Advanced War General

Chen Hao returned to his room, opened his laptop, and browsed through the "Student Guidelines" in his email. He shook his head; this stuff was just for skimming and wouldn't be of much use to him.

The most important thing was to go to the training camp tomorrow and see if he could copy any high-level skills.

However, he didn't have high expectations for the students. Given that they were all young—mostly under 30—their skills couldn't possibly be that impressive.

Still, he had to squeeze whatever value he could out of them. He would go take a look and see what he could find. The quiet environment allowed him to sleep comfortably that night. Early the next morning, Chen Hao got up, washed, and had a quick breakfast.

He walked out into the courtyard and saw Shi Jiang and Zhao Ruo already exercising. He nodded slightly to them, "Good morning, Senior Brother and Senior Sister!"

"Morning, Chen Hao! Tonight, our students from China are holding a banquet to welcome you. Don't be late at eight o'clock. After all, you're the guest of honor," Zhao Ruo informed him.

"You should go take a look. They are all geniuses from China, so it wouldn't hurt to get to know them. We hold one every time a new student from China arrives," Shi Jiang added his own recommendation.

"Alright, I understand. Eight o'clock, I'll be there on time," Chen Hao naturally agreed with a smile. Why would he pass up the chance to fleece the fat sheep walking right to his door?

He then cast an Identify on Zhao Ruo and Shi Jiang. He found that Shi Jiang's movement and saber techniques were both at the Perfection level, though he wasn't practicing the Nine Heavens Thunder Blade.

This left Chen Hao slightly disappointed. Zhao Ruo was the same; her skills were only at the In-depth and Mastery levels. Still, he didn't turn his nose up at them and copied their skills regardless.

Perfection-level saber and movement techniques were quite rare.

After wandering around the training camp, he felt a bit let down. It was mid-May, and many students weren't at the camp; they were out hunting monsters to earn merit points.

Therefore, those remaining in the camp were of average strength. Even Shi Jiang had only recently returned from the outside.

Others, like Zhao Ruo, were ranked below 100 and could only train diligently within the camp to improve themselves.

He shook his head. It seemed that if he wanted to fleece the students, he would have to wait until the final few days of the month.

The immediate priority was to make contact with the teachers at the training camp; that was the real path to success.

He reckoned every teacher's basic movement and saber techniques would be at the Perfection level, and some might even have mastered force-exertion techniques.

The female instructor from the original work, Jiang Fang, was a War God who had grasped an Artistic Conception.

If he could copy her skills, he wondered if he could grasp an Artistic Conception himself.

He hadn't tried copying one before, so the outcome was uncertain. Not having managed to fleece anyone yet, he felt a bit irritable.

He headed to his basement training room, took out the Nine Heavens Thunder Blade Level 4 Skill Card he'd gotten from Yang Hui, and chose to use it.

At the same time, he took a 600-year-old He Shou Wu he had on hand and consumed it, then began to train frantically.

Four hours later, he stopped his intense practice and exhaled a long breath. He had finally mastered the fourth level of the Nine Heavens Thunder Blade. Since he had just purchased the fourth level, using it was perfectly fine.

He cast an Identify on himself:

Chen Hao

Earth Human

19 years old

Talent: Mental Power

Realm: Physical Apprentice Level 6, Spiritual Thought Master Apprentice Level 8

Skills: Basic Saber Technique (Perfection), Basic Movement (Perfection), Nine Heavens Thunder Blade Level 4.

Around 7:30 PM, Chen Hao left Jiangnan Pavilion with Shi Jiang and Zhao Ruo to attend the gathering of Chinese students at the training camp.

After 8:00 PM, on the second floor of the Elite Training Camp's Restaurant No. 1, 19 students from China had gathered to welcome Chen Hao.

As fellow countrymen, everyone had no ulterior motives. They were all very enthusiastic toward Chen Hao. It was truly a case of "meeting a fellow villager in a strange land, eyes filled with tears."

Encountering a group of people from his own country in a foreign land gave him a great sense of peace, so they all exchanged contact information.

Chen Hao was very grateful to the organizer of the banquet. This meal had cost nearly ten million, which was enough to show the other party's sincerity.

He remembered that Chu Qiang had joined the military. If there was a chance in the future, he would help him out if he could.

Zhao Ruo sat on the sofa, teasing him with a smile, "I really envy you. As a Spiritual Thought Master, killing monsters is quite fast. You earn money even faster than a War God. I doubt those families could lure you away with money. If it's a beautiful woman, though, you have to be careful—don't ruin your own foundation." By the time she finished the joke, her face was slightly flushed.

Chen Hao's mouth twitched. He had just been teased, hadn't he?

"Chen Hao!" A hearty voice rang out, and a tall, sturdy youth with a resolute face walked over. It was the host of the banquet, Chu Qiang.

"Senior Brother Chu Qiang, you two go ahead and talk." Seeing Chu Qiang approach, Zhao Ruo tactfully took her leave.

Chen Hao and Chu Qiang sat on a sofa in the corner. Chu Qiang glanced at the others in the distance and whispered, "Chen Hao, are you willing to join our Chinese military?"

"Senior Brother Chu Qiang, do you think me joining the military now would be of much use to them? My strength as an Advanced War General is honestly not enough to be worth much. For me, the most important thing right now is to improve my strength, not to join any other faction."

Seeing the disappointment on Chu Qiang's face, Chen Hao smiled, "Having said that, as an orphan, my feelings for my country are different. We are children of the nation. To me, the country is my big family. Don't overthink it." He didn't hide his feelings and spoke his mind directly.

"In that case, I won't pressure you. If you ever want to join a faction in the future, please consider our country first." Chu Qiang had been disappointed at first, but Chen Hao's subsequent words made his eyes light up.

He forcibly suppressed the joy in his heart. Even if it wasn't the military, as long as he joined China, that was enough. His attitude became much closer.

After the banquet dispersed, Chen Hao returned to his residence. Looking at the skills he had just copied, he was pleasantly surprised.

Among the nineteen geniuses, the worst skills were at the In-depth and Mastery levels. Chen Hao had suddenly gained 15 In-depth movement skill cards, four Perfection movement skill cards, 14 Mastery saber skill cards, and five Perfection saber skill cards. To his delight, there were also five Nine Heavens Thunder Blade Level 1 skill cards.

The harvest tonight was far greater than during the day. The strength of the domestic geniuses was quite good—much stronger than those foreigners.

Actually, there was an idea he had been wanting to test for a long time. He selected nine Basic Saber Technique Mastery skill cards and nine Basic Movement In-depth skill cards and opened the Synthesis Panel.

With a nervous heart, he placed them into the synthesis slots. Looking at the vortex icon in the center, he silently chanted: Synthesize!

The vortex vanished, and a new golden skill card appeared in the center. With a pulse of excitement, he took the card from the panel.

Looking at the golden card in his hand—golden skill cards were physical objects—he felt the information he received from it.

Chen Hao couldn't help but laugh loudly, because the new golden skill card had upgraded from Basic Saber Technique Mastery to Basic Saber Technique Perfection.

Moreover, this card was no longer limited to his own use; it could be used on others.

Although the improvement was small—only a minor level—it gave him an extra option.

If he were to build a faction in the future, this type of card would be of maximum utility.

He was fusing basic skills now, but in the future, he might be able to fuse other profound techniques, or even copy and fuse techniques that allowed others to grasp a Domain.

Thinking of those top-tier skills, Chen Hao felt as if he could see an endless future and infinite possibilities waiting for him to explore.