5: Secret Realm

After Running another two laps, Zhang Sheng stopped.

Fatigue set in. Although the Perfected State Running skill could improve physical fitness and potential, he couldn't keep going today.

If it really is effective, I can work out a training plan.

After washing up, Zhang Sheng headed back to the cafeteria to eat.

If nothing else, his appetite had increased significantly; he ate six steamed buns in a row, yet his satiety level wasn't even at half.

While chewing, Zhang Sheng had a sudden inspiration.

Push-ups and Running can both use the awakened Talent to increase proficiency.

Could Eating also be upgraded as a skill?

He summoned the talent panel.

Sure enough, a new line of text appeared: "Detectable skill found—Eating. Learn?"

Learn!

In the next instant, the food in front of Zhang Sheng suddenly distorted.

Bang!

"Student! Student! What's wrong? Wake up!"

A sudden wave of dizziness hit him, followed by Big Head slamming onto the stainless steel food tray.

Zhang Sheng shook his head gently; dizzy and in pain, he had almost fallen unconscious.

I miscalculated. Successfully learning Push-ups and Running back-to-back made me a bit overconfident.

The Running skill was only learned this morning; the interval was too short. I got ahead of myself.

"Thanks, I'm fine."

Zhang Sheng thanked them while using a paper towel to wipe the grease and vegetable leaves off his face.

"Student, don't use your Talent recklessly; it's quite dangerous."

The girl was delicate-looking and not very tall, with an exceptionally light and moving voice. However, Zhang Sheng didn't remember her face because his head was too dizzy and his vision was blurred.

After packing ten steamed buns, Zhang Sheng staggered back to the dormitory and lay down.

Mainly because he wasn't full yet; he'd eat more after waking up.

Zhang Sheng had a long dream. He dreamed of flying and tunneling through the earth, wiping out countless demons, his punch powerful enough to shatter stars, becoming the overlord of the universe—until a knock at the door sounded.

It seemed the 'sons' were back.

After sleeping for over ten hours straight, his spirit was refreshed and sweet, but that familiar sense of hunger struck again.

Zhang Sheng quickly got out of bed to unlock the dorm door. The first one back was Brother Jie.

"Brother Sheng, didn't you go back for the holiday? Or did you come back to school yesterday?" Brother Jie asked while putting his luggage down by his bed.

"I didn't go back. I've been working part-time for a teacher these past two days."

"Alright, you're way too hardworking. Didn't you go out to have some fun with your girlfriend?"

"No, we broke up!"

The atmosphere chilled instantly. Sun Jie hurriedly said, "Brother, there are plenty of fish in the sea, the next one will be better. Don't take it to heart. Our Brother Sheng is handsome, dashing, and a top student. What kind of girl couldn't you find?"

Unlike the other brothers, Sun Jie didn't try to persuade Zhang Sheng to get back together with his girlfriend.

"By the way, let me show you something. Look!"

As if deliberately trying to distract Zhang Sheng, Sun Jie showed him a photo on his phone.

In the center of the photo was a glowing white light gate, about five meters high and shaped like an arched doorway.

Surrounding the gate were fully armed People's Armed Police units.

"What is this?" Zhang Sheng asked quickly.

Sun Jie whispered, "I took this from the bus on my way back to school. I reckon it's the 'Secret Realm' being talked about on the foreign web. Domestic information on this stuff is currently blocked. I wanted to post it to our dorm group after taking it, but I found I couldn't send it at all."

"The foreign web is saying this thing appeared shortly after the Blue Moon appeared in the sky!"

"On Twitter, these mysterious light gates have appeared in the US and various EU countries. Some daredevils have even gone inside. It seems like the Secret Realms from our myths and legends; people have brought back many mysterious items from within."

...Sun Jie talked incessantly, spittle flying everywhere.

Sigh! The world has changed. Who knows what will happen next? Although the appearance of a Secret Realm is miraculous, with the Blue Moon and Talent Awakening happening first, it was mentally acceptable.

"Were you a hungry ghost in your past life? All you do is stuff steamed buns into your mouth!"

Zhang Sheng quickly took a sip of water. "Hungry."

Sun Jie was speechless. He said helplessly, "I know you're sad, but don't hurt yourself by overeating"... It was the last day of the May Day holiday. The other two, Li Bin and Xingyang, also returned to the dorm later.

They basically all knew about the mysterious light gates appearing around the world and that the inside of the gate was a mysterious Secret Realm space. It turned out Zhang Sheng was the last one in the entire dorm to know.

Despite the Chinese government's news blackout, in such an advanced information society, such bizarre cases were still spreading rapidly.

In less than three days, almost everyone knew.

Before he knew it, Zhang Sheng had finished gnawing through the rock-hard steamed buns.

Just as Zhang Sheng was about to put on his glasses to go out, he was surprised to find that wearing them made everything blurry; the world was only clear when he took them off.

He hadn't noticed earlier because his roommates had distracted him.

"Great! My nearsightedness is actually cured. Although my prescription was only 1.8 diopters, I was used to wearing glasses when going out."

"Could it be the effect of my Running reaching the Perfected State?"

"Wonderful!"

"Simply wonderful!"

Sun Jie noticed Zhang Sheng grinning like an idiot and thought the guy had been hit hard by the breakup; he'd have to keep a close eye on him.

What they didn't know was that Zhang Sheng's inner excitement was beyond words, and he was already preparing to make a workout plan.

On the playground, Zhang Sheng ran at a steady pace. To avoid attracting attention, he didn't run fast, looking no different from any other student exercising.

After Running a few kilometers, Zhang Sheng started doing Push-ups.

He thought to himself that grinding Push-ups to the Perfected State would likely have a similar effect.

Gurgle!

"May 4th, 2030, 10:24 AM."

Looking at the time on his watch, Zhang Sheng was speechless. It had only been two hours, and his stomach was growling again.

Although the Perfected State Running skill could improve physical fitness and potential, the food consumption was also staggering.

At this rate, the balance on his meal card would be depleted several times faster. He had to find a way to make more money, otherwise, he might not even be able to afford food in the future.

He went to the cafeteria. Unfortunately, the school didn't have a buffet. Zhang Sheng ordered the cheapest dishes and, under the shocked gaze of the cook, carried away twenty large meat buns.

"Skill: Eating (Proficient: 135/1000)"

One swallow increased proficiency by one point. The Eating skill, having reached the Proficient level, allowed Zhang Sheng to master many techniques.

How the mouth should exert force to chew, how to swallow, how much to swallow each time, and what level of fineness the food should reach for optimal digestion and absorption.

Zhang Sheng hadn't expected that even the act of Eating contained such profound knowledge.

At this moment, in order to increase his Eating skill proficiency as quickly as possible, Zhang Sheng adopted a "small bites, fast swallows" method of Eating.

"Skill: Eating (Proficient: 532/1000)"

With twenty large meat buns down, he was basically full. However, the Eating skill still hadn't reached the limit of the Proficient level, and the Perfected State was even further off.

I've got it!

Zhang Sheng had another sudden inspiration.

He walked straight to the school supermarket. When he came out, he had a large bag of melon seeds in his hand.