Chapter 13 Precipitation

For Li Ang at present, cycling is just one way to become stronger on his journey to improvement; he has other tasks such as practicing Tongbei Quan and running, so he cannot afford to spend all his time on it.

With time being so precious, let alone wasting it on those useless social activities.

He saw things very clearly, the essence of any social interaction was nothing more than an exchange of values.

With his current limited strength, even if he shamelessly tried to make acquaintances with some influential people, they wouldn't take him seriously.

With that time and energy, he was better off improving himself, so that when he became stronger, he wouldn't need to take the initiative, as people would be lining up to invite him to meals and eagerly offer him money.

The first thing Li Ang did when he got home was to practice Tongbei Fist, as he was eager to know how much his training efficiency would improve compared to his own random exercise routine with systematic practice.

The originally tedious fist technique became interesting after he achieved proficiency, especially as he could see his physical constitution improving steadily with practice, which was motivation on its own.

Apart from taking a break for afternoon tea, Li Ang hardly stopped for a moment.

Exercise is naturally addictive; the endorphins released by his body made him feel as if he had regained the joy of playing video games in his childhood.

By sunset, Li Ang finally took a break, sensing that his current physical state wasn't suitable for further practice.

Although his constitution was already quite good among his peers, nearly four hours of training left him completely exhausted.

He opened his attribute panel to see the fruits of his efforts for the day.

Name: Li Ang

Strength: 8.00 (+0.03)

Constitution: 10.41 (+0.16)

Response: 10.33 (+0.01)

Spirit: 13.60

Breakthrough Points: 0.12

Skills:

[Cycling] 241/400 (Mastery)

(Trait: Leg strength and stamina increased by 20%)

[Running] 16/200 (Proficient)

(Trait: Lung capacity increased by 10%)

[Tongbei Fist] 60/100 (Beginner)

What surprised him the most was that his [Physique] had increased by 0.16 in one afternoon's time.

Previously, a whole day of training would only increase it by about 0.22, so by this calculation, his training efficiency had increased by approximately 50%.

This was not a slight improvement, comparable to a talent; it was an insurmountable gulf between genius and ordinary people.

In terms of strength, the increase was still minuscule, which Li Ang could understand.

Improving in this area solely with bodyweight training was indeed not easy; to see quick results, he would need to lift heavy weights to stimulate his muscles.

Just like some bloggers who strictly do street fitness, their bodies might be very toned, but they will not have massive muscles.

Besides increasing muscle mass, another way to improve one's strength is by enhancing one's Nerve Aggregation Ability.

If muscle mass equals your absolute strength, then Nerve Aggregation Ability is your efficiency of performance. The product of the two is the final force you can exert.

Moreover, training in this aspect is comparatively more complex.

Slow-speed training, isometric contraction training, explosive power training, functional training, and heavy weight training are all methods that can improve Nerve Aggregation Ability.

The Tongbei Quan that Li Ang is currently practicing is one such example.

He still allocated all the Breakthrough Points to [Spirit], which, though invisible and intangible, actually affects all aspects of life.

Besides improving his comprehension during martial arts training, his memory, thinking speed, and even his daily energy levels were somewhat enhanced.

In the evenings, when he wasn't training, Li Ang didn't waste his time; instead, he studied various martial arts theories and physiological knowledge.

To the average person, these topics would seem dry and tedious, hard to understand, and even if they did understand, they would find them useless.

But for Li Ang now, what he experienced was different.

To put it simply, it was like he had an epiphany.

He could understand complex terminologies on his first read and even go beyond to comprehend them.

He could take scattered pieces of information and build them into systems in his mind.

Even for the most arcane terms, he could infer their general meanings by considering the context.

This kind of easy and useful learning is something most people would want to engage in.

It's just that most people lack the ability to do so.

Li Ang suspected that if he had this kind of brainpower during his college entrance exams, getting into top universities like Tsinghua or Peking University wouldn't be out of reach.

During his intensely focused yet exhilarating study sessions, time slipped away into late night unnoticed.

Li Ang stood to pour himself a glass of water, but it took him two tries to reach it. After closing his eyes and calming himself for two seconds, he realized he was a bit bleary-eyed.

While his [Spirit] had indeed become stronger, his brain's energy consumption had also increased. In the future he needed to be more careful and consider whether his body could withstand it.

Before sleeping, Li Ang glanced at his panel and was surprised to find that his [Spirit] had increased by 0.08.

Although it wasn't much compared to the increase in [Physique], at least it showed him that the way to improve Spirit through training meant high intensity consumption, squeezing one's spirit.

On the afternoon of the third day, Li Ang's [Tongbei Fist] finally upgraded to the next level as he wished.

He was also curious about what kind of Trait Mastery level [Tongbei Fist] would possess.

[Tongbei Fist] 1/200 (Mastery)

(Trait: [Response], [Nerve Aggregation Ability] increased by 10%)

Li Ang was quite satisfied with the increase in these two attributes, as both were quite difficult to improve.

It was also clear that the traits enhanced by Tongbei Quan were specifically for practical combat.

In the following days, Li Ang began a very regular routine.

In the morning, he trained on road bikes with Eric and the others, in the afternoon he practiced Tongbei Quan, and in the evening he studied theoretical knowledge, interspersed with some strength training like push-ups and squats.

Charles did look for him a couple of times, once to help at Uncle Wilson's house and another time to go to the supermarket in town.

He went to Uncle Wilson's to help but declined the tip offered.

From several repetitive tasks, he guessed that Uncle Wilson might not genuinely need help, but rather provide them with something akin to a work-study position.

He kept this act of kindness in mind, but now that he understood, he felt it wouldn't be right to go again.

As for the part-time supermarket job Charles suggested, Li Ang refused without a second thought.

He wasn't at his wit's end yet, and if he really ran out of money, he had faster ways to make it; working at the supermarket would be a waste of life.

A regular routine often causes time to fly by fast, and in the blink of an eye, it was the eve of the cycling competition.