The next morning, 7:05 AM.
Chen Feng opened his eyes and woke up on time again.
He got up and stretched to adapt to his newly enhanced body, drew open the curtains, and after a quick wash, he finished his breakfast.
A big bowl of noodles.
Two eggs, three packets of bread, a box of milk.
He couldn't understand how his stomach could fit so much food, but since he couldn’t figure it out, he didn’t think too much about it—this was his usual approach.
Then, he changed into a clean outfit: a black T-shirt and loose shorts.
He also prepared another set of clothes for practicing martial arts.
Chen Feng quickly grabbed his phone and left the room.
The sound of footsteps echoed as he slowly walked out of the old cement neighborhood.
The noisy fruit store buzzed in his ears, and the honking of trucks sounded intermittently.
The sounds of people, the smell of smoke, and the fragrance of fruits... everything was heightened under his alertness.
Eventually, he boarded the bus.
Throughout the ride, he didn’t sense any hostility, which surprised him.
"Have they given up?"
A hint of doubt arose in his mind as he continued on his way to the branch martial arts hall near the Jinhua District.
Looking ahead, a five-story building with large glass windows appeared before him.
It was oval-shaped, resembling a sports hall.
At the top, three prominent characters caught his eye.
"Is this really a branch martial arts hall?"
He glanced up, noticing many students entering and exiting the martial arts hall. Chen Feng raised an eyebrow.
Compared to the Sanda class he was previously in; this branch hall was undoubtedly much more impressive.
In terms of size, it was at least three to five times larger.
Surprised at the sheer size of it, he was about to enter.
But then, his steps suddenly paused.
A faint sense of hostility rose. Chen Feng’s expression darkened, his face now emotionless.
Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a black sedan across the street.
In the gaps between the passing cars, he saw two men in the front seat, one tall and one fat. They were undoubtedly the same two men who had been following him previously.
"Tian Heng Society..."
A cold gleam flashed in his eyes, and Chen Feng stood still, grinding his teeth for a moment.
Just as he was about to make a move, a pair of footsteps quietly approached, and he felt someone tap his shoulder.
In an instant, his expression hardened.
Chen Feng instinctively lowered his center of gravity, grabbing the person’s shoulder and arm.
"Hey, hey, hey, that hurts, that hurts!"
A familiar voice immediately sounded, and Chen Feng paused his move, turning around to see a familiar figure.
Short, messy hair, around 1.78 meters tall.
A bit thin, with fair features, wearing a loose gray T-shirt that gave off a fresh vibe.
Chen Feng was surprised, not expecting him.
"You really hit too hard. I was planning to surprise you, but instead, you scared the heck out of me," Lin Hao rubbed his shoulder, grinning in pain.
Chen Feng helplessly shrugged. He had thought it was the Tian Heng Society people, so he hadn’t held back.
"What brings you here?" he asked with a confused look.
"Of course, I’m here to practice martial arts."
Lin Hao massaged his shoulder and arm, the pain subsiding. He quickly grinned and said, "Now I’m a core student too. I might even be in the same core class as you."
Chen Feng narrowed his eyes.
Wasn’t that position only one available?
"No way, my talent is simply unrivaled, unmatched," Lin Hao said with a smile. "Flame Tiger Hall couldn’t bear to lose a genius like me, so they made me a core student."
Chen Feng knew that wasn’t the real reason. He was almost sure that Lin Hao had used some unconventional means.
Curious about Lin Hao’s background, he was about to ask when Lin Hao glanced at the opposite street and smiled at him, "No wonder you wanted me to check the Tian Heng Society’s license plate."
"Turns out they’ve been following you."
"What's going on? Tell me."
Chen Feng was silent for a moment.
After thinking it over, he realized that he probably needed Lin Hao’s channels to get to the bottom of this.
Rather than hiding it, he decided to be upfront.
"What if I said I don’t know the reason? Would you believe me?"
Lin Hao's smile faded, and he stared at Chen Feng for a moment.
Lin Hao took his hand back and said seriously, "Come on, do you want me to help you investigate?"
"Yes," Chen Feng nodded.
Lin Hao readily agreed, then quickly added with a smile, "But I’m just saying, I can’t do this for free..."
"I owe you one," Chen Feng said seriously.
He believed that his favor would be valuable in the future.
But that was for later; what he needed most right now was to get a handle on the present.
Lin Hao nodded briskly, his smile like that of a fox, clearly waiting for this answer.
"Let's go. No more standing around."
"Give me three days, and I’ll get to the bottom of this for you."
With strong confidence, Lin Hao patted Chen Feng’s shoulder and said.
Chen Feng glanced once more at the black car across the street, then nodded slightly. He walked with Lin Hao into the martial arts academy.
Twenty minutes later.
In the spacious practice hall on the second floor.
Chen Feng and Lin Hao, along with eighteen other core students, formed the academy’s core class three.
From the conversations around him, Chen Feng learned that the academy had set up five core classes this time.
There were a total of one hundred core students.
Most had been recruited from training classes in disciplines like sanda, judo, and wrestling from various branch academies.
They were all talented, with at least a fifth- or sixth-dan amateur level.
A few had average talent, but had paid a high price to secure a spot.
"So, how much did you pay?"
Standing at the edge of the practice hall, Chen Feng curiously asked Lin Hao.
No wonder Lin Hao became a core student; now, he finally understood the answer.
The academy's purpose was partly to generate revenue and support a large number of people.
Naturally, selling core student spots at a high price was one way to achieve this.
Lin Hao held up four fingers.
"Four hundred thousand?" Chen Feng asked.
"Add a zero," Lin Hao said with an irritated tone. "Come on, this is a core student spot. You get to learn from martial arts techniques."
"Even if your talent isn’t great, just receiving the basic teachings can strengthen your body. It’s not a small benefit."
"And the most important thing..."
Lin Hao smiled again. "You can make some connections."
At his words, Chen Feng raised an eyebrow, giving him a deep look.
Before they could continue talking, several coaches from the core classes appeared, taking them to their respective practice rooms.
And just in time, their core class three coach appeared—tall and burly, with short hair and thick lips.
It was none other than Cao Tong.
Read (MF) ahead on (pa treon. com/CinderTL) – Chapter 85.
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Translated 4 Series, 1.5K+ Chapters and 1.78M+ Words.