Bottleneck Loosening

Li Qi narrowed his eyes and began to analyze the situation seriously. "In the old United Training Camp, Apprentices would never have qualified to enter.

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

"But cultivation resources are limited. If resources were distributed equally according to the old United Training Camp's standards, the resources available to each student would be drastically reduced.

"As a Special Training Camp aimed at nurturing geniuses for entry into the Stellar Training Camp, it couldn't possibly do something that stupid.

"The only answer is that the Special Training Camp's competition is extremely fierce, with an astonishing 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 students' progress.

If the assessment standard was merely an increase in realm, that would be very disadvantageous to him!

"The assessment standard probably isn't based purely on realm advancement. Zhaoguang Academy's Admission Test made it very clear—the Empire places great importance on amplitude and techniques. Strength realm is only an auxiliary reference."

"So long as my techniques improve faster than everyone else's, my chances of being eliminated will be lower."

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

With his thoughts cleared, he began packing his personal belongings, preparing to leave for the Special Training Camp the next day.

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

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

When his third father, Ivanko, learned that he had entered the Special Training Camp, he remained relatively calm and merely told him to cultivate diligently.

Li Qi knew that, as a Stellar Level powerhouse, his third father had broad sources of information and likely knew about the Special Training Camp. That was why he had simply told Li Qi to cultivate well.

And just as Li Qi had expected, 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 spacecraft with the other students and headed for the Special Training Camp.

Whoosh!

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

The spacecraft landed, and with a click, the hatch opened.

The eighty students formed ranks according to their grades, from highest to lowest, and walked out of the spacecraft under the leadership of Zhaoguang Academy's principal.

The moment they stepped off the spacecraft, they saw an enormous silver-white metal structure standing on the grasslands.

After entering the Special Training Camp, Li Qi and the others were separated and assigned to 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, 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 at the Special Training Camp had a private room, but the rooms were far smaller than the dorm rooms at Zhaoguang Academy. They were merely single rooms with bathrooms.

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

The instructor had also taught techniques for cultivating Gene Origin Energy and breaking through to Planetary Level. There had been no lessons on combat techniques.

By now, he understood that Planetary Level was the minimum standard at the Special Training Camp. Those who had not reached Planetary Level did not even qualify to study 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 or so, Li Qi's physical fitness had continued to improve, and he was already very close to Apprentice Level Nine Peak.

"After taking Red Dew Fruits and cultivating for more than ten consecutive days, I'm still a little short of Apprentice Level Nine Peak. A high gene multiple has its own troubles."

Li Qi lay on the bed, feeling helpless. At this point, he was the only one in the class whose physical fitness had not reached Apprentice Level Nine Peak.

Several other students had successfully broken through to Planetary Level after listening to 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 that transformation cannot have any flaws.

"That is why the breakthrough requirements for Martial Artists and Spirit Readers complement each other. Spirit Readers need the body and Origin Energy to break through to Planetary Level, while Martial Artists need spirit and willpower."

"That's why reaching 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 at cultivation, but my high gene multiple means that reaching Apprentice Level Ninth-Order Peak requires more than ten times the energy of others at the same level.

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

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

While Li Qi cultivated, in the governor's office.

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

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

After all, Li Qi had merely been taking Red Dew Fruits.

Although Red Dew Fruits were highly effective at assisting Apprentices in improving their physical fitness, in the universe they were merely beneficial fruits, suitable for Apprentices who were not even citizens.

Red Dew Fruits were not expensive. A thousand kilograms could be bought for a few hundred Molten Coins, nowhere near comparable to treasures like Azure Wave Marrow used by Planetary Level beings.

Time passed, and a month went by.

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

He was starting to grow anxious. More than a month after arriving at the Special Training Camp, people in his class had constantly broken through to Planetary Level. Now, only eight students remained in the class.

Among the eight remaining students, three had already felt their bottlenecks loosen. With the aid of Red Dew Fruits, they would soon break through.

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

"A Spirit Reader's physical fitness breaks through to Planetary Level more easily than a Martial Artist's, because once Mental Force breaks through to Planetary Level, the feedback from the transformation of spirit and consciousness can easily push physical fitness to Planetary Level.

"But breaking through in Mental Force isn't easy. It requires constant training of Mental Force. 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 Mental Force may be able to break through to Planetary Level."

The Twenty-Eight Basic Controller Techniques were a foundational secret art for Spirit Readers of the Molten Empire, yet many Planetary Level Spirit Readers still cultivated this secret art. That alone showed 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, then I can only ask the instructor for a Spirit Reader breakthrough secret art. But would that expose the secret of my high gene multiple?

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

Li Qi knew that people with high gene multiples like his could easily attract 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 tightly, and beads of sweat rolled down from his forehead onto his face.

Before him floated a white beast. Repeated sounds of air being torn apart rang out from its body as the beast slowly raised its head, opened its mouth, and silently roared toward 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 to the floor.

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

"Having completed the cultivation of this final stage, I can feel that the bottleneck in my Mental Force has loosened. If I can perform all twenty-eight techniques in full, perhaps I really can break through to Planetary Level."

He was overjoyed because he could see hope of breaking through to Planetary Level. "The instructor said before that loosening the bottleneck is the key. Red Dew Fruits are only an aid. If the bottleneck doesn't loosen, eating more Red Dew Fruits is useless."

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

"According to the instructor, for a Spirit Reader to break through to Planetary Level, one must establish a miniature planet in the sea of consciousness. Once the miniature planet is formed, the breakthrough is successful."

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

"The bottleneck has only loosened to a limited degree. It won't be too late to break through after I can fully perform the Twenty-Eight Basic Controller Techniques. That will greatly increase the chance of success."

Li Qi, once anxious, was no longer impatient after the bottleneck in his Mental Force loosened. He began to seek stability and strive for a higher chance of success.

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

More than ten days passed. Other than Li Qi, only one person remained in his class. That other person'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 Spirit Reader today.

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

"Instructor Oris, I plan to break my Mental Force through to Planetary Level today, so I'm applying for resources to assist my breakthrough."