A Day's Plan Begins in the Morning

After finishing his eye exercises on the roof of the talent apartment, Chen Jue felt a sense of clarity as if the world had been washed clean by a fresh rain.

Not only had his vision become significantly sharper, but his mind felt exceptionally relaxed and his thoughts remarkably active.

"No wonder the old saying goes that the morning is the best time of the day."

"Ever since I started trying to wake up early, my thinking has definitely become less sluggish than before."

"After practicing these eye exercises, the life pressures that used to weigh on me have vanished. This must be what they call 'clear eyes and a pure heart'." Chen Jue smiled faintly at the rising morning sun.

Although he was nearly 30 years old—an age that internet jokesters would mock as the beginning of middle-aged decline—he felt different.

Ever since he awakened this attribute panel and changed his lifestyle and chaotic sleep schedule, Chen Jue felt that he was just like the great sun leaping over the city skyline: full of vigor and vitality.

Whistling a tune he didn't even recognize, Chen Jue headed downstairs and made a beeline for the park.

While the [Eye Exercises] combined with red light therapy were incredibly effective—improving his vision and boosting his [Physique] attribute in just half an hour—he could only practice for a maximum of thirty minutes each morning.

Being greedy and practicing more would only damage the blood vessels and muscles around his eye sockets.

It was time to shift his focus from his eyes to his body. Since the [Twelve Taiji Forms] was only three hundred proficiency points away from leveling up again, Chen Jue planned to use his morning workout to push its progress.

However, as soon as he reached the park entrance, Chen Jue felt a bit puzzled.

The open space beside the chess tables was empty; there was no sign of Wu Fang or her grandfather.

Chen Jue had inquired before, and usually, at this hour, the grandfather and granddaughter would be there without fail, practicing their martial arts and the Rope Dart.

Today was Saturday, so there was no high school, and their absence meant they must have been delayed by something.

Could it be another television interview? Chen Jue muttered to himself.

As he pondered, he spotted a few slick-haired young men wandering around the chess tables, looking as if they were searching for something.

"I don't see anyone!"

"Didn't the internet say Teacher Wu usually practices here in the morning?"

"Did some jerk post a fake address to intentionally mislead us?" The young men huddled together and discussed loudly, their voices carrying from quite a distance.

Holy crap!

They're actually stalking a celebrity in real life?

Is Wu Fang really that famous now? Chen Jue was stunned.

It turned out these young men were all his potential romantic rivals from the internet, having come to the park to try and meet Wu Fang in person!

"These people really have nothing better to do."

"Aren't they afraid of someone calling the police to report them for harassment?"

Chen Jue grumbled under his breath and walked toward the depths of the park as if no one were there.

With this group of thirsty fans lurking nearby, Wu Fang would likely not come to this park for her morning exercises anytime soon.

Even if she wanted to, she would have to wait until this wave of attention died down!

As for the message Chen Jue had sent last night, Wu Fang still hadn't replied. Chen Jue guessed she had simply turned off her phone for the weekend to block out the external noise.

She should reply to my message when she goes to work on Monday, right? Chen Jue thought to himself. Regardless, he had already established a preliminary friendship with Wu Fang, which was a good start, so he wasn't worried about a day or two of delay.

Arriving at the lakeside where he had practiced the previous evening, Chen Jue began to perform Taiji at a leisurely pace.

From 6:30 until just past 9:00—nearly two and a half hours—his stomach was growling and churning with acid from hunger when the panel finally showed some activity.

[Ding~]

[Through your unremitting efforts, skill proficiency has reached 100%.]

[Twelve Taiji Forms Lv3 → Twelve Taiji Forms (Perfected)]

[You have thoroughly mastered this simplified health-preserving art. The twelve movement postures hold no technical secrets for you; even if you were to perform them in reverse, you could do so with ease.]

[Friendly Reminder: This health-preserving art may still hide secrets you haven't imagined. Completing it might lead to new discoveries.]

As the skill leveled up, Chen Jue felt an indescribable warm current spread throughout his entire body.

When he tried the [Twelve Taiji Forms] again, he found that the art felt as if he had been practicing it since he was in the womb; he could perform it with total fluidity.

Although the moves remained soft and gentle—lacking the power to shatter a skull as seen in martial arts novels—Chen Jue felt as if he were enveloped in an ethereal aura while practicing.

He felt light and transcendent, his movements fluid, graceful, and full of aesthetic beauty!

If he took this to a martial arts competition, he would definitely be winning gold and silver medals and bringing a trophy home!

"Another perfected skill!"

"But this friendly reminder... is it suggesting I should continue to delve deeper into Taiji?" Chen Jue's face lit up with joy, but then he rubbed his chin and fell into deep thought.

As a treasure of Chinese martial arts and health cultivation, Taijiquan has spawned countless branches and schools.

Chen Jue originally learned by imitating the elderly in Changhe Residential District, only to find out after searching online that the set he practiced was the 12-style simplified version released by the General Administration of Sport.

Beyond this most basic 12-style set, the General Administration of Sport had also released upgraded versions: the 24-style, 36-style, and 48-style.

As for those outside the official versions—Chen-style, Yang-style, Wudang, Chan-style, Big Frame, Small Frame, Old Frame—there were simply too many to ever learn them all.

Chen Jue did not know which one was the true source of [Taijiquan], so he could only look for opportunities to experiment by activating skills through his panel.

After all, this health cultivation art had an innate advantage in increasing attributes.

After two and a half hours of hard work, Chen Jue's [Constitution] attribute rose by another 0.1 points.

However, what made him happiest was that he had finally managed to save up 0.10 free attribute points!

Opening the panel, he dragged the [Stone Skipping] and [Darts] skill blocks together, and the [Skill Merge] option popped up once again.

This time, Chen Jue did not hesitate and pressed the confirm button immediately.

[Ding~]

[Skill merge successful. The experience growth progress of the two skills has been fused.]

[Reshaped Skill: Hidden Weapon Throwing Lv5 (1/20000)]

[Description: This is a master-level throwing technique that integrates a variety of changes, commonly used in assassination, competition, and self-defense.]

[Stimulated by the new skill, your proficiency in throwing various hidden weapons has improved. Your hand dexterity, flexibility, and strength have increased significantly; no matter what kind of projectile you hold, you can perform wonders with it.]

Along with the appearance of the new skill and the consumption of 0.10 free attribute points.

A wave of unfamiliar muscle memory flooded through Chen Jue's arms.

His fingers, wrists, arms, and shoulder joints all felt slightly hot at this moment, even bringing about a tingling sensation.

His pores opened wide, veins bulged, and the blood vessels hidden beneath his skin began to swell—a sign of blood flowing at high speed to dissipate heat.

When this peculiar phenomenon ended, Chen Jue discovered that his hands had become exceptionally fair and supple.

With a gentle pull, his ten fingers could actually bend backward at a 180-degree angle!

"Is... is this still my hand?"

Chen Jue was stunned by the sight!

With this kind of flexibility and sensitivity, if he used them to play the piano or video games, wouldn't he reach the rank of Master in minutes?

He tried picking up a small stone from the ground and flicked it at a yellowing leaf on a large tree twenty meters away using [Hidden Weapon Throwing].

With a whoosh, the stone rotated at high speed in mid-air, carved out a peculiar parabolic arc, and then struck its target.

The leaf was severed in two, with only half left hanging on the branch!

At this moment, the proficiency for [Hidden Weapon Technique] on the panel also popped up a +1 notification, providing an evaluation that met the requirements.

"!!!"

"I can hit it easily even at this distance?"

"It really is 'point where you look, hit where you aim'!"

Chen Jue excitedly tried a few more times, alternating between his left and right hands.

There was no lag, no sense of unfamiliarity at all!

He was basically hitting his target every time, leaving the leaves on the tree trunk with quite a few jagged, half-severed edges.

However, after testing for a while, Chen Jue discovered that with his current hand strength and eyesight, he could only hit small objects at a distance of about 20 meters.

Beyond that, not only could the strength of his hands not keep up, but his eyes also struggled to see clearly.

Still, in Chen Jue's view, having this kind of accuracy at this distance was already quite monstrous.

A casual throw was almost equivalent to the length of two buses!

Back in ancient times, he could at least pass for a martial arts expert specializing in hidden weapons, right?

Second update~

Asking for recommendation votes and monthly tickets!

Took my medicine, continuing to grind!

Pianfeng's level isn't high enough yet, and my writing style is still being polished.

I hope everyone will be patient and understanding; during the new book period, I really need these votes and follow-up data.

The beginning is a bit of a slow burn, so I will update more to push the plot and pacing. I will try my best to provide more updates while the book is free before it goes behind a paywall!