444: Chapter 444 Touching the Realm of Gods with a Mortal Body

However...

This ultimate sense of freedom and ease lasted for only a brief moment.

After the sonic boom erupted, Fang Cheng's body felt as if it were squeezed violently by an invisible giant hand, then hurled violently forward.

The scorching heat on his body surface reached its Peak, every inch of his skin suffering the most intense friction against the tearing air.

The beads of blood seeping from his pores transformed into a steaming blood mist, obscuring his face.

Under the severe impact, his internal organs churned wildly, as if trying to break free from his chest.

The resonance penetrating deep into his bones reached its climax at this moment as well.

An overburdened creaking echoed from deep within his bones, as if they might shatter at any moment.

Like a kite with a broken string, Fang Cheng shot forward for several hundred meters under the inertia of exceeding the speed of sound.

But at this moment, he could no longer maintain that transcendent state.

Every cell in his body wailed in agony; all his strength had been squeezed to the absolute limit, even exceeding its capacity.

"Stop!"

Fang Cheng roared in his heart.

Within his Dantian, the ocean of True Qi suddenly surged into towering waves, rushing through his meridians toward every corner of his body.

The Running muscles in his legs were like parched, cracked earth welcoming sweet rain, regaining a surge of surging energy.

His willpower was like steel, forcefully commanding this nearly out-of-control body to stop.

*Bang!*

Another dull thud exploded in the quiet, rainy night.

This time it wasn't the force of pushing off the ground, but rather his feet acting like two deep plows, dragging out two deep, charred grooves several meters long on the wet asphalt road.

Under the intense friction, wisps of blue smoke even rose from the road surface.

This was caused by the asphalt on the surface instant-melting from the terrifying heat.

Finally, Fang Cheng came to a stop where he stood.

His leg muscles trembled slightly, yet they remained firm like two steel rebar pillars driven into the ground, sturdily supporting his body.

He stood there, the skin across his entire body glowing bright red, like a block of iron freshly pulled from a furnace.

The rain became gentle once more, falling finely onto his body and emitting a faint sizzling sound.

Wisps of white steam rose from his skin, gathering into visible thick smoke that lingered and swirled in the rainy night.

A strange smell, a mix of burnt residue and blood, permeated the air.

The earlier scorching heat was instantly replaced by a chill, causing Fang Cheng to shiver involuntarily.

He gasped heavily for air, twin jets of white steam blasting meters out from his nostrils.

His chest heaved violently, like a wheezing, broken bellows.

His gaze quickly swept across the roadside, landing on the lake surface shrouded in rain and fog.

Without a moment's hesitation, Fang Cheng moved his leaden legs and strode over.

*Splash!*

As if a giant boulder had crashed in, water splashed waist-high.

*Sizzle—*

Fang Cheng plunged headfirst into the lake, his entire body like red-hot iron submerged in cold water.

In an instant, an even denser wave of white steam violently exploded from all around him.

Beneath the water, countless tiny bubbles gushed frantically from every pore on his skin, making dense bubbling sounds.

The scene was like a boiling boiler having its tightly closed valve suddenly thrown open, letting a long-suppressed wave of steam burst out through the gaps.

Soon, a rolling thick fog formed, blanketing the lake's surface over a span of several meters.

It drifted slowly, refusing to dissipate for a long time.

"Phew..."

Submerged in the lake, Fang Cheng let out a long sigh.

It was an indescribable feeling of comfort originating from the depths of his Soul.

The icy lake water enveloped his scalding body; every pore expanded and cheered, greedily absorbing the cool chill.

Like smithed ironwork, he gained new life amidst the blending of cold and heat.

The soreness and stinging in his muscles, the trembling and wailing of his bones, the churning and pressure in his internal organs...

All negative sensations were rapidly smoothed away and dissolved after being soaked in the lake water.

This dramatic contrast from extreme heat to extreme cold caused his body to shudder in unprecedented pleasure.

It felt like moving from Hell to heaven.

When the pain receded, all that remained was the endless satisfaction of having conquered his body's limits.

"Ha... ah..."

Fang Cheng couldn't help but groan in pleasure, slowly raising his arm, then looking down at his bare chest.

Densely packed red dots and bruises looked as though he had been struck simultaneously by countless tiny hammers.

They covered almost his entire body, presenting a truly shocking sight.

However, as his True Qi circulated, the restorative effects of his extraordinary Physique gradually took effect.

He could clearly feel these injuries slowly healing.

In less than a few hours, he should be fully restored to his original state.

*Gurgle—*

Fang Cheng blew out a bubble from his mouth, kicked his feet, and floated back to the surface.

He poked his head out, gazing into the vast darkness that still surrounded him.

He simply stretched out his limbs, lying on his back and letting his body drift gently with the waves.

Raindrops fell from the sky, hitting the vast lake surface and rippling into dense concentric circles.

Distant mountains and nearby waters were all enveloped in a misty rain.

The world felt exceptionally vast; apart from the sound of rain, there was no other noise.

At this moment, Fang Cheng felt his mind becoming as open and vast as the world itself.

Freed from restraints, breaking past his shackles.

From now on, the sky was the limit, and the ocean was his to leap.

Right at that moment, a faint blue glow flickered before his eyes, displaying a line of notification text.

[Congratulations! In an extreme challenge beyond what ordinary people can bear, you successfully broke the speed of sound. Running EXP +100]

[Running Lv.1 (206/250)]

The corners of Fang Cheng's lips curved slightly upward as a refreshing smile swept through his eyes.

Breaking the sound barrier with a Physical Body wasn't just a record for speed Running; it was a concrete demonstration of his life form's evolution.

It represented that a human flesh-and-blood body could similarly shatter the shackles of physical Laws and reach for Domains that originally belonged only to steel technology or mythical legends.

However, recalling the thrilling process just now, Fang Cheng still felt that the experience was a bit too exhilarating.

To break the sound barrier, the obstacles to overcome were all-encompassing.

First was air resistance; the faster one ran, the more pronounced the effects of air viscosity and compressibility became.

The headwind was no longer "wind," but a violently compressed, ultra-dense "wall of air," causing resistance to surge dramatically.

Second was the "thermal barrier effect," where a body moving at high speed frictionally generated immense heat that could literally roast flesh and blood.

Finally, there was what was most terrifying for Fang Cheng—the "shockwave effect."

Upon reaching the critical point of sound speed, the air in front of the body was compressed to the extreme while the air on both sides remained uncompressed, forming a sharply defined shockwave.

This invisible shockwave was like a razor-sharp blade that could easily tear a person's body into shreds.

Even more fatal was that due to physiological structure, the human body easily matched the resonance frequency of the surrounding high-speed airflow, causing internal organs and bones to vibrate violently, dislocating and shattering.

Furthermore, the larger the surface area, the stronger this effect; the more body parts were exposed, the heavier the impact and resonance damage sustained.

Even airplanes struggled against such conditions, disintegrating out of control at the slightest misstep.

Let alone an unprotected human Physical Body.

And the reason he was able to cross this insurmountable chasm was precisely the qualitative leap brought by his three attributes exceeding 60 points.

Strength served as the "engine" for high-speed Running, providing sufficient thrust to punch through the air barrier.

Agility acted as the "gyroscope" maintaining body stability, keeping him from losing control in the tempestuous airflow.

And most importantly, it was his 70 points in Physique.

It acted like the toughest armor, stubbornly enduring the searing heat, the tearing air currents, and the backlash of the shockwaves.

Without this rock-solid Physique as his Foundation, relying solely on muscle power to force a sprint, his Physical Body would likely have collapsed before even reaching the speed of sound.

"A single step away, yet like an insurmountable chasm."

Fang Cheng was filled with emotion.

Only he truly knew the hidden dangers behind it and the sweat he had poured in.

From his initial frail state, where he couldn't even meet basic fitness standards, to breaking the sound barrier with shocking power today.

The hardships along the way were beyond words for outsiders to understand.

Fortunately, the Heavenly Dao rewards diligence; possessing the attribute panel, he had never let a single drop of sweat go to waste.

Now having stepped over this threshold, he finally enjoyed an extraordinary experience that ordinary people couldn't even fathom.

Fang Cheng lay quietly on the lake surface, savoring the lingering thrill.

In his heart, he also knew clearly that he had barely managed to break the sound barrier this time.

The instantaneous pain and feedback from his body clearly told him...

...he was still a long way from truly "mastering the speed of sound."

In the process of breaking through, he had exhausted almost all his physical energy and even caused significant damage to his body.

This was fine during training, but in actual combat, throwing all his eggs in one basket like this would be no different from suicide.

All he could do right now was like a child using all his strength to push open a heavy door, barely catching a fleeting glimpse of the world beyond.

With a Mortal body, he was beginning to reach for that once unreachable "Domain of gods."

"It seems I still need to keep raising my body attributes."

Gazing at the sparse distant lights in the night sky, Fang Cheng's eyes turned immensely firm.

"Perhaps when my Physique, Strength, and Agility all break past the 80-point threshold, breaking the sound barrier will feel as effortless and easy as today's 'jogging'."

As he pondered, the roar of an engine approached from afar.

A truck loaded with vegetables drove out from an intersection on the lake-encircling road, its headlights cutting through the curtain of rain.

From the distant riverbank, human voices drifted over.

Several Cleaning workers in raincoats pushed trash carts, making rustling noises as they began their day's work.

Fang Cheng stayed no longer; kicking off violently in the water, his whole body soared into the air like a soaring dragon emerging from the sea, landing silently on the shore.

*Clatter!*

Then his entire body vibrated suddenly, instantly shaking off every drop of water clinging to his skin, like a wild beast shaking off morning dew.

Under the dim yellow streetlights, his perfectly proportioned, sculpted body was fully displayed.

Every muscle was packed with explosive power and sleek, streamlined beauty.

Like a piece of refined steel repeatedly hammered and heated red-hot, then plunged into an icy spring in the final step to complete its ultimate quenching.

Fang Cheng swept his eyes over his surroundings, his pupils contracting slightly when he looked behind him.

On the asphalt road, washed bright and slick by the rain, a shocking series of footprints jumped into view.

Particularly along the final stretch where he had sprinted at full force until abruptly stopping, the footprints were deeply embedded and the road surface fractured.

There was even a scorched friction mark several meters long, standing out vividly in the rain.

Fang Cheng shook his head, an apologetic look gracing his face.

This counted as damaging public infrastructure; later, he would need to donate some money to the town government's rural revitalization project as compensation.

Thinking about it, this wasn't the first time.

It was just that the damage was much more severe this time; if seen by people during the day, it would likely cause another commotion.

"Next time, it'd be best to run on the beach instead."

With that thought passing through his mind, Fang Cheng looked around.

The sky was not yet bright and rain kept falling; there was still some time before dawn.

He decided to go to the Mountain Park to continue his morning workout plan.

Of course, before that, he had to run back and retrieve his shoes and clothes.

Fang Cheng moved like a shadowy phantom, weaving through the rain curtain, disappearing into the darkness beneath the streetlights in a few blinks.

...

Raindrops fell pitter-patter on the leaves, making the forest path wet and slippery.

A touch of fish-belly white showed on the horizon, dyeing the cloud layers light gray.

The outline of the mountain forest grew clearer and clearer, its lush green leaves extraordinarily vibrant after the rain's baptism.

Deep in the park, simple equipment like Pull-up bars, parallel bars, and rowing machines stood quietly.

Faint, sporadic shouts echoed, harmonizing with the melodious calls of birds.

A figure wearing a gray hoodie ran out from the woods.

He ran down the stone-paved path, his strides light and rhythmic, quickly reaching the lakeside road.

By now, full daylight had broken, and more morning exercisers appeared on the road one after another.

Although the rain hadn't stopped, it wasn't strange to see people Running at this hour.

"During the Qingming Festival, rain falls incessantly; drizzling rain dampens one's clothes."

After all, this season was neither cold nor hot, and the signature cool air was most pleasant—a great time for morning exercise.

Fang Cheng let out a soft breath, checking his panel while Running.

The faint blue screen flickered before his eyes as notifications flowed past like water.

His gaze focused on several skills.

[Tai Chi EXP +4]

[Tai Chi Lv.1 (220/250)]

[Push-up EXP +10]

[Push-up Lv.3 (367/1000)]

[Squat EXP +6]

[Squat Lv.3 (304/1000)]

[Leg Raise EXP +9]

[Leg Raise Lv.3 (151/1000)]

[Pull-up EXP +9]

[Pull-up Lv.3 (207/1000)]

[Back Bridge EXP +5]

[Back Bridge Lv.3 (83/1000)]

[Handstand Push-up EXP +8]

[Handstand Push-up Lv.3 (126/1000)]

Earlier in the Mountain Park, besides focusing on practicing Tai Chi which was close to leveling up, he had also completed the training plan for six fitness skills.

He practiced using single fingers or a single foot, completing each skill at least 600 times.

While the intensity couldn't match his weighted workouts in the Haitian Garden gym, it was by no means small.

The impressive experience gains on the panel were the best proof.

All six of these skills had reached Grandmaster Rank, and synthesizing a mythical talent at max level no longer seemed distant.

At this Rank, simply adding explosive extra practice carried little significance.

Only perseverance and constant effort—dripping water carving stone—served as the sole path to the Peak.

Maintaining a brisk pace, Fang Cheng soon ran to the busiest section of the lake-encircling road.

"My goodness, what happened to this road? Did some renovation crew mess up the asphalt like this?"

"It's not renovation. Look, it's a line of footprints! Like they were gouged out by an iron hammer!"

"Old Wang, don't scare me. Could a human leave these? Looks more like an elephant passed through! A spiked-shoe-wearing elephant at that!"

"You guys talk nonsense. It must be tracks from a construction team's excavator rolling over here..."

A small cluster of morning runners had gathered at the roadside, pointing and marveling at the "masterpiece" Fang Cheng had left behind earlier.

Fang Cheng casually slowed his pace and stepped closer as if curious, his expression impassive.

An older man nearby wearing an athletic tank top was arguing with his companion. Seeing Fang Cheng young and sturdy, he took the initiative to strike up a conversation:

"Young man, settle this for us. I say it was caused by excavator tracks, but this guy insists they're footprints."

"How much force would it take to stomp a road like this? Did a monster appear in our Wanghu Town?"

Fang Cheng pretended to examine it carefully, then nodded solemnly:

"Hmm, I think your analysis is right, Uncle. It makes much more logical sense."

"Haha, see?"

Hearing this, the uncle in the tank top put his hands on his hips and burst into laughter, his face full of pride.

His companion pouted unconvinced and muttered quietly:

"But it's clearly in the shape of footprints..."

Having spoken, Fang Cheng casually resumed jogging forward, blending seamlessly back into the crowd of morning exercisers.

Yet a subtle curve arched at the corner of his lips.

This morning he still needed to visit Xishan Cemetery to sweep his father's grave and pay his respects.

He had to hurry home, take a shower, and get ready. (End of chapter)