“So you’re here to apply for the practice partner position?” A man with a small figure who sat on the wide leather sofa asked Mu Fan. He looked to be around forty years old and his face was neatly shaved. The budo suit looked too big on him and it was hard to associate him with someone who worked at the Budokan. He was more like a shrewd businessman with his eyes glistening with cleverness and his voice sounding slightly sharp.

“Yes,” Mu Fan said as he lowered his eyelid and slightly bowed forward.

“I’m Charison, the mid-level executive at Starfall Budokan. The second and third floors are reserved training areas for our VIP customers. As a practice partner, your job is basically to be a sandbag because you are not allowed to fight back. We pay you 500 star coins daily, and you are allowed to keep any tips given to you by the customer. The Budokan will provide you with food and regular treatments, and we’re not responsible if you become crippled, aside from the $30K star coins we’ll reimburse you with. If you choose to accept the terms, then sign here,” he finished saying as he threw the contract over the table.

Mu Fan looked at the contract in front of him, which was more like two pieces of paper with simple instructions; he scanned to make sure everything was correct and signed his name crookedly onto the paper.

“Take your part of the contract. Man Kun, take this boy to the shower room on the first floor and get him changed into a training suit. Tell him what he needs to watch out for and he can start working this afternoon.”

“Yes, Boss.”

Charison rubbed his chin when his office door closed and chuckled, “Another dumb boy, thinking that this job is easy money. Well, we have been lacking some sandbags lately at the Budokan.”

Mu Fan followed Man Kun down the same elevator back to the first-floor lobby, and after turning right, Man Kun pointed at a row of rooms as he said, “Those are the shower rooms. You can use any of them to take a shower. You really stink of gasoline, you know. I’ll bring you the training suit, it’s a free offer from the Budokan.”

Ten minutes later, Mu Fan was standing at the lobby wearing a grey tracksuit. Man Kun approached him and his eyes brightened up as he said, “You sure look more energetic in this!”

Mu Fan was taller than average to begin with, and this clean training suit accentuated his height and figure even more. The dirt and oil marks were washed off of his face, bringing out his youthful vibe. His eyes were bright with determination and he stood there as if he was a leopard ready to catch its prey.

“We’ll head to training court No. 5 first and I’ll explain to you some basic steps. Then I’ll teach you how to be more resistant and take hits properly. It’s not easy money to make, and I wouldn’t want you to be crippled so soon.”

…

Training court No. 5 was a special training area for the Starfall Budokan staff, and a bunch of people in grey tracksuits was practicing with each other on the mat.

“Haha, is this the new rookie? You don’t seem like you’re twenty yet, did you come to earn that cripple fee at such a young age? Hahahahaha.” A strong man over 6-ft dodged his opponent with ease as he mocked Mu Fan when he saw Mu Fan’s slim figure walking in with Man Kun.

“Jereff, shut your filthy mouth if you want to stay here and work. You know what’ll happen if you ruin Boss’s business here.” Man Kun glanced at the man who spoke and his tone had turned cold by the end of his sentence. Jereff was one of the known practice partners at the Budokan. He was thirty-three years old this year and was a retired mercenary. He had left the mercenary group he was previously in because he ruined one of his missions and messed with someone he shouldn’t have. That was why he came to work for the Starfall Budokan two years ago because strength was all he got left. Jereff was rated level-13 in physique, which was way above the average of level-6, and he was known in the circle because his enriched combat experiences had prevented him from getting any serious injuries as a practice partner. It was during their warm-up hour, and Jereff had to find some fun during this time.

“Hmph, boy if you’re scared already then you should leave now. Four people with your type of figure have already been crippled from this job. But even if you wanted to leave, it’s impossible now, assuming you have already signed your contract. Hahaha, rookie, you’ll have to complete three rounds first.” Jereff stared at Mu Fan and turned around as he laughed.

Jereff felt insulted when Mu Fan glanced at him calmly and looked away. However. Man Kun was still there and he couldn’t release his anger so he shouted at his opponent instead, “You dumb*ss, your punches are like water! Use your force! Force! This is like a mosquito bite you damn useless being!”

Meanwhile, Man Kun led Mu Fan to an empty spot as he took out a punch pad and threw it towards Mu Fan. “Hey boy, hold this with both of your hands. I’ll teach you how to use this to protect yourself first. The customers at Budokan range from lightweight to heavyweight, and this is the only equipment you’ve got to protect yourself. If you don’t hold onto it tightly and use it properly, you might get seriously injured. Now, let’s try it out.”

Mu Fan slid his right forearm into the punch pad and bent it over his chest, while his left arm was by his side instead of supporting his right arm.

“Ha, boy. I guess I’ll have to teach you a lesson first.” Man Kun was rated level-11 in physique and according to the UGF physique’s rating standards, a level-6 would mean 75KG of force exerted, then it would be 150KG, 250KG, 400KG, 600KG, and 850KG respectively ranging from level-7 to level-11; and every level after that would then be an extra 50 KG. Man Kun was slighted irritated when he saw that Mu Fan didn’t follow his orders to use two hands for support. He liked and respected this boy but that didn’t mean that he would go soft on him. After all, his arms might be crippled if a hard punch was thrown at him, so it was important for him to learn to follow all instructions.

Man Kun purposely used only half of his force as he suddenly turned around and threw his punch against Mu Fan; he wanted Mu Fan to take his punch and learn from the mistake.

There was a loud thud as Man Kun hit the punch pad and his brows pinched together as he didn’t feel the expected feedback from his hit. Mu Fan was standing there steadily with his right leg slightly bent in front and his left leg behind him; his body didn’t move at all except for his loose hair and the right arm with the punch pad.

Man Kun knew that he had found a treasure this time. He didn’t expect Mu Fan’s seemingly slim figure to withstand a level-9 punch, because that meant that Mu Fan’s overall rating wouldn’t be below him! That was an interesting discovery!

“Woah boy, I underestimated you,” Man Kun said to him and pointed his finger to the right. “There are machines over there. You can choose to go to practice by yourself or find someone else. Are there any other questions?”

“Yes!” The force in Mu Fan’s voice surprised Man Kun.

“Ask.”

“Will the Budokan feed us?” Mu Fan’s eyes were glistening with expectation.

“Yes, we’ll provide you with both breakfast and lunch, but you’ll have to take care of dinner yourself.” Man Kun stared strangely at Mu Fan as if he asked a weird question.

“Then could I eat first before getting to work?”

“Of course. You can head over to Cafeteria No. 3 in an hour, and you’re allowed an hour and a half for your lunch break. Then you’ll come back here and I’ll let you know your tasks for the afternoon. You’ll be deducted 50 star coins if you’re late by more than five minutes, and if you’re late by over thirty minutes without an acceptable reason, then you’re fired,” Man Kun answered quickly as he was starting to feel uneasy from the brightness in Mu Fan’s eyes.

“Thank you. We can resume the training, you can come at me again.”

Man Kun laughed when he saw Mu Fan suddenly become enthusiastic from the calm and quiet kid before. “I was just trying to warn you boy. I need to report to the Boss now and you can go train by yourself over there. Come back here after you finish eating, and don’t be late.”

“Alright.” Mu Fan nodded his head lightly as his mind had already flown away when he heard the word ‘eat’, and it felt as if his body suddenly filled with energy.

Man Kun laughed at Mu Fan and shook his head as he walked away.

Mu Fan walked towards the area with the sandbags and punching machines after Man Kun had left. He stared blankly at the sandbag as he started to throw his punches against it with a steady rhythm. But, if someone observed closely, they would notice that Mu Fan’s mind was somewhere else already…