Transcendent Dawn

Su Lu looked up at the sign, “This must be the place, right?”

He walked on the soft, crimson carpet towards the front desk.

The air seemed to have been scented with incense or perfume, refreshing one’s spirit. There was a certain aura of professionalism and high-end sophistication to the place.

“Hello, sir. How can I be of service?”

The sweet voice from the receptionist greeted him. Su Lu glanced at her nametag – Han XiaoLe.

“Is this the New Moon Fighting Gym?”

“Yes. Would you like to become a member? We offer memberships at three different levels: Silver, Gold, Diamond… The Silver annual membership is currently on discount for just 9999…”

Su Lu had a start, “No, no. I just want to take a few boxing lessons?”

“Oh.” Han XiaoLe appeared a bit disappointed but managed to keep up the spirit. “We have a variety of boxing coaches. We charge per lesson – one session costs 200. You can try a lesson first.”

“Let’s try that.”

Su Lu passed her the money. He had seen the ad online, which is why he made the trip.

“Alright, please follow me.”

Han XiaoLe led the way passing through a long corridor until they arrived at a large dojo.

The gym was vast, divided into many small areas filled with various equipment such as boxing rings, punching bags, treadmills, and more.

Already, many students were training under their coaches.

“All our coaches here are professional…”

Carrying a clipboard, Han XiaoLe led Su Lu to an area designated for freestyle fighting. “This is your coach, Fang Cheng!”

Looking in the direction pointed, Su Lu saw a tall, thin young man in the ring demonstrating various fighting poses, he appeared quite dynamic and cool.

Han XiaoLe went forward and spoke a few words to him. Fang Cheng turned around, glanced at Su Lu, and furrowed his brows. “My name’s Fang Cheng. You can call me ‘Coach’ or ‘Brother Cheng’.”

He was slightly more seasoned than Han XiaoLe, and from Su Lu’s clothing, shoes, demeanor, it was clear that he was not some rich kid. Such students were hard to teach and provided less commission, which made him hesitant.

“Coach.”

Su Lu entered the ring and looked around, a bit excited. “Can we spar? I love fighting. The real kind!”

“Sure.”

Fang Cheng coldly laughed and nonchalantly pointed towards a student. “Huang Gao, why don’t you practice with him.”

“No! I want to test the coach’s skills.”

Su Lu stared at Fang Cheng.

He was fully aware of the dismissive attitude.

“Oh, courageous.”

Fang Cheng laughed. “Put on the protective gear.”

“No need.”

Su Lu waved him off, walked to the center of the ring, and calmly looked at the delighted spectators.

“Everyone, watch. This is a practical demonstration using some of the techniques I taught today.”

Focusing on Su Lu, Fang Cheng gestured. “Come on.”

Being challenged by a layman stirred a bit of anger in him, and he decided to give Su Lu a first-hand experience of hardship.

On the other hand, on the edge of the boxing ring, Han XiaoLe was anxiously clutching her clipboard.

“So…”

Su Lu suddenly charged forward emitting a kiai shout of “Attack!”

The loud roar startled everyone, echoing within the gym. People from the neighboring areas gasped and turned their focus towards them.

Suddenly, they witnessed an unknown man leap high, executing a standard roundhouse kick aimed precisely at Fang Cheng’s face.

——- Spin Kick!

Smack!

The next moment, the coach was lying on the floor, unconscious.

Outside the ring.

Han XiaoLe gaped at the panting Su Lu. You’re not here to learn; you’re here to challenge the gym, aren’t you?

“…coach?”

The students gathered around. Luckily this is a professional gym, and they were prepared for such injuries. A doctor was always on standby.

A professional doctor immediately checked the pupils, pulse and shook his head. “He’s fine, just fainted…”

Su Lu stood quietly. He had expected all of this.

The coach was too complacent. Coupled with Su Lu’s sudden outburst which disturbed their spirit, he got the first strike, KO!

In reality, if they truly sparred, Su Lu’s physical condition wasn’t up to par. He would likely be no match.

“What’s going on?”

The chaotic crowd immediately attracted other coaches. After understanding the situation, they all bizarrely stared at Su Lu.

This kid…Is he here just for a challenge?

“Sorry, sorry…I didn’t properly control my strength just now.”

Only then did Su Lu finally regain his breath, he quickly said: “I’m gonna go now! Leaving now!”

Su Lu bowed repeatedly, seemingly apologetic, and left the boxing ring.

The coaches and students outside the ring were just standing there, bewildered.

It was initially announced as a practical match. If they rushed forward now, it would turn into a fight. Having so many people fight one, too embarrassing.

“Interesting kid.”

Not far away, two people watched the scene and exchanged a smile.

“Coach Gu, what do you think?”

A young man stared at Su Lu’s retreating figure, a faint smile cracking at the corner of his mouth.

“His awareness is strong, his physical condition is poor…But that ruthlessness, along with his sense of timing and understanding of damage is really good…a rare breed! A rare breed!”

The man known as Coach Gu stood about 1.9 meters tall, only wearing a nylon tank top, his muscles appeared to be on the verge of bursting out of his clothes. His skin bore a blackened hue.

He squinted his eyes, “He’s a good prospect, but it seems like he is specifically here to beat someone up.”

“Challenge the gym? Doesn’t seem like it…”

The young man lightly scratched his head, his expression growing cold. “It seems like Fang Cheng has gotten himself involved in something outside and brought it into the gym? Warn him. If it happens again, let him collect a month’s salary from HR and send him away!”

…

[XP+15]

Su Lu ignored his actions which apparently might cause the instructor some trouble.

Right now, he was looking at his attribute bar with glee.

Besides, Han XiaoLe had refunded the deposit he paid.

Leaving the gym, Su Lu looked up, squinting his eyes in satisfaction. ‘Not bad at all…using this method to shear a sheep, at least each gym in East City can be targeted once…how much experience would that be? And it doesn’t cost a dime. At worst, I’ll take a beating…’

‘Although techniques like Maga Fighting Skills…are a bit different in this world and can’t be used as they are, they need some adaptation. At least now, I can pick up some of the basics of fighting. Although I won’t be as strong as I was in my previous life, it would be enough to deal with three to five average people.’

…

A few days later, at night.

Su Lu returned to the Bai Jing restaurant, dragging his tired body.

He sat on the bed, grimacing in pain as he rubbed ointment on his bruises. He had several patches of dark purple skin that hurt so much he was grimacing in pain.

If one caused trouble on someone else’s turf, they needed to be prepared to get hit.

Luckily, people in this society weren’t overbearing.

With this method of extortion, he gained quite a lot of experience points and also truly learned a thing or two.