Chapter 17: Abnormal Muscle Power
The four friends didn't continue discussing for long. Since they were all busy raising their fitness in preparation for the upcoming Psionic Society assessment, they naturally parted ways after a short while, hoping to continue exercising in the gym.
Tang Mu was the exception. He didn't immediately start working out. Instead, he headed to the strength testing room and swiped his card at the door. He entered the room and switched on the machine before walking towards the enormous punching bag to test his strength.
I wonder how much I have improved after sensing my first chakra and becoming a pseudo-rank-one psionic.
Tang Mu's eyes sparkled with expectation as he got into a punching stance.
A solemn expression outlined his face as he tightened the muscles of his hands, arms, shoulders, and back as though he were a lion ready to pounce on some helpless prey.
Then, with force from his feet, he channeled all the power he could summon, letting it travel through his ankles, knees, waist, and upper muscles. All his motions instantly became seamless, and with just one exertion, he unleashed the transmitted power through a fist that cut through the air like a lightning bolt.
"BANG!"
The sound of a fist striking the punching bag reverberated around the otherwise silent room the next moment.
Tang Mu stepped back in time to avoid the fast-swinging punching bag before turning his eyes to the display of the strength-testing machine.
"This... 1083 kg! How can this be?"
Tang Mu's eyes widened as he took in the reading. He glanced at the display again, just to make sure, and realized he hadn't read the figures wrong. His single fist had indeed exerted a force of 1,083 kg on the punching bag, which happened to be the reading on the display.
This is some crazy improvement. But I better test my leg power before anything else.
Tang Mu's eyes lit up as he got into stance again. He pivoted along his support foot, generating momentum with his entire body before landing a roundhouse kick at the punching bag.
"BANG!"
The thunderous sound reverberated within the room as Tang Mu followed through with his movement to avoid the swinging motion of the punching bag. He then eagerly turned to the display and saw the number 1699 kg appearing.
"Damn! 1699 kg! The improvement is much crazier than expected."
Tang Mu could feel his heart racing as he glanced at the display of the strength testing machine.
He had tested his power the previous evening. At that time, he could only exert a measly 570 kg with a punch and only 990 kg with a leg attack. But after training with the Star God Celestial Diagram for a single night and becoming a pseudo-rank-one, his force exertion had improved by leaps and bounds.
He could now unleash a fist with 1083 kg of force and a roundhouse kick carrying 1699 kg of power. This margin of improvement in a single night was truly abnormal.
Moreover, from what Tang Mu had read, typical pseudo-rank-one psionics of the Earth Federation could only exert 800 kg of force with their punches and 1200 kg of power with their kicks. Their maximum force exertion would remain close to that range until they finally unlocked their chakra and became true-blue official psionics.
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But what about Tang Mu? He was still far from fully activating his first chakra and becoming a rank-one psionic. But even then, he could still unleash 1083 kg of force with a punch and 1699 kg with his leg.
His case was really abnormal, even going by the strictest of standards. He had turned into a monster that could defeat any other pseudo-rank-one in the Earth Federation without exerting much effort.
I wonder what that musclehead would think after knowing about my power!
Tang Mu's eyes wavered with a strange light as he thought of Huang An, his friend who had never stopped showing off his muscles. He was really considering going out and bragging to the boy. But after making a few considerations, he shook his head and discarded the idea.
The abnormal improvement of both my fist force and leg power might attract the wrong attention and bring me unwanted troubles. I should keep my progress a secret.
Besides, I should only expose the strength required to pass on the day of the Psionic Society's assessment. It is the way to go to avoid any inconveniences.
Tang Mu made a series of silent resolutions in his heart. He suspected his abnormal improvement was due to meditating with the Star God Celestial Diagram and consuming the red-tier origin essence crystal.
But these two were elements that he couldn't disclose to any other soul. He was better off hiding some of his progress so as to attract less attention from those who might harbor ill intentions. As the old adage went, it was better to be safe than sorry.
Now that I'm already this powerful, the gym here is useless for my growth.
What I should do next is continue meditating with the Star God Celestial Diagram every night. I should aim to unlock my chakra and become a true-blue rank-one psionic as soon as possible.
I shouldn't continue frequenting the gym to waste my time.
Tang Mu's following goals were clear.
Since the hostel gym had no specialized training chambers, like the gravitational compartments and mental power refining rooms, it was totally useless for Tang Mu, who had already surpassed the threshold of a typical pseudo-rank-one. Because of that, he could only focus on meditation and training his psionic powers while waiting for the day of the Psionic Society's assessment.
I should leave.
Tang Mu hurriedly shut down the display of the strength testing machine. He then unlocked the door, ready to exit the place.
But right then, he stopped in his tracks as his eyes landed on a tall and relatively muscled familiar figure with short hair painted blue. This person was Gong Qing, and she was standing in front of the strength testing room.
"Gong Qing!" Tang Mu smiled. "Are you also going to test your strength?"
"Yes." Gong Qing nodded. "I want to test and see if I made any progress recently."
"Ohh!" Tang Mu said but felt like the girl was acting even more weird.
Hadn't she said she hadn't achieved any progress over the past month? Then, why was she running to the strength testing room to test her strength?
Was she trying to get some hope or motivation from testing her strength? But then again, why did she run to the testing room after seeing me enter? Maybe I'm overthinking things.
Many thoughts passed through Tang Mu's brain, but he still chose not to question the girl. He smiled and said, "I'm leaving. You can go ahead and enter." Then, without waiting for her to say anything else, he bypassed her, intending to head back to his room.
"Wait!" Gong Qing suddenly said. "Did you test your strength just now?"
Tang Mu stopped in his tracks and turned around upon hearing the question. "Yes, I did."
"How was it? Any improvements today?"
Tang Mu sighed and shook his head. "I haven't managed to make any progress. My force exertion with my fists and legs is still the same as yesterday. I'm also far from sensing my first chakra."
Gong Qing smiled comfortingly. "You don't have to beat yourself up. I'm sure you'll improve and sense your base chakra sooner rather than later. Just don't lose heart."
"Thanks for the encouraging words," Tang Mu said with a smile. "I should also say the same to you. Let's all continue working hard together for a better future."
"For a better future," Gong Qing mumbled and smiled. "Those are words filled with hope. I'll keep them in mind. Okay, I'm now heading in to test my strength. Talk to you later." She then turned around and entered the room without saying anything else.
Tang Mu watched her close the door after entering the strength testing room. He sighed again before whirling around and starting to walk toward the gym's exit.