High-Position Explosive Pull-Up

“Climbing over a wall counts as climbing?”

Glancing at the notification on his panel, Chen Jue turned to look back at the wall he’d just leapt.

The wall wasn’t particularly high—about two and a half meters. Even so, compared to simply and mechanically climbing stairs, it wasn’t exactly easy for an average person to get over it.

Not only did it require a decent jumping ability, but once you gripped the top edge, you also needed enough upper body strength to lift yourself up.

Last time Chen Jue checked, he weighed 80.5 kilograms, which meant he could now lift an 80-kilogram object with ease.

He could feel it—scaling this wall wasn’t taxing at all.

If the wall were raised to over three meters, then perhaps he’d begin to feel some challenge.

“Three meters or more… wouldn’t that mean I could just hook my hands and pull myself up to the second floor?” Chen Jue mused.

Still, thinking of someone like Yu Jie, who could lightly kick off a wall and reach climbing holds over four meters high, his own wall scaling seemed unimpressive by comparison. He’d have to keep working hard.

…

Jiang University, like many other universities, had a semi-open campus. City buses ran inside; security was relatively relaxed, with guards stationed only at a few main gates. So Chen Jue’s wall-scaling attracted no attention.

Once inside, he passed an indoor sports complex and an outdoor swimming pool—though it was already late autumn, the weather cooling, so the pool was closed.

The gymnasium, however, was brightly lit, clearly hosting some campus event.

Chen Jue was on his way to treat someone to dinner, so he didn’t stop to join the festivities.

He walked through the open activity zone, past a park-like lake with bridges and pavilions. Across the water, he could see the illuminated library, teaching buildings, and student dormitories.

Bicycles flowed by in endless streams, students laughed and chatted—everywhere, the youthful energy of this top-tier university was on display.

“This campus is enormous!”

“I never noticed when driving. Walking across really wears you out.”

Chen Jue couldn’t help but marvel. Coming from Wangyang Apartments, he’d effectively crossed the campus vertically, a distance of over two kilometers on foot.

He walked quickly, almost at a jog, and it took him about fifteen minutes to reach the canteen where they’d agreed to meet.

By the time he arrived, Zheng Yuan was already waiting at the entrance, and both he and the gentle-looking girl beside him were stunned to see Chen Jue arrive drenched in sweat.

“Jue, why not just grab a shared bike next time? It really is far from Wangyang to here,” Zheng Yuan greeted him and introduced the girl.

She was Lin Xiaoyue, Zheng Yuan’s girlfriend, also a third-year student in the School of Life Sciences.

“Far? I thought it was fine!” Chen Jue smiled, because just as he’d reached the canteen, another notification appeared on his panel:

——————

[Ding~]

[You have completed an efficient aerobic exercise. Your legs, hips, and core muscle groups have been effectively trained.]

[Free Attribute +0.01]

——————

At moments like this, nothing made Chen Jue happier than seeing his attributes increase.

A brisk fifteen-minute walk was just like a treadmill warm-up at the gym—more calorie-consuming and metabolically efficient than a slow Tai Chi session.

However, walking and running, like frequent stair climbing, put more strain on the ankles and knees than Tai Chi, and weren’t as gentle for long-term health.

…

After a brief chat at the door, the three of them headed inside to order food.

Since Chen Jue was treating, Zheng Yuan made no attempt at modesty, ordering four hearty dishes—more than enough for the three of them.

And the cost was low—three people ate well for less than a hundred yuan, a testament to the benefits of being at a top university.

Over dinner, besides asking Zheng Yuan about his eccentric research project, Chen Jue also inquired about programs related to the human body.

Jiang University offered ninety-five majors, second only to the two prestige schools in the country. Picking the right one for himself would be a headache for someone like Chen Jue.

“Don’t worry, Jue, I’ve already checked for you,” Zheng Yuan grinned. “Here, we have majors related to human research: Biological Sciences, Sports Science, Biomedical Engineering, Biomedicine, Clinical Medicine—these are the main ones.

Many courses overlap, with repeated content from freshman to senior year. I’ll get Xiaoyue to compile a list for you and send it on WeChat. She’s our class’s academic and organizing rep—it’s nothing for her!”

He hugged his girlfriend, looking blissfully happy.

“Thanks so much! Next meal’s on me!” Chen Jue chuckled, swallowing a mouthful of dog food but genuinely pleased.

With two academic stars helping him choose courses, he’d save himself a lot of trouble.

As for Zheng Yuan’s strange project, it was still in preparation. He promised to notify Chen Jue and his cousin for testing once it was officially approved.

…

After dinner, Zheng Yuan and his girlfriend headed to the library to study.

Both majored in Biological Sciences, with ambitions far beyond just earning their bachelor’s—they were already preparing for graduate school, far more diligent than the average student.

As he strolled through campus at night, Chen Jue couldn’t help but sigh at the sight of couples hand in hand, arms around each other, or simply walking side by side. “Youth really is wonderful!”

“Wait… I’m not even thirty yet. I’m still young too!”

He consoled himself and spent an hour wandering Jiang University, growing more familiar with the surroundings.

By the time his ankles began to ache, he found himself at a track and field stadium—a standard 400-meter rubber track, and in fact, two of them side by side, an extravagant touch.

On one field, a football match was underway, but Chen Jue wasn’t interested in ball sports. He strolled toward the busier running track.

University life was open and free. On the track, he saw couples walking, clubs holding outdoor guitar performances, and athletes training for sprints.

At a top university like Jiang, students recruited for sports were at least national-level athletes, easily able to run the 100 meters in under 10.93 seconds.

Chen Jue watched, blood surging, as the sprinters launched from their crouched starts, driving their knees high, arms swinging rhythmically, muscles taut with explosive power.

Their legs weren’t just defined—they were clearly thicker than the average person’s.

“I wonder what time I could run now,” he mused. “Twelve seconds? Eleven?”

“Too bad running can’t be recorded on my panel. I wonder what rules the panel has for activating skills.”

Most of his training so far had focused on upper body strength. Now that he was studying and training at Jiang University, he’d need to build up his legs as well.

But tonight, after walking over ten thousand steps, his calves and ankles already ached. He decided not to join the sprinting students.

After watching for a while, he wandered to another area of the stadium, where there were climbing frames, horizontal and parallel bars, monkey ladders, and other exercise equipment.

A group of disciplined students, muscles on display, were training hard—at least twenty, most working on upper body strength.

Push-ups, curls, static hangs, pull-ups—someone even performed a human flag, drawing admiring exclamations from onlookers.

Clearly inspired by fitness influencers online, self-discipline had become a trend on campuses as well.

Having come this far, Chen Jue wasn’t content to just watch.

His legs were sore, but he still had plenty of energy for upper body exercise.

So, when a spot on the horizontal bar opened up, he gripped it and prepared to do some pull-ups.

Pull-ups trained not only upper body muscle but also strengthened core muscles in the waist and back—just what he needed.

One, two, three—at first, no one paid much attention.

After all, any one of these disciplined students could easily bang out ten or twenty.

But when Chen Jue passed thirty in a single go, more and more eyes turned to him.

“Wow!”

“High explosive pull-ups, all the way!”

“Thirty in one go!”

“Which department is he from? I haven’t seen him before!”

High explosive pull-ups are a demanding variation, much like scaling a wall—pulling the elbows above the bar, body practically propped above it.

There were other forms—Australian pull-ups, eccentric pull-ups, kipping, cross-legged burnout sets—but explosive pull-ups were the hardest and most taxing.

If not for his consistent hand strength training and steadily rising [Physique] attribute, there was no way he could have done thirty in one set.

“Thirty-one, thirty-two, thirty-three… forty!”

After squeezing out the last one, Chen Jue was burning up, hands tingling, back and waist stiff as he dropped from the bar.

Right then, his panel pinged:

——————

[Ding~]

[Proficiency 100%. Skill level up.]

[Climbing Lv1 (200/200) → Lv2 (1/500)]

——————

[You are now more skilled in climbing. Your upper body strength, grip strength, and core strength have improved slightly.]

[Strength Attribute +0.01]

——————

“Doing pull-ups counts as climbing?”

“Is it because of the grip and climbing posture? No wonder proficiency rose so quickly!”

Seeing the skill increase, Chen Jue couldn’t help but smile.

At that moment, a burly student approached, looking him up and down with eager curiosity. “Senior, that was amazing! Forty high explosive pull-ups in one set!”

“Are you a graduate or doctoral student? How about joining our discipline club? I noticed your form isn’t perfect—your core could use some work.

Join us—we train and improve together!”

The enthusiastic president kept talking, but when he learned Chen Jue was only auditing classes, he looked a bit taken aback.

After all, club rules at Jiang University only allowed official students to join—no graduates or auditors.

Still, the president was impressed by Chen Jue’s skills and insisted on adding him on WeChat, inviting him into the “Jiang University Discipline Club” group chat.

Chen Jue didn’t refuse—he needed guidance and knowledge in this area.

Joining their group, occasionally training with these self-disciplined students, sounded perfect. He chatted with President Wang Xin for a while longer.

When he heard Wang Xin could do a hundred standard pull-ups in a row, Chen Jue couldn’t help but give a thumbs-up. “No wonder this is a top school—talent everywhere!”

With that kind of monstrous strength and shoulder muscles, things like shoulder periarthritis or rheumatism would be crushed into dust.

…

After one set of pull-ups, Chen Jue decided to call it a night. For one, he’d been running around all day and was pretty spent.

For another, Zheng Yuan’s girlfriend had already sent over a list of suitable courses for him to audit—efficiency at its finest.

He checked the list—there were quite a few!

From Biological Sciences: Zoology and Lab, Genetics and Lab, Developmental Biology.

From Sports Science: Sports Training, Sports Massage.

From Clinical Medicine: Human Anatomy, Physiology, Biochemistry, Pharmacology, Pathology, Internal Medicine, Surgery, Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Three major programs, thirteen courses in total.

Some more hardcore courses in cell biology and molecular biology were omitted as they only briefly touched on human cells.

Chen Jue was a bit daunted by the sheer number, but since he wasn’t taking exams or doing research, a basic grasp to build his own training logic system would suffice.

After sending Lin Xiaoyue a “fist-bump thanks” emoji, he ordered the couple a late-night milk tea as a token of thanks, then hurried back to his apartment to select all the courses on the university’s intranet.

He reserved all the textbooks at the library—costing over two thousand yuan—and paid thirty-five hundred for credits.

But knowledge is priceless—he didn’t feel the least bit pained spending a few thousand for it.

“Maybe I should set up a data risk control system for myself, to monitor my course progress and physical attribute gains?”

Chen Jue copied the course names, opened a document, and imported a data template he’d made earlier.

As for the document title, he whimsically dubbed it “Ultimate Human Training Plan Version 1.00.”

After all, no matter how old a man gets, he can’t help being passionate and a bit childish at heart.

Once he’d drafted the system, Chen Jue showered and lay in bed, looking forward to his days as an auditor at Jiang University.

But as he was dozing off, a strange sound reached his ears.

Wangyang Apartments was an old building with poor soundproofing, and the university couple next door were evidently busy with their own “business,” the noises drifting through the wall.

Why rent an apartment off-campus instead of staying in the dorms? Most students wanted to shack up and enjoy life with their girlfriends.

At night, when it’s quiet, such sounds are especially penetrating.

Chen Jue wasn’t being a pervert—he was now all about training and learning, and this was just an unwanted distraction.

Unable to sleep, he finally dug out a long-unused pair of headphones and put them on, blocking out the noise at last.

“Damn it!” he muttered. “If only ears could shut like eyes.”

And with that thought, he drifted off to sleep.