Chapter 301: The Poor Student and the Top Student

For the next several hours, Su Wangchuan remained at the Bajiquan Martial Arts Gym.

Under Chen Gang’s meticulous guidance, he began breaking down the techniques one move at a time, studying the mysteries within them—from the physical motions of each technique to the methods of generating force, as well as the countless variations used to adapt in real combat.

Su Wangchuan already possessed a solid foundation. He understood the explanations the moment he heard them, and his movements were precise as soon as he practiced them. His execution was twice as effective with half the effort.

Especially when it came to the techniques of force generation, Su Wangchuan’s strength was no weaker than Chen Gang’s. When he went all out, even when Chen Gang held up protective pads, he could still blast him several meters away with ease.

At times like this, the advantages of a professional martial arts gym with a professional sparring partner became evident.

The area where Chen Gang landed was padded and soft. He could simply roll with the momentum, avoiding unnecessary injury, then stand up immediately and continue explaining where Su Wangchuan’s technique needed correction.

Meanwhile, as Su Wangchuan continued practicing and contemplating the movements, a robot would come over to apply medicine to Chen Gang and treat him with ice compress spray.

Several hours passed.

By now, Su Wangchuan could smoothly perform an entire set of Bajiquan. Every lift of his hand and step of his foot carried explosive power. His movements flowed like running water, brimming with the fierce momentum of a tiger descending the mountain.

Chen Gang nodded repeatedly.

“Good!”

“That should be about enough for today.”

“You’ve basically mastered Bajiquan.”

“Practice it a bit more to consolidate your foundation. I believe you’ll fully master it very soon.”

“Alright. I’ll come again tomorrow.”

Su Wangchuan bid Chen Gang farewell and left with relaxed ease.

Chen Gang watched him enter the elevator. Only then did he remove his training uniform. When he glanced at the mirror, he saw more than a dozen vivid red palm prints clearly stamped across his body. Grimacing in pain, he staggered toward the robot.

“Oof… that hurts like hell.”

“That guy’s strikes didn’t even look heavy. Why does it hurt so much…?”

“Quick, quick—spray it on…”

“Ah…”

“That feels good.”

…

When Wangchuan returned to the game, he immediately saw that a new martial art had appeared among his skills: 《Bajiquan》, Entry-Level, 39/100.

The rank of 《Bajiquan》 had been set as a Third-Rank Martial Art.

Not bad.

Wangchuan immediately headed to the Training Grounds.

The Weapon Room had already cast and installed an iron Wing Chun Wooden Dummy, securing it firmly in place.

Wang Yuehui, Chen Ergou, Hong Kaibao, Chen Hong, Zhao Heiniu, and several other senior members of the Sanjiang Branch Helm were gathered around it, curiously examining the new equipment. From time to time, someone stepped forward to try a few strikes.

But before long, they all retreated while baring their teeth in pain.

Anyone who did not understand how to use this thing properly would easily injure themselves.

“It’s so heavy!”

“Ouch! Damn.”

“Using bare fists and feet to strike iron—aren’t we just asking for punishment?”

“If it were wrapped with iron plating, at least there’d be a little cushioning. But this thing is solid iron!”

“The Helm Leader plans to train with this?”

“Our Helm Leader… is becoming more and more monstrous.”

Chen Hong ran her mouth recklessly, complaining without restraint, completely unaware that Wangchuan had appeared behind her.

The corner of Zhao Heiniu’s mouth twitched slightly as he said,

“Helm Leader… might be cultivating some special technique.”

“It must be special. Who else would train with something like this?”

Chen Hong was used to speaking bluntly and completely ignored Zhao Heiniu’s warning cough. She continued complaining.

“A Wing Chun Wooden Dummy… what kind of madman would make it out of solid iron?”

“Helm Leader.”

Chen Ergou could not hold it in any longer and immediately cupped his fists in greeting.

Chen Hong’s face instantly turned pale.

She leapt two or three meters away in fright and laughed awkwardly.

“Helm Leader…”

“Haha…”

“Helm Leader, you’re here…”

Wangchuan rolled his eyes and did not bother arguing with her.

Walking up to the iron Wing Chun Wooden Dummy, he stepped forward and tried practicing 《Snake Fist》. The dummy operated smoothly, its resistance steady and firm. Most importantly, it was sturdy enough. Overall, it was quite satisfactory.

Everyone watched from the side as their Helm Leader trained.

When they saw how swift and effortless his movements were—and that he truly intended to use this thing for practice—they all fell silent.

After practicing for a while, Wangchuan moved toward the ordinary Iron Dummy Stake.

Right now, the most important thing was to train 《Bajiquan》 and stack attributes.

Bajiquan possessed tremendous destructive power. It was extremely fierce. With a single stomp forward followed by a straight punch and elbow strike, the Iron Dummy Stake almost seemed as if it would be ripped from the ground. The contact area caved in deeply, making everyone watching feel their scalps go numb.

“Helm Leader.”

“If you keep training like this, the Iron Dummy Stake will probably be smashed to pieces by you sooner or later.”

Wang Yuehui forced a bitter smile.

“Why not try the iron Wing Chun Wooden Dummy instead?”

“Yeah, Helm Leader. That thing is buried deep and very sturdy. It won’t break easily.” Chen Hong added cautiously, “We could wrap a thick layer of cotton around it to absorb some of the force.”

Wangchuan’s eyes lit up.

“That could work.”

Several people immediately fetched quilts and wrapped the iron dummy several times, compressing the padding tightly.

Wangchuan stepped forward and unleashed a crushing straight punch.

The iron dummy only trembled slightly.

It neither injured him nor limited the full explosion of his power.

He tried practicing twenty times.

Then he glanced at the Status Panel.

The experience value had indeed increased by one point.

It works!

Wangchuan beamed with delight and immediately began practicing methodically.

Bang!

Bang!!

With each burst of force, a deep footprint appeared in the ground before the iron dummy.

He trained for a long time.

Only when his arms were aching did he finally sit cross-legged and circulate the 《Qingcheng Heart Method》.

Once his health recovered, he continued practicing.

He did not know how much time had passed.

“Ding!”

System Notification:

“《Bajiquan》 has reached ‘Minor Mastery.’ Reward: +1 Strength.”

Wangchuan was overjoyed.

Training Bajiquan was indeed effective.

Breaking through to the Third Rank was now within reach.

The next morning, Wangchuan got up and continued training. In one sustained effort, he advanced 《Bajiquan》 to “Practice Makes Perfect.”

His Strength Attribute had now reached 55 points.

At this point, he only needed to move his fingers to allocate points and raise his Strength to 60, officially breaking through to become a Third-Rank Martial Artist.

But Wangchuan did not immediately use the five Free Attribute Points.

Because he knew that within the Caobang hall’s Armory Manual Vault, there were only Third-Rank martial arts manuals—there were no Fourth-Rank ones.

Fourth-Rank martial arts existed only in the Caobang headquarters.

Only Hall Masters and Deputy Hall Masters of the Caobang were qualified to access them.

Breaking through to the Third Rank at this moment would not provide much benefit.

Rather than wasting his precious Free Attribute Points, it would be better to search for other martial arts manuals that could increase his attributes.

After weighing the options, he decided to save the points for now.

At noon, he went to the Bajiquan Martial Arts Gym again to consult Chen Gang about the Bajiquan Spear Technique, as well as Xingyi Quan and Tongbei Quan.

Chen Gang was somewhat skeptical and asked Su Wangchuan to demonstrate Bajiquan.

Su Wangchuan immediately stepped into a horse stance and unleashed a crushing straight punch, sending Chen Gang—along with the pad he was holding—flying seven or eight meters away.

The deep, clear footprints beneath Su Wangchuan’s feet left Chen Gang completely dumbfounded.

“You really learned it!”

“This…”

“This is at least the level I needed three years to reach.”

“Damn!”

Chen Gang’s mental defenses collapsed instantly.

He had trained Bajiquan painstakingly for so many years, yet someone else had mastered it overnight and even achieved tangible results. His emotions were complicated and indescribable, like a struggling student gazing in awe at a genius.

“If you entered Bajiquan so quickly, it seems you’re very suited to this martial art—very suited to this kind of fierce and powerful style. Why not continue cultivating it?”

“I want to gather the strengths of many schools and eventually choose one martial art to specialize in.”

Su Wangchuan simply went along with the misunderstanding and gave that explanation.

Chen Gang asked again,

“Your Snake Fist… have you already mastered it as well?”

“Yes.”

Su Wangchuan assumed the opening stance of 《Snake Fist》. His hands moved with lifelike agility, like a spirit snake flicking out its tongue.

Chen Gang clutched his chest and painfully turned his face away.

“Forget it. I won’t watch anymore.”

“I’ll teach you the Bajiquan Spear Technique. Alright? I’ll teach you.”