Assessment Complete

Following this, Chen Yuan ignored the martial arts manuals on the crystal walls and instead lay directly on the ground, closing his eyes to enter a state of meditation.

At this moment, deep within the ruins, inside a hall shrouded in dreamy, colorful light.

Suddenly, a massive amount of colorful light converged, rapidly condensing into a human shape. It possessed a body as clear as crystal; it was the ruin intelligence that appeared in the original work, the "Bald Crystal Man."

"Just started the Death Assessment, and he's already lying down to sleep?" The Bald Crystal Man's gaze seemed to pierce through layers of obstacles, staring directly at the situation inside the crystal room.

As the intelligence of this Assessment Base, possessing a sliver of emotion, it felt confused and puzzled by Chen Yuan's behavior.

"Is this person brimming with confidence? Or is he so detached that he views life and death with indifference? Or perhaps, he is just a fool who treats the Death Assessment as child's play?" The Bald Crystal Man observed Chen Yuan silently. "Regardless of what kind of person you are, once the three-year deadline arrives, if you fail to complete the assessment, you will undoubtedly die."

"As the second apprentice in five thousand years to accept the Elite Assessment, I hope you know what you are doing." After the Bald Crystal Man finished this last sentence, its entire body transformed into a multitude of colorful rays of light, disappearing from the palace.

Inside the crystal room, Chen Yuan was completely unaware of the movements deep within the ruins.

Because his Gale Sword Art had already reached perfection and the new secret method had not yet finished optimizing, he could only focus on practicing his meditation method for these two days.

For two full days, Chen Yuan remained immersed in his meditation. When he opened his eyes again, the optimization task was just nearing its end.

Meditation Method: Source Star Meditation: Entry (5.86%)

Opening the panel, the notification that the optimization task was complete caught his eye.

"Optimization task complete. The secret method 'Gale Sword Art' has been optimized into 'Unnamed' (Click to expand details)."

Chen Yuan couldn't wait to click on the introduction of the new secret method.

Unnamed: Combat-type secret method. Rating: Planetary Level peak secret method. A secret method constructed with the "Wind of Existence" as its core, integrating combat and enlightenment. The specific effects are as follows:

1. Increases the maximum force output limit to 30 times.

2. With the Wind of Existence artistic conception as the core, it integrates branches of Wind Artistic Conception (Current branches: Existence, Speed, Agility, Violent). By driving different branches, diverse abilities can be displayed.

3. Upon collecting all nine artistic conception branches, one can resonate with heaven and earth, and in coordination with force projection, form a domain.

4. Increases affinity for the Laws of Wind as proficiency increases. Once the secret method is perfected, it provides an additional increase in affinity for the Laws of Time.

After reading the four effects of this new secret method, Chen Yuan could not hide his joy.

The first point, a 30-fold force output limit, surpassed all secret manuals currently on Earth (except for the Luo Family) and was a peak existence even among Planetary Level secret methods.

The third point was even more astonishing; as long as Chen Yuan collected all nine branches of Wind Artistic Conception, he could possess a domain after reaching the Planetary Level, instantly becoming invincible among his peers.

The fourth point's characteristic was the most terrifying—it could actually increase law affinity through practicing a secret method, and it even involved affinity for the Laws of Time!

"The Laws of Time are high-level laws. If I can grasp the entry to the Laws of Time at the Star Level, I might have a great chance of entering the core layer of the Virtual Universe company." Chen Yuan looked at the panel and pondered. "However, what does this second point mean, 'driving different artistic conception branches'?"

As he questioned the system, he quickly received the answer: his secret method could possess different effects by driving different artistic conception branches.

Subsequently, based on the artistic conception branches Chen Yuan had currently mastered, the system listed the abilities for each branch for him.

Wind of Existence: Perceive the past.

Wind of Speed: 2.5 times movement speed and attack speed.

Wind of Agility: 2.5 times footwork flexibility and neural reaction speed.

Wind of Violent: 2.5 times explosive power.

Chen Yuan looked at these data points, a flash of realization crossing his eyes.

It was actually quite simple: it integrated the artistic conception abilities he had previously mastered into the secret method, turning them into active skills. Beyond the enhanced effects, these branch abilities could be further strengthened as the secret method's proficiency increased.

"Then, can these branch abilities be used simultaneously?" Chen Yuan asked, voicing his inner concern. He worried that he could only drive one branch at a time, which would seem inferior to before.

Fortunately, the system's answer put his mind at ease: they could be used simultaneously, and these artistic conception branches would not conflict.

"That's good!" Chen Yuan let out a sigh of relief.

"In that case, this secret method is indeed powerful enough to deserve the rating of a Planetary Level peak secret method." Chen Yuan was full of joy, then noticed the name of the secret method. "It's that headache-inducing naming phase again."

Chen Yuan fell into thought. He wanted a name worthy of this secret method's power. It couldn't be like before—names like Gale or Fierce Wind were just because the secret method's level was too low and he couldn't be bothered to put in the effort.

But the power of this new secret method met Chen Yuan's expectations, so he took the naming process seriously.

"Hmm... the core of this secret method is still wind. If it integrates the Wind Artistic Conception, it means I will continue to perceive more branches in the future." Thinking of this, a flash of inspiration struck him: "The wind that integrates everything... how about calling it Thousand Wind!"

"Hmm, Thousand Wind Sword Art doesn't sound good, Thousand Wind Secret Method lacks momentum... let's call it Thousand Wind Secret Canon."

As Chen Yuan's thoughts shifted, the name of the secret method was changed to Thousand Wind Secret Canon.

"Very well, let's start practicing." Chen Yuan then opened the details of the Thousand Wind Secret Canon. About two hours later, he had finished reading all the content and started trying it out.

Thousand Wind Secret Canon: Combat-type secret method. Rating: Planetary Level peak secret method; Current progress: Entry (0.01%).

"Hmm, regarding the force output technique, the movements in the Thousand Wind Secret Canon are somewhat similar to those in the Martial Artist Basic Secret Method. It seems the optimization system was heavily influenced by this secret method." Chen Yuan compared the differences between the two, finding that while the core force output differed, the basic movements were largely the same.

"This is fine. Although I don't know if the manager of these ruins will notice me, it's best to let them think I am practicing according to the movements above to avoid unnecessary trouble."

Thus, after a hearty meal, Chen Yuan began to officially practice the Thousand Wind Secret Canon.

Relying on the foundation laid by the Gale Sword Art, Chen Yuan had already mastered the 5-fold force output technique, so his progress in the early stages of practicing the Thousand Wind Secret Canon was rapid, breaking through 50% proficiency in just three days.

However, after crossing the 5-fold force output threshold, Chen Yuan's practice efficiency slowed down, but that was only in comparison to the rapid growth of the first three days; in reality, it was not slow at all.

Moreover, after practicing for a few more days, Chen Yuan suddenly noticed the smart optical computer on his arm. He slapped his forehead, suddenly remembering the Virtual Space he had forgotten!

So, in the time that followed, Chen Yuan used the Trial Tower every day to hone his proficiency in the Thousand Wind Secret Canon, while also clearing the tower. With a large amount of actual combat, his proficiency growth rate entered the fast lane again. Although it couldn't compare to the very beginning, compared to the progress of the previous few days, the efficiency could be said to have doubled.

In this manner, Chen Yuan cultivated within the crystal room for a month, only stopping once he felt he was capable of shattering the crystal wall.

Thousand Wind Secret Canon: Current Progress: Proficiency 21.37%

Force Exertion Level: 12

Conception Amplification: 3.9x

Sweeping his gaze across the panel, Chen Yuan's lips curled into a confident smile as he drew his sword against the crystal wall.

"Fierce Wind!"

Amidst his sharp shout, the sword light streaked across like a meteor; the terrifying force exertion of over 40 times imbued the longsword with an indestructible power, slamming fiercely into the crystal wall.

With a single thunderous boom, the crystal wall shattered upon impact!