15. Junior High! Start!

During this summer vacation before starting junior high.

Xiao Chen didn't waste his time, he didn't just sit around waiting for school to start.

He set a strict training regimen for himself.

Every day, he would complete 1,000 weighted push-ups, 1,000 weighted sit-ups, 1,000 weighted squats, and 300 weighted pull-ups.

Besides, he ran five kilometers in the morning and evening.

It wasn't a jog.

It was an immensely intense interval run.

Moreover, the route he ran had ups and downs, through bushy areas, with various obstacles

The intensity was tremendous each day.

If an ordinary person trained with such high intensity every day, without giving their body any time to recover, they'd probably drop dead within three days.

However, Lin Zichen, with his "Use It or Lose It" attribute, had a physical tolerance far beyond an ordinary person's.

Even the current intensity of the training wasn't enough to overdraw his body, it only made him stronger with each passing day, his physique becoming more formidable.

[You did 1,000 weighted push-ups, Qi-Blood +2000, arm muscle strength +2000, chest muscle strength +2000, push-up proficiency +1000]

[You did 1,000 weighted sit-ups, Qi-Blood +2000, abdominal muscle strength +2000, sit-up proficiency +1000]

[You did 1,000 weighted squats, Qi-Blood +2000, leg muscle strength +2000, squat proficiency +1000]

[You did 300 weighted pull-ups, Qi-Blood +600, arm muscle strength +600, back muscle strength +600, pull-up proficiency +300]

[You ran 10 kilometers at variable speeds, Qi-Blood +4396, endurance capacity +1000, body coordination +1000, running speed +1000, running technique +1000]

[Your Biological Level has been upgraded to Ordinary Level 3]

Throughout the summer vacation, Lin Zichen maintained this training intensity every day, as regular as clockwork.

Finally, on the day just before the start of school, he successfully broke through to Ordinary Level 3, and all of his bodily attributes received a substantial boost.

He could easily lift a 700kg weight with one hand.

He could jump 4 meters high from a standstill.

His 100-meter sprint only took 6 seconds.

"Strength, jumping ability, and speed, all have been raised to these figures, and the Biological Level has just barely evolved to Ordinary Level 3, the value of this level is really high," he mused.

In the wild, having just tested these three data points, Lin Zichen couldn't help but express his amazement.

Then, he murmured, "I wonder what level that prodigy from Capital City is at now, I'll go home and look it up."

With strength that far surpassed his peers, he had no match among them, and could only compare himself with the prodigy seen on TV.

...

When he got home, he took a quick shower.

Afterward, Lin Zichen went to his room upstairs, lay on the bed, and used his phone to search for news about the Capital City prodigy.

This phone was a gift from Zhang Wanxin, as a reward for his excellent performance throughout six years of elementary school.

Zhang Wanxin trusted in his self-discipline, not worrying that he would become addicted to entertainment on the phone.

Soon enough, news about the Capital City prodigy came up.

The most recent news was from three days ago.

It reported that the 14-year-old prodigy from Capital City could easily lift a 2000kg alloy with one hand.

This strength data was more than three times that of Lin Zichen's.

"2000kg? Not bad," he muttered to himself, not taking the Capital City prodigy's strength data seriously.

Because he knew very well that the other's current strength data relied entirely on the fusion with the Exotic Beast Gene.

It was the gene of the "Power Ant."

Normally, merging with this kind of Exotic Beast's gene could increase one's strength by 4 to 8 times.

Let's assume this Capital City prodigy increased his strength fourfold.

With that deduction, he was left with a strength of only 400kg.

Lifting a weight of 400kg with one hand at the age of 14 was still very talented.

But compared to Lin Zichen's 700kg, it seemed rather weak.

Not to mention, Lin Zichen was even younger.

Looking at both aspects, the difference between the two was like day and night.

"It really looks like I'm the one with a more promising future."

Lin Zichen smiled, already fantasizing about how powerful he would become after integrating with the Exotic Beast Gene.

...

In the blink of an eye.

Time had arrived at September 1st.

Lin Zichen, who had been training intensely at home all summer, finally welcomed the eagerly anticipated start of the school year.

Shanhai High School wasn't far from home, about a five-kilometer journey.

However, due to the school opening season, the roads were congested, and it took Lin Yansheng over half an hour of driving to finally reach the school gate with difficulty.

"Old Lin, it's too crowded at the school gate, and it might be hard to park!"

From the car behind, Shen Jianye rolled down the window and shouted to Lin Yansheng.

Lin Yansheng also poked his head out and replied, "No worries, we can drive into the school later to look for a parking spot!"

Drive into the school?

Shen Jianye was a bit puzzled. Could cars actually enter the school?

Just then, the principal of Shanhai High School appeared at the security room door and instructed the guard to let Lin Yansheng and Shen Jianye through.

Seeing this scene, Shen Jianye understood that Lin Yansheng's family enjoyed special privileges at Shanhai High School.

"Old Lin is really lucky, having a genius son like Xiao Chen. It's like one person has attained the Tao and the whole family benefits," Shen Jianye said enviously.

Xu Meng laughed, "It's not just his family who benefits, even our family gets a share of the luck."

"That's true. Being neighbors with Old Lin's family and our children getting along so well is indeed a stroke of good fortune," Shen Jianye said with a smile.

Xu Meng mentioned, "You better not say that in front of Han Han. It wouldn't be good if she heard it."

"Rest assured, I'm not brainless. I know exactly what should and shouldn't be said," replied Shen Jianye as he drove the car into the school.

...

Soon enough.

Both families had parked their cars inside the school.

"Zi Chen, come on, let's get out of the car and take a walk around the school to see if the environment is really as beautiful as in the promotional video," urged Shen Qinghan excitedly to Lin Zichen beside her as soon as the car stopped.

The two were seated in the back of Lin Yansheng's car, very close to each other.

Lin Zichen smiled, opened the car door, and along with Shen Qinghan, started to wander around the campus aimlessly.

Meanwhile, the parents of both families sat down for tea with the principal of Shanhai High School in the office, to casually handle the enrollment procedures.

...

"That boy is so handsome, and the girl next to him is also very pretty."

"Why aren't those two wearing school uniforms?"

"Are they a teacher's son and daughter?"

"..."

Along the way, Lin Zichen and Shen Qinghan attracted murmurs wherever they went for their exceptional appearance.

Lin Zichen was unfazed by the whispers.

Shen Qinghan, on the other hand, felt delighted inside, enjoying the compliments about her beauty.

It wasn't long before they had strolled around the entire school.

Then they discovered that the environment at Shanhai High School wasn't as beautiful as shown in the promotional video, not even half as much, which felt somewhat like false advertising.

Yet neither of them felt disappointed.

They were both well aware that promotional videos were sellers' stunts, filled with falsehoods, meant just for show, and not to be taken as truth.

As they were walking, Lin Zichen's phone rang.

It was a call from Zhang Wanxin.

She asked him and Shen Qinghan to head to the principal's office to meet the teachers of the various subjects in their class.

...

PS: I'm holding out my bowl for monthly tickets and recommendation votes!