Strength Improvement

"I'll fight you at the same strength as a first-level Planetary—no secret techniques. You can use any secret techniques you like. If you can last a minute against me, you pass," King Zhenlian said.

A powerhouse at King Level had no telling how many years of life behind her, and her practical combat experience was terrifying.

That gave Sett a headache. Having a King-level powerhouse train him was great, but what if he made her angry and she really let loose?

Reality soon dealt Sett a harsh blow: he couldn't even touch King Zhenlian.

They had only just started when Sett made his first move—and King Zhenlian punched him flying.

"Again." King Zhenlian flew over and beckoned with her index finger.

Sett couldn't stand being provoked like that. He sprang up, but before his punch was even halfway through, she sent him flying again.

Pummel... Sett had only just gotten back to his feet and brought golden light to both hands when he was sent flying once more.

"Too slow!" King Zhenlian said.

The day passed quickly, but for Sett, it dragged on forever.

He had no idea how many times King Zhenlian had sent him flying. No matter how hard he tried, she always knocked him away with a single punch.

He was sent flying again and again, and got back up again and again. That was how he endured the long day.

Fortunately, King Zhenlian knew how to hold back. Even after being beaten all day, Sett wasn't seriously hurt.

Soaking in the medicinal bath afterward felt so good he could've flown.

The second day was just like the first: King Zhenlian beat him up again.

"Damn, you're really picking on me. Once I reach King Level, I'll make you pay!" Sett gritted his teeth and thought to himself.

"I'm the mighty Boss, and I'm getting pummeled by a woman. This is ridiculous." Sett couldn't help thinking of his original inspiration.

Back in his previous life, there had been plenty of jokes about Boss Sett. The funniest one was, "The Boss is here—the Duskblade begs for mercy."

But now, a woman was knocking him down over and over. He couldn't last a minute—not even ten seconds, or five.

"A great master once said that it doesn't matter how many times you get knocked down. What matters is how many times you get back up." Lying on the ground, Sett couldn't resist showing off, hoping to delay getting back up.

"Then how many times can you get back up?" King Zhenlian asked from beside him.

"I can keep going all day!" Sett staggered to his feet again, only to be punched flying once more.

After more than ten days of this, Sett finally found an opening and managed to exchange a few moves with King Zhenlian. But a full minute was still a long way off.

"Damn, fighting this freak has pushed my Domain of Metal to the third layer." Sett realized he had gained much greater control over his domain. He had broken through again and reached the third layer.

Even with a three-layer domain, King Zhenlian still defeated him with ease. She hadn't used a single secret technique, let alone her domain.

A powerhouse like her had long since passed the stage where she needed to use a domain.

"That's all you've got?" King Zhenlian taunted him again.

Sett was so furious he could barely contain himself, but he still couldn't beat her. All that anger was bottled up inside him.

And really, even the most beautiful woman would be hard to smile at after beating you up for half a month straight.

Still, Sett knew King Zhenlian was doing it for his own good. Her approach was just a little too direct.

After all, having a King-level powerhouse train a Planetary-level fighter was so unheard-of that other people would be left speechless.

It was simply unbelievable.

Time flew by.

Before he knew it, Sett had been on Zhenyun Planet for two years.

After nearly two years of high-intensity training with King Zhenlian, Sett could finally last a minute against her without using any secret techniques, while she held her strength to his level.

"This woman is a monster. I fought her for so long and only now can I last a minute. No wonder she's a King-level powerhouse—she's terrifying." Sett thought.

Sett had more or less mastered the entire Zhenying Fist manual.

He was only at first-level Planetary, yet he had a fourth-layer domain and an incredible movement technique.

He had also trained his Force Application Technique to ten times, which Pummel could boost to a full twenty times.

And with that, Sett's two years of hellish training came to an end.

"I can't believe I made it through these two years," Sett said in amazement.

Two years later, Sett could easily beat a hundred versions of himself from two years ago. The hellish training had made him vastly stronger, and even he was astonished by the change.

His strength had improved so much that all his hard work had paid off. That sense of satisfaction drove away the exhaustion of his grueling training.

"You can raise your strength to ninth-level Planetary now. At your current level, there's not much room left for improvement," King Zhenlian said.

A King-level powerhouse had a remarkably sharp eye. She could tell that Sett had nearly reached the limit of how much he could improve through training, so she decided it was time for him to reach ninth-level Planetary.

"Unlock!" King Zhenlian cried, and the energy sealed inside Sett's body poured through him.

It was the energy left over from the wine Zhenyuan Venerable had given Sett earlier. When Sett had broken through from third-level Apprentice to first-level Planetary, he had used only a small portion of it.

The greater part of that energy had remained sealed, and now King Zhenlian released it.

The energy surged through Sett's entire body and into his Sea of Consciousness.

Buzz, buzz, buzz.

The miniature planet spun without pause. Then a second planet appeared beside it.

That meant Sett had reached second-level Planetary. In just a moment, his strength had risen by an entire level.

"So good!" Sett exclaimed in amazement as he sat there, feeling his strength rise.

Second-level Planetary was a comprehensive improvement over first-level Planetary—not just in strength, but in speed, reflexes, and everything else.

Then another planet appeared in Sett's Sea of Consciousness, showing that he had reached third-level Planetary.

The fourth!

The fifth!

One planet after another appeared in Sett's Sea of Consciousness. After a long while, there were nine in total.

Each planet was shaped like a pyramid and gave off a hazy glow.

After reaching ninth-level Planetary, even a casual punch from Sett far surpassed the power he'd had at first-level Planetary—even when using Pummel and his tenfold Force Application Technique.

"So this is ninth-level Planetary? I feel like I could punch an asteroid to pieces!" Sett thought, sensing the power radiating from the nine planets in his Sea of Consciousness.

Sett flew above the vast plain, moving many times faster than the speed of sound. People without much strength couldn't even see him as he flew past.

"Whew, it feels like I'm flying at nearly ten kilometers per second now." Sett flew for a while, sensing his speed.

"Spend this month getting used to your ninth-level Planetary strength. Your power has increased too much too quickly, and you'll have less control over your body. That'll affect you in actual combat," King Zhenlian said as she flew over.

"Next month, I'll take you to register at the Giant Axe Arena. You'll have to win a thousand matches before you can earn your freedom." King Zhenlian patted Sett on the shoulder.

Having read the original story, Sett knew the rules of the Giant Axe Arena.

Whether they were there voluntarily or not, fighters who entered the Giant Axe Arena had to fight to the death. They could only earn their freedom after winning a thousand matches.

Of course, very few ever earned their freedom. And those who did became Giant Axe Warriors.

Among fighters of the same level, Giant Axe Warriors were naturally formidable.

Across the universe, many geniuses who couldn't find worthy opponents entered the Giant Axe Arena's death matches.

Many slave-trading organizations also abducted geniuses across the universe and entered them in the arena's matches to make money.

Every match at the Giant Axe Arena was a fight to the death. It was thrilling and intense.

The clever people who ran the Giant Axe Arena charged admission to every match. On top of that, they had seats for in-person spectators. Between ticket sales and replay broadcasts, they made a fortune.

"I'll definitely become a Giant Axe Warrior—and a Golden Giant Axe Warrior, too, my lady!" Sett declared.

Sett was confident now, even though he'd never fought another Planetary-level powerhouse.

But could any Planetary-level powerhouse really compare to someone at King Level? He'd spent nearly two years getting beaten up by a King-level powerhouse.

Thinking about how a King-level powerhouse had trained him for two whole years filled Sett with confidence. Besides, he had two Innate Secret Techniques and a fourth-layer domain.

With all that, becoming a Giant Axe Warrior should be easy, right? Sett thought.

Still, he didn't get complacent. He planned to keep training during the month ahead, hoping to improve his Force Application Technique and domain further.