Situ Bolei

That evening, more than twenty trainees from Huaxia gathered on the second floor of Restaurant No. 1 at the Elite Training Camp. They were there to welcome Chen Daolin and Ji Xuan, two newcomers who were also from Huaxia.

During the banquet, Chen Daolin learned that the one footing the bill—over ten million—was Chu Qiang, the second-ranked trainee on the Black Dragon Ranking. This senior, whose strength placed him firmly among the top five, had reportedly been recruited by the Huaxia Military. Once he graduated from the Elite Training Camp, he would go straight into a leadership position in one of the military's operations departments.

In the Training Camp, three kinds of people had plenty of money: those who were powerful and joined the military, those who joined a core family of the HR Alliance, and Spirit Readers.

Later in the banquet, Chu Qiang approached Chen Daolin and tried to recruit him on behalf of the military, but Chen Daolin politely turned him down.

Watching Chu Qiang walk away, Chen Daolin shook his head to himself. The terms Chu Qiang had offered were certainly tempting—just the annual operating budget alone was five billion. But if he'd actually wanted to join the military, he would have done so long ago. He wouldn't have waited until now.

Chen Daolin had already realized that strength was what mattered most. As long as he was strong enough, he could have anything he wanted. It was far too early to choose a side.

Chu Qiang also approached Ji Xuan afterward, but her reply was much like Chen Daolin's. She wanted to focus on her cultivation and had no plans to join any organization in the near future.

Aside from the Huaxia Military, other factions extended invitations too, including core families of the HR Alliance and a mercenary organization. Chen Daolin turned them all down.

On the morning of August 30, many trainees were out running or strolling around the camp. Chen Daolin was no exception. He ran alongside Ji Xuan, chatting with her about recent events.

"Chen Daolin! Ji Xuan!" a friendly voice called from behind. The two stopped in surprise and looked back. A young white man with short, slightly curly blond hair hurried over and greeted them warmly. "Hello, Chen Daolin, Ji Xuan. I'm William Edison, from the European Union."

"Hello," Chen Daolin and Ji Xuan replied politely, though they were a little puzzled.

"I'd like to spar with you two in the Challenge Space. What do you say?" William asked with a smile.

The contents of the trainee handbook immediately came to Chen Daolin's mind. The Challenge Room was a product of the Ancient Civilization Ruins. After entering it, two people put on Consciousness Sensors and entered the Virtual Space, where they fought a battle to the death. The important thing to know was that these battles usually involved a wager.

William quickly added, "We don't have to bet big. How about ten billion Huaxia Currency?" He looked at the two expectantly.

"Sorry, we don't have the money, and we don't have time," Chen Daolin said decisively. He pulled Ji Xuan along and walked away. No matter how much William called after them, they didn't look back.

William stomped angrily on the ground. "Damn it! What a coward!"

"That guy was obviously up to no good. He wanted to scam us out of our money." After they'd walked a while, Chen Daolin let go of Ji Xuan's hand and grumbled.

The truth was, he didn't have any money either. He probably had only tens of millions in his account, making him the poorest trainee in the entire camp. Thinking about it, Chen Daolin felt deeply envious of all the wealthy trainees. Chu Qiang had spent over ten million on dinner the night before. A bold idea rose in Chen Daolin's mind: should he follow William's example and start charging people to fight him? Ten or twenty billion would be welcome, and a hundred billion wouldn't be too much either.

Of course, he wasn't strong enough yet. Once he became powerful, perhaps he could extort trainees from other countries he didn't like.

At noon, the sun shone brightly, and a gentle breeze blew through the courtyard of Jiangnan Pavilion.

Chen Daolin met his assigned instructor, Situ Bolei. He was a tall, middle-aged man in a Chinese tunic suit, with graying hair at his temples. His back was straight, like a spear thrust toward the sky.

"Teacher," Chen Daolin said, bowing slightly.

"Chen Daolin, I'll be your assigned instructor for the next five years," Situ Bolei said with a faint smile. "I've had quite a few students, but they've all graduated successfully. I hope you'll achieve great things in the Training Camp too."

"I'll do my best," Chen Daolin replied solemnly.

Situ Bolei nodded and said nothing more. He told Chen Daolin to take his own spear and follow him out.

They eventually stopped in an open space in the Training Camp, surrounded by lush trees.

"Show me your spear technique," Situ Bolei said, his hands behind his back.

"Yes."

Chen Daolin felt a little nervous, like a child being called on by the teacher for the first time. His palms were slightly sweaty.

"Ha!" Chen Daolin let out a sharp breath and thrust his spear.

Situ Bolei watched him demonstrate his spear technique, his brows drawing tighter and tighter. At last, he called out, "Stop."

"Your spear technique is terrible. How did you get into the Training Camp?" Situ Bolei criticized him without holding back.

Chen Daolin felt ashamed. "I got in on the strength of my physical fitness."

"That explains it." Situ Bolei nodded. "Still, that's normal. You're young, so it would be strange if your spear technique were advanced. Those who achieve mastery with a spear have all trained hard for ten or twenty years. Of course, our Training Camp has countless skilled instructors, all kinds of resources, and training methods. You'll progress much faster here than you would outside. Your foundation is decent, and I'll continue to guide you. If there's anything you don't understand, you can ask me. Work hard and strive to reach a higher level in spear technique soon."

"Yes, Teacher," Chen Daolin replied firmly.

Situ Bolei glanced at him. "The Black Dragon Ranking is certainly important, but your biggest problem right now is that your spear technique isn't good enough. You should devote more time to it. Once your strength improves, your rank will naturally rise too."

Chen Daolin listened with an open mind.

After advising him, Situ Bolei took Chen Daolin to the ninth floor of the Nine-Layered Tower. The ninth floor had three rooms: the Trial Room, the Challenge Room, and the Ancient Civilization Gravity Room. The seventh and eighth floors also had many training rooms, including imitation gravity rooms. But according to Situ Bolei, the imitations were nowhere near as good as the Ancient Civilization Gravity Room. They could reach a maximum of only three times normal gravity, while the Ancient Civilization Gravity Room could reach up to a thousand times. The greater the gravity, the more strain a martial artist's body could withstand, and the better the results of their training.

Inside the Ancient Civilization Gravity Room, Situ Bolei said, "Your physical fitness is at the Elementary Warlord Level. You should be able to withstand up to nine times normal gravity."

"Ah..." Chen Daolin's eyes widened.

"What?" Situ Bolei heard him and turned around in confusion.

"N-nothing." Chen Daolin swallowed the words he'd been about to say and silently activated Kaio-ken x3. His physical fitness improved instantly, and his muscles creaked under the strain. Situ Bolei noticed the change in his body and smiled faintly to himself. Young people really can't keep their cool.

An invisible force enveloped Chen Daolin. He immediately felt his body grow heavy, his mind going blank for an instant as breathing became difficult. But under these conditions, the King Kai Fist inside him seemed to be stimulated and began operating at full power. Even the gene cells deep within his body started responding. His latent potential was gradually squeezed out and turned into strength. Chen Daolin quickly realized what was happening and was overjoyed. He hadn't expected the Gravity Room to help him train with the King Kai Fist.

Martial artists absorbed energy from the universe and converted it into Genetic Origin Energy. Their bodies then absorbed the Genetic Origin Energy to improve their genes and grow stronger. Only when every part of the body, down to the smallest structures and individual cells, participated in exercise and consumed large amounts of energy—putting the cells into a state of "hunger"—would the cells absorb more Genetic Origin Energy.

Both the King Kai Fist and the Nine-Layered Thunder Blade followed this principle of cultivation. They could affect the body at a deeper level, increase the cells' capacity to absorb energy, and speed up a person's cultivation.

An ordinary person absorbed one unit of energy. Practicing a top-tier Guidance Technique raised that to five. In the Gravity Room, it might reach twenty-five. With the King Kai Fist boosting it, it could become fifty or even eighty.

The results of cultivation were astonishing.

One day of cultivation at the Ancient Civilization Gravity Room's maximum effective setting was equivalent to two or three months for someone else.

If I use the Gravity Room while the King Kai Fist is active, and add a Guidance Technique on top of that, my cultivation speed will be ridiculous. Chen Daolin grew excited.

What did he lack right now? Time. If he could increase his cultivation speed so that one hour was equivalent to someone else's whole day, he could leave everyone else far behind.

No wonder all those trainees care so much about points. If I could train here all the time, one year would be worth ten or twenty years for someone else. Becoming a God of War would be easy.

Chen Daolin now yearned intensely for Battle Achievement Points.

"By the way, Chen Daolin, you're a new trainee. You're ranked 183rd, an odd-numbered rank. According to the rules, for the first twenty-eight days of September, on the odd-numbered days, you'll go with the other trainees to the Wilderness Area to hunt monsters and earn Battle Achievement Points. On the even-numbered days, you'll stay in the Training Camp and focus on your studies and cultivation. I'll guide you then," Situ Bolei said.

"Yes, Teacher."

After returning from the Gravity Room, Chen Daolin sat in his study, drinking tea as he looked at his laptop.

"Ranked first: in September, 90 hours in the Ancient Civilization Gravity Room and 90 hours in the Trial Room."

"Ranked 101st to last: 1 hour in the Ancient Civilization Gravity Room and 1 hour in the Trial Room."

Chen Daolin looked at the very last line, deeply frustrated. He had just joined the camp and was ranked 183rd. Did that mean he could use the Ancient Civilization Gravity Room for only one hour in all of September? And the Trial Room for only one hour too?

"Unfortunately, I only get one hour a month to cultivate right now." Chen Daolin shook his head helplessly. If the Gravity Room trained the body, the Trial Room trained the mind. Either one was precious.