Chapter 15: Freestyle Fighting Champion

Afternoon, just past one o'clock.

Fang Cheng did not appear at the training facility where he was expected to be.

Instead, dressed in a blue suit and clutching a stack of flyers, he stood in front of Entrance 7 of the shopping mall.

The surrounding crowds were bustling and continuous, filled with people entering the mall to shop and play.

"Excuse me, sir, would you like to learn martial arts? It's essential for fitness and home defense..."

From time to time, he would shout his advertising slogans and hand out flyers, pitching combat classes to the men passing by.

However, after only a few words, he was repeatedly met with waves of rejection.

On the other hand, quite a few young women chose to linger and listen patiently.

But it seemed their intention was more about flirting than buying classes.

Some bold girls even went so far as to ask for his private contact information.

A polite smile hung on Fang Cheng's face, but cold sweat was beginning to bead on his forehead.

He felt that the work in the marketing department was simply something no normal person could handle.

If he had a choice, he would rather do 1,000 push-ups than endure this current embarrassment.

How embarrassing was it?

It was like telling an unfunny joke in public a hundred times in a row.

That was roughly the feeling.

The day before yesterday, Fang Cheng had approached his supervisor to express his intention to rotate through various positions to gain more work experience.

Old Qiu didn't care.

The problem was that the department was currently short-handed; any transfer would inevitably trigger personnel issues.

So, he told Fang Cheng to go to the manager to submit a formal application.

As it turned out, before he could even finish writing the report, Manager Li had proactively called him in for a talk this noon.

At first, the conversation went quite smoothly.

As usual, the manager offered some words of encouragement, saying things like "work hard" and "the company won't mistreat excellent employees."

Subsequently, Manager Li hinted that he could officially stay on.

As long as he performed well, he could be promoted to deputy manager next year, and in a few years, he might even become a supervisor.

Fang Cheng remained noncommittal and did not state his position on the spot.

A supervisor's empty promise was too far off, and a deputy's salary wouldn't be much higher.

Of course, having the opportunity for a promotion and a raise was certainly a good thing.

Seeing that Manager Li seemed to be in a good mood, Fang Cheng took the opportunity to request a job rotation.

Manager Li pondered for a moment and said it could be considered.

However, Fang Cheng would first need to prove his abilities in a new position.

As a result, the transfer had been pushed all the way from the logistics department to the marketing department.

Gazing at the surging tide of people around him, Fang Cheng let out a silent sigh.

He couldn't help but wonder: was Manager Li hard of hearing and misunderstood him? Or was he doing this on purpose?

Wantong Shopping Center had been running a lucky draw event for the past few days.

As long as customers' spending within the mall reached a certain threshold, they could redeem gifts and enter the draw through the organizers.

It was said that the prizes included refrigerators, color TVs, and even the trendiest home computers.

Because of this, even on non-weekends or holidays, large numbers of citizens were drawn to join the excitement.

Fang Cheng's task today was to recruit a batch of new students to help the club sprint toward its year-end performance targets.

Many competitors in the industry had similar ideas.

Yoga classes, dance studios, wellness centers, and gyms located upstairs were all making their moves.

Since its opening over half a year ago, Wantong Shopping Center had been quite quiet, with training institutions occupying half of its territory.

Now that the mall management was running an event to boost foot traffic, everyone naturally wouldn't miss the opportunity.

Almost every high-traffic location featured colleagues from various industries handing out flyers or advertising.

The club had also fought hard to snatch up this prime spot next to Entrance 7.

"Brother Fang Cheng, won't you come and help us?"

A sweet voice drifted into his ears.

Fang Cheng turned around to see two young ladies in professional office attire waving at him.

A table was set up at the entrance, along with several advertising display stands that hadn't been fully assembled yet.

They were his colleagues from the marketing department.

"Sure!"

Fang Cheng responded decisively, feeling an immediate sense of relief in his heart.

Whatever he did now felt more comfortable than just standing there like an idiot handing out flyers.

After securing the display stands and posting the promotional posters, Fang Cheng brushed the dust off his palms and scanned the images and text on them.

The first two posters mainly introduced the club's environment, facilities, instructors, courses, and relevant discounts.

The final poster was a portrait of a certain combat star.

On the life-sized image of the muscular man, his eyes were sharp and piercing, as if they possessed substance.

On the right side, an extremely eye-catching headline was written

"Combat King Zheng Haokang will visit this club on December 17th. Please stay tuned!"

Below that was a large block of text introducing the athlete's life history and honors.

A native of Wenchuan District, Dongdu City, he was a Sanda King, an Olympic boxing champion, and a two-time national free combat champion.

He later transitioned to the KFC (King of Combat Fighting) circuit, where he successfully captured the lightweight gold belt, becoming the first Xia Country fighter to win a championship in a top-tier world combat event.

Because he had trained at the Global Elite Combat Club before becoming famous, the club management frequently used his story as a "golden brand" to attract students.

It was said that inviting him for a guidance class cost over 100,000 yuan, and many students had already paid in advance to reserve their spots.

"Thanks for the help, Brother Fang Cheng."

One female colleague's face flushed slightly as she handed him a cup of hot water.

The other female colleague immediately vied for attention

"Brother Fang Cheng, you must be tired. Sit down for a bit; there's no rush to hand out flyers."

The two women surrounded Fang Cheng, chatting incessantly.

One moment they were asking after his well-being, and the next they were complaining on his behalf, saying the manager was stingy and that he should have received a raise when he changed positions.

Fang Cheng sipped the hot water and chatted casually with them.

However, his attention was entirely on that last poster.

His eyes were fixed on the heroic face of the combat champion, his mind churning with thoughts.

All along, Fang Cheng had harbored an aspiration to witness the scenery at higher altitudes and broader horizons.

Because this involved the power hierarchy of the entire world and was related to the ultimate ceiling he could reach.

If... there were no supernatural powers...

A world-class combat champion would mean standing at the pinnacle of human physical capability, right?

Fang Cheng's eyes flickered as he thought to himself.

Perhaps only by observing closely, learning, and competing against true top-tier masters could he find the answer.

Glancing at the date, there was still more than half a month left.

He had to hurry his training and make preparations to seize this rare opportunity.

With a thought, his panel surfaced.

Fang Cheng gazed at all the skills he currently possessed.

[Speed Reading lv1 (36/250)]

[Focus lv1 (81/250)]

[Cooking lv0 (52/100)]

[Cleaning lv0 (90/100)]

[Boxing lv1 (41/250)]

[Push-ups lv1 (1/250)]

[Squats lv0 (65/100)]

[Leg Raises lv0 (0/100)]

The Squat and Cleaning skills were close to breaking through; when that happened, he should be able to add points again to continue improving his physical attributes.

As for the "Six Arts of the Prisoner," he believed that following his normal progress, he could achieve full unlocking within twenty days.

The most important thing right now should be learning other combat skills.

After all, the opponent was an MMA fighter and a free combat champion...

As he thought this, a question suddenly interrupted his train of thought.

"Excuse me, can learning this help with fitness?"

(End of Chapter)