After the match, Jason Luo took advantage of the short break to move into his new place.
With Tony Huo's help, they managed to get most of it done in just one afternoon. The house was already fully furnished, so by the time Grace came home from work, it was practically ready to live in.
The little girl cheered with excitement as she ran around picking her room. Honestly, though, the house was far too big for just the three of them. There were six bedrooms alone, plus a walk-in closet, bathrooms, storage rooms, a study, and a fully equipped kitchen. Out in the yard was a garage, and the basement was impressively spacious...
Tony Huo sighed. "Too bad there's no outdoor pool. That would've made it perfect!"
Henry Luo shook his head. "I picked this place precisely because it doesn't have one. What's the point? You can't use it in winter, and it just draws mosquitoes in summer. A bigger yard's better—you can grow flowers and vegetables. Isn't that more practical?"
Tony didn't dare argue with him and quickly changed the subject. "Uncle Luo, leaving a house this big mostly empty is such a waste. Why don't you save a room for me? I'm a plumber—I can take care of all the maintenance!"
Jason Luo immediately saw through him. "Yeah, right. Get lost! Don't think I don't see through your little plan. What, you gonna skip town if the pipes burst?"
"Heh, come on, Jason, I'm just being practical…"
As they joked around, Grace came running over. "Jay! I almost forgot—someone came to the pharmacy looking for you today. He said he knows you and left his number. Here, this is it."
"Oh? Looking for me?"
Jason Luo frowned in confusion. Who would show up at a pharmacy just to find him?
After a brief hesitation, he dialed the number.
"Hello, this is Jason Luo. Who's this?"
"Ha ha, it's me—Philgen! Remember? The Practical Taekwondo guy? Ring any bells?"
Oh, so it was this guy!
Jason Luo laughed. The kid was a real character. They'd more or less become friends after trading blows. "So it's you! I was wondering who'd come all the way to a pharmacy to find me. What's up? Been improving your skills and want another round?"
"Uh… no, no, Jason, I know I can't beat you. You're a big deal now! We saw your videos online—super cool! Anyway, I've joined a Kickboxing Gym. A lot of people there saw your clips, and when I told them I knew you, they didn't believe me… So I wanted to invite you over sometime. You know, just to drop by…"
"Kickboxing Gym? Weren't you doing Taekwondo?" Jason asked curiously.
"Yeah, but don't you know? All stand-up combat sports fall under kickboxing—karate, sanda, Muay Thai, all of them. It's great here! Everyone spars, exchanges techniques, and learns from each other. The atmosphere's awesome, and we've got pro coaches. You should come visit. You might really like it."
A place like that?
Jason Luo was genuinely intrigued. The underground fight last time had taught him a lot, but those kinds of matches were banned by boxing organizations. If there was a legitimate place to test his skills, he definitely wanted to check it out.
"Sounds good! I'm free right now. Send me the address—we'll come find you."
"Perfect! I'll wait for you outside."
After hanging up, Jason grabbed Tony and they headed out. Life as a boxer could get dull, and Jason had been itching to find something that truly excited him.
Following the address Philgen sent, Tony drove them straight to the gym.
As soon as they got out of the car, Philgen came running up. "Ha! You've bulked up! Come on, let me show you around. If you're interested, you can even spar a bit. There are plenty of strong fighters here…"
Under Philgen's lead, they went up to the second floor. Jason's eyes widened. The space was enormous—hundreds of people trained in different uniforms.
There were judo practitioners, karate fighters, pairs sparring in sanda, and Muay Thai boxers exchanging brutal blows. Jason was impressed, especially by the judo section, where several female judokas caught his attention...
Philgen started explaining enthusiastically, "Let me give you the rundown on a few of these. I've sparred with them all—they're tough! For karate, check their belts. Green and above means real combat training. Brown belts are already fierce, and black belts? Best not to provoke them. Their technique's kind of like Chinese martial arts—redirecting force and finding your weak spot fast before taking you down in one move."
"Over there, the ones sparring with gear on—that's sanda. It's all hard hits, leg catches, throws, and takedowns. I've taken plenty of beatings from them, haha…"
"And the scariest ones are the Muay Thai guys. No one really wants to spar with them—heavy legs, brutal punches, elbows, knees… if you're not tough enough, you won't last."
Jason Luo and Tony Huo watched, their blood pumping. What an incredible place!
That karate fighter's sacrifice strike looked amazing.
The sanda fighters were fierce and precise, and the Muay Thai guys—man, they'd tied hemp ropes around their legs and were literally smashing wooden posts with kicks. Tony winced just watching. That kind of training bordered on self-destruction.
Their excited pointing and comments soon drew attention. A sanda fighter stopped and called out, "Hey Philgen, who are those two? Don't think I've seen them before. Your new teammates?"
"Ha, Tazim, look again. You just watched his video yesterday—forgot already?"
Philgen's words caught everyone's attention. The fighters stopped training and turned to look at Jason.
"Wait, you're—whoa, you're that fighter? Damn, everyone, come check it out! The star's here!"
In an instant, people surrounded him, even the Muay Thai guys came over.
"Jason, you were incredible in that video—seventy straight punches! That's insane! We were all impressed. Can't believe Philgen actually knows you!"
"How'd you pull that off? Maybe give us a quick demo!"
"Yeah! Let's spar a round—show us what you've got!"
Jason rubbed his temples with a wry smile. "Guys, really, I just happened to get into the zone that day. I'm not as amazing as you think. Honestly, I haven't been boxing that long, and I've barely touched other styles. I'm here today to learn, that's all."
Tazim laughed. "Come on, don't be so modest. We're all fighters here. Since you're already here, we can't just let you leave without a match. Tell you what—you pick the discipline and the opponent. We'll go one round under kickboxing rules. Sound fair?"
"Alright! Pick us karate guys! Second-degree black belt ready to go!"
"Try Aikido!"
"I'll fight him!"
Jason felt sweat forming on his forehead. Not because he was scared, but because he didn't know their styles. Losing in front of everyone would be humiliating.
Then Tony shot him a sly look and subtly mouthed, "Pick the women's judo."
Jason nearly choked. Trust Tony to come up with something like that. No way was he doing that!