I'm a Genius!

I had made money quickly, and spent it just as quickly. I had two hundred million left. Time to look at weapons and equipment.

The Breaking Army Halberd had a matching set of Army Breaker Series halberds, and a full A6 Series combat suit would be more than enough for fighting Advanced Beast Generals.

The Military provided Combat Communication Watches, backpacks, and such, so I didn't need to worry about those.

But I could buy better Flying Knives for a Spiritual Force User."

With the mindset that saving money without spending it was a waste, Qin Ming opened the weapons section. Since he was in the military, money was of no use to him anyway. He might as well use it to strengthen himself.

"My spiritual force can perfectly control six monster souls within the Myriad Souls Banner. I can't buy too few Flying Knives. I need at least a dozen or so."

The weapons available to Spiritual Force Users were not limited to Flying Knives. There were also Flying Shuttles, Short Spears, and more.

But there was not much difference in essence. They were all compact weapons suited for high-speed flight and penetration, while Flying Knives were relatively easier to carry.

"Grade 6 Flying Knives cost three hundred thousand Huaxia Currency each at full price. Grade 7 Flying Knives are ten times more expensive, at three million each. Grade 9 Flying Knives are even more outrageous—they actually cost fifty million.

Whoa, a Grade 9 Army Breaker Series halberd costs ten billion Huaxia Currency?

Combat suits are even pricier—twelve billion!"

Qin Ming sighed as he looked at the prices.

Two hundred million seemed like a lot, but at full price, it could only buy four Grade 9 Flying Knives.

As for heavy weapons like halberds and combat suits, they were even more absurd.

Of course, Qin Ming knew they could not really be called expensive. After all, even Heavy Missiles could not kill Lord Level monsters.

If a Flying Knife could pierce one, its material was obviously incredibly high-grade.

Grade 9 Flying Knives could even cut through High Lords.

They were only cheap because Flying Knives were small and light.

Moreover, first-time weapon purchases came at half price, so Grade 9 ones were only twenty-five million each.

"With my strength, I can buy Grade 9 Flying Knives as trump cards, then get some Grade 7 ones as regular weapons."

Having made up his mind, Qin Ming selected four Grade 9 Flying Knives and thirty Grade 7 Flying Knives. After the half-price discount, the total came to four hundred and fifty million.

He was only looking at the weapons for now. Even if someone handed him a Grade 9 halberd, he would not be able to lift it.

The strength benchmark for a High-Level War God was 256 tons.

Although a Grade 9 combat suit could withstand attacks from High Lords without being damaged, with his current physical fitness, forget High Lord Level monsters—even a slap from an Advanced Beast General would kill him with the shockwave.

If his strength was insufficient, buying it would be useless.

This was not a Black God Suit that could weaken impacts.

"With these Flying Knives, the souls inside the Myriad Souls Banner can be used to their fullest extent."

Aside from condensing Soul Crystals to strengthen themselves, the souls bound within the Myriad Souls Banner could attack directly or possess Flying Knives to attack.

If the soul of an Advanced Beast General Bone-Eating Python possessed a Flying Knife, its power would surely be terrifying.

"I've chosen the cultivation method and weapons. Next comes practicing the Five Hearts Toward Heaven Method."

Qin Ming checked the time on the computer. It was already eight-thirty at night. He had no appetite, so he went straight to the living room and sat cross-legged.

The Five Hearts Toward Heaven Method was not complicated. As long as one's physical fitness met the standard, any Martial Warrior could cultivate it. The only difference was Talent, which determined how long it took to sense cosmic energy.

Those with good Talent could sense it on their first day of cultivation.

Martial Warriors with poor Talent, however, could spend half a year or even a year merely sensing cosmic energy.

"I wonder what my Talent is like?"

With a trace of anticipation, Qin Ming adjusted his posture. He pointed the soles of his feet upward, placed his hands on his legs with his palms facing up, straightened his back, and assumed the Five Hearts Toward Heaven posture.

The five hearts referred to "the soles of both feet, the palms of both hands, and the Baihui Acupoint at the crown of the head."

"Breathe in... breathe out..."

Qin Ming controlled his breathing and calmed his mind.

The strength of his soul had greatly improved his control. His entire body relaxed completely, and even his heart grew still.

Only faint breathing remained in the living room.

Relaxation. Stillness.

Those were the two points most emphasized in the Five Hearts Toward Heaven Cultivation Method.

Time flew by, second after second.

Ten minutes... thirty minutes... one hour...

In the near-meditative silence, Qin Ming's mind completely relaxed.

"This feels so comfortable. Is this cosmic energy?"

In the darkness, Qin Ming seemed to sense wisps of energy entering his body at an extremely slow pace through the soles of his feet, the palms of his hands, and the Baihui Acupoint on his head.

Having absorbed soul aura from the Myriad Souls Banner and Blood Essence before, Qin Ming was no stranger to this sensation.

After calming his slightly excited emotions, Qin Ming focused his consciousness on the "five hearts."

Following the secrets of the Five Hearts Toward Heaven Method, his consciousness naturally sent out wave after wave of thoughts to "absorb cosmic energy," increasing the absorption rate of his feet, palms, and Baihui Acupoint nearly a hundredfold in an instant.

As the cultivation method continued to circulate, cosmic energy poured into his body almost frantically.

"Ah~~~"

A shudder that rose from the depths of his bones made Qin Ming's body tremble slightly.

Once the invisible, colorless cosmic energy entered Qin Ming's body, every cell that had hungered for far too long devoured it madly.

Transformation occurred deep within every cell.

This transformation was different from absorbing Blood Essence.

When absorbing Blood Essence, Qin Ming could sense that most of the power from the crimson mist was used to enhance the cells themselves, transforming them so they could contain more power.

Simply put, it was more of an increase in potential.

Absorbing cosmic energy, meanwhile, was feeding those strengthened cells until they were full!

Though both were evolutions of life and optimizations of one's life genes, their focus was different.

When those two powers combined, Qin Ming could clearly sense his physical fitness transforming at an almost terrifying speed.

As this transformation continued, the soul aura flowing from the Myriad Souls Banner within his Sea of Consciousness grew increasingly powerful.

Because of the Myriad Souls Banner, Qin Ming's spiritual force had long since reached the Advanced Warrior Level. It had merely been held back because his physical fitness had reached the limit of the Junior Warrior Level.

Now, as he absorbed cosmic energy for the first time and his physical fitness transformed at high speed, his spiritual force also rose frantically.

"One Beast Soldier Level soul is nowhere near enough to absorb. Then I'll try condensing a Beast General soul into a Soul Crystal."

With a thought, the soul of a Primary General Level Iron-armored Giant Crab within the Myriad Souls Banner was ground away and transformed into a thumb-sized Soul Crystal, releasing even more soul aura.

Qin Ming immersed himself in cultivation once more.

The feeling of clearly sensing his physical fitness and soul improve was simply too wonderful to stop.

A full eight hours passed.

Only then did Qin Ming finally feel the hunger within his body vanish, as the energy in his body gradually reached saturation.

"The first cultivation session takes the longest and gives the greatest improvement. I remember Luo Feng only absorbed energy for two hours during his first cultivation session, right?

Absorbing Blood Essence greatly enhanced my potential.

Looks like I'm a genius too.

A so-called genius is someone whose cells are naturally able to absorb more cosmic energy than others."

Qin Ming opened his eyes and felt the power within his body.

"After cultivating for one night, I can feel that my physical fitness has increased by at least more than double."

When he connected his consciousness to the Myriad Souls Banner, the information in the strength section had already changed.

[Banner Master: Qin Ming (Advanced Warrior Level Martial Warrior, Intermediate General Level Spiritual Force User)]