303: Chapter 303 Running Skill Upgrade, Special Effect "Strong Wind"!

Chapter 303: Running Skill Upgrade, Special Effect 'Strong Wind Blowing'!

Early morning.

No lights were on in the room, leaving it in a somber gloom.

On the desk, the digits of the electronic clock silently clicked over to 6:00.

In the corner, the television screen flickered with a faint glow, the news anchor's slightly low voice echoing in the silence:

“According to the Central Meteorological Observatory's forecast, from March 12th to 14th, influenced by a combination of cold and warm air currents, extensive heavy rainfall will occur in regions such as Jiangnan and South China.”

“Local areas will experience heavy rain to rainstorms, possibly accompanied by short-term thunderstorms, strong gales, hail, and other severe convective weather. Residents are advised to pay attention to travel safety and avoid unnecessary outings as much as possible...”

A faint, rhythmic creaking sound came from the floor.

The figure of a girl appeared in the living room. Sitting in a wheelchair, she laboriously pushed the wheels with both hands, slowly making her way to the window.

Then, stretching out her pale fingers, she carefully pulled open a crack in the heavy curtains.

Outside the window was a world torn apart by violent forces.

The sky and the sea blended into a gray-black of Chaos, their boundaries blurred.

Bean-sized raindrops pelted down furiously, forming a dense curtain of rain that cut the distant city buildings into fragmented pieces, as if they could be submerged at any moment.

The coastal highway, usually bustling with traffic, was now completely devoid of cars.

Only the churning, muddy waves occasionally breached the embankment, washing over the road surface.

The girl had extremely beautiful eyes, yet they appeared somewhat dim and lifeless, like dusty gems.

On her pale, almost translucent face was a trace of numbness and weariness that did not match her age.

She just watched quietly, seemingly long accustomed to this oppressive sight.

Suddenly, her pupils contracted slightly, then dilated sharply, shining bright.

On that beach, ravaged by the howling wind and torrential rain, where almost nothing could be seen clearly,

she vaguely... caught sight of an extremely faint, extremely fast figure.

Someone was actually... Running in this terrible weather that seemed capable of destroying everything?

The girl rubbed her eyes, wondering if she was hallucinating from staying in the dark room for too long.

...

At this moment, on the beach of Qingshui Bay.

The wild wind swept up dark clouds, roaring in the sky like an angered behemoth.

The waves were thoroughly enraged, turning into walls of water several meters high, crashing viciously onto the beach with thunderous momentum.

Amidst the continuous rumbling, the very earth seemed to tremble.

Under the lashing of the rainstorm and waves, the beach had long since turned into a muddy, flooded land.

And right in this territory ravaged by the great forces of nature,

a solitary figure, like an arrow shot from a bow, cut through the heavy curtains of rain, Running at an astonishing speed.

Bean-sized raindrops pelted densely onto his shiny bald head, sliding rapidly down the resolute lines of his face.

They then mixed with the sweat seeping from his neck and chest, soaking his entire body so thoroughly that they were indistinguishable.

“Hoo-ha—”

Fang Cheng took a deep breath, raised his hand to wipe his face, and shook off the rain and sweat that obstructed his vision.

Yet his steps did not pause in the slightest, remaining steady and rhythmic.

He was bare-chested, wearing only a pair of tight black athletic shorts.

His bronze skin, washed by the torrential rain, reflected a faint luster, every muscle seemingly packed with terrifying explosive power.

The oncoming gale brought a suffocating pressure, like an invisible thick wall, stubbornly obstructing every step forward.

In such a harsh environment, if one's body were not strong enough, let alone Running, they would probably be blown right over.

Each breath felt more like forcing cold rain and salty, fishy silt into his lungs, bringing a bone-chilling coldness and a burning pain.

But Fang Cheng had long since grown accustomed to the tempering of his Physical Body by extreme conditions.

His Breathing Technique operated quietly within him, his chest rising and falling rhythmically.

He quickly adjusted, blocking out the violent onslaught of the wind and rain, drawing only the thin oxygen from the air.

His breathing began to grow steady and deep.

The 'track' beneath his feet had turned into a swamp; with every step he took, he sank deep, kicking up muddy water.

This morning's Running session was several times harder than any previous one.

His calf muscles and core muscle groups had to remain highly tensed at all times to maintain his balance under the loss of most friction, preventing him from misstepping or slipping, and to burst with enough forward drive.

However, these difficulties, which would have deterred ordinary people,

acted like a catalyst in Fang Cheng's heart, igniting his most primitive desires and wildest fighting spirit deep within.

Instead of feeling fear, he ran faster and faster, becoming more and more excited!

Raising his left arm, Fang Cheng glanced at the numbers ticking on the screen of his sports watch.

15.98 m/s.

This instantaneous speed had already surpassed the record set by the greatest sprinters in human history at their Peak.

He remembered that the legendary sports star known as 'Lightning' had a personal best of 9.58 seconds for the 100-meter sprint.

Converted, the average speed was about 10.44 meters per second, with the sprint phase reaching 12.3 meters per second, roughly equal to 45 kilometers per hour.

That was the limit of physical capability and speed that humans could achieve in competitive sports, the Peak that countless athletes spent their entire lives chasing.

But that was only the Peak of ordinary people.

It was far from the limit that humans should truly reach...

Fang Cheng looked ahead, two sharp gleams suddenly shooting from his eyes, piercing through the dense rain.

Then, he took a deep breath, his chest swelling.

At this moment, the muscles of his entire body tensed up instantly, like tightly wound steel bars.

And then—

He exploded with power, holding nothing back!

Bang—

With a dull stomp, the sandy ground beneath his feet suddenly exploded into a visible deep pit, sending mud and sand mixed with rain splashing in all directions.

In the next second, the surging waves crashed forward violently, submerging the newly formed pit.

Meanwhile, Fang Cheng's body had already turned into a black afterimage, so blurry it was almost invisible, shooting forward at a speed that completely defied common sense.

At the same time, the numbers on his sports watch screen ticked frantically like an out-of-control dashboard, soaring continuously.

In the blink of an eye, it made a Breakthrough past one jaw-dropping milestone after another!

At a Heaven-Defying speed comparable to a sports car, Fang Cheng sped rapidly through the storm.

The impact force he faced was naturally beyond the imagination of ordinary people.

The oncoming rain was no longer a gentle washing.

It seemed to have turned into countless tiny but powerful bullets, densely pelting his body and face.

Every hit brought a distinct, sharp pain, as if trying to pierce through his strong, solid muscles.

Fang Cheng simply closed his eyes, relying entirely on his perception, which far exceeded that of ordinary people, to travel rapidly through this wild, chaotic world.

The powerful airflow generated by his high-speed Running, carrying the rain that filled the air, formed visible 'walls of water' in front of him.

Each of his forward charges felt like using his own powerful flesh and blood to crash through these resilient barriers time and again.

The walls of water were constantly smashed apart, only to quickly reform.

During his run, the heat dissipated by his body's exertion would be lost at an accelerated rate in the wind and rain.

If this continued, a normal person's body temperature would quickly drop, and before long, they would fall into the dangerous state of hypothermia.

But Fang Cheng's body turned flush red, and wisps of white steam even began to rise from the pores of his skin.

This was his majestic Qi and blood circulating at high speed within him, as well as a phenomenon caused by the intense friction between his skin and the air.

The astonishing heat directly evaporated the cold rain hitting his body and the sweat seeping from him.

Under this extreme speed and the violent pressure of nature,

Fang Cheng felt no pain at all; instead, he experienced an unprecedented sense of pure exhilaration.

As if breaking free from invisible shackles, his Soul cheered and leaped in the wind and rain.

If he were not Running at his limit and needed to maintain absolute Focus,

he would have wanted to roar toward the sky to fully vent the surging emotions in his chest.

Between the vast sky and earth.

On one side was the black sea with churning waves, roaring endlessly,

and on the other was the dim silhouette of the city shrouded in the wind and rain.

And right between this sea and the city, on the narrow beach,

a tiny but incredibly resilient figure kept passing through the wind, passing through the rain,

passing through those seemingly insurmountable natural barriers,

until his entire being turned into a hurricane, merging with it.

His Physical Body challenged the limit, and his Soul also enjoyed the transformation brought by the limit.

...

Suddenly, a light more brilliant than the lightning flashing across the sky lit up.

Fang Cheng's heart stirred, his Running form remaining steady.

He merely narrowed his eyes slightly, casting his gaze toward the source of the light.

A light blue notification quietly emerged in the curtain of rain:

[Congratulations! Through unremitting efforts and extreme challenges, your skill has successfully made a Breakthrough, reaching the Expert level.]

[Running LV1 (0/250)]

[Obtained enhancement reward, skill effect: 'Strong Wind Blowing']

Fang Cheng's eyes, blurred by the rain, also lit up.

Like blazing flames, they burst with a compelling light.

His swift figure, Running at high speed, came to a sudden halt.

The strong wind generated by his powerful inertia briefly pushed away the dense rain around him, creating an almost vacuum-like space.

The wind and rain continued to rage wildly, as if they would never end.

Fang Cheng panted slightly, exhaling two visible arrows of white Qi from his nostrils.

He then focused his mind on the panel information that appeared in his head, carefully reading the description of the new skill effect:

[Strong Wind Blowing]

[When Running, you are like the howling gale itself. During this process, your balance and coordination will be increased by 50%, and external damage taken will be reduced by 50%.]

[Note: Your Running speed must be at least 10 m/s to trigger this effect.]

10 meters per second?

After reading the skill description, Fang Cheng couldn't help but grin, his smile appearing exceptionally carefree and confident in the heavy rain.

Then, his eyes flickered slightly, and he suddenly exerted force with his feet!

Whoosh!

Without the slightest delay or preparation, his figure turned into an afterimage and shot out once again.

This time, however, Fang Cheng did not choose to blindly sprint forward in a straight line.

Instead, he rapidly executed several S-turns on the beach, his movements so fluid they resembled a top race car driver performing extreme drifts.

He even made some waist-twisting movements during high-speed turns that would seem to completely defy common physical laws to onlookers.

Then, in the next second, he came to a steady halt with almost no buffer, splashing up muddy water.

While experiencing the effect of the Running skill, Fang Cheng felt a subtle and elusive airflow seemingly generate around his body.

It was like the prototype of the legendary 'riding the wind,' yet more restrained and controllable.

Whether it was the initial acceleration before Running or the deceleration buffer after finishing, everything became smoother and more effortless than ever before.

He could almost start and stop instantly.

Moreover, in a full sprint, his control over his body posture reached a new height.

Many subtle movements that were previously difficult to accomplish or required deliberate adjustment could now be done naturally, thereby greatly reducing unnecessary physical exertion.

Particularly during high-speed direction changes, Fang Cheng could clearly feel a portion of the inertial impact being offset by this wondrous airflow, making his transitions as fluid as moving clouds and flowing water, without any stagnation.

As a result, his overall Running speed also received a tangible boost.

According to the analysis of the data recorded by his sports watch, the Peak instantaneous speed he had just exploded with had reached 356 kilometers per hour.

Previously, under normal weather conditions and on a well-maintained track, the limit speed he could achieve in a full sprint barely touched the threshold of 300 kilometers per hour, roughly equivalent to the top speed of some high-end sports cars.

As for the harsh environment of this raging storm, affected by various resistances, his limit speed would have been severely slashed to only about 240 kilometers per hour.

But now, relying on the 50% increase in balance and coordination brought by 'Strong Wind Blowing',

not only was his level of body control more exquisite and precise,

but he also completely overcame the negative impacts of the harsh environment, restoring his Running speed to normal levels and even surpassing them.

This skill effect of 'Strong Wind Blowing' was practically equivalent to applying an incredibly powerful buff to himself while Running.

One must know that physical balance and coordination are related to the Agility attribute.

And his base Agility attribute was as high as 40 points.

After receiving a 50% boost, it became an astonishing 60 points!

In other words, as long as he was in a Running state, his body's balance and coordination could leap across two tiers consecutively, reaching a level equivalent to having 60 points of Agility.

The actual performance of this skill effect in Fang Cheng's hands was far beyond what ordinary track and field athletes could compare to.

In addition, the 50% reduction in external damage felt as if an invisible 'Wind Shield' had been applied.

This greatly reduced his risk of injury during ultra-high-speed Running.

With this skill effect, combined with his perception that already far exceeded ordinary people,

Fang Cheng was confident that even in a crowded downtown area, he could weave through like a fish, avoiding any unnecessary collisions and trouble.

The storm in the sky showed no signs of stopping; instead, it grew increasingly fierce.

The wild wind howled and the torrential rain poured, viciously whipping everything around.

Fang Cheng panted slightly, his feet firmly planted like roots on the beach that was being continuously washed by the waves.

Facing the turbulent sea, the Water Breathing within him operated quietly, rapidly regulating his surging internal breath and recovering the stamina consumed by his extreme run just now.

Waves several meters high crashed against the shore one after another, kicking up water spray that filled the air, their momentum terrifying as if they wanted to swallow the entire world.

Faced with this world-destroying force of nature, the figure on the beach seemed so tiny that he could be torn apart or swallowed up at any moment.

Yet, in Fang Cheng's eyes, there flickered an irrepressible look of excitement and anticipation.

The brief rest allowed the power within his body to return rapidly like a rising tide.

He stood straight again and looked around.

The wind and rain were gloomy, and the sky was as dark as an eternal night.

The distant city lights had long been completely cut off by the boundless curtain of rain.

As far as his eyes could see, it was as if he were the only one left in the entire world, facing off directly against this wild nature.

“This environment right now...”

The corners of Fang Cheng's mouth slowly curled into a smile filled with wildness and Battle Intent:

“Isn't it the perfect opportunity to completely release my physical power and test the true might of 'Infinite Combo'?”

As he muttered to himself, his sharp gaze suddenly pierced through the heavy layers of rain, locking onto the next wave crashing toward him.