Rapidly Increasing Strength

Inside Xiao Yu's training room in Mingyue Residential Area.

Two figures kept shifting positions like a pair of phantoms. One figure was nearly twice as fast as the other, yet the two fought evenly.

The slower figure seemed to be able to see the future, always anticipating the other's attacks and preparing countermeasures in advance. Thus, despite being much slower, he could always use the fewest possible movements to counter his opponent.

"Good kid, your speed is far inferior to mine, but your combat awareness is ridiculously strong. You can actually keep up with my rhythm." Xiao Dingguo laughed. "All right, train on your own. Sparring with you makes me feel as though I've wasted the past twenty-odd years of my life!"

When the two had sparred just now, Xiao Dingguo had only used the speed of an Advanced General-level fighter without using corresponding punching power. He had merely used the punching power of a Beginner General level fighter. Otherwise, with Xiao Yu's physique, one punch would have finished him.

"Haha!" Xiao Yu laughed. "Dad, you believe me now, right?"

"You little freak!" Xiao Dingguo cursed jokingly as he walked out.

"Then I'll act alone from now on," Xiao Yu said.

"Except for special missions!" Xiao Dingguo finally agreed to Xiao Yu's request. Since Xiao Yu's strength was sufficient, he would give him his freedom.

After seeing that he was alone in the room, Xiao Yu was overjoyed.

"System, fulfill the First Wish."

The First Wish is being fulfilled...

An unprecedented surge of energy filled Xiao Yu's body.

Every cell in his body was transformed, becoming stronger and more resilient while containing more energy.

Even his nervous system was modified and optimized.

His reaction speed became faster.

His muscles grew more powerful, his bones harder, and his skin more resilient.

A moment later.

The First Wish had been fulfilled.

I'm already an Intermediate General. My punching power has reached 16,000 kilograms, and my speed is 130 meters per second. Xiao Yu thought to himself.

His strength had increased rather quickly, so he needed several days to adapt before doing anything else.

Now, the only thing he could do was improve his mastery of the Nine Heavens Thunder Blade.

"System, set the wish to perfectly comprehend the Second Layer of the Nine Heavens Thunder Blade."

Setting successful!

Host: Xiao Yu

First Wish: Perfectly comprehend the Second Layer of the Nine Heavens Thunder Blade

Wish completion status: 48700/8000 Wish Points

Since he still had plenty of Wish Points, he might as well fulfill the wish.

"System, fulfill the First Wish."

The First Wish is being fulfilled...

Insights regarding the Second Layer of the Nine Heavens Thunder Blade flowed into Xiao Yu's mind. As though his mind had suddenly been opened, he instantly attained enlightenment.

At the same time, the energy optimized his body, making his physique even stronger.

The Second Layer of the Nine Heavens Thunder Blade could unleash 210 percent of one's strength. If his physique was insufficient, he might be unable to use the Nine Heavens Thunder Blade more than a few times before something went wrong with his body.

It was impossible to injure the enemy by a thousand while suffering eight hundred points of damage himself every time he fought, right?

The First Wish had been fulfilled.

Xiao Yu excitedly stood up at once, gripped the Silver Moon Battle Saber, and swung it directly toward the front. When the saber first moved, its speed could only be considered fairly fast.

But in an instant, its speed surged! Then surged again! It increased twice in succession.

The saber cut through the air!

"Boom~" A sonic boom rang out as the saber cut through the air!

Xiao Yu felt that the two bursts of hidden force in his Second Layer of the Nine Heavens Thunder Blade could not only complete two accelerations, but also allow him to control the timing of the acceleration freely. He could even change the angle of the saber, causing a single slash to trace a zigzag through the air without losing any power.

It was endlessly varied and incredibly strange.

This made it even harder for an opponent to anticipate his attacks.

Although the system could improve his understanding of saber techniques and even directly transmit insight into their concepts, what would happen if the system disappeared one day, or if it stopped functioning in certain places?

He could not rely on the system forever. To climb to even greater heights, he still had to depend on himself for many things.

"System, set the First Wish to perfectly comprehend the Third Layer of the Nine Heavens Thunder Blade."

He had to train what needed training, and for the time being, he still had to rely on what he needed to rely on.

Setting successful!

Host: Xiao Yu

First Wish: Perfectly comprehend the Third Level of the Nine Heavens Thunder Blade

Wish completion status: 40700/12000 Wish Points

Although he had enough Wish Points, he still intended to wait until he had adapted to his current surge in strength.

"Whoosh~ Whoosh~" The battle saber flickered unpredictably.

One slash, then another!

He swung the saber again and again, deepening his understanding of the saber techniques of the Nine Heavens Thunder Blade.

Immersed in this training, the fatigue of his body could not affect Xiao Yu's mental excitement at all. He swung the saber repeatedly, and his saber technique became increasingly practiced. In just two days, he had adapted to his vastly increased strength.

He could once again perfectly control every bit of power in his body.

After finishing his training, he planned to go out and relax. Luo Feng happened to be in Mingyue Residential Area as well, so he called him to go drinking at the HR Alliance.

The HR Alliance mall in the main urban district of Jiangnan Base City.

Inside the bar, Xiao Yu and Luo Feng lounged lazily on the sofa. More than a dozen empty wine glasses lay scattered across the table, along with several dishes that had barely any food left.

"Luo Feng, I heard you found that injured Devouring Beast," Xiao Yu asked with a smile.

"Yes. We sold the Devouring Beast for quite a good price, but one of our Fire Hammer Squad members lost an arm while hunting it." Luo Feng's expression was somewhat furious.

"What happened?" Xiao Yu asked.

"When we were hunting the Silver Moon Fierce Wolf, we were ambushed by the Tiger Tooth Squad from the Thunder Martial Hall. Zhang Ke lost his right arm while saving the captain." Luo Feng stared coldly ahead. "It's said that the legendary Water of Life can regrow severed limbs, but that item is far too expensive—an entire thirty billion Huaxia Coins, and it's still unavailable even if you have the money."

Xiao Yu had not expected that even after he had severed the grudge between Zhang Haobai and Luo Feng, Luo Feng would still clash with the Tiger Tooth Squad. But thinking about it, it was only natural. Given the greed of the Tiger Tooth Squad, how could they let go of the fortune that was an already gravely wounded Devouring Beast?

"I know a little about the Tiger Tooth Squad. Their captain, Pan Ya, and One-Eye are both Intermediate Generals. They also have two Beginner Generals and two Advanced Warriors. One of those Advanced Warriors is Zhang Zehu, the uncle of Zhang Haobai, who previously clashed with you. Their strength is fairly decent." Disgust showed in Xiao Yu's eyes. "Unfortunately, those bastards have no rules at all in the Wilderness Zone. They specialize in sneak attacks and theft, ambushing and robbing martial artist squads."

"Zhang Haobai? What is he supposed to be?" Luo Feng said. "Although martial artists are restrained inside the Base City, once you reach the Wilderness Zone, strength is basically everything. Whoever has the bigger fist wins!"

The current Luo Feng did not take Zhang Haobai, who was not even a martial artist, seriously at all.

"Luo Feng, people like that may lack the strength to accomplish anything, but they can still cause trouble. Besides, that guy loves scheming and specializes in despicable acts. Although your strength is gradually growing, what about your family?" Xiao Yu decided to warn Luo Feng.

"That's true. My family members are all ordinary people." Luo Feng's words were filled with worry.

"But they all live in the Warrior Residential Area. Nothing should happen under normal circumstances." Xiao Yu comforted him again.

Luo Feng's face alternated between pale and flushed.

"Enough of this. Come, let's have another." Xiao Yu raised the wine glass on the table. "Here's to us reaching the peak."

"Cheers! We'll defeat all evil forces and protect our family and friends." Luo Feng also raised a glass.

Luo Feng's words were precisely the motivation that drove him to become a powerful figure in this world. Because he wanted to protect his family and friends, he continued to grow stronger.

Seeing Luo Feng staring intently at a beautiful young woman behind the bar, Xiao Yu asked with a smile, "What? You've fallen for her? Let me see who she is. Why does she look a little familiar?"

Luo Feng smiled but said nothing. He had tacitly admitted it.

"Huh? Isn't that Xu Xin of the Xu Family from the HR Alliance? Her brother seems to be some rich young master, acting as though he's the greatest person in the world. His name is Xu Gang." Xiao Yu reminded him, "The Xu Family is one of the twelve families of the HR Alliance in the country. You'd better hurry up and hold on tight. Her brother is a greedy man who won't care whether his sister is happy. He might arrange for Xu Xin to marry someone else at any time."

Xiao Yu remembered that in the original story, Xu Gang had completely treated his sister as a bargaining chip, ignoring her feelings. He had arranged blind dates for her multiple times. After Luo Feng entered the War God Training Camp, he had even intended to marry Xu Xin off to Candice in order to protect his family's interests.

"What!" Luo Feng was startled. "There's a brother like that?"

"Then what are you waiting for? Go over and talk to her. Make her firmly set her heart on you first. It'll be easier later." Xiao Yu suggested.

"All right, I'm going over." Luo Feng walked over excitedly.

At the bar, Xu Xin, dressed in a white shirt like a professional woman, was smiling as she chatted with several martial artists. Suddenly, she inadvertently noticed a figure walking toward the bar. Taking a closer look, a hint of pleasant surprise swept across Xu Xin's eyes.

"Luo Feng." Xu Xin called out with a smile.

"Xu Xin." Luo Feng smiled as he stood beside the bar. "Give me a cup of Pu'er tea. By the way, are you free? Shall we talk about old times?"

Xu Xin hesitated slightly, then smiled and spoke briefly to another server beside her. She then walked out from behind the bar and smiled. "There aren't many customers here today, so it isn't busy. Come on, Luo Feng. Let's go over there and talk."

In a quiet corner of the bar, Luo Feng and Xu Xin sat facing each other and chatted constantly.

"Luo Feng really is favored by the Goddess of Luck!" Xiao Yu suddenly came over and spoke to the two.

"Ah! Are you...? You look so familiar!" Xu Xin asked in surprise.

"Xiao Yu. You don't remember your cousin from Aunt Jingyi's family?" Xiao Yu said with a smile.

"Xiao Yu, my cousin from Aunt Jingyi's family?" Xu Xin asked uncertainly.

"That's right," Xiao Yu replied.

"You two are actually relatives?" Luo Feng was even more shocked.

I'm brothers with Xiao Yu. If he marries Xu Xin, wouldn't I have to call Xiao Yu 'brother'? he immediately wondered.

Xiao Yu smiled. "We even saw each other a few times when we were children."

"It seems that was when we were six. More than ten years have passed. And you've changed so much, Cousin. You don't look like you did when you were young at all. You were so chubby and adorable back then." Xu Xin joked.

"I wasn't fat at all when I was young. At most, I was sturdy."

"Six years old and already sturdy?" Xu Xin held her stomach and laughed loudly, without the slightest trace of a refined young lady's bearing. Perhaps it was because she had encountered a relative.

Xiao Yu and Luo Feng also laughed along nonstop.

At that moment, a young man in a black shirt and black trousers walked out of the elevator. With one sweep of his eyes, he spotted Xu Xin and Luo Feng in the corner of the bar.

"Who's Xiaoxin chatting with?" The young man frowned slightly and took a careful look. "Could one of them be... Luo Feng, one of the three Advanced Warriors at the high school Xiaoxin attended?" He knew that high school very well. He had also looked over the records of Luo Feng, Zhang Haobai, and the others, whose reputations were quite notable.

The young man revealed a cold smile. "A few days ago, Xiaoxin mentioned Luo Feng while we were eating at home. So they've already been in contact for a long time."

The young man walked to the other side of the bar and silently sat down.

Luo Feng, Xiao Yu, and Xu Xin chatted happily. Someone seemed to be calling Xu Xin from the bar, so Xu Xin stood up and said apologetically, "Cousin, Luo Feng, I'm sorry. I have to go take care of something."

"Go ahead. Don't worry about us," Luo Feng and Xiao Yu said.

"Xiaoxin, are these two your friends?" A man's voice suddenly rang out. Luo Feng turned to look and saw a handsome young man standing beside them. He looked somewhat like Xu Xin, smiling at her and then at Luo Feng.

Xu Xin said in pleasant surprise, "Brother, you came to the mall today too. By the way, this is my old classmate, Luo Feng, and this is my cousin Xiao Yu from Aunt Jingyi's family. Brother, I'll go take care of things. You can chat with them."

As Xu Xin left, she gave Xiao Yu a look. He understood it immediately: she wanted him to mediate between them.

"All right, go ahead." The young man smiled and nodded, then turned to the two of them. "Hello. Let me introduce myself. I'm Xu Xin's brother, Xu Gang."

"Nice to meet you, Cousin." Xiao Yu spoke up. Although this cousin was extremely unfilial, he had no choice but to acknowledge him.

"Hello." Luo Feng smiled.

Although Xiao Yu had just told him about his future brother-in-law's character, he still had to maintain superficial politeness. At the very least, he could not give Xu Gang anything to use against him.

"Hello, Cousin Xiao Yu." Xu Gang smiled and sat down. "I've heard of you. I heard you're a genius!"

"I'm all right. I've also heard of Cousin Xu Gang's great reputation." Xiao Yu pointed at Luo Feng. "Luo Feng is my good buddy!"

As Xiao Yu spoke, his eyes remained fixed on Xu Gang, carrying a hint of murderous intent, as though he might report him to his parents if anything went wrong.

"Haha, hello, Luo Feng." Xu Gang smiled and sat down. "I've long heard of your great reputation. At the high school my sister attended, there were supposedly only three Advanced Warriors from the martial arts hall at the time, and you were one of them! I also heard from my sister that you're already an official martial artist?"

Luo Feng smiled and nodded.

Xiao Yu smiled. "Luo Feng's current strength is at least at the Advanced Warrior Level!"

Xiao Yu was deliberately raising Luo Feng's standing in Xu Gang's eyes, trying to reduce the obstacles between him and Xu Xin. At the same time, he did not want this cheap cousin of his to act arrogantly and then fawn over Luo Feng later like an idiot. That would greatly damage the Xu Family's image.

"Ah, that's truly incredible. An eighteen-year-old Advanced Warrior." Xu Gang praised him, then smiled. "Was my sister especially low-key at school?"

"She was very low-key. No one could tell how wealthy her family was." Luo Feng also smiled. Xu Xin had indeed been a plain and quiet girl back then.

Xu Gang's face blossomed with a smile. "Haha, actually, my grandfather was worried that the family's young lady would develop a spoiled temperament, so he insisted that my sister attend an ordinary school rather than a private one. He wanted her to experience life alongside ordinary people up close! Judging by things now, my sister performed quite well."

Luo Feng nodded.

"Looks like you already know." Xu Gang sighed. "Actually, even great families have troubles of their own. For example, when it comes to marriage, you sometimes can't have things go as you wish. My sister already has quite a few outstanding young men pursuing her. For example, Wang Xingping from Jingdu City, and Guo Hai, a twenty-one-year-old Intermediate General-level martial artist from our Jiangnan City."

"That Guo Hai is shameless too." Xu Gang shook his head and cursed. "Isn't he just a General-level martial artist? Does he really think he's something special? My Xu Family has some standing in the world. How could we casually marry the young lady of the family to a martial artist whose life hangs by a thread? He might die in the Wilderness Zone one day."

Luo Feng might have been able to endure it, but Xiao Yu could not.

"Cousin Xu Gang, what are you saying? What's wrong with being a martial artist? It's precisely because martial artists protect them that ordinary people in the Base City can enjoy peace. If you say that again, I'll tell your grandfather and see whether he'll enforce the family rules on you." Xiao Yu spoke righteously.

"As her older brother, how could I not hope that my sister can live a stable life?" Xu Gang sighed. "Compared with a martial artist, a rich young master from a powerful family is a better match for my sister."

"Having a brother like you, Cousin Xu Xin must have suffered terrible misfortune for several lifetimes!" Xiao Yu said angrily. "Luo Feng, let's go. I can't stay here another moment. If we don't leave, I'm afraid I won't be able to stop myself from hitting him."

Xiao Yu pulled Luo Feng up to leave, but Luo Feng freed his arm.

"Young Master Xu Gang, your Xu Family is truly impressive, able to control a group of General-level martial artists." Luo Feng smiled. "But I wonder whether your Xu Family can order a War God powerhouse around at will?"

"I wonder whether your Xu Family can meet an existence beyond the War God level and have him come and go at your command?" Luo Feng added.

Xu Gang's expression turned ugly.

Xiao Yu gave Luo Feng a thumbs-up.

"Young Master Xu Gang, we can be considered friends, so let me offer you a reminder..." Luo Feng looked at Xu Gang. "Don't look down on martial artists."

With that, Xiao Yu and Luo Feng turned and walked out of the HR Alliance.

"Luo Feng, only strength is the ultimate power in this world!" Xiao Yu said as he looked at Luo Feng.