42: Chapter 42 [Learning Dimension lv.4]

The twenty-first day.

Waking up, the sky wasn't fully bright yet; it was that deepest blue just before dawn.

Chen Zhen opened his eyes. He didn't get up immediately, choosing to feel his state first.

The ball of Qi in his Dantian was even more solid than yesterday, and the warm sensation was steadier, like a small sun slowly burning inside his body.

The warmth of the shouzhong token and the heat from his Dantian echoed each other, one above and one below, with a subtle flow of Qi circulating between them.

He sat up and glanced at the alarm clock: 4:35.

Why was he waking up earlier and earlier?

But his body felt fine; in fact, he felt more energetic.

The old man said this was a sign of "Qi nourishing the spirit," and it seemed true.

He put on his clothes quietly.

When he pushed the door open, the living room light was on.

His father was up early again.

"Dad?"

His father was standing by the window, holding a teacup, looking at the grey sky outside.

Hearing the sound, he turned his head: "Up so early today?"

"Yeah." Chen Zhen walked over. "Why are you..."

"Couldn't sleep." His father took a sip of tea. "New position, need to think clearly about how to handle it."

The tone was calm, but Chen Zhen could hear the pressure inside.

His father was that kind of person—not many words, but he would shoulder the responsibility, pondering repeatedly, fearing even the slightest mistake.

"Should I cook some porridge?" Chen Zhen asked.

"I'll do it. You go back to sleep for a while."

"Not sleepy."

Father and son went into the kitchen together.

Rinsing rice, boiling water, cutting some pickles.

In the kitchen, there was only the sound of boiling water and the thud-thud of the kitchen knife on the cutting board.

"Dad." Chen Zhen suddenly spoke up. "Don't be too nervous."

His father's hand cutting the vegetables paused.

"I saw your work records from the past few days." Chen Zhen said. "Every detail is recorded clearly, every problem is carefully considered. With such dedication, you won't make mistakes."

His father was silent for a few seconds, then put the cut pickles into a dish: "When did you see them?"

"At night after you fell asleep, the notebook was on the living room table." Chen Zhen told the truth. "I didn't mean to look, I just... saw it."

His father didn't speak, just lifted the lid of the porridge pot and stirred it with a spoon.

"You've grown up." After a long while, his father said. "You know how to worry about things now."

"It's only right."

The porridge was ready, and the father and son sat at the dining table to eat.

White porridge with pickles, simple, but warming to the stomach.

"You've..." His father suddenly said, "changed a lot recently."

Chen Zhen's heart skipped a beat.

"Not a bad change." His father looked at him. "You've become sturdier, more steady. Your eyes are different too; they used to be a bit unfocused, but now... they're steady."

Chen Zhen lowered his head to drink porridge, not responding.

"Your mom said you're learning health preservation." His father continued. "Learning from an old man."

"Yeah, met him during morning exercise."

"That's good." His father nodded. "In this life, the body is the foundation. Having a good body is better than anything else."

These words were practical and avoided the potentially mystical parts.

His father was expressing support in his own way.

Not digging deep, not questioning, just acknowledging the superficial reason of "health preservation."

"I'll study it well." Chen Zhen said.

"Hmm." His father finished the last of the porridge and stood up. "I'm leaving. I have a morning meeting today."

"Dad."

His father turned back.

"You'll definitely be fine." Chen Zhen said seriously.

His father looked at him, the corners of his mouth twitching slightly as if wanting to smile, but in the end, he just nodded: "I'm off."

The door closed.

Chen Zhen sat at the dining table, listening to his father's footsteps disappear into the stairwell.

During the morning run, the air after the rain was exceptionally fresh.

The road was still a bit wet, but [ Physical Optimization ] made Chen Zhen's footsteps as steady as if he were walking on dry ground.

The warmth of the shouzhong token was exceptionally clear in the morning breeze, like carrying a hand warmer that wouldn't burn anyone.

When he ran to the Riverside, the sun just happened to emerge from behind the mountain on the opposite side of the river, golden light spilling onto the river surface, shimmering.

The old man wasn't under the willow tree today, but standing on a high ground of the river embankment, facing east, eyes closed, as if "gathering Qi."

Chen Zhen lightened his footsteps as he approached, not disturbing him.

After standing for about three minutes, the old man slowly opened his eyes and turned around: "You're here?"

"Yeah."

"I'll teach you something different today."

The old man walked down from the high ground. "Ever watched Wuxia movies? They have 'horse stance' in them."

"I have."

"That's the training method for external martial arts; we don't practice that." The old man said. "We practice 'standing stake'."

He stood still on the flat ground, feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent.

Not the bend of a deep squat, just a slight curve, as if about to sit down but not quite.

Hands held loosely in front of his abdomen, palms facing up, fingers naturally relaxed.

"Just like this, stand." The old man said. "Looks simple, right?"

Chen Zhen nodded.

"Come, you try."

Chen Zhen copied his posture and stood ready.

"Loosen your knees a bit more, don't tense them." The old man walked over and pressed lightly on the back of his knees. "Here, it should be like a spring, elastic, not a rigid bend."

Chen Zhen adjusted.

"Drop your shoulders, don't hunch them."

The old man pressed his shoulders again. "Once you hunch, the Qi gets blocked here at the neck."

Chen Zhen relaxed his shoulders.

"Look straight ahead, don't stare, don't squint." The old man stood opposite him. "Let your gaze go blank, look far, but you aren't really looking."

Chen Zhen followed suit.

"Good, just like this, stand." The old man stepped back two paces. "Try standing for five minutes."

The first half minute was fine.

But by the one-minute mark, Chen Zhen started to feel something was wrong.

His legs began to ache—not the lung-burning ache of running, but the muscle ache of maintaining a fixed posture.

His waist also began to get tired because he had to keep it centered and not crooked.

By two minutes, sweat was seeping from his forehead.

His legs were shaking, his waist were shaking, and even his arms were trembling slightly.

"Don't move." The old man's voice was very calm. "Shaking is normal; that's the rigid force dissolving. Bear with it, let the Qi move on its own."

Chen Zhen gritted his teeth and persisted.

Strangely, just when he felt he couldn't hold on anymore, the warmth of the shouzhong token suddenly intensified.

A warm current spread from his chest, down along his spine, to his waist, to his thighs, to his calves.

His legs were still shaking, but there was a hint of "life" in that shaking.

It wasn't the spasm of muscle fatigue, but more like an electric current clearing blocked channels.

By three minutes, the shaking gradually stopped.

His legs were still aching, but there was warmth in that ache, and wherever the warmth reached, the muscles seemed to slowly relax and reorganize.

At four minutes, Chen Zhen discovered that his breathing had deepened.

Not intentionally deepened; his body needed more Qi to support this posture, so his breathing naturally became deeper and slower.

Five minutes arrived, and the old man said: "Good, slowly retract."

Chen Zhen slowly straightened his legs and lowered his arms.

His legs were aching and numb, but it was a clear, flowing numbness, like the feeling of blood rushing back into a leg that had been pressed for too long.

[ Learning basic standing stake ]

[ Health Dimension experience + 75 ]

[ Cultivation + 0.42 ]

[ Acquired status: Initial Glimpse of Stake Skill (Lower body stability improved, breath steadiness improved) ]

"How do you feel?" The old man asked.

"Legs ache, but... it's clear inside."

Chen Zhen couldn't describe that feeling.

"Like something is moving inside."

"That's Qi." The old man nodded. "In standing stake, you stand for 'relaxed but not slack, tight but not rigid.' Your legs were shaking just now because the rigid force hadn't dissolved; when it stopped shaking later, that was the Qi beginning to flow."

He paused. "This skill looks simple, but it's the hardest to persist in. Standing for five minutes every day is more grinding than running five kilometers. But as long as you keep standing, you'll know the benefits yourself."

"I will stand every day."

"Hmm." The old man took a small paper package out of his pocket. "Here, for you."

Chen Zhen took it.

Inside the paper package were some black, pebble-like things, smelling of a burnt fragrance.

"This is..."

"Roasted black beans." The old man said. "I roasted them myself, the heat is just right. Grab a handful every day and eat them as a snack. Replenishes kidney Qi, solidifies the lower body."

"Thank you, old man."

"Go on, that's it for today." The old man waved his hand. "Remember to stand stake when you get back, don't forget."

On the way home, Chen Zhen grabbed a few roasted black beans and put them in his mouth.

The beans were roasted crispy, crunching loudly when chewed, getting more fragrant the more he chewed.

After swallowing, his lower abdomen really felt a warmth.

Very slight, but it was definitely there.

When he reached the entrance of the residential complex, he saw his mother returning from the vegetable market, carrying several plastic bags.

"Mom, I'll help you carry them."

"No need, they aren't heavy." His mother looked at him. "How was the run today?"

"Good." Chen Zhen took a bag. "Learned standing stake, legs are a bit sore."

"Standing stake?" His mother thought for a moment. "Is it that thing on TV, standing without moving?"

"Yeah, similar."

"Then you must persist." His mother said. "There's an old colleague at our workplace who stands stake every day. She's over seventy, but her back is straight, and she walks with a brisk pace."

Chen Zhen laughed: "Then I'll learn from that old comrade."

Mother and son went upstairs together.

In the hallway, the neighbor's door was open, and the sound of the morning news came through: "This year's No. 9 typhoon 'Muifa' is approaching the southeast coast, expected to affect our city in the latter part of this week..."

"It's going to rain." His mother said.

"Yeah, typhoon."

"Your dad is working these days, he needs to be careful." His mother opened the door. "The roads are slippery."

"I'll tell him."

During the morning study, Chen Zhen stood for five minutes of stake first.

His legs still ached.

But with yesterday's experience, he no longer resisted that ache, instead trying to use his breathing to "massage" the sore and swollen parts.

When inhaling, he imagined the breath sinking into the sore spot.

When exhaling, he imagined "breathing out" the soreness.

Although the effect wasn't great, his mindset was much better.

After finishing the stake, his legs and feet felt even lighter.

He lit the calming incense, put a Mint leaf in his mouth, and opened the Chinese language workbook.

Today's content was Classical Chinese reading—an excerpt from "Zhuangzi: Free and Easy Wandering."

Usually, classical Chinese gave him the biggest headache; the words were obscure, the sentence structures strange, and the meaning hard to understand.

But today, under multiple buffs, he found he could "feel" the rhythm of the classical Chinese.

Not word-for-word translation, but grasping it as a whole.

Those particles like zhi, hu, zhe, ye were no longer meaningless symbols, but a kind of rhythm, a kind of Qi and charm.

As he read, he could even vaguely feel the "magnificent" and "carefree" Concept Zhuangzi had when he wrote these words.

"In the Northern Darkness there is a fish, and his name is Kun. The Kun is so huge, I do not know how many thousands of li he measures..."

When he read this, a picture suddenly appeared in his mind:

In the boundless dark deep sea, a huge fish was swimming slowly.

The fish wasn't a concrete image, but more like a mass of condensed "Qi," huge, deep, containing infinite power.

This image flashed by, but the system panel jumped:

[ Deep Understanding triggers Concept resonance ]

[ Learning Dimension experience + 85 ]

[ Cultivation + 0.57 ]

[ Learning Dimension upgraded to Lv.4 (82.7 / 800) ]

[ Unlocked ability: [ Literary Perception ] Can intuitively grasp the deep Concept and emotion of text, increasing literary learning efficiency by 30% ]

[ Upgrade reward: Cultivation + 10 ]

Upgraded again, and unlocked a literary-specific ability.

Chen Zhen put down his pen and let out a long breath.

Learning Dimension was Lv.4.

From Awakening the System until now, twenty-one days, from Lv.1 to Lv.4, this speed... even he felt it was a bit scary.

But on second thought, these twenty-one days, he had devoted almost all his waking time to learning.

Plus System assistance, the old man's guidance, various buffs...

Efficiency was several times that of ordinary people.

It was normal to progress fast.

Only, the further he went, the more experience needed for upgrading.

Lv.4 needed 800 points, 1.6 times that of Lv.3.

The road ahead would get harder and harder.

But he wasn't in a hurry.

Cultivation is a long-distance run, and so is learning.

One step at a time, he would get there eventually.

At noon his mother came back, carrying a bag of pork ribs: "Typhoon is coming, bought some vegetables in advance to store."

"I'll stew them." Chen Zhen said. "Mom, you take a break."

"You know how to stew pork ribs?"

"Seen you do it."

His mother laughed: "Alright, then you do it."

Chen Zhen took the ribs, washed them, blanched them, put them in the pot, added ginger, scallions, and cooking wine, boiled on high heat, then turned to low heat to simmer slowly.

His mother watched from the kitchen door, occasionally giving pointers: "Not too much water, just cover the ribs is enough." "Put the salt in later, otherwise the meat will get tough easily."

Stewed for an hour, the whole house was full of the fragrance of meat.

His mother tasted a spoonful of soup and nodded: "Not bad, the heat is just right."

"You taught me well."

Mother and son sat at the dining table for lunch.

The ribs were stewed soft and rotten, the soup thick and delicious.

Chen Zhen ladled a bowl of soup for his mother: "Mom, drink more."

"You drink too, you're growing."

Outside the window, the sky gradually darkened.

The wind rose, blowing the leaves with a rustle.

"This typhoon, wonder if it's big." His mother looked out the window. "If it's too big, it'll be troublesome for your dad to go to work."

"Dad will know what to do."

"Hmm."

After eating, Chen Zhen took the initiative to wash the dishes.

His mother sat on the sofa, looking through the typhoon defense notice issued by the community.

"Mom, I'm going to the Bookstore this afternoon, might be back early." Chen Zhen said. "If the rain gets heavy, I won't go."

"Alright, be careful on the road."

At two in the afternoon, Chen Zhen arrived at the Bookstore.

Old Wu was reinforcing the sign at the door.

Using rope to tie the sign a few more times.

Seeing Chen Zhen, he waved: "Came just in time, help me move these flower pots at the door inside."

"Alright."

The two moved the potted plants at the door into the shop.

After moving them, Old Wu wiped his sweat: "This typhoon, coming at a bad time."

"Will it affect business?"

"Not much effect, anyway there's not many people usually." Old Wu lit a cigarette. "Just afraid of leaks. This old house, there are a few places on the roof that have loose tiles."

Chen Zhen looked up at the ceiling.

Indeed, there were a few places with darker colors, looking like traces of repairs from past leaks.

"Not much work today." Old Wu said. "You organize those stacks of newly arrived old newspapers over there, sort by year. After you're done... help me check for leaks on the roof."

"Check the roof?"

"Yeah, there's a ladder in the attic, you go up and see which tiles have cracks, write them down. After the typhoon passes, I'll have to find someone to repair them."

Chen Zhen nodded: "Alright."

Sorting newspapers took half an hour.

They were all old newspapers from the eighties and nineties, the paper was yellowing, but preserved quite well.

While sorting, he occasionally looked at the headlines.

Those news stories from twenty or thirty years ago, reading them now felt like time travel.

After finishing the newspapers, he went up to the attic from the small staircase at the back door.

The attic was very low, requiring him to walk bent over.

It was piled with clutter: old bookshelves, broken chairs, bundles of old books, and thick dust.

The ladder Old Wu mentioned was in the corner, the old-fashioned wooden kind.

Chen Zhen moved it over and set it under the skylight of the attic.

The skylight was glass and could be pushed open.

He climbed up the ladder, pushed open the skylight, and poked his head out.

The roof was slanted, paved with old-fashioned green tiles.

Many tiles were already cracked, and moss was growing in the gaps.

He checked carefully and found at least three obvious cracks, plus a few tiles that were loose.

[ Activate Anomaly Perception ]