Chapter 42 – Overambitious

“Xiao Yuan?”

Knock, knock, knock—

“What are you doing? Why aren’t you asleep yet?”

“I-I’m going to sleep right away, Mom!”

Zheng Qiuling, standing at the door, hesitated for a moment before reaching for the doorknob. But just as she did, her phone buzzed in her pocket, and she quickly retracted her hand.

“Are you coming home to sleep tonight?”

Hearing his mom’s voice gradually recede towards the bathroom, Lu Yuan, who was lying on the floor with his teeth clenched, finally relaxed, letting out a series of pained groans.

The sensation of his muscles tearing surged through his body in waves.

At this moment, he could barely move even his little finger.

“Hu—hu—”

Lu Yuan took deep, heavy breaths as he stared up at the ceiling in disbelief.

“I actually managed to complete all eighteen moves of the crane stance in one go?”

Level 3 [absolute concentration].

It had brought him into an unprecedented state of deep focus.

It felt like instinctively committing to doing something seriously.

All those subconscious thoughts of “doubt,” “impossible,” and “I can’t do this right now” were completely blocked out.

Until the task was genuinely accomplished.

“Incredible.”

Lu Yuan exclaimed in amazement, his physical pain unable to overshadow the joy and astonishment in his heart.

“So, if one’s concentration reaches a certain height, it can also be considered a superpower, right?”

Nothing can stop someone who is extremely serious.

This thought suddenly popped into Lu Yuan’s mind.

The pain subsided a little.

Lu Yuan struggled to prop himself up from the floor and leaned against the edge of the bed.

Taking advantage of the brief recovery, he opened his professional panel.

[Profession: Martial Artist Level 4 (370/800)]

[Basic Professional Skills: Basic Body Training Level 4 (200/800)]

[Intermediate Profession Skill: Crane Stance Level 1 (29/100)]

The experience points had mainly changed for these three.

The professional experience points for the [martial artist] had increased by twenty-two.

The experience points for the crane stance had gone up by twenty-four.

And the basic body training had seen the largest increase, a full eighty points!

This was the result of Lu Yuan’s grueling strength training over several days.

“It’s like I’m cheating.”

Lu Yuan couldn’t help but smile wryly.

But this kind of “cheating” came at a high cost.

At least for tonight, he couldn’t do any additional training.

He decided to just crawl into bed and lie there.

Closing his eyes, he activated [Imaginary Enemy] to start simulated combat training in his mind.

The next day.

Jiaoyan No. 4 Middle High School, Senior Year 2, class three.

The noisy and joyful time between classes.

“Whoa, Lu Yuan. Did you get yourself a full back plaster?”

Cheng Peng curiously tugged at the collar of Lu Yuan’s uniform, revealing a dense array of medicinal plasters underneath, and exclaimed in shock.

“Shut up, you idiot!”

Lu Yuan brushed his hand away and gave him an annoyed glare.

Cheng Peng, however, was genuinely concerned. He put an arm around Lu Yuan’s shoulder and advised earnestly, “Dude, it’s fine to practice martial arts, but don’t overdo it. The final exam is coming up, and everyone else is putting their hobbies aside to focus on studying. But you, you’re training harder than ever.”

“Even if I stop paying attention in class from now on, and take the exam with my eyes closed and write with my feet, I’d still score higher than you. So don’t lecture me about studying.”

Lu Yuan replied lazily.

“Wow, that’s insulting!”

“By the way, aren’t you dating someone? Which class is she in? What’s her name? When will you introduce us?”

Lu Yuan switched topics, starting to ask Cheng Peng about his personal life.

At the mention of this, Cheng Peng’s face lit up with a smug expression.

“Definitely, I’ll introduce her soon.”

Halfway through his sentence, Cheng Peng’s expression suddenly changed. He grabbed a textbook and started rambling, “Lu Yuan, can you help me with this problem?”

Puzzled, Lu Yuan looked towards the classroom door.

There was no teacher in sight.

And besides, it was still break time.

Suddenly.

A pink hairpin drifted past Lu Yuan’s eyes like a cloud.

Only then did Lu Yuan “get it,” but his brows furrowed.

“Haven’t you already started dating someone? Why do you still care so much about Ling Yue?”

“I just don’t want her to find out.”

Seeing Cheng Peng’s evasive eyes and hesitant demeanor, Lu Yuan could easily understand what was going on in his mind.

Even though Cheng Peng was already dating someone, he hadn’t completely let go of Ling Yue and still harbored some unrealistic fantasies.

Ring, ring, ring•

At that moment, the bell signaling the start of class rang. Lu Yuan waved his hand, shooing Cheng Peng away.

“Go, go, go.”

He couldn’t care less about Cheng Peng’s trivial issues.

Lu Yuan casually opened a textbook in front of him, but his thoughts were entirely on his martial arts training.

Last night, he had fought eight battles in the consciousness combat.

Two battles against the middle-aged man in the rainy alley, four against Lin Zhiqin, and two more in the martial arts gym’s second-floor corridor against Coach Qin.

With an increase in his intelligence points, the number of times he could activate [Imaginary Enemy] had indeed risen significantly.

The practical combat training with Lin Zhiqin had also shown remarkable results.

He could now comfortably secure a victory against the middle-aged man in the rainy alley within his consciousness space.

But Lin Zhiqin remained an insurmountable mountain.

And Coach Qin was even more so.

No matter what method he used to trigger the battle, the result was the same.

He was effortlessly defeated by Coach Qin in a single move.

“Lin Zhiqin uses his fists, striking the temple, while Qin Feng uses his fingers.”

Lu Yuan subconsciously touched his throat.

Qin Feng was Coach Qin’s full name.

In fact, Lu Yuan wasn’t sure if it was really a finger strike or a palm strike.

All he knew was that his vision blurred, and then he was “dead.”

But one thing was certain.

“Just like Lin Zhiqin, that move is a powerful killing blow they both master!”

Lu Yuan kept “dying” in the consciousness space, partly because he hoped to steal these two moves.

However, this idea was overly ambitious and unrealistic for his current level.

“I should focus on mastering the basics first.”

Lu Yuan shook his head. As he turned the page, he inadvertently strained the muscles in his arm, making him gasp in pain.

Last night, using Level 3 [Absolute Concentration], he had practiced all eighteen moves of the crane stance in one go.

The aftereffects were significant.

God knows how many muscles he had torn.

Thankfully, he had a healing massage at the martial arts gym before returning home, and the Sky Water Stream secret ointment hadn’t fully dissipated yet.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to get out of bed this morning.

On his way to school, he stopped by a pharmacy and bought several boxes of medicinal plasters for his injuries.

Whether they worked or not, at least he felt psychologically comforted.

“Lu Yuan.”

On the platform, the Physics teacher, who was explaining a test paper, noticed Lu Yuan’s discomfort. Adjusting his glasses, he asked with concern, “Are you feeling unwell? Do you need to go to the infirmary? If necessary, you can go home and rest.”

“Mm.”

Lu Yuan thought for a moment and decided not to refuse. He closed his book and stood up, heading for the classroom door.

After a few classes in the morning, he had realized something.

With his intelligence points now at 11, the knowledge being taught at school was no longer sufficient to meet the requirements of his [student] profession.

The experience points gained from a single class were negligible.

Staying here was a complete waste of time.

“Might as well discuss with the head teacher about letting me study at home for the last two weeks. In the afternoon, I’ll go to the bookstore to buy some higher-level textbooks. The effect of self-study might be better.”

Lu Yuan calculated silently.