Chapter 7: The Proof Battle with the Boxing King

Sunlight filtered through the glass windows, illuminating the room and creating a brightly lit, whitish area.

Dust motes gently floated in the air, resembling countless dancing sprites.

A bead of sweat trickled from his chin, dropping onto the worn red pine floor.

Fang Cheng raised his left hand and wiped his sweaty face.

Then he tightened the muscles in his thighs and abdomen, bending his knees into a squat, continuing his training.

"..."

"71."

"72"

"73."

"74."

When he counted to 74, Fang Cheng's eyes blazed with intensity, and he let out a low shout from his parched throat:

"Got it——"

The panel in front of him lit up, displaying a series of notification messages.

[You've pushed your limits while practicing deep squats, reaching a certain level of profound understanding]

[Unlocked Skill: Deep Squat lv0 (0/100)]

[You've challenged your limits, triggering your body's self-protection mechanism]

[Potential Activation cooldown period has ended, prerequisites met]

The screen flickered continuously.

Intense pain, like needles, spread down to his calves and wrapped around his waist and hips.

Soreness, stiffness, and rapid breathing.

Making his whole body feel like an empty shell with an almost lost connection to his brain.

Just as his legs weakened and he was about to fall.

Snap!

Fang Cheng's palm supported him against the floor, steadying his stance.

Then, straightening his back, he lifted his head from the squatting position and slowly stood up.

"Potential Activation" was taking rapid effect.

The familiar sensation surged like a tide, instantly restoring his physical energy to full.

The Gold Medal Technician logged back on, clearing all negative effects resulted from previous activities.

Especially the creaking sounds from elbow and shoulder joints caused by long periods of doing push-ups were completely eliminated.

His entire body, from head to toe, relaxed completely.

Such an effect, similar to the rejuvenation buff in games.

The term "masterful" barely does it justice, it could very well serve as a lifesaving trump card.

Fang Cheng felt the long-lost "Extraordinary Power".

He suddenly remembered a scene from a video he watched last night.

A Boxing King, when asked by reporters how many sets he trains daily to maintain his punching power and nimbleness.

The Boxing King replied, I never count how many I can do; I only count when my muscles ache, because that's when real training starts.

This sentiment, Fang Cheng deeply understood and agreed with.

Even though today was a day off and he didn't have to work,

He still got up at five in the morning, began to box, and warmed up.

Then, he practiced 10 sets of standard push-ups.

Next, he did 74 deep squats in one go until he was completely exhausted.

The training volume exceeding the endurance of ordinary people also led him to successfully unlock a new skill.

"So..."

"Next, let's prove the results of the training with our fists."

Fang Cheng took a deep breath.

Staring at the display on the skill bar.

[Boxing lv0 (67/100)]

That's right.

He planned to use the practice of Air Attack to push beyond the experience limit.

To accomplish another long-awaited combat skill upgrade.

"Concentration, activate!"

With a silent chant, all background environmental noises were blocked from his ears.

Fang Cheng stared straight ahead as if entering a space that belonged only to him.

No.

There seemed to be a shadow!

A dark-skinned, blurry-faced figure, standing at the entrance.

Nearly touching the ceiling at a height of 1.9 meters.

His thighs muscular like pillars, hands with boxing gloves wielded like two hammers.

As he shifted his shoulders, the latissimus dorsi and trapezius muscles slightly bulged under the flickering light, adding more dimension.

An invisible force seemed to ripple through the air.

There was no fear in Fang Cheng's eyes.

He raised his fists, assuming a high guard stance.

Suddenly, he pushed off with his right foot, lunging forward with his left foot, quickly closing the distance between them.

Hiss!

Accompanying the sharp noise of his shoe scraping the floor, a sprint-step straight punch quickly struck the shadow's abdomen.

Smack!

The shadow's seemingly light slap countered Fang Cheng's sprint-boosted attack.

Immediately following.

The right hand, which had been powering up, curved like a hook aiming for Fang Cheng's jaw.

The front hand, after being thrown, came back with a whooshing sound.

Whizz whizz whizz, three lightning-fast jabs with that hammer-like fist.

Slap block, rear hand hook punch feint, front-hand jab combination!

Less than half a second.

A set of combination skills burst forth in an instant, leaving no chance for the opponent to react.

A profound interpretation of being still like a maiden and moving like a fleeing rabbit.

However.

Fang Cheng's response was surprisingly fast.

As he leaned back to dodge the hook punch, realizing he was exposed, he decisively twisted his waist, taking a large step backward and to the right.

Trying to escape the effective range of the jabs.

But.

Though his mind had turned, his body hadn't managed to complete the action.

Snap!

Like a tangible summit of a fist sweeping past the earlobe, buzzing.

Fang Cheng's footsteps misaligned, a stumble, and he fell on the floor.

The emergency high-difficulty dodging technique he just performed almost strained his own oblique muscles.

If it were a real fight, he might have been knocked into shock by a heavy punch by now.

Fang Cheng propped himself up with his hands and quickly got to his feet.

Then he took a slight breath, raised his fists again, protecting his chin and ribs with his arms.

His eyes blazed like dark red flames burning.

He stared intently at the powerful opponent in front of him, as if facing a nightmare.

"Again!"

Two figures, one tall and one short, one large and one small, tangled non-stop.

Side flash, collision, back flash, fall.

The figure in black was tall and powerful, with disproportionately long arms.

To defeat him, one must risk being KO'd and rush into his range to disrupt his attack distance.

The strategy was correct, but the gap in strength was hard to fill just with tactics.

Moreover, the shadow's skills were so refined that his punches left only afterimages.

Like a high-speed moving stone wall, yet as agile as a dancing bee.

Instantly closing the distance, launching deadly strikes from unbelievable angles.

However.

Fang Cheng wasn't entirely without his own advantages.

With a Spirit Attribute of 18 points, his neural reactions were far faster than most people.

Even the world's Boxing King, famous for his "Butterfly Dance Bee Stings," couldn't match him.

After repeated failures, he adjusted his mindset.

Fang Cheng simply gave up attacking entirely, focusing on defense, honing his dodging techniques.

Even his shoulders kept slightly shaking, his steps interwoven and switched, starting to mimic his opponent's famed move "Butterfly Step".

Da, da-da, da-da-da.

As if a brisk dance tune was played, inside the cramped room, two intertwining figures danced up, rapidly spinning, chasing each other.

..........

"Phew—"

A puff of hot steam burst from his mouth and nostrils.

Fang Cheng's gaze flickered, pulling away from the "nightmare" he was constantly being KO'd by.

His white sports outfit was drenched in sweat without him knowing.

The thermal underwear clung uncomfortably to his skin.

He glanced at the clock on the table, 9:25.

Nearly an hour and a half had passed.

A string of prompt messages also cascaded like a waterfall before his eyes.

[You practiced Air Attack and gained insights, Boxing experience +1]

[You practiced Air Attack and gained insights, Boxing experience +1]

[You practiced Air Attack and gained insights, Boxing experience +1]

.............

Then he looked at his skill bar.

[Boxing lv0 (91/100)]

Practicing Air Attack was indeed efficient and very draining in terms of physical and mental energy.

But seeing the surge in experience points made the fatigue of body and mind seem insignificant.

Fang Cheng's mouth curled into a smile of "masochism".

Recalling the two hours of disc content he watched last night, and combining it with the recent simulated combat experiences, he had many insights.

The Boxing King deserved his title.

He was basically getting pummeled when sparring with him, with no power to fight back.

Fortunately, this opponent was only imagined, with no real pain or damage.

It was perfect for practicing defensive skills when getting hit.

Thinking of this, Fang Cheng felt pleased, yet he couldn't help but wonder -

He always felt his imagination was exceptionally vivid. The imagined adversaries in his Air Attack practice were too realistic.

Those breathing sounds, that sense of pressure from the exchanges, felt like they were real rather than illusions.

Fang Cheng guessed this must be linked to his high Spirit Attribute.

On second thought, it seemed worrying.

If the higher the Spirit Attribute, the more realistic the hallucinations,

then what if he eventually couldn't distinguish between reality and his mental fabrications? Could that not potentially turn him into a paranoid?

Shaking his head and smiling, Fang Cheng temporarily dismissed this slightly far-fetched concern.

He walked slowly around the room, kicking his legs, swinging his arms, doing relaxation exercises he learnt from boxing classes.

After resting for half an hour and allowing his spirit and strength to recover slightly, he continued employing his Concentration Skill.

"This time, my opponent is Coach Hu!"

Watching the familiar figure gradually emerging in his view, Fang Cheng raised his fists, his eyes once again settled.

Da.

He stepped forward with his left foot, a leap forward, launching a probing jab...

Maybe because he had the Boxing King as a reference.

Comparatively, the fight with Coach Hu felt less pressuring, much more relaxed.

Initially, he focused similarly on defense, tirelessly practicing skills like back flash, shake flash, side flash, slip step, surrounding steps.

Gradually adapting to the opponent's rhythm, he found some opportunities for counterattacks, decisively landing several punches on the opponent's face and abdomen.

His confidence greatly boosted, his body also began to relax.

Slowly, his punches became more fluid and coordinated, and even the initially novice Butterfly Step grew increasingly proficient.

Hence, he boldly executed all the moves he remembered from watching the discs last night.

The exchanges between them were not one-sided like before.

If counted by points, Fang Cheng was only slightly behind by half a point.

This was the benefit of battling top-tier masters.

Not only was his progress rapid, but his vision was also completely different from ordinary students.

"Phew—phew—"

Lost in diligent practice, the panel in front of him lit up, as if something was rapidly glowing and expanding.

Fang Cheng immediately gasped for breath, stopping his attacking steps.

The phantom swiftly disappeared from his sight.

Several new prompt messages subsequently emerged.

[You diligently practiced boxing, mastering the techniques, moving from Beginner Level to Expert Level]

[Boxing lv1 (0/250)]

[Congratulations on receiving the Enhancement Reward, please make a choice between two enhancement options promptly]