Actually, on second thought, there’s a huge flaw in this logic.
After all, the skin all over the human body has both a dermis and an epidermis. So why don’t other areas of skin wrinkle after being soaked in water? Why do only the palms of the hands and soles of the feet react?
In the 1930s, scientists discovered this logical flaw. They conducted experiments on patients with damaged sympathetic nerves in their hands and feet and found that their skin didn’t show the same wrinkling reaction after being submerged in water.
’So it’s the subcutaneous nerves that are responsible.’
’So our hands and feet wrinkle to adapt to wet environments and keep us from slipping?’ Chen Jue was filled with a sense of wonder after finishing his research.
He marveled at how the mysteries of the human body could be so simple on the surface, yet so complex and profound underneath.
From the simple phenomenon of wrinkling skin, one could surmise just how harsh the environments our ancestors must have faced during their evolution.
This innate emergency response was like a pre-written piece of code, burned directly into the human genome and passed down through generations.
First, there were the vestigial Tailbone, the palmaris longus muscle, and the auricular muscle. Now, he could add the subcutaneous sympathetic nerves of the hands and feet to the list.
This might seem like useless trivia, but it helped Chen Jue gain an ever-deeper understanding of his own body.
...
Having resolved the questions in his mind, Chen Jue closed his laptop, burrowed into his blankets, and had a comfortable night’s sleep.
That night, he had a very absurd dream. In it, he had become a hairy ape-man holding a spear, walking upright through a rushing stream looking for fish. On the bank, another group of equally hairy ape-men were climbing tall fruit trees to pick unfamiliar fruits.
When dawn broke, his biological clock interrupted the strange dream. Chen Jue felt as if he had spent the night watching a blockbuster movie like *Rise of the Planet of the Apes*.
’I guess it’s true what they say: what you think by day, you dream by night!’
’Thank goodness it was just a dream.’
Chen Jue opened his eyes and fumbled for the phone beside him.
He rolled out of bed, went to the bathroom to wash up, and then headed to the rooftop to start his daily workout.
He couldn’t neglect his eye and ear exercises, especially his vision. After he stopped wearing glasses, Chen Jue found that life had become much more convenient.
He didn’t have to worry about finding his glasses when he woke up, nor did he have to fear them fogging up and obscuring his vision.
Moreover, his unaided visual reaction speed was faster than when he wore glasses. Without the obstruction at the edges of the lenses, his field of vision was wider, and everything he saw was clearer.
If his vision hadn’t returned to normal, last night’s climbing practice wouldn’t have gone so smoothly.
As for the Nine Yang Eye Refining Method he had heard about from Daoist Zhiqing yesterday, Chen Jue had also looked it up online.
The Dragon Gate Sect did indeed have this Eye Skill, but the version that had circulated publicly had clearly been deliberately altered, with the essence and key techniques removed.
Chen Jue tried practicing it while facing the morning sun for a long time, but he couldn’t trigger a skill on his panel. He had to give up on the idea of reverse-engineering this Daoist Secret Skill on his own.
Besides that, his ear training was still progressing slowly. He was still a long way from being able to control his ears and make them move.
’I probably haven’t found the right way to train my ears.’
After practicing for 45 minutes facing the morning sun, Chen Jue’s ears felt warm. However, seeing the notification on his panel that the Skill Level for his Ear Health Exercises had only increased by a little over 20 points, he couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed.
This was the most difficult Skill to master since he’d gotten the panel. He planned to listen to more clinical medicine lectures related to the ear to solve these questions and fill his knowledge gaps.
...
After finishing his eye and ear exercises on the rooftop, Chen Jue went downstairs and drove to the park for his morning workout.
However, he didn’t see Wu Fang. He greeted Elder Wu and learned the situation from him. "Fangfang caught the flu at school, and she’s running a fever now! She’ll probably need to rest for the next few days, so she won’t be coming in the mornings anymore~"
Seeing the elder so cheerfully give away his granddaughter’s private information, Chen Jue couldn’t help but blush.
’Blurting out such private details... does this mean you don’t consider me a stranger anymore, sir?’
"Then you should take care of your health too, Elder Wu!"
"The flu virus has been really nasty lately."
Chen Jue chatted with the elder for a few moments, then slipped into a small grove in the park.
He considered taking out his phone to send Wu Fang a get-well message, but he couldn’t think of what to say.
He couldn’t just send a mortifyingly generic platitude like, "Got a cold? Drink more hot water." So, Chen Jue gave up on the idea of sending a message altogether.
’It’s so early in the morning, Teacher Wu is probably still sleeping. It’s better to let her rest and not disturb her.’
...
Once in the small grove, he saw that Daoist Zhiqing from the Dragon Gate Sect, who had been there the past few days, was gone. Even the lead instructor, Zhao Jianguo, had taken the day off, leaving the students to practice on their own.
So, Chen Jue had no choice but to join the group and slowly begin his Pile Skills practice.
He had already ground several of his Tai Chi technique Skills to Max Level. The only one left that could still be improved was the Thirteen Forms Pile Skill.
As for the newly mastered technique for generating Outer Force, it had a subtle synergy with his Pile Skills, Horse Stance, and Squeezing Valley Dao.
The deeper he practiced his Pile Skills, the more comfortable Chen Jue’s body felt. It was as if the power throughout his body was being connected section by section and kneaded together. The crisp, powerful crackle when he unleashed a move was becoming more and more distinct.
He spent two hours practicing Pile Skills and Horse Stance and farmed 0.02 Free Attribute points.
As he left, Chen Jue glanced back at the small grove. He felt that he probably didn’t need to come here every day anymore.
There was nothing left Zhao Jianguo could teach him, unless Chen Jue was willing to join the Dragon Gate Sect and become a lay Daoist practitioner. Only then might he gain access to more profound martial arts.
As for the remaining Pile Skills, he could practice them on his apartment rooftop or on the Jiang University campus. If it weren’t for Teacher Wu, Chen Jue wouldn’t be running to the park all the time.
’Perfect. Since Teacher Wu is sick, I’ll take a few days off too,’ Chen Jue mused.
...
After eating breakfast, he drove back to his apartment.
He glanced at his class schedule and saw he had two biological science classes that morning. So, he packed his textbooks, slung a small bag over his shoulder, and vaulted over the 2.5-meter-high wall in front of him in about two seconds.
But as soon as he landed on the other side, Chen Jue was stunned.
There, squatting at the base of the wall and smoking, were two uniformed school security guards—one holding a baton, the other a walkie-talkie.
When they saw someone vault over the wall, the two guards’ eyes lit up as if they’d caught a thief. They pounced. "Well, well! Got the nerve to climb the wall in broad daylight, do you?"
"Which department are you in, kid? Senior? Grad student? The monitoring room has had an eye on you for days! We finally nabbed you!"