Passing the Quasi-Warrior Assessment had effectively told the world that Liu Yun wasn't injured at all. In fact, his strength had improved even further.
Some clever people had already begun thinking about how the balance of power might shift. After all, Liu Yun had risen from Senior Fighter to War General—a qualitative leap.
"Hey! What are you talking about? Why would you take the practical assessment?"
Wang Tianba's voice came through the phone. Holding it, Liu Yun considered what to do next. He didn't want to owe anyone a favor right now.
"I still need to go through the proper process. I'll take the field assessment in Monster Town as scheduled."
After much thought, he decided he should complete the assessment. To be honest, he was still wary of Wang Tianba and the others. He planned to build a base outside the city and couldn't risk them discovering anything unusual.
"Hey, are you going out to have fun with that bunch of kids? Or are you planning to switch sides once you get your Martial Artist status back? Don't think I can't see through you..."
Wang Tianba was a complete fool, and he quickly revealed his true purpose. A War General-level Martial Artist passing the assessment had already drawn the attention of many factions, all eager to recruit him.
Thor Dojo, the HR Alliance, and the Military were no pushovers. They wouldn't think twice about poaching a War General to serve them. There was no shame in it; everyone acted in their own interests. If you didn't compete for what you wanted, wouldn't you just be an idiot?
Liu Yun didn't answer Wang Tianba. He simply hung up. Clearly, having lived through this once before, he had new ideas and no longer wanted to return to the Limit Dojo.
In his home training room, he paid no attention to the turmoil outside and resumed training. After all, strength was the foundation of everything.
He kept refining the techniques he'd used in the past, the martial skills he'd once practiced. With the help of his Machine Race Clone, he quickly perfected the First Form of the Ninefold Thunder Blade, an old technique he'd learned long ago.
Liu Yun had once struggled for ages to make any progress in this strange technique. Now, with the help of his Machine Race Clone, he had quickly mastered the first form. Strength was the foundation of everything. Otherwise, who would care about him? Friends might take pity on you and help once or twice, but they wouldn't keep stepping in forever.
He set his long blade aside and panted heavily. Beside him, the Machine Race Clone gleamed in the sunlight.
"Host, if you wish to gain even greater strength, I suggest trying to awaken your Psychic Power. I can also make a technological upgrade to your weapon."
The Crystal possessed an extraordinarily powerful computing capacity and had been monitoring Liu Yun's condition. Now, it had offered him a new suggestion.
The Crystal was like an assistant computer that could initiate conversations with Liu Yun. It was quite interesting.
Liu Yun was still checking his phone. The Limit Dojo had been devious enough to unlock his frozen account, so he could still see all the posts he'd made on the forums back then.
"Huh? Crystal, take it slowly. One thing at a time. Can I really awaken Psychic Power?"
Back then, he'd posted lengthy works on the forums, like Twenty-Eight Methods of Escaping and the Follow-Heart Blade Technique, along with all sorts of other joke articles. Even now, he could see people replying to them. Liu Yun had dreamed of becoming a Psychic, too, but like so many other dreams, it had come to nothing after a few failures.
"Yes! Host, allow me to explain. The average human brain is like a disk with a storage capacity of 300 TB. Psychics are simply a group of special Earthlings whose brain capacity is around 2,000 TB. This clone's storage capacity is approximately 51,200 DB."
The Crystal explained it to Liu Yun. He was stunned. So the human brain only had 300 TB of storage capacity? He didn't really understand what the Crystal meant by DB, but since it was the Machine Race's storage capacity, it must be enormous.
"Then what do you mean? Are you going to give me all your capacity?"
Liu Yun asked bluntly. He didn't know much about this, and he was still browsing all kinds of new firearms. Technology was advancing so quickly; perhaps he needed to upgrade his own gear, too. At the very least, he should buy a firearm capable of attacking from a distance.
"Host, that would essentially be a form of torture. If I shared the Machine Race's immense computing power with your brain, your fragile mind as a primitive Earthling would collapse immediately. Many Psychics on Earth face the same problem. I'll proceed with care."
The Crystal floated into the air and fired a beam of deep blue energy into Liu Yun's mind. He jolted, feeling as though his mindscape had exploded.
"Ah! What is this?"
He couldn't even hold on to his phone. Agonizing pain coursed through him, and the world around him began to twist.
The sensation surpassed every form of torture on Earth. It was even worse than being flayed alive—a distortion that reached deep into his soul and left him in unbearable agony.
The clone spoke in a mechanical voice. This was because Liu Yun was too weak and Earth was too backward.
"A small amount of capacity has been shared. You are now a Psychic."
The Crystal's words sent Liu Yun surging with excitement. What was pain compared to anything else? After the helplessness he'd suffered when he lost his strength, this was nothing. As long as he could awaken his Psychic Power, he'd gladly endure even death by torture.
Amid the excruciating pain, Liu Yun reached out with his right hand. The phone that had fallen to the floor and cracked its screen flew straight into his palm.
This was Psychic Power! Liu Yun looked at the phone, a delighted smile on his face. A Psychic's strength was two levels above that of a Martial Artist. He was a Junior War General, which meant his Psychic Power was at the Advanced War General level.
Now, as long as he kept out of trouble and avoided War Gods and their families, friends, and subordinates, even Councilors and other Planetary Level experts probably wouldn't bother with a mere apprentice like him.
That would make Liu Yun a king among the lower ranks, free to do as he pleased. No one would dare provoke him, and he might even gather a large following.
"Great! This is fantastic. It's not that I'm greedy for fame and fortune; the world is dangerous, and I have no choice but to grow stronger."
Liu Yun was very satisfied. The world was dangerous, and people only feared violence. He'd suffered enough from being down and out.
The Crystal clearly had all sorts of incredible abilities. It floated over and fired a burst of bright red laser at Liu Yun's blade. A string of runes appeared on it—a modification beyond anything the ancient Hemudu people's metalworking skills could have imagined.
The Straight Blade seemed to have been given life. Its blade trembled slightly, and a shining Crystal appeared in its hilt. Then, before Liu Yun's eyes, it miraculously began to split apart and transform. The metal seemed to melt, reshaping itself under the control of the core Crystal into something entirely different.
"It has three forms. The first is a gun that can launch ranged attacks. The second is a melee weapon, upgraded into an extraordinarily durable alloy. The final form is a great shield, which can project a barrier to absorb damage from enemies."
This Straight Blade was a weapon handed down through the Huaxia tradition. Now it shifted between forms, displaying all sorts of novel abilities. After its mechanical upgrade, it had become an exceptionally useful weapon. Whether thrusting, lifting, sweeping, or chopping, it moved with ease and packed far more power.
Liu Yun's strength had improved again, filling him with boundless joy. Still, he needed to get his phone repaired.
He went downstairs and bought more gear for field use—compressed rations, first-aid supplies, and other necessities. He also bought a new phone. In the future, he would be heading to Monster Town, a dangerous area far from the base.
"The town has a port, an airport, and abandoned houses. It's the perfect place to hide."
Liu Yun had planned everything out. In truth, he had even greater ambitions: he wanted to reach the level of a War God and beyond. To do that, he would have to upgrade the Machine Race's base.
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