There weren’t many movements in the first section—only five in total. But in order to imprint these five movements deep into his mind, to the point of absolute perfection, Sean Carter still spent a full hour on them. The only consolation was that, in the real world, only half an hour had actually passed.

After he finished practicing, Number One told him sternly that, for now, he had only memorized these movements in his mind, but his body was still far from fully coordinated. So he would have to train diligently for his body to gradually adapt to these movements and improve.

Only after his body had completely adapted to the five movements in the first section could he continue learning the next ones.

Lying quietly on the bed, the five movements seemed as if they had been etched into his mind since birth—so clear and vivid.

He let out a long breath and slowly sat up from the bed.

Even though he had spent two hours riding back and forth today, and had stayed in the virtual space all night, at this moment he still felt full of energy, as if he had just slept for ten hours straight.

It seemed Number One hadn’t lied—so long as he put on the eye mask and entered the virtual space, it was equivalent to entering a state of semi-deep sleep, and three hours was enough to fully restore his energy.

Just as he was about to get out of bed, he frowned slightly. Although he was full of energy, his body still felt a bit sore and numb.

He immediately understood: this semi-deep sleep could only relieve mental fatigue, but for the body, if it had undergone intense exercise and didn’t get proper rest, it would still feel sore and numb.

It was just that, when the body was sore and numb but the mind wasn’t the least bit tired, it made the physical discomfort even more pronounced.

He gave a wry smile—this nine-year-old child’s body was still a bit too frail.

Instinctively stretching out his leg, he slowly raised his arm, striking a strange pose. Suddenly, he felt as if the soreness and numbness in his body had lessened a bit.

If he hadn’t been so energized at this moment, he probably wouldn’t have noticed this feeling at all. But precisely because his mind was so focused, he was able to detect this subtle change.

A thought flashed through his mind: the movement he had just made was actually one of the five deeply imprinted in his memory. Because the impression was so strong, he had done it unconsciously. And as soon as he struck that pose, the soreness in his body eased a little.

It was only a little, but it was enough to make him overjoyed.

A thought flashed like lightning through his mind: since this was a set of calisthenics designed for human development, it must naturally have the function of unlocking human potential. So helping the body recover from fatigue must be one of its side effects.

So he lay on the bed and began to perform the movements one after another.

Because these five movements were the most basic, as long as they were truly mastered, even an ordinary person could reach the standard with enough practice.

However, if these movements were performed for too long, the body would develop a kind of stiffness, like being electrocuted. It was a very strange sensation, as if tiny currents were constantly passing through certain parts of the body, making it hard to keep going for long.

If he really were a nine-year-old child, he would almost certainly have given up on this tedious and somewhat torturous training. But Sean Carter didn’t, because with his experience, he suspected this set of movements was anything but simple. Somehow, he had a feeling that these movements might be his only way out of a pastoral life.

So, despite all the discomfort, he gritted his teeth and persevered.

Unknowingly, all the soreness and numbness in his body disappeared, and his physical fatigue was completely gone.

But for Sean Carter at this moment, this didn’t seem like good news. Because once his physical fatigue was gone, that electric shock sensation became even more intense. His whole body trembled uncontrollably, and the rigid pose seemed on the verge of collapsing at any moment.

Turning his head halfway, glancing at his toes from the corner of his eye, Sean Carter clenched his teeth. At this point, he no longer had the strength to perform the next movement—he could only rely on his willpower to hold this pose.

Beads of hot sweat streamed down his body, and soon he was drenched from head to toe.

In this state, his energy was consumed rapidly. The energy that had seemed inexhaustible, as if he could go ten days and nights without sleep, was quickly depleted.

Finally, his vision blurred, and all consciousness faded away. Just like that, he drifted off into sleep once again. However, he didn’t notice that, even as he lost consciousness, his body still maintained that strange posture.

Chapter Five: The Ascetic

“Sean Carter, wake up.”

A familiar voice pulled his consciousness back from the darkness. Sean Carter opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was the worried gaze of Old Miller.

“Sean Carter, what’s wrong with you?”