0099 Suddenly, it was as if hair had grown overnight.

“Another breakthrough beyond the limit?” Chen Jue muttered to himself as he glanced at the new prompt on the panel.

This was already his second time completing a limit-breaking exercise, and both times the attribute rewards had been exceptionally high.

Especially when he saw the small increments in three attributes, the sense of fulfillment he felt was even stronger than seeing an extra 620,000 cash credited to his account.

Indeed, wealth was merely an external possession; only a healthy body truly mattered most to Chen Jue.

Without this panel, he would still be that timid, kowtowing little corporate drone.

What truly strengthened his spirit and willpower wasn’t just money, but this body undergoing transformation under the panel’s guidance.

“The money won’t arrive for a few more days, so I’ll just put it aside for now.”

“Continuing training to get stronger is the priority!”

Chen Jue reminded himself, curling his fingers slightly and feeling a bit of soreness and mild stinging.

Compared to the slow jog from his previous limit-breaking session, this half-hour of high-intensity needle flying caused considerable wear and strain on his finger joints, wrist joints, and hand muscles and fascia.

Moreover, compared to his dull legs, Chen Jue’s sensitivity to his hands was sharper.

Because his hands were the first body part he began to train and strengthen—whether it was water skipping or dart throwing, it all relied on his hands.

His hands were densely packed with nerves: the median nerve, radial nerve, ulnar nerve, and the lateral and medial cutaneous nerves of the forearm. They were extremely sensitive to pain and touch, embodying the saying "ten fingers connected to the heart."

Discomfort in his hands would affect subsequent training, so Chen Jue rolled out of bed, scooped some ice from the fridge, and soaked his hands in cold water, followed by hot medicinal baths.

After alternating between hot and cold baths several times, the soreness and stinging in his hands eased somewhat. Then he sprayed some mist and applied ointment.

Yet, the fleeting sting from the medicine left Chen Jue wanting more.

“Always using just these two is a bit lacking.”

“They’re cheap, ordinary products. Effective, yes, but they’re not enough for my hands right now,” Chen Jue muttered.

Having just made a big sum, he took out his phone and searched on Taobao for various ointments to strengthen muscles and bones and heal bruises and sprains.

Hua Tuo Bone-penetrating Plasters, Dragon-Tiger Bone-strengthening Patches, Shaolin Black Plasters, topical circulation-promoting wine, imported joint supplements—he added ten of each to his cart, selecting popular and highly rated products.

He planned to try them one by one to see which external medicine worked best and then stock up accordingly.

That was just for topical ointments. Chen Jue also searched for oral supplements.

Calcium enhancers, vitamins, blood and essence nourishing health products—he bought a big pile, ready to try each.

Thinking of that foreign billionaire who took over a hundred supplements daily for longevity, Chen Jue felt his stash was nothing in comparison.

Besides that, he bought several sets of sportswear and running shoes—for running, stance training, and rock climbing. Sports were an expensive hobby; just equipping himself cost quite a bit.

He also ordered a new phone and laptop to improve his quality of life.

His old devices had been used for years, causing lag and affecting video quality during filming and live streams. Now that his wallet was fuller, he decided to replace them all at once with the latest Huawei models, which were leading the market.

After selecting dozens of items in his cart, Chen Jue puckered his lips, “Over 30,000 spent just this moment?”

“Sure enough, windfall strikes fast and leaves just as quickly!”

He sighed inwardly but didn’t hesitate to proceed with the payment.

After all, he had earned big money and wasn’t bothered by these minor expenses. He treated it as a belated Double 11 shopping spree, rewarding himself for his recent hard training.

...

Carried by the joy of online shopping, Chen Jue went to bed early for a good sleep.

The next morning, upon waking, the stinging in his hands had lessened considerably, though curling his fingers still felt somewhat off; the subtle injuries deep inside had yet to fully heal.

He glanced at the small amount of free attribute points accumulated on his panel and decided to perform a “targeted physique upgrade” on his hands.

With the familiar warmth spreading through, his formerly pale hands flushed with a rosy hue. At that moment, the panel popped up a notification:

——————
[Ding~]
[Completed a targeted upgrade on the hand area. Blood circulation in this region has accelerated, metabolic function slightly improved. Lactic acid and inflammation buildup eased, and hand nerve reflexes have marginally increased.]
——————

“Not bad!”

“Barely enough to do some light exercises.”

“Once I accumulate more free points, I’ll add more to my hands.”

Chen Jue clenched his fingers again; the stabbing pain eased further. The upgrade clearly promoted healing of his hand injuries.

Before the sun fully rose, Chen Jue hurried to the bathroom to wash his face and brush his teeth.

As he cleaned the grime from the corners of his eyes, he stared intently at his reflection.

A delightful surprise appeared!

The once exposed scalp was now covered with countless tiny black dots. Running his fingers through, he felt a prickly stubble-like sensation, almost breaking down in tears from the overwhelming emotion.

“Hair... the lost hair is growing back!”

Chen Jue excitedly ruffled his hair, searching for those tiny black sprouts all over his scalp.

Where there had been bare patches, a dense cluster of black hair tips now sprouted like bamboo shoots pushing through the soil.

If he hadn’t parted his hair for a close look in the mirror, the original bald spots would have been invisible.

The continuous targeted “physique” upgrades on his scalp had truly taken effect!

“But wait…”

“If this were normal hair, it shouldn’t grow this fast,” Chen Jue frowned, recalling some trivia he’d read online about baldness and hair loss.

Ordinarily, hair grows about 0.2 to 0.4 millimeters per day, and follicles must pierce at least 4 millimeters through the scalp. That means it takes roughly ten days to grow new hair from the follicle stage.

“So, adding points to the scalp not only sped up blood circulation but also accelerated the division and proliferation of hair matrix cells?”

“Five small points added to physique equals speeding up hair growth by ten days. Adding 0.01 is roughly equivalent to accelerating two days of growth…”

Chen Jue, clear-headed in the morning, hurriedly recorded this major new discovery in his notebook.

...

Lacking solid reference data for comparison, Chen Jue didn’t dare delve deeper into the panel’s core mechanics.

This had already surpassed his initial speculation of the panel’s operation based on the human body, delving into the terrifyingly abstract concept of “time” itself.

Even the brightest human scientists hadn’t fully unraveled time’s workings; Chen Jue had no intention of wasting his time on it.

Anyway, seeing his hair grow back was enough to keep him happy for days.

For a man who cared about appearances, regaining lost hair was tantamount to reclaiming his confidence.

In high spirits, Chen Jue even climbed stairs with a lively step.

After completing his morning exercise on the apartment rooftop, practicing stance and horse stance, he earned 0.01 free attribute points.

Before this tiny increment warmed up, Chen Jue immediately designated it to his hands.

He wanted his hands to recover quickly so they wouldn’t hinder daily training.

Yet, thinking about how it took two and a half hours after sunrise to earn such a small amount of attributes, Chen Jue felt a bit dissatisfied with the low efficiency.

He roughly guessed this was because his improved physique meant that light exercises like stance and horse stance no longer stimulated muscle or bone growth as effectively.

Practicing more only stretched fascia and corrected bone alignment, without significantly boosting physical strength.

So, while heading downstairs to Jiang University for breakfast, Chen Jue searched online about how ancient martial artists trained their strength.

After all, horse stance and stance training were created by ancient warriors. He didn’t believe they could generate strength out of thin air through just those postures.

...

Sure enough, after browsing information on stone locks and stone beams, Chen Jue couldn’t help but smile.

“Isn’t this just the precursor to dumbbells and barbells?”

“Ancestors’ wisdom isn’t much inferior to modern knowledge.”

“Those traditional martial arts charlatans embellish the truth, claiming that punching without stance training is useless to fool the ignorant. Real kung fu can’t be built by just standing still.”

“How can you deal high damage without muscle mass?”

While eating, Chen Jue also found someone on Zhihu mentioning strength training through bow drawing.

Ancient military examinations in every dynasty highly valued archery skills; it was the pinnacle of cold weaponry and the decisive weapon in warfare.

In the Qing dynasty, for instance, “drawing heavy bows” was a key criterion for selecting outstanding military talents.

The Qing bow was the peak of ancient archery, capable of rivaling early firearms. Bows ranged in draw weight from eight, ten, to twelve “li,” with fifteen “li” as the limit; 1 “li” equaled ten jin (approximately five kilograms) in modern weight.

Given the average weak arm strength today, even an eight-li Qing bow would disqualify 99.99% of people; those who could draw a fifteen-li bow could be appointed military champions.

However, Chen Jue, being Han Chinese, felt somewhat resistant to these Qing dynasty legacies.

He messaged the head of Hongguang Studio on WeChat, asking if they had high-pound traditional bows, preferably Han bows. He wanted to buy one to complement his morning horse stance training.

After all, his panel had just unlocked the “archery” skill; leaving it unused would be a waste. Using it alongside his morning exercises might boost attribute growth efficiency.

“High-pound traditional bows?”

“Our studio mainly produces cold weapons like knives, swords, spears, and darts. Bows are outside my expertise, but I have a friend in the bow business. I’ll ask for you.”

The Hongguang Studio head was very enthusiastic. After Chen Jue’s “master skill guy” account went viral last night, their online store’s business also increased significantly.

They had been busy until midnight, with customers even buying the same darts as Chen Jue’s “master skill guy,” nearly exhausting the studio’s customer service.

To capitalize on the popularity of Chen Jue's flying needles embroidery technique, the studio launched a new hidden weapon flying needle product overnight, selling out immediately. The factory was working overtime to mold and stock up, fully leveraging the trend.

Having earned some money, the Hongguang Studio head naturally saw Chen Jue as their “patron” and traffic source.

Before Chen Jue finished breakfast, the other party sent a few short videos of traditional bows.

“Boss, I got you the highest poundage bows from Ajie’s place—these 120-pound Han Qilin bows.”

“For anything heavier, you’d have to order a custom one.”

“I’ve already bought this black Qilin bow and a bundle of arrows for you. Send me your address.”

The Hongguang Studio head was very considerate, buying the bow out of pocket for Chen Jue without discussing payment, clearly aiming to maintain a long-term relationship.

Chen Jue didn’t refuse. After replying with a “fist salute” emoji, he sent the address of the apartment’s nearby courier station.

He also added the new contact on WeChat, who was involved in a cold weapons studio specializing in ancient armor and bows. If Chen Jue needed custom gear, he could reach out to this “Wu Bei Ajie.”

“Armor?”

“Sounds pretty cool!”

“I wonder what level my current physique would rank on an ancient battlefield.”

“At least better than a mediocre general from Lingling, right?”

Chen Jue clicked into the new friend’s shop. Seeing the prices, his recently filled wallet suddenly felt a bit itchy.

Second update~
Finished typing for now, continuing tomorrow.
(End of chapter)