31: Chapter 31: Weighted Squats of 50 Pounds, Easily Breaking 1000

Section 1: The Rusted Barbell Plates

The utility room of the Public Welfare Foundation was thick with dust, and cobwebs in the corners caught fragments of sunlight. Chen Wu squatted on the ground, his fingers brushing over a rusted barbell plate. Rust fell into his palm like fine rain, mixing with the dust to turn into a reddish-brown mud.

"Brother Wu, can this stuff really be used?" Xu Hao held a wrench, trying to unscrew the nut on the barbell bar. The wrench slipped, nearly hitting his foot. "Looking at this rust, it probably hasn't been moved in ten years."

Chen Wu didn't speak, simply sliding the barbell plates onto the bar. The moment the iron plates collided, rust flakes fell like a waterfall, revealing the dark silver metal beneath—it was high-quality cast iron, merely abandoned after years of neglect. He found a total of four plates, each weighing twenty-five pounds. Combined with the twenty-pound bar, it totaled exactly one hundred and twenty pounds.

"Today we train lower body strength." Chen Wu patted the dust off the barbell bar. The 'Qi' in his palm caused the rust to instantly peel away, revealing a smooth surface. "Squats with fifty pounds of added weight. The goal is one thousand reps."

As soon as he said this, a gasp came from the training hall entrance. Zhao Mengmeng, clutching her rabbit plushie, opened her mouth in an 'O' shape: "Fifty pounds? A thousand reps? Grandpa said when he was young, he could barely stand after fifty reps with twenty pounds!"

The livestream had started at some point, titled 'Daily Training: Weighted Squat Challenge.' The number of online viewers surged from one hundred thousand to a million, and the bullet comments were filled with skepticism:

• "Fifty pounds for a thousand reps? Is that even humanly possible?"

• "I've been working out for three years. I'm done after two hundred reps with forty pounds. Brother Wu is definitely bragging."

• "Don't be salty, person above. Didn't you see him punch through a steel plate yesterday?"

• "1.5 million online! Waiting to see him fail / witness a miracle."

Chen Wu hoisted the barbell onto his shoulders, the fifty-pound weight causing his collarbones to sink slightly. He adjusted his breathing, feet shoulder-width apart, knees aligned with his toes, and back straight—a standard squat posture that even a personal trainer at a gym couldn't find fault with.

"Starting now."

He sat his hips back and down, knees slowly bending until his thighs were parallel to the ground, then he surged upward. The barbell bar gave a slight hum. This was the first squat; the movement was as steady as a textbook, and even the barbell plates barely wobbled.

"Ordinary squats rely on the quadriceps and gluteus maximus," Chen Wu explained while moving, his breathing as steady as if he weren't exercising at all. "But a squat guided by 'Qi' can mobilize the entire muscle group, including the deep, small muscle groups that are usually hard to train."

It wasn't until his fiftieth rep that the first drop of sweat appeared on his forehead. By now, fitness bloggers in the livestream had already begun to argue:

• "The form is wrong! The knees are passing the toes!"

• "You don't know shit! That's 'Qi' adjusting the center of gravity. Why are you trying to explain it with conventional mechanics?"

• "Two hundred reps! His breathing hasn't even faltered!"

Section 2: The 'Qi' Within the Muscles

Chen Wu's speed grew faster and faster, increasing from one rep per second to two. The barbell on his shoulders seemed to come alive, bobbing up and down with his movements while maintaining a perfectly stable rhythm. The 'clanging' of the barbell plates formed a strange melody.

Zhao Mengmeng held up her rabbit plushie. The electronic eyes of the toy emitted a red light, scanning Chen Wu's leg muscles: "Brother Wu, your quadriceps are glowing! It looks like golden threads are flowing inside!"

In the close-up shots of the livestream, one could indeed see golden patterns faintly moving under the skin as Chen Wu's leg muscles contracted, like rivers surging across the earth's surface. This was a sign of the high-level Fusion between 'Qi' and muscle fibers, as well as the combined effect of the body tempering pill and the Baji Fist Stance Training.

"This is the supporting role of 'Qi'," Chen Wu's voice carried a slight breathiness but remained clear. "It allows muscles to be more efficient during contraction and recover faster, which is why they can withstand long periods of load."

When he reached his five-hundredth rep, the training hall door was pushed open. Lin Xue walked in with two physical trainers from the Bureau of Abnormal Incident Management. One of them, a burly man in sportswear, saw the barbell plates and suddenly laughed: "Director Lin, is this the 'martial arts expert' you mentioned? Training legs with such rusted barbells... I'm afraid he's not even as good as a professional athlete."

This burly man was a former member of the national weightlifting team. His squat record was thirty reps with a three-hundred-pound load, and he was extremely conceited about his lower body strength.

Lin Xue didn't speak, simply pointing at the livestream screen. When the burly man saw the words 'fifty pounds' and 'goal of one thousand reps,' he laughed even louder: "Fifty pounds? A thousand reps? I'll show him what real strength looks like!"

He walked over to a nearby training rack, loaded a three-hundred-pound barbell, hoisted it up, and squatted twenty times in one go without turning red or losing his breath. "See that?" he bragged to the camera. "This is the power of scientific training. Fancy tricks can't build this kind of ability."

The livestream comments instantly split into two factions:

• "A professional is indeed different! This power is explosive!"

• "But Brother Wu has already done six hundred reps..."

• "Quantity doesn't equal quality! Twenty reps at three hundred pounds is much harder than six hundred reps at fifty pounds!"

• "2.5 million online! The two sides are fighting!"

Chen Wu acted as if he hadn't heard the commotion nearby, remaining focused on his squats. His breathing had shifted to inhaling through the nose and exhaling through the mouth, each exhale carrying a white mist—this was energy overflow from the high-speed circulation of 'Qi' within his body. By the time he reached eight hundred reps, the rust on the barbell bar had been vibrated clean, revealing a bright metallic luster.

Section 3: The Shaking Record

The burly man's expression gradually turned sour. He had originally thought Chen Wu would be exhausted by five hundred reps at most, but to his surprise, not only did the other man's speed not decrease, but his breathing rhythm remained perfect. What shocked him even more was that Chen Wu's leg muscles showed no obvious swelling; instead, they became increasingly firm, like forged steel.

"I don't believe he can hit a thousand!" the burly man suddenly shouted. "There must be something wrong with the barbell plates! They're hollow!"

He rushed over to check the plates but was stopped by Lin Xue: "Coach Wang, mind your manners."

Chen Wu happened to reach his nine-hundredth rep. He stopped, placed the barbell on the ground, and the sound of metal hitting the floor made the entire training hall shake. "You want to try?" He looked at the burly man, his tone as flat as if he were asking about the weather.

The burly man was momentarily speechless, then he stuck his neck out and said, "I'll try! I want to see exactly how heavy this barbell is!"

He bent down to lift the barbell. He had expected the fifty-pound weight to be effortless, but the moment his hands gripped the bar, his face suddenly changed—the barbell felt as if it were welded to the ground. Even using every ounce of strength he had, he only managed to lift it two centimeters off the floor!

"This... this is impossible!" The burly man's face turned purple, veins bulging on his forehead. "Did you fill it with lead?"

Chen Wu didn't explain. He simply extended a single finger and placed it lightly on the barbell bar. Under the gaze of the global audience, that one-hundred-and-twenty-pound barbell was actually lifted by his fingertip, suspended in mid-air and slowly rotating!

!!!

The livestream comments froze for a full five seconds before an unprecedented frenzy erupted:

• "Holy crap! What kind of god-like strength is this? Lifting one hundred and twenty pounds with one finger?"

• "I take back what I said! This guy is a freaking Superman!"

• "3 million online! This is definitely a new record for human physical potential!"

• "Does Coach Wang's face hurt? Hahaha."

The burly man stood frozen in place, his hands still in a lifting posture as if all his strength had been drained. He suddenly remembered something his coach had said back on the national team: "True power isn't about who can lift the heaviest weight; it's about who can master force."

Chen Wu placed the barbell back on the ground and hoisted it onto his shoulders again: "One hundred more."

This time his speed was even faster, three squats per second. The clanging of the plates sounded like rapid drumbeats. The floor of the training hall vibrated, dust fell from the walls, and even the livestream camera shook slightly.

The moment the thousandth squat was completed, Chen Wu surged upward and slammed the barbell heavily onto the ground. With a loud 'clang,' the four barbell plates shattered simultaneously, revealing tiny golden patterns embedded within—traces left by long-term 'Qi' saturation.

His breathing remained steady, with only a few more sweat beads on his temples. His leg muscle lines were smooth without any deformation, as if the thousand squats he just performed were merely a walk in the park.

Section 4: The True Meaning of Power

Lin Xue stepped forward and handed Chen Wu a bottle of water. Her two physical trainers were huddled around the shattered barbell plates, measuring something with calipers and constantly exclaiming in surprise.

"This power... has already exceeded the limits of human physiology." The trainer with glasses pushed up his frames. "The endurance of the muscle fibers is at least five times that of an ordinary person, and the recovery speed is ridiculously fast."

Chen Wu took a sip of water. The liquid slid down his throat and was instantly converted into energy by the 'Qi' in his body. He could feel his lower body muscles being rapidly repaired under the nourishment of 'Qi', becoming even more powerful than before the training.

"This isn't simple muscle strength," Chen Wu explained to the camera, while performing a high-knee lift with movements as light as if he had never carried any weight. "It's 'Qi' forming a cycle between muscles, bones, and Meridians. It can both output power and recover quickly, just like a perpetual motion machine."

The former national weightlifter walked over and gave Chen Wu a deep bow: "I'm convinced. I used to think scientific training was all-powerful, but now I realize how little humans truly know about themselves."

Chen Wu patted his shoulder: "Scientific training and martial arts are not in conflict. Just like this barbell, science tells you how heavy it is, while martial arts tells you how to use 'Qi' to master it."

The number of online viewers in the livestream finally settled at 3.5 million, and the donation amount surpassed thirty million. An account from the International Weightlifting Federation left a comment: "Requesting a collaborative study; we want to understand the principles behind this power."

Zhao Mengmeng ran over and touched Chen Wu's leg with her rabbit plushie: "Brother Wu, your legs are so hot! It's like you're carrying a little sun!"

Chen Wu looked down at his legs. The golden patterns beneath the skin were still slowly flowing. He suddenly remembered the notification that the System had just popped up:

[Achievement 'One Thousand Weighted Squats' completed. Unlocked 'Baji Fist · Iron Shirt (Lower Body)']

[Reward: +10 million points, obtained 'Weighted Training Efficiency' buff]

The sunlight in the utility room moved to the corner, shining on the rusted barbell plates. Chen Wu knew that today's training was not just about breaking physical limits, but also proving to the world that the human body hides a power System more precise than any machine.

"Next lesson, I'll teach everyone how to use 'Qi' for basic stretching." Chen Wu waved to the camera. Behind him, the barbell plates automatically returned to the corner of the utility room under the influence of 'Qi'. "After all, while training strength is important, protecting yourself is even more so."

The final frame of the livestream was a golden bullet comment sent simultaneously by 3.5 million viewers:

"This is what true 'strength' looks like!"

The training hall gradually fell silent, leaving only the slight hum of the barbell bar, as if recounting the miracle that had just been created. And the golden patterns on Chen Wu's lower body continued to flow slowly, as if nurturing an even more astonishing power.