"Old Two, who do you think has a better chance of winning this time, Ian Song or Jihyun Choi?" In the crowd, Sierra Chen once again asked Kelly Wu.
Kelly thought for a moment and said, "It's hard to say. Ian was able to beat Victor Liu, which shows he's pretty skilled. But he did have the advantage of surprise. Jihyun Choi is stronger than Victor and won't make the same mistakes, so it's really hard to predict who will win."
At the front of the training hall, Ian Song and Jihyun Choi stood several meters apart, like needle against wheat awn. But Ian felt utterly bored—he was actually about to duel someone only at early Postnatal level. It felt like he was regressing in life. Whatever, might as well finish this quickly and call it a day!
"Hey, you attack first, or you won't even get the chance." Ian called out to Jihyun.
"Arrogant bastard, I'll make you pay! Taekwondo is the strongest martial art in the world! Take this!" With a cold shout, Jihyun charged forward and launched a fierce front kick straight at Ian's chest.
Just as the kick was about to land, Ian gently shifted his body and Jihyun's attack missed. Ian then raised his hand and threw a punch.
"Bang!"
Jihyun was sent flying, landing several meters away. He struggled to get up but couldn't.
That was it?
Everyone stared in stunned silence. They'd expected an epic battle, but it ended with just one punch.
At the same time, most people started doubting how strong Taekwondo really was. Wasn't Jihyun supposed to be a fifth-dan black belt who could take on five or six people at once? How did he get knocked out with a single punch?
"Let's go!"
Ian waved to the dumbfounded Leon Long and Gavin Gan, then walked out of the training hall.
Even though he'd beaten Jihyun, Ian didn't feel any joy. The gap between them was just too wide—he almost felt like he was bullying kids.
News of Ian one-punching Jihyun spread quickly throughout the school.
At the Martial Arts Club, vice president Bella Ba received a phone call. Her expression went from stunned to delighted. She hurried over to Evan Xu and said gleefully, "Evan, Jihyun just got beaten with one punch!"
Evan Xu was shocked. "Who did it? That's insane!"
The call had come from one of Bella's friends, a member of the Taekwondo Club who'd witnessed the whole thing.
So, as soon as Ian left, the friend called Bella to tell her what happened.
Bella continued, "I heard it's a freshman named Ian Song. Here's what happened..."
After hearing Bella's account, Evan Xu pondered, "Jihyun is no pushover—he's already about early Postnatal level, just a notch below us. For a freshman named Ian Song to beat him with one punch, he must be a real martial artist, probably mid-Postnatal. If we can recruit him to our Martial Arts Club, our reputation will soar. Plus, since he beat Jihyun in the Taekwondo Club, a lot of their members might defect to us."
"If he agrees to join, what position should we give him?" Bella asked.
"Vice president. If he refuses, offer him the presidency!" Evan said seriously.
"Why? You founded the Martial Arts Club. At most, he can be vice president. If you give him the presidency, I'm quitting." Bella protested.
"Fine, just try offering him vice president first and see if he'll take it," Evan said helplessly.
......
At that moment, Ian and his two roommates had already returned to their dorm.
"Ian, do you know martial arts?" Leon stared at him with burning eyes.
Gavin also stared at Ian, waiting eagerly for his answer.
"I know a little," Ian nodded.
"Can you teach us?"
"Sure, but real training is tough."
"We're not afraid!" they said in unison.
"Alright, starting tomorrow morning, you two will train with me!" Ian said.
Ian knew both guys loved sleeping in, usually only getting up ten minutes before class. He didn’t treat passing down martial arts as some sacred secret like other martial artists—even the Origin-Nurturing Scripture, he’d taught to several people.
After living together for several days, Ian felt Leon and Gavin were decent guys. If they could handle the hardship, he might one day teach them a real cultivation method.
Knock knock!
There was a knock at the door.
The dorm door wasn’t closed. Ian turned and saw a young woman outside, dressed in a white tracksuit, short-haired, with tan skin.
"Excuse me, is Ian Song here?"
The young woman spoke up.
"I'm Ian Song. And you are...?" Ian stood up, looking at her in puzzlement.
Bella Ba stepped into the dorm, sized Ian up and down, then said, "I'm Bella Ba, vice president of the Martial Arts Club. I've come to invite you to join us."
"Hello, Bella. Thanks for the invitation, but I really have no plans to join the Martial Arts Club," Ian replied directly. The club president Evan Xu was only a bit stronger than Jihyun Choi, at best mid-Postnatal. Ian had no interest in playing around at their level.
Besides, he was already planning to unlock the Fictional Worlds system.
In the past few days, he'd gained several hundred million Fame Points. His total had reached 1.86 billion, and his current level was 7 with 641 Spirit Points. He only needed to spend a bit over 200 million more Fame Points to exchange for enough Spirit Points to reach level 10.
Hearing Ian's refusal, Bella frowned. "Ian, I'm here with real sincerity. If you join, you can be vice president right away."
Hearing he could be vice president immediately, Leon and Gavin both looked tempted.
"Ian, why not just accept Bella's offer?" Leon urged.
"Yeah, vice president sounds awesome," Gavin added.
But Ian still waved his hand, "Sorry, I really don't have any interest."
"What, you look down on our Martial Arts Club?" Bella's face suddenly cooled, her gaze turning unfriendly.
If soft words didn't work, she was switching to hard tactics? Ian found it a bit ridiculous. To stop the club from pestering him, he nodded, "Honestly, your level just isn't impressive."
Bella hadn't expected Ian to admit it so bluntly and was furious. "Then let me test your strength!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Bella lunged and threw a punch at Ian's chest.
And Ian?
He simply raised his hand and made a distant pat in Bella's direction. Instantly, Bella was shocked to find a powerful force before her.
"Boom!"
Like a crashing wave, that force drove her back several steps.
"Boom!"
Before she could regain her balance, a second wave hit, pushing her back again. Then a third wave appeared, and by then, she had been forced out of the dorm room.
The moment she stepped out of the dorm, the force suddenly vanished.
Instinctively, she looked back at Ian.
Ian smiled at her. "Now do you understand why I won't join your Martial Arts Club, Bella? It's because your level is too low!"