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Chapter 103: Chapter 101 Skill Effect "Ape Waist
Early morning, six o’clock.
A thin mist hung in the air like a light gauze.
Under the dim and soft light, distant buildings were partly concealed and partly visible, creating an exceptionally serene and tranquil scene.
It seemed as if the entire city had not yet fully emerged from the deep veil of night.
Fang Cheng held onto a water pipe with both hands, his body suspended in mid-air, continuously practicing pull-ups.
The water pipe was relatively thick, only half of it could be grasped, which further tested finger and wrist strength.
Moreover, a sack filled with bricks was tied to his feet, dragging a heavy load and thereby increasing the difficulty.
"..."
"48."
"49."
"50."
His body continued to rise, his neck fully clearing the water pipe.
After a brief pause, he jumped down.
He shook his arms and looked up at the panel information.
[Pull-up Experience +19]
Fang Cheng nodded slightly.
Relying solely on body weight to practice pull-ups, leg lifts, and deep squats, the training efficiency was gradually declining.
After choosing to increase load, the effect seemed quite good.
Like this morning’s training, a total of 250 double-handed weighted pull-ups were completed.
The experience gained was almost equivalent to practicing 500 single-handed pull-ups previously.
However, the training time was reduced by half.
Thus calculating, efficiency can be said to have nearly doubled.
There was plenty of time. 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝒑𝙪𝒃.𝒄𝒐𝙢
Each morning training session could now be spent on those fighting skills that were lagging behind.
Moreover.
During the rest intervals after each set of training, Fang Cheng did not merely perform simple stretching movements to loosen his muscles as before.
Instead, he tried to stand in a horse stance, combined with pile skill, practicing the "Tiger and Leopard Thunder Sound" breathing technique.
Focusing intently on guiding the faint airflow in his abdomen to spread outward.
He found that doing so did not increase fatigue; rather, the recovery effect was slightly improved.
Fang Cheng thought to himself, in the dynamic and static training process, his body was like a bowstring being flexed and relaxed.
The breathing technique seemed to fit perfectly with this pattern, alleviating muscle fatigue through some subtle vibration.
If he could make a smooth entry and successfully unlock this skill in the future, the effect should be even more significant.
After completing a set of pull-ups, he held the horse stance for 5 minutes.
"Hurrhurr..."
Fang Cheng’s abdomen bulged slightly, with a tremulous tone, he exhaled a long, slow breath.
Then he stood up and kicked his legs.
Then he re-tied the sack rope buckles to both his ankles, preparing to continue practicing the hanging leg raise.
"The 5th set of leg lifts begins!"
Fang Cheng recited with a sense of ceremony, his ten fingers firmly grasping the water pipe.
His core suddenly tightened, and using only the strength of his abdominals, he raised his straight legs to a horizontal position.
Along with a sack weighing over a hundred pounds, it was also lifted, swinging slightly in the air.
He maintained it for the duration of one breath, then slowly and forcefully lowered it.
Allowing his body to fully feel the sensation of hanging in the air when his core was tense.
He repeated the motion, completing a set of 50.
Fang Cheng took a short breath and focusedly looked at the Skill Panel.
[Leg lift lv1 (249/250)]
"It’s about to level up, keep pushing, a few more and it should..."
A drop of sweat rolled down from his forehead along the tip of his nose, Fang Cheng shook his hair to cast the sweat off his face.
He didn’t jump down for a short rest, but continued to maintain the exercise state.
"51."
"52."
"..."
"68."
"69."
"70"
Quietly counting, quietly performing the exercise movements.
The panel suddenly burst into a dazzling bright light.
Finally.
After completing 270 weighted hanging leg raises, the skill progress bar made a breakthrough.
Several prompt messages appeared one after another.
[Congratulations, through tireless effort, your skill has reached a master level.]
[Leg lift lv2 (0/500)]
[Gain enhancement reward, Skill Effect "Ape Waist"]
[Ape Waist, possess a waist as flexible as a monkey, enhancing jumping ability and hang time by 80%]
Reading the description of the enhancement reward, Fang Cheng’s eyes lit up.
The so-called "Jumping Ability" actually related to strength and agility attributes.
"Hang time" was quite unique, somewhat related to agility but not entirely subordinate to its effects.
The most powerful aspect of this Skill Effect may lie in the most difficult to enhance "hang time".
In other words, it involves the Qinggong often depicted in martial arts novels and films.
Of course, achieving the "anti-gravity" effect in reality can indeed be somewhat exaggerated.
But in traditional martial arts, there are indeed unique body movement trainings targeted at the waist and abdomen areas.
There is a common saying: "With the Dantian as the ball and the waist as the axis, turn and strike without worry."
The focus of Qinggong lies in "Light Body" and "Light Body Ascension," aiming to stand or move on objects that cannot bear weight.
Even the technique of using internal energy and clever force to momentarily rise in the air.
Thus achieving effects like wall-climbing, leaping from roof to roof, grass flying, and Eight Steps to Catch a Cicada.
Master Wu Dewang from the White Crane Sect performing punches while stepping on Mei Hua Stumps on a wine bottle is also a form of Qinggong.
After obtaining the enhanced Skill Effect.
Fang Cheng lifted his eyes and looked towards the nearly 3-meter-high concrete water tank.
Deciding to test the actual effect.
He did not retreat a few meters to run and jump using the momentum.
Instead, he walked under the water tank, squatted down, looked up, forcefully pushed off the ground with his feet, and swung his arms.
Then he directly performed a standing jump, shooting up like a big bird, effortlessly reaching the top of the water tank.
Standing there, Fang Cheng stamped his foot, seemingly still unsatisfied.
Considering his current 21 points of agility and 32 points of strength, a height of 3 meters was indeed too easy.
This was far from the limit of his jumping ability.
Because he also possesses another Skill Effect "Bounce."
If both are combined and pushed to the limit, it might be a bit astonishing.
Fang Cheng composed his thoughts, and looked down from above.
Then he leapt and suddenly twisted his waist and abdomen mid-air.
His entire body seemed to be pressed by a slow-motion button, slowing down his descent.
Even during the descent, he could continuously adjust his posture and perform two to three different somersaults.
If the hang time for an ordinary person is around 1 second.
Then now, he’s nearly reaching 2 seconds.
In the blink of an eye, his feet touched back down on the ground.
Fang Cheng concentrated and calmly, carefully experiencing that subtle feeling of "Light Body Ascension."
It seemed like in an instant, all the strength in his body was condensed into one unified force, concentrated at the waist and abdomen area, bursting out with a capability far beyond usual.
And it wasn’t about straining the muscles, but rather the moment of twisting the waist and expanding the back, suddenly tightening the waist, locking all body parts together, vaguely feeling like pushing oneself up into the air.
If explained by human kinetics, the waist connects with the spine in human structure and serves as the hub transferring force from lower to upper body, playing a critical role in commanding the strength of the whole body.
So, this Skill Effect at its core, is actually bringing oneself to a higher level of body control.
Perhaps... with continuous enhancement of physical attributes, it might be possible to actually achieve flying through the air for a distance like in martial arts films.
Fang Cheng was lost in wild fantasies, exhaling lightly.
Turning his head to look at the crisscrossed pipes around, he couldn’t help but feel a playful interest arise.
Immediately, he tapped his toes lightly, darted forward, and simply continued practicing running, jumping, somersaulting, and wall climbing among these complex terrain obstacles.
His steps were light, landing soundlessly.
His body agile, almost like a professional parkour athlete.
Various dazzling high-difficulty techniques were displayed effortlessly as if self-taught.
It was as though he truly transformed into a monkey, nimbly threading through the jungle, freely unleashing his bodily instincts.
......
Lin Fusheng’s Clinic.
Today it was exceptionally busy, bustling with noise like a boiling pot.
Many gangsters with bruises, broken hands, and legs crowded in the lobby, waiting for treatment.
There were also plenty who had been bandaged and had splints but still lingered around, loudly talking and cursing with a group of fellow comrades.
In the chaotic scene.
Master Lin, wearing reading glasses, patiently extracted a bullet from a severely injured person and applied medicinal alcohol.
Wen Huixi was also dressed neatly and busy serving tea and water to the guests, bustling about.
Fang Cheng sat in front of an old acquaintance, Brother Fei, providing him a massage service.
After morning training, he went to the club for a sparring lesson, just an everyday job for earning money.
In the afternoon, he continued to scout around Lingang District, trying to find new opportunities.
However.
This time, Wu Shihao seemed also afraid of assassination, being very cautious about his safety.
Not only did he stay inside the company, but he also arranged many bodyguards around.
If one wants to silently take down the opponent, one must possess the stealth Skill.
Moreover, Fang Cheng also noticed some strangers who looked like police officers shadowing the area nearby.
After observing for a while, he nonchalantly turned around and left, temporarily accomplishing nothing.
On the way home, passing by Lin Fusheng’s Clinic and seeing Master Lin’s business booming to the point of near chaos,
He couldn’t help feeling guilty, hence stepped in to lend a hand.
Fulfilling his duties as a disciple, and also taking the opportunity to practice the skill of healing and saving lives.
At the moment, a group of gangsters spitting and talking enthusiastically, seemingly forgetting the injuries still on their bodies.
Especially Brother Fei, enjoying Fang Cheng’s exquisite massage technique, was comfortably humming and chirping.
So he vividly recounted a recent major disturbance in the Jianghu, as if narrating a storybook, shocking everyone listening.
"Three Wolves Gang and Red Tiger Gang both suffered heavy losses, reaching a point where they had to fight."
"Last night’s battle, both sides sent top experts to lead, exchanging blows, initially fought to a stalemate."
"However, the expert from the Red Tiger Gang was obviously more cunning."
"Seeing him frowning, contemplating a plan, he stepped on the ground with his left foot, shouted ’Master,’ and displayed tremendous power, then used the Divine Strike Technique, where knives couldn’t cut, and bullets couldn’t penetrate..."
