Before dawn, before the sky breaks.
The entire city still lies in deep slumber.
Along the coast of Guilan District, there’s neither the noise of vehicles nor the trace of pedestrians.
Only the sound of the tide echoes tirelessly in the darkness.
The waves surge onto the beach, soaking a large area of the fine sand, then slowly retreat with a muted roar.
At this moment, there’s a figure in a blue tracksuit, running on the beach.
His steps are steady and rhythmic, silent as if equipped with a precision shock absorber.
Only a series of evenly deep footsteps quickly appear on the moist sand along his running path.
In an instant, they are smoothed and erased by the next wave, disappearing without a trace.
The figure moves through the boundless night.
On one side is the blurred outline of the city, countless tall buildings sketching out a jagged silhouette.
On the other side, the sea and sky are chaotically connected, a bottomless pitch-black expanse.
The runner between them seems to form the moving brushstroke in this tranquil picture.
As time passes, a faint hint of dawn begins to appear on the horizon.
The night starts to fade, the city’s outline gradually gains clarity.
Each surge of the waves now carries more power, the sound of them hitting the beach grows increasingly resounding.
As if the whole world awakens with his run.
The figure does not pause, continuing along the coastline.
The flat beach gradually disappears, replaced by a region of jagged rocks.
Without stopping, he exerts his legs, agile as a monkey, navigating the slippery rocks, eventually stepping onto a winding upward path.
At the end of this path stands a solitary white lighthouse, perched on the edge of a cliff.
He finally halts, standing at the cliff’s edge. For original chapters go to noveⅼfire.net
The rising morning light gently spills over his shoulders, illuminating his sharply defined face.
His eyes are bright and piercing, glowing strikingly in the weak light.
Fang Cheng gently exhales a long breath of white air.
Letting the salty sea breeze blow against him, enjoying the comfort of heat dissipating from exercise.
Below is a cliff over a hundred meters high, nearly vertical.
Waves persistently crash against the rocks at the base, stirring up mounds of white spray.
The vast ocean stretches beneath him, like a dull-glossed black satin.
In the distance, the sound of engines faintly roars.
Diligent fishing boats have already departed early, leaving a long white trail across the sea.
Fang Cheng performs some chest-expanding movements, stretching his limbs, his joints emit a series of crisp pops.
Then he raises his wrist to glance at his sports watch.
The screen displays a set of data:
[Distance, 20.3 kilometers]
[Time, 16 minutes 47 seconds]
[Pace, 49.6 seconds/km]
This running distance is already equivalent to a half-marathon.
The pace nears four times the world champion record.
Fang Cheng’s mind briefly shifts, and another light blue screen appears before him.
[Running Experience +5]
[Running Lv1 (53/250)]
Comparing the two sets of data, Fang Cheng nods slightly.
The steady long-distance run today yielded decent training results.
Since moving into Sea Sky Garden, in the past two days he can finally push his physical limits without concern.
The experience points for various fighting and fitness skills are steadily growing.
At exactly four in the morning today, he woke up.
But unlike usual, he didn’t start his morning exercises in his home gym.
Instead, he ran to the deserted seaside first, practiced a set of Air Attack amidst the silent darkness.
Facing the tides, fist wind roaring, leg shadows like whips, completing the fighting skills training in tune with the sound of the waves.
Then, along the long coastline, he ran back and forth until now.
It is now five nineteen.
According to his original morning schedule, he should return to the gym in Sea Sky Garden to complete the remaining six core physical training exercises.
However, standing atop this cliff, feeling the sound of the tide coming from the abyss below, Fang Cheng suddenly changes his mind.
At this moment, the sky isn’t fully bright, the surroundings are extremely quiet.
The location he finds himself in is just blocked from view by the lighthouse and several stubbornly growing pine trees, forming a natural secluded training ground.
Fang Cheng casts his gaze toward the base of the cliff.
There, the rocks are jagged, the white spray tirelessly crashes and shatters.
The cliff face is like a knife edge, steep and daunting.
For any ordinary person, losing their footing here means certain death.
Fang Cheng recalls the extreme athletes he saw in online videos.
They practice push-ups on the edge of skyscraper rooftops or handstands with bare hands.
Using such extremely perilous environments to stimulate nerves, forcibly concentrate the spirit, honing their skills, breaking their own limits.
The height of this cliff before him, for someone possessing extraordinary air suspension skills and freakish physical attributes like himself, does not present a true deadly threat.
Yet the psychological pressure of standing at the edge of the abyss remains equally real.
Perhaps, he could also try it out here.
With this thought, Fang Cheng looks at his Skill Panel.
[Handstand Push-up Lv2 (493/500)]
Just 7 experience points short of leveling up.
Fang Cheng’s eyes flicker slightly, and he soon makes a decision.
Why not complete today’s handstand push-up training here, incidentally achieving a skill breakthrough?
Come to think of it, compared to being in a confined gym.
Fang Cheng enjoys breathing with the wind and the sea in this open natural setting more.