The heat of June was maddening, and the sun’s harshness made even the clouds shy away.
In the indoor gym, the PE teacher rarely managed to get a class, and the excited students stood in their assigned groups.
In front of each of them was a red sandbag.
"I know you little rascals don’t have much interest in this class. You only like the free activities of PE classes."
"I won’t make it hard for you. Just hit ten standard punches, and you can have free activity time!"
The PE teacher knew these students well and handled them masterfully.
"Yay!!" The students cheered joyously. During this period of heavy pressure in the third year of high school, PE class was one of their rare moments of relaxation.
Most of the students quickly assumed a punching stance, casually throwing a few punches and then preparing for their free time.
But Su Tu was different. He stood before the sandbag, focused and composed. His eyes were serious as he settled into his stance, launching a powerful punch.
the 200-plus-pound sandbag was actually lifted several inches by his punch.
Then, Su Tu continued to punch consecutively with astonishing force, causing the sandbag to continuously swing upwards. As he took a deep breath, he delivered a final punch with full strength.
Immediately, the chains connecting the sandbag emitted a teeth-clenching creak.
"Whoa, this guy Su Tu is really strong!"
"Tu Bro, that’s insane. You’re treating a 200-pound sandbag like a toy!!"
"A man among men, the best of the best, I dub thee the Ultimate Devil Muscle Man."
Classmates were either shocked or joking as they spoke.
However, Su Tu ignored the voices around him. Before his eyes appeared a translucent screen visible only to him.
[Completed standard punch training, Fighting Proficiency +30, Body Strengthening Proficiency +10]
[Fighting (Initial Tier): 100/300]
Su Tu looked at the screen before him.
"As expected, participating in activities gives much more proficiency than practicing in isolation."
His gaze then shifted to other skills on the system panel.
[Strengthen Body (Initial Tier): 110/300]
[Culinary Skill (Initial Tier): 200/300]
[Spiritual Wisdom (Middle Tier): 120/1000]
A sense of accomplishment rose in his eyes. These were all the fruits of his labor over the past half month.
It’s unclear whether it was a traversal or an awakening of Innate Wisdom, but Su Tu was born with memories from a previous life, leading an ordinary life until half a month ago on his birthday when his system activated.
The system’s ability was straightforward: whenever Su Tu mastered a skill, it would appear on the panel, and by practicing it, he would gain proficiency and thus improve in skill level.
People often say that effort leads to reward, but this supposed truth contains ambiguity.
Just like an athlete striving for better performance, his hard work can pale in comparison when met with a similarly hard-working genius.
Or, if he slacks off for even a few days, his past efforts can come to nothing.
But with this system panel, Su Tu didn’t have such worries. As long as he worked hard enough, his abilities would improve, and he didn’t have to worry about losing them over time.
Take [Fighting], for example, a skill that was activated during a PE class half a month ago when the teacher taught the standard punch.
According to the teacher, the standard punch was akin to a military boxing technique.
After learning just once, Su Tu completely mastered it upon activating the Fighting skill. He hadn’t even practiced deliberately but achieved such power just by casually striking a few punches at home after studying.
A punch strength of 200 pounds is something even some boxers might not achieve, and reaching this level just under playful practice conditions was simply unthinkable.
The PE teacher now gazed at Su Tu with a peculiar expression.
"Everyone else can have free time, Su Tu, come with me." He waved his hand, letting the others have free time.
The students cheered and scattered, leaving only Su Tu behind.
Su Tu walked to the PE teacher and sat with him at the edge of the stands.
"Kid, be honest with me, have you practiced before?"
The PE teacher, named Lin Feiyang, was in his thirties and often ’ill.’ A high-intensity internet surfer, he was always spouting memes and got along well with the students.
"Feiyang Bro, I really haven’t practiced much." Su Tu spoke honestly.
After all, he didn’t think throwing a few punches in the air before bed amounted to much effort.
"Not much practice, yet you almost sent a 200-pound sandbag flying with one punch?"
"If you learn systematically, you might as well be the ancestor of mankind!" Lin Feiyang joked.
Su Tu shrugged with an indifferent expression as if to say believe it or not.
"Maybe you’re truly one in a million genius, huh?" Seeing the atmosphere dampen, Lin Feiyang took the initiative to speak. "If you have the opportunity, I suggest you train systematically."
"I can’t say much, but you won’t lose anything by learning Martial Arts."
Lin Feiyang spoke earnestly.
"What’s the matter, have they decided to include Martial Arts in the college entrance exams?" Su Tu joked half-heartedly.
The technology of this era was far more advanced than in his previous life. Blue Star had started conquering the universe, with the fifteenth colonial planet already built. All resources from planets within the star system of each colony planet were supplied to the main star to boost development speed.
The force enhancements brought by technology were huge. Even regular police were equipped with kinetic pistols that could blow titanium alloy apart with a single shot.
In the face of such power, individual martial prowess seemed insignificant. However, it seemed a spaceship recently discovered something on the dark side of a planet, possibly indicating the existence of Extraordinary Power. But such matters were far too distant for Su Tu.
Yet, hearing Su Tu’s words, Lin Feiyang left a rare silence instead of laughing.
Seeing this, Su Tu’s pupils contracted sharply.
"I didn’t say a thing. The imagination of kids these days is astonishing." Lin Feiyang left this remark before standing up, brushing off and walking away.
Before he left, a red slip of paper fell from his pocket.
It was a business card, which Su Tu caught. On it was just an address and a simple name.
Tayue Martial Arts Hall.
"No way, could they really be adding Martial Arts to the college entrance exams? But there’s only three months until the exams start, announcing an additional subject would be no small feat."
"But with Feiyang Bro’s attitude just now..."
Green Vine Academy was a key high school in a first-tier city. Even PE teachers had to pass numerous assessments to enter, and Lin Feiyang was directly parachuted into the academy. Someone even saw the principal being quite cordial, even somewhat... obsequious towards him.
Such a person wouldn’t shoot aimlessly.
Thinking of this, Su Tu pocketed the business card. He was already somewhat interested in Fighting; otherwise, he wouldn’t be idly punching for no reason. Since learning more wouldn’t hurt, he didn’t mind checking it out when free.
"What are you thinking about, here!" a familiar cheeky voice sounded.
The speaker was a very slim boy, Su Tu’s close friend, Chen Xi.
"Wondering why you aren’t dead yet!" Su Tu retorted casually.
Chen Xi grinned cheekily, "Because His Majesty lives forever!!"
"Is the eunuch Chen still dreaming?" Su Tu teased.
"Alright, spit out what you want." Su Tu could tell at a glance Chen Xi needed something from him; otherwise, this guy would have bombarded him with chatter already.
"Hehe, well, it’s, uh.. oh, it’s a bit embarrassing to say..." Chen Xi suddenly looked bashful.
"Don’t tell me.... you’re going to meet your online girlfriend, aren’t you?" Su Tu recalled how Chen Xi rambled to him about finding true love not long ago.
"Hehe, Xiaohui wants to meet me at the end of the month, could you come with me? I’m too embarrassed to go alone."
"Get lost, I’m not interested in being your third wheel."
The two of them bantered on.
Not far away, Lin Feiyang stood on the second floor of the gym, making a call.
"Still haven’t found traces of that beast, hmm, Blue Star is doing a great job with confidentiality. There are indeed some promising talents.
I suggest announcing the new policy soon. The Douluo Palace relic can’t be hidden for long. Those guys will come sniffing around."
"I suspect besides the beast, some other things might have arrived too..."