Martial artists can never be ultimately insulted.

Looking at Garuda, Shojo was initially worried because of Garuda and Feng Shui's dark iris, but she relaxed after discovering that it was just a simple bloodline inheritance.

Because, judging from their appearances, both Wu Fengshui and Wu Jialouluo look like normal girls of the same age.

In contrast, Han Zhuli gives off a somewhat... ghostly girl vibe.

However, Han Zhuli clearly didn't care about Shaojiang and was just preparing for school with a disgruntled expression.

"Yes, study hard," Yuan Chen simply advised.

Han Zhuli simply rolled her eyes and then said, "Alright, let's go."

Due to the unique nature of the Battle Realm, almost all schools in the city are located in the Central School District, including the Royal Sakura Girls' Academy.

However, the central school district is quite large, so they will only walk together for a short while at the beginning, and then they will each go their own way.

Yuan Chen simply shrugged at this, and then the group set off together.

With more people around, especially with guys like Baki and Gentatsu who looked like they were not to be trifled with, Kozue relaxed a lot and had the leisure to observe her surroundings as she walked through the old town.

The old town in the early morning and the old town at night are completely different places.

The thugs and biker gangs who used to loiter on street corners at night have long since disappeared, leaving only cigarette butts and empty cans scattered on the ground. In their place are elderly people going out to buy groceries, part-time students delivering newspapers on bicycles, and housewives drying bedding in the narrow alleys.

As Yuan Chen walked by, several old men who were squatting by the roadside playing chess waved to him.

"Is the young boss going to school?" the old man asked curiously.

“Yes, we still need to study.” Yuan Chen nodded.

"Then... will the restaurant be open at noon today?" the old man asked with some concern.

"Open for business," Yuan Chen said. "It's all prepared in advance. Remember to buy it at noon. Today's lunch is a set meal of Tang-style braised pork."

"That's wonderful!" Upon hearing this, the old man breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I've been having lunch at your place every day lately, and I feel much better... Oh, by the way, I have some dried fish here; I'll bring it to you later!"

Upon hearing this, Shaojiang, who was standing to the side, blinked curiously.

Book 1: Chapter 118 - Albert Payne

Following behind the group, listening to Yuan Chen and the old men playing shogi chatting back and forth, Shaojiang's expression gradually changed from initial tension to confusion.

Subconsciously, she tugged at Baki's sleeve and asked in a low voice, "Senior Yuan Chen... are you familiar with the people here?"

“You haven’t been running this shop here for very long,” Baki scratched his head and replied in a low voice, “but it seems like everyone on the street knows him already.”

Wu Fengshui, who was standing nearby, heard their whisper and slowed down to walk to their side.

Although he was born into the Wu clan, Wu Fengshui looked no different from an ordinary high school student with a schoolbag slung over his shoulder. However, the light and shadow reflected by his dark irises in the sunlight still made Shaojiang instinctively stand up a little straighter.

"Yuan Chen's shop sells set meals at noon, 250 yen a serving," Wu Fengshui said without hesitation.

"For a yakiniku set meal... it comes with rice, miso soup, and two side dishes. Putting aside the taste, the portion size alone would cost at least 700 yen, even in a school cafeteria."

"Two hundred and fifty yen?" Upon hearing this, Kozue subconsciously repeated it, silently calculating in her mind.

Although still very young, Baki, who had managed the food budget for the Koji gang, was much more sensitive to food prices than the average high school student.

Two hundred and fifty yen is equivalent to about ten yuan in RMB.

"Pork now costs...that price doesn't even cover the cost, right?"

“Brother Yuanchen didn’t open the shop to make money,” Wu Fengshui shrugged.

"Most of the residents in the old town are elderly people who are reluctant to leave their hometown. Although the public security has improved a lot now and there are more young people doing odd jobs, lunch is often the only proper meal they can have all day. So Brother Yuanchen didn't charge extra... Of course, the normal fee applies when we're open at night."

In fact, it was far from a normal charge, because after the first meal, Wu Lei'an and the others simply threw a bank card at Yuan Chen.

They didn't say how much money they had saved, and Yuan Chen was too lazy to ask. After all, the proceeds from the auction of the contracts after the Kengan match were enough for Yuan Chen to maintain this charitable business model.

But when she first learned of this, Shaojiang looked at Yuan Chen's back with some surprise and didn't say anything.

With 250 yen, even if it's a discounted bento box from a convenience store, you can only buy a relatively cheap chicken bento box, right? Even a very cheap fried pork cutlet bento box would cost at least 350 yen... about 15 RMB.

More importantly, what Yuan Chen sells is clearly not a simple bento box, but a set meal.

Although it sounds the same, according to what Shoko just heard, Yuanchen's set meal is quite complete: one main dish, one miso soup, one side dish and one side dish, plus a serving of rice. It perfectly meets the requirements of a set meal: one soup and three dishes.

A meal like this, even if it tastes slightly better, would cost over 1,500 yen, and 250 yen wouldn't even cover the cost.

Although he looks tall and fierce, he surprisingly seems to be a very kind person.

Thinking this way, Shoko relaxed a lot.

A moment later, they arrived at the school district. Wu Jialou and the others went to Huangying Girls' Academy and parted ways on the spot. A moment later, Shaojiang also went to her own teaching building, leaving only Baki by Yuan Chen's side.

Seeing that Kozue had left, Baki breathed a sigh of relief.

Seeing this, Yuan Chen raised an eyebrow and asked, "It seems like you've been wanting to say something but haven't said it yet?"

"Hmm." Hearing Yuan Chen's question, Baki nodded vigorously, then said helplessly, "Mainly... Kozue, she doesn't want me to continue fighting..."

"Is it because it's dangerous?" Yuan Chen said unhurriedly, "That girl clearly knows a lot about fighting, especially underground fighting."

"……Um."

Upon hearing this, Baki nodded quietly after a brief silence.

Kozue's father was a fighter in the Tokyo Dome underground fighting arena, which is one of the reasons why Kozue cannot understand fighting.

One of the most important points is that, for a long time, the Tokyo Dome underground fighting arena was a place with absolutely no prize money.

In other words, even a champion like Baki, a king of the underground fighting arena, has to pay for all the pre-match preparations and post-match recovery himself.

For the first time, the bloodthirsty Autobot Mitsunari Tokugawa broke with tradition and created a pure gold championship belt worth one billion yen for the champion, and this was for the strongest elimination tournament on earth.

Kozue's father, a former member of the Tokyo Dome underground fighting arena, also participated in underground fighting purely as a martial artist, without any financial gain, simply to pursue combat.

In comparison, the money given by the Kengan Association was real, hard cash...

“Then try talking to her about your purpose and meaning in fighting,” Yuan Chen said. “If you believe in yourself as much as she does, then she is the best girl you can ever meet.”

“…Hmm.” Upon hearing this, Baki nodded quietly after a brief silence.

He then scratched his head sheepishly and said, "This is the first time someone has told me these things... It seems like you know a lot about this period."

"Of course, I'm a master of relationships." Yuan Chen nodded matter-of-factly, then patted Baki on the shoulder and said:

"Just ask me if you have any questions. Um, if I can help."

"Oh, thank you so much!" Baki flashed a bright smile.

Although he became the champion of the Tokyo Dome underground fighting arena at a young age, unfortunately, compared to his unparalleled talent in combat, he lacked in emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills...

At least before the elimination tournament for the strongest creature on Earth, no elder had ever truly taught Baki how to handle emotional issues.

Needless to say, the father, Yujiro Hanma, as the "strongest creature on earth," is most concerned with power rather than Baki's emotional growth, and as a result, the only way the father and son communicate is through "fists."

Baki's mother, Akazawa Eju, saw Baki as a "tool" to challenge Yujiro. During her lifetime, she wholeheartedly supported his training and growth with money. After her tragic death, Baki's way of responding to his mother's love became to continuously become stronger.

As for the other elders... whether it's Tokugawa Mitsunari, the organizer of the underground arena, or Retsu Kaioh, who hasn't appeared yet but will be both an enemy and a friend in the future, their interactions with Baki revolve around battle and martial arts, and never involve emotional guidance.

Baki's emotional world is a process of self-exploration in a very isolated environment.

This story blends the confusion of youth, the budding of emotions, the pursuit of beauty, and the yearning for instinct...

But... there's no need.

"Anyway, stop being so long-winded," Yuan Chen said as he walked towards the teaching building.

"Once you've made a decision, just do it! Let Koe know what she doesn't know! In the end, accept the outcome, whether it succeeds or fails, with equanimity!"

"Oh!" Baki responded enthusiastically.

Forget about whether the teaching is right or wrong, just tell me whether the teaching was right or wrong!

After saying goodbye to Baki, Genchen found his class by following the record on his student ID.

"Once a year, specialize in physiotherapy."

Looking at the nameplate, Yuan Chen sighed and shook his head. He could only say that some chuunibyou (middle school syndrome) is ingrained in the nation. Just looking at this nameplate was enough to make one feel indescribable.

Although Yuan Chen found the classroom, he did not go in, but instead went to the office to find his advisor.

"Oh, you must be Yuan Chen. It's a pleasure to meet you."

An elderly professor with white hair who looked like Einstein also lit up when he saw Yuan Chen.

“My name is Albert Payne. You can call me Professor Albert. If there are no problems, I should be your mentor.”

As he spoke, Professor Albert also looked at Yuan Chen with great interest.

"Ha, as expected of a powerful warrior capable of defeating Sagat and Baroque! Just by looking at you, I can already feel the vibrant life force hidden beneath your skin, the life force of all things vying for dominance!"

Upon hearing Albert's words, Yuan Chen's face showed a hint of surprise. After a moment of thought, he quickly remembered who the old professor was.

Albert Payne, although he looked familiar to Yuan Chen at first glance, like Einstein, and his name was the same as Einstein's name Albert, was actually a character designed by Ban Yuan from all aspects of name, appearance and profession.

In terms of character setting, he is a Nobel Prize winner in Medicine, but he has no fighting ability whatsoever. He is just a pure mad scientist who does not participate in battles in the Baki storyline, but only conducts observations and research.

And... a weak awareness of scientific ethics.

In the Pico the Primitive Man series, the author is extremely fanatical about Pico, regarding him as a unique scientific treasure in human history, completely ignoring Pico's many behaviors such as harming people, violence, and inhumanity.

In order to maintain Pike's condition, they even offered to hunt Siberian tigers and feed them to the fighters, so that Pike could maintain the physical condition that was adapted to prehistoric hunting.

In the Miyamoto Musashi arc, in order to stop Musashi, he even pulled out a pistol to threaten Musashi... In the end, Musashi broke his wrist and disarmed him in an instant.

As the saying goes, "One cannot truly live without being obsessed."

It was precisely because of this madness and obsession that Professor Albert gained the appreciation of many people. For example, Tokugawa Mitsunari would often invite Albert to experience things that ordinary people would never have the opportunity to do.

However, Yuan Chen still felt somewhat puzzled...

That is, it is completely unreasonable for Albert to appear in such a school.

Putting aside everything else, just the fact that he is a Nobel Prize laureate in Medicine and Biology alone would attract countless large companies, corporations, and government organizations willing to help him build an experimental team centered around him.

It's important to know that because of the existence of martial artists, medicine and biology have always been extremely popular fields in this world.

In Yuan Chen's previous life, the research on superhumans, special abilities, and superpowers that was prevalent during the Cold War ended long ago with the conclusion of the Cold War.

But this world is different. Even now, related research shows no signs of stopping. In fact, with the development of the information age, more and more people are noticing the immense power of martial artists, and similar investments are increasing...

Looking at Yuan Chen, Albert observed him briefly, and a look of excitement appeared on his face.

Without saying a word, Professor Albert simply stood up, circled Yuan Chen twice, and finally stopped behind Yuan Chen. He stared at the trapezius and latissimus dorsi muscles exposed from the neckline of Yuan Chen's vest for a good ten seconds, then took out a pair of reading glasses from his pocket, put them on, took them off, and put them on again, as if to determine whether what he was seeing required more precise optical instruments.

"...Is there a problem?" Yuan Chen asked curiously.

"Nothing...it's just because I've met Sagat." Professor Albert replied with great interest upon hearing Yuan Chen's question:

"In the scientific community, the 'qi' of martial artists has always been the focus of research for all biologists, medical scientists, and even all scientific workers, because according to a lot of data, and even archaeological discoveries, it can be confirmed that qi existed long before the birth of human civilization. It is a mysterious power that is older than human races, but can be mastered through training."

"Among them, I have met many people and many powerful martial artists... including even the Muay Thai emperor, Sagate."

Albert looked at Yuan Chen: "And according to my observation, powerful, observable Qi, as well as 'intention' which is difficult for ordinary people to understand and cannot be observed, can affect a person's development and growth on a practical level."

"Based on historical data and my later measurements, the values ​​of that Sagat's wingspan, leg length, and bone density exceeded the theoretical values ​​by 30 percent."

"Unfortunately, due to my status and schedule, I can't conduct targeted research for an extended period of time..."

"Fortunately, I heard about you!"

A burning light shone in Albert's eyes.

"At such a young age, you were able to defeat Sagat. Whether it was through drug stimulation or the unleashing of your inner potential, it undoubtedly proves that you possess extraordinary potential! So I defied all opposition and came here! Haha, now it seems that my decision was indeed correct!"

Albert then added:

“Your scapular adduction angle is perfect, and the origin and insertion points of your latissimus dorsi muscles are lower than in any body I have ever dissected—and this is not a pathological low attachment, but purely a biological growth, developmental promotion, and genetic expression advantage!”

Upon hearing this, Yuan Chen was also taken aback.

Even though he had some understanding of human anatomy and related physiology through his spiritual practice, he still felt a bit confused after hearing Albert's technical terms.

What are you... saying?

“I’m talking about your body!” Albert said enthusiastically. “I came back to this school for you! And now it seems I was right!”

"The difference between your scapular adduction angle and the origin and insertion points of your latissimus dorsi muscles means that your shoulder joint range of motion is at least seven to nine degrees greater than that of the average person. This translates to your arms having 4% to 5% more range of motion than others! More flexible, more powerful, more unpredictable, and more heavy and powerful!"

Volume 1: Chapter 119 - Hanzo Shiranui