"Thump!"
Fan Wu flew through the air in an arc before crashing heavily onto the ring.
"This..."
The boss, along with the other onlookers, was stunned. They all stared wide-eyed at Wu Hao.
"Oh, sorry about that. I didn't mean to, I was just warming up and ended up knocking you out of the ring. Are you alright?" Wu Hao rushed over to Fan Wu, intending to help him up.
"Swish!"
Fan Wu shoved Wu Hao’s hand away, scrambled to his feet, and stretched his limbs. "I just lost my footing. Alright, let's go again!"
"You got it!"
The two were ready to clash again. This time, Fan Wu took the initiative. Using fifty percent of his power, he threw a punch at Wu Hao’s chest.
"Ah!!!"
With a sharp cry, Fan Wu felt as if his wrist was about to snap. He bared his teeth at Wu Hao, his rage mounting, and he charged at him with a roar.
*Bam!*
Fan Wu threw a punch, but Wu Hao blocked it with one hand and gave a light push. Fan Wu flew five or six meters away before slamming into the ground again.
"I said it before, Coach Fan, you’re a Wulinfeng grand champion. Why do you keep going easy on me? Don't hold back next time!"
Fan Wu crawled up from the floor, looking disheveled. "I won't hold back anymore! Come on!"
"You got it!"
The two surged toward each other once more. This time, Fan Wu used every ounce of his strength, aiming a punch straight at the bridge of Wu Hao’s nose.
But in the next second, Wu Hao grabbed his fist with a backhand, applied pressure, and Fan Wu screamed—it felt as if his bones were being crushed.
"Oh, Coach Fan, you're still holding back!"
Wu Hao flicked his hand, sending Fan Wu flying once again.
"Enough, that's enough!"
The boss, who had been watching, immediately called for a stop. He had seen everything Wu Hao had done, and he was truly shocked. Fan Wu was a Wulinfeng grand champion, yet before Wu Hao, he wasn't even worth mentioning!
Wu Hao and Fan Wu stepped off the ring. Wu Hao smiled and said, "Boss, Coach Fan kept going easy on me. If he hadn't, I definitely wouldn't have been able to beat him!"
"Alright, alright!" The boss waved his hand and looked at Fan Wu. "Coach Fan, why don't you go take care of your other business?"
Fan Wu glared at Wu Hao and stormed off.
The boss then turned to Wu Hao with a smile. "Young man, you can really fight!"
"Not at all, it was just Coach Fan going easy on me!"
"Heh." The boss chuckled. Others might not have known, but he certainly did—Fan Wu had looked like he wanted to kill Wu Hao out there; he hadn't been holding back at all!
"What’s your name, young man?"
"Wu Hao!"
"Wu Hao, how about this? Start tomorrow. I'll pay you thirty thousand a month to come work here as a personal coach. How does that sound?"
"A personal coach for one person?" Wu Hao was slightly confused.
The boss nodded. "Yes. The next Wulinfeng tournament starts in half a month. Our martial arts hall has a representative competing, and I want to win the championship this time, so..."
"No problem. With me here, you can rest easy. I guarantee you’ll win that championship!"
The boss burst into a smile. "Wu Hao, don't you want to ask who our opponent is?"
"Oh? Right, who is our opponent?"
"It's Li Kailong from the Hecheng Beidou Martial Arts Hall. The Beidou Martial Arts Hall is a family legacy. Their leader, Bei Hong, is a true martial artist who practices the way of martial arts. Li Kailong is his proudest pupil, his closed-door disciple, and he is very famous in Hecheng!"
Hearing the introduction, Wu Hao replied, "I see. No problem. I don't care how famous he is, the championship will be ours. Oh, by the way, what level is our trainee at?"
"Our guy is weaker than Li Kailong; he’s still a newcomer to the industry. He has talent, but he seems stuck and unable to break through. I can see you’re a professional, so I want to put him through hell for half a month!"
Wu Hao replied, "No problem!"
"If you start tomorrow, I’ll have him waiting for you here. If you win the championship, there’s a two-million-yuan bonus, and that’s a minimum!"
The boss made a gesture, and Wu Hao nodded in understanding.
Wu Hao then learned that the boss’s name was Yu Dongshan. He came from a family of martial artists, but as time passed, the family’s influence had waned. To restore their former glory, Yu Dongshan had opened the Dongshan Martial Arts Hall.
Wulinfeng was a prestigious national martial arts tournament held every year. A few days ago, the two finalists had been decided: one was Li Kailong, and the other was from Dongshan Martial Arts Hall. Perhaps sensing that Li Kailong was too strong, Yu Dongshan had decided to hire Wu Hao as his student's personal coach.
After Wu Hao left, Yu Dongshan returned to his office. As soon as he entered, he saw Fan Wu sitting there, fuming.
"Brother, did you really hire that kid to coach Xiaobin?"
Yu Dongshan sat down and sipped his tea. "Why? Do you see a problem with that?"
"Brother, hiring him is fine, but making him Xiaobin's coach—isn't that a bit inappropriate? Does he even have the strength? We’re going up against Li Kailong! Do you know who that is? He's Bei Hong's prize pupil, a man who wears the golden belt!"
"So what? Fan Wu, I can tell a professional when I see one. Zhou Bin is skilled, but he's far weaker than Li Kailong. If I asked you to coach him, could you do it?"
"I..." Fan Wu was left speechless. Thinking back to why he had retired—being beaten to the ground by Li Kailong in that final—his mood darkened.
"If you don't have the ability, don't criticize someone else."
"But he’s only in his twenties! What kind of skill could he possibly have?"
"My intuition," Yu Dongshan said. "You need to trust my intuition."
"Fine, fine, your intuition. I’ll just wait and see how much talent this Wu guy really has. If we lose, don't come crying to me!"
Fan Wu stood up and stormed out, slamming the door behind him.
That evening, after Liu Yafei returned, Wu Hao had already finished dinner.
"Haohao, Haohao, stop playing! Mommy's home, hurry up and do your homework!"
As soon as Liu Chenghao finished school, he had been playing in his room. Wu Hao felt that playing was in a child's nature and didn't interfere, but his lack of intervention didn't mean Liu Yafei felt the same. Seeing his wife return, Wu Hao quickly tipped his son off.
"How was your day?"
Seeing Liu Yafei sitting on the sofa looking exhausted, Wu Hao walked over, still wearing his apron, and asked with concern.
"Honey, I think starting a business is even more tiring than a regular job, but at least the initial direction is set."
"That's good. Once you have everything ready, I’ll give you a secret formula. We'll produce beauty products based on that formula. I guarantee that within a year, the Liu Group will be among the top ten companies in Hecheng, and eventually, the top ten in the entire country!"