Just as the abrupt knocking on the door sounded, Fang Cheng had completed a Back Bridge move and was in the midst of leaning back again.
Both hands spread flat on either side of the head, palms pressing the ground to maintain a stable posture.
The whole body was like an arch bridge, suspended at the peak.
Sweat trickled down his temple, yet his breathing remained steady and long.
Only in his eyes, which glanced toward the door, was there a sharp glint.
The rhythm of his workout was interrupted, and a hint of doubt arose in his heart.
The thought had just arisen, but he dismissed it.
She has a key, so she would open the door herself if she wanted to come in. She’d never knock unnecessarily.
Is it Uncle Li Dingjian?
Uncle had told him two days ago that he would accompany that Professor to Tian Nan Province to handle private matters and wouldn’t be back for a week.
Apart from them, the only people who knew the address of the Sea Sky Garden were Zhou Xiumei and Xiao Shuai.
But both had their own matters to attend to.
Unless it was urgent, they would definitely call first instead of coming over silently early in the morning.
He hadn’t ordered any today.
His mind spun, ruling out all possibilities, leaving mostly property management, or... neighbors.
Thinking of the female neighbor next door, whose eyes always carried a bit of mischief when she saw him, as if eyeing a male model.
Fang Cheng couldn’t help but feel a little helpless.
The knocking outside the door paused for a moment, then continued.
The rhythm was neither urgent nor slow, seeming very patient.
Fang Cheng, however, had no intention of getting up, continuing to maintain the upside-down arch bridge position.
His gaze shifted from the door to the heavy stack of weight plates hanging on his body.
Then, he looked at the faint blue screen appearing in his vision.
[Back Bridge lv2 (499/500)]
Only 1 Experience Point short.
His eyes suddenly became sharp.
As if he could already see the invisible barrier right in front, akin to a resilient thin membrane, so close yet stubbornly blocking the way.
Fang Cheng took a deep breath, his chest puffing up, lungs filled with ample oxygen.
The thing he hated most was being disturbed during training.
Right now, even if the king of heaven came, nothing would stop him from achieving this last breakthrough!
Once his mind was set, the external disturbances receded like the tide.
Fang Cheng refocused his consciousness into Absolute Control of his body.
No matter how persistent the knocking, it could no longer stir any ripple in his heart.
He began the final sprint.
Under the 500-pound weight, muscles tightened once more, the body taut like a fully drawn bow.
The spinal vertebrae stretched segment by segment, like a dormant dragon awakening, every muscle connected mobilized.
The next second, a formidable force erupted, pushing his body along with the weight plates to the peak.
Then, he smoothly stood up straight once more.
This wasn’t merely the power of the waist and abdomen.
But starting from the deepest erector spinae, to the mid-layer rhomboid muscle, then to the outer latissimus dorsi and trapezius, all the way to the gluteus maximus, hamstrings...
The entire posterior chain muscle group worked together like precisely meshed cogs, perfectly transmitting and releasing power.
The knocking sounded for a while, seemingly realizing no one was home, finally stopped.
The corridor outside returned to silence, only faintly echoing footsteps growing distant.
Yet, Fang Cheng’s training had just entered its most fervent stage.
The 500-pound weight plates hanging at his waist bore down heavily on his core muscles and arched spine.
Sweat had long soaked through his shorts, trickling down muscle grooves, leaving a small dark stain on the floor.
However, his body remained as steady as a rock.
Neither did he bellow like a beast, nor was there any grimace of pain on his face.
The strong find joy in conquering limits, rather than being crushed by them.
In his world, there was only the deep and long breathing, the pleasurable sensation of muscle fibers tearing, and the limit that loomed ahead, ready to be pierced through.
Each time his body pushed to the peak was an ultimate test of spinal stability.
Each slow backbend down was a precise calibration of muscle control.
Hot steam rose from his body, in the rhythm of breathing and muscle contraction, seemingly containing some primitive and powerful life rhythm.
No one knew how much time passed.
When another perfect Back Bridge motion was completed.
The panel in his vision finally flashed with brilliant light! ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novel-fire.ɴet
[Congratulations, through extraordinary effort and perseverance, your skill has successfully broken through to the Grandmaster Level]
[Back Bridge lv3 (0/1000)]
[Granted Enhancement Reward One: Strength attribute +6 points]
[Granted Enhancement Reward Two: Skill Effect "Ghost Back"]
Almost at the moment the prompt appeared, a warm current rose from the tailbone, rushing along the spine upward, instantly spreading through the entire back.
The previously taut to the extreme, seemingly about to tear the next second, posterior chain muscle group quickly dissipated fatigue under the wash of this warm current, regaining explosive strength.
Filled with joy, Fang Cheng’s eyes swept over the panel, and his heart stirred slightly.
This upgrade unexpectedly came with two enhancement rewards.
Besides the fixed 6 point attribute, there was a new skill effect.
Which was quite rare.
Then, his gaze fell on the new entry, scrutinizing it.
Fang Cheng murmured softly, his eyes sparkling.
Involuntarily, a certain figure from a combat manga floated into his mind.