Testing His Strength

After eating and drinking their fill, Yang Wu prepared to take his leave.

But just as he was about to go, Liu Dehui suddenly called out to stop him.

"Kid from the Yang Family!" Liu Dehui, who had been sitting quietly to the side, suddenly called out to Yang Wu. "If you don't have to join the Wang Family, would you be willing to take me as your master?

"Though I'm only an Intermediate War General, I've done some research into spear techniques. If you become my disciple, I'll pass on everything I know about spearmanship!"

Hearing Liu Dehui's offer, Yang Wu had yet to respond when Wang Zijin was already staring in stunned disbelief.

Liu Dehui's spear techniques were famous among the martial artists of Jiangnan Base City. Otherwise, he wouldn't have earned the nickname "One-Armed Spear Demon."

And now, such a renowned martial artist had offered to take on a disciple of his own accord, without setting a single condition. It was simply unbelievable.

As for Liu Dehui, he was feeling rather hopeful.

When Yang Wu had crushed the wineglass just now, Wang Zijin, who wasn't a martial artist yet, hadn't noticed anything. But Liu Dehui, with his wealth of experience, had seen through it at a glance: Yang Wu's punch strength had to be over 2,000 kilograms.

Could there be any other explanation for a person who had just passed the Quasi-Warrior Assessment to have that much strength, besides successfully cultivating Genetic Origin Energy?

No!

He passed the assessment less than a day ago, and already he's sensed Cosmic Energy and increased his strength by over 1,000 kilograms. With talent like this, he'll definitely reach the War General Level one day. He even has a chance of becoming a War God! Liu Dehui marveled to himself.

"Senior Liu!" Yang Wu said with a slight bow. "I'm sorry, but I'll have to turn down your kind offer!"

As the saying went, "Once your master, your father for life." Yang Wu wasn't about to take someone as his master lightly.

"This..."

When Wang Zijin heard Yang Wu turn down the chance to become Liu Dehui's disciple, he was even more astonished.

That was an Intermediate War General! If he had a master at that level, his standing in the Wang Family could rise by a whole lot. As for Liu Dehui, at present, he was merely one of his father's connections.

After his initial shock, the shrewd Wang Zijin realized that there had to be something about Yang Wu he didn't know. Otherwise, Liu Dehui, a powerful War General, would never have offered to take him on as a disciple.

"Ah Wu!" Wang Zijin hurriedly said. "Uncle Liu is very famous among the martial artists of Jiangnan Base City! Don't worry—even if you become his disciple, I, Wang Zijin, won't force you to join the Wang Family!"

Though he still had no idea what had just happened, Wang Zijin decided to do everything he could to win Yang Wu over.

"Brother Wang, how could I not know of Senior Liu's reputation? It's just that becoming someone's disciple is a major decision. I'll need to think it over carefully!"

As soon as Yang Wu said this, Liu Dehui and Wang Zijin both knew that there was no chance of him accepting the offer.

After Yang Wu left, only Wang Zijin and Liu Dehui remained in the private room.

"Uncle Liu!" Wang Zijin rose and asked respectfully, "Was there some reason I don't know about that made you offer to take Yang Wu as your disciple?"

Liu Dehui drained his glass and said slowly, "The young man has good talent. He should be able to reach the War General Level one day."

"The War General Level?" Wang Zijin asked in surprise. "Uncle Liu, are you serious?"

"Of course." Liu Dehui nodded. "He was able to crush that wineglass just now, so his strength must be over 2,000 kilograms. I've risked my life in the Wilderness Area for all these years. I still know what I'm looking at!"

"Over 2,000 kilograms? Doesn't that mean Yang Wu already has the strength of an Intermediate Warrior Level?" Wang Zijin walked over to refill Liu Dehui's glass, asking in confusion.

Though Wang Zijin himself lacked talent, he had plenty of martial artists around him, so he knew the different Warrior Level ranks inside and out.

"Right," Liu Dehui replied firmly. "The young man must have successfully cultivated Genetic Origin Energy, which is why his strength increased so much."

"He sensed Cosmic Energy in less than a day. That's truly impressive talent," Liu Dehui said with a sigh. "It's a shame he turned down my offer to take him on as a disciple!"

Truthfully, Liu Dehui hadn't intended to take on a disciple. He had only come because of his regard for Wang Zijin's father. So when Yang Wu showed no interest in joining the Wang Family, Liu Dehui hadn't planned to offer to take him as a disciple. But after Yang Wu revealed his talent, Liu Dehui had been tempted.

Talents like Yang Wu were usually recruited by major organizations as soon as they passed the Quasi-Warrior Assessment. Liu Dehui was lucky just to have met one.

He was getting old. If he could take Yang Wu on as his disciple and teach him well, then once Yang Wu reached the War General Level, he could be a great help. After all, the bond between master and disciple was quite strong.

Unfortunately, Liu Dehui's strength hadn't been enough to sway him.

"This..." Hearing Liu Dehui's sigh, Wang Zijin felt even more regret. He wished he had shown greater sincerity earlier.

He had raised the startup funds to five million because he thought Yang Wu might reach the Advanced Warrior Level in the future. He also had quite a few martial artist friends, who could be a big help to Yang Wu down the road.

But five million in cash seemed like a paltry sum when offered to someone who could become a War General one day.

A War General might not mean much to the Wang Family as a whole, but to Wang Zijin, he would be an enormous asset. After all, the strongest person currently at his side, Xu Feiyue, was only at the Intermediate Warrior Level.

Looks like I still need to find a way to win Ah Wu over! Wang Zijin made up his mind.

Seeing Wang Zijin's expression, Liu Dehui knew exactly what he was thinking. He couldn't help advising him, "Zijin, that young man has big ambitions. He's not someone you can win over."

"Ambitions?" Wang Zijin smiled confidently. "If I can't win him over, then my father can.

"How could the mighty Wang Family not accommodate his ambitions? Even if he reaches the War General Level—or even the War God Level—our Wang Family can still make room for him!"

Though he said this, Wang Zijin didn't believe Yang Wu had any chance of reaching the War God Level.

Out of the world's billions of people, there were only a little over three thousand War Gods.

If Yang Wu could reach the War God Level, then given their relationship, Wang Zijin would benefit greatly even if Yang Wu never joined the Wang Family.

Yangzhou City, Yi'an District.

After leaving the HR Alliance Mall, Yang Wu soon took a car to the Extreme Martial Arts Hall in Yi'an District.

"Brother Yang!"

"Good to see you, Brother Yang!"

There were many martial arts students along the way.

With respectful greetings ringing in his ears, Yang Wu made his way to the third floor of the teaching building.

"Brother Yang!"

"Yang Wu, you're here!"

When Yang Wu entered the hall, more than a dozen senior students greeted him enthusiastically. Some people used to call him Xiao Yang, but not today.

"Brother Yang, I heard you and Madman both passed the Quasi-Warrior Assessment. Is that true?" one of the senior students asked curiously.

"Just got lucky," Yang Wu replied modestly.

"Brother Yang, you're too modest!"

"Yeah, Brother Yang. Could you give me some pointers sometime?"

A crowd gathered around Yang Wu, eager to chat.

"Sure!" Yang Wu said with a smile. "I only got there half a step ahead of you. Keep at it, and you can pass the assessment too! I've got something to take care of, so I'll head upstairs first."

After speaking, Yang Wu hurried toward the stairs to the fourth floor.

These people were too enthusiastic. If he stayed on the third floor to test his strength, who knew what kind of commotion it might cause?

The fourth floor of the teaching building was where instructors and teachers usually went. Students weren't allowed in.

Hearing Yang Wu's words, the senior students hurriedly made way, watching him with envy.

Beside the stairs to the fourth floor was a small room where an old man was on duty.

When the old man saw Yang Wu coming, he stood up with a smile. "Yang Wu, you've been wanting to go up to the fourth floor for ages. Today, you finally got your wish!"

"Uncle Li!" Yang Wu bowed slightly when he saw him. "I'm going to the fourth floor to test my strength!"

"Go ahead," the old man said with a smile.

It was already late. Instructor Jiang Nian and the other teachers had finished their lessons and left the hall. So the enormous Martial Arts Training Hall on the fourth floor was empty except for Yang Wu.

Seeing the more advanced training equipment, Yang Wu was delighted.

I'll test my strength first!

Yang Wu's expression changed, and he quickly went to the Punch Strength Tester in the corner of the training hall.

"Breathe in, breathe out!"

Yang Wu slowly drew in a breath.

Thud! Yang Wu slammed his right fist into the tester's target.

The target jolted sharply.

At once, a number appeared on the screen of the Punch Strength Tester: "6231kg."

Generally speaking, 4,000 kilograms was the minimum for the Advanced Warrior Level, while 8,000 kilograms was the minimum for the Junior War General Level.

Of course, those numbers were only rough guidelines. A martial artist's level wasn't judged by physical strength alone, but by their record of killing monsters.

After all, physical strength was only one part of a person's overall ability. Yang Wu now had the physique of an Advanced Warrior Level martial artist, but with no real combat experience, he might still be unable to handle an Advanced Beast Soldier-level monster.

Looks like my physical strength isn't just barely at the Advanced Warrior Level! Yang Wu felt pleased as he looked at the number on the screen. I'll test my speed next!

Yang Wu went to the speed-testing machine, turned it on, then stepped onto the track.

He pushed off hard with both legs, and his whole body shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow. In the blink of an eye, he reached the other end of the track.

After coming to a stop, Yang Wu walked over to the speed tester and looked at the number on the screen: "79.4m/s."

"Not bad!" Yang Wu was pleased with the result.

A speed of 60 meters per second was generally the minimum for the Advanced Warrior Level, while 90 meters per second was the minimum for the Junior War General Level.

"Last, I'll test my neural reaction speed!"

Yang Wu turned on the Neural Reaction Tester, set it to "Advanced Warrior Level" mode, then entered the testing room.

A minute later, Yang Wu came out of the testing room and looked at the score on the Neural Reaction Tester's screen: "60 seconds, hit 17 times, no red lights touched, excellent!"

"Strength: 6231kg."

"Speed: 79.4 meters per second."

"Neural reaction speed: Advanced Warrior Level, excellent."

With physical abilities like these, he ranked in the upper-middle range among Advanced Warrior Level martial artists. But only Yang Wu's physical strength had increased to the Advanced Warrior Level. His strength amplification, spear techniques, Movement Technique, and other abilities were still at their previous levels. That was why he had crushed the wineglass earlier.

From now on, I have to turn all this physical strength into real combat ability. Otherwise, I'll be nothing but a paper tiger with brute strength. Yang Wu thought to himself.

After finishing the tests, Yang Wu picked a suitable long spear from the weapons room and began practicing with it in the fourth-floor hall.

Sweeping, thrusting, lunging, lifting diagonally, smashing down...

Standing in place, Yang Wu slowly practiced the various moves of the basic spear techniques. Every move was executed with perfect precision, like a textbook example.

It was because he had such a solid foundation that Yang Wu had been able to guide Luo Feng's training so well.

He practiced until ten that night before finally returning home.