Chapter 26

As Lu Yuan walked through the crowd of three men and one woman, he noticed a group of four people in the distance. He made his way over to the boxing machine, which was much larger and more sturdy than the piles used for fighting training.

A display screen behind the machine showed a weight of 122.23kg. He wondered if the previous group had forgotten to reset the machine or if they left it as a challenge for others.

The standards for boxing strength were posted next to the machine, with different levels corresponding to martial arts ranks. The word "amateur" had been removed from the front, most likely for appearances and motivation.

Lu Yuan set his goal at 100kg, which was also the minimum requirement for becoming an official disciple at Yuanwu Hall.

He got into position in front of the machine, his eyes fixated on the groove in its center. After taking a deep breath, he channeled all his energy into a powerful punch.

The machine let out a muffled sound but didn't budge, thanks to its shock-absorbing features. Lu Yuan glanced at the numbers rapidly increasing on the display screen behind him. When he saw "1," he knew he had surpassed 100kg.

The final number read 173.56kg, surpassing even his own expectations due to his higher than average strength attribute.

He tried two more punches, but both fell below his initial result. He realized that his earlier training and injuries had affected his performance. In perfect condition, he estimated he could stabilize at 177kg.

With a sense of accomplishment and excitement, Lu Yuan made a mental note to check out the specific assessment standards and benefits for amateur sixth-dan warriors later. But now, his main focus was passing the assessment for formal disciples.

In less than half an hour before noon when the staff would leave, Lu Yuan quickly cleared the values on the machine and rushed out of the training room. He planned to go to the Wushu Association next week to get his fourth-dan certificate, ready to show off to Lei, the guy who had challenged him before.

Mingyu was definitely a force to be reckoned with. People like Lei probably didn't even have second-degree black belts by now. His four-dan certificate would make anyone bow down and call him daddy.

However, there might be some discrepancies between the dynamometer at the martial arts hall and the one at the association, so Mingyu advised Lei to practice more and aim to pass on his first try to be safe.

But Lei wasn't worried at all, confident that he had it all under control. He had just finished testing his boxing strength and was in a good mood, flashing a charming smile as he spoke. 

Thanks to his dedication in strengthening his three main muscle groups, his boxing strength had improved significantly. Now all he needed to do was perform consistently during the test, and any numerical deviations wouldn't matter.

With that said, The short-haired young man headed over to the bench press and lay down, grasping onto the barbell with both hands before starting to exert his strength...only for the barbell to remain unmoved. Confused, he let out a puzzled sound of "huh?"

The young man with short hair was taken aback and quickly stood up to check the weight of the barbell. He shouted, "Who raised it to 130 for me?"

  They were the only ones in the training room that morning. They had previously adjusted the bench press to 80, but now it was set to 130.

  His companions spread their hands and shook their heads innocently, indicating that they were not responsible.

  "You should've asked me to adjust it again."

  The young man with short hair frowned in dissatisfaction.

  But it wasn't a big deal and was resolved with a few words.

  However, at that moment, one of the girls in the group said, "It must have been the guy who came in while we were using the boxing machine."

  "I saw him practicing here for a long time."

  "That student?"

  The young man with short hair thought for a moment and realized that it made sense.

  A tall and slender student, dressed in a junior martial arts uniform with a handsome face.

  "Yeah."

  The girl pointed to where the boxing machine was located and said confidently, "After watching us for a bit, he went to play on the boxing machine."

  "Then it must have been him."

  The young man with short hair nodded and didn't say anything else as he began adjusting the weight.

  He took off the extra plates from the rack one by one. As he removed them, he mumbled, "Something feels off. It's so heavy. Can you push this?"

    Wait, something doesn't seem right! The young man with short hair suddenly stopped and looked at the barbell in his hand, a possibility forming in his mind.

  "How is that even possible? No way."

  He immediately dismissed this idea as soon as it came to him.

  He continued unloading the barbell but seemed a bit distracted, his eyes flickering as if he were deep in thought.

  After removing the last plate, the young man with short hair laid back on the bench press.

  After trying to push the weight of 80 kilograms twice, he suddenly stood up from the rack with a snap.

"I must be losing it. How is this possible?!"

With those words, he quickly made his way over to the boxing machine.

"Mingyu, what are you doing? Are you still taking the test?"

    His companion called out to him, but the young man with short hair ignored them.

He hurried over to the boxing machine and glanced at the display screen. It was no surprise to see that it had been reset to zero.

Just by tapping a few times on the screen, he was able to access "View Historical Data."

When several values popped up, the young man with short hair's pupils widened as his whole body shook violently, feeling like someone had just punched him in the face.

He stared intently at the data without blinking for a long while before finally letting out a curse word.

"Dammit!"

"After filling out your application form, bring it to your instructor for signing. Once we receive it back from you, we will schedule your assessment within a week."

The girl at the front desk of the martial arts gym was the same one who had previously led Lu Yuan. She patiently explained to him the process of applying for an official disciple assessment.

Lu Yuan was halfway through filling out the form when he suddenly stopped, his pen hovering in mid-air. Did he really hear that correctly? He couldn't help but doubt it. 

"Do I still need the coach's signature? Do I have to wait another week?" he asked. The girl nodded and explained the process: first, he needed to get his coach's approval before being assessed. 

And the assessment couldn't be scheduled just for him; it had to be done in groups, arranged by the martial arts school once a week.

Lu Yuan felt discouraged; his enthusiasm from earlier had been extinguished like a candle in front of a gust of wind. He had thought he could finish everything in one day, but now it seemed like he would have to wait another week. 

Just one more week, he reminded himself as he swiftly finished filling out the application form.

The receptionist kindly reminded him that there was still some time before his shift ended at noon, so he should go find his coach to sign the form quickly. That way, he wouldn't have to make another trip later on in the afternoon.