At 4:30 in the morning, a light drizzle began to fall.
The world seemed to be shrouded in ink wash.
The distant mountains lay in a daze, with blurry outlines, faint and shadowy.
A light mist hovered over Yulong Lake, like a giant ink jade soaked by the rain.
In this quiet night where you could hear the drizzle patter to the ground, a figure was running along the road surrounding the lake.
He was completely naked except for a bright red pair of athletic shorts, and his bronze-colored skin glowed faintly under the sparse streetlights.
Raindrops slid down his resolute face, merging into his neck and mingling with the steam rising from his chest.
The running speed didn’t seem fast, at most comparable to an electric scooter moving at a normal speed in the city.
Yet, his figure appeared extremely relaxed, his long legs moving with a consistent rhythm, his steps as light as if treading on a silent beat.
Even every swing of his arms and every breath were full of rhythm, quietly merging with this silent rainy night, with the gentle sway of the willows by the roadside.
He didn’t seem to be simply running, more like using his body to feel the surrounding environment.
His skin captured the density of the drizzle, his ears discerned the direction of the passing wind, and his eyes analyzed changes in air resistance.
Barefoot, he simultaneously sensed the minute undulations of the road, coordinating every subtle movement of muscles and bones, even the cushioning angle of his arches as they touched the ground was precise to the millimeter.
"Hoo—" ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ n͟o͟v͟e͟l͟f͟i͟r͟e͟.net
Fang Cheng exhaled slightly, his breathing deep and long.
He had been running around Yulong Lake at this speed for nearly ten minutes.
For an ordinary athlete, even this kind of "slow jog" would be enough to leave them gasping for breath, sweating on their forehead, and feeling a sting in their calf muscles in two or three minutes.
But for Fang Cheng, this amount of exercise was merely the start of his entire morning workout, only serving as a warm-up.
At this moment, the subtle "click" of his joints opening up had already faded into the sound of the rain.
With every step taken, he could clearly feel the elasticity of his calf muscles and Achilles tendons.
Like a tensed spring storing energy slightly, transmitted from the arches to the thighs, then steadily supported by the core muscle groups.
His whole body like a precisely lubricated machine, with every gear meshing seamlessly.
Adjusting abruptly to a peak state, just waiting for a signal, ready to explode with astonishing power.
A sharp light gleamed in Fang Cheng’s eyes, his gaze falling on the straight road extending towards the darkness ahead.
Letting out a low shout from his throat, his body leaned slightly forward, changing the way he exerted force the instant his foot hit the ground.
The next second, the long-stored energy within him was unleashed, all his muscle fibers seemingly ignited instantly.
A muffled blast tore through the rainy night.
The damp asphalt beneath his feet caved in slightly, mud and gravel flying outwards.
It was the destruction caused by Fang Cheng’s feet pushing off the ground, the immense propulsion making him shoot forward like a cannonball.
With a 65-point strength attribute, it manifested vividly in him at that moment.
Each push-off caused the triceps surae to bulge abruptly, tight as solid iron.
The quadriceps, hamstrings, and gluteus maximus completed isometric contractions and concentric extensions with exaggerated amplitude, then catapulted the body like an overdrawn bow.
Even the swinging of his arms became a part of power output.
The deltoids, pectorals, and latissimus dorsi worked in coordination to provide a powerful stable counterforce, maximizing the efficiency of kinetic energy with the twisting of the core muscles.
His muscle groups were like a set of precisely assembled engine components, contracting and relaxing at a rate beyond human limits.
Amid the crackling of muscle fibers working at high speed, countless tiny sparks seemed to ignite in unison within, unleashing an astounding thrust.
The 64-point agility attribute served as a "stabilizer" during his high-speed movement, allowing him to maintain unbelievable balance and coordination even at terrifying speeds.
His body like the finest precision instrument, with every joint’s activity angle, every muscle’s exertion level, as precise as one thousandth of an inch, with no sway from excessive power.
Even when the road was bumpy, occasionally stepping on a stone hidden beneath puddles causing short-lived lateral deviations,
he could instantly correct his body posture through quick fine adjustments of the ankle, knee, and hip joints, combined with the instantaneous tightening of core muscles, the process so smooth that no deviations occurred.
Thus, he virtually transcended the realm of "running," more like flying just above the ground,
relying on the instantaneous propulsion from his foot pushing off the ground, shooting forward in defiance of physical laws.
The numbers on the sports watch screen were jumping crazily like an out-of-control dashboard.
Speeds skyrocketed to the limit in an instant, the wind whistling in his ears rapidly shifting from a low moan to a sharp scream.
The once fine drizzle was now like countless fine needles, intensely and vehemently piercing his skin, causing a sharp pain.
But instead of instilling fear, this pain acted as a stimulant, making the fighting spirit within him boil even more.
A flicker of fervor shone in Fang Cheng’s eyes.
Absorbing the flesh and blood of the Deep Red Eye, his strength, agility, and constitution attributes all broke through the 60-point threshold, reaching heights never before achieved.