Chapter 6: New Profession Panel Unlocked – [Fighter]!

The figure that caught Lin Zhiqin's attention was a young man who looked to be about sixteen or seventeen years old.

He was continuously repeating the movements of shadowboxing.

His eyes were focused, and every movement was meticulous.

Although many of the movements appeared not quite standard from Lin Zhiqin's perspective, it was evident that the young man was giving his best effort.

One punch, two punches... it wasn't just a few.

Every single punch from the young man was like this.

Sweat drenched his hair, dripping from his forehead to the tip of his nose, yet he seemed oblivious.

The focused and serious aura emanating from him even moved Lin Zhiqin slightly.

"It's been a long time since I've seen such a dedicated student."

Lin Zhiqin couldn't help but recall his younger days when he had also trained tirelessly, neglecting even meals and sleep.

Back then, the old master was at his peak, and the martial arts school was much more glorious than it was now.

With the development of technology, fewer and fewer people were truly willing to practice martial arts.

Most of those who came to enroll were just looking for something new and exciting, and once the novelty wore off, they lost interest.

Or they simply treated combat as fitness, lacking the true spirit of a martial artist.

He wondered what the scene would be like in another ten or twenty years.

"Sigh..."

Lin Zhiqin suddenly felt a loss of interest and no longer had the desire to give pointers. He left a message, "Continue with free practice," and turned to leave.

"Huff, huff..."

Lu Yuan staggered after throwing a punch, his limbs giving way as he collapsed to the ground. He gasped for breath, instantly snapping out of his [Absolute Focus] state.

"How long have I been practicing?"

Lu Yuan felt his arms were sore, swollen, and numb, as if they were useless and he couldn't exert any strength.

"Are you okay?"

A soft female voice came from beside him.

Lu Yuan looked up and saw a girl with round cheeks and glasses standing in front of him, offering him a bottle of water.

"Thank you."

Lu Yuan hesitated for a moment but didn't refuse. He took the water bottle from the girl and gulped it down.

He was extremely thirsty and finished more than half the bottle in one go.

"What time is it now?"

Lu Yuan saw that many people on the training floor had already sat down to rest, some chatting and some looking at their phones.

He was the last student to stop training.

"9:50. Ten minutes until class ends," the girl with round cheeks replied after glancing at her phone.

"So I've been practicing for less than an hour..."

Lu Yuan wasn't surprised.

After all, boxing mainly consumed physical stamina, so it was normal for the duration of [Absolute Focus] to be significantly reduced.

"You were really focused during practice just now. Coach Lin was watching you for a long time," the girl with round cheeks said with some admiration.

"Oh, really?"

Lu Yuan smiled but didn't say anything further.

"By the way, my name is Liu Yue. What's your name?"

"Lu Yuan."

"Are you from No. 2 High School? I think I've seen you at school before."

"I'm from No. 4 High School."

"No. 4 High School? Many of my middle school classmates are also there..."

The girl with round cheeks seemed quite interested in Lu Yuan and kept talking to him.

Lu Yuan responded casually, his attention focused on his panel.

As soon as he summoned the panel, he received an unexpected surprise.

[You have focused on practicing for twenty minutes, your understanding of new skills has improved]

[You have learned a new skill – [Basic Fist Techniques LV1]]

[Your skill Basic Fist Techniques has improved, EXP +3]

[Your skill Basic Fist Techniques has improved, EXP +5]

[Congratulations! You have unlocked a new profession panel – [Fighter]!]

A brand new profession panel appeared before Lu Yuan.

The panel had a tree-like structure, with only the two skills at the bottom lit up.

They were [Basic Fist Techniques] and [Beginner Body Conditioning], both at LV1.

He had probably learned the latter when Lin Zhiqin was teaching the strength training exercises, but it had been hidden until now, unlocked with the new profession panel.

[Fighter]!

The newly unlocked profession excited Lu Yuan.

This profession sounded much more advanced than [Student], like a hidden class in a game.

"If the ultimate goal of the [Student] panel is to cultivate me into a super scholar, then could the ultimate goal of [Fighter] be to become a martial arts supreme, a peerless master?"

Words like "plucking flowers and flying leaves" and "breaking steel with fingers" instantly popped into Lu Yuan's mind.

This made him feel uncontrollably excited, feeling that the 10,000 yuan tuition fee was worth it.

"...What's your phone number? I'll write it down, so I can ask you questions outside of class..."

The girl with round cheeks beside him spoke hesitantly.

Lu Yuan was in a good mood and readily replied, "Didn't the martial arts school create a group chat for our new student batch? I'll add you in the group later. Your name is Liu Yue, right?"

"Yes, yes," the girl nodded vigorously, looking very happy.

The two chatted casually for a while longer, and when it was 10:00, someone came in to inform them that class was over.

The students immediately got up and dispersed as if they had been granted amnesty.

Coach Lin Zhiqin never reappeared.

Lu Yuan dragged his tired body into the bathroom. As the warm water from the showerhead cascaded over him, the constant soreness in his arms eased slightly.

After showering, changing clothes, and putting on his backpack, he exited the changing room to find Cheng Peng already waiting for him in the martial arts school lobby.

"Lu Yuan, you finally came out.

Why do you take so long to shower, like a girl?"

"Get lost!"

Lu Yuan's stamina hadn't fully recovered, and his arms were still sore, so he wasn't in the mood to joke around.

"Hehe."

Cheng Peng put his arm around Lu Yuan's shoulder and asked with a grin, "So, how did you feel about your first day of class?"

"Not bad, it was more useful than I expected," Lu Yuan said seriously.

"That's good. I was worried you wouldn't be able to keep up," Cheng Peng said with a smile. "Hurry up and finish the basics, then move up to our class. I'm waiting to beat you up in sparring."

"Heh, we'll see who beats up who," Lu Yuan said, glancing at him sideways.

This look provoked Cheng Peng, and he immediately started yelling, "Wow, you're so arrogant.

My punching power is already fifty kilograms, and the coach said that I'll be able to take the rank exam soon. You still want to beat me up?"

"Rank exam?"

Lu Yuan caught a new term in Cheng Peng's words and immediately asked curiously.

"Don't you know that martial artists also have rankings?

I'll tell you on the way."

Cheng Peng dragged Lu Yuan out of the martial arts school.

On the way, they bumped into the girl with round cheeks named Liu Yue, who had been in their class.

Another girl was standing beside her, who, like Lu Yuan, seemed to have come with a friend but wasn't in the same class.

Liu Yue smiled at him but didn't have the courage to come up and greet him.

Half an hour later, Lu Yuan walked out of an internet cafe alone.

From Cheng Peng's explanation and his own online research, he had a rough understanding of the ranking system for martial artists in this world.