Chapter 689 - 440: Shrinking Inches (Part 2)
Last time, due to insufficient strength, he was unable to collect more Extraterrestrial Crystal Clusters, which resulted in him now being very stingy with every gram of Crystal Cluster he has. But this time, with a significant boost in strength, he should be able to collect those Extraterrestrial Crystal Clusters. According to Wang Ye’s tests, although the Extraterrestrial Crystal Clusters are hard, they aren’t ridiculously so, at most having a hardness about a hundred times that of diamonds. So as long as he increases his strength a little more, he should be able to break them by hand and bring most of the Crystal Clusters back to land.
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Finally.
On the third day, at five in the morning.
After daily evolution was completed.
Wang Ye had thoroughly evolved the last muscle fiber into high elasticity muscle fiber.
He stood alone on the ocean, his upper clothing having been burnt away during the evolution, revealing a golden, perfect physique. Besides the tough, muscular build with low body fat, there were fine patterns visible under his skin. These patterns were no longer the coarse tripod inscriptions that appeared on Wang Ye’s skin when he practiced the Golden Bell Shield, but more intricate and mysterious, neat patterns.
This is actually the external manifestation of the internal carbon nanotube spring structure, adding a touch of surrealism to his demeanor, making him look like a true Divine Being from legends, both in essence and appearance distinct from humans, yet highly appealing to human aesthetic senses.
With the thousand tons of graphite ore in his body completely consumed, he could now easily float in the air, feeling the wild surge of power throughout his being, filling him with joy. Now, just the wind generated by his punches could probably destroy a village. This crushing destructive power makes it not an exaggeration to call him a walking nuclear bomb.
What excited Wang Ye wasn’t just the evolution of muscle fibers but also the nearly-upgraded Divine Speed Skill from all the running these past days. He eagerly anticipated what traits the Divine Speed Skill would deliver upon reaching lv5.
Then, Wang Ye flew back to land, planning to return to the laboratory by running, aiming to break through to lv5 in the Divine Speed Skill along the way.
As soon as he reached the land, his figure instantly became a fleeting shadow, with countless sonic boom clouds exploding ahead.
Wang Ye’s stride frequency reached its peak, his running speed gradually increasing from supersonic to Mach 5. The terrifying thrust brought by Primordial Qi allowed him to cover half a kilometer with each step, and each time he touched down, his other leg would slash through the air ahead like a blade at an even greater speed, continuing to land on the ground with lightning speed.
The explosive power of high elasticity muscle fibers had enhanced his control over his body by several levels, allowing him to precisely control every step and direction under supersonic resistance. Unlike before when he used to charge around recklessly, now his supersonic running had gained an element of elegance, with the turbulence caused by arm swings and leg strides becoming noticeably quieter, sparing nearby bystanders from severe harm.
Approximately a few minutes later.
The upgrade option finally appeared on his panel.
[You’ve practiced Divine Speed and gained insight, skill level increased by 6.5%.]
[Your Divine Speed Skill is fully leveled from lv4 to lv5.]
[Divine Speed lv5 (0.1%)]
[Traits: Shrinking Inches (unlimited increase in stride length possible)]
Upon seeing the words on the panel, Wang Ye abruptly halted in place.
"No way, Shrinking Inches?!"
Shrinking Inches was the skill he had always dreamed of!
What shocked him more was the description of Shrinking Inches.
He could actually rely on this trait to increase his stride length without limitation?!
The system really threw him a major curveball with this one!
What is stride length? Stride length is the distance of one step; the distance between the centers of your feet after you take a step is your stride length.
For a normal adult, the stride length when walking is about 65 centimeters.
When running, the stride length is slightly longer than walking, and the stride frequency accordingly faster, which is why running is generally faster than walking.
Individual stride length can vary and depends on personal conditions.
For example, Kipchoge, who is 1.67 meters tall, has a stride length reaching 1.9 meters, while amateur runners usually have a stride length between 0.75 and 1.4 meters.
In the running field, stride length is also an important metric for evaluating a runner’s level. For ordinary people, a stride frequency of one hundred eighty per minute is considered the healthiest and most efficient standard. Beginners need to reduce their stride length to increase their stride frequency. Professional runners usually oscillate between a frequency of 180 to 220, so determining the speed of running often relies heavily on stride length as a measure. Usually, runners with a stride length surpassing 1.5 meters have already reached a high level in running technique, physical training, and muscular coordination. Wang Ye, during his initial marathons, was also troubled by this stride length issues for a while. Though the system could directly upgrade his running skill, he still needed to strategize his energy allocation during running by himself.
And now the system told him that he could increase his stride length without limits. How could this not astound him?
Wang Ye gulped, closed his eyes,
imagining himself taking each step spanning ten kilometers.
Immediately...
He took a step forward.
Boom!!!!!!!
A strong explosion sound echoed in his ears, and when he opened his eyes, he found himself standing on flat ground ten kilometers away.
"No way, it truly gave me Shrinking Inches? How was this achieved?" Wang Ye was astonished by this skill beyond measure.
Is this skill reasonable?
Does it conform to scientific laws?
Does physics still exist?
Wang Ye wasn’t sure, but he knew the system was truly amazing.
If he combined a ten-kilometer stride length with a stride frequency of two hundred times per minute, he could easily surpass the speed of sound by a hundredfold, far exceeding his current flying speed by more than ten times!
But just when Wang Ye was lost in thought, a sudden, strong sensation of soreness surged through his leg muscles,
and at the same time, his brain received a sharp pain.
"As expected... there are still side effects."
Wang Ye’s expression slightly darkened.
This outcome was actually reasonable; if Shrinking Inches could be activated without consuming any energy, wouldn’t he easily achieve superluminal movement? Just increase one step’s distance to a light-year, and superluminal movement would naturally follow.
Thinking scientifically would indicate Shrinking Inches must come with a cost, though this cost was something Wang Ye couldn’t yet understand.
Perceiving the pain emanating from his muscles and brain, Wang Ye reduced his stride length to about five hundred meters.
And took another step forward.
This time, Wang Ye could clearly see the surroundings swiftly receding. It was a curious sensation, as if moving on a rapidly moving walkway, creating a disconnect between speed and movement.
After completing the step, Wang Ye stood in place, carefully sensing the reactions from his body. The immense energy burst momentarily caused faint soreness in his muscles, and a strong, stabbing pain in his brain, although much less severe than when his stride was one kilometer earlier.
"Not bad, this stride length is barely manageable." Wang Ye murmured and then took a second, then a third step, as he meticulously perceived from where the energy for Shrinking Inches was drawn.
After about a dozen steps, Wang Ye paused, rubbing his aching head, and began to think deeply.
"Each step, albeit consuming muscle energy, seems to synchronize with overloading my brain’s operations..." Wang Ye’s thoughts swirled: "Could it be Shrinking Inches is achieved through some kind of computation?"
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