421: Chapter 421 Digestion Issues, Skill Summary

6:00 in the morning.

The rain had fallen all night and finally stopped.

Streaks of water crisscrossed the glass, blurring the newly awakened city outside into a halo of light.

Inside the room, the light blue walls and athletic flooring created a serenity as if one were on a holiday beach.

However, the temperature of this "beach" was noticeably much higher than outside.

It was as if the heater had been turned on in April, or a stove had been lit.

"Hoo... huff... hoo... huff..."

The heavy and rhythmic breathing was the only sound in this intense heat.

At this moment, a naked, muscular figure was practicing the Push-up by supporting himself on the ground with his index fingers.

Even more exaggeratedly, on his mountain-like broad back, ten heavy cast-iron barbell plates were securely fastened with nylon binding straps.

Each barbell plate weighed twenty-five kilograms.

This meant that he was supporting his own body weight plus a terrifying load of a full 500 catties using just two slender fingers.

Every time he lowered or pushed up, the muscle lines of his arms bulged out one by one like they were carved by a knife and axe.

Throughout the entire workout, his movements were so standard and stable that they transcended the scope of humanity.

Even so, he basically didn't sweat.

Because as soon as the sweat seeped out of his pores, it was directly evaporated by his astonishing body temperature, turning into visible white smoke that rose in curls from his bronze skin.

Finally, a bead of sweat that could not be evaporated in time slid down from his distinct jawline.

After tracing a crystal-clear arc in the air, it dripped onto the electronic counter screen below.

The red numbers on the screen instantly jumped whenever his forehead touched downward.

[2991]

[2992]

[2993]

...

When the number stopped at [3000].

"Hoo——"

A mouthful of scorching foul air was exhaled for a long time, forming a clear white arrow.

The smoke steaming from his body also slowly dissipated accordingly.

Fang Cheng finally stopped, his arms supporting him steadily, maintaining a straight posture.

At this moment, because of the violent surge of Qi and blood, his whole body's skin glowed with a layer of crimson red.

Every muscle was like a boulder injected with life, full of restrained and explosive strength.

[Push-up Experience + 29]

A prompt message appeared before his eyes.

Fang Cheng immediately leaped, stood up straight, and casually untied the binding straps behind his back.

Just at the moment when the barbell plates were about to leave his back and smash into the floor, his figure suddenly turned, his arms scooped, and he steadily held that stack of "iron cakes" in his arms.

His expression was relaxed and at ease, as if he wasn't holding hundreds of catties of steel, but a box of trainee equipment from back at the club.

Fang Cheng walked to the corner, gently put down the barbell plates, and stacked them neatly.

Then, he picked up a towel from the shelf nearby that had long been soaked in cold water, and wiped his face and chest carelessly.

After shaking his head, he muttered in a low voice:

"Too light, I'll need to add ten more pieces next time for it to be enough..."

He actually wanted to directly buy a few tons of weighted blocks, but unfortunately, the largest specification of barbell plates on the market was only 25KG per piece.

These fitness equipment were designed for ordinary athletes and fitness enthusiasts after all, how could they consider the needs of a "monster" like him who had long since transcended the normal category?

Scanning the heavy sandbag and gymnastics Pull-up bar placed in the room, Fang Cheng calculated in his mind.

Next time, perhaps he could try hanging his feet in the air, carrying these barbell plates on his back, and practicing the even more difficult planche movement.

After all, his strength attribute had already broken through the 60-point mark, and that bit of workout volume from before truly seemed a bit childish.

Fang Cheng swung his arms casually and walked barefoot towards the window.

His shoulder joints emitted a series of crisp pops, just like frying beans.

After stretching his muscles and bones, he pressed his palms against the glass, feeling that refreshing coolness.

The sky was still gloomy, but it was already faintly bright.

In the residential area, several early-rising figures wearing sportswear were jogging around the damp greenway.

On the distant highway, vehicles were sparse.

A blue refrigerated truck drove slowly past, probably heading to some seafood market.

It was only past six o'clock now, which should have been a time for sound sleep and catching up on rest.

Speaking of which, given last night's consumption, Fang Cheng could completely slack off with a clear conscience today.

Having continuously encountered powerful enemies, experienced several fierce battles, and even used his trump card Potential Activation, his physical stamina had long been severely overdrawn.

According to common sense, the most important thing to do at this moment was to rest well, replenish Qi and blood, so as not to leave hidden dangers in his body.

However, after swallowing the crimson eye, his energy was simply too abundant, so abundant that it even caused nosebleeds.

The Meditation by the sea in the early morning only relied on the Flame of Spirituality to solve the spiritual-level contamination problem.

But the feverish heat inside his body, as if placed in an oven, still existed, and his emotions remained in an excited state all along, without a shred of sleepiness.

Therefore, he simply ran back and forth along the beach, throwing punches against the freezing waves, practicing Shadow Boxing and the Push-up.

After tossing and turning for a long time, the sky was still pitch black, and it was still early.

After returning home, Fang Cheng continued to exercise, completing all the training plans of his fitness skills once over.

As a result, he still felt it wasn't intense enough.

That was why he additionally practiced 3,000 weighted two-finger Push-ups.

Until this moment, Fang Cheng still hadn't felt the limit of his physical stamina.

He only felt as if a peerless Vicious Beast from the primordial era was imprisoned inside his body.

It roared at every moment, trying to break free from the shackles called "Reason".

The more he suppressed its claws and teeth, the more crazily it transmitted energy, seeming as if it was going to blow this shell alive.

Only by venting this violent power through this near-masochistic high-intensity workout could he feel a rare trace of comfort.

Looking at the gradually increasing traffic outside the window, Fang Cheng let out a light sigh.

If possible, he sincerely hoped that Minister Luo Lie could be resurrected, and the two of them could have another hearty and thorough slaughter.

Or else, those three mysterious Men in Black who escaped would come looking for him again, with neither holding anything back, unleashing all their strengths, and having a serious fight.

Thinking of this, Fang Cheng's gaze narrowed slightly, his heart followed his will, and he looked internally at his Dantian.

A cluster of azure True Qi resided here, like a boundless and tranquil deep sea.

Only occasionally did a few tiny bubbles gurgle up.

Compared to the almost depleted scene after last night's battle, at this moment this ocean of True Qi not only completely filled the Dantian, but even reached a state of almost overflowing.

"As expected of precious ingredients from ancient times..."

Fang Cheng praised sincerely, then touched his slightly bloated abdomen.

In fact, nearly half of the eyeball flesh swallowed last night still remained in his stomach.

The difficulty of digesting this ingredient was unprecedented in his life, far surpassing Scorpion's abnormal liquefied body.

Not only was it rich in protein, but its molecular structure also seemed very unique.

When decomposed by stomach acid, it would continuously release a huge amount of biological thermal energy, far exceeding any known food in efficiency.

Fang Cheng felt that he wouldn't need to eat for the next few days.

This also confirmed that the source of that violent power filling his body was precisely these flesh and blood that had not yet been fully digested.

As long as they were thoroughly absorbed, this abnormal state would probably be readily resolved.

Although he had confidence in subduing this bizarre "ingredient", thinking back to the feeling when devouring it, Fang Cheng still felt lingering fear.

That double torture of mind and body could be called terrifying, practically no different from the cruel tortures in Hell.

Fortunately, Fang Cheng possessed the Omniscient Language talent sufficient to resist the erosion of negative consciousness.

At the same time, the Qigong skill special effect Poison Resistance allowed his body's resistance to harmful substances to be additionally increased by 100% on top of his Physique foundation.

Coupled with the basic attribute effect of 53 points of Physique, could he safely digest that flesh and blood with super-strong corrosiveness.

If it were replaced by an ordinary person, let alone eating it, even if just their skin slightly touched the blood, they would probably be instantly melted and become a part of that flesh-and-blood nest.

High risk naturally came with high reward.

The most direct manifestation was the skyrocketing of the two attributes of Physique and Spirit.

Fang Cheng's gaze flickered slightly, and the light blue light screen quietly unfolded before his eyes.

[Strength: 60]

[Agility: 60]

[Physique: 59]

[Spirit: 59]

His line of sight fell on Physique and Spirit, which narrowly stopped short of the 60-point mark, and Fang Cheng secretly uttered a pity.

This feeling of being just one step away always leaves people with a bit of regret.

Suddenly, Fang Cheng's eyes narrowed as he noticed an abnormality on the panel.

The progress bar marked under Physique unexpectedly showed 38%!

He clearly remembered that when he finished cultivation by the seaside last night, this number was still 19%.

According to past experience, unless leveling up or encountering a fortuitous encounter, the growth of attribute progress bars had always been steady and grounded, accumulating little by little.

It was absolutely impossible for it to skyrocket by nearly 20% overnight for no reason.

After a brief thought, Fang Cheng quickly figured out the crux of the matter.

This was still the effect caused by the "crimson eye".

As the remaining flesh and blood in his stomach were constantly digested and absorbed, the released life energy would surely continuously affect his bodily functions.

Eating the "crimson eye" was not something achieved overnight, and the modification to his body was also a slow and continuous process.

Thinking of this, Fang Cheng's heart stirred slightly as he turned to look at the other attributes.

The progress bar for the mental attribute had hardly changed.

Meanwhile, the progress bars for strength and agility had both improved by a large margin compared to the previous days.

They were 98% and 92% respectively.

Although the growth rate was far inferior to Physique, this did not mean that the crimson eye's buff effect on combat power was low.

Rather, it was because Fang Cheng's own base values for strength and agility were too high.

If it were half a year ago, absorbing these flesh-and-blood essences would have allowed these two attributes to increase by at least ten points each.

Of course, the premise was that he could withstand this power without exploding and dying.

Otherwise, the ending awaiting him would only be turning into those out-of-control monsters in the gray fog.

After reviewing the attribute status, Fang Cheng's gaze subsequently turned toward the skill panel.

A long string of experience prompt messages flashed by like a waterfall, almost reaching no end in sight.

The experiences of the entire night last night could be described as ups and downs, thrilling and soul-stirring.

First, he fought monsters in the gray fog on the 84th floor, then he exchanged blows with Minister Luo Lie, fighting from the Inner World to the real world, and finally encountered three mysterious Men in Black.

The continuous fierce battles allowed the experience of various combat skills to gain a huge surge in growth.

Especially Boxing, Palm Technique, and Qigong, which even harvested hundreds of experience points.

Palm Technique had thus successfully leveled up, and pushed the strength attribute to officially break through the major milestone of 60 points.

After the battle ended, the Meditation cultivation by the seaside increased the experience of Qigong and Meditation skills by 50 points each.

In just one night, the harvest could not be said to be anything less than bountiful.

At this moment, Fang Cheng scanned the skill panel with burning eyes.

[ Speed Reading Lv2 (116 / 500) ] (Rapid Eye Movement, Memory Palace)

[ Focus Lv2 (390 / 500) ] (Heartsteel)

[ Culinary Arts Lv1 (154 / 250) ] (Knife Flower)

[ Cleaning Lv1 (229 / 250) ] (Scavengers Eye)

[ Driving Lv0 (36 / 100) ]

[ Bone-setting Lv1 (50 / 250) ] (Temporary Solidification)

[ Acupoint Striking Lv0 (29 / 100) ]

[ Tuina Massage Lv0 (41 / 100) ]

[ Boxing Lv3 (239 / 1000) ] (Iron Fist, Infinite Combo)

[ Sanda Lv3 (125 / 1000) ] (Dance of Lightning)

[ Jiu-Jitsu Lv2 (361 / 500) ] (Elasticity)

[ Muay Thai Lv2 (280 / 500) ] (Steel Bones, Super Armor)

[ Tai Chi Lv1 (217 / 250) ] (Force Dispersion)

[ Push-up Lv3 (336 / 1000) ] (Master of Strong Wrists, Qilin Arm)

[ Squat Lv3 (275 / 1000) ] (The Aloof)

[ Leg Raise Lv3 (112 / 1000) ] (Ape Waist)

[ Pull-up Lv3 (162 / 1000) ] (Absolute Control)

[ Back Bridge Lv3 (57 / 1000) ] (Demon Back)

[ Handstand Push-up Lv3 (80 / 1000) ] (Air Walk)

[ Running Lv1 (106 / 250) ] (Strong Wind Blowing)

[ Qigong Lv2 (254 / 500) ] (Poison Resistance, Evergreen Unfalling)

[ Meditation Lv2 (309 / 500) ] (Flame of Spirituality, Mind Resonance)

[ Marksmanship Lv2 (168 / 500) ] (Ghost Shooting, Eagle Eye Vision)

[ Blade Technique Lv2 (280 / 500) ] (Shadow of the Blade, Blade Storm)

[ Palm Technique Lv1 (60 / 250) ]

Looking at the brand-new panel values, Fang Cheng nodded with satisfaction.

Currently, the ones closest to leveling up were the two skills "Cleaning" and "Tai Chi".

If he put a bit more thought into them usually, they should level up very soon.

In addition, a more important point was that the total number of skill slots had already reached the limit of 25.

In order not to affect the subsequent unlocking of new skills, he must put skill synthesis on the agenda.

Therefore, next, besides daily exercise, his main energy had to be placed on the three healing skills of "Bone-setting", "Acupoint Striking", and "Tuina Massage".

Synthesizing them with Qigong as soon as possible would not only free up skill slots, but also enhance Qigong's level and effectiveness.

Through last night's battle, Fang Cheng deeply realized that...

Facing an expert of Minister Luo Lie's caliber, as well as endless extraordinary abilities, the power that Qigong could exert in defense, healing, and offense definitely could not be underestimated.

As for other combat and fitness skills, he just needed to practice them step by step.

Having sorted out his future plans in his mind, Fang Cheng put away the panel and walked straight toward the bathroom.

Hot water gushed out from the showerhead, carrying a hazy mist as it washed over his robust Physique.

Fang Cheng looked at his skin, which was as smooth and clean as before, unable to find even a single tiny scar.

You must know that during the previous battle with Minister Luo Lie, several wounds deep enough to see bone had been slashed across his body by wind blades.

He didn't know whether it was the powerful recovery effect of "Potential Activation" or the efficacy of the "crimson eye".

Drying his body in front of the mirror, Fang Cheng put on a pair of loose shorts and a T-shirt before walking out of the bathroom and returning to the living room.

He took a bottle of mineral water from the refrigerator and tilted his head back to gulp down the majority of it.

The ice-cold liquid slid down his esophagus into his stomach, bringing a wave of refreshing comfort.

Afterward, his whole body sank into the soft sofa, and he casually picked up the remote control to turn on the television on the wall.

The screen displayed the morning news channel.

The news being broadcast at this moment was unexpectedly the explosion incident that occurred at the Noah Building last night.

On the screen, a middle-aged uncle claiming to be Wang Dachun was gesticulating enthusiastically at the camera with spit flying:

"I've already told all of you reporters, that naked man wearing a white mask is truly fierce. With a 'whoosh', he jumped into the sky and punched the guy in the suit flying away..."

Before he finished speaking, the screen was quickly cut off, switching back to the studio.

The female anchor had a professional and calm expression on her face as she spoke to the teleprompter:

"According to the latest news just received by our station, the police have preliminarily classified this incident as a premeditated terrorist attack."

"The explosives were high-energy charges pre-placed inside the building. As for the 'flying men in the air' claimed by some witnesses, experts preliminarily judge that it may be a visual deception carried out by the attackers using high-strength steel wires in cooperation with drones to create chaos, similar to stunt techniques in movie shooting."

"Currently, the police are making every effort to hunt down the fugitive terrorists..."

Fang Cheng looked at the television, the corners of his mouth curling into an arc.

Sure enough, the authorities stepped in.

Although this explanation was full of loopholes, for ordinary people, it was a statement sufficient to stabilize public sentiment.

The Special Investigation Team should have already fully taken over this matter, and was desperately trying to control public opinion to avoid the existence of extraordinary powers causing social panic.

That was fine too; having the Noah Organization, the explicit "terrorists", taking the lead in front to attract all the firepower...

He could just lie low for a period of time and quietly digest the power brought by the "crimson eye".

Right, there was also Ma Jianguo.

Fang Cheng's thoughts churned as he picked up the ice water and took another big gulp.

Calculating the time, the one week of "cultivating moral character and nurturing health" should be coming to an end about now.

It was time to go learn that mysterious "Visualization Technique" Master Ma mentioned.

(End of Chapter)