Lin Yuan was startled when he heard this, a sense of unease mysteriously arising in his heart.
He turned back to look at the receptionist and asked, "Sister, what do you mean? I don't quite understand what you're saying."
The clever and handsome young man called her "sister" and asked with a face full of curiosity...
The moment the receptionist heard him, a protective instinct surged inside her, making her almost unable to resist teaching him about the knowledge of adults.
She said softly, "You're still young and inexperienced, so it's normal to be cheated. But even if you're cheated, it's just a loss of some money, isn't being safe what truly matters? It's customary in the Martial Arts Hall to only have one class per week, which is the result of careful consideration. If you attend classes too frequently, it may seem like you're saving money, but excessive training can actually damage your body, potentially affecting your future prospects, which would be a loss not worth the gain."
"No... sister, are you saying that I've been scammed?"
The receptionist asked in surprise, "Don't you know?"
"I read the contract carefully, it should be okay, right?"
"The transfer contract is fine, but didn't you check the original contract?"
Lin Yuan replied, "The original contract is said to be with Zuo Jianqing, and there's Assistant Fang's testimony. I did attend classes, and the instructor didn't treat me differently, treating me like a regular student..."
The receptionist looked at Lin Yuan with even more pity, sighing, "Yes, it's easy to get scammed when you're new and don't understand the ways of the Martial Dao. You probably don't know yet, but though buying and selling classes is allowed, as long as a certain transfer fee is paid, our Martial Arts Hall doesn't mind who attends the classes. However, there's a time limit for the class hours. If you can't finish them within a year, any remaining hours will be void because we accept anyone but not those who fish for three days and dry their nets for two."
She paused, then continued, "It's not the Martial Arts Hall forcing you to finish within a year, but the Nutritional Recovery Agent is strictly controlled. It can only be purchased through official channels, and there's a limit on application frequency. All usage is recorded, so as soon as a student enrolls, we immediately apply for all the required agents for that student. But if there are too many remaining after a year, it affects the next year's application quota. Therefore, there's such a rule."
Lin Yuan realized the truth. It seemed Zuo Jianqing had never attended classes, but his agents had been prepared long ago.
He asked, "So the class hours I bought..."
"Will expire in a month and a half."
The receptionist said softly, "Although you bought over thirty classes and everything was fair, reasonable, and legal, in reality, you just can't finish all these classes. That's why they can acquire these classes at a low price and sell them to you at a high price."
"But Assistant Fang..."
Lin Yuan started to say but then stopped.
Without needing to say it, the other party must be in cahoots, and he might have even received a commission already.
The receptionist explained, "Assistant Fang's cousin is one of the instructors in the advanced classes, a proper Martial Artist. With this connection, generally, no one dares to provoke him. Even if you confronted him, he could completely deny everything, claiming he had informed you about all matters. In such a case, even if you had recorded it beforehand, it would be useless; you would just have to swallow the loss since all the procedures were legitimate."
"So that's how it is."
Lin Yuan thought that pies don't fall from the sky. He believed he had been cautious enough, but it turned out everything was true. The real trap was hidden in what he didn't know.
No wonder people looked at him strangely before.
Lin Yuan formerly thought it was because he had bought second-hand classes and they were somewhat xenophobic... but it turned out, they saw him as a big fool who had been deceived without even being aware of it.
"Thank you, sister. If it wasn't for you, I would still be kept in the dark. When I'm free, I'll treat you to a meal. May I have your phone number?"
As a receptionist, she knew some of the latest news. Since she had shown good will, he wanted to take this opportunity to build a closer relationship, so he could be the first to know any news in the future.
After getting her phone number, he also learned her name.
Lin Rourou.
"Thank you, Rourou sister. I might have to train late tonight, but I'll treat you to a meal this weekend."
Lin Rourou exclaimed in shock, "You're still going to continue with the classes?"
"Yeah... I can't just waste them, can I? Plus, I might have a good foundation. I didn't feel very tired yesterday, and besides, even if I can't finish all the classes, wouldn't it be a waste of the agents? If I hang around until the end of the day, I can still get an agent."
Lin Yuan smiled and went to change his clothes.
But his mood had already turned somewhat unpleasant.
He had been scammed...
There was no doubt about that.
But in a sense, this scam was actually a good thing for him.
Lin Yuan was different from ordinary people, with his Spiritual Power healing ability, not feeling fatigued even if he took a class every day. However, if he really did that, it might raise suspicion.
Now that he had been scammed, he had to finish over thirty classes within a month and a half, or else the hours would be void.
Although he might be laughed at for short-sightedness, he indeed had a reason to attend the classes.
But even so...
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"I've been played for a fool."
With this thought, Lin Yuan felt a surge of anger that was hard to calm down, especially considering that the other party might be secretly laughing at his stupidity.
Indeed...
When Lin Yuan came back to class the next day.
The previous instructor, Lin Nan, sighed but said little.
There were many students, and his duty was only to teach the paying students — everything else was not his business.
When it was time to start.
He said to the more than twenty students in the room, "Today I will teach you about training your eyesight, as well as reviewing yesterday's charging punch and swaying punch exercises."
The so-called eye training is because when a normal person faces the force of an opponent's punch, they instinctively close their eyes and stiffen, thus missing the best chance to dodge.
So, to become a Martial Artist, aside from basic training, what needs to be trained most is overcoming one's own instincts...
This requires targeted training.
It's also very useful knowledge.
Lin Yuan learned very conscientiously.
He started with eye training, then practiced his punches, and finally sparred with a partner.
The training was extremely strenuous...
They really fought, and Lin Yuan's opponent was a student who had already been training for two and a half years, named Xu Cai.
His combat experience was much richer than Lin Yuan's, and he had already systematically begun learning Martial Techniques.
Lin Yuan, with his much faster-than-average response time, quickly adapted to the opponent's moves, managing to land several hard punches on him...
But he himself got beaten up, his face swollen and bruised.
When it was time for scoring, he was the one who lost.
However, Xu Cai came to view Lin Yuan with new respect. Facing Lin Yuan, who he had knocked to the ground, he reached out to help him up and exclaimed, "Seeing that your punches looked as formless as Tortoise Fist, I didn't expect you to be so tough. You actually had me seeing stars. Impressive... If you systematically learn Martial Techniques in the future, you will definitely surpass me quickly!"
"Thank you for the compliment, senior."
"It's nothing... Just keep working hard. Who knows, I might even boast in the future that you were once defeated by me."
Lin Yuan's heart stirred, thinking of Martial Techniques?
Indeed...
At the moment, he was learning the basics, but in fact, although his physique was still that of an ordinary person, when Spiritual Power flowed through him, he was not far behind these students who had been training for two and a half years!
After getting back, he would ask Lin Rourou.
She had been working here for several years and knew the processes much better than he did.
He took a comfortable herbal bath and received the day's Nutritional Recovery Agent.
Then, carrying his bag, he walked outside.
He had not walked far from the Martial Arts Hall...
When he saw a familiar figure chatting with a slightly anxious mother and daughter, acting very much like a lord of all he surveyed, full of confidence.
The mother was in her early thirties, wearing clothes that had clearly been washed many times, already somewhat faded, but still neatly arranged, with sleek hair hanging alongside her face, tied at the end with a simple hairband, looking quite out of place.
Her daughter seemed a bit younger, thirteen or fourteen.
She was nervously hiding behind her mother.
Yet she watched expectantly as that figure spoke at length...
Wasn't that Zhao Sanyuan?
Anger rose in Lin Yuan's heart, and he stepped forward.
Zhao Sanyuan was passionately introducing something when suddenly someone patted his shoulder.
"Mr. Zhao, conning people again? About the matter of you swindling me out of sixty thousand yuan... don't you think you owe me an explanation?"
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