Test

On the other side, Chen Yuan took the elevator down to the second floor.

This area belonged to the public training zone of the Limit Dojo. The entire second floor was an open-plan space, extremely vast, and fully equipped with all kinds of training and testing apparatus.

However, Chen Yuan was not here to train; he was waiting for someone—the Pavilion Master of the Jinling Branch Dojo.

Before leaving the sixth floor earlier, he had overheard "Sister Yu," the middle-aged woman, making a phone call, so Chen Yuan guessed there was a high probability the Chief Instructor would show up.

Taking advantage of the wait, Chen Yuan found a quiet spot to sit, opened his Communication Watch, connected to the network, and logged into the Limit Home mall.

He then purchased a C-grade secret manual and opened it to browse.

On Limit Home, secret manuals below A-grade had no physical versions; they were all digital, and the content was unlocked immediately upon payment.

Conversely, manuals A-grade and above did not have digital versions because they were too precious and prone to leaks, so they were usually delivered physically the day after payment.

Since Chen Yuan had time to kill, he prepared to read some manuals to pass the time and, incidentally, provide more data to the Optimization System to prepare for the future.

He read at an incredible speed, finishing a C-grade manual in just a few minutes. Since he didn't need to comprehend them—or even remember them—the system would automatically collect the content of any manual he viewed as a data reserve.

Thus, Chen Yuan started from the C-grade manuals, purchasing the next one as soon as he finished the previous. He read seven or eight manuals in a row, and half an hour passed.

Just as Chen Yuan began flipping through the ninth manual, the elevator at the entrance chimed, and someone walked out.

Hearing the footsteps, Chen Yuan looked up, but the person who stepped out of the elevator was not the Pavilion Master he had expected, but two people he found troublesome.

"Chen Yuan? What are you doing here?" Qin Wei clearly hadn't expected to run into Chen Yuan here and called out in surprise.

Looking at the figures of Qin Wei and Yang Fan, Chen Yuan thought to himself, Trouble, but remained calm on the surface, replying, "I'm waiting for someone."

"Waiting for someone?" Qin Wei frowned, feeling suspicious. Chen Yuan's home was nearby; why would he arrange to meet someone at the dojo?

Chen Yuan gave a faint "Mm," his tone calm: "Just waiting a while longer. If they don't show up, I'll head back. You don't need to worry about me."

Qin Wei didn't press the issue, instead bringing up another matter: "Right, my dad went to look for you a few days ago and found you weren't home, and your phone wouldn't go through. Where did you go?"

This was the reason Qin Wei was surprised to see Chen Yuan; he had been missing for days, his phone unreachable, and she hadn't expected to see him at the dojo.

Beside her, Yang Fan glanced at the empty backpack Chen Yuan had placed on the ground, then at the Communication Watch on his wrist. His eyes darted, and he suddenly smiled: "I get it. Chen Yuan, have you been to the Wilderness Zone during this time?"

"The Wilderness Zone!" Qin Wei was startled. She had assumed that after leaving their squad, Chen Yuan had immediately found a new one. But when she saw his empty backpack, she also smiled. "Chen Yuan, how was the harvest from this trip to the Wilderness Zone?"

"It was alright." Chen Yuan didn't want to chat too much, finding it a waste of time. He had already opened another manual to read, merely giving a perfunctory reply.

Yang Fan secretly viewed Chen Yuan as a romantic rival and subconsciously didn't want Qin Wei chatting with him. Seeing Chen Yuan's nonchalant attitude, he said to Qin Wei, "Weiwei, let's go train."

He had come to the dojo today to act as a sparring partner for Qin Wei, helping her practice the Thunder Blade secret manual.

Their squad's harvest this time had been unsatisfactory, mainly because Qin Wei was dragging them down. Her strength was low, and she hadn't yet mastered the secret manual, often falling into dangerous situations during combat.

After spending a month in the Wilderness Zone, Qin Zhan had finally called a halt and brought everyone back.

Qin Zhan had then told Qin Wei that if she couldn't master the Thunder Blade within a month, she wouldn't be allowed to join the next trip to the Wilderness Zone.

That was why Qin Wei came here to practice her blade every day, and Yang Fan had volunteered to be her sparring partner.

After hearing Yang Fan, Qin Wei said, "Wait a second."

She then looked back at Chen Yuan.

For some reason, every time Qin Wei saw Chen Yuan's detached expression, she felt irritated, so she said, "Chen Yuan, have you found a new wilderness squad?"

"No." Chen Yuan flipped through the manual and replied.

Just as I thought! Qin Wei looked at Chen Yuan's empty backpack and felt secretly smug. She guessed that Chen Yuan hadn't been able to find a team, couldn't hunt in the Wilderness Zone, and had been forced to slink back alone.

Right, he also made an appointment at the dojo, Qin Wei thought. Maybe it's an interview for a new squad? After all, meeting at the dojo makes it easy to test strength.

Thinking that Chen Yuan might not be doing well, Qin Wei's mood suddenly improved. She said with a hint of showing off, "By the way, I'm already an Intermediate Warrior, and I've joined my dad's squad."

She hoped Chen Yuan would understand the reason he had been kicked out of the squad in the first place.

However, Chen Yuan didn't care at all about what she said; he just continued flipping through the manual and gave a faint "Mm."

Seeing Chen Yuan remain so detached, that feeling of annoyance surged in Qin Wei again. She couldn't help but continue, "Right, are you still practicing that C-grade manual?"

This time, she didn't wait for Chen Yuan to answer, but impatiently added, "There's no point in practicing C-grade manuals. You should switch to a powerful one as soon as possible so that, at the very least, you won't be unable to even beat a Primary Beast Soldier."

"Like me—because I'm practicing 'Thunder Blade,' I killed several beast soldiers one-on-one during our actual combat in the Wilderness Zone." Qin Wei's tone carried a hint of superiority. "You remember the Iron-Haired Wild Boar, right? It was no match for me at all and was easily killed by me."

Only when she heard that Qin Wei was practicing the Thunder Blade did Chen Yuan look up: "Thunder Blade? That manual by Thor?"

Qin Wei nodded proudly: "That's right."

Chen Yuan had earned quite a bit of money recently. Both Thunder Blade and World Destroyer were on his future purchase list, though he didn't intend to buy the full versions—nor could he afford them. He only planned to buy the first few levels to feed the system, hoping to raise the force-generating power of his Gale Sword Art even higher.

Hearing that Qin Wei was practicing Thunder Blade, Chen Yuan became interested and asked, "Thunder Blade is indeed strong. Which level of dark force have you reached?"

Qin Wei was immediately rendered speechless. Of course, she hadn't mastered even the first level of dark force, or she wouldn't be at the dojo. Seeing Chen Yuan ask so directly, she became embarrassed and angry.

"Chen Yuan!"

"Is Chen Yuan here!"

Just as Qin Wei shouted Chen Yuan's name, another voice came from the distance.

Chen Yuan ignored Qin Wei and turned to look toward the elevator, a smile appearing on his face.

The person he was waiting for had finally arrived.

A middle-aged man stepped out of the elevator. With a buzz cut, a square face, and an expression carrying the steely resolve of a soldier, he was none other than Wang Tai, the Pavilion Master of the Jinling Limits Branch Hall.

Qin Wei and Yang Fan turned to look as well. Yang Fan was fine, as he did not come from the Limit Dojo and thus did not recognize the man, but Qin Wei let out a cry of surprise: "Chief Instructor!"

Chief Instructor? Yang Fan was stunned, his expression shifting slightly; that was the head of the Jinling Limit Dojo.

Why would he come looking for Chen Yuan?

By this time, Chen Yuan had already stood up and waved at Wang Tai: "I am Chen Yuan."

Wang Tai had already reviewed Chen Yuan's file on the way over, so he recognized him at a glance. He walked quickly to Chen Yuan, his tone unable to hide his excitement: "Chen Yuan, is the strength you were assessed at just now real?"

"Of course." Chen Yuan smiled and pointed to the Punch Strength Tester not far away, "Can't this be tested at any time?"

"Right, right." Wang Tai nodded repeatedly, completely lacking the usual dignity of a Chief Instructor, "Please, test it for me. I can only report it once I've seen the actual results."

"That was my thought as well, which is why I was waiting here." Chen Yuan nodded and then walked toward the Punch Strength Tester.

Wang Tai followed closely behind, while Qin Wei and Yang Fan exchanged a glance and trailed after them.

Chen Yuan stood before the Punch Strength Tester, slightly adjusted his breathing, and then exerted force through his entire body in an instant. His spine arched like a great dragon, and his fist blasted out like a missile, slamming heavily into the target.

"BOOM!"

With a deafening roar, the target shook violently, and the numbers on the tester's screen began to climb frantically before finally settling.

17792KG!

Seeing this number, Wang Tai revealed a satisfied smile, while the eyes of Qin Wei and Yang Fan went wide as saucers.

"Intermediate War General?!"