Chapter 20 Really Impolite

After entering December, the average temperature in East Capital continued to plummet.

Especially at the coldest moments before dawn, a layer of mist condensed on the windows.

In the darkness, suddenly, a piercing ringtone sounded.

Ding-ling-ling— Ding-ling-ling—

Fang Cheng, curled up in his blanket, opened his eyes, his gaze somewhat hazy.

As if he had been forcefully yanked back to reality from a beautiful dream.

He stretched out his hands, rubbed his sleepy eyes, and yawned.

Hearing the alarm clock still ringing, he turned on the light, looked up, and checked the time.

5:01.

A jolt went through Fang Cheng's heart, his eyes instantly becoming clear.

Immediately, he flung off the warm blanket, got up, and stopped the alarm clock.

Then he quickly put on his clothes and pants, slipped on his slippers, opened the bedroom door, and briskly walked towards the bathroom.

The sound of running water, as the tap turned on and the toiling of toothbrush and towel, quickly followed.

After a few minutes of washing up.

Fang Cheng stretched his arms and walked to the living room balcony, pushing the tightly closed windows open to either side.

The cold wind whooshed, carrying ice and rain straight to his cheeks.

Although it stung the skin, it also invigorated the spirit.

Another day of self-discipline began.

On the dark rainy streets at this moment, only a small motel was lit with a red lightbox sign.

Fang Cheng enjoyed the tranquility that belonged solely to him and whispered quietly:

"First, do a set of Deep Squats to warm up."

"Then I'll go for a few rounds of Air Attack..."

After stretching his limbs and muscles, Fang Cheng stood facing the approaching dawn, lifting his left leg, right knee bent.

As his body squatted down, he could clearly feel the thigh muscles tensing up, with the waist and back core also in a state akin to a bowstring drawn tight.

Single-leg Squat's difficulty level is hellish for the average person.

But for the current Fang Cheng, it was just a bit more effort than when he first started practicing standard Deep Squats.

After doing 5, switch to the other leg.

Do 10, and that's one set.

Fang Cheng looked at the prompt info, just in time to add 1 point of experience.

At the same time, he faintly felt a warm current rising from beneath the lower abdomen, constantly driving away the cold imposed by the surroundings on the body.

"It should be enough, the Testosterone is starting to take effect..."

Throwing a punch in the air, followed by a couple of kicks, Fang Cheng carefully felt the changes within his body.

The entire body seemed infused with vitality, completely shedding the sluggishness from waking up early, and the mood began to rise in excitement.

After getting the "Loner" Enhancement effect.

Deep Squats are clearly the best warm-up exercise, bar none!

Fang Cheng stood on the spacious balcony, clenched his five fingers together tightly, and spread his feet front and back.

His gaze was firm as he stared ahead, as if facing an invisible adversary.

Suddenly, his figure moved, closing the distance with the opponent, and the guarding arms immediately powered up.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, continuous hop-stepping left and right Straight Punches, quickly targeting the opponent's face and jaw.

Swish!

Then, a Front Kick intercepts the opponent's counter and fiercely kicks their abdomen.

Pop!

As the right leg hit the ground, he immediately turned and stepped forward, moving to the opponent's weak side.

Twisting the waist and thrusting the hips, another high and swift Whip Kick lashed out.

Soon, Fang Cheng's forehead began to show traces of sweat.

Despite wearing only a thin undershirt and a jacket, the biting cold could no longer penetrate his body.

Blood flowed rapidly, warming up the person quickly and entering into a combat-ready state.

The movements of punches and kicks also went from being slightly rigid to increasingly smooth and coordinated, relaxed and natural.

Every punch and kicking sound proved the fullness of the force exerted.

The four major techniques of Fighting Skill: kicking, punching, throwing, and grappling.

Fang Cheng's boxing and leg techniques are sufficient to claim a basic level of mastery.

Thus, he began to try and link punch and kick movements together, practicing Combination Skills more applicable to actual combat.

If he were to go back to the hospital scene confronting Yellow Hair again.

Fang Cheng figured that without the need for the Iron Fist Effect, just a feint and a high Sweep Kick would be enough to KO the opponent.

Even if the opponent had a folded knife, how could their arms be longer than the legs?

After half an hour.

[You practice Air Attack, gaining some insight, Boxing Skill Experience +10]

Seeing the panel prompt information, Fang Cheng's eyes showed satisfaction, yet a bit of dissatisfaction.

It's a pity ... Air Attack practice can only increase one type of skill experience for now.

Having an expert level of Boxing made it easier for Fang Cheng to learn other Fighting Skills by analogy.

In just three or four days, watching about ten classes.

He successfully mastered the basic skills of Fighting Skill: stances, footwork, boxing, and leg techniques.

To fully unlock this new Skill, he still had to master throwing and Grappling techniques to compensate for weaknesses.

However, these two techniques required a high degree of practical application and lacked a sparring partner, making it impossible to learn by imitation alone.

He couldn't exactly throw himself about for fun, could he?

Therefore, Fang Cheng did not incorporate throwing and Grappling movements into his Air Attack practice.

"Perhaps... I can now apply to be a sparring partner."

In the darkness, Fang Cheng's bright eyes observed the panel Attributes.

After half an hour of Air Attack, summarizing the Physical Training effects.

Constitution increased by a total of 0.02, Strength increased by 0.01, and agility increased by 0.006.

Among them, although the agility attribute improvement was slightly slower, the progress bar reached 94%.

The "Loner" effect on enhancing training efficiency was clearly evident.

And with the continuous accumulation, the strong will get stronger, inevitably forming a snowballing "Matthew effect".

Perhaps one day...

Pure physical training alone could break through the limits of the human body and reach the extraordinary realm of imagination.

Seeing this, Fang Cheng collected his thoughts, his gaze once again calm and steady.

Practicing Air Attack is, strictly speaking, also a warm-up exercise that stretches the muscles.

The most important part of the morning exercise is still physical training.

Next up is even more intense self-discipline!

100 folded knife push-ups.

100 tiger push-ups.

200 Single-leg Squats.

300 flat lying straight leg raises.

.........

"Ha!"

"Ha!"

In the training hall, from time to time, there are exhales helping with the power of students hitting the sandbags.

This morning, the Sanda department didn't arrange any classes, and in the afternoon, there was only one private session and one group class.

Fang Cheng could be said to have some idle time on his hands.

The coach talked about the use of techniques and key points of combination punches and throws in the previous class.

This class was basically the students practicing on the sandbag, with the coach occasionally correcting the sloppy parts of their moves.

The core techniques of Sanda are leg techniques and grappling, which also score high points in the competition.

The saying goes, "Hands are the two doors, all rely on legs to fight. Three parts punching, seven parts kicking."

The problem facing Fang Cheng now is not a specific technical issue.

But rather that he couldn't find anyone to spar with.

Let alone actual combat, without even a punching partner, how could he truly master the skills.

Sometimes, Fang Cheng really felt an impulse.

He thought of grabbing some unpleasant looking hooligans on the street for a beating, just to test his hand.

5:30.

The last class ended.

There was still time before the end of the workday, so Fang Cheng started cleaning up the place early.

After finishing up, he saw Chen Xiaohai standing alone in the smoking area, leisurely smoking a cigarette.

His eyes flickered slightly, so he walked over.

"What?!"

Chen Xiaohai had a surprised look on his face, looking at Fang Cheng.

That expression seemed to reveal his thoughts, I was just saying it casually, but you really took me up on it without hesitation, coming to me with a problem.

Fang Cheng sought out Chen Xiaohai for advice on how to become a sparring partner.

As for the excuse, it was readily available—his grandfather's medical expenses, the family lacking money, and an urgent need to earn some extra cash.

Chen Xiaohai was stunned for a while before hesitantly saying:

"Ah Cheng, being a sparring partner is not an easy job, the club has very strict controls..."

Indeed.

Being a sparring partner is profitable. Calculating at the minimum hourly wage of 500 yuan, fighting twice a day, one could earn thirty thousand a month.

Compared to the monthly salary of less than four thousand for the average wage-earner, it is very tempting.

However, this job isn't something that just anyone can do.

Although it's on a temporary worker basis, the club still needs to bear the medical risks, hence the assessment is extremely strict.

To become a professional boxer, one just needs to pay, success or failure is another matter, it might at most affect the club's performance and reputation.

But becoming a sparring partner can be said to be harder than becoming a boxer in some ways.

The first condition is a strong and sturdy physique, robust enough to take a beating.

Next, one must have trained in boxing and have some technical knowledge.

Lastly, one must be someone the club trusts and have the approval from both HR and the coaching department.

Therefore, many sparring partners are retired professional fighters who know each other well.

Or amateur boxers who came out of the club and didn't get to compete.

Fang Cheng had some knowledge of these circumstances, and then earnestly said:

"That's why I came to trouble Brother Hai, to see if you could help?"

"Well..."

Chen Xiaohai's facial expression became complex.

He had already blown his own trumpet; he couldn't just slap his own face, could he?

Fang Cheng waited quietly.

He could also have asked Xu Maochai for help, but being a sparring partner would inevitably conflict with his regular job.

The other party might find excuses to avoid it, and Fang Cheng did not really want to ask.

Chen Xiaohai pondered for a moment, then suddenly his eyes lit up:

"There is a way, but I'm afraid you might misunderstand."

"Our karate department just received a Japanese player who has been banned from competing; that bastard hits hard and has injured several people in a row, and now no one dares to take his job."

"But the club is still pampering this guy, because he gives a lot of money!"

Having said this, Chen Xiaohai looked up at Fang Cheng.

"You might try applying with HR tomorrow, they have been recruiting recently, and if they can't find a suitable candidate, they might relax the conditions."

"However, it's easy to get injured as a sparring partner, and you should think it over carefully..."

Upon hearing this, Fang Cheng pondered for a moment and asked:

"Does karate also have grappling and throwing techniques?"

Chen Xiaohai was stunned for a moment and replied: "Yes, it does."

Fang Cheng nodded and then smiled: "Thanks, Brother Hai."

There is definitely a risk of injury when working as a sparring partner.

But what in this world can be done without any risk at all?

His gaze was bright as he looked at the skills displayed on the panel.

[Lifting Leg lv0 (83/100)]

He decided to push himself a little harder, to speed up the slow-moving progress bar a bit.

By the time the Lifting Leg Skill successfully advanced to lv1 and he gained some attribute points, undertaking this task should be much safer.