008 Physical Transformation

As expected, when Chen Jue was awakened by the crowing of roosters a little after five the next morning, he felt completely refreshed. The fatigue and soreness from yesterday’s hard training had vanished without a trace overnight. While washing up in the bathroom, he also noticed that his complexion and overall vitality were much improved compared to before his return.

Back when he worked in Hangzhou, he often stayed up late, scrolling endlessly on his phone. The toxins from his liver, gall bladder, and kidneys accumulated, leaving his face sallow and oily, and his urine frequently yellow and foul-smelling. But since returning to his hometown, his routine had become regular—promptly going to bed before eleven, and rising just before six. Though he slept barely more than seven hours, the greasy feeling on his face was much reduced.

His first trip to the bathroom in the morning left him feeling comfortable, with no signs of internal heat, and even his hair no longer fell out in clumps as before.

“This is the perfect routine I’ve always longed for!”

Noticing these changes, Chen Jue grew excited, feeling that his decision to invest all his free attribute points into constitution last night was undoubtedly the right choice.

“Let’s go! Time for morning practice!”

He’d become somewhat addicted to the sensation of training. Even after a full night’s sleep, if he didn’t go through his Boat Fist routine, he felt restless.

After washing up, Chen Jue changed into his shorts, T-shirt, and running shoes, then stepped outside and jogged up the mountain.

Since the refrigerator was stocked with nearly a week’s groceries, he didn’t plan to walk to Panlong Town today. Instead, he decided to jog a lap around the reservoir and practice his fist techniques there.

After all, the air was freshest and cleanest in the early morning.

The Chen Village Reservoir, surrounded by mountains and lush with aquatic plants, occasionally saw egrets flitting by to play—a natural oxygen bar of an ecosystem.

Jogging up the embankment, Chen Jue found his stamina much improved. With only a few deep breaths, his heartbeat calmed right down.

He knew this was thanks to raising his constitution to 1.25 the previous night.

At this hour, it would be at least two more hours before the sun climbed over the highest Leigong Peak. Chen Jue drew a deep breath of the fresh air blowing across the embankment and began his Boat Fist practice.

From the distant Huang Family Village came the occasional crowing of roosters, and wisps of smoke curled skyward as families began breakfast, the scent of burning wood drifting on the breeze.

Most of the elderly in the village slept little; it was normal for them to rise at this hour.

On the reservoir’s surface, ripples appeared now and then—fish leaping from the water. Occasionally, white egrets skimmed the surface and landed in the grassy shallows, painting a scene of peace and tranquility.

“I truly chose the right place,” Chen Jue thought, gazing at the picturesque landscape around him.

Until now, he’d always practiced on the dam at night, when visibility was limited and he couldn’t see the scenery clearly. Now, in the bright morning, he finally took in the reservoir’s full beauty.

Standing atop the embankment, the cool morning breeze carried air so fresh it seemed to cleanse his mouth, nose, and lungs. The feeling was pure bliss.

This was a kind of closeness to nature that city dwellers could never experience—no car exhaust, no construction dust, no blaring horns. Only poetic, harmonious scenes of the reservoir, life coexisting in peace.

Practicing his Boat Fist in such a setting, Chen Jue felt his movements flow smoothly and his mind focus with remarkable clarity.

Meanwhile, his skill proficiency on the panel steadily climbed, as did his free attribute points.

When the sun finally crested the distant Leigong Peak, sending a wave of heat and dazzling light over the land, Chen Jue stopped his training and began to head down the mountain.

A glance at his phone showed it was nearly 8:30 a.m. He’d spent over two hours practicing, including a half-hour rest sitting on the dam’s railing.

His attribute panel had seen impressive growth in just these two and a half hours:

Player: Chen Jue
Age: 27
Strength: 0.87
Agility: 0.79
Intelligence: 1.22
Constitution: 1.25
Skills: [Boat Fist Lv1 (32/200)]
Free Attribute Points: 0.05

After one morning’s training, his strength and agility had each crept up a notch, while his free attribute points had increased by 0.05. The Boat Fist skill proficiency had risen by about 31 points.

The efficiency was nearly skyrocketing compared to before!

If he kept this up, Chen Jue thought, it might not even take a year before he became a martial arts master out of a novel.

Of course, this was only his own hopeful supposition; who could say if the attribute panel would continue to progress so quickly in the future?

After all, his physical foundation was still quite weak. Apart from constitution and intelligence, which surpassed the standard adult male, his strength and agility lagged behind.

“Probably because I’m below the standard value, so it improves faster!”

“Just look at constitution: after a night’s sleep and a full morning’s practice, it hasn’t budged. Once it’s above the standard, growth slows down,” Chen Jue speculated, briskly making his way down the mountain.

With the steep path and his boosted attributes, it took him barely twenty minutes to reach Lin Family Village from the reservoir.

Seeing that it was already 9 a.m., he realized the Lin Family breakfast shop was nearly done for the morning.

“Of course,” he thought, “people in the countryside get up early. Those heading to the city for work or school need time on the road. Breakfast shops probably only stay open until about nine, no later than nine-thirty.”

Glancing at the stall, he ordered a bowl of sweet soy milk, a large serving of sticky rice, and two fried sesame balls.

He had barely started eating when a woman of his own age, whom he found vaguely familiar, descended from the breakfast shop’s second floor. She was fair and pretty, with light makeup and a sleepy, tousled little girl—about three or four years old—in her arms.

Upon seeing him, the woman immediately exclaimed, “Aren’t you… Chen Jue from Chen Village?!”

“You know me?” Chen Jue asked in surprise, setting down his chopsticks.

“I’m Lin Mengruo, your deskmate from grade school. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten? Third class at Shannan Elementary,” the woman laughed, her voice clear and lively.

Memories flooded back, and Chen Jue was instantly transported to his childhood in the countryside.

“So it’s you! It must be at least fifteen years since we last met!”

“Is this your daughter? She’s adorable—how old is she?”

He recalled their days at Shannan Elementary, nestled below Lin Family Village, before he’d graduated and moved on to middle school in the county town. He’d shared a desk with Lin Mengruo for several years—they were childhood friends. He hadn’t expected to run into her here.

What surprised him more was that Lin Mengruo, his peer, was already married with a child old enough to be out and about with her. Time truly flew by.

“She’s already four—so mischievous! Once summer vacation ends, I’ll send her off to kindergarten,” Lin Mengruo replied, then asked about Chen Jue’s life.

When she learned he was still single, Lin Mengruo’s eyes flickered with a peculiar light. “Should I introduce you to my sister? She just graduated from university and is looking for work in the city.”

“No need for matchmaking! I’m not planning to marry so soon, haha,” Chen Jue laughed awkwardly, politely declining. He vaguely remembered his deskmate had a little sister who used to tag along, but the years had blurred the details.

He figured that if he kept coming here for breakfast, they’d meet again.

But ever since awakening his attribute panel, Chen Jue had lost interest in romance.

What was love compared to the thrill and satisfaction of training?

“You boys—all of you go off to the city, and once you get a taste of city life, you start thinking about late marriages. Everyone from our elementary class is just like you—almost thirty and still single, driving their families crazy with worry…”

Listening to her complaints, Chen Jue nearly cringed with embarrassment.

But then he thought, at his age, talk of marriage was just par for the course.

If he hadn’t awakened the attribute panel, if he’d simply returned to the old house in the countryside and learned a bit of martial arts, he’d probably still be toiling away in Hangzhou. When the time was right, he’d find a woman of suitable temperament, get married, have children, carry on the family line, shed the “country boy” label, and lead an unremarkable city life.

“But would you truly be content with such a life?”

Chen Jue questioned himself, and for a moment, had no answer.

Glancing at Lin Mengruo, busy feeding her daughter breakfast, he saw in her pretty, smiling face traces of fatigue and the weariness of caring for a child. Suddenly, he felt a jolt of clarity: “This isn’t the life I want.”