23: Chapter 23 New Hextech!

The chubby kid was named Qian Duoduo. His family owned the largest chamber of commerce in Rong City, "Qianbao." The name was tacky, but their strength was formidable.

This chamber of commerce held 40% of the exotic beast material business in Rong City, and their share of pills and armor was terrifyingly large. They were the kind of behemoth that could make the entire martial artist circle of Rong City tremble just by stamping their feet.

As for Qian Duoduo himself, he had clearly perfectly inherited the fine tradition of "being rich."

The moment he heard Lu Cheng agree, his eyes lit up. It was as if he had finally grasped a lifeline, and he immediately stepped forward.

"Brother, no, Brother Lu!"

"Don't worry, money is no object!"

Watching him like this, Lu Cheng began to silently calculate in his mind.

If he could pull this job off, his recent cultivation resources would likely be secured.

The middle-aged coach nearby didn't stop them, merely saying indifferently, "Since you've reached an agreement, go to the No. 3 Basic Training Room. The martial arts hall takes a 10% venue fee."

Qian Duoduo waved his hand, very generously.

"Take it! Take whatever you want!"

"As long as I can go back and complete my assignment, never mind 10%, even 20% is fine!"

Lu Cheng's mouth twitched.

The way rich people talk is just so unpretentious.

The two of them quickly entered the training room.

Once the door closed, most of the gazes and discussions outside were cut off.

Qian Duoduo first nervously stretched his limbs, then smiled sheepishly: "Brother Lu, let's be clear first, I'm not stupid, it's just... I learn a bit slowly."

Honestly, apart from those with special talents, very few martial artists had a physique like Qian Duoduo's.

For the vast majority of martial artists, their energy consumption would certainly not allow for excessive fat growth.

However, Lu Cheng didn't dampen his client's enthusiasm and just nodded.

"Alright, demonstrate it once for me."

Qian Duoduo immediately assumed a stance and started with a set of Three Styles of Crushing Fist.

First punch, the posture was okay.

Second punch, the force was a bit off.

Third punch, he nearly stumbled and fell...

Then came the Wandering Step. The footwork, which should have been rapid changes from left to right, was turned into a toad hop by Qian Duoduo...

Lu Cheng watched, silent for three seconds.

Qian Duoduo looked at him cautiously: "Is there any hope?"

Lu Cheng said seriously: "Yes."

Qian Duoduo was overjoyed.

"Really?!"

Lu Cheng added: "But you have to train more."

The smile on Qian Duoduo's face stiffened for a moment, but he quickly gritted his teeth and nodded.

"I'll train! I'm going all out today!"

Only then did Lu Cheng begin to truly teach.

He didn't start by lecturing a bunch of theory like other coaches. Instead, he broke the Three Styles of Crushing Fist down into the most basic points: stance, dropping the shoulders, twisting the waist, thrusting the hips, the landing point of the fist, and the progression of power between the three punches.

"Don't rush to connect them. First, get the first punch right."

Qian Duoduo followed instructions.

Bang.

"Shoulder's too high."

Bang.

"Waist didn't twist."

Bang.

"The force from your feet is too scattered."

At first, Qian Duoduo thought he was doing okay and just missed the key points. But after Lu Cheng corrected him, he realized he had problems everywhere.

But Lu Cheng explained things in detail and was extremely precise.

In many places, Lu Cheng could point out exactly which muscle wasn't exerting force, which step was wrong, or at which moment his blood energy went off course just by looking at him once.

This teaching ability—never mind Qian Duoduo, even the coaches passing by outside who glanced in occasionally began to change their expressions. This guy really knew his stuff.

Another two hours passed.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Qian Duoduo threw three consecutive punches, successfully completing a set of Three Styles of Crushing Fist.

Then a side step, his feet shifted, and he executed the Wandering Step.

Qian Duoduo was stunned himself.

"Holy crap! I actually learned it?"

Lu Cheng caught his breath and nodded.

"You can consider it an entry-level mastery."

"Practice it on your own later. Don't get lazy."

The next second, Qian Duoduo was so excited he almost rushed up to hug Lu Cheng.

"Brother Lu! Amazing! You're truly amazing!"

As he spoke, he pulled out his phone and made a transfer.

[Received: 12,000 yuan]

Nothing is as real as money!

"Brother, you're too amazing. That extra 10,000 is my token of gratitude! If it weren't for you, I might have been eating dirt next month!"

Qian Duoduo put away his phone, his face blooming with a smile.

"Brother Lu, be my sparring partner from now on!"

"I'll raise the price to 2,000 per hour. How about it?"

Lu Cheng was tempted by the price. Only a fool wouldn't make money, especially since he was really short on cash right now.

"Sure."

"But I'm still a student and have classes."

"I'm free from 5 PM to 7 PM every day. If you need it, I can teach you then."

Qian Duoduo nodded repeatedly.

"Deal! That time works!"

"From now on, you're my personal coach for those two hours!"

After saying this, as if afraid Lu Cheng would go back on his word, he booked the training sessions for the next few days on the spot, and another 20,000 yuan arrived immediately.

This wasn't just some chubby kid.

This was clearly a walking money bag.

After coming out of the training room, the middle-aged coach's gaze toward Lu Cheng had completely changed.

"Let's put you down for a temporary spot as an official assistant coach."

"You'll be paid per lesson. Also, I'll give you the salary from Zhao Lie's side as well."

Zhao Lie stood to the side, his face a bit dark, but a bet is a bet. He turned his head and muttered:

"I keep my word."

"The sparring money for this month is yours."

After finishing the paperwork, Lu Cheng's phone had another 20,000 yuan.

Adding the 30,000 in bonuses and tuition fees from Qian Duoduo, he shouldn't be short on money for a while.

Walking out of the Bailian Martial Arts Hall, Lu Cheng's steps were much lighter.

After returning home, Lu Cheng didn't idle. He immediately set aside a portion of the money he earned today and went to a nearby shop specializing in martial artist resources to buy medicinal liquid for tempering the Tendon & Bone Stage.

The owner looked at him twice when he saw someone so young buying such things.

"Student?"

"Yeah."

"Reached the Tendon & Bone Stage?"

"Just about."

The owner clicked his tongue and didn't ask any more.

These days, there are many geniuses and even more monsters; asking too much is meaningless.

Lu Cheng carried the medicinal liquid home, already calculating his next arrangements in his mind.

Next week is the school's first major competition.

Yesterday, the principal had already revealed some of the rewards.

First place can choose a B-grade martial skill, get five bottles of high-level blood energy potion, plus 100,000 in cash.

For these rewards, he had to work hard today.

The moment the medicinal liquid was poured into the bathtub, a pungent and intense medicinal scent quickly filled the air.

Lu Cheng took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and sat in.

The next second!

"Hiss!!!"

It hurt.

It wasn't normal pain.

It was like countless red-hot needles were slowly stabbing into his Tendon & Bone Stage, then drilling into the bone crevices.

The veins on Lu Cheng's forehead popped, and he clenched his teeth tightly.

But at the same time, the Origin-level Guiding Technique began to run automatically.

The medicinal power was being absorbed crazily.

The Tendon & Bone Stage was being tempered bit by bit.

His blood energy was also continuously rising.

Two hours later, Lu Cheng practically crawled out of the bathtub, his body feeling like it had fallen apart, and the floor was soaked with sweat.

His blood energy had reached 29 points, and his entire Tendon & Bone Stage had been more than half tempered.

This speed of improvement, among ordinary students, was already outrageous!

Late at night.

The room was quiet.

Lu Cheng sat cross-legged on the bed. As time ticked by, finally...

Sunday night, past 12 AM.

The familiar system notification sound rang in his mind.

[Hextech has refreshed.]

Lu Cheng perked up and immediately looked over.

The next second, a green entry floated out.

[Lone Hero (Green): When you have no teammates, gain 35% damage reduction, and blood energy recovery speed is increased by 140%.]

Lu Cheng was stunned at first.

Immediately after, he sat up straight.

"Holy crap?"

"This thing is only Green?!"

He stared at the line of text, his eyes nearly popping out.

35% damage reduction.

140% blood energy recovery.

The most precious percentage attributes! And it only gave me Green rarity?

If this were in actual combat, a punch that could have crippled him would now deal significantly less damage.

Combined with the skyrocketing recovery speed, as long as he wasn't one-shot, he could drag his opponent to death, especially with the Origin-level Wandering Step.

Meanwhile, at Su Wan's home.

She was sitting cross-legged on the bed, her breathing long and steady, with a faint chill circulating around her body.

She hadn't slackened in her cultivation this week either.

Relying on the Nine Cold Heavenly Breath Art and her experience from her previous life, her blood energy value had already risen to 27 points.

Besides that, she had also mastered three C-grade martial skills: [Ice Sword], [Treading Snow], and [Bone-Freezing Armor], all of which had reached mastery.

Combined with her innate martial skill, it was enough to defeat Lu Cheng. To say "defeat" was giving him too much credit; this was sure to be an absolute crushing victory!

Su Wan slowly opened her eyes, her gaze cold and clear.

She couldn't imagine how she could possibly lose.

Just then, a prompt that only she could see suddenly popped up before her eyes.

[Perform comparison?]

Su Wan looked at that line of text, her gaze narrowing slightly.