"What?!"
Zhuge Tao shot up from his chair, his eyes wide as he listened to the voice on the phone, unable to believe what he was hearing.
"Say that again. I don't think I heard you clearly!" Zhuge Tao took a deep breath. On the other end, Wu Tong was just as excited as he repeated himself:
"Supervisor Zhuge, it's absolutely true. I can't confirm whether his movement technique is at the Perfect Level—I can't tell without seeing him in a real fight—but his punching force was measured beyond any doubt!"
"His basic punching force is already above Junior War General level, putting him in the Intermediate War General range. He's mastered the fifth level of Ninefold Thunderblade, and can unleash a punch with force comparable to a Junior War God!"
Zhuge Tao sank back into his chair and sat there in silence for a long time, Wu Tong's words echoing in his mind.
"The fifth level of Ninefold Thunderblade... movement technique at the Perfect Level... punching force comparable to War God Level... what kind of monster is this?"
"No... something's wrong... very wrong!"
"His teacher..."
Zhuge Tao froze for a moment, but quickly came to his senses. A chill ran over his scalp. If his guess was right, then...
"Hello, Chairman. I have something important to report..." Zhuge Tao immediately called Zhou Zhengyong, chairman of the Ultimate Headquarters, known as Iron Hand, and quickly explained the situation with Luo Feng and Zhou Ze.
"What?" Zhou Zhengyong was stunned.
"Is he really human? Even the Hall Master back then was no more than that..."
"Eighteen years old and already an Intermediate War General! The fifth level of Ninefold Thunderblade, movement technique at the Perfect Level—isn't that a little ridiculous?"
Zhuge Tao reminded him, "Chairman, Luo Feng is so young and already this strong, so his talent must be exceptional. But his teacher's contribution to his progress can't be underestimated either!"
Zhou Zhengyong pondered for a moment. "I understand what you mean, but you don't understand this: for a martial artist, even the most capable teacher can only offer guidance. What matters most is the martial artist's own talent and hard work."
Seeing that Zhou Zhengyong didn't seem convinced, Zhuge Tao hurriedly added, "Chairman, the February Martial Artist Combat Assessment is the strongest proof. This time, several Quasi-Martial Artists from Yangzhou City displayed Micro-Level movement techniques. What's more, many of the Quasi-Martial Artists from Yangzhou City had quite impressive offensive skills."
"Their demonstrated strength was clearly much greater than that of Quasi-Martial Artists from other regions..."
Zhou Zhengyong grew more serious. "It seems Zhou Ze really does have a gift for teaching. But you said yourself that he has no interest in going to the headquarters. We can't exactly drag him there, can we?"
Zhuge Tao fell silent. Zhou Zhengyong chuckled. "All right, I'll call and invite him myself when the time comes. If he still refuses, don't blame me."
Zhou Zhengyong was in a good mood. Luo Feng was such a remarkable talent that Zhou Zhengyong stood to benefit greatly from him. As for Luo Feng's teacher, Zhou Ze, he was surprised, but still believed Luo Feng's own extraordinary talent was the main reason for his achievements, with Zhou Ze merely providing good guidance.
It was easy enough to understand. Before the Great Nirvana, if a student got into Qingbei, it meant they already had the aptitude to do so. And the more outstanding the student, the less of a role the teacher tended to play.
After hanging up with the chairman of the Ultimate Headquarters, Zhuge Tao stood silently for a while. The chairman's words sounded reasonable, but was that really the truth? He didn't think so!
Even if Luo Feng was exceptionally talented, his instincts told him that without Zhou Ze, Luo Feng wouldn't have become this strong.
"It's a shame he has no desire to improve. Otherwise, I'd have to find some way to help him..." Zhuge Tao sighed, feeling helpless.
The chairman of the Ultimate Headquarters and three of his subordinates were waiting in the airport lounge. Before long, a phantom appeared in the sky, followed by a massive, deep-blue, disc-shaped aircraft hovering overhead.
Beep!
The cabin door opened, and a staircase extended from the aircraft. Several imposing martial artists descended. Then a figure floated out of the doorway, suspended in midair before slowly descending.
"Inspector!"
Zhou Zhengyong, Zhuge Tao, and the others felt a suffocating pressure. They had never expected Inspector Wang to come in person. But they quickly recovered and saluted in unison.
"Mm." Inspector Wang nodded slightly.
"Is Luo Feng here?" Inspector Wang was lean and handsome, and rolled a string of Buddhist prayer beads in one hand.
Even without deliberately releasing his aura, everyone present felt an immense pressure, as if they were standing before a god. It was the suppression of one level of life over another!
No matter how powerful a martial artist was, as long as they hadn't become Planetary-level, they remained a mere "mortal." Even if their combat strength surpassed that of a lowest-tier, first-level Planetary being, it made no difference.
"Reporting to you, Inspector, we've already asked him to wait for you at the headquarters," Zhou Zhengyong replied respectfully.
"Mm. Let's go." Inspector Wang nodded and got straight to the point.
Jiangnan Base City, Ultimate Headquarters.
Luo Feng was waiting in a conference room. He was quite confident in his strength and felt no nerves about the upcoming assessment. If anything, he was eager to get started.
Soon, the chairman of the Ultimate Headquarters called and told him to come out to greet their guest, briefly explaining who was coming.
"An Inspector?" Luo Feng felt a slight stir of nerves. He knew the ranks within the martial arts center. Only those beyond War God-level could become Inspectors. He hadn't expected the person coming to assess him to be an Inspector!
"Whoo..." Luo Feng took a deep breath. It was hard not to feel nervous when facing someone of this stature for the first time.
He hurried outside. Before long, a black-robed man approached, surrounded by a crowd. He sized Luo Feng up and slowly asked:
"Are you Luo Feng?"
Just being looked at made Luo Feng feel as if he'd been cut off from the world. An invisible pressure rose around him.
"Yes, Inspector!" Luo Feng bowed respectfully.
"Come. Let's go to the Training Hall." Inspector Wang said calmly and walked ahead.
Following behind him, Luo Feng arrived at the Punch Force Tester in the Training Hall. At Inspector Wang's signal, he began the test.
"Whoosh!"
Taking a deep breath, Luo Feng calmed himself and punched the target:
"16132 kg."
"Use Force Emission!" Inspector Wang gave a slight nod.
"Ha!"
Luo Feng let out a low shout, channeling the Hidden Force throughout his body. Using the fifth-level Force Emission method of Ninefold Thunderblade, he swung his right arm through the air, producing a terrifying sonic boom. His hammer-like fist slammed into the target.
"Boom!"
The target shook violently and lurched backward before rebounding.
"68024 kg."
Although Inspector Wang had already prepared himself, seeing the number with his own eyes still made his hand pause as he rolled the prayer beads.
At only eighteen, Luo Feng already had the physical strength of an Intermediate War General. He had also mastered the fifth level of Ninefold Thunderblade and, according to the report, possessed movement technique at the Perfect Level. It was truly astonishing.
And...
The others hadn't noticed, but Inspector Wang had picked up on something even subtler.
"Jiang Li, spar with him." Inspector Wang turned to a flat-haired young man beside him.
Jiang Li stared blankly. What was Inspector Wang thinking? He might only be a Junior War God, but he was a bona fide War God. He could easily crush a mere Intermediate War General, no matter how talented.
But since Inspector Wang had given the order, he had no choice but to comply.
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