Starting with Push-ups: Liver Experience Directory 50

Chapter 50: Synthesis

The early winter sun, like a bright orange, illuminated the quiet, cold city.

Soft light pierced the thin fog, reflecting off the glass and onto the empty space in the room.

A muscular figure, clad only in shorts, repeatedly bent his knees, thrusting his hips upward as he stood, engaged in training.

Beads of sweat slowly emerged along his back.

They rolled and flowed, tracing the clearly defined lines of his muscles.

Bathed in sunlight, they shimmered with a strange beauty.

Each time he squatted, his thigh muscles bulged, as if concealing explosive power.

“Whew—”

Fang Cheng exhaled, straightening his body and wiping the sweat from his chest and back with a towel.

After a two-minute rest, he continued with another set of single-leg squats.

Two days had passed since his scheduled fight with Goro Majima.

Although he was on sick leave, Fang Cheng couldn’t stay idle and resumed training this morning.

His shoulder dislocation was healing as expected.

The injury to his left shoulder was minor, and he felt it was almost completely healed.

His right shoulder, while not painful, still felt unusual, making strenuous exercise unsuitable for now.

Considering his current physical condition, Fang Cheng adjusted his training plan.

Besides practicing his legwork, he focused on squats.

This approach resulted in rapid growth in individual skill experience.

His squat skill, in particular, was visibly approaching the 250 mark.

“…”

“698.”

“699.”

“700.”

Fang Cheng silently counted the repetitions, then let out a long breath, his body relaxing as he straightened his legs.

“Training complete!”

In the sunlight, the light blue screen was exceptionally bright.

[Focus Experience +4]
[Squat Experience +59]
[Free Fighting Experience +13]
………………
[Squat lv1 (226/250)]
[Free Fighting lv1 (140/250)]

Fang Cheng glanced at the information on the panel and nodded in satisfaction.

He was another step closer to upgrading his skills.

The rewards were quite good; he would keep pushing himself.

He looked up at the calendar on the wall: December 15th.

Then his eyes flickered, and he murmured to himself:

“Hopefully, my shoulder will be healed by the time Zheng Haokang arrives…”

He had agreed to fight in Majima Goro’s place, to test the true strength of this newly crowned world-class boxing champion.

His thoughts shifted abruptly, and Fang Cheng quickly went to the bathroom.

He prepared to shower and then start studying for his postgraduate entrance examination.

………………………………

Ding-ding-ding—

On his desk, the alarm clock let out a piercing ring.

Fang Cheng immediately put down his pen, dropped his book, and pressed the stop button.

At the same time, several lines of small text scrolled across his vision.

[Your Focus skill experience +3]
[Your Speed Reading skill experience +3]

Fang Cheng’s eyes were bright, showing no signs of fatigue.

His forehead and temples didn’t feel the throbbing pain usually associated with prolonged mental exertion.

In the past, using two mental skills simultaneously for more than an hour and a half would trigger a warning message from the panel.

Now that his mental attribute had broken through to 20 points, it was like having a much larger “mana bar.” The previous skill consumption was negligible.

His learning efficiency was significantly higher as a result.

After putting away his postgraduate entrance exam materials, Fang Cheng picked up a brand-new book.

It read: “New Edition Japanese Language Tutorial.”

He had bought it from a nearby bookstore after visiting Majima Goro two days ago.

Since he intended to gather more information from Majima Goro, Fang Cheng wasn’t content with relying on others for translation.

These few days, besides self-studying Japanese at home, he frequently visited Majima Goro in the hospital to chat.

They talked about martial arts, life, or even international political changes and the mysteries of the universe…

Most of the time, they were like two people who didn’t understand each other, staring at each other blankly.

Fang Cheng treated it as oral practice to gain experience.

As for Cui Xiuying’s slightly reproachful gaze, he simply ignored it.

“Dog fry aunt dead.”

“Auntie washes the railway.”

Fang Cheng used authentic Osaka dialect to recite some commonly used colloquialisms.

The entire content of the textbook was actually memorized by him on the day he bought it, using the “Focus” and “Speed Reading” skills.

Now, he was just reviewing and reciting to deepen his understanding.

As he was reading, Fang Cheng suddenly felt something stir within him.

It was as if a shackle had been unlocked, and inspiration flowed like a spring, continuously welling up.

At the same time, several message prompts appeared before him.

[You have reached a certain proficiency in foreign language learning and successfully mastered a language skill]
[Unlocked skill: Japanese lv0 (0/100)]

Fang Cheng’s eyes widened slightly.

He felt that the knowledge points that had been poured into his mind instantly blended together, achieving thorough understanding at this moment.

“This effect…”

Feeling the qualitative change brought about by mastering the skill, Fang Cheng couldn’t help but exclaim softly.

His current language proficiency was basically equivalent to that of a genuine Japanese language graduate.

Simple communication should be no problem; at least there would be no significant communication barriers.

Unfortunately…

Skills acquired before the panel was activated seemed to be excluded and couldn’t be displayed.

Otherwise, adding English, a required subject at school, and his native language, he could unlock three language skills at once.

If he learned another foreign language and successfully mastered four similar skills, wouldn’t he be able to try synthesizing excellent, extraordinary, or even epic-level talents earlier?

Thinking of this, Fang Cheng’s eyes shone, and he felt even more motivated.

It was just a matter of learning more foreign languages.

For someone with high mental attributes and two learning skills, this wasn’t a difficult task.

Based on his current learning speed, it was definitely easier than fitness or martial arts training.

………………………………

Chop chop chop!

The kitchen knife danced rapidly on the cutting board, slicing a pork leg.

The cold light flashed, the blade first lightly scraping, then quickly pushing with the hand, separating the bone from the meat.

Then, using the bone seam, the knife tip was used to remove the connective tissue and lymph nodes.

Finally, the separated pork leg was cut into square pieces.

Fang Cheng stood in front of the stove, skillfully processing the ingredients he bought from the morning market.

In the living room behind him, the television screen flickered, playing a foreign horror movie.

Terrifying screams echoed.

With money, he couldn’t skimp on food.

Fang Cheng’s current dietary standard had improved considerably.

It wasn’t comparable to that of celebrity martial arts athletes, but it essentially met the standards of an ordinary athlete.

He finished disassembling the pork leg, removing the bones cleanly.

He kept two pieces of meat for stir-frying later, and stored the rest in the refrigerator.

The remaining bones could also be used to make soup.

Fang Cheng planned to make a delicious meal tomorrow and take it to the hospital, and personally tell his mother about the settled surgical fees.

As for this afternoon?

Looking at the “Cooking Experience +2” message that appeared before him, Fang Cheng pondered.

He could bother Majima Goro again, showcasing his language talent to improve his skill proficiency.

That would probably surprise him more than his martial arts skills.

After that, he had to go to Master Lin’s bone-setting clinic to volunteer in the evening.

Along the way, he would learn bone-setting and other medical techniques.

Although he was on sick leave, his life was still so busy and fulfilling.

Fang Cheng thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of making progress and gaining something new every day.
(End of Chapter)

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