Chapter 152 - 109: Why Was the Strength of the Ancients So Powerful?

Be it his rare gallstone condition or the physical fitness data from the previous tests, everything pointed to the fact that Chen Jue was no ordinary person.

’Can practicing traditional Martial Arts Darts really be this amazing?’ Zhou Chuan marveled inwardly. He recalled several unfinished human physiology studies on his flash drive and decided to find more opportunities to interact with Chen Jue. He wanted to see if, like Zheng Yuan, he could also recruit Chen Jue for his research tests.

Chen Jue, on the other hand, didn’t seem too complacent after seeing he had measured 85 kg in wrist strength.

Before the test, he had seen the current world record in the data Zheng Yuan provided. It was 115 kg, set by foreign competitor Devon Larratt in a 2015 arm-wrestling competition—a full 30 kg higher than Chen Jue’s current strength!

Devon Larratt was a legendary figure in the world arm-wrestling circuit. He could withstand an opponent’s pressure for a full minute, completely draining their stamina, which had earned him the odd title "King of the Endurance Grind."

’I’m still a long way off,’ Chen Jue thought to himself. He planned to get his personalized training regimen from Li Rui tomorrow and begin the next phase of his training.

...

After testing the first three basic physical metrics, it was finally time for the darts to make their official appearance.

Zheng Yuan had even borrowed a professional high-speed camera to measure the speed of the darts.

As was customary, the control group of ordinary people went first. They threw darts at a large foam board from a distance of 5 meters. The results showed speeds concentrated between 10 and 20 m/s.

Since it was their first time throwing darts, Zheng Yuan’s girlfriend and his roommates were having a blast.

When it was Wu Fang’s and Chen Jue’s turn, the difference in dart speed became immediately obvious.

Whether it was Wu Fang or Chen Jue throwing, their darts pierced straight through the foam board meant to stop them.

Moreover, the high-speed camera captured their throwing speeds, which were astonishingly fast!

Wu Fang, who had practiced the Rope Dart for years, reached a speed of 40 m/s—more than double that of an ordinary person.

Chen Jue was even more outrageous. The moment the dart left his hand, it let out a sharp WHINE in the training room, its speed rocketing to 65 m/s!

It didn’t just pierce the foam board; the tip of the dart even sank into the concrete wall behind it.

Watching from the sidelines, Zheng Yuan and the others shivered uncontrollably, repeatedly shouting, "Holy shit! That’s insane!"

What would happen if that dart accidentally hit a person?

They’d be skewered on the spot, wouldn’t they?

"Amazing!"

"A flight speed of 65 meters per second—that’s nearly 235 kilometers per hour! Almost one-fifth the speed of a handgun bullet!"

"If the dart’s speed didn’t decay in flight, it would cross a hundred-meter track in less than two seconds, right?" Zhou Chuan remarked with awe. He was becoming more and more convinced that this Senior Chen was an incredibly rare research subject.

As for Wu Fang, she was initially dejected to see her Rope Dart skill, which she had practiced since childhood, so easily surpassed.

But then she recalled Chen Jue’s feat of "embroidery with needles" during that one live stream, and she instantly felt that there was no shame in losing to him.

In terms of pure Darts Skill, the six standards recognized by Huaxia’s Martial Arts community weren’t even enough to measure Chen Jue.

After Chen Jue’s Darts skill was elevated to [Perfection], it had already transcended the levels of Martial Hero and even International Martial Hero. The only ones who could possibly compare to him were the ancient grandmasters who first created the art of darts.

...

After spending the morning on tests, the group accepted Zheng Yuan’s invitation to have a meal in a private room at the Jiang University cafeteria.

Everyone at the table was laughing and chatting. In addition to discussing Zheng Yuan’s strange research topic, Chen Jue took the opportunity to ask Zhou Chuan a few questions about "just how strong people in ancient times really were."

He had seen similar research topics on Zhou Chuan’s flash drive earlier and decided to take the opportunity to ask.

As for Zhou Chuan, this Jiang University academic fanatic was clearly bursting with knowledge on such seemingly obscure human data. When Chen Jue mentioned things like "Yue Fei drawing a 300-jin Hard Bow," he seized the opportunity to open the floodgates of conversation.

"According to my research, people in ancient times weren’t actually much stronger than people today."

"In my view, variations in human strength are primarily due to differences in geography, race, and ethnicity. These differences are influenced by many factors, including genetics, diet, climate, and an individual’s environment. There’s too much to cover in detail, so let’s just analyze a few extraordinary examples from ancient history."

Zhou Chuan put down his chopsticks and began to explain. "Take the patriot Yue Fei, for example. Historical records state he could draw a 300-jin bow in his youth. That’s not even an exaggeration; for a hero of that caliber, it was fairly standard."

"In fact, there were two even more formidable figures before his time. One was Xiang Yu, the Overlord of Western Chu during the Chu-Han Contention, who was capable of lifting a thousand-jin cauldron. The other was a fierce general from the Tang Dynasty, Xue Rengui, famed for ’pacifying Tianshan with three arrows,’ who could draw a seven-shi Hard Bow."

Everyone had heard the story of the Overlord lifting the cauldron, so when Zhou Chuan mentioned it, they assumed it was just a legend.

But when they heard that Xue Rengui could draw a seven-shi Hard Bow, Zheng Yuan couldn’t help but cry out, "Holy cow! A seven-shi bow? One shi is 120 jin, so doesn’t that mean it’s 840 jin?"

"That sounds exaggerated even for someone ’born with divine strength’!"

"It’s like he was possessed by Superman!"

The private room erupted in discussion. Everyone found the strength of these ancient warrior-generals to be unbelievable.

Chen Jue’s eyes also flickered as he listened. During his morning practice, just drawing a 110-jin Han Bow had completely exhausted him.

He couldn’t begin to imagine how formidable a man like Xue Rengui, who could draw an 840-jin Hard Bow, must have been.

If someone like that got on a battlefield, grabbed a suitable weapon, and charged into the enemy ranks, wouldn’t he just go berserk and cut them down like grass?

Seeing the lively atmosphere in the room, Zhou Chuan waited for the discussion to die down before slowly explaining, "After Emperor Qin unified the six states, he implemented policies of standardization, such as for cart axle widths and the written script. This also included unifying weights and measures. However, as dynasties changed, these standards for weights and measures also shifted."

"Let’s take Xiang Yu lifting the thousand-jin cauldron. Xiang Yu lived near the end of the Qin Dynasty. Based on archaeological findings, one jin from the Qin and Western Han Dynasties is equivalent to about 258 grams today, which is just over half a modern pound."

"Based on that value, the ’thousand-jin’ cauldron that Xiang Yu lifted would be about 258 kilograms."

"Applying the same logic to Xue Rengui, who was born in the Late Sui period and became a famous general in the Tang Dynasty. During the Late Sui, one jin was about 222 grams. So his seven-dan bow—the same unit as a shi—had a draw weight of about 186 kilograms. Historical records also mention that after drawing that bow to fire three arrows, Xue Rengui’s arms were so strained that he had to rest for several months to recover. This shows that drawing a Hard Bow of that level took a heavy toll on a warrior’s body."

"As for Yue Fei’s 300-jin Hard Bow, using the Song Dynasty conversion where one jin equals 600 grams, that comes out to about 180 kilograms—making his strength comparable to Xue Rengui’s."

"Furthermore, these three ancient warriors all have something in common: they rose to prominence during times of dynastic change and chaos. When figures like these are recorded in historical annals, their deeds are often embellished. History is filled with countless examples of this."

When Zhou Chuan finished, he picked up his chopsticks and took a bite of food, while everyone else in the room tried to digest his scientific breakdown.

"So the thousand-jin cauldron from the Qin era was only 258 kilograms?"

"Still, Yue Fei and Xue Rengui being able to draw a 180-kilogram Hard Bow is still pretty damn impressive!" Zheng Yuan and his roommates chattered.

Chen Jue also wore a thoughtful expression. His current ability to draw a 110-jin bow would be equivalent to a two-shi draw weight in the Late Sui period. He was on par with a warrior of that level, but there was still a significant gap between him and one-in-a-million prodigies like Yue Fei and Xue Rengui.

Perhaps noticing everyone’s admiration for the ancient figures, Zhou Chuan, after taking a couple more bites of food, spoke up again. "Currently, in international strongman circles, the records for the squat, deadlift, and bench press have all surpassed the 500-kilogram line. In terms of pure strength, those athletes are several times stronger than those three ancient warriors!"

"It’s only because you aren’t familiar with this obscure data that you think people today aren’t as strong as they were in ancient times."