Chapter 38: Super Physique

The faucet turned on.

The showerhead sprayed.

The water cascaded down like a waterfall, crashing directly onto his head.

"Ah, so comfortable—"

Fang Cheng closed his eyes contentedly and let out a long breath.

He allowed the cool tap water to flow over his face, chest, hands, and feet, washing away the sweat and heat of his exertion.

To be able to enjoy a thorough shower after a workout was simply one of life's greatest pleasures.

Rubbing his face vigorously with both hands, Fang Cheng opened his eyes.

Then, he adjusted the faucet toward the red arrow.

The cold water quickly transformed into hot water at over forty degrees Celsius.

Feeling the stimulation brought by the alternating temperatures, Fang Cheng squeezed out some body wash, applied it all over his body, and began to lather up quickly.

A few minutes later.

He changed into a clean tank top and shorts, pulled back the curtain, and stepped out of the shower stall in his slippers.

He felt a sense of freshness and clarity in every pore after the bath.

The toxins, stress, and anxiety accumulated from long hours of exercise had all been washed away.

While drying his hair with a towel, Fang Cheng walked to the sink and looked at himself in the mirror.

His muscles were robust, and his physique was well-proportioned.

The bruises left behind from the brawl with the thugs at the night market had long since vanished without a trace.

His arms, shoulders, chest, abdomen, and thighs looked as if they had been re-sculpted, their lines becoming smooth and powerful.

His abdomen, in particular, featured clearly defined six-pack abs that made one want to reach out and touch them.

"Lean in clothes, muscular when undressed."

Perhaps that was exactly how he looked now.

Fang Cheng clenched his fists tightly, feeling the power surging through his body, and a slight smile curled at the corners of his mouth.

"The feeling of getting stronger is truly great!"

With the buff of the "Solitary One" effect, his training efficiency had significantly improved.

His muscle mass was increasing visibly to the naked eye.

Now that his Constitution had reached 20 points, his physical recovery speed was beginning to show signs of far surpassing that of an ordinary person.

Fang Cheng's eyes flickered as he looked at the panel to inspect the gains from this morning's training.

【Focus Experience +5】 【Boxing Experience +7】 【Sanda Experience +10】 【Push-up Experience +41】 【Squat Experience +46】 【Leg Raise Experience +30】 【Pull-up Experience +30】 【Back Bridge Experience +30】

The experience growth for five of the fitness skills had nearly tripled.

To verify the actual effects of 20 points of Constitution, Fang Cheng had intentionally increased the intensity after his daily training to perform extreme supplemental workouts.

Within an hour and a half, he had completed a total of 500 decline push-ups, 500 single-leg squats, and 90 back bridges.

Then, gripping the bedroom doorframe, he performed 120 consecutive pull-ups and 120 hanging leg raises.

He only used "Potential Activation" to fully restore his stamina once he was completely exhausted.

This was likely the current limit of his physical endurance.

Even among world-class athletes, he would undoubtedly be considered an elite.

Fang Cheng pondered privately, his gaze shifting to a skill on the panel that was currently in a grey, sealed state.

"Potential Activation..."

If he hadn't been pushing himself for the sake of progress, 20 points of Constitution would have been more than enough to handle twice his usual training intensity.

Furthermore, with his increased Mental attribute, unlocking new skills had become relatively easier.

Perhaps he could consider keeping the cooldown of Potential Activation and using it as a true trump card...

The thought flashed through his mind quickly.

After admiring his physique for a moment, Fang Cheng didn't linger.

He put on his jacket, picked up the bag containing his clothes, and headed outside.

This was a public bathhouse located next to the residential tenement building where he lived.

Since his home lacked a private bathroom, Fang Cheng had to walk a bit whenever he wanted to shower.

Fortunately, it was quite cheap; a hot shower cost only five yuan for under half an hour.

Several middle-aged women were sitting by the entrance chatting; seeing Fang Cheng come out, their gazes all turned toward him.

"Hello, Auntie Li."

Fang Cheng offered a casual greeting.

Having come here to shower after every morning workout on his rest days, he was quite familiar with the bathhouse proprietress.

However, the way these middle-aged women looked at people was so intense that it made him feel somewhat embarrassed.

"Hello, hello, hello."

Auntie Li responded with a beaming smile, nodding repeatedly.

Watching Fang Cheng's retreating back, her eyes were full of satisfaction as she muttered to herself

"So handsome, such a good body, and so polite and clean. What a wonderful young man. It would be so great if he could be my son-in-law..."

Hearing her self-muttering, the expression of an auntie sitting next to her changed slightly.

She then lowered her voice to gossip

"I heard from someone that Fang Cheng's dead father was a murderer. Sister-in-law Li, you'd better be careful."

"Is that so?"

Auntie Li gave her a flat look.

"Last time at the market, didn't I see you chatting away with Sister Biyun, trying to introduce your daughter to Fang Cheng?"

The woman was instantly embarrassed and hurriedly changed the subject.

The exchange between the two, however, set the minds of the other women racing.

Common folk valued character and ability.

Family background and such were things only the wealthy cared about.

To put it bluntly, everyone living here was from the bottom of society, a mix of all walks of life.

If one truly dug into eight generations of ancestry, no one's background was particularly clean.

Therefore, a child with good looks, discipline, and ambition was seen by the neighbors as a "potential stock"—a prize worth competing for.

If they waited another year or two, they might not even get a chance.

"Ten large beef buns and two bags of soy milk, please pack them up for me..."

Fang Cheng stood before a breakfast stall downstairs, pulling his wallet from his pocket with one hand.

Because of his high Mental attribute, he could still clearly hear the whispered gossip of the neighborhood aunties from the bathhouse diagonally across from him.

"Ah Cheng, are you off today? You have quite an appetite!"

The shop owner was an honest-looking middle-aged man. He asked with a smile while using tongs to put meat buns into plastic bags.

Fang Cheng nodded with a smile in response but offered no further explanation.

He then picked up the two bags and walked slowly toward his home, stepping through puddles of accumulated water.

As he approached the tenement building, he saw an electric tricycle delivering gas canisters parked at the entrance.

Two people were standing in front of the vehicle, engaged in a heated argument over bargaining.

"50 yuan? That's too expensive!"

"Brother, how about 20?"

"We're out working in this cold weather; it's only a 5-yuan increase per floor."

"It's not even cold today, the sun is out. Make it a bit cheaper, just half price..."

Zhou Xiumei was not wearing a scarf as she usually did; her small, rosy mouth was moving incessantly.

Holding her wallet, she pulled out several banknotes and tried to force them into the hands of a short, stocky delivery man.

The delivery man, however, kept shaking his head and waving his hands in refusal.

"Sorry, let me do it."

At that moment, a tall, thin figure walked between the two, reaching out to take the gas canister sitting on the ground.

Zhou Xiumei turned her head, her mouth slightly agape as if startled, and hurriedly urged

"Cheng-ge, it's too heavy, you won't be able to carry it..."

Seeing this, the delivery man grumbled in dissatisfaction

"If there's a man at home, you should have said so earlier. Such a hassle, wasting so much breath..."

Fang Cheng gripped the protective guard of the gas canister with one hand and lifted it casually, heading toward the stairs.

A steel canister weighing nearly fifty kilograms, filled with liquefied gas, felt as light and simple as a carton of milk in his hands.

Witnessing this, the delivery man's eyes widened, and he immediately shut his mouth.

Zhou Xiumei's cheeks flushed pink as she followed behind him, unsure of what to do.