363: Chapter 363 The Devilish Muscle Man, Hidden Skills

*Beep—*

A crisp electronic chime sounded, and the entry gate of Haitian Garden Community opened accordingly.

Holding two plastic bags printed with the "Yonghe Breakfast" logo in his left hand, Fang Cheng casually stuffed his access card back into his sweatpants pocket with his right hand.

The bags were stuffed full—beef buns, multigrain mantou, tea eggs, and even several boxes of freshly roasted deli meat, giving off an appetizing aroma.

In fact, there were still plenty of food reserves in the extra-large freezer back home.

But considering his monstrous appetite,

Fang Cheng worried that after allocating his attribute points, his body's reaction might be too intense and consume far more than expected, leaving his stocked food insufficient.

So after finishing breakfast, he simply packed a lot extra just in case.

It was now 6:30 in the morning; the morning sunlight was soft and the air fresh.

There were already quite a few early risers in the residential area—young people jogging in sportswear, and white-collar workers carrying briefcases heading to work early.

As he passed the central green area reserved for residents to exercise, Fang Cheng instinctively slowed his steps for a moment.

A familiar figure caught his eye.

It wasn't raining today, and the girl who always sat in a wheelchair appeared there as usual.

She wore a clean white shirt and a pleated skirt. Her pale skin was translucent under the morning light, like a piece of fragile porcelain.

Her furrowed brows were shrouded in a lingering sense of melancholy.

The girl sat quietly in her wheelchair, her eyes resting on the people doing morning exercises, seemingly carrying a heavy burden on her mind.

Fang Cheng was no longer unfamiliar with her.

The first time was on the beach, where he had seen this disabled girl trying to leave her wheelchair and practicing walking.

After moving into Haitian Garden, he discovered that she was also a resident here, and lived in the very same building as him.

Later, at Chenxi Home Orphanage, when Fang Cheng secretly contacted Cheng Jiashu, he had crossed paths with her up close once again.

During this period, whether in the early morning or evening, he would occasionally see this girl moving around the residential area alone.

Seemingly noticing Fang Cheng's gaze, the girl slightly turned her head and looked over.

Fang Cheng didn't linger, immediately pulling back his vision, resuming his original walking pace, and continuing toward Building 7 where his home was.

*Clack.*

Back inside, the door was locked securely.

Placing the two big bags of food casually on the dining table, Fang Cheng quickly took off his sweat-drenched clothes, standing naked in the center of the living room.

With a thought, a light blue screen floated up before his eyes.

[Free Attribute Points: 22]

The 12 attribute points awarded from leveling up Handstand Push-up, combined with the 10 points he saved previously, totaled 22 points.

Fang Cheng's eyes fell on the attribute bar as his brain worked at high speed, weighing allocation plans.

According to his original plan, this batch of attribute points should be prioritized into Agility, breaking directly through the 60-point threshold.

Doing so involved three considerations.

First, it was for better "body control."

An increase in Strength would cause uncontrollable muscle hypertrophy, just like last time when he almost turned into a muscular monster.

Whereas an increase in Agility would enhance the compression and control over his muscle fibers.

Raising Agility to a new height first before breaking through Strength thresholds would allow him to control his body shape much more easily.

It would prevent drastic physical changes from drawing too much attention.

Second, it was for "combat efficiency."

The increase in Agility provided all-around boosts to speed, reaction, and evasion.

Combined with the skill effect of "Infinite Combo," his punch speed and combo count would achieve a qualitative leap.

In actual combat, high-speed combos that can land on enemies were far more meaningful than heavy punches that miss.

Finally, there was one point Fang Cheng was particularly looking forward to.

Breaking another human limit threshold in Agility might allow his airtime ability to evolve once again.

With clear reasons, Fang Cheng hesitated no longer.

He focused his mind on the "Agility" column.

As the command was issued, the number representing "Free Attribute Points" on the panel instantly dropped from "22" down to "2".

At the same time, an intense, searing energy akin to volcanic lava burst forth from the deepest depths of his body.

*Boom!*

Extreme heat instantly swept through every limb and bone, wrapping Fang Cheng from head to toe.

In an instant, his skin turned bright red, and even faint wisps of white steam vaporized from his pores.

His entire body was like a piece of branding iron about to melt.

Immediately following was an indescribable, agonizing pain!

First came tearing—the muscle fibers throughout his body felt forcefully snapped and stretched by invisible giant hands.

Then came gnawing—a numbing, itchy sensation like hundreds of millions of ants drilling holes came from inside his bones.

Finally came crushing—a terrifying pressure from all directions seemed determined to crush his flesh, bones, and internal organs completely before reshaping them.

Pain! Numbness! Itchiness! Heat!

A tsunami of sensory torture bombarded his nerve endings, but Fang Cheng merely clenched his fists, knuckles bulging.

He endured all the suffering head-on, without uttering even a single grunt.

In the microscopic realm, an earth-shattering revolution was taking place.

Countless cells decomposed and reorganized under the impact of this domineering energy, and gene strands were forcefully optimized.

The entire process was like casting a rough iron ingot into a furnace and forging it repeatedly with a ten-thousand-ton hammer to force out all Impurities from the body.

Ultimately turning it into the purest, densest steel tempered a hundred times.

In reality, this process lasted for only about a second.

But to Fang Cheng's perception, it felt as though he were in the Avici Hell, experiencing every torture imaginable—flaying, pricking, crushing, and branding.

Finally, the violent energy receded like the tide.

"Phew—"

Fang Cheng let out a long breath of turbid air, his tightly knit brows finally smoothing out.

His entire body looked as if he had just been pulled out of water, sweat falling like raindrops.

A small puddle had formed on the floor beneath his feet.

His body was like a wrung-out towel, every extra drop of moisture forcefully squeezed out.

At this moment, Fang Cheng's most immediate sensation wasn't hunger.

It was thirst!

An extreme craving for water originating from the very Origin of life!

He dashed to the freezer in a single step and threw open the door.

Without even bothering to check the brands, he dragged the sports drinks, freshly squeezed juices, and mineral water inside all onto the floor.

Grabbing a bottle of sports drink at random, he twisted off the cap and gulped it down.

*Gugugulu—*

The cool liquid slid down his throat like sweet rain falling on long-drought-stricken soil.

The refreshing cold followed his esophagus, rapidly seeping into every corner of his body, moistening the "mountains" and "earth" composed of muscles and bones.

One bottle, two bottles, three bottles...

Several bottles emptied in the blink of an eye, yet that intense thirst barely receded.

Fang Cheng simply ran to the kitchen, turned on the tap, dunked his head, and chugged the cold tap water wildly.

"Exhilarating!"

After drinking for a solid half-minute, Fang Cheng abruptly raised his head and wiped the water off his face.

Opening his mouth slightly, he breathed out a puff of faint white steam.

The internal heat had still not fully dissipated.

Through inner vision, Fang Cheng could "see" a wondrous scene.

The water swallowed into his belly was surging through his blood vessels at an unprecedented speed, regulating his body temperature, then being frantically absorbed by thirsty cells to accelerate the metabolic cycle.

Fang Cheng patted his bloated belly and gave a self-deprecating smile:

"I haven't even eaten the food I prepared, yet I'm already filled up on water."

Changing his focus, he spread his feet, lowered his waist, and assumed a horse stance.

*Rumble—*

Following a faint hum from his nostrils,

the muscles, joints, and even blood throughout his body vibrated in unison, producing a low resonating sound.

Wisps of white smoke rose from his head, shoulders, and limbs, curling upward.

Fang Cheng was entirely like a boiling kettle.

The True Qi in his body circulated continuously, accelerating the absorption and utilization of water while boosting metabolic efficiency.

After a dozen or so minutes, the white steam gradually diminished until it vanished completely.

With a flushed complexion, Fang Cheng completed his exercise and stood up.

His previously bloated belly had now become shriveled once again.

What followed was a hunger like a black hole, capable of devouring everything.

He immediately walked to the dining table, tore open the plastic bags, and took out the buns, mantou, and roast meat, devouring them like a whirlwind sweeping away clouds.

He continuously stuffed food into his mouth, chewing slightly before swallowing it straight down into his stomach.

*Nom nom, gulp gulp—*

His eating manner was so wild that even a famished ghost would feel inferior seeing it.

After a long while,

Fang Cheng let out a full burp, patted his round belly, and leaned his head back, sighing with lingering satisfaction.

"Ah, that feels amazing—"

After consuming all the food, resting for a moment to digest a bit, Fang Cheng walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window in the living room.

The morning sunlight shone through the glass, gently bathing his bare body.

The smooth glass mirror surface clearly reflected his current appearance.

Looking at his reflection, Fang Cheng carefully examined the changes in his body.

It seemed... he had gotten leaner.

His Physique was leaner and sharper than before, with barely any subcutaneous fat visible.

The muscles across his entire body were like they had been meticulously sculpted by a master artisan, the striations extraordinarily pronounced.

Shockingly, two more abdominal muscle packs had appeared, reaching a staggering ten-pack.

Arranged neatly like polished slabs of jade, they were full of power and aesthetic texture.

However, the muscle separation and vascularity were somewhat overly exaggerated.

The outline of every single muscle fiber was clearly visible, intertwining like steel rebar.

His skin was thin like plastic wrap, while veins beneath snaked across his arms, chest, and legs like earthworms.

Fang Cheng estimated his current body fat percentage was likely under 3%.

This extreme "shredded" state looked somewhat eerie upon closer inspection.

If he had to use a phrase to describe it, it would be "Devil Muscle Meatman".

Fang Cheng raised his arm and did a curl motion; his biceps instantly bulged like a small mountain.

He reached over and touched it—it was rock hard, and paired with his bronze skin, it looked just like a lump of iron.

Although his Physique had gotten leaner, Fang Cheng could clearly feel it:

under this extreme compression, every muscle fiber harbored energy far more terrifying than before.

Like high-density compressed TNT, once ignited, it would erupt with unimaginable power.

Fang Cheng suppressed the urge to test out his abilities.

Causing destruction at home was clearly inappropriate, nor was there enough space for him to go all out.

He could only wait for an opportunity later to unleash his full power and test the specific improvement.

Fang Cheng continued admiring this strong body that had achieved a Breakthrough past human physiological limits.

The only thing he was slightly dissatisfied with was that the muscle shape wasn't as aesthetically pleasing as before.

Furthermore, an excessively low body fat percentage was not good for the body, affecting hormone secretion and organ protection.

After thinking it over, Fang Cheng allocated his remaining 2 free attribute points entirely into Strength.

A dense and heavy warm stream surged from within his body.

He could clearly feel the muscle fibers across his entire body slightly expanding at the exact same moment.

It was as if a wrung-out sponge was instantly soaked again, injected with new energy.

The size of his muscles enlarged by a tier, and that overly exaggerated "shredded look" diminished significantly.

"Not bad. This looks much more normal now, at least not as terrifying."

Fang Cheng nodded slightly, looking at the updated attribute values on the panel.

[Strength: 52]

[Agility: 60]

[Physique: 50]

[Spirit: 50]

He then cracked his neck, stretched his arms, and popped his joints in a series of crisp cracking sounds.

Fang Cheng performed stretching exercises to re-adapt to his Agility-enhanced body.

Suddenly, he thought of a more crucial issue.

He immediately opened the panel again, his eyes rapidly scanning over it.

Sure enough.

At the bottom of the system notification interface, there was a newly appeared message.

[Your Agility attribute has surpassed the human limit threshold once; base airtime increased by 0.5 seconds.]

Just as expected, the airtime increased, even doubling his prior prediction of 0.25 seconds.

With a thought, Fang Cheng continued scrolling up.

Amid a series of "Handstand Push-up skill exp +1" notifications, another unique special message was embedded.

[Through skill practice against gravity, you have gained a new insight; base airtime increased by 0.1 seconds.]

Seeing this, Fang Cheng's eyes lit up abruptly, and the corners of his mouth curled up uncontrollably.

0.5 seconds, plus 0.1 seconds.

Base airtime actually increased by a full 0.6 seconds!

Amplified by the two skill effects [Ape Waist] and [Air Walk], that was 1.68 seconds.

Adding that to his previously mastered record of 6.3 seconds, his maximum static airtime reached an astonishing 7.98 seconds.

In other words,

right now, without doing anything else, just jumping with full force would allow him to hover frozen in mid-air for up to 7.98 seconds!

Upgrading Handstand Push-up to Grandmaster and achieving a Breakthrough past the 60-point Agility threshold brought rewards far exceeding his expectations.

Fang Cheng's heart was filled with excitement.

Just as he was about to close the panel, his gaze instinctively paused on the skill column.

He noticed an anomaly.

Right below the hidden skill [Potential Activation], a faintly visible, brand-new gray box had appeared.

Looking closely, it read:

[Hidden Skill (To Be Unlocked)]

It seemed to be the prototype of the skill awaiting unlock mentioned in the notification, except currently in a Seal state.

Beneath it was an even smaller annotation.

[This skill is a Hidden Skill; prerequisite conditions must be met to activate.]

[Remaining required airtime: 1.02 seconds]

Only one final step remained to unlock this mysterious new skill!

Fang Cheng gazed out the window at the bright sunshine and city skyscrapers, clenching his fist.

Taking a deep breath, he forcefully suppressed his excitement.

Turning around, he grabbed a broom and rag and began tidying up the food debris and water stains on the floor.

In the afternoon, he still needed to go find Xiaosa.

Besides retrieving that 10-million mission reward, Fang Cheng had a rough concept in mind that required this newly elevated "Prince of the Red Tiger Gang" to carry out for him.