"So, the place you said was so great is the massage room on the second floor of the Origin Martial Arts Hall?"
Lu Yuan looked askance at Cheng Peng on the second floor of the Origin Martial Arts Hall.
Cheng Peng retorted, "What else did you think it was?"
Lu Yuan's expression faltered slightly, and he shook his head. "Nothing."
Cheng Peng gave him a disdainful look, then walked up to the front desk and presented his student ID.
After a quick process, five minutes later, Lu Yuan was shown to a private room.
"You just wait here. Someone will be with you soon to give you a massage. Trust me, this massage is incredible. After one session, your muscles won't be sore tomorrow; you'll be bouncing around..."
Cheng Peng reassured Lu Yuan with a pat to his chest. "I'll head down to do some training first. Find me when you're finished with your massage."
Lu Yuan nodded.
After Cheng Peng left, he surveyed the small room.
The room was air-conditioned, and the temperature was comfortable.
In the middle was a narrow bed with a set of neatly folded robes on it, and a small cabinet for belongings stood beside it.
Lu Yuan put his backpack in the cabinet, then quickly showered in the attached bathroom and changed into the robes.
He sat on the bed waiting, taking a moment to send a quick message to his parents on his phone, letting them know he would be home a bit late from the martial arts hall.
Soon after, there was a knock on the door.
"Come in."
Lu Yuan put down his phone and saw a middle-aged man stride in, carrying a case.
Seeing the man's stout arms beneath his loose training clothes, Lu Yuan felt a flicker of unease, a sense that something was slightly off.
Thankfully, the man's gentle and friendly smile quickly dispelled this feeling.
"Lie down on the bed."
"Yes."
Lu Yuan obediently lay face down on the narrow bed.
The man opened his case, took out a small incense burner, lit it with a lighter, and placed it carefully on a small table by the bed.
A faint aroma of sandalwood wafted from the burner, gradually calming Lu Yuan's heart.
"Been training hard, haven't you?" the man asked, his hands lightly pressing Lu Yuan's legs and torso as he spoke.
"You have muscle tears and sprains in several places..."
"Is it serious?" Lu Yuan couldn't help but ask.
"Not too serious," the man said, shaking his head. "After all, this is a martial arts hall; it's inevitable for disciples to suffer sprains and bruises. I've seen many cases far worse than yours."
Only then did Lu Yuan begin to relax.
Next, the man asked Lu Yuan to remove his robes and remain lying face down.
He then took out a white ointment and gently applied it to Lu Yuan's thighs, calves, arms, and back.
The ointment felt cool on his skin. Before Lu Yuan could ask, the man explained, "This is a secret formula from the martial arts hall. With this ointment and my massage techniques, you'll fully recover in a day or two."
"A secret formula?"
"Yes, only students of the martial arts hall are privileged enough to use it. You can't buy it outside, no matter how much money you have... Alright, I'll begin."
The man spoke calmly, then suddenly applied pressure.
A sharp pain shot through Lu Yuan's calf, almost making him cry out.
But soon, the pain transformed into waves of tingling numbness that spread through his body.
The man's technique was gentle yet forceful, each touch landing precisely on the sore and swollen areas of Lu Yuan's body.
Given my past life experience as a 'Foot Bath Prince,' this man is definitely a master therapist.
Lu Yuan didn't know when he fell asleep.
When he woke up, soft music was playing, and a light blanket covered him.
The man who had given him the massage was long gone.
Nearly eight o'clock?!
Lu Yuan took his phone out of his backpack to check the time and saw that almost two hours had passed. His expression changed.
He didn't bother showering again, quickly got dressed, and rushed downstairs.
"I thought you were going to sleep until tomorrow morning," Cheng Peng said as soon as Lu Yuan reached the lobby. He was waiting there and immediately asked, "How do you feel?"
"We'll talk later. Let's go home!"
"Okay, I'm starving."
The effects of the massage at the Origin Martial Arts Hall far exceeded Lu Yuan's expectations.
By the very next day, the soreness in his body had almost completely vanished.
He was back to his old self... no, actually, he felt even better than before.
After all, muscles grow stronger by tearing and repairing.
HUFF... HUFF...
After executing a set of Basic Fist Skill movements, beads of sweat dotted Lu Yuan's forehead, yet he seemed more energetic than ever.
"Not bad!" Lin Zhiquin looked at him with a hint of satisfaction and nodded. "Most of your movements are very good, but there are a few areas that need improvement..."
After speaking, Lin Zhiquin personally corrected a few mistakes in Lu Yuan's form, then turned and called out to the other students, "Next!"
The main purpose of today's class was to test how well the students had consolidated the material taught in the previous lesson.
The fact that Lu Yuan received praise from Lin Zhiquin right away drew a lot of attention.
"Hey handsome, you're really good!"
The girl who had worn her hair in a bun during the last class now had it in a ponytail, and her makeup was more elaborate.
She deliberately greeted Lu Yuan loudly. When he ignored her, she didn't get angry, merely giggling as she said, "This handsome guy is pretty cool."
"You're really amazing. Out of everyone who went up, you performed the best," the round-faced girl, Liu Yue, said, approaching him quickly with admiration in her voice as he stepped down.
"I'm planning to use this as my specialty for the unified exam next year, so I've been putting in a bit more effort," Lu Yuan replied with a casual smile.
"I also signed up for martial arts because of the Phys Ed specialty for the unified exam. I heard the requirements for fighting are much lower than for badminton or other things. But I feel like I don't have any talent for this; no matter how much I practice, I can't seem to get it right..." Liu Yue sighed.
"You've only just started, and girls are generally at a bit of a disadvantage in this area anyway..." Lu Yuan offered casually, his attention already shifting to the attribute panel he had summoned before him.
[Name: Lu Yuan]
[Age: 17]
[Profession 1: Student LV3 (345/400)]
[Profession 2: Fighter LV1 (98/100)]
[Strength: 7]
[Agility: 8]
[Constitution: 7]
[Intelligence: 10]
...
[Profession 2 Basic Skills: Initial Body Forging LV2 (121/200)]
[Basic Fist Skill LV2 (23/200)]
Compared to a week ago, his Fighter profession had gained a significant amount of Experience Points. Just two more points, and he would reach LV2. Both basic skills had also upgraded to LV2. Especially Initial Body Forging; he only needed about forty percent more experience points to reach LV3. It was clear how intensely he had 'grinded' strength training this week.
However, for some unknown reason, his four-dimensional attributes hadn't changed at all. But why did he feel stronger? His body seemed to have become more robust, and even his appetite had increased significantly...
Lu Yuan couldn't figure it out.
"Alright, let's review the content from the last lesson. Then, we'll do two sets of strength training before starting the new material."
By now, Lin Zhiquin had a good understanding of everyone's mastery of the Basic Fist Skill and began to announce the schedule for today's class.
After going through the Basic Fist Skill routine with Lin Zhiquin, Lu Yuan's LV2 Basic Fist Skill gained a few more experience points.
This was much more effective than practicing the forms by himself at home, likely due to the hands-on instruction.
Next were two sets of strength training as a warm-up.
Just as he finished one set, Lu Yuan suddenly received a panel notification.
[Congratulations, your Strength attribute has increased!]
[Congratulations, your Constitution attribute has increased!]
Lu Yuan was startled for a moment. He re-examined his attribute panel, and sure enough...
His four-dimensional attributes were now—
[Strength: 8]
[Agility: 8]
[Constitution: 8]
[Intelligence: 10]
Both Strength and Constitution had increased by one point.
Lu Yuan was a little stunned. Why did they suddenly go up? I didn't feel any particular changes.
But he quickly figured out the crucial point.
It must be that after a week of training, my Strength and Constitution attributes were already near the critical point of increasing. They had actually improved, it just hadn't been reflected on the panel. Now, I've finally broken through that critical point, so the increase is displayed...