034 The First Perfected Skill!

However, after leveling up Shaolin Child’s Strength once more, it no longer displayed as Lv3 as Chen Jue had anticipated—rather, the words “Perfected” appeared, and the progress bar beneath the skill vanished altogether!

[Shaolin Child’s Strength (Perfected)]

“I’ve maxed it out already?”

“It can’t be upgraded any further?”

Chen Jue was taken aback. This was the first skill he’d raised to level 3, yet to his surprise, it had reached perfection. Moreover, as his gaze landed on this skill, a new annotation appeared below:

[Shaolin Child’s Strength (Perfected)]: Additionally grants the state “Vigor of the Rising Sun.”

[Vigor of the Rising Sun]: Your body remains as full of life as the newborn sun, perpetually energetic with enhanced resistance to fatigue. Qi and blood stay abundant, and aging is slowed.

Note: This state will automatically weaken if the player’s vital essence is depleted.

His first perfected skill had appeared on his attributes panel, and with it came a miraculous new buff. Chen Jue was overjoyed.

“After working at it for almost two days, my efforts weren’t in vain!”

Of course, the reason Chen Jue could grind his Shaolin Child’s Strength to perfection so quickly was that his physique had already reached the state of “nourishing qi until supple, as gentle as an infant.” His skin was rosy and fair, his complexion vibrant as a baby’s; practicing this art yielded double the results with half the effort.

To avoid physical depletion upon his breakthrough, Chen Jue drank the remaining third of medicinal soup in his pot, then practiced the now-perfected Shaolin Child’s Strength a few more times. His attributes now appeared as follows:

Player: Chen Jue
Age: 27
Health Index: 96%
Strength: 1.06
Agility: 1.05
Intelligence: 1.23
Constitution: 1.74

Skills: [Boat Fist Lv2 (12/500)] [Twelve Forms of Muscle-Tendon Change Lv1 (10/200)] [Eight Immortals Stance Lv2 (9/500)] [Shaolin Body Toughening Lv0 (2/100)] [Internal Strength Child’s Skill (Perfected)]

Unassigned attribute points: 0.33

After a full day’s practice, his constitution attribute increased by another 0.05—this was thanks to the breakthrough to perfection in Child’s Strength. He’d thought with the supplement of the Invigorating Tonic, he’d gain at least 0.10, but in the end, it was only a little over half that. Clearly, as these panel attributes rose, their growth rate gradually slowed.

Fortunately, he’d accumulated quite a few free attribute points, which helped make up for his disappointment.

Yet seeing that Child’s Strength was considered perfected at just level 3, Chen Jue began to worry about his other skills. Boat Fist and Eight Immortals Stance were both relatively easy to practice, and their proficiency grew rapidly—most likely, they’d also max out after one more level.

As for the Muscle-Tendon Change Classic and Body Toughening, their proficiency increased extremely slowly. Reaching level 3 probably wouldn’t be their upper limit!

...

Having spent two days bringing his Shaolin Inner Strength Child’s Skill to perfection, Chen Jue felt full of energy—even at night, he was as spirited as during the day.

After a hearty meal of bone broth and rice, Chen Jue glanced at the time—it was already 8 p.m. The breakthrough to Child’s Strength had disrupted his training schedule for the evening, so he decided to skip practicing fist forms and Eight Immortals Stance tonight.

He rested for half an hour, noticing that his digestion was now far more efficient—his stomach and intestines seemed to be processing his recent meal much faster, as if it were already being absorbed. This must have been due to the buff from Child’s Strength, which enhanced his body’s ability to absorb nutrients.

Picking up a pair of 20kg dumbbells from the floor, Chen Jue found them surprisingly light. After days of attribute gains, the basic fitness equipment he’d ordered online was no longer sufficient. Only the sit-up bench and pull-up bar had any effect; the 20kg dumbbells now felt like sheets of paper in his hands, utterly useless for training or attribute growth.

He put down the dumbbells, opened the Taobao app, and searched for professional custom dumbbell sellers with good ratings and service. He sent a message: “Excuse me, can you custom-make a single 200kg dumbbell?”

It was peak shopping time in the evening, with many browsing Taobao—sales were at their height for every shop. The seller, upon seeing Chen Jue’s question, first replied with a “???” emoji, then said, “Dear! Are you sure you want a single 200kg dumbbell? Our 120kg chrome dumbbells are already the heaviest on the entire platform.”

“A 200kg dumbbell? Even a world-class weightlifting champion might not be able to lift that!”

“At that point, it’s not a dumbbell anymore, it’s a barbell!”

“Dear! Are you sure you want a dumbbell?”

Chen Jue: “...”

He realized his request must have startled the seller. But given his recent training and how the 20kg dumbbells now felt, he estimated that unless these were five times heavier—around 100kg—he might finally reach his one-arm lifting limit.

And his strength was not static; as time passed, his attribute would only grow. Eventually, even a 100kg dumbbell would become obsolete.

Rather than buying equipment piecemeal, it was better to go all-in and have a pair of 200kg dumbbells custom-made!

After thinking it over, Chen Jue messaged, “I’m sure! Aren’t your dumbbells adjustable? Just add more plates and make each one a bit larger, and you can get to 200kg, right?”

Men’s Fitness Equipment Factory: “Alright, dear! We’ll go with the weight you want, but we don’t have a template for this product. I’m just customer service—I’ll have to check with the factory to see if it’s possible. If it is, I’ll reply soon. Please wait five minutes!”

Evidently, not wanting to lose a potential sale, the seller quickly sent Chen Jue a sample image. It looked much like the 120kg chrome dumbbells on their site, just with four more plates and a scaled-up template. However, the price had increased exponentially.

A single custom 120kg chrome dumbbell was only 1,300 yuan with shipping included. Chen Jue’s order for a pair of 200kg dumbbells, on the other hand, cost him 2,000 yuan apiece, plus shipping—not a small investment!

Because of the weight, shipping cost an extra 300 yuan.

But the seller promised two-day delivery, even to the countryside, which Chen Jue found very satisfactory.

In addition to the monstrous dumbbells, Chen Jue searched for weighted gear, spending over a thousand yuan on a vest adjustable up to 50kg, and ordered a set of 20kg wrist and ankle weights—all with express shipping for another 200 yuan.

“The new vest plus wrist and ankle weights total 70kg.”

“That should be enough for a while!”

“If it’s still not enough, I’ll just stick one of the dumbbells in my backpack and go jogging with it.”

Chen Jue felt quite clever and resourceful, saving money by adapting his methods. Closing Taobao, he went online to look for a martial arts documentary to watch before bed, planning to pass the time with it before sleep.