Training field.
Shi Ruyu's gaze suddenly turned sharp.
"Junior brother, you make the first move."
Lu Chenzhou bent forward in an archer's step, followed by a swinging punch.
Black Tiger Strikes Tree!
Shi Ruyu stomped her right foot to propel her left, swiftly dodging the attack.
Smooth as a dragonfly skimming water, she beckoned with her hand:
"Continue attacking."
Lu Chenzhou, with empty punches, did not feel embarrassed in front of everyone, continuing to attack as per his own method while Shi Ruyu effortlessly dodged and weaved.
"Senior sister is so impressive."
"The Seventh Rank of Transformation Realm, terrifying indeed."
"This Lu Chenzhou is also quite impressive, at a complete disadvantage, totally unable to hit the teacher, yet he hasn't messed up his method or shown any weakness or nervousness."
Just then, Ji Xuantong stepped forward.
He looked solemnly at the chattering students and said:
"Courage first, strength second, skills third! The most important aspect of practicing Martial Arts is courage. You all are too timid when feeding moves, how can you talk about real combat? From now on, I want everyone to be more proactive!"
A saying in Martial Arts goes: To learn to fight, you need a partner.
Feeding movements is about practicing with a partner.
Those who practice martial arts should be generous!
The students looked at Lu Chenzhou, who was actively displaying and seriously practicing his punches.
Some felt ashamed in their hearts, while others thought he was showing off too much.
Lu Chenzhou didn't care about these opinions.
Despite fighting for so long, he hadn't even touched a single hair on Shi Ruyu.
Shi Ruyu stopped moving, letting Lu Chenzhou rest.
She looked at the observing students and instructed:
"[Inch-step bow-eight, triangular vertical jump], the six movements of Basic Boxing not only need to be mastered but also need to be flexibly applied according to real combat situations…"
Shi Ruyu then turned her approving gaze back to Lu Chenzhou:
"Your foundational skills are good, but you lack sparring practice, so you can't accurately judge in the moment of battle which move to use, throwing punches into the air. Once you are practiced enough, when and how to make a move will become muscle instinct!"
She added:
"However, you being at the First Rank and managing this much is impressive. Some students from Martial Arts High Schools have higher Qi-Blood than you, but are not as good as you in sparring."
The students were somewhat surprised.
"He's only First Rank? I thought he was at Third Rank with that demeanor."
Qin Zheng, who had been idly watching, cheered:
"Chenzhou, badass!"
He was at Second Rank, yet lacked the courage to go up and practice.
The night deepened.
Lu Chenzhou did not want his mother to worry.
He finished training and took an early subway ride home.
He opened his phone, and Shi Ruyu had sent him a compressed file.
[Shi Ruyu: This is some basic boxing material that Teacher Ji asked me to send to you, mainly some experiences and insights, keep it for your own use.]
[Shi Ruyu: By the way, don't tell the other students.]
[Lu Chenzhou: Thanks, do I need to pay for this?]
[Shi Ruyu: No need, Teacher Ji has also taken a bit of a liking to you. Your recent progress in boxing is quite noticeable. Given your root bone, it's partly effort, but I think you have good comprehension, it just needs time to be tapped.]
Lu Chenzhou didn't hide his recent progress.
In Da Xia, where the nation prizes martial artists, public funding for Martial Arts education surpasses that of all other nations combined.
Fine wine also fears the depth of the alley.
Without being proactive, how could you expect someone to find you by a stroke of luck?
He saw everyone's changing attitudes towards him.
His father was willing to spend more money, and Shi Ruyu was treating him increasingly well.
More importantly, Ji Xuantong was also paying attention to him.
He knew that receiving True Inheritance required money. However, the prerequisite was also good talent; Shi Ruyu with low-class root bone had reached Seventh Rank at just 22, indicating her excellent comprehension. He also needed to showcase his comprehension as soon as possible.
Only then could he gain more resources and accelerate his progress.
[Lu Chenzhou: Thank you, Senior Sister and Teacher Ji!]
After chatting with Shi Ruyu, Lu Chenzhou looked at the Martial Arts Tree.
[Basic Boxing: Great Success (52%)]
[Black Tiger Fist: Beginner (60%)]
Over the past month, his progress in Black Tiger Fist was also evident.
Advancing one rank every two months, it was truly exhilarating.
Yet the first three ranks are relatively easy. Top-class root bone talents don't linger here for long, breaking through as easily as drinking water, only the last three ranks pose obstacles.
Lu Chenzhou was not the least bit complacent.
Starting late, the distance to catch up with talented peers of his age was significant. Shi Ruyu had told him about a teacher's child at Pingjiang Martial Arts University who broke through the First Shackles at 18, let alone those at Top Martial University and participants of the All Nations Martial Arts Competition.
The Cangtian Dragon King once said:
"I observe under this vast sky, geniuses are as common as crucian carp crossing the river!"
He didn't waste time, doing online cultural lessons on the subway.
"Fuck your mother!"
"Your mom is dead!"
During the crowded rush hour, the subway was packed, and a fight broke out over someone stepping on another's foot.
In this fast-paced era, some people also carried more aggression.
Lu Chenzhou remained unaffected, continuing with his lessons. Suddenly, a bunch of people uncontrollably fell towards him, and he was squeezed into a corner.
The two disputants actually started fighting.
One of them appeared trained; he was tall, his arms covered in tattoos, a short video playing from his phone in his pocket, veins bulging fiercely on his face.
"Fuck you, how dare you lay a hand on me!"
He was a First Rank Martial Artist; how could he endure such humiliation?
The man being hit was an elder, also cursing profusely.
"Damn out-of-towner, think you're something special because you practiced martial arts? I've trained too!"
The old man was energetically brimming with Qi-Blood, surely he had practiced martial arts in his youth as well. The two started wrestling, causing the packed crowd to tumble and sway, inadvertently injuring many bystanders.
"Stop fighting, can't you show some decency?"
"Exactly, it's not worth fighting over such a trivial matter."
"I've already called the police; the officers will be here any minute."
But the two red-eyed fighters couldn't care less.
Lu Chenzhou inwardly despised them.
Martial arts needed momentum, but not without decency.
"Stop fighting, there are children here!"
A helpless mother holding a baby shouted. The crowd pressed against her, causing her to accidentally fall. She instinctively protected the child but struggled to get up.
She was pregnant, carrying another child.
Someone nearby couldn't help but curse, "Fuck, there are children and a pregnant woman here, you two assholes, if you want to fight, wait until we stop and go outside!"
Yet, the two men showed no signs of stopping.
Such incidents were quite common during peak hours on the subway. Lu Chenzhou, dressed in his school uniform, ran over to pick up the child and helped the mother to her feet.
The two men continued brawling in the carriage.
Lu Chenzhou couldn't help but say,
"Enough already!"
His voice was naturally drowned out by the roars of the two men.
As the saying goes: the old fear the vitality of the young. The old fellow was a Second Rank Martial Artist at his peak, but now his Qi-Blood had deteriorated, barely maintaining a First Rank level. The tattooed man launched a flying side kick; the elder tried to block with both arms but was sent flying.
Lu Chenzhou had just settled the mother and child when he was bumped by the old man. He was tall and had trained the Basic Pile Skill from a young age, giving him a solid stance.
"Please stop fighting."
Lu Chenzhou, still a high school student, was very polite.
The elder was now lying on the ground, clutching his stomach and moaning pitifully.
The tattooed man, seeing red, spontaneously aimed a punch at the innocent high schooler. In such a tight space, Lu Chenzhou dodged swiftly. He quickly set his phone to video recording mode and handed it to the mother.
"Could you please record this for me?"
"Okay... okay, thank you so much, young man."
The mother was stunned but took the phone and did as asked. Although there were cameras in the subway, Lu Chenzhou thought it safer to record the incident as a backup.
"How about that? You think you can beat me when you're not even fully grown?"
The tattooed man was surprised when Lu Chenzhou dodged. Seeing the high schooler trying to intervene made him even angrier. Before Lu Chenzhou could react, he threw a Straight Punch towards Lu Chenzhou's face.
Lu Chenzhou dodged upper body to the side, his left arm intercepted the punch while his right hand gripped the man's elbow, using the Eight Techniques taught by Shi Ruyu to leverage a throw.
His whole body tensed like a drawn bow, suddenly exerting force!
Over-the-shoulder throw!
Bang!
The tattooed man fell flat on his back!
Lu Chenzhou threw a punch, the fierce wind ruffling the man's yellow hair.
Yet he suddenly stopped close by, abruptly halting his fist.
Lu Chenzhou took his phone back from the mother and returned to his seat.
The tattooed man was a bit dizzy, looking around, feeling utterly embarrassed. The anger went straight to his head, and he aimed another punch at the now calm Lu Chenzhou.
"What the hell!"
Bang! The tattooed man's vision went dark as he fell to the ground cursing.
"Enough!"
This time, Lu Chenzhou was on top of the tattooed man, restraining his arms behind his back.
The tattooed man calmed down, having been thrice thrown to the ground; it was clear that his opponent's skills far exceeded his own. He had a background in Qi-Blood but hadn't practiced fist techniques for over a decade, no match for Lu Chenzhou's constant, refined practice.
Three officers soon arrived, one of them a middle-aged man with a Fifth Rank in Qi-Blood, standing out among the crowd. He instructed the other two officers to control the elder while he approached the downed, wailing tattooed man, coldly saying,
"What, you planning to extort this young man?"
With a stronger opponent before him, the tattooed man lost his temper.
Later, the officers escorted the brawlers away.
The middle-aged man looked at the high school student who was now earnestly solving problems.
"You have good skills, young man; you're promising."
"Thank you, Officer, you too have worked hard."
At this moment, the other passengers couldn't help but say:
"Amazing, both brave and skilled."
"Truly relieving."
The nearby mother asked,
"Young man, do you attend Martial Arts High School?"
Lu Chenzhou, busy with his problems, replied,
"No, I attend Wanhua High."
The passengers were even more surprised.
"That's even more impressive."
...
In the evening.
Lu Chenzhou was at home reviewing study materials given by Ji Xuantong.
Suddenly, Li Xianghua knocked on the door and asked,
"Son, did you intervene to do the right thing?"
"Mom, where did you see it?"
"Just on a short video, it's trending in Su City."