0106 What kind of prodigious natural strength is that?!

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When the “Breaking the Limit” prompt appeared on the panel once again, Chen Jue immediately flipped down from the horizontal bar.

Gaining three attribute points was exceedingly rare. At his current training efficiency, it would take an entire day of exercise to accumulate that much.

What surprised Chen Jue, of course, was that aside from the critical bonus to his attribute points, his “Climbing” proficiency had also risen by several points.

Clearly, the movements involved in climbing the pole corresponded perfectly with the “Climbing” skill.

More importantly, he had completed the human flag challenge, one of the five great feats of street workout. Chen Jue was in an exceptionally good mood, his heart filled with the satisfaction of having gained something worthwhile.

Progressing day by day felt just like leveling up in a video game. Any man would find that deeply enjoyable.

“Senior, that was incredible!”

“You’ve directly improved the human flag and advanced it into the human flag-raising!” Wang Xin came over with a group of members from the Self-Discipline Club.

Street workout had been developed and perfected by experts overseas, while fitness enthusiasts in China had generally done little more than follow in their footsteps.

It was rare for an innovative movement technique to appear, so Wang Xin and the others were especially excited. They were practically itching to upload the video they had just recorded to foreign websites and show it off.

“You can upload the video and post it to your social media, but remember to mosaic my face,” Chen Jue told the members of the Self-Discipline Club. While sharing the details of the “human flag-raising” technique with them, he also made his own request.

Ever since his “Master of Special Skills” account had become popular, he had grown increasingly concerned about his personal privacy and safety.

As the saying went, people feared fame just as pigs feared growing fat. Being too famous was not always a good thing. Chen Jue only wanted to appear online wearing a face mask; he had no intention of exposing his true identity.

Wang Xin and the others were all outstanding students at Jiang University, with high intelligence and emotional awareness. They naturally understood the importance of personal privacy.

Thus, right in front of Chen Jue, they carefully added mosaics to every photograph and video they had just taken before continuing to discuss the details of the “human flag-raising” technique with him.

Only after everyone had taken a turn did they realize how deeply talented this unassuming senior truly was.

The human flag itself was not especially difficult. The real challenge lay in moving upward along the vertical pole with nothing but the gripping strength of both hands after suspending the body horizontally in midair.

Although the members of the Self-Discipline Club also practiced street workout, they had barely trained their grip or wrist strength.

Consequently, after trying one after another, not a single person managed to reproduce the “human flag-raising” technique successfully. This only deepened their admiration for Chen Jue.

Most importantly, they had watched him train from nothing.

When Chen Jue had first entered Jiang University, he could do little more than a few sets of explosive pull-ups.

Now that his core strength had improved, he could perform all kinds of advanced street-workout movements with ease. Only the final and most difficult feat, the planche, remained beyond his reach.

The planche tested not only the strength of the arms, wrists, and core, but also demanded considerable shoulder power and balance.

To conquer this final street-workout feat, Chen Jue still had to keep working hard.

…

After spending a long time in the corner of the track field communicating with the members of the Self-Discipline Club, Chen Jue also learned several new exercises for strengthening his waist, abdomen, and shoulders. He then went to the field-events area and practiced the javelin and shot put a few times, raising his “Hunting Throw” skill to Level 1.

Once lunchtime arrived, he went to the cafeteria to eat.

As for the “human flag-raising” video Wang Xin and the others had recorded, they gradually uploaded it to various video platforms and foreign websites, claiming that they wanted street-workout experts overseas to witness the mysterious power of the East.

Chen Jue did not stop them from showing off. Instead, he asked them for the video links so that he could read the comments when he had time.

Fitness depended on sharing and mutual improvement in the first place. The techniques he had learned had also been picked up from foreign experts. Sending something back in the opposite direction could be considered a form of long-distance exchange, allowing him and those overseas fitness masters to trade knowledge back and forth.

After lunch, Chen Jue did not remain at Jiang University.

It was Friday, and with the weekend approaching, both teachers and students were inevitably growing restless.

Besides, the physiology class for clinical medicine that afternoon was not particularly important. Chen Jue planned to listen to the online lecture casually once he got home, then spend the extra time lying down in his room for a brief afternoon nap.

After all, the limit-breaking training that morning had left him somewhat fatigued.

During his nap, he assigned all the free attribute points he had accumulated to “Constitution.” When he woke up, he was once again full of energy.

It was only two o’clock. He glanced at the time and sent Yu Jie a message, arranging to meet him at the climbing club.

That fellow was obviously not the obedient type. On Friday afternoon, he had skipped half a day of classes as well.

While teaching Chen Jue climbing techniques, Yu Jie also unexpectedly revealed that he was about to participate in the selection trials for professional climbers in Jiang Province.

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“That’s great news!”

“You’re about to cross the threshold from amateur to professional. Try to bring home a gold medal soon. Once you become famous, you can turn into a sports star and make money hand over fist.” Chen Jue patted Yu Jie on the shoulder and offered him a few words of encouragement.

The kid had been blessed with a handsome face from birth. His looks easily deserved an eight out of ten and could stand up against anyone. Climbing had also given him an excellent physique. It would truly be a shame if he did not become a sports celebrity.

While learning to climb and grinding his “Climbing” proficiency, Chen Jue had once asked Yu Jie why he did not make videos and become an internet celebrity.

The fellow had hemmed and hawed before finally admitting, “My girlfriend won’t allow it! She says she’s afraid I’ll become famous and abandon her.”

Chen Jue had been left speechless. He had never expected this fellow to be such a devoted romantic. It genuinely made him see Yu Jie in a new light.

But honestly, with Yu Jie’s appearance and physique, along with his ability to cling to a wall using a single-finger pull-up, he would probably attract plenty of wealthy older women even if he never became a sports star.

The two hundred yuan he was earning per hour as Chen Jue’s private instructor was truly beneath his abilities.

…

After training with Yu Jie for two hours, Chen Jue had raised his “Climbing” proficiency by more than eight hundred points. At that moment, the panel displayed another prompt:

——————

Ding~

Proficiency has reached one hundred percent. Skill level increased.

Climbing Level 3 → Level 4

Your understanding of climbing has deepened. The physical movements associated with climbing seem to have formed a specific muscle memory within your body.

Your balance has improved. Your upper-body strength has received thorough training, and your fear of heights has diminished.

Strength +0.01

Spirit +0.01

——————

“Now that’s what I’m talking about!”

“Looks like taking it easy and getting plenty of rest these past few days has helped. My body can handle a higher training load now.” Looking at the two attribute points that had appeared on the panel, Chen Jue felt that the day had been exceptionally fulfilling.

…

He remained at the climbing club until a little after five. By then, his entire body was soaked in sweat, and his muscles had begun to ache and swell with soreness. Only then did Chen Jue drive to the Tianyu Rehabilitation Center.

He ate at the buffet first, took a hot shower, and then entered the familiar sports massage room.

Master Liu, who had treated him last time, was nowhere to be seen. After asking around, Chen Jue learned that their shifts had changed, so he asked the newly acquainted Master Zhang to give him a stretching massage.

After experiencing the agonizing “pain mask” treatment of fascia scraping the previous time, Chen Jue felt that he could grit his teeth and endure this intense rehabilitation massage.

Moreover, compared to his first rehabilitation massage, his “Constitution” attribute had increased by nearly 0.20 during this period.

The stronger his “Constitution,” the more powerful his metabolism and recovery abilities became. The lactic acid buildup in his muscles, as well as the adhesions in his muscles and fascia, were no longer as severe as before.

Thus, when the fascia scraper was used again, the stabbing pain had decreased by several levels.

Compared with the delicate hands of the young women at Jingtanghui, the masseurs at Tianyu Rehabilitation Center were clearly more professional. Their pressure was stronger, and their techniques were more focused.

In addition to stretching, the masseurs here could also perform bone alignment, helping accelerate Chen Jue’s recovery from his lumbar disc protrusion.

When the one-hour massage ended, the panel once again displayed a +0.01 increase to his “Constitution” attribute.

Chen Jue also felt his entire body grow loose and relaxed. The muscles in his limbs were no longer stiff, and even his lower back seemed noticeably straighter than usual.

“Once Teacher Li’s training plan is ready, I’ll have to come here regularly.” Chen Jue stretched lazily and comfortably, feeling that his twelve-thousand-yuan membership fee had not been wasted.

…

By the time Chen Jue left the Tianyu Rehabilitation Center, it was already eight in the evening. He had planned to ask Jiang Zhe out to play a few rounds of League of Legends, but that fellow had been placed under a strict home curfew.

He said that once the weekend arrived, he had to spend more time with his wife and child and could not come out.

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After all, it was Friday. The office drones who had spent five days laboring in the workplace were all heading home to rest, or going out to entertainment venues to let loose.

As an unemployed idler, Chen Jue could no longer experience the sense of release that came from finishing a workweek. He had no choice but to drive back to his apartment, collect more than a dozen newly arrived packages, and carry them upstairs.

He first opened the small parcels. The medicinal ointments, vitamins, and calcium tablets he had bought on impulse had all arrived. After looking over the instructions, Chen Jue planned to study how the supplements were meant to be applied externally and taken internally.

Among the packages was also an unusually conspicuous long box. When he opened it, he found the Han-style Black Qilin Bow sent by the owner of Rainbow Light Studio.

The entire bow was coated in black lacquer, with blood-red patterns decorating its surface. It looked extremely striking.

The texture was excellent as well. It had probably been handmade from the traditional materials commonly used in bows: wood, horn, bone, bamboo, and the like.

With only one glance, Chen Jue fell completely in love with the black Qilin Bow.

The package also included ten bowstrings. Some were traditional strings made of rawhide, while others were made from modern materials such as Dacron, stainless-steel wire, and fiberglass.

There were also fifty high-strength carbon-steel arrows. The arrowheads included both sharpened points and blunt practice tips.

Chen Jue picked up the instruction manual from the bow case. Only then did he learn that the string of a new bow had to be fitted by the user personally. That way, one could experience the bow’s strength more directly.

“A one-hundred-and-twenty-pound bow—nearly one hundred and nine jin of draw weight.”

“If you can draw a bow like this, you wouldn’t even qualify as a general in ancient times. At most, you’d be an elite enemy.”

Chen Jue muttered to himself, recalling the information about Qing dynasty military examinations that he had looked up online earlier.

One hundred and nine jin was equivalent to an eleven-strength bow in the Qing military system. Those capable of drawing such a bow could only be considered outstanding among the military examination candidates. In the Solon battalions—the most formidable fighters in the entire Qing realm—there would have been plenty of them.

The Solon people were an unusual branch of the Jurchens. Known as the “Wild Jurchens,” they lived in the frigid regions of Siberia and the Greater Khingan Mountains, surviving on fishing and hunting for generation after generation. They were essentially the Qing dynasty’s warrior people.

Historical records once described them this way: “They could draw a ten-strength bow, bind themselves to a tree, shoot through bears and tigers in their caves, and carry the kills home.” The passage revealed just how brave and powerful this people was.

Above the Solon warriors were the even more formidable “Baturu,” fearsome men who could all draw thirteen-strength bows.

By comparison, the Qilin Bow Chen Jue had just received, with a draw weight approaching eleven strength, truly seemed insignificant.

…

After chatting with Ajie from Military Gear, Chen Jue opened the simple stringing tutorial the other man had sent him. He watched and learned at the same time, then picked up the rawhide bowstring and slowly began twisting it into place.

He discovered that stringing the bow was genuinely strenuous, especially as the string grew tighter and tighter.

By the time the entire bow had been strung, Chen Jue was sweating all over, and the string had left marks on both his hands.

He had also recorded a short video of the entire process.

Since it was his first time stringing a bow, Chen Jue was afraid he might have made a mistake. He sent the newly recorded video back to Ajie so the professional could inspect it and point out anything that needed correcting.

If a bow was strung incorrectly, it could never unleash its full power.

After watching Chen Jue’s video, Ajie immediately replied with a confused-face meme, followed by a long voice message filled with astonishment and disbelief.

“Holy crap, bro!”

“You strung a one-hundred-and-twenty-pound bow all by yourself?”

“What kind of freakish natural strength do you have?”

After sending the voice message, Ajie also forwarded a video of their studio stringing a one-hundred-and-twenty-pound bow.

In the video, four broad-shouldered, powerfully built young men were all tugging together on a tightly twisted new string as they fitted it onto the heavy bow. It took the four of them an enormous amount of effort before they finally managed to secure the string.

Chen Jue was utterly bewildered after watching it. He had not expected stringing a high-poundage bow to be so troublesome. Quietly, he muttered to himself, “Have I really become this strong already?”

First update of the day. Back to typing, typing, typing. And while I’m at it, please spare a few monthly votes and recommendation votes.

End of chapter.

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