Star Source Stone! Hong Kun's Expedition Dream

Early the next morning.

When Lu Feng arrived at the Mecha Department, ready to start work.

Hong Tiejun came looking for him again.

"Lu Feng! Stop working and come with me."

"Where are we going now?"

Hong Tiejun leaned close to his ear and lowered his voice. "My Dad took another job. There are two Exotic Beasts waiting for you to tame."

After saying that, he deliberately raised his voice. "My Dad said that starting today, your salary will go up by another two thousand. From now on, you'll make ten thousand a month. And every day, you'll get one extra hour in the Cultivation Room compared to everyone else."

At those words, everyone working in the workshop turned to look.

No one understood why Lu Feng had received two raises when this was only his Third Day at the club.

Even his access to the Cultivation Room exceeded everyone else's by an hour.

Why?

Fatty Shen, standing nearby, was already growing jealous.

He sidled up to Hong Tiejun. "Tiejun! Why is Lu Feng's salary going up so fast? Can you... give me a little raise too?"

"Get lost, get back to work. Can you even compare to Lu Feng?"

"Isn't he just a little higher in realm than me? Tiejun, don't forget, we were the closest back in school!"

"You're right, we are close. But my dad calls the shots at the club. If you want a raise, train hard and break through to Copper Skin Realm Perfection as soon as possible."

With that, Hong Tiejun grabbed Lu Feng and left without looking back.

Announcing Lu Feng's raise in front of everyone had been entirely Hong Kun's idea.

He had received two raises by his Third Day on the job, along with extra time in the Cultivation Room.

In the entire Skyfire Club, only Lu Feng received such treatment.

Hong Kun wanted Lu Feng to know just how well he was treating him.

That way, Lu Feng would wholeheartedly help the club tame Exotic Beasts.

After leaving the Mecha Department, the two headed straight for the Exotic Beast Holding Cell.

Halfway there, Lu Feng suddenly stopped.

"Tiejun, could you... let me go to the Cultivation Room first?"

"Now?" Hong Tiejun was somewhat surprised. "Can't you go after work?"

"No. I still haven't fully recovered from last night's exertion at the Beast Fighting Arena. I need to adjust my condition in the Cultivation Room before I can continue taming Exotic Beasts."

In truth, Lu Feng had already recovered. The energy in his Chest Imprint had simply filled up last night.

He wanted to convert it into his own cultivation first before going to the Exotic Beast Holding Cell. That way, while taming Exotic Beasts, he could keep absorbing new energy.

"I see... I'll have to ask my dad first."

Opening the Cultivation Room early required Hong Kun's approval. Even though Hong Tiejun was the club's "Crown Prince," he had no authority to make that decision himself.

Unexpectedly, the moment he contacted his father, Hong Kun readily agreed.

As long as Lu Feng could successfully tame the Exotic Beasts, he could use the Cultivation Room whenever he wanted.

"My dad agreed. Go train first, then contact me when you're done."

After saying that, Hong Tiejun left first while Lu Feng headed alone toward the Cultivation Room.

The moment he entered, he lay down inside a Cultivation Pod.

As the pod's operating speed rose to 25G, the energy stored in his Chest Imprint was fully converted into his own cultivation in barely more than ten minutes.

Under repeated high-gravity tempering and energy assistance, his bones and meridians steadily strengthened.

When the energy in the Mark was completely exhausted, Lu Feng could clearly feel that his strength had increased significantly.

But he had no idea exactly how strong he was now.

A Warrior's realm could not be judged by sight alone. This was especially true for low-level Warriors, who needed specialized testing equipment and a full-power burst to determine their exact values.

Whichever range their strength fell into determined their corresponding realm.

A Tester had been installed outside the Cultivation Room.

Whenever the club's Warriors made a breakthrough, they could use it to verify their progress.

In fact, Lu Feng had wanted to test his strength ever since breaking through to the Iron Bone Realm.

There had simply been too many people around at the time, so he held himself back.

After all, if people discovered that a high school graduate had already entered the Second Realm of Martial Arts, it would likely cause quite a stir.

"Those skilled at hiding prevail; those skilled at showing themselves fail."

He had always remembered that saying from his high school cultural studies class.

And now, with no one in the Cultivation Room, it was the perfect chance to test himself.

Boom!

Lu Feng threw a full-power punch into the Tester. The machine shuddered violently, and an astonishing number instantly flashed across the screen—

15186 kg!

A Warrior at Copper Skin Realm Perfection could strike with roughly ten thousand jin of force at full power, equivalent to five thousand kilograms.

Once one broke through to the Second Realm, the Iron Bone Realm, that strength would double to around ten thousand kilograms.

After that, every increase in minor level added at least another ten thousand jin of force.

Lu Feng's punch had produced fifteen thousand kilograms, or thirty thousand jin, meaning he had entered the Iron Bone Realm Second Level.

Since reaching Copper Skin Realm Perfection, he had absorbed the energy of Three Exotic Beasts and broken through three minor levels in succession. His progress was terrifyingly fast.

If word got out, no one would believe it.

"Tiejun! I'm done. Let's go to the Holding Cell!"

After learning his realm, Lu Feng left the Cultivation Room and contacted Hong Tiejun.

After meeting up, the two headed together to the Exotic Beast Holding Cell and began taming the two newly arrived Exotic Beasts.

At the same time, inside the General Manager's Office of the Club Headquarters Building.

Hong Kun locked the door and instructed his secretary not to let anyone disturb him.

He sat quietly on the sofa, with a translucent crimson crystal placed before him.

Vast Energy continuously emanated from the crystal, while Hong Kun circulated the True Qi within his body and steadily absorbed it.

As a Peak of Third Realm Warrior, his meridians were far thicker than those of ordinary people.

At that moment, the energy within the crystal poured into his body like rivers flowing into the sea.

This crystal was the "Star Source Stone" that all Warriors dreamed of.

This energy ore, widely found throughout the universe, Contained immense power and was a top-tier supplementary resource for Warriors seeking to Improve Realm.

However, ninety-nine percent of these energy source stones were controlled by the Martial Politics Alliance, leaving civilian Warriors with almost no chance to obtain them.

Even a club owner like Hong Kun needed to exchange the club's Military Merit Points for them.

A single one-hundred-gram Star Source Stone required one hundred Military Merit Points.

Over the more than ten years since Skyfire Club was founded, Hong Kun had continuously taken on military contracts, including maintaining Alloy Mechas, assembling Spaceship Cryo Pods, and taming Exotic Beasts. He had accumulated more than 9,900 Military Merit Points.

He was only one step away from the ten-thousand-point threshold.

All these years, he had been reluctant to use his Military Merit to exchange for Star Source Stones because he wanted to save ten thousand points and apply for the qualification to Join Expedition.

Once a civilian club obtained that qualification, it would receive five slots and could send Five People to join the military on an Expedition to an Outer Planet.

If Skyfire Club successfully obtained the qualification, Hong Kun would naturally choose five people from within the club to embark on the Interstellar Journey with him.

He had prepared for this opportunity for more than a decade.

However, an outer-space Expedition was fraught with danger.

To improve his chances of survival, he had to Improve Realm before departure and break through to become a Fourth Realm Warrior.

That was why he had resolutely spent one hundred Military Merit Points to exchange for a Star Source Stone.