Target

After leaving the small building, Chen Daolin felt his fighting spirit surge once more!

To get the Water of Life as soon as possible, he had to work hard to raise his Combat Power Amplitude to 12.

Chen Daolin knew that this would be extremely difficult.

A Combat Power Amplitude of 1–2 was elementary, 2–4 was intermediate, and 4–8 was advanced. From 8 to 16 was excellent, comparable to the average level of fourth-year trainees.

A Combat Power Amplitude of 14 or 15 was usually enough to break into the Training Camp's top five. A score of 13 generally put someone in the top ten, while 12 usually meant the top twenty. These were only rough benchmarks.

And the higher one's Combat Power Amplitude got, the harder it became to improve.

For Chen Daolin to reach a Combat Power Amplitude of 12, he would have to break into the top twenty of the Black Dragon Ranking.

But Chen Daolin remained confident in himself.

With the Extreme Martial Arts Hall subtly publicizing the news of his recruitment, forces around the world—including powerful nations, families, and special organizations—learned that Chen Daolin had joined. Everyone understood that he was destined to rise, and would eventually become one of the core figures in the Extreme Martial Arts Hall.

Chen Daolin paid no attention to the commotion outside. He focused on training at the Training Camp.

On October 1, because Chen Daolin had ranked 97th on the Black Dragon Ranking in September, he went out early that morning with the 91 other trainees to hunt monsters. Compared with before, though, the trainees he met were much friendlier.

"Chen, I hope you hunt even more monsters this time."

"Junior Brother Chen, let's grab a drink tomorrow."

Chatting and joking with them, Chen Daolin climbed into a vehicle reserved for the Training Camp. Not far away, Candice stood beside a few people from his circle, dressed in combat gear and watching the scene with a dark expression.

Although Chen Daolin rubbed him the wrong way, Candice knew the Extreme Martial Arts Hall had taken notice of him. Even he wasn't willing to pick a fight with a genius like Chen Daolin, whose future was clearly bright.

But when he thought of how he'd threatened Chen Daolin just days ago, telling him to stay away from Ji Han, only to be humiliated a few days later, Candice's face burned.

"Those damned old men in my family wanted me to recruit Chen Daolin before... As if he'd be easy to recruit. Now that the Extreme Martial Arts Hall has taken him in, my family wants me to get on good terms with him." Candice had never felt so frustrated.

The woman he wanted to pursue had always been close to Chen Daolin, and he could do nothing about it. Now his family had even ordered him to befriend Chen Daolin. Just thinking about it left Candice in turmoil.

"Forget it... I won't provoke him. We'll each rely on our own abilities. It's just fair competition. I still have a chance..." Candice tried to reassure himself.

Dressed in gray combat gear, Chen Daolin carried a spear in one hand and a shield in the other, with a combat backpack on his back. His gray combat boots crunched along the battered concrete road in City 1001.

Everywhere he looked, the city lay in ruins and desolation. No one had lived here for decades; it had become a gathering place for monsters. Only the arrival of the Training Camp trainees had disturbed its stillness.

Chen Daolin sat down on a rock and watched an advertising sign by the desolate road sway in the wind. My physical strength has reached the threshold of Elementary Warlord Level. With the burst from Kaio-ken x4, I can unleash a punch with enough force to just cross into Advanced Warlord Level. But Kaio-ken boosts more than just strength—it also increases speed, neural response, defense... So in essence, I should be stronger than some ordinary Advanced Beast General Level monsters.

"This time, I'll focus on hunting Elementary and Intermediate Beast General Level monsters, but I can also try taking on a few Advanced Beast General Level ones." Chen Daolin stood up, lifted his spear, and licked his lips.

"Monsters, here I come. I'll use you to hone my spear skills."

Elite Training Camp, small training hall.

Ji Xuan was practicing her saber under the instruction of a young, pretty woman.

Chen Daolin had ranked 97th on the Black Dragon Ranking last month, so he went out to hunt monsters on odd-numbered days this month. Ji Xuan was ranked 148th, so she went out on even-numbered days.

Her physical strength was only a little above Advanced Warrior Level, but as a Spirit Reader, she was equivalent to an upper-tier Intermediate Beast General. Her hunting efficiency was still very high, surpassing that of an ordinary Warlord-level martial artist squad.

She had only just joined the Elite Training Camp, but had already achieved such results in her first month. Many people had high hopes for her.

A short-haired woman in a purple training outfit stood beside Ji Xuan, instructing her in saber techniques. She was tall and curvy, with a voluptuous figure. She was Ji Xuan's teacher, Jiang Fang, one of the Elite Training Camp's rare female God of War instructors.

Of course, Ji Xuan was a Spirit Reader, but she also had excellent talent in martial arts. In the end, she chose Jiang Fang, who specialized in saber techniques, as her personal instructor.

With Jiang Fang's guidance and her own hard work, Ji Xuan had made tremendous progress. Otherwise, she wouldn't have climbed into the top 150 after just one month at the Training Camp. Every trainee at the Elite Training Camp was a genius, even a prodigy. Being able to outdo them was an accomplishment in itself.

Jiang Fang watched her disciple practice until she was drenched in sweat and nodded with satisfaction.

She was very pleased with her disciple. Ji Xuan had talent, worked hard, and was perceptive. The only slight regret was that she was a Spirit Reader rather than a pure martial artist. Jiang Fang could only teach her martial arts and saber techniques; for Spirit Reading Power, Ji Xuan had to study with the other Spirit Reader instructors at the Training Camp.

In truth, methods for training Spirit Readers had only begun to take shape recently. They were still quite crude and underdeveloped, nowhere near as advanced as martial arts. One reason was that Spirit Readers were exceedingly rare.

Martial arts were also part of one's strength. A Spirit Reader's physical fitness was part of what made her powerful.

Whether for personal growth or to test her punch strength and challenge the Trial Tower, improving her martial arts was essential.

Many powerful Spirit Readers were masters of saber techniques and Movement Technique as well.

A flash of cold light!

The sharp spearhead shot beneath the neck of a giant sika deer more than four meters tall, piercing straight through and into its head. A spray of blood burst out. The deer staggered forward for more than ten meters before swaying and crashing to the ground. Its massive body twitched faintly as its life rapidly ebbed away.

Blood dripped from the specially forged Kro Alloy spear. Sweat beaded on Chen Daolin's forehead, and he was breathing hard. He released Kaio-ken and reflected on how difficult it had been to kill an Advanced Beast General Level monster. Even this comparatively weak sika deer had taken a lot out of him.

The sky was gradually darkening. Brilliant evening clouds blazed across the western horizon, and the warm glow of the setting sun bathed the earth, tinting the ruined city red.

With his bulging backpack on his back, Chen Daolin walked slowly along a narrow road, muttering to himself, "It's almost dark. I'll keep going a little farther and see if I can kill one more before heading back." The setting sun stretched Chen Daolin's solitary shadow long behind him as he gradually disappeared into the distance.