Action

The television was showing an action movie. It looked like it had been made quite some time ago. Yang Chu had not paid attention to the plot before, but the action choreography was exceptionally thrilling.

There were not only hard-hitting fight scenes, but also quite a few difficult acrobatic moves mixed in, making it both comical and entertaining.

But Yang Chu was not focused on those things. He had suddenly thought of the scene where he had fought a group of little thugs on the street today.

When those thugs had surrounded and attacked him, he had not experienced the stress responses ordinary people would have faced with a complicated, tense situation—racing heartbeat, raised hairs, rapid breathing, and the like.

It was as though he were watching from the perspective of a third party. Even in the chaotic brawl, he had been able to remain calm and respond quickly.

He had made all sorts of dodges, retreats, and counterattacks.

Aside from a few restricted by his physical condition, he had executed nearly all those movements perfectly.

Those moves in the movie...

Yang Chu abruptly rose from the sofa and looked around. The room was not large, and only the balcony offered a little space to move around.

He walked over, placed both hands on the floor, then gave a light push with his lower body. His body easily rose into a handstand.

His form was standard and precise, without the slightest tilt. His hands, body, and feet were all stretched perfectly straight.

Yang Chu slightly adjusted his center of gravity, lifted his left arm, and performed a one-handed handstand with a single arm supporting him.

After around twenty seconds, Yang Chu planted his feet back on the floor and stood up again.

For most ordinary people, their arms, shoulders, and core were strong enough to support a two-handed handstand, even a one-handed one.

But actually doing it required a great deal of long-term training.

Yet Yang Chu found it easy. It was as if he were operating a machine: if he controlled his body and told it to do something, it would carry it out to the greatest possible extent.

However, because this body had never been trained and lacked muscular strength, he could not hold it for very long.

So, as long as I want to perform a movement the human body can make, I can completely do it by controlling the body's motor system. I don't need long-term training to build muscle memory. The only limits are my own strength and flexibility. As long as my strength and flexibility can keep up, I can perform any movement a human can make.

Simply put, any physical technique that required muscle memory and proficiency to master could be directly achieved through his conscious control over his motor system.

Of course, constrained by the limitations of his body's hardware, he might not be able to perform certain highly difficult human movements to absolute perfection. But for him, technical skill was no longer an obstacle.

The technical movements, or skills, mastered by humans were essentially formed when the conscious mind, through long-term training, allowed the body's subconscious to develop instincts. Those instincts consisted of muscle memory, neural transmission, the motor system, and many other factors.

People each had their own habits and differences when running, walking, or sitting, all gradually formed day after day. Changing them likewise required a long period of conditioning.

With his subconscious gone, Yang Chu no longer had the instincts his body would form through long-term habits or training. But he could directly control his entire motor system through his conscious mind.

It was like his brain setting a program, issuing a command, and his body executing it completely and without compromise.

That meant that as long as Yang Chu had seen and remembered something, he could make his body perform it.

For instance, basketball dribbling required long-term training to develop ball control, as did juggling a soccer ball with one's feet. But as long as Yang Chu had seen similar movements, he could reproduce them exactly.

If he could not do something, it would not be because he lacked proficiency, but because his body's inherent hardware prevented him from completing it.

Flexibility was one example. It was related to the extensibility of a person's bones and joints, ligaments, muscles, tendons, and skin, and varied from individual to individual.

It was like driving a car. He might fully possess the skill to drive on two wheels or drift through turns, but if the vehicle were too heavy, too large, too old, or lacked performance, he would be unable to execute those maneuvers properly.

Then if I want to perform all sorts of complicated, high-difficulty moves like the actors in movies—

Yang Chu turned to glance at the martial arts action movie playing on the living room television and murmured softly, the real issue for me is improving my body's hardware—my strength and flexibility.

As for how to improve those things, Yang Chu touched the bruises gradually fading from his body, as well as the scabbed wound on his head beneath his close-cropped hair, which was nearly ready to fall off. Suddenly, he had an idea.

I can consume large amounts of food and control the systems inside my body to speed up my metabolism and recover from injuries. Then I should be able to use the same method to improve this body's various aspects.

Standing where he was, he suddenly kicked his left leg upward. It easily reached the height of his head.

A faint, mild stabbing pain traveled through the nerves in his thigh to his brain. It was due to the ligament tear from yesterday still recovering.

Yang Chu lowered his leg and stood silently in place for a while before moving again.

He did not perform any other complicated movements. He merely lay facedown on the floor and began doing standard push-ups, one after another.

This body had recovered fairly well, but it was still rather thin and weak compared with most people. Under normal circumstances, it could only manage a dozen or so push-ups.

But the body under Yang Chu's control would not stop because of subconscious protective mechanisms such as muscle soreness. Instead, he accelerated his heartbeat and breathing, allowing his body to endure for as long as possible.

He continued until he had done one hundred and thirty-five push-ups, stopping only when his body could no longer support itself.

He collapsed onto the floor. Some of his muscles were completely overloaded, and he could not even raise his hands.

Yang Chu controlled his body, slowly shifting until he rolled over and lay flat on his back.

He closed his eyes, shutting out the vast amount of information his eyes could receive, and immersed his mind within his body.

His breathing and heartbeat were both rather rapid. Aside from his motor system, all his other systems had entered a relatively high-intensity state under Yang Chu's control.

His metabolism accelerated, the pores on his skin opened, and he began sweating to cool himself. The energy and nutrients stored inside his body circulated through his system to every part of him.

After just five minutes, Yang Chu opened his eyes again and rose from the floor.

He could clearly feel the muscles in his arms, back, thighs, and elsewhere being damaged by the excessive-intensity exercise, then recovering further through his body's rapid metabolism and circulation.

Yang Chu did not stop. He bent down again and began a second set of push-ups. It was the same as the first set, except the number was a little lower. After only one hundred and seventeen, he could no longer move.

Lying on the floor, Yang Chu maintained his body's high-speed metabolism, accelerating the recovery of his muscles and many other aspects.

Afterward, he went to the bathroom to expel his body's waste, then returned to the living room and continued exercising.

This time, he did not do high-intensity push-ups. Instead, he switched to other exercises, such as squats, sit-ups, stretching, and the like.

Gradually, the muscles beneath the skin of Yang Chu's arms, thighs, waist, back, chest, and abdomen seemed to swell slightly. A faint definition appeared, and his strength seemed to have improved somewhat as well.

I need to take in more food.

After exerting himself for who knew how long, Yang Chu stopped and did not continue.

This high-intensity exercise and metabolism had exhausted the small amount of energy and nutrients stored in his body. Continuing to train would have no effect.

By then, the sky outside was gradually growing light.