June 22, morning at 9:20.
Before the alarm even sounded, White Bird's eyes suddenly snapped open with clarity.
He threw back a slightly whitened, freshly washed comforter, stepped down from the bed, and went to the window, waving his hand to draw the curtains.
In an instant, the somewhat intense golden sunlight of the morning streamed in, bathing the bed and the adjacent wardrobe in an extensive area of whitened brilliance. The window also opened, allowing the fresh air scented with earth and sunlight to pour in.
White Bird took a deep breath of the fresh air, feeling refreshed and exuberant. He had slept less than seven hours today, a few minutes less than before. But in this moment, White Bird felt energetic and comfortable in body and mind, even better than when he had slept more than seven hours before. This was the change brought on by improved physique.
His physique attribute had increased from 9.8 to 10.5, a total rise of 0.7.
Don't underestimate this 0.7; the changes it brought were significant. White Bird's body had more endurance, recovered faster, and was less prone to fatigue. On this basis, he felt a certain increase in whatever professional experience he was working on. A stronger physique could indeed mean better work performance?
Beep! Below the window, on the road of the residential complex, an electric scooter drove by.
This reminded White Bird to send his Hummer electric scooter for repair before going to the martial arts hall for training. He'd get it repaired first, and it would be great if it could be fixed. If not, getting a new one was not out of the question either.
Up next, the routine of washing up, changing clothes, heading out.
Since he woke up early today, he could quietly enjoy a breakfast.
Next to the Huaguang Electric Vehicle Repair Store, inside a snack shop.
White Bird sat on a brown leather chair, with soy milk in his left hand, a deep-fried dough stick in his right, plus two eggs. The morning sun shone onto the wooden table from behind him, casting a soft golden sheen. The air was filled with the rich aroma of heated soy milk, while beeping horns sounded nearby.
The vibrant scene brought a sense of leisure to everyone.
White Bird's shoulders slowly relaxed.
He hadn't really stopped moving since he traveled to this world.
Punching! Working! Punching! Working! It was a continuous cycle.
The confusion from suddenly coming to a strange world hadn't had the chance to brew, as it was immediately filled and replaced by one task after another.
Now, he slowed down.
A sense of aimlessness and loneliness began to creep in, unnoticed.
He slowly got up and tossed the plastic bag into the trash can.
The bus station was to the east, and White Bird walked straight towards the distant crowd.
With a backpack slung over his shoulders, he walked with an expressionless face. A variety of people brushed past him at this moment: high school girls in uniforms, office workers in suits, couples strolling hand in hand. Those full of vitality, those with a sense of twilight, the cute and pretty, the tall and well-built, the short and small.
People of all kinds, for all sorts of reasons.
Moving through the streets, heading to various unknown destinations.
White Bird suddenly stopped, standing in place.
A strange world, strange city, strange environment, strange crowd, even a strange body. The only consolation he could find was in the name White Bird, the one thing that hadn't changed.
"Confusion? Anxiety?"
"I'm actually thinking thoughts like these."
He lowered his head, looking at his progressively stronger palms. The parallel lines in the center were stark in the sunlight, splitting the palm in two.
In his dark pupils, a mysterious color began to congeal.
"Confusion, anxiety, as well as laziness, foolishness, the pursuit of pleasure, lack of ambition - they are all manifestations of weakness, only serving to erode will..."
"All things… I must reject."
"To those with resolve, success will come."
"Rather than lament these feelings, I might as well… practice boxing!"
White Bird raised his head and moved forward, breaking into a jog toward the bus station.
10:00, White Bird Martial Arts Hall, Coach Zhang appeared on time.
In his hand, he still held his essential tool, a black thermos cup.
"Begin warming up, practice the Sandboxing moves from yesterday twice."
Having said that, Zhang Hongtao stepped aside and started drinking his strong tea.
Meanwhile, in the second training hall, on the black rubber mats.
Numerous students began stretching, running and jumping, expanding their shoulders.
Bai Xiao stood in a corner, also beginning his standard warm-up exercises. He particularly liked the feeling of his muscles and ligaments gradually waking up, his blood slowly beginning to circulate, every part of his body getting activated.
"Hoo..."
Bai Xiao exhaled a breath of warm air, brought his feet together, and lifted his head.
He suddenly noticed that some students nearby were sneaking glances at him, even the girl with a black ponytail who was close with Guo Hao gave him a look. Bai Xiao was slightly puzzled, even considering whether there was an oil stain on his face. Actually, his physique and aura had changed rapidly over the past few days, unlike the original host who was slightly transparent with a hint of inferiority.
Bai Xiao seemed more confident, more composed, more diligent.
The changes in his four-dimensional attributes after beginning Sandboxing also made his body gradually strong and straight, his breathing even and relaxed, different from ordinary people.
Furthermore, Bai Xiao's appearance and height were quite good to begin with.
It was quite normal for him to attract the attention of other students.
Confident and ambitious people will slowly become extraordinary.
Soon, the warm-up and review training ended, and Coach Zhang began to deepen the students' muscle memory step by step, imprinting each Sandboxing move into their minds. An hour later, the students practiced on their own, swinging their fists and legs.
In the whole class, there were about four or five students whose practicing paces were significantly faster than the others, and they were taken aside by Coach Zhang for sparring target training. Among them, of course, were both Guo Hao and Bai Xiao.
On the black rubber mat, Bai Xiao assumed a standard combat stance.
Tap, with a sudden stomp, his body accelerated forward.
Whoosh, a side kick landed on the foot target of the student he was practicing with.
The person swayed and took a step back.
Two seconds later, he looked at Bai Xiao and nodded.
Indicating that they could continue.
Bai Xiao nodded back in acknowledgment, once again getting into a punching stance.
Next to him, Guo Hao was also practicing target hits, acting as the target.
However, his attention seemed somewhat scattered, occasionally glancing over at Bai Xiao out of the corner of his eye, slightly distracted. As a result, when a punch from his sparring partner came, Guo Hao failed to react in time. The fist went off-target and landed on his shoulder.
"Ss..." Guo Hao inhaled sharply.
"Are you alright?" the student who made the mistake promptly came forward, asking with concern.
Coach Zhang also walked over quickly.
After a brief examination, he said,
"It's nothing serious, just a bruise. Some safflower oil will do."
After a minor disturbance, everything returned to normal.
"'Pure Heart,' activate!"
For the remaining time, Bai Xiao entered that cold and indifferent state again. His whole being was rational and efficient, repeatedly practicing the most essential and pure parts of Sandboxing combat, deepening his body's muscle memory.
As for the training field, the dull sound of footsteps from the other students, the low shouts when throwing punches, the coach's instructing voice, all got blocked out.
In the entire space, it seemed like Bai Xiao was the only one there, boxing and sweating profusely, savoring the sweat that flew as he threw and retracted his punches.