001 enjoying the bitter taste of failure

"Glug, glug, glug..."

Bai Xiao tilted his head back, his chapped, dry lips approaching the cup, gulping down the water greedily until not a drop remained in the black thermos.

"Huff..."

He exhaled a satisfied breath of warm air, the other hand fanning the collar of his grey training uniform back and forth, trying to cool himself down a bit more.

The entirety of his back was soaked with sweat, and the air flowed over it, the effect quite remarkable.

He stood still in place for a while, calming his racing heart. Bai Xiao then leaned back against the white porcelain wall and sat down with a plop on the rubber mat.

With the water cup placed beside him, he rested while looking ahead.

It was an indoor training hall, spacious, with floor-to-ceiling windows on both sides. The midday sun shone through the glass, creating several golden trapezoidal shapes on the light blue rubber carpet. Beyond these areas bathed in high-temperature sunshine, young people dressed in grey training uniforms were each practicing on their own—some hitting punching bags, some sparring, some shadowboxing.

The dull thumping of feet on mats, the thudding of fists on sandbags, and the encouraging shouts of the sparring pairs made for a scene full of intense activity. Even the air, permeated with the scent of sweat, body odor, and rubber, had a fiery, passionate quality to it.

"Feels young, not bad..."

Bai Xiao took a deep breath, relaxing his shoulders.

It was his third day in this parallel world. After three days of exploration, Bai Xiao understood that he hadn't been reborn but had traveled through time.

This 24-year-old body was not particularly strong, but it was quite healthy.

"Gather up!"

Suddenly, the voice of a middle-aged man echoed in the center of the hall.

Quickly, the various students stopped what they were doing and clustered around. Bai Xiao also set down his water cup and ran to join the others.

In front, a man about 1.8 meters tall, wearing a black coach's uniform, stood straight, his build impressive.

A square-jawed face with thick eyebrows and large eyes, his hair cut short like bristles.

It was White Bird Martial Arts Hall's instructor in charge of them—Zhang Hongtao.

"Warm-up is over, let's continue with the concept of Sandboxing from last time."

He scanned the many students with his gaze and began to speak knowledgeably.

The Sandboxing he spoke of was a fighting technique that combined boxing, leg techniques, and wrestling with the goal of subduing the opponent in as little time as possible.

Sandboxing is effective in real combat, focusing on ground fighting and offensive and defensive skills.

Today, Zhang Hongtao was going to teach basic movements and fighting stances.

"First, the fighting stance, watch my moves carefully," he said.

As he spoke, he quickly turned sideways, presenting his left shoulder to the crowd. His legs were spread front to back, slightly wider than shoulder-width, his right foot turned inward, and the tip of his left foot turned slightly inward as well. He clenched his fists with both arms extended forward to the left, eyes looking straight ahead.

This was a typical fighting stance, his shoulders shaking slightly, with his body's weight pressing down on his right foot, ready to explode forward with a punch any moment.

Bai Xiao watched carefully as Zhang Hongtao continued to demonstrate and explain.

"After the fighting stance," he said,

"comes basic fist skills, basic leg techniques, and basic footwork."

"Basic fist skills include Charging Fist, Guan Fist, Copy Fist, and others..."

With each technique mentioned, he rapidly executed a corresponding move.

His shoulders powered through, his fists whipped out fiercely.

"Basic leg techniques include kicking, Kicking, Whip Leg, and so on."

"Basic footwork includes tip-toe step, Long Step, Flash Step, etc."

Zhang Hongtao executed each move crisply, without any hesitation.

"Good, the demonstration is over, next we proceed to breaking down the moves."

He quickly assumed the role of instructor, dissecting the various postures and punches into individual movements, explaining key points and their applications as he went along.

Half an hour later, Zhang Hongtao retracted his fists and feet,

and started by selecting one movement for the many students to imitate.

About thirty-odd people in the area started to practice methodically. Among them were some who were quick to grasp it, nailing around seventy to eighty percent accuracy on their first try. Others who were average in comprehension could only manage a rough approximation. The few with the least aptitude, around three or four individuals, executed their moves awkwardly, completely off the mark.

Fortunately, Bai Xiao was not among these three or four.

However, he wasn't doing much better, resembling someone who would likely rank in the bottom ten.

His athletic talent was not good in his past life, and it didn't seem to be much better in this life either; combined, he was below average.

At the front, Coach Zhang's gaze swept over the crowd before finally resting on a short-haired young man around 1.8 meters tall, standing two or three places to the left of Bai Xiao. That youth was his focus of attention; in the previous stages of the course, he had already displayed considerable physical talent and comprehension.

As expected, during this session teaching the basics of Sandboxing, Guo Hao's movements were more than seventy to eighty percent correct, showing great potential for future training.

"Guo Hao has pretty good talent, but he's a bit lazy," someone said.

"Wait until the Sandboxing course is over."

"Maybe we can promote him to the elite class..."

Coach Zhang thought to himself, his gaze moving away from the row of students including Guo Hao, and even the slightly awkward Bai Xiao.

More than an hour passed in the training hall.

"We'll practice these movements first, and then you can practice on your own," Coach Zhang said, clapping his hands to signal that everyone could take a break or continue training by themselves. Soon, the students dispersed to different areas and began to practice.

Bai Xiao noticed that Coach Zhang hadn't left the hall, but instead stood by a window. Nearby, Guo Hao was practicing.

Bai Xiao glanced over, then returned his focus.

Bai Xiao turned and found a corner to start practicing on his own.

In this area, there were other students practicing their own movements and steps. However, it was clear that without a coach watching, their intensity slackened—a sign of perfunctory effort, especially from those at the bottom.

Yet Bai Xiao was somewhat an exception.

The movements he demonstrated, the punches he swung, the steps he took may not have been standard, but there was a hint of earnest effort.

It was easy to tell who was diligent and who wasn't when practicing alone.

"Huff... Wheeze... Huff... Wheeze..."

The heavy breathing escaped from Bai Xiao's nostrils as he could hear his heart pounding like a drum in his chest. The more diligently he practiced, the quicker he tired; after some time practicing Sandboxing, he was quickly drenched in sweat.

But despite that, Bai Xiao kept his gaze fixed straight ahead.

His movements were meticulous, and the frequency of his training showed no signs of decreasing.

From a distance by the window, Coach Zhang's gaze shifted from Guo Hao, who was resting, and swept across the training hall again. When his sight passed over Bai Xiao's area, he paused briefly and made a judgment.

"He's working hard, but his talent is just average."

"If Guo Hao worked as hard, his training results would surely be two or three times better. I'll have a good chat with him after class..."

"And it's about time to talk to him about that elite class..."

In the corner, Bai Xiao's sweat flew as his arms grew heavier and his legs weaker, with faint sounds coming from his bones.

The sweat gathered at his eyelashes and chin, dripping onto the mat.

Yet his mouth kept muttering.

"Almost there..."

"Just a bit more..."

"Just a little more!"

"I can't hold on anymore, huff!"

Bai Xiao exhaled a deep breath, his whole body feeling dizzy and blurry as he quickly leaned on the wall with one hand, taking a moment to recover. After a while, he lifted his head.

He could vaguely see.

A screen of light in front of his retina was rapidly fading.

[Occupation: Fighter (Unactivated)]

[Requirements: 1. Attributes average above 10 √, 2. Beginner's fighting technique ×]

"It's really..."

"So frustratingly tantalizing!"

Bai Xiao licked his dry, chapped lips.

Silently savoring the bitter taste of failure.

ps. Bai Xiao (Xiao), pronounced the same as Xiao.