Lu Yuan sat on a long black bench, a gray water bottle in his hand.

About twenty meters ahead, thirty black punching posts, each nearly as tall as a person, stood on a floor padded with thick mats.

A large "Source" character was printed on the posts, and in front of each post stood a student wearing a blue martial arts uniform.

The students struck the posts with all their might, their shouts and yells of encouragement echoing through the air, creating a lively atmosphere.

Lu Yuan quietly watched this bustling scene, his gaze fixed.

It wasn't until a voice calling "Class dismissed!" that he was pulled back from his thoughts.

He stood up and walked towards a figure running quickly through the crowd towards him.

"Lu Yuan!"

The figure that arrived in front of Lu Yuan was a boy of similar age with slightly tanned skin.

He had thick eyebrows and slightly curly hair, damp strands sticking to his forehead, his entire body radiating heat from the intense workout.

"What do you think? The atmosphere in our martial arts school is pretty good, right?"

The boy began to unwrap the bandages around his hands.

"Learning martial arts can also be used for self-defense, which is much more useful than the badminton and swimming you mentioned before."

Lu Yuan hesitated for a moment before offering his water bottle. "I need to go back and discuss it with my parents."

The boy, sensing Lu Yuan's interest, quickly said, "Don't worry, I'll call your uncle later and make sure he agrees to let you come here.

It would be nice if we could come to class together in the future.

Looking at your skinny frame, you should really learn some fighting techniques, just in case you get bullied outside."

The boy lightly bumped Lu Yuan's shoulder with his fist, then took the water bottle, unscrewed the cap, and gulped down large mouthfuls of water.

After finishing most of the bottle in one go, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and continued, "Also, our martial arts school is having a promotion. If you sign up now, it's much cheaper than usual."

"Hmm."

Lu Yuan hummed in response but didn't say anything else.

The boy didn't say anything further either, throwing out a "I'm going to shower, wait for me in the lobby" before running off.

Lu Yuan watched the boy leave, then picked up his backpack from the chair and turned towards the exit of the venue.

The boy's name was Cheng Peng, his classmate and close friend, and a deep enthusiast of combat sports.

Hearing that Lu Yuan wanted to sign up for an extracurricular class to exercise and improve his physique, Cheng Peng had dragged him to the martial arts school where he usually trained to "audit" a class.

He had tried to persuade Lu Yuan with all his might, hoping that he would sign up immediately.

Lu Yuan arrived at the entrance of the martial arts school and stood on the steps.

Above his head was a large sign with the word "Source" written in an ancient style.

Source Martial Arts School.

An enrollment advertisement was posted on the wall near the entrance.

It simply mentioned words like "ancient martial arts," "strengthening," "combat," "summer enrollment promotion," and "special discounts."

Lu Yuan stared at the price information on the advertisement for a long time before finally turning his head away.

During this time, people constantly passed by him.

Men and women, each exuding confidence and swagger.

Compared to them, the thin and weak Lu Yuan seemed to lack any aura.

Lu Yuan looked at these people with some envy.

To be honest, he was quite tempted by Cheng Peng's suggestion.

His body in this new life was frail and thin, lacking in physical activity.

The term "skinny dog" was a perfect description.

This was also the reason why he was so eager to change.

Learning martial arts, and along with it, fighting and combat skills, seemed like a very good choice.

But...

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The high tuition fees made Lu Yuan hesitate.

"With the current situation at home, it's highly unlikely they would agree to me enrolling in this martial arts class.

The price is far beyond my parents' expectations..."

Lu Yuan thought silently to himself.

"Goodbye, Coach."

Cheng Peng's voice reached his ears, causing Lu Yuan to turn his head.

He saw Cheng Peng, who had showered and changed into a new set of clothes, standing at the entrance of the martial arts school.

He was waving goodbye to a man of medium build in his thirties.

Seemingly noticing Lu Yuan's gaze, the man inadvertently glanced in his direction.

Meeting those eyes, Lu Yuan suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

It was as if he had been targeted by a ferocious beast, the hairs on the back of his hand practically standing on end.

"Thump thump - thump thump -"

Lu Yuan felt his heart beat rapidly, and with great effort, he suppressed the feeling of trepidation.

Looking again, the man who had given him this unprecedented sense of oppression had already turned and entered the martial arts school.

"Who was that?"

Lu Yuan maintained a calm expression as he casually asked Cheng Peng, who had walked up to him.

"Who?"

Cheng Peng followed Lu Yuan's gaze and quickly revealed a look of understanding.

"Oh, him? He's a coach at our martial arts school, a very skilled fighter.

You wouldn't believe it, but our coach can punch the training posts used by the students seven or eight meters away!

No exaggeration, he literally sends them flying with one punch, I saw it with my own eyes.

That scene, tsk tsk..."

As Cheng Peng spoke, his face unconsciously revealed a look of envy and admiration, leaving Lu Yuan even more amazed.

He had just seen the training posts used by Cheng Peng and the others, each probably weighing around a hundred kilograms.

Punching a hundred-kilogram object seven or eight meters away?

How much strength would that require?

Even the boxing champions of his previous life might not be able to achieve that.

Although he didn't know how much exaggeration there was in Cheng Peng's claim of "no exaggeration," Lu Yuan couldn't help but feel a stronger surge of desire.

But this desire quickly turned into greater helplessness.

"...Coach Qin is a direct disciple of the school's owner, that's why he's so powerful.

It's said that he even won awards in the provincial fighting competition."

"Sigh, if only I could be accepted as a direct disciple by the owner one day.

No, even becoming Coach Qin's official disciple would be enough.

Wouldn't I be unstoppable at school then?..."

Cheng Peng continued chattering, but Lu Yuan was no longer in the mood to listen.

He tugged on his backpack and walked towards the bus stop in the distance.

"I'm going home."

"Uh..."

Cheng Peng's chatter came to an abrupt halt, and he looked at Lu Yuan's departing figure with some urgency.

"Aren't you going to accompany me to the internet cafe? Didn't we agree to play ranked games together?"

"Who agreed to that? I need to go home and eat."

"Damn, you're ditching me again!"

Cheng Peng raised his fist towards Lu Yuan's retreating back.

Ten minutes later, Lu Yuan was already sitting on a bus.

"Six hundred and thirty-eight yuan and fifty cents in my phone wallet.

Adding the class scholarship rewards from the past two monthly tests, I have less than two thousand yuan in total.

It's far from enough..."

Lu Yuan put down his phone and sighed softly.

His original plan was...

To tell his parents that he was enrolling in a regular sports class, get the money, and then secretly sign up for the martial arts class, filling in the remaining gap with his own savings.

However, after a rough calculation, he realized that this plan wouldn't work.

The cheapest course package at the Source Martial Arts School was more than twice the price of a regular sports class.

The difference between the two was too large, and his own savings were far from enough to bridge the gap.

Although he was very curious about this field that he had never encountered in either of his lives, the harsh reality forced him to give up.

Lu Yuan didn't even consider asking his parents to pay for the entire martial arts class.

His grandfather had recently suffered a sudden stroke and needed a large sum of money for surgery.

The family's small shop was also facing financial difficulties.

At such a critical juncture, he couldn't bring himself to ask.

If it weren't for the fact that the unified examination required a sports specialization, he wouldn't even want to attend a regular sports class.

If it was just for exercising, he could just run every day on his own.

"...The time is 3:27 PM on June 5th. Our country's third extraterrestrial base has officially been completed. The list of the first batch of personnel to go there has been determined, and it is understood that the list includes..."

"Clearance sale! Everything must go! Last day, clearance sale!"

"..."

News played on the bus's TV, and the sounds of shops along the street blared through the windows.

Lu Yuan leaned against the hard backrest of the bus seat, staring blankly at the passing street scene for a while before hearing the announcement that his destination stop had arrived.

He got off the bus from the back door.

The June sun at eleven in the morning, carrying waves of rising heat, caught him off guard.

He crossed the road and quickly took shelter in the shade of a building, following the road as he walked forward.

Soon, a small shop with a red background and white lettering, reading "Xinghua Food Shop," came into view.