First Clash

The Martial Arts Bureau's internal reading room was so quiet one could hear a pin drop, a stark contrast to the clamor of the training area outside. Lin Feng immersed himself in the vast sea of materials, hungrily absorbing every key point about Martial Artist Realm cultivation, methods for stabilizing one's realm, and techniques for using spiritual energy of different attributes.

Though this knowledge could not directly increase his strength, it was like opening a door to a new world for him. It gave him a clearer understanding of the road ahead and spared him the risk of building a cart behind closed doors.

"The Martial Artist Realm focuses on 'Qi Condensation' and 'Meridian Opening.' Condense one's blood and vitality into purer true qi; open more meridians to build a more efficient Energy Cycle..." Lin Feng pondered. "My Basic Body Forging Technique - Quenching Chapter already emphasizes clearing the meridians. It happens to align perfectly with this direction."

He realized that, with the system's assistance, his previous cultivation had already silently laid a foundation far more solid than that of ordinary martial artists.

It was not until evening that Lin Feng left the reading room in satisfaction and returned once more to the familiar twofold-gravity training chamber.

After breaking through to the Martial Artist Realm, his body seemed to have shed a heavy set of shackles. The pressure he had felt under double gravity suddenly lessened considerably. After adapting for a moment, he unhesitatingly turned the gravity dial to triple gravity!

"Bzzz—!"

An invisible tremendous force came crashing down! Lin Feng's body sank sharply, his knees bending slightly. His bones let out a string of teeth-grinding creaks, and even his internal organs felt intense pressure!

Triple gravity and double gravity were entirely different concepts! This was an intensity many veteran martial artists would only dare attempt!

"Now this has some kick!" Not only was there no fear in Lin Feng's eyes, blazing fighting intent instead ignited within them. Only under this kind of extreme pressure could he squeeze out his potential to the greatest extent, stabilize his realm, and temper the newly born, still somewhat unstable true qi!

He circulated the Basic Body Forging Technique - Quenching Chapter again while beginning to practice the Nine Heavens Thunder Blade. Under the terrifying restraint of triple gravity, every movement became incomparably difficult. The once-fluid Thunder Flash movement technique now crawled as slowly as a turtle, while unleashing Thunderclap Break required several times more strength and concentration.

Sweat instantly poured out, but gravity soon crushed it tightly against his skin, forming a sticky film of moisture. His muscle fibers howled, his meridians trembled violently under the immense pressure, yet he clenched his teeth, his gaze sharp as a blade, repeating the dull and agonizing training over and over.

He knew that every additional second he endured would make his foundation a little more stable and his strength a little more refined.

Just as Lin Feng immersed himself in his extreme training, the access indicator outside the training room changed from red to green, and the door slowly opened.

Led by Chen Feng, several students from Tianyao Martial High School walked straight in. They seemed to have just finished a round of sparring, still carrying the lingering scent of sweat and battle intent.

Chen Feng spotted Lin Feng at once, practicing the Nine Heavens Thunder Blade in the center of the triple-gravity zone. Though his movements were slow, they were exceptionally steady. When Chen Feng's gaze swept over the "3.0G" displayed on the wall, his pupils involuntarily contracted.

Triple gravity? Hadn't this kid just broken through to the Martial Artist Realm? How could he possibly withstand it?!

The several companions behind him also revealed looks of astonishment.

"Brother Feng, this kid..." a tall, skinny youth said in a low voice, disbelief coloring his tone.

Chen Feng's expression darkened. He considered himself a genius and had once tried triple gravity just after breaking through to the Martial Artist Realm, but he had been forced to withdraw in less than ten minutes. How could Lin Feng be like this, still practicing such fierce and explosive martial techniques inside?

The irritation of being outdone, mixed with the anger from Lin Feng's earlier indifferent response, began to grow within him.

He snorted coldly. Rather than heading for an empty area nearby, he deliberately led his group to a spot not far from Lin Feng and activated the gravity device as well, though he only set it to double gravity.

"Pull yourselves together! Don't let some mud-legged nobody who climbed up by luck outdo you!" Chen Feng's voice was not loud, yet it was enough for everyone in the training room to hear clearly. The mockery in his words was completely undisguised.

His companions caught on and immediately began sparring noisily. The sounds of fists and feet colliding and their shouted cries were deliberately amplified as they tried to disrupt Lin Feng's training.

"Hey! Ha!"

"Watch this move!"

"Brother Feng is right. We Tianyao students can't lose face!"

The raucous noise echoed through the sealed training chamber, especially grating to the ear.

Lin Feng's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly. He was at a critical moment of adapting to triple gravity and refining his newly born qi, and the outside disturbance did indeed affect him somewhat, causing his blood and vitality to stir slightly.

But his will was exceptionally firm. How could such petty tricks throw him into disorder? He directly shut off part of his hearing, focused his mental strength to the utmost, and immersed himself entirely in his own training rhythm. He turned a deaf ear to the commotion outside, his movements remaining steady. In fact, because his mind was free of distractions, his understanding of the force-generating techniques of Thunderclap Break deepened by another fraction.

Seeing that Lin Feng showed no reaction, as though they did not exist, Chen Feng grew even angrier at the feeling of being ignored. His eyes turned cold as he gave the tall, skinny youth beside him a meaningful look.

The tall, skinny youth understood at once. During a seemingly careless backward step while sparring, his foot "just happened" to slip, and his body seemed to lose control as it crashed toward Lin Feng. At the same time, his elbow appeared to flail in panic, but it was actually driving stealthily and swiftly toward the center of Lin Feng's back! If this strike landed solidly, the gravity environment would be enough to make Lin Feng's blood and vitality flow in reverse, inflicting serious internal injuries!

"Watch out!" the tall, skinny youth even cried hypocritically.

Just as his elbow was about to touch Lin Feng's back—

Lin Feng, who had been steady as a boulder all along, moved!

His body seemed to foresee the attack. At an unbelievable angle, nearly twisted under triple gravity, he slid half a step to the side like a slick loach. It was precisely Thunder Flash movement technique fused into instinct!

At the same time, his left arm flicked backward as though boneless. His five fingers spread slightly. Rather than forming a fist, he held them together like a sword, and an almost imperceptible streak of electric light flashed across his fingertips—this was unmistakably the force-generating technique of Electric Light Finger!

"Pssh!"

His fingertips moved after the attack yet arrived first, striking with absolute precision on the numb tendon at the tall, skinny youth's incoming elbow!

"Ah!" The tall, skinny youth felt his entire arm go numb in an instant, as though struck by a high-voltage current. The force he had gathered scattered immediately, his whole arm dangling limply while half his body lost its strength. He stared at Lin Feng in horror.

Yet from beginning to end, Lin Feng never even turned around to look at them, as if he had merely swatted away an annoying fly. He slowly withdrew his stance, sensing the true qi within him gradually adapt to gravity and become increasingly condensed. Then he spoke faintly. His voice sounded somewhat muffled in the gravity room, yet it entered everyone's ears clearly:

"Tianyao students, if all you know is how to ambush people from behind and disrupt others, then this prestigious school's reputation is nothing more than that."

Chen Feng and the others' faces instantly turned livid!

Chen Feng in particular stared fixedly at Lin Feng's still-composed back, his fists clenched until they crackled. He had not expected Lin Feng's strength to exceed expectations, nor had he expected his reactions and responses to be so seasoned and sharp!

The other side had effortlessly broken their underhanded trick, then slapped the entire Tianyao school across the face with a resounding backhand!

"We're leaving!" Chen Feng squeezed out the three words through gritted teeth, his face so gloomy it seemed ready to drip water. He knew that staying any longer would only be asking for humiliation.

He shut off the gravity device and hurried out of the training room with the tall, skinny youth, whose face was filled with fear and pain, along with several grim-faced companions.

The door closed, and silence returned to the room.

Lin Feng slowly opened his eyes and looked in the direction they had left, his gaze icy.

"Clowns hopping on the stage."

He no longer paid attention to that minor interlude. He adjusted his breathing and threw himself back into the grueling training.

Under the pressure of triple gravity, his figure remained upright, and the faint sounds of wind and thunder accompanied his fists.

There was still some time before the martial examination finals. He had enough patience and perseverance to temper himself into an invincible thunderbolt blade.

When that time came, every doubt and provocation would vanish into smoke and ashes before this absolute strength.