Chapter 174 - 127: The Scientific Operating Principles of Inner Power?

’My attributes are already skyrocketing from just this little bit of exercise?’

Chen Jue stared at the activity on his panel, finding it hard to believe.

Lately, he had clearly felt his attribute gains from ordinary exercise dropping off significantly.

It wasn’t like when he first got the panel, where simply skipping a stone, riding a bike, or climbing some stairs would make his stats shoot up.

Yesterday’s swimming workout had been so efficient because being in the water subjected his body to resistance and pressure, increasing his exertion several times over compared to normal.

He hadn’t expected that after putting on just two small pieces of gear, the training effect would rival that of swimming. It was truly beyond his expectations.

’No wonder Li Rui needed to spend so much time compiling all that information. These new training methods really can’t be compared to ordinary exercise,’ Chen Jue thought to himself.

After finishing a set of pull-ups, he took off the [Oxygen-Blocking Mask] during his rest break.

You couldn’t wear it continuously. Wearing it for too long could easily cause hypoxia symptoms similar to altitude sickness, which could damage the body.

For this reason, Li Rui had specifically highlighted the precautions for using this type of equipment in the custom training plan he sent over.

It was precisely because of these significant risks that the stability-focused sports world in Huaxia hadn’t promoted it on a large scale.

As for the [Blood Restriction Blockade], Chen Jue had strapped on four in total: one pair on his arms and another on his thighs.

After doing 30 pull-ups, Chen Jue could clearly feel a swelling and a sore, numb sensation in his limbs. The bulging of his muscles was also much more pronounced than usual.

’Let’s try again!’

Seeing this, Chen Jue rested for half a minute before putting the [Oxygen-Blocking Mask] back on.

This time, he didn’t use the [Assisted Parallel Bars] for pull-ups. Instead, he sat down at a [Sitting Rowing Trainer], first adjusting the weight to 200 lbs, then grabbed the handle with both hands and pulled. He lifted it with ease.

’That easy?’

Chen Jue was a little surprised. He vaguely remembered that when he first started at the Yi Lian Gym, even pulling 80 lbs had been quite a struggle.

He hadn’t realized that after training for a while, the strength in his arms had increased so much!

He had only been doing equipment-free Street Fitness before and hadn’t measured his arm’s pulling strength in detail, so he didn’t have a good sense of it yet. Acting on a hunch, Chen Jue cranked the weight up to 400 lbs.

lbs was the maximum weight for this [Sitting Rowing Trainer] at the Jiang University public gym. Chen Jue gave it a hard pull with both hands and still found it easy, lifting it without much effort.

’No way!’

’Am I really this strong after taking pre-workout?’ Unconvinced, Chen Jue switched from two hands to one.

This time, he met resistance. With only one hand, the 400 lb weight didn’t budge an inch.

After a few more adjustments, he eventually determined that his max for a single arm was 300 lbs.

However, that was his one-arm strength limit, which wasn’t suitable for training. So, Chen Jue adjusted the weight down to 150 lbs for one-arm rows.

Alternating between his left and right hands, he did 30 reps per set. After completing five sets, a notification popped up on his panel again:

——————

[Ding~]

[You have completed an anaerobic exercise that surpasses your limits. The blood flow in your upper limbs was obstructed by external pressure, accelerating the metabolic function in the area. Through mechanical bursts of power, your upper limb and back muscle groups have been trained with extreme efficiency.]

[Strength Attribute +0.02]

——————

"Hiss... Whoosh..."

"This is insane!"

Chen Jue ripped the mask off his face, gasping for fresh air.

Five sets of one-arm rows normally wouldn’t be that taxing. But with the combined effects of the [Oxygen-Blocking Mask] and the [Blood Restriction Blockade], his exertion skyrocketed as if he had used a [3x Experience Scroll], and the training results naturally followed.

Moreover, Chen Jue noticed that after finishing the one-arm rows, the muscles at the restricted points on his arms looked noticeably thicker and larger.

The visual impact of the bulging muscles made it look as if they had been pumped full of air.

’This effect is a bit like Popeye the Sailor after eating spinach... Wait! This looks like that Inner Power technique from Primordial Hand Old Playful!’

Staring at his now-thicker arms, Chen Jue suddenly remembered the video blogger he’d been following who could use Inner Power.

He quickly opened his phone, searched for Primordial Hand Old Playful’s past videos, and looked through them. Sure enough, Chen Jue spotted similar bands on the man’s wrists.

However, the man was wearing traditional Martial Arts wrist guards, whereas Chen Jue was using Western-style [BFR Blood Flow Restriction Bands] that allowed for manual pressure adjustment, which was clearly more rational and scientific.

’In other words, Old Playful expands his hands by channeling Inner Power using a principle similar to BFRT’s blood flow restriction?’ Chen Jue’s eyes gleamed as if he had discovered some incredible secret.

But then he saw another video where Primordial Hand Old Playful could actively make his hands swell up without wearing any wrist guards, which left Chen Jue a bit dumbfounded.

’This old man definitely has real skills!’

’He can achieve a similar effect of muscle hypertrophy and engorgement without any external restraints.’

’There must be something else at play here besides just the principle of blood flow restriction.’ Chen Jue put down his phone, analyzing the situation and feeling a growing sense of wonder.

He felt that among the billion-plus people in Huaxia, there were truly crouching tigers and hidden dragons.

This was because Primordial Hand Old Playful’s Inner Power didn’t just cause localized swelling in his limbs; it also significantly enhanced the Resistance Ability of his hands. After activating his power, he could smash concrete slabs, making him far more impressive than those Inch Fist charlatans who break bricks.

’When I get the chance, I should pay this master a visit and see if I can learn his Inner Power.’

’If the panel could register it as a Skill, it would definitely be a huge help to me!’ Chen Jue thought, pushing aside his stray thoughts. He put the [Oxygen-Blocking Mask] back on and resumed his training.

「...」

He lifted weights in the gym for a total of 60 minutes. Aided by the two new pieces of training gear, his attribute values kept getting critical boosts, like landing 999-damage hits on a private server.

After one hour of training, his [Strength] Attribute had accumulated a total gain of 0.08, his [Constitution] Attribute gained 0.03, and he even earned 0.04 free attribute points.

And these Attribute gains weren’t just limited to his arms; they were distributed throughout the muscles in his entire body, affecting his upper limbs, lower limbs, and core muscle groups.

The gains in the [Constitution] Attribute were mainly concentrated in his cardiopulmonary function, as one piece of equipment restricted oxygen supply and the other restricted blood supply, corresponding directly to the heart and lungs.

In addition, Chen Jue also tested his legs’ explosive power. Using the leg press machine in the gym, he successfully pressed a full 600 kilograms of weight plates.

Such an astonishing leg press weight left Wang Xin and his group of self-disciplined friends completely dumbfounded!

One by one, they stood to the side, calling their senior a monster. They snapped a photo to motivate themselves later, and also to show off online and let netizens marvel at the god-like figure from Jiang University.

However, the leg press machine is known in fitness circles as a "confidence booster," and the data it provides isn’t entirely accurate.

Because it’s built on a 45-degree incline, if you calculate it using the trigonometric formula of sin(45°), the actual weight acting on the legs is only about 70% of the loaded plate mass.

By this calculation, the maximum explosive strength of Chen Jue’s legs was around 420 kilograms.

Compared to his more astonishing upper body strength, Chen Jue’s lower body strength was indeed still a bit weak and required more training.

Of course, such high returns from just over an hour of training didn’t come without a price.

With more than 40 minutes still remaining on the Temporary Attributes from his pre-workout, Chen Jue was already completely unable to continue training.

He felt as if his body had been hollowed out, a weakness on par with the lead-filled exhaustion he’d felt after yesterday’s swimming session.

However, the panel didn’t show the [Extreme Fatigue] negative buff like yesterday. Instead, it only displayed a [High Fatigue] debuff.

Apparently, after two days of attribute increases and continuous training, his body was slowly beginning to adapt to this kind of high-intensity exercise that pushed beyond its limits.

While resting in the gym, Chen Jue watched Wang Xin and the others train, studying their form on the machines, and finished off the supplements he had brought with him.

Once his stamina had recovered slightly, he allocated all the free attribute points he had just earned to [Constitution]. The four miraculous streams of warmth from the upgrade instantly reduced his [High Fatigue] to [Mild Fatigue].

Under the [Mild Fatigue] status, Chen Jue could finally move about freely again and could walk without fear of collapsing.

So, he said goodbye to Wang Xin and the others, left the Jiang University campus, and took a taxi straight to Tianyu for a massage and stretching session.

He had been thinking about finding time to learn yoga so he could practice stretching exercises at home in the evenings.

But when he saw that the [Mild Fatigue] status on his panel hadn’t disappeared even after the massage, Chen Jue temporarily shelved the idea.

After the stretching and rehabilitative massage, Chen Jue had the buffet dinner at Tianyu and then returned to his apartment early to rest in a medicinal bath.

Before bed, he rubbed medicinal liquor and applied balms to the muscle groups he had worked out. Under the influence of the [Mild Fatigue] status, he unknowingly drifted off to sleep.

「...」

After a night’s sleep, Chen Jue woke up to a slight soreness and stinging pain throughout his body. The [Mild Fatigue] negative buff was still there.

Apparently, he had trained too intensely yesterday. The after-effects of the oxygen and blood restriction were too strong, rendering his usual three-pronged recovery routine largely ineffective.

’Guess I’ll rest for a day!’ Chen Jue muttered to himself, deciding not to even go up to the rooftop terrace.

As the morning sun rose, he pulled open the curtains and sat cross-legged on his bed, massaging his eyes and ears.

After 40 minutes, his mind felt increasingly clear, and he was surprised to see a new notification pop up on his panel:

——————

[Ding~]

[Through long-term acupoint stimulation and special mechanical wave resonance, your optic nerves and auditory center have been trained with extreme effectiveness. The cerebral cortex and brainstem responsible for audiovisual functions have undergone an extremely subtle change.]

[Your visual and auditory abilities have slightly increased, and your reaction speed has been enhanced. You have become more sensitive to changes in your external environment.]

[Constitution Attribute +0.01]

[Spirit Attribute +0.01]