Chapter 7: Health Cultivation and the Library

At exactly 5 a.m., Xueheng awoke from his slumber, his eyes snapping open with punctuality.

Despite just waking up, he felt no trace of fatigue. He was energetic and alert, as if the mere act of opening his eyes had instantly dispelled any sleepiness.

He opened his skill panel.

[Early to bed and early to rise, Health Cultivation experience +37]



[Health Cultivation Lv1 (236/300)]



The Health Cultivation skill was something Xueheng had activated a week ago.

Based on his observations, it enhanced his physical qualities, significantly improved his sleep quality, and most noticeably, boosted his energy levels.

Ever since activating Health Cultivation, he rarely felt exhausted throughout the day. He was filled with vigor and could immediately act on his thoughts without procrastination. His sleep had also improved, and he could now fall asleep quickly, bidding farewell to insomnia.

It was the most satisfying ordinary skill he had acquired so far.

However, it seemed that the only way to gain experience in this skill was by sleeping and rising early. He had tried taking health supplements and maintaining a regular meal schedule, but those attempts yielded no noticeable results.

Xueheng closed the panel and prepared to get out of bed to freshen up before going for a run. However, he felt a soft, furry sensation on his left arm. Lifting the thin blanket, he found Cat hugging his arm with all four of its white paws, sleeping soundly.

Xueheng felt a slight headache coming on.

The day before, although he had exposed Cat's non-feline identity, he still hadn't gotten it to speak.

As long as Cat didn't talk, he wouldn't be able to obtain information about the 'Divine Substance,' and the unlocking of the "Twin Stars" active effect would remain out of reach.

He couldn't explicitly express his need for this 'Divine Substance.' Anything related to the skill panel was treated with utmost caution, and he had no intention of revealing anything to anyone.

"Oh well, something will come up," he thought to himself.

He gently extracted his arm from Cat's embrace, got out of bed, and pulled the blanket back over Cat, leaving only its head poking out.

With the sky still shrouded in darkness, he made his way to the bathroom and turned on the light to begin his morning routine.

After freshening up, he changed into comfortable athletic wear, put on his sports watch, slipped on his shoes, and headed out for his run.

Not far from Xueheng's residence was a small garden where people often went for walks and leisure. Outside the garden was a red brick path specially built to circle it, providing an ideal route for running when it wasn't too crowded.

At this early hour, Xueheng was the only one there.

With the sky still dark, the street lamps remained lit, illuminating Xueheng as he made his way to the 'track' and began some stretching exercises.

Then, with a speed far surpassing that of an average person, he began his jog, moving at a pace more akin to a full-on sprint for most.

This was his current 'slow' running speed.

One lap, two laps, three laps...

An hour later, Xueheng gradually slowed down and came to a stop.

He was breathing heavily, his entire body drenched in sweat. His feet felt like they were on fire from his toes to his thighs, and his lungs felt as if they were being squeezed by an invisible hand, making it difficult to draw in enough oxygen to relieve the suffocating sensation.

After a few minutes, his breathing finally steadied, and he began to recover. He raised his right hand to check the data on his sports watch.

Running time: 1 hour, 2 minutes, and 13 seconds. Average speed: 18.3 km/h.

This average speed was approaching the level of semi-professional long-distance runners from his previous life.

Running at this pace for an hour without stopping was a strenuous challenge for Xueheng's current physical condition.

He had been running like this every morning recently.

Initially, he wouldn't have been able to maintain this daily routine due to muscle soreness and fatigue.

But ever since activating "Health Cultivation," his body's recovery abilities had increased significantly. No matter how tired he felt, a good night's sleep left him feeling completely rejuvenated.

Xueheng opened the panel.

[You have completed a long-distance run. Running experience +205]



[Running Lv3 (463/800)]



Running for over 18 kilometers had earned him 205 points of experience in the Running skill.

As the skill gained experience and leveled up, all aspects related to running would be enhanced.

His posture and technique would become more refined, allowing him to run faster while reducing the risk of injury. He would instinctively know how to generate more power with each stride, minimize air resistance, and breathe in a rhythm that complemented his pace.

His physical attributes also received a boost, particularly his lung capacity and leg explosiveness.

Xueheng glanced at the "Fitness" skill.

[You have completed a long-distance run. Fitness experience +32]



[Fitness Lv2 (288/500)]



He made his way to a bench in the garden and sat down to rest.

"Ah, that feels good."

He was exhausted, but the tangible sense of self-improvement far outweighed the fatigue, filling him with a sense of satisfaction.

Even without considering the skill panel's growth rate, simply being able to clearly see his progress was an incredible advantage.

It was similar to how some people struggled to maintain their motivation when studying or working out, but could stay up for days playing video games, all because they could clearly see their progress and improvements in the game.

The kind of certainty that comes with real-time feedback, the expectation of knowing for sure that you will be strong in the future, can motivate most people from the heart to exert tremendous drive.

This is almost half a step into the sage realm of 'unity of knowledge and action'.

By now, it was already past six o'clock, the sky had brightened, and people were starting to appear.

Xueheng wiped the sweat from his forehead and slowly made his way home.

When he returned home, he took off his clothes and threw them into the washing machine. He walked into the bathroom to rinse off, feeling refreshed.

At this time, Cat was still asleep. Even though they had slept together yesterday, this cat's internal clock was clearly not that of a normal cat.

Xueheng went to the kitchen, took out six eggs from the refrigerator and put them in a pot. He poured in just enough water to cover the eggs and placed the pot on the induction cooker to boil.

He then poured a large bottle of pure milk into another pot and heated it on the gas stove until it was hot. He turned off the heat, added oatmeal and some sugar, and made a pot of sweet oatmeal milk.

He also took out the bread slices that were leftover from yesterday morning's breakfast from the cabinet. This was his breakfast for the day.

Because it was too simple and couldn't really be considered cooking, his "Cooking" experience did not increase.

Xueheng ate four of the hard-boiled eggs and peeled the remaining two, placing them on a small plate. He also left some of the oatmeal milk and bread on the table for Cat to eat when it woke up.

Even though this cat's persistent refusal to communicate frustrated him, Xueheng was still grateful to it for bringing about the transformation of his skill panel.

After preparing breakfast, Xueheng changed into his school uniform, slung his backpack over one shoulder, and casually picked up a dart from the dartboard stand.

As he opened the front door, he turned and threw the dart, not bothering to check the result as he walked out, closed the door, and locked it.

On the dartboard hanging in the corner of the wall, a dart was embedded right in the bullseye.

[Bullseye. Aiming experience +1]



Xueheng left his house and walked for a while before boarding a bus. After three stops, during which he gained some Charm technique experience from the glances of the female students on the bus, he arrived at Qingcheng Affiliated High School.

It was now around 6:30 in the morning, and the school gate was bustling with people. Xueheng followed the crowd into the campus, but instead of heading towards his class, he made his way towards the building opposite the Affiliated High School's teaching building.

As an affiliated high school of Qingcheng University, Qingcheng Affiliated High School was connected to the university campus, allowing students to visit each other freely.

Xueheng was headed to the Qingcheng University Library.

In this world, there existed some abnormal things that did not exist on Earth in his previous life.

However, due to various considerations, the official information blockade on this matter was quite strict. Some information could be found online, but it was always vague and lacking in detail.

Just because it couldn't be found online didn't mean it couldn't be found at Qingcheng University Library.

As one of the top universities in the outer ring, the students who studied there were future social elites and had the privilege to know some hidden truths.

Xueheng was a student in the elite class of Qingcheng Affiliated High School.

Being in a special class, the students naturally received special treatment. As long as the elite class students maintained their grades and their elite status, they could choose not to take the college entrance examination and instead be directly admitted to Qingcheng University upon graduation.

Because of this, elite class students were already granted some privileges enjoyed by Qingcheng University students, such as... accessing the seventh floor of the university library.

Anyone, including students from the affiliated high school, could access the first six floors of the library. However, the seventh floor was off-limits except to Qingcheng University students or affiliated high school elite class students. It housed archives and literature that couldn't be found online.

Out of curiosity, Xueheng had visited the seventh floor once before, but the sheer volume of literature and the lack of a computer system for search and retrieval made it difficult to find the information he sought. He hadn't returned since.

However, this was currently his only option to find information about the 'Divine Substance', so he could only come here and search for a needle in a haystack.

The Qingcheng University Library occupied a vast area, with several turnstiles at the entrance. Xueheng took out his library card and swiped it at the turnstile, passing through the gate and into the library.

He went straight up to the sixth floor without stopping and then proceeded to the stairs leading to the seventh floor, where another turnstile was located. He swiped his card again and entered the seventh floor.

In contrast to the modern decor of the first six floors, the seventh floor of the library was simple and unadorned. Old bookshelves, old tables and chairs, old books and documents, and old-fashioned yellow lamps hanging from the ceiling—all of these gave one the feeling of having traveled back in time upon entering.

However, this floor had a sense of historical depth that was lacking in the lower floors.

Usually, there were very few visitors to the seventh floor, especially at this early hour. So, Xueheng was surprised to find a young girl already sitting in the resting area amidst the old tables and chairs.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end