Joining the Extreme Martial Arts Hall

At night, Sett sat cross-legged, maintaining the Five Hearts Towards the Sky posture: the centers of his two feet, the centers of his two palms, and the Baihui acupoint at the top of his head.

Sett adjusted his breathing to calm himself down. He was in the middle of practicing the Five Hearts Towards the Sky.

Half an hour later, Sett still hadn't sensed any so-called cosmic energy, but he wasn't anxious; the more anxious one is about such things, the harder they are to achieve.

Trying again, Sett stood up to rest his numb legs before sitting back down in the cross-legged position, maintaining the Five Hearts Towards the Sky posture.

The two key points of Five Hearts Towards the Sky are relaxation and stillness. Only when a person is relaxed to a certain degree can they successfully sense Genetic Origin Energy.

Two more hours passed, and Sett had forgotten to try and sense the cosmic energy, becoming drowsy. Just as he was about to fall asleep, a sudden sense of comfort made him snap awake.

"Hmm? Is this cosmic energy?" Sett felt wisps of energy passing through the centers of his feet, his palms, and his Baihui acupoint.

As expected, you need to be in this state to successfully sense cosmic energy, Sett thought.

As time slowly passed, the energy entering Sett grew, flowing like a small stream turning into a mighty river.

Sett's cells, which had been parched for 18 years, desperately absorbed this cosmic energy. As time ticked by, Sett's skin, muscles, bones, and internal organs were constantly growing stronger.

He absorbed for three hours straight before stopping; the cosmic energy had ceased, indicating his cells were full. This session of absorbing cosmic energy was the greatest leap in strength Sett had experienced in his 18 years.

I wonder how much my strength has increased from this, Sett thought. Although he possessed four innate secret techniques, as a student-level martial artist, he could only use Pummel. He would have to wait until he reached the Universe level to fully utilize all four.

Throughout July, Sett and Luo Feng spent their time at the dojo training. The two often sparred to improve their actual combat ability, preparing for the upcoming combat assessment.

"Luo Feng, you're too cunning. How are you so good at dodging, like a loach?" Sett said after finishing a spar with Luo Feng.

"Your punches are too ruthless. I can't take a hit like that, so I'd be a fool not to dodge," Luo Feng said with a smile.

Both had their own strengths: Luo Feng had the advantage in footwork, while Sett had the advantage in raw power. Their speeds were currently about the same.

Therefore, during their spars, Luo Feng basically relied on his footwork to dodge Sett's punches, occasionally sneaking in a hit or two.

However, if Luo Feng was careless and got hit by Sett, he couldn't withstand the force, so they both had their share of wins and losses.

Of course, Sett didn't use Pummel. One had to know that Pummel had a chance to inflict fear on an opponent; the last time he hit that senior student bully, a single punch had scared him into wetting himself.

Sett was quite satisfied with his own strength. After all, Luo Feng's combat ability was very strong, and this period had significantly improved Sett's own skills. He believed the upcoming combat assessment would be a sure success.

"Good day, Instructor." When the two were resting, they saw their instructor, Jiang Nian, walking toward them and greeted him.

"You two are certainly diligent, coming to the dojo to train every day. So, have you managed to sense cosmic energy through the Five Hearts Towards the Sky?" Jiang Nian asked them.

"We felt it. It feels like our strength has increased by a huge margin."

"Me too."

Jiang Nian nodded in satisfaction and said, "I believe you two will have no problems. Since you've successfully absorbed cosmic energy and your strength has improved significantly, the upcoming combat assessment should be a sure thing for you."

"Right, let me see your current strength," Jiang Nian added.

"Alright." After saying this, Luo Feng walked over to the punch force testing machine and threw a punch, hitting 3208kg. Then, Sett stepped up and threw a punch that hit 3920kg, nearly 4000kg. I don't need to worry about exposing my strength now; I can just blame it on the Genetic Origin Energy, Sett thought.

"What?" Jiang Nian exclaimed in shock. Although he knew that once they successfully cultivated Genetic Origin Energy their strength would improve, he hadn't expected such a massive increase, especially from the freak that was Sett, with a punch force nearing 4000kg.

When a martial artist first cultivates Genetic Origin Energy, because there is a gap of over a decade or more from birth to the time of cultivation, they haven't absorbed any cosmic energy during that time. Thus, they are "starved," and the progress during the first cultivation session is the most significant.

Depending on talent, an increase of a few hundred kg or a thousand kg is considered elite. But Luo Feng and Sett had increased their punch force by over two thousand kg—they were a classic genius duo.

Jiang Nian said excitedly, "Quick, go test your speed!"

The test results came out quickly.

Luo Feng was 59.5 meters per second, and Sett was 59 meters per second.

As for nerve reaction, Luo Feng reached the level of an excellent intermediate warrior, while Sett was at the passing level for an intermediate warrior.

"Haha, to think that my Yi'an District could produce two geniuses at the same time!" Jiang Nian was so excited his face turned red. "You two lads are going to boost my dojo contribution points quite a bit."

The two chuckled.

"A genius like you is something our Extreme Martial Arts Hall naturally won't let slip away. According to custom, prospective martial artists must pass the combat assessment before choosing which faction to join—such as the Extreme Martial Arts Hall, the Thunder Dojo, the Underground Alliance, or the military, and so on.

Your talents are at the genius level; the entire Jiangnan Base City only sees one or two such geniuses a year. And this is a Jiangnan Base City with two hundred million people.

Once other factions find out about such geniuses, they will naturally invite you to join and offer you generous conditions. But to attract talent like you, we can let you join the dojo in advance. Besides the standard detached villa, there is a 20 million startup fund and 50 million worth of secret manuals and equipment provided for free." Jiang Nian finished a long list in one breath, too excited to even pause for air.

"Furthermore, our Extreme Martial Arts Hall has numerous martial artists. It's easier to get help from companions when going out to the Wilderness Zone to hunt monsters, and even the world's number one powerhouse, Hong, occasionally gives pointers to genius elites!"

Living in this era, there was no one who didn't know the power of the Extreme Martial Arts Hall. The two looked at each other and, without hesitation, agreed to Jiang Nian's offer to join the Extreme Martial Arts Hall early.

Anyway, it won't be long before I head into the universe, so it's all the same which one I join, Sett thought, not wanting the hassle. He figured he wouldn't be staying on Earth for too long anyway.

"Haha, once I report your situation to headquarters and they verify that what I said is correct, it will be official." After saying this, Jiang Nian took out his phone and called headquarters.

"What? Only 18 years old, and there are two of them? You aren't pulling my leg, are you?" the person on the other end of the phone roared after hearing what Jiang Nian reported.

Jiang Nian looked at the two beside him and continued to smile as he spoke into the phone: "It's the absolute truth. I watched them grow step by step with my own eyes; even I can hardly believe it myself."

"Then what are you waiting for, you brat? Bring them both to headquarters immediately!"

After hanging up, Jiang Nian took the two of them and used his martial artist privileges to board a train to the main urban area of Jiangnan Base City. Jiangnan Base City consisted of a main urban area and eight satellite cities, with farmland between the urban areas, all connected by trains.

"Luo Feng, compared to Yangzhou City, this main urban area just feels like it has more cars, wider roads, and taller buildings. Everything else is about the same."

"That's for sure. The main urban area has more people, after all. If they didn't build the houses taller, how would so many people fit?" Luo Feng said.

"Heh heh, you two might think there's nothing special about it now, but once we arrive, you'll see the difference," Jiang Nian said mysteriously from the side.

The three of them chatted as they walked, soon arriving at a skyscraper that pierced the clouds, with four large characters clearly written on it—Extreme Martial Arts Hall!

"See that? This is the headquarters of our Extreme Martial Arts Hall in Jiangnan Base City. This building is 888 meters tall. How about it? You won't regret joining our Extreme Martial Arts Hall."

In the main urban area of Jiangnan Base City, where every inch of land is worth its weight in gold, the Extreme Martial Arts Hall building such a massive skyscraper as its headquarters showed just how wealthy and powerful they were!

"There are so many soldiers," Luo Feng remarked.

With Jiang Nian leading the way, they were naturally waved through at every checkpoint.

"Since you're here, let's begin." Jiang Nian brought the two of them to the second floor of a villa.

After several staff members in suits checked the instruments, they began the tests.

The results were soon finished, and they were about the same as the scores from the previous test at the Extreme Martial Arts Hall in Yi'an District.

"Luo Feng, Sett, I believe Jiang Nian has already explained the conditions to you. Are you willing to join our Extreme Martial Arts Hall?" The middle-aged man before them wore a black Tang suit and had a hooked nose.

"I am willing."

"I am also willing."

"Very good," the man in the Tang suit said.

"I am very happy today. The Extreme Martial Arts Hall in Jiangnan Base City has produced two geniuses at once. How about this: I will increase your 50 million quota for secret manuals and equipment to 100 million, and I will foot the bill myself," the man in the Tang suit smiled.

"You are both very impressive, and I have high hopes for you. This small amount of money is nothing to me."

Luo Feng was secretly shocked.

"Thank you, Supervisor," Luo Feng and Sett said.

Soon, a staff member in a suit brought over two contracts. The contracts were written simply and clearly, and after a quick look, both of them signed their names.

"Welcome. From today on, you are officially members of the Extreme Martial Arts Hall." After saying this, the man in the Tang suit left the villa.

"Instructor, who was that?" Luo Feng quickly asked Jiang Nian.

"Him? He is one of the four giants of our Jiangnan Extreme Martial Arts Hall. The highest-ranking person in our Jiangnan Extreme Martial Arts Hall is the President, followed by the three Supervisors. The four of them are known as the Four Giants!

The Supervisor clearly thinks highly of you, investing 50 million in each of you. To him, this is indeed a small sum; you can think of it as an investment in the future. Alright, don't overthink it. With your talent, it's not impossible to work hard and reach the level of a Supervisor."

Jiang Nian took the three of them away from the Extreme Martial Arts Hall and boarded the train back to Yangzhou City.

"Right, since you've both joined the Extreme Martial Arts Hall, you can move now. See if you want to go to Mingyue Residential Quarter or the Extreme Martial Arts Hall residential area in the main city," Jiang Nian asked before they parted ways.

"Let's go with Mingyue Residential Quarter," Luo Feng said.

"I'll go to Mingyue Residential Quarter too. I'm not familiar with the main city, and I can't be bothered to run around," Sett said nonchalantly.

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