Chapter 9: Astonishing Fist Power

Shiyu clenched his fists tightly, then slowly relaxed them, quietly savoring the surging power within his body.

After sitting in meditation for a moment, he rose and greeted his younger sister, Bai Yue, making a point to remind her not to forget to drink the small cup of Monkey Wine.

As for where it came from, he naturally gave the excuse that it was a reward from school—a kind of high-energy drink that could strengthen the body.

Then he messaged his aunt, who had yet to return home, and headed out to the adjacent Yujing Bay residential complex for his daily training.

Because Shiyu’s family lived in an older community where the management fees couldn’t support certain facilities, they didn’t have an exclusive training hall.

The martial arts training center in Yujing Bay covered about two thousand square meters, like a grand hall dedicated to warriors.

It was fully equipped with a martial arts classroom, physical fitness area, weapons training zone, combat simulation section, a quiet library, and a comfortable rest area.

More importantly, individual self-training was free of charge once membership was processed.

Such community-affiliated public martial arts halls usually had a public welfare nature, with no intention of profit.

Of course, if one wanted to find a suitable martial arts instructor for guidance, the tuition could be quite steep.

Every evening, Shiyu came here to train for at least two hours, from eight to ten.

He strode straight to the basic physical training area on the second floor.

Here, one could test punching power, speed, reflexes, as well as various strength, balance, and muscle stretching equipment—everything imaginable.

At this time, the physical training area was not crowded; most people were clustered in the combat simulation zone.

After all, basic training was tedious and far less exciting than actual combat.

“Now that my physique has reached a terrifying level sixteen, I wonder if my punching power truly meets the national standard strength data.”

The martial arts system had been well-developed in Daxia for centuries.

Physique, fully termed the Physical Fitness Index, was one of the key criteria for measuring a warrior’s strength.

It encompassed speed, strength, endurance, reflexes, resistance, and more, all synthesized through big data.

Each level of physique had corresponding standards.

For example, the passing line for high school graduates was level six physique.

Correspondingly, punching power was 300 kilograms, speed 8 meters per second.

For university graduates, the dual-ten benchmark applied: level ten physique, standard punching power of 1000 kilograms, speed of 12 meters per second.

Shiyu’s current level sixteen physique already surpassed the entry thresholds of Daxia’s major martial arts organizations.

There were hundreds of registered martial arts organizations nationwide.

Among them, the five most powerful and renowned were Pangu, Kunlun, Taihang, Qiyao, and Tianheng.

One of the requirements to join these organizations was a physique level of at least fifteen.

The military’s standard was somewhat lower, requiring only the dual-ten benchmark, as their focus was on large-scale frontal battles emphasizing collective strength and multi-system coordinated strikes.

Martial arts organizations, however, valued individual innate martial power more, using their members as sharp blades to tear open battle lines.

Thus, in wars against otherworldly forces, the military and martial arts groups often cooperated, complementing each other and both indispensable.

...

Shiyu approached the punching power testing machine and took a few deep breaths.

Relaxing his body, his gaze suddenly sharpened like a leopard locking onto its prey, and he burst forth with explosive force.

“Boom!”

All his strength converged at his feet as he stamped the ground with a thunderous sound.

The power surged like a tidal wave, flowing through his waist and hips, along his taut, bowstring-like spine, and gushed into his right fist.

His iron fist shot forward like a cannonball, carrying an unstoppable momentum.

“Bang!”

A thunderous crash echoed throughout the martial arts training hall, shaking the entire space.

Shiyu’s fist slammed hard into the punching pad of the testing machine.

The target emitted a pained groan and rapidly recoiled, bending into an astonishing arc, almost touching the ground.

Then the target snapped back with force.

The display screen on the machine flickered wildly before settling on a staggering number:

2800 kilograms!!!

“Hiss…”

Even Shiyu gasped in shock; it was simply too incredible.

No normal high school student could possess such overwhelming strength!

A trace of joy appeared between his brows, but soon he fell into contemplation.

He recalled that last month, during school testing, his punching power was only 400 kilograms.

Now it had surged sevenfold!

This data was so freakish, it defied belief.

If, in a few days during the final exam, such explosive numbers were revealed in front of everyone, outsiders unaware of the truth would not be shocked but deeply terrified.

This kind of power growth was entirely different from spiritual strength.

Spirit was evaluated for the first time, with no prior data for comparison.

But strength and speed—basic physical fitness data—were recorded and assessed monthly for each student starting from middle school.

Each month’s data formed a stable growth curve.

Yet now, a seventeen-year-old high school junior without any cultivation method had undergone a dramatic transformation in just one month.

Such rapid growth was like a towering building rising from flat ground—utterly unrecognizable.

To the higher authorities, such a phenomenon had only one possible explanation:

He had been contaminated by an otherworldly creature, causing a mutation.

Though Shiyu was certain of his innocence—he had never come into contact with any otherworldly beings, let alone been polluted by them—such suspicion and speculation would inevitably cause trouble.

He took a deep breath to calm the turmoil within.

Stepping forward, he lightly swiped the control panel of the testing machine, deleting the astonishing data he had just recorded.

Then he gradually reduced his force, preparing to test again.

Ninety percent power! 2520 kilograms!

Eighty percent power! 2240 kilograms!

Shiyu continually sensed the difference in muscle feedback and punching strength when leaving some room.

Thirty percent power! 840 kilograms!

Twenty percent power! 560 kilograms!

Exhaling deeply, he relaxed a bit more.

Just slightly less than twenty percent was about right.

Shiyu trained vigorously at this level on the punching power machine.

450 kilograms! 460 kilograms! 440 kilograms!

He had never imagined that one day he would deliberately restrain his strength to train.

Yet this experience gave him a fresh understanding of force control.

Only by precisely mastering one’s power could one unleash maximum might in battle.

At that moment, a sturdy middle-aged man approached.

His sharp gaze immediately locked onto the punching power machine in front of Shiyu.

The display showed numbers fluctuating between 430 and 460 kilograms.

“Not bad, young man! To hit such high power!” he praised enthusiastically.

“Uh…” Shiyu was at a loss for words, unsure how to respond, so he just nodded politely.

Then he resumed his training.

He had to ensure nothing unusual happened during the school tests—no one could discover his abnormality.

Besides punching power, he also tested speed, reflexes, and a series of other items.

Finally, Shiyu gained a truly profound understanding of his current physical condition.

Powerful. Formidable.

With such a physical foundation, combined with cultivation aptitude brought by his high-level spiritual strength, his future was unquestionably promising!