"Xu Cheng, how is it? Have you gotten used to your job as an instructor?" Yu Xiangrong casually asked Xu Cheng with a smile.
Xu Cheng was originally a student of the dojo, but because he had successfully passed the martial arts assessment a few days ago, he was accepted by the dojo as a senior-grade instructor.
Of course, Xu Cheng himself wanted to find a stable job, which was why he accepted Yu Xiangrong's invitation.
Otherwise, given his status as a martial artist, there were better opportunities out there.
"Director, I've been practicing martial arts in this dojo for three years. I'm quite familiar with what the instructors do every day, so it wasn't difficult for me to get used to it," Xu Cheng replied.
In fact, he had been practicing martial arts in a dojo for more than three years; he started practicing martial arts in a dojo over three years before he joined the army. After he finished his military service, he joined this dojo and trained for three years before he became a martial artist.
However, before enlisting in the army, he had not been training in Dojo No. 9. Instead, he had been training in Dojo No. 11 in the East Fourth District.
When Yu Xiangrong saw Xu Cheng's confident expression, he smiled and said, "Alright, then I'll be looking forward to your performance in the future."
"Thank you, Director."
Xu Cheng smiled as well.
As they conversed, the two of them unknowingly arrived at the fist strength test area.
Yu Xiangrong stopped and said, "Xu Cheng, what was your score on the fist strength test?"
"621 points," Xu Cheng replied.
"Very good," Yu Xiangrong praised.
Xu Cheng hurriedly said humbly, "Director, my results are far worse than yours."
Yu Xiangrong was a level three martial artist, while Xu Cheng was only a level one martial artist who had just passed the assessment recently. The difference in the physical fitness levels between the two was quite substantial.
"It's only a matter of time before you catch up to me."
Yu Xiangrong sighed and said, "I've reached the end of my martial arts path. It's all downhill from here. In addition, as I grow older, my physical fitness level will just get worse and worse."
"Director, is it really difficult to break through to rank 4?" Xu Cheng asked.
"It's difficult, very difficult. Moreover, there are big risks involved!"
Yu Xiangrong let out a long sigh and said, "There's a bottleneck before level four is a hurdle, and another before level seven. The hardest one is getting from level nine to Grandmaster. The path of martial arts is not an easy one to walk."
"Sigh, only those geniuses with outstanding levels of talent have the chance of breaking through these bottlenecks and eventually becoming a Grandmaster."
"For people with average talent like myself, level three is already the limit. It's better to stay grounded."
Yu Xiangrong shook his head as he spoke.
Xu Cheng quickly added, "Director, your achievements are already considered outstanding. I would be satisfied if I managed to achieve results like yours in my lifetime."
This was not just flattery, but his true feelings.
Xu Cheng had chosen to be an instructor because he felt that he would not be able to go far on the path of martial arts.
Although the income was a little low, at least it was safe and stable.
"Let's go and take a look over there."
Yu Xiangrong turned to head to the parallel bars test area to take a look.
However, he had just taken a single step when he heard a gasp coming from the fist strength testing machine area behind him.
"F*ck, Lu Heng, aren't you improving a little too fast? You've only been here for a little more than two months. Why is your fist strength higher than mine? I've been training for more than a year, you know."
Hearing this, Yu Xiangrong immediately stopped in his tracks and turned to look in the direction of the voice.
He saw two young men, one tall and one short, standing there. The taller one was speaking to the shorter one with a surprised and envious expression on his face.
Judging from what he said, the young man named Lu Heng seemed to have improved very quickly.
"Lu Heng... It feels like I've heard this name somewhere before."
Yu Xiangrong carefully recollected for a moment and finally remembered that some time ago, a high school dropout had joined the dojo.
Lu Heng's situation had been rather unique when he joined the dojo, so Yu Xiangrong had a clear impression of him.
Most of the people who usually came to the dojo to practice martial arts were either students who finished their education at the junior high school-level, or adults who were already working.
Those who were either still studying in school or serving in the military would not come to the dojo to train.
After all, the dojo's primary purpose was not to train martial artists. Dojos were created to help the public improve their physical fitness levels.
"Interesting. I wonder how much this little guy has improved recently. It sounds like he's made some real progress."
Yu Xiangrong pondered for a moment, then called over a staff member in the distance.
The staff member quickly rushed over to Yu Xiangrong.
"Director, what's the matter?"
"Print out Lu Heng's test results for me, from when he first joined the dojo," Yu Xiangrong instructed. He then added, "It's that high school student who dropped out of high school two months ago."
"Yes, Director."
The staff member immediately left to get the data.
Xu Cheng asked, "Director, there's a high school dropout in our dojo?"
"Yes." Yu Xiangrong nodded. "When I saw his file, I couldn't believe it either."
Xu Cheng asked curiously, "Since he chose to apply for high school, his family background should be quite decent, right? Why did he drop out?"
"His family's conditions weren't that good. His parents worked on a farm in the outer city. He also had a brother who was a soldier and a younger sister."
"Initially, everything was going smoothly. Unfortunately, his parents and brother died one after the other, so he had no choice but to quit school and work. After all, he still has a younger sister to support."
"Doesn't the school provide a subsidy for students with good grades? Were his grades lacking?" Xu Cheng asked.
"Yes, they were not considered top-notch. There was no hope of him getting into university. Moreover, the successive deaths in his family dealt a great blow to him, which affected his results," Yu Xiangrong said with a regretful expression.
Xu Cheng slowly nodded and then sighed, "Given his family's conditions, he shouldn't have chosen to go to high school. It's too risky. It would have been better for him to go to a vocational school."
"Yeah, I think so too," Yu Xiangrong agreed. "All three of his family members did not have safe or stable jobs. He should have picked vocational school instead."
"I guess his family was too ambitious and took too much of a risk."
"In this regard, Xu Cheng, you were much wiser. Every step you took was steadfast and stable."
Yu Xiangrong patted Xu Cheng's shoulder earnestly.
Xu Cheng smiled and said, "Director, I learned all this from you. As a person, the most important thing is to know one's own limitations."
Yu Xiangrong smiled and said, "Actually, most people are aware of their limitations. It's just that some people are ambitious and unwilling to stay mediocre."
As he spoke, he looked at Lu Heng and He bing.
"Lu Heng, this little guy, I'm afraid he's that kind of person."
He did not know the exact reason why Lu Heng had chosen to go to high school, so he could only make a reasonable guess.
Lu Heng's parents and big brother would have been aware of the pros and cons between high school and vocational school, so they likely would not have taken the initiative to ask Lu Heng to go to high school.
Therefore, entering high school was probably Lu Heng's own choice.
Yu Xiangrong could even imagine the scene of Lu Heng persuading his parents, as he debated with them and eventually forced them to agree to his choice.
Willful, insensible, and arrogant...
This was Yu Xiangrong's first impression of Lu Heng.
At this moment, the staff member returned and handed over a document to Yu Xiangrong. "Director, here are the results of Lu Heng's physical examination when he first entered the dojo."
"Alright. You can go back to your work now."
Yu Xiangrong looked at the document in his hand and sent the staff member back.
After quickly browsing through the document, he said to Xu Cheng, "Let's see how much progress this little guy has made during this period of time."