Ninefold Power! Hong and Thunder God Stunned!

"Tell me..."

Hong understood the implication behind Zhou Ze's words. Janet's massive leap in the rankings this time was nothing short of earth-shattering.

If Zhou Ze didn't bind himself more deeply to the martial arts hall, trouble would keep coming. Even if his disciple was Luo Feng, a fighter with invincible War God strength, it wouldn't be enough to stop it.

"My first request—and the most important one—is this. You personally drafted my contract back then, so you should know I don't have much ambition. I value freedom."

Zhou Ze said calmly.

"Staying in Yangzhou City, I have absolute freedom. I can stay home if I want, or go teach at the martial arts hall if I feel like it..."

"So I hope I can keep that freedom. But I promise, as long as nothing major comes up, I can give you three slots a month—two for our hall, one for Thunder God Speaker's Thunderbolt Martial Arts Hall..."

Zhou Ze glanced at Thunder God with a smile. "After you two discuss it internally, the three chosen can come to me for guidance at the same time."

"Agreed." Hong said flatly.

"Haha, good on you, kid, for not forgetting me." Thunder God laughed heartily. "I thought I'd be left out. Either way, I accept this goodwill."

"You practice my Ninefold Thunderblade, don't you? Whenever I have time, I'll personally guide you through it!"

Zhou Ze smiled but said nothing, then continued, "My second request is for a Spirit of Plants."

"You know, my physical talent isn't great..."

"Agreed." Hong nodded.

Thunder God looked at Hong with mock envy. "Let your Hall Master foot that bill. I know your Limit Martial Arts Hall found a ton of Hearts of Grass and Wood over on the Australian Continent—you made a killing!"

Even so, Thunder God didn't really care much about those things. Willow Hearts had little effect on Planetary-level fighters, especially him and Hong.

"My third request is for the complete manuals of Ninefold Thunderblade and World Annihilation, and I'd also like to ask about your understanding of mental cultivation."

Zhou Ze feigned curiosity. "If I could get your notes on mental cultivation or annotations on the ancient classics, that would be even better..."

He paused here. "From your techniques, it seems you're constantly revealing your understanding and demands regarding mental state between the lines."

"I know I'm normal. I can trade my self-created force technique as an exchange. This technique is derived from Thunder God's Ninefold Thunderblade, with a maximum force multiplier of nine times!"

The entire meeting room fell silent for a long moment.

"Are you sure you created that yourself, and didn't get it from some ruin?" Thunder God's eyes went wide, unable to believe it.

As the creator of Ninefold Thunderblade—the ultimate technique with the highest force multiplier in the world—he knew exactly how difficult this was.

For years, he couldn't break through the seven-times multiplier. The tenth hidden force just wouldn't emerge.

"How did you do it?" Thunder God asked, utterly shocked.

Hong didn't think Zhou Ze would exaggerate about something like this, especially in front of the two of them. He mused, "It really is incredible."

Zhou Ze's face remained calm, then he gave a self-deprecating smile. "To be honest, it was my disciple Luo Feng who pushed me into it..."

"Oh, spill it, don't drag it out like Brother Hong always does. We post-90s don't play the riddle game!" Thunder God urged impatiently.

Zhou Ze spoke slowly. "It's simple—I didn't have enough money to buy the seventh layer of Ninefold Thunderblade, and my disciple Luo Feng had good insight and worked hard. He quickly mastered the sixth layer, leaving me with nothing to teach..."

"That stung a bit. Then it hit me—both Ninefold Thunderblade and World Annihilation were created by someone. I figured my insight wasn't bad either, so why couldn't I rely on myself to create a higher force multiplier based on the sixth layer of Ninefold Thunderblade..."

"And then you created a nine-times force multiplier technique?" Thunder God rubbed his bald head, looking dazed. "That's barely a year ago, isn't it?"

"Mm. Once you understand the essence, force isn't hard. The mental cultivation you mentioned in your manuals—that's the real challenge!"

Zhou Ze showed a hint of admiration.

That expression wasn't fake. Both Hong and Thunder God were worthy of respect.

Hong let out a breath, a rare smile crossing his face. "Alright. I'll summarize my insights on mental cultivation and send them to you later."

"Oh, Hall Master, I'm also very curious about your domain. Could I possibly..." Zhou Ze smiled sheepishly. "If I could experience it, that would be ideal."

"I feel like I'm just one step away from a domain."

Many strong fighters knew Hong had a domain. It wasn't something to hide.

Thunder God swallowed hard and made a sour face. "Can you wait for me? If you actually get a domain, I'd lose face as the world's second-strongest."

Without what came before, Thunder God would have dismissed Zhou Ze's words. But Zhou Ze had brought up mental cultivation and a nine-times force multiplier.

So he had no trouble accepting that Zhou Ze was only a step away from a domain.

"Fine."

Hong agreed in a low voice, then his eyes sharpened. A red light so deep it looked black burst from his body, enveloping the entire meeting room. In that moment, Hong was like a god.

"Is that... a domain?" Outside, Luo Feng was stunned. How had they gone from talking to fighting?

Inside the room, Hong's domain didn't damage anything but applied just the right amount of pressure. Zhou Ze felt this first step on the path to strength.

"So that's it... I understand..."

"Will! It's all about will! Imposing will into genetic energy, physical strength, mental power, consciousness—it's not about naively combining them to resonate with cosmic space!"

"It's about using will to command everything, to control everything, thereby triggering resonance with cosmic space. My theory wasn't wrong... but how exactly do I resonate... what are the specific steps..."

Zhou Ze came back to himself with a faint trace of regret, then watched as Hong condensed his domain into a small red-black sphere. The sphere shrank smaller and smaller, finally vanishing into his palm.

Zhou Ze looked thoughtful.

"Brother Zhou Ze, how is it? Any feeling? Looks like it's still a bit off—that look you had with your eyes closed in sudden enlightenment just now scared me, haha..." Thunder God said cheerfully.

Zhou Ze gave Thunder God a half-smile. "I've already understood it. Once I return, I'll be able to comprehend the domain!"

"Ah! Really or not?" Thunder God's face fell, then something occurred to him, and he said excitedly, "Teacher Zhou, if you really succeed, don't forget about your brother here."

"Anyway, you're definitely better at guiding others than Brother Hong. If you can really guide me into comprehending the domain, I'll take you as my master, haha!"

Hong glanced at Thunder God. "Watch your face!"

At the successive upgrades to his own status, Zhou Ze couldn't help but marvel at how flighty Thunder God was, with a "moral bottom line" that was extremely flexible. Still, being around him was genuinely comfortable, and his mood couldn't help but lighten.

"The ninefold power I've comprehended is quite special. Let me explain it to you now. If you teach it to others, you might need to create your own blade and spear techniques on top of my power foundation."

Zhou Ze's lips curved upward. The greatest gain from this meeting was about to come.