Sudden Physical Trouble

That evening, Li Xiuqing truly witnessed her son's appetite.

There had been a large pork knuckle and half a duck in the refrigerator, so she cooked them all, along with two plates of vegetables and a big bowl of steamed rice.

She had a small appetite and was full after only a few bites. Lin Yuan finished almost everything else.

After eating, Lin Yuan practiced Tai Chi in the yard for a while to aid digestion, then headed out again.

About twenty minutes later, he arrived at the rural elementary school near their home.

He had attended school there before. Back then, the little school had been quite lively.

But now, there were only enough children enrolled to barely make up three classes.

The teachers had gradually left, leaving only the principal and two teachers. Sometimes, the principal even had to serve as a teacher himself.

Lin Yuan looked at the old gates and walked straight inside.

The school gates were usually left unlocked. No one worried about anyone coming to steal anything.

For one thing, there was really nothing worth stealing. For another, anyone who dared would get cursed out by the villagers.

The moment he entered, he saw someone emerge from an office ahead. The man's hair was somewhat gray, his body thin, and his back slightly hunched.

Seeing him, Lin Yuan immediately called out, "Teacher Wang."

Wang Guisheng adjusted his glasses and looked over. When he saw Lin Yuan, he immediately smiled. "Lin Yuan, so it's you, kid. Why are you back?"

When Lin Yuan had been in elementary school, Wang Guisheng had been both his homeroom teacher and math teacher.

Lin Yuan had been extremely naughty as a child, and his grades had been terrible. He had caused Wang Guisheng plenty of worry.

But after entering middle school, he seemed to become a different person. His grades rapidly rose, and when the college entrance exams came around, he made a name for himself in one fell swoop, becoming a minor celebrity throughout the surrounding villages.

After that, Wang Guisheng told everyone, "Lin Yuan was raised by my own hand. He's my proud student."

Lin Yuan jogged over and said, "I came back to take care of something."

"What are you doing at school at this hour? Come on, go to my place and have a few drinks with your teacher. We can catch up. I've just finished my work anyway."

Hearing that, Lin Yuan quickly declined. "Teacher Wang, I'll visit your home another day. I just ate too much at home, so I came to the school to get some exercise and go for a run."

"Fine, but remember to come by your teacher's house when you have time."

Wang Guisheng did not force the issue. After speaking, he slowly left with a thermos in one hand and a book tucked under his arm.

After he left, Lin Yuan walked to the track. This time, he wanted to see exactly how far he had to run before Attribute Points would increase.

He turned on his smartwatch, and as the running timer began, he started running.

The field was small and not built to standard dimensions. One lap was, at most, three hundred meters.

Lap after lap, by the end, he no longer had the energy to look at the panel. He just ran until stars filled his vision and his limbs felt like lead, only then stopping.

Lin Yuan was drenched in sweat from head to toe, as if he had just been pulled from a river.

Panting heavily, he looked down at his watch. He had run nearly forty-five kilometers.

A full marathon was only a little over forty-two kilometers. He checked the time: two hours and forty-two minutes.

Seeing that number, Lin Yuan was stunned. If he remembered correctly, the standard for a national first-class athlete in the full marathon was two hours and thirty-two minutes.

He had run forty-five kilometers in two hours and forty-two minutes. That already met the national first-class athlete standard.

A marathon primarily tested speed and endurance. His indicators for those two physical attributes were 9.5 and 10 respectively.

He was increasingly beginning to suspect that the system's so-called "healthy adult male" might be a little too healthy.

Then he checked the system panel again. He had gained one more Attribute Point.

He now seemed to have gained a faint understanding of what the system meant by "intensive training."

For basic training like running, he had to push his body close to its limit in order to obtain Attribute Points.

And if his physical attributes improved later, the intensity of his basic training would also have to increase before his body could once again approach its limit.

That was why he had gained Attribute Points from running the first time, but had not gained any the second time despite running the same way.

It was like how an eight-hundred-meter run might leave a weak college student exhausted, but for a national athlete, it might only be a warm-up.

Thinking of that, Lin Yuan could already picture his future workouts constantly escalating layer by layer.

Carrying several hundred kilograms while sprinting freely across vast land.

"If only I had the Gravity Chamber from Dragon Ball."

After resting for a while, Lin Yuan went home.

After taking a comfortable shower, he lay down on the bed and immediately fell into a dead sleep.

At five in the morning, the alarm rang right on time.

But Lin Yuan did not wake up for a long while.

Each time the alarm rang, it would ring again ten minutes later.

It continued like that until around seven, when Lin Yuan vaguely heard the alarm. His eyes slowly opened.

As his consciousness returned, a fierce soreness suddenly surged through every limb and bone.

Pain! His entire body hurt!

Even the slightest movement made cold sweat break out all over him.

Lin Yuan lay in bed with a twisted expression. It took him roughly half an hour before he felt even slightly better.

This sudden situation immediately reminded him of his college days, when he had once played badminton with someone for several hours straight. When he woke up the next morning, his arms and legs had hurt unbearably.

His current condition was definitely because he had overtrained yesterday, far exceeding the limit his body could bear.

Yesterday, he had practiced for over two hours in the morning, hoed the fields in the afternoon, then practiced Tai Chi and went on a long run at night.

Although most of that time had been spent practicing martial arts, Tai Chi was not as easy as it looked. When performed properly with standard movements, nearly every part of the body had to exert force.

Compared to basic training that targeted a particular body part, Tai Chi was less exhausting over the same amount of time.

But that was also because Tai Chi distributed the training across every part of the body.

Moreover, as an internal martial art, Tai Chi could alleviate fatigue to a certain extent through its unique breathing rhythm.

But that did not mean the body was not bearing the load. It simply did not feel like much at the time.

Lin Yuan stared at the ceiling with a helpless expression.

He had gained four Attribute Points yesterday and had planned to level up today, but now he had no idea what to do.

His body was almost completely unable to move. Any slight movement hurt unbearably.

Just as he was at a loss, his phone suddenly chimed with a message notification.

Lin Yuan reached for the phone. At the moment, his arms were about the only thing he could move a little.

Seeing that it was from Wu Zihan, he remembered the task he had given her and opened it.

In the chat window, Wu Zihan had sent three compressed files in a row.

They were labeled Chen Style Tai Chi, Wu Style Tai Chi, and Sun Style Tai Chi.

Then she sent another message:

"Senior Brother, I got your task done. Don't forget what you promised me."

"Don't worry." Lin Yuan replied with two words.

Even if some peerless martial art manual were dropped in front of him right now, he would not be in the mood for it.

Lin Yuan put down his phone and stared blankly at the ceiling again, while his phone continued chiming incessantly.

There was no need to guess. Wu Zihan was definitely sending him more messages.

After a while, his bleary-eyed mind seemed to think of something. He immediately picked up his phone.

Wu Zihan had been born into a martial arts family and came from a long line of martial artists. He could ask her what one should do after overdoing Martial Arts Practice.

"Junior Sister Zihan, I have a question I'd like to ask you."

"Hmph, Senior Brother, you're truly cold and heartless. I sent you so many messages just now, and you didn't reply to a single one. You only ever want to talk to me when you need something."

When Lin Yuan saw that message, he felt somewhat guilty. It seemed he really did only contact her when he needed something.

"Junior Sister Zihan, I'll change from now on, all right? As for that friendly match you mentioned last time, I guarantee I'll beat them until they piss their pants. If you tell me to beat him into a pig's head, I definitely won't beat him into a dog's head."

"That's more like it. Fine, I forgive you."

In Binhai City, Wu Zihan, dressed in training clothes, was eating breakfast while replying to his messages.

Across from her sat an old man with snow-white hair and beard, though his face was rosy and full of vigor.

Seeing his granddaughter constantly grinning foolishly, he asked curiously, "Xiaohan, who are you chatting with? You're smiling so happily."

"Grandpa, it's the one I told you about last time, the one who subdued a criminal barehanded at South Station."

"What was his name again?"

"His name is Lin Yuan."

"Oh, right, right, that was his name. Look at my memory. Your friend is impressive. At such a young age, he's already practiced Tai Chi to this level. Compared with that kid Yang Huai'an, he's no weaker, perhaps even stronger. And he's upright, chivalrous, and extraordinarily brave."

"Grandpa, you only watched one short video of him, yet you're talking as if you know him so well. He isn't upright at all. He's terrible, always taking advantage of your granddaughter, and sometimes he's really infuriating."

The old man smiled and teased, "Then why were you smiling so happily just now? I've traveled far and wide for so many years, but this is the first time I've seen someone get bullied and still be so happy."

Wu Zihan's face flushed with embarrassment. "Grandpa!"

"When will you bring that friend of yours over to visit our home?"

"He's gone back to his hometown. He won't come over until it's time for the friendly match."

"The person Songtao Taekwondo Hall is sending should not be underestimated. You can send him the other party's information so he can study it. Know yourself and know your enemy."

Wu Zihan paused, then asked, "Is that person very strong?"

"Li Hongze, seventh-degree black belt. In recent years, the Kingdom of Li has produced five seventh-degree black belts under the age of thirty among its younger Taekwondo generation. Li Hongze is one of them. According to an old friend of mine, he only has not advanced to eighth degree because he lacks the required years. Otherwise, he would have reached it long ago."

"For a friendly match, do they really need to go that far?"

"The Kingdom of Li has been narrow-minded as a people since ancient times. Naturally, they would not care about that."

A trace of worry flashed through Wu Zihan's eyes. "All right, I'll explain all this to Senior Brother Lin Yuan in detail."

"Don't put too much pressure on him either. Just let him fight normally. Anything can happen in a match, so there's no need to care too much about winning or losing."