Chapter 79: Song Hailong Let Me Be the Coach

Lei Jun's heart pounded with emotion at this moment. He felt satisfied about his upcoming bonus, salary increase, and teaching achievements, but even more so, he was filled with reflections on his past.

Once upon a time, Lei Jun was also a spirited high school student, fantasizing that one day, with his iron fists, he could defeat all opponents, trample every top student and wealthy person underfoot, and stand at the pinnacle of all high schools in Songyang.

"A single punch breaking a hundred million in wealth! This is the supreme realm pursued by generations of martial artists!"

But reality soon slapped him in the face.

His monthly exam scores made him feel helpless to catch up.

The fierce, beyond-syllabus competition in contests made him feel that he was simply not on the same level as those wealthy top students, like a mayfly looking up at the vast sky—a difference that could be called despair.

Only then did he understand that the Fist Sect, Sword Sect, Qi Sect... none of them compared to the Money Sect. One hundred million in wealth shattering all techniques was the reality.

He also understood a truth: a fist is only strong if you have money; the more money in your account, the more powerful your punch.

Yet today, his student, with a frail body, defeated numerous strong opponents. With unparalleled talent and skill, he compensated for his physical weakness and the disparity in medical insurance and wealth, crushing these elite students from prestigious schools.

He achieved what Lei Jun had once dreamed of doing, but later didn't even dare to imagine again.

He thought to himself, "Ah, to defeat money with one's own fists... that is truly the realm we martial artists should pursue. Though it's only a freshman year arena match, it's something to remember for a lifetime."

Meanwhile, the emergency doctor in front of him calmly said, "Ah, it's nothing serious. He just lost too much blood, leading to qi deficiency. A bit of blood replenishment will fix it."

"I'll also prescribe some medicine to replenish your physical strength, mana, and energy..."

Lei Jun pulled out several boxes of medicine from his pocket. "No need to prescribe. Use mine. These should work, right?" He thought this might help reduce the next insurance premium increase.

The emergency doctor pursed his lips, thinking how difficult it was to extract more money from these three poor souls.

A moment later, the referee also approached, first asking about Zhang Yu's condition, then inquiring if Bai Zhenzhen would participate in a third-place match against Song Hailong.

Bai Zhenzhen naturally refused. Song Hailong's fighting style, like a muscle monster and super tank, was simply too restrictive for her.

Thus, moments later, the top four in the martial arts competition were finalized: Zhang Yu, Le Mulan, Song Hailong, and Bai Zhenzhen, in descending order of rank.

On the other side, Le Mulan had also regained her mobility after receiving medical attention.

After a short rest, Zhang Yu, Le Mulan, and Song Hailong walked onto the podium together to receive their gold, silver, and bronze medals respectively.

However, while Zhang Yu was all smiles, Le Mulan and Song Hailong both had gloomy expressions, as if they were constipated.

In the audience, cheers... and curses continuously erupted.

A Red Tower person said enviously, "Zhang Yu is so talented! He can learn martial arts just by watching others practice. He should pay when he watches others train, otherwise he's a martial arts thief!"

A Ziyun person cried, "Zhang Yu actually 'rode' on the Sacred First! I wouldn't even dream of doing that! Damn it, this feels worse than being killed!"

A White Dragon person sighed, "The winner stands, the loser kneels. Who would have thought Songyang High School also has a top student worth kneeling for."

"Worth kneeling for" was already the highest praise for high-achieving students in White Dragon High School.

In front of the podium, Lei Jun, beaming, pulled out his phone to take pictures.

Beside him, Bai Zhenzhen took a few photos, then started recording videos, already contemplating how to use the martial arts competition's reputation to secure advertising deals.

While filming, she told the three on the podium, "Smile! Gloomy faces look awful. Zhang Yu, I'm not talking about you, but tone it down, don't smile too arrogantly."

Lei Jun added, "After the competition, I'll treat you to a meal. Go ask Qian Shen and the others if they'll come, and discuss what you'd like to eat."

In Ziyun High School's rest area.

Le Mulan slowly walked back, holding her second-place medal.

Her school uniform, previously stained with blood during her fight with Zhang Yu, had been changed.

The complex emotions of ferocity, anger, and unwillingness she had felt after the battle had vanished. She looked calm, as if nothing had happened.

However, upon returning to the rest area, Le Mulan saw Lian Tianji kneeling on the ground and slightly furrowed her brow. "Get up. I withdraw the chair punishment."

Lian Tianji surprisingly looked up, a hint of confusion in his eyes as he gazed at Le Mulan. It was the first time he had seen Le Mulan retract her words.

Le Mulan calmly stated, "I've already lost. What right do I have to punish you?"

"If you were to be my chair, should I, having also lost, become your chair? Or Zhang Yu's chair?"

As she spoke, she slightly turned her head towards Zhang Yu, her tone complex. "Your failure this time wasn't wrong. This Zhang Yu is indeed very formidable."

"Although I still don't understand why he isn't willing to earn more money, he certainly made me realize my own weaknesses."

Le Mulan's mind was already planning future training for close-quarters combat.

Initially, reviewing the match, Le Mulan felt she had been too confident and underestimated her opponent, a momentary oversight. She thought a simple dodge would still easily secure victory, but never expected such a subtle flaw to be exploited by her opponent.

However, upon later reviewing the entire battle, she suddenly realized her opponent had come prepared. Not only did he detect her subtle weaknesses, but he also had the sufficient strategy and ability to exploit them.

Besides this, she naturally also considered the issue of her aversion to Zhang Yu's blood.

"Appropriately interact with the poor..."

At this thought, Le Mulan couldn't help but frown again, feeling an uncontrollable awkwardness, a mental discomfort.

"It somewhat contradicts my cultivation method. Changing one's mindset is indeed not simple."

Suddenly, she remembered she had already added Zhang Yu as a friend. Le Mulan thought to herself, "Perhaps I should start by looking at a poor person's social media..."

Lian Tianji got up, smiling. "This failure will make us stronger. The next time we encounter Zhang Yu in a competition, we'll definitely win."

"Next competition?" Le Mulan said. "You mean the physical competition? Even if we beat him in that, there won't be much sense of accomplishment."

Lian Tianji paused, then immediately nodded in agreement, saying helplessly, "That's true. His physical strength is so far behind ours now. By the physical competition two months from now, he'll probably be even further behind."

"Unless he joins Songyang's competition team and accepts their so-called special training program..."

In White Dragon High School's rest area.

Facing his classmates around him, a reawakened Chu Qiuhe sighed, "It was only after I woke up and carefully reviewed the match that I discovered how terrifying Zhang Yu is. Among all freshmen in Songyang City, there's probably no one who can surpass him in practical combat skills."

A White Dragon student protested, "Isn't that an exaggeration? I think Brother Hailong just sweated too much and slipped off the stage. A little antiperspirant before going up would have fixed it."

Chu Qiuhe pointed at him and said, "What's your score? What's your rank? Kneel down before you talk to me."

Only after seeing the other person kneel did Chu Qiuhe slowly say, "You can't fully grasp the terror of Zhang Yu unless you actually fight him..."

Just then, with Song Hailong's return, everyone immediately fell silent.

Song Hailong casually tossed his third-place medal into his bag, no longer paying attention to it.

Song Hailong understood that while a third-place finish in the martial arts competition was an honor for others, for him, it was a disgrace.

Just then, his phone rang, and a mature male voice came from the other end: "I watched your match. The two people ahead of you are not stronger than you."

"You lost to someone weaker than yourself."

"Father is very disappointed in you..."

Hearing this, Song Hailong felt a wave of panic. "Brother, I was careless..."

"Don't make excuses," the other person said coldly. "You know Father hates people making excuses for failure the most."

Song Hailong took a deep breath and softly said, "I'm sorry."

The two-and-a-half-meter tall 'little giant', listening to the reprimand from the other end of the phone, looked as uneasy and flustered as an elementary school student.

A moment later, hanging up the phone, Song Hailong looked angrily in Zhang Yu's direction.

Since he had lost this time, he would find a way to get it back, in a manner unique to the wealthy.

Striding quickly into Songyang High School's rest area, Song Hailong's imposing figure immediately cast a shadow, enveloping Zhang Yu.

Under the wary gazes of Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen, Song Hailong coldly asked, "How much?"

"What's your rate for hiring you as a sparring partner for actual combat?"

As an undeniably wealthy person, after being defeated by an opponent, he would, of course, spend money to hire them extensively for sparring, practicing until he could thoroughly defeat them!

If he lost to someone, he would pay to learn all their skills from them!

Upon hearing Song Hailong's words, both Bai Zhenzhen and Zhang Yu's eyes suddenly lit up, finding Song Hailong even more imposing than before.

Zhang Yu coughed and said, "I'm very expensive, and very busy. I'll need to check my schedule to see if I have time."

Bai Zhenzhen, standing nearby, nodded repeatedly and said, "Come, come! I'm Zhang Yu's agent. You can discuss the money with me!"

"Also, I'm a top-four contender in the martial arts competition and Zhang Yu's combat coach. That final battle between him and Le Mulan? I coached that. Do you want to hire me too?"

After adding Bai Zhenzhen and Zhang Yu as friends, Song Hailong looked at them and said, "Discuss the specific price between yourselves and then tell me."

"But one thing..."

Looking at Zhang Yu's slender physique, Song Hailong said disapprovingly, "You'd better find a way to improve your physical strength."

"Because I'll only get stronger and faster; I can't wait for you."

"If your stats are too low, I could easily crush you with my strength, and there would be no need for sparring."

Watching him leave, Zhang Yu knew the other person was right.

Whether it was to earn money as a sparring partner, for the physical competition two months later, or even for future university entrance exams, he needed to make an effort to improve his physical strength.

"I need to catch up to Song Hailong and Le Mulan."

A moment later, Zhao Tianxing, Qian Shen, and He Dayou also came down from the stands to visit Zhang Yu.

Zhao Tianxing excitedly said, "You were so cool, Yu-zi! I took photos of you on the stage, take a look..."

Qian Shen remarked, "The competition really is severely beyond the syllabus, it's already an exam of another dimension. A score of 100 in practical martial arts combat can no longer fully express your achievements in martial arts."

Bai Zhenzhen asked, "Old Lei is treating us to dinner later. Are you coming? Any preferences?"

Zhao Tianxing said, "What to eat? I'm fine with anything, but boiled chicken would be healthier."

Bai Zhenzhen nodded, noting on her phone, "Okay, Zhao Tianxing is flexible."

He Dayou calmly said, "I don't eat poor people's food. If the restaurant isn't expensive enough, I won't go."

Bai Zhenzhen nodded, noting, "He Dayou won't go."

Qian Shen said, "I know a good restaurant. I'll pay for the drinks."

Bai Zhenzhen noted, "Qian Shen is paying."

Inside a restaurant in the city center.

As soon as Zhang Yu walked in, he said, "Do you have king crab? Ten, please."

Lei Jun, who was following behind, darkened his face. "Are you trying to make me go bankrupt?" he thought.

Qian Shen said from the side, "This place doesn't have seafood, and seafood isn't nutritious at all, not suitable for high school students."

"This restaurant specializes in authentic pre-packaged meals, with no added seasoning. You eat them for their original flavor."

"The dishes are also particularly nutritious, with each plate having over 10,000 calories of clean energy. I often come here to eat after my workouts."

Lei Jun secretly nodded, thinking Qian Shen was considerate and understood the teacher's hard work.

Qian Shen asked the waiter, "Do you have pre-packaged meals with monster meat? The high-achieving students from Songyang High School are here today. Do you have any nourishing dishes?"

Lei Jun sighed, thinking Qian Shen was also clueless. He wasn't a Daoist magic teacher; didn't he know a martial arts teacher's income was limited?

Without letting the students order randomly anymore, Lei Jun directly said, "I only brought 6,000. If it's more than that, we'll all have to wash dishes together."

A moment later, the group sat together, all raising their beast protein milk. "Cheers!"

After all, as healthy high school students and a high school teacher, they naturally had to drink healthy and nutritious beast protein milk.

Besides, after this meal, it would be almost time for school, so it was naturally impossible for them to drink anything that would affect their class performance.