Angel Investor

Sixth-floor training hall.

"Whew..."

Before the punch strength tester, Yang Wu adjusted his breathing and flexed his fist, gauging his strength.

The three years he had spent in the simulation had not been wasted. His control over his own strength was already exceedingly precise.

"Boom..."

The punching target swayed violently back and forth once more. Then, the punch strength tester's display reluctantly spat out a string of numbers.

"5527 kg."

Hmm, ten percent of his strength. Not too much, not too little—just right.

"Quick, how much?"

"5527 kg?"

Seeing the final number on the screen, Jiang Nian sucked in a cold breath. Good heavens, that single punch had directly reached the level of an Advanced Warrior.

Elementary Warrior: 900 kilograms of punch strength, 25 meters per second speed.

Intermediate Warrior: 2,000 kilograms of punch strength, 40 meters per second speed.

Advanced Warrior: 4,000 kilograms of punch strength, 60 meters per second speed.

Generally speaking, the global standard for judging strength was not based entirely on power, speed, and neural reaction speed.

Battle records were the primary criterion for judging one's strength.

Otherwise, even if someone possessed the physical fitness of a Warrior General Level fighter, their certified martial warrior identity would still only list them as an Elementary Warrior.

Only after hunting enough monsters—powerful enough monsters—and meeting the requirements for promotion to Warrior General Level would their martial warrior identity be updated to Warrior General Level.

After all, even before the Great Nirvana, there had been people with high scores but low ability, and plenty who were lopsided in their abilities—some favored strength, some speed, some movement techniques, some scheming...

Since everyone had their own advantages, battle records were the main standard for judging a person's strength.

For example, if a martial warrior with the physical fitness of an Intermediate Warrior could kill enough Advanced Beast Soldiers, then their certified martial warrior rank would be Advanced Warrior.

Of course, Advanced Beast Soldiers could be killed by firearms, but that did not mean anyone could become an Advanced Warrior just by having good equipment.

It could be done, but there was no point.

The consequences of holding a position one did not deserve had always been bloody lessons.

The rank listed on a martial warrior's identity was determined by their prey. It seemed incredibly crude, but it actually followed a relatively comprehensive set of standards.

Normally, those who did not meet the standard would not seek the title of that rank.

That said, before two sides actually fought, physical fitness became the main basis for estimating strength.

"Yang Wu, you... you've successfully cultivated Genetic Force, haven't you?"

Although he had already guessed, Jiang Nian could not help confirming it once again.

"Mm."

Seeing Yang Wu nod calmly, Jiang Nian grew so excited that his face turned red, and he burst into loud laughter.

"A genius—no, a monster! Hahaha! I never thought that in my lifetime, I, Jiang Nian, would pick up a monster-class genius for free."

His punch strength had increased by more than 4,000 kilograms after cultivating Genetic Force for the first time. What kind of freak was that?

Jiang Nian had a clear understanding of himself. He would not narcissistically believe that he could have trained such a monstrous genius. He had merely been lucky enough to encounter one.

"Yang Wu, hurry and test your speed. Let me take a look."

Jiang Nian hurriedly pulled Yang Wu over and eagerly switched on the speed tester.

"Yes, Instructor."

Yang Wu stomped off the ground, his speed erupting as he accelerated and dashed through the speed-testing area at an astonishing pace.

A line of numbers appeared on the speed tester as well—"84.2 m/s."

The following neural reaction speed test was soon completed—full marks at Intermediate Warrior Level and excellent at Advanced Warrior Level.

"Yang Wu, with your current strength, if you choose another spear technique manual to cultivate, you'll surpass me."

Once Yang Wu's test results came out, Instructor Jiang Nian first sighed in amazement, then became excited.

A talented martial warrior emerging from his jurisdiction would not only bring him a large amount of martial hall contribution points; if the other party grew stronger in the future, he might even become Jiang Nian's backer.

Even in the world of martial warriors, connections and backing were extremely important. Each of the four great figures at the Jiangnan Limit Main Hall possessed enormous authority.

To become one of its supervisors, one needed not only the strength of an Advanced Warrior General Level fighter and enough martial hall contribution points, but also the support of a sufficient number of War God Level experts.

"Yang Wu, with your rate of improvement and strength, our Limit Martial Hall can let you join in advance."

Jiang Nian continued, "You won't need to go through the Martial Warrior Combat Exam. You can join directly, and with your talent, you qualify to sign a Special Training Contract."

Normally, one could only officially join other factions after becoming a martial warrior, but geniuses always had privileges. Those recruited early were all exceptional talents.

No faction would ever complain about having too many geniuses.

For a faction to thrive for generations, it needed enough powerful experts to support it. Geniuses were the fresh blood of the strong, so naturally, the more there were, the better—and the higher their quality, the better.

Jiang Nian was now one hundred percent certain that Yang Wu was a monstrous genius.

Naturally, Jiang Nian knew of treasures that could enhance physical fitness, such as the famous Dragon Blood and Jade Marrow, but those treasures had minimum requirements for consumption.

As for things like Plant Spirits, he had never even heard of them.

"Alright, Instructor. I agree."

Yang Wu nodded.

"Haha."

Jiang Nian laughed. "Wait here for a moment. I'll submit an application to headquarters, then we'll head over there together for the assessment."

A moment later, Jiang Nian hung up the phone.

"Let's go, Yang Wu."

Jiangnan Base City, central urban district.

After getting off at the train station, the two headed toward the Limit Main Hall.

Along the way, neither of them spoke. Yang Wu did not ask any questions, while Instructor Jiang Nian seemed to have something on his mind and said little as well.

Before long, they arrived at a towering Deep Blue skyscraper.

On the building were four enormous characters, clearly visible from several kilometers away—Limit Martial Hall.

This was the headquarters of the Limit Martial Hall in Jiangnan Base City.

After passing the identity check, Jiang Nian led Yang Wu into the courtyard of the Limit Main Hall.

They proceeded without obstruction and soon arrived at a three-story standalone villa. This was where Yang Wu would be tested today.

"Come on, follow me upstairs."

Jiang Nian led Yang Wu quickly into the villa.

The second floor of the villa consisted of a large training hall. Apart from several testing machines and cameras, the entire place felt rather empty.

"Jiang Nian, this young man is Yang Wu, correct?" A gentle voice rang out.

Yang Wu looked toward the voice and saw several people walking over from the staircase.

At their head was a middle-aged man in traditional Chinese attire. He was thin, with a hooked nose and a gentle smile in his eyes, giving him an effeminate air.

At his side stood a white-haired old man, followed by four young men and women in white suits.

Angel Investor—Zhuge Tao!

Of course Yang Wu, who knew the original story, knew who Zhuge Tao was. When Luo Feng had just become a martial warrior, Zhuge Tao had given him a round of angel investment.

"Greetings, Supervisor."

Jiang Nian and Yang Wu hurriedly greeted him respectfully.

"Mm."

Zhuge Tao nodded slightly.

A twenty-four-year-old martial warrior was not worth his personal appearance, but for someone's punch strength to increase by more than 4,000 kilograms after cultivating Genetic Force for the first time was clearly abnormal.

Out of curiosity, he had come!

"Uncle Bai, the person is here. Begin!"

"Yes."

Uncle Bai answered respectfully. The four young men and women in white suits immediately got to work, each with clearly assigned duties and efficient movements.

Once the equipment had been checked and confirmed to be functioning properly, Yang Wu began the first punch strength test.

Yang Wu loosened up his body, then exploded forth in an instant and smashed his fist into the target of the punch strength tester.

"Bang!"

"5527 kg."

"Young man, not bad."

Zhuge Tao, the supervisor who had remained calm all along, had a flash of surprise in his eyes. Then he smiled and nodded as though nothing had happened.

"Continue with the next test."

The speed test and neural reaction test results came out quickly.

Speed test—84.2 m/s.

Neural reaction speed test—full marks at Intermediate Warrior Level, excellent at Advanced Warrior Level!

"Whew..."

Only now did Instructor Jiang Nian, standing nearby, secretly let out a breath and completely relax. He had felt some pressure bringing Yang Wu to headquarters this time.

If Yang Wu had been a few years younger, it would have been fine. Even if he had not achieved the test results Jiang Nian had reported, headquarters would still have valued him.

But at Yang Wu's awkward age, there was absolutely no room for an underperformance.

The testing was complete.

Zhuge Tao looked over Yang Wu's test results and nodded in satisfaction. Then he turned and looked solemnly at Yang Wu.

"Yang Wu, are you willing to join our Limit Martial Hall?"

"Mm, I'll join!"

There was nothing to hesitate over. This had been his goal from the beginning.

"Good. You may leave first."

Hearing Yang Wu's answer, Zhuge Tao was somewhat pleased. He then turned and told the others to withdraw first, clearly having something to discuss with Yang Wu alone.

"Yes!"

Very soon, Jiang Nian, Uncle Bai, and the others left the training hall. As he left, Uncle Bai thoughtfully closed the door behind them.