8: Chapter 8 The Old Man's Guidance

Chen Zhen returned to his room; it was exactly ten o'clock.

He lay on the bed, and the system panel automatically displayed today's summary:

[Day 7 Completion Status]

[Morning run 3 km: Completed (7 consecutive days)]

[Learning task: Exceeded expectations (Learning Dimension experience + 15.5)]

[Household assistance: Completed]

[Reading task: Completed]

[Hidden interaction: Completed (Bought breakfast, ice cream, assisted with dinner)]

[Total gained: Cultivation + 1.24]

[Current total Cultivation: 8.07 / 100]

[Health Dimension: 14.1 / 100]

[Learning Dimension: 28.7 / 100]

[Social Dimension: 58 / 100]

[Special Note: 7 consecutive days of stable routine, unlocked [Regular Routine Practitioner] title]

[Effect: During regular routine, all dimension growth speed + 5%]

Very good, very good.

Unlocked a new title too.

If a few more titles or achievements that increase growth speed came along and stacked together, experience would accumulate even faster!

Chen Zhen closed the system panel, eyes open in the darkness.

Seven days, eight points of Cultivation.

At this rate, it would take one hundred days to save enough.

But the System had reminded him that as Cultivation increased, the conversion efficiency in the Late Stage would decrease.

Moreover, the "consecutive achievement" rewards would reset; it was impossible to have extra bonuses every day like this week.

He had to think of other ways.

He remembered... the System said that behavior conversion rate is positively correlated with behavior quality.

What counts as high quality?

For example, running. Increasing speed, extending distance, optimizing posture?

For learning, challenging harder problems, learning new knowledge, participating in school competitions?

As for social... helping more people, solving more complex conflicts?

And that "Skill Dimension" that hasn't been unlocked yet...

He tossed and turned, the bed frame creaking slightly; the sound of cars passing by drifted in from outside the window.

From far to near, then from near to far. The city at night had not yet fully fallen asleep.

Chen Zhen closed his eyes.

Sleep first.

More new content would definitely be unlocked later.

Perhaps after accumulating a bit more, a flash of inspiration would provide a solution.

In the darkness, Chen Zhen's breathing gradually steadied.

The system panel flickered at the edge of his consciousness, finally popping up a prompt:

[Advice: Enter deep sleep]

[Today's performance evaluation: Excellent]

[Estimated initial state tomorrow: Mental Energy full, learning efficiency + 10%]

He gradually sank into sleep.

A dreamless night.

...

On the morning of the eighth day, Chen Zhen woke up to the sound of birds outside the window.

5:50 AM, not a second off.

He lay still and first summoned the system panel.

A light blue screen appeared in the dimness; today's tasks had refreshed:

1. Morning run 3 km (Reward: Cultivation + 0.18)

2. Summer homework 15 pages (Reward: Cultivation + 0.12)

3. Tidy the room (Reward: Cultivation + 0.05)

4. Read for 1 hour (Reward: Cultivation + 0.1)

This week's new challenge: Learn to cook a dish

Huh.

The reward value is slightly higher than yesterday.

It's the bonus from the [Regular Routine Practitioner] title.

This week's new challenge... looks easy to complete.

He rolled out of bed and got dressed.

Went out for his run as usual.

Just as he stepped out of his room, his mother's bedroom door opened.

"Going for a run again?" Mother rubbed her eyes, her voice still sleepy.

"Yeah, Mom, go back to sleep for a while; it's still early."

"Mm... I'll go to the bathroom and then lie down in my room for a bit. What do you want for breakfast?"

"It's fine, anything is okay." Chen Zhen tied his shoelaces.

"Be safe, run slowly, don't fall."

"Don't worry, Mom, I know."

After saying that, he gently closed the door.

At 6:00 AM, the riverside path had a humid, grassy scent in the air.

Chen Zhen did a few stretches first, and the system panel popped up today's advice:

[Temperature 28 ℃, Humidity 75%, Suggest replenishing water before starting]

Chen Zhen took out his water bottle and drank half of it.

OK, start running!

Chen Zhen could clearly feel that his footsteps were much lighter than seven days ago.

The technique of landing on the forefoot had formed muscle memory, and his breathing automatically adjusted to a three-step cycle.

The system panel displayed in real-time in the corner of his vision:

[Pace 5 min 50 sec/km, Heart Rate 142, Fat-burning zone]

When he reached one kilometer, he saw The Old Man again.

Today, The Old Man wasn't practicing boxing, nor was he gazing at the river.

Instead, he was sitting on a bench beside the path, with an old Red Star radio in front of him.

The squeaky sounds of Peking Opera drifted out, mixing with the morning breeze.

When Chen Zhen ran past him, The Old Man looked up. Their eyes met.

Chen Zhen nodded as a greeting.

The Old Man didn't respond, just stared at his footsteps.

Chen Zhen noticed The Old Man was staring at his footsteps.

Could The Old Man have spotted a problem with his footsteps again?

Chen Zhen felt a faint sense of anticipation; after all, The Old Man's guidance was indeed useful.

After Chen Zhen ran a dozen meters, a voice suddenly came from behind:

"Your left foot lands thirty percent heavier than your right."

Chen Zhen's footsteps paused.

He turned back, but The Old Man had already lowered his head, continuing to listen to the opera.

It was as if he hadn't said that sentence just now.

Chen Zhen pondered for a moment and continued running.

He began to pay special attention to the landing sensation of his left and right feet.

Indeed.

Every time his left foot hit the ground, the impact was more obvious, while the right leg was relatively lighter.

But what did this mean?

Habit?

Different leg lengths?

Or was it due to different muscle levels on both sides?

The system panel showed no abnormalities.

But he adjusted his posture several times, and that subtle difference remained.

Reaching the two-kilometer mark, The Old Man spoke again.

This time, Chen Zhen was at least fifty meters away, but The Old Man's voice was as clear as if it were right next to his ear.

"Your left hip joint is tighter than the right."

My god.

It startled him; The Old Man had such a strong voice.

Chen Zhen slowly stopped and turned back.

The Old Man was still listening to the radio with his head down, fingers tapping gently on his knee.

Chen Zhen stood by the bench, waited for a passage of lyrics to end, and then asked:

"How did you know?"

"I saw it." The Old Man didn't look up.

"When you run, your left shoulder sinks one centimeter lower than your right, and your left leg's backward swing amplitude is two degrees smaller. It's either an old injury or long-term one-sided exertion."

Chen Zhen was silent.

Oh! Right. He remembered.

In his third year of junior high, he was playing basketball and severely sprained his left ankle, lying in bed for half a month.

He didn't pay attention to it after it healed, but it seemed that ever since then, his left side had always felt a bit awkward in a way he couldn't describe.

"It was indeed injured. Can this... be adjusted?"

Hearing this, The Old Man finally looked up and glanced at him: "Sit."

Chen Zhen sat down at the other end of the bench.

The Old Man turned off the radio and stood up.

His movements were slow, but every step was as steady as if nailed to the ground.

He walked behind Chen Zhen and pressed his hands on his shoulders. "Relax."

Even though The Old Man said relax, he subconsciously tensed his body in the opposite direction of relaxing.

"Relax." The Old Man repeated, adding a bit of force to his hands.

"Hiss!"

It doesn't hurt, it doesn't hurt, it doesn't hurt.

Chen Zhen held back from making a sound and exhaled.

He tried to let his shoulders sink.

The Old Man's hands were large with calloused knuckles. When he pressed on the junction of the shoulder and neck, there was a dull pain.

"Your left trapezius muscle is as hard as a rock." The Old Man said, pressing down firmly with his thumb.