Chapter 11: Sparring Partner, Even Stronger

The muscular man in the compression shirt stood silent, his eyes locked firmly on Fang Cheng.

Standing over six feet tall with a broad, hulking frame, he radiated an intense sense of intimidation without saying a word.

Fang Cheng grew alert. He tilted his shoulders slightly, stepped into a staggered stance, and set his hands in a low guard.

He was ready to switch between offense and defense at a moment’s notice.

The muscular man stopped, maintaining a distance of just over an arm’s length.

Then, with a look of confusion, he asked

"You’ve trained in boxing too? Are you in the same line of work?"

Fang Cheng couldn't help but pause, looking at the guy who was as sturdy as a grizzly bear.

The man’s brow relaxed, and he began to chat with genuine interest

"That move you used—the eye contact and the feint to bait me into losing the knife, and that follow-up hook—that was pretty good!"

"Have you competed before? We should spar sometime if you're free."

There was even a hint of admiration in his tone.

"Ma-ge..."

A-Dong groaned, finally catching his breath after being "liver-punched."

After Fang Cheng knocked the yellow-haired man out with a single punch, the legal consequences of excessive self-defense had flashed through his mind.

That was why, although his subsequent two-hit combo was fast, he had pulled his punches significantly.

After all, this was his first time hitting someone with his bare fists; he couldn't gauge his strength well and was afraid of causing internal bleeding.

"Oh—"

The muscular man had a sudden realization. He wiped his face hard and switched to a fierce expression.

"I don't care if you're in the same line of work or not!"

"Isn't it only right to pay back what you owe? Does being in debt give you the right to be self-righteous?"

He shouted, turning to look at the onlookers and the security guards.

"Am I right? Everyone, judge for yourselves—what did we do wrong?"

Seeing that the man didn't seem to have much malicious intent, Fang Cheng breathed a slight sigh of relief.

"You’re causing a scene here, disturbing the rest of the other patients. If you have a dispute, you can ask the police for help or go to the station to negotiate a resolution."

Hearing Fang Cheng say this, A-Dong curled his lip and couldn't help but retort

"Do you know who we are? We’re from the Viper Gang..."

"Cough, cough!"

The muscular man coughed violently twice, quickly cutting him off to explain

"We are debt collectors for a legitimate financial firm."

Fang Cheng didn't have the time to care about their actual background; he just continued to advise them politely and firmly

"What’s the point of taking the child? He has leukemia. If his condition worsens while he's with you, who will be responsible?"

"Legally, you would definitely be charged with manslaughter. Or are you willing to cover the child's living and medical expenses?"

"Once he’s cured, if you have issues, settle them; if you have debts, collect them. Even if you take it to court, you’ll have a stronger case."

"What you said... actually makes a lot of sense."

Perhaps swayed by Fang Cheng’s polite attitude, the muscular man rubbed his chin and began to ponder.

"For the sake of your reasonable argument, fine, I’ll give them another month."

"A month should be enough to scrape together the interest, right?"

He turned to look at the nervous young couple.

"Thank you, thank you so much!"

The young couple hugged their child tightly and nodded repeatedly.

It was unclear whether they were thanking the thugs or Fang Cheng.

The muscular man shook his head, muttered "what a pain in the ass" under his breath, and walked over to the yellow-haired man, who was still sleeping like a baby, and slapped him across the face.

The yellow-haired man groaned and slowly came to.

Looking at the unexpectedly harmonious scene before him, he couldn't help but mumble

"Brother, didn't you tell me to be tougher?"

"Shut up!"

The muscular man scolded him, then instructed another underling

"A-Dong, take him downstairs to register and see if he has a concussion. A boxer’s fists aren't just for show."

Just as the three guys decided to let it go and prepared to leave, the muscular man seemed to remember something and turned back.

He dug into his pocket for a long time, pulled out a crumpled business card, and handed it to Fang Cheng.

"Let's keep in touch. I'll introduce you to some boxing friends; you only improve by sparring with others."

He smiled after saying this and walked away with his two underlings.

Fang Cheng looked at the card noncommittally.

"Black Snake Financial Company, Collection Team Leader, Ma Donghe."

As the collection trio reached the elevator, the faint sound of their troubled voices drifted back.

They seemed to be discussing how they would explain this to their boss when they got back.

Seeing no more excitement to be had, the onlookers gradually dispersed.

A group of security guards walked up to Fang Cheng one by one, sincerely expressing their gratitude for helping them resolve the difficult situation.

In the end, only the young couple remained, still clutching their child, sitting blankly on the floor, not yet having recovered their senses.

"I told you!"

"How could guys from the Viper Gang react so quickly..."

Li Dingjian emerged from somewhere, his mouth uncovered as he muttered in a low voice, his expression relaxed.

Then, he looked at Fang Cheng with a strange gaze, sizing him up as if seeing him for the first time.

"What, don't recognize me?"

Fang Cheng remained calm, adjusting the sleeves he had rolled up during the fight.

Li Dingjian reached out and pinched his arm, clicking his tongue repeatedly

"You brat, have you been secretly practicing martial arts? And you're getting more and more handsome..."

"Chengcheng, what happened? I heard people saying you were fighting with thugs?"

As he spoke, a series of anxious footsteps approached from behind, followed by Li Biyun’s voice.

Fang Cheng turned back and saw his mother’s worried face, so he quickly explained

"No, those people weren't thugs..."

"Sis, you missed a great show."

Li Dingjian quickly took over the conversation, beaming

"The punches Ah Cheng used to beat up those thugs just now—it was like a boxing champion descending! He had a bit of the style Brother-in-law had back in the day!"

Fang Cheng and Li Biyun turned their heads simultaneously and glared at him.

Li Dingjian gave a sheepish smile, immediately shut his mouth, and shrugged to show his apology.

By now, his grandfather had been woken up.

Fang Cheng stayed in the ward with his mother and uncle, chatting with him for a while.

Of course, most of the time they were the ones talking; his grandfather could only nod or grunt in response.

According to the doctor, he would likely be able to have the tubes removed in two days, eat some liquid food, and speak normally.

After the IV drip was changed and the old man fell into a tired sleep, his mother and uncle left to attend to their own affairs.

The room fell back into silence.

Only the occasional beep of the monitor and the faint sounds of conversation from the hallway remained.

Fang Cheng sat idly, feeling a bit bored.

He stood up, placed his hands on the cold tiles, and began practicing push-ups.

Once a habit is formed, it is hard to change.

Even a moment of laziness brought a sense of guilt.

It was as if his future self, having met with failure, was looking back to condemn the version of him that wasn't working hard enough right now.

The muscular man named "Ma Donghe" was no ordinary thug.

Fang Cheng had felt a strong sense of oppression from him, as if he were being stared at by a wild beast.

It even exceeded the feeling he got from the professional coaches and fighters at the club.

This sense of oppression wasn't just due to the difference in physique; it was more likely the difference in aura cultivated through frequent combat.

Fang Cheng had appeared calm just now, but his body had been tense the entire time, prepared for the opponent to lash out.

Perhaps his current boxing technique was enough to compete with professional fighters.

But in the face of absolute strength, any technique is just a passing cloud.

If the other party hadn't chosen to back down and they had really fought, Fang Cheng couldn't guarantee he would have walked away unscathed.

When a man encounters danger, he either uses others' bodies to vent his stress, or he tempers his own body to build the confidence to completely defeat his opponent.

Fang Cheng chose the latter.

During the process, a nurse came in for a routine check.

Seeing his intense, reckless push-ups, her expression was inevitably a bit strange.

Fang Cheng didn't care about others' gazes.

He watched the notification messages popping up on the panel, counting silently.

【You completed 6 standard push-ups, skill experience +1】

【You completed 6 standard push-ups, skill experience +1】

【You completed 7 standard push-ups, skill experience +1】

………………

As the progress bar passed the halfway point and approached the limit of Lv0, the rate of skill experience growth became slower and slower.

I'm afraid that after upgrading to Lv1, just like with boxing, the effectiveness of ordinary exercise will decrease significantly.

It was just like the opponents in his two real-world encounters.

The drunkard covered in fat was rated by the panel as an "evenly matched opponent."

Defeating him easily had caused his experience to skyrocket by 20 points.

But the two thugs who had been street fighting for years only earned the title of "nobodies."

The experience gained from defeating them was surprisingly similar to that of the drunkard.

However, upon reflection, it felt quite reasonable.

After the boxing skill upgraded to Lv1, the panel’s rating was "Expert Level."

Even if the two thugs had extremely rich fighting experience, compared to an expert like himself, what were they if not rookies?

Fang Cheng climbed to his feet and caught his breath.

He clenched his hands, staring at the veins bulging on the back of his fists.

As the skill level increased, his physique continued to strengthen.

Rather than saying the opponents he faces will become stronger, it is more accurate to say that the challenges he requires must be strong enough.

The greater the difficulty, the higher the reward.

Breaking through the "Boxing" skill cap was achieved by setting up imaginary enemies, practicing shadowboxing, and simulating real combat.

To break through the "Push-up" skill cap, if he continued to repeat basic movements, the efficiency would clearly be a bit low.

The most appropriate method should be to increase the difficulty of completing each movement.

Fortunately, the "Prisoner's Six Arts" system was comprehensive.

Each fitness skill had corresponding, reasonable advanced training methods that could be unlocked sequentially and improved step by step.

There was no need to worry about that.

(End of chapter)