Bottleneck Loosens

Li Qi's eyes narrowed as he began to analyze the situation seriously. "In the past, it would have been impossible for an Apprentice Level student to qualify for entry into the United Training Camp.

"But I received a notice to enter the Special Training Camp. That means its threshold is lower than the United Training Camp's, and a lower threshold means more people can enter the Special Training Camp.

"But cultivation resources are limited. If the resources formerly allocated to the United Training Camp were divided equally, the resources each student could receive would be greatly reduced.

"As a Special Training Camp meant to cultivate geniuses for entry into the Stellar Training Camp, it couldn't possibly do something so foolish.

"The only answer is that competition in the Special Training Camp is incredibly fierce, with a shocking elimination rate!"

At that thought, Li Qi frowned slightly. He was not afraid of competing against others.

He simply did not know what standards the Special Training Camp used to assess the students' progress.

If the assessment standard was purely based on realm advancement, it would be very disadvantageous for him!

"The assessment standard probably isn't based purely on realm advancement. Zhaoguang Academy's entrance test made it very clear—the Empire cares greatly about amplitude and technique. Strength realm is only an auxiliary reference."

"So long as my technique improves more than everyone else's, the chances of me being eliminated will be lower."

His brow relaxed, and Li Qi's worries faded.

With his thoughts settled, he began packing his personal belongings, preparing to head to the Special Training Camp the next day.

After packing his things, he contacted his family and told them that he would be entering the Special Training Camp.

As always, his mother reminded him to eat well, drink well, and rest properly. His father, Derrick, did not say much, perhaps afraid of putting pressure on him.

When his Third Dad, Ivanko, learned that he had entered the Special Training Camp, he remained relatively calm and merely told him to cultivate well.

Li Qi knew that, as a Stellar Level powerhouse with broad sources of information, his Third Dad most likely knew about the Special Training Camp. That was why he had simply told him to cultivate properly.

And it was exactly as he had thought. Ivanko did know about the Special Training Camp. Governor Lorenzo had no intention of deliberately concealing it, so most Stellar Level powerhouses on Kuka Planet knew the requirements of the Special Training Camp.

The next day.

Li Qi first handed his personal belongings over to the academy staff, then boarded a spaceship with the other students and headed for the Special Training Camp.

Whoosh!

A small-to-medium passenger spaceship took off from Zhaoguang City, carrying eighty outstanding students from Zhaoguang Academy to the Special Training Camp in the heart of the grasslands.

The spaceship landed, and with a click, its hatch opened.

The eighty students lined up by grade from highest to lowest and walked out of the spaceship under the lead of Zhaoguang Academy's headmaster.

The moment they disembarked, they saw an enormous silver-white metal building standing on the grasslands.

After entering the Special Training Camp, Li Qi and the others were separated and divided into more than ten classes according to their strength realms.

Li Qi's class consisted entirely of students who had yet to break through to Planetary Level. There were sixty-one of them in total, and their goal was to break through to Planetary Level.

More than ten days later, one night.

In a room at the Special Training Camp, Li Qi lay relaxed on his bed.

Every student in the Special Training Camp had an individual room, though it was far smaller than the dorm rooms at Zhaoguang Academy—just a single room with a bathroom.

Over the past ten-plus days, his class had been cultivating Gene Origin Energy.

Their instructor had taught them techniques for cultivating Gene Origin Energy and breaking through to Planetary Level. There had been no classes on combat techniques.

By now, he understood. The minimum standard in the Special Training Camp was Planetary Level. Without reaching Planetary Level, one did not even qualify to learn combat techniques.

Fortunately, the training camp was never stingy with cultivation resources. Every day, it prepared a Red Dew Fruit for each student to cultivate Gene Origin Energy.

Over the past half month, Li Qi's physical fitness had steadily improved, and he was already very close to the Apprentice Level Ninth-Order Peak.

"After cultivating with Red Dew Fruit for more than ten days straight, I'm still a little short of the Apprentice Level Ninth-Order Peak. A high gene multiplier has its troubles too."

Lying on the bed, Li Qi felt helpless. At this point, he was the only one in the class whose physical fitness had yet to reach the Apprentice Level Ninth-Order Peak.

Several other students had successfully broken through to Planetary Level after attending the instructor's lectures and had left the class.

Li Qi pondered, "According to the instructor, breaking through from Apprentice Level to Planetary Level is a transformation of life itself, and a transformation cannot have flaws.

"That is why the breakthrough requirements for warriors and psychic masters complement one another. A psychic master needs the body and Origin Energy to break through to Planetary Level, while a warrior needs spirit and willpower."

"That's why reaching the Apprentice Level Ninth-Order Peak in physical fitness is the foundation, because both need it to break through to Planetary Level!"

Li Qi shook his head helplessly. "I've worked hard enough in cultivation, but my high gene multiplier means I need more than ten times the energy of someone at the same level to reach the Apprentice Level Ninth-Order Peak.

"Without the conditions to use a nutrient pod, I can only cultivate every day and slowly improve my physical fitness."

After resting, he sat up from the bed and began cultivating Gene Origin Energy again.

While Li Qi was cultivating, in the governor's office.

Lorenzo looked at the light screen before him, somewhat curious. "More than ten days straight, one Red Dew Fruit every day, and this Li Qi Royce's physical fitness still hasn't reached the Apprentice Level Ninth-Order Peak?"

Lorenzo was only briefly curious before quickly putting it out of his mind.

After all, he was merely taking Red Dew Fruit.

Although Red Dew Fruit was highly effective at helping Apprentice Level cultivators improve their physical fitness, in the universe it was merely a beneficial fruit, suitable for Apprentice Level people who were not even citizens.

Red Dew Fruit was not expensive. A few hundred Molten Coins could buy a kilogram, making it far inferior to treasures like Azure Wave Marrow, which Planetary Level cultivators used.

Time passed, and a month went by.

During that time, Li Qi's physical fitness reached the Apprentice Level Ninth-Order Peak, and he continued accumulating Origin Energy afterward.

He was beginning to grow anxious. More than a month had passed since he arrived at the Special Training Camp, and people in his class had constantly broken through to Planetary Level. Now, only eight people remained in the entire class.

Of those eight, three had already felt their bottlenecks loosen. With the assistance of Red Dew Fruit, they would soon break through.

That day, Li Qi returned to his room and began thinking.

"A psychic master's physical fitness is easier to break through to Planetary Level than a warrior's, because once psychic power breaks through to Planetary Level, the feedback from the transformed spirit and consciousness can easily push physical fitness to Planetary Level.

"But breaking through in psychic power is not easy. It requires constant training of psychic power. The Twenty-Eight Basic Controller Techniques are divided into four stages, and I've now reached the final stage.

"If I can fully perform all twenty-eight techniques, my psychic power may be able to break through to Planetary Level."

The Twenty-Eight Basic Controller Techniques were a foundational secret art for psychic masters of the Molten Empire, yet many Planetary Level psychic masters were still cultivating this secret art. That showed just how remarkable it was!

Of course, it was also possible that they simply could not find a better cultivation method.

"If I still can't break through after fully performing the Twenty-Eight Basic Controller Techniques, I'll have to ask the instructor for a psychic master breakthrough secret art. But would that expose the secret of my high gene multiplier?

"The Empire places extreme trust in and reliance on the Virtual Universe, and that has allowed me to conceal the secret of my high gene multiplier. If possible, it's best to keep it hidden. I can't expose it!"

Li Qi knew that people with high gene multipliers like his easily attracted unwanted attention!

Unless absolutely necessary, he could not expose himself.

A few days later, Li Qi sat cross-legged in his room. His teeth were clenched tight, and beads of sweat slid down from his forehead onto his face.

Before him floated a white beast. One piercing sound after another rang out from its body as it slowly raised its head, opened its mouth, and silently roared at the sky.

"It worked!"

Li Qi suddenly cried out excitedly.

The white beast in the air then vanished without a trace, collapsing into dozens of white bone fragments that clattered onto the floor.

Ignoring the dozens of white bone fragments on the ground, Li Qi burst into laughter. "The Twenty-Eight Basic Controller Techniques really are marvelous!

"After completing the cultivation of this final stage, I can feel my psychic power bottleneck loosening. If I can perform all twenty-eight techniques in full, I may really be able to break through to Planetary Level."

He was overjoyed because he could see hope of breaking through to Planetary Level. "The instructor said before that the loosening of the bottleneck is the key. Red Dew Fruit is only an aid. If the bottleneck doesn't loosen, no amount of Red Dew Fruit will help."

"With the bottleneck loosening and the assistance of Red Dew Fruit, I should be able to break through to Planetary Level soon.

"According to the instructor, for a psychic master to break through to Planetary Level, a miniature planet must be formed in the Sea of Consciousness. Once the miniature planet is formed, the breakthrough succeeds."

He suppressed the urge to try immediately. "There's no rush for now!

"The bottleneck has only loosened a little. It won't be too late to break through after I can fully perform the Twenty-Eight Basic Controller Techniques. That way, the chance of succeeding will be much higher."

Li Qi, who had once been anxious, no longer rushed after his psychic power bottleneck loosened. He began seeking stability and a higher chance of breakthrough.

After resting for a moment, he manipulated the bone fragments and began practicing the Beast Roar Diagram again...

More than ten days passed. Other than Li Qi, only one person remained in his class. That student's bottleneck had also loosened, and he stood at the edge of a breakthrough.

And on this day, Li Qi finally managed to fully perform the Twenty-Eight Basic Controller Techniques. He planned to break through and become a Planetary Level psychic master today.

Li Qi went to the instructor's office and submitted his request.

"Instructor Oris, I'm preparing to break my psychic power through to Planetary Level today, so I'm applying for resources to assist my breakthrough."