and ready to go home.

“Over here.”

Lin Zhiqin, sitting in a corner, waved to Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan quickly walked over and was surprised to find that Lin Zhiqin had already prepared a meal for him.

The bowl was heaping with food, both meat and vegetables, and the dishes were a notch or two better than what Lu Yuan usually ate at the gym.

Moreover, it was clear that the meal had been nutritionally balanced.

“You need to keep up with nutrition as well. When you have free time, you can study it yourself. Next time, I won’t prepare your meal for you.”

Lin Zhiqin hadn’t eaten; he only had a bottle of water in front of him.

“Got it.”

Lu Yuan nodded and sat down to eat. He was indeed starving.

At his age, he was still growing and had expended a tremendous amount of energy, leaving him completely drained.

As he ate, Lin Zhiqin suddenly handed over a black card.

Lu Yuan looked at the card in confusion, then heard Lin Zhiqin say,

“After you’re done eating, go to the second floor and have someone arrange a therapeutic massage for you. Your training load will be heavy from now on, and if you don’t take care, it’s easy to develop hidden injuries. Additionally, the crane stance requires the use of a secret ointment for the best effect.”