The Conception of Wind

The next morning, Ji Yun practiced several sets of spear techniques, then sat cross-legged in the third-floor hall.

Sunlight streamed through the windows, brightening the entire Martial Arts Hall. Dressed in a white Training Suit, Ji Yun sat barefoot and cross-legged on the floor. The hall, which spanned over a hundred square meters, was empty except for him, seated in the center with a manual laid out in front of him—

It was none other than Fierce Wind.

"Chen Qingzhi, the Invincible War God, was famous for his fast spear techniques and could take on a thousand men alone. Armies would flee rather than face his spearhead." Ji Yun opened the manual. "I wonder what kind of power Fierce Wind holds."

The first page contained only one question.

"What is wind?"

"Wind..."

Ji Yun pondered silently. What was wind?

"Wind is everywhere in nature. The sea breeze is wind, the mountain breeze is wind, a storm is wind, and a hurricane is wind."

"Wind takes countless forms. Harness what you can control, and you have Fierce Wind!"

Ji Yun turned to the next page.

"When you move fast enough, you can create wind. You can control its emergence, and eventually completely master the wind you create yourself." As soon as Ji Yun opened the manual, he saw the elegant, flowing handwriting, as if a gentle breeze were brushing against his face.

"To create wind, you must be fast enough!"

"This speed doesn't simply mean how fast you move. It means how fast your spear moves relative to the air. If you can make it resonate with the wind around you, it will naturally move even faster. Add the two together, and you'll ride the wind, piercing through the air with a single thrust."

"Why stir up the wind?"

"On a small scale, wind can kick up dust and confuse your opponent, giving you an advantage."

"Or you can direct the wind around yourself to increase your speed or the power of your spear."

"Or you can thrust once, summon a raging storm, and tear your enemy apart."

"Never underestimate the power of wind! It can be gentle, but it can also be fierce. I once thrust my spear and the wind it stirred up tore a Lord Monster apart."

"That is wind!"

Ji Yun put down the manual, his eyes gleaming faintly. Clearly, he was unsettled; it seemed he had grasped something.

"To comprehend the Conception of Wind, I need to sense the air flowing around me. To stir up or even sense the movement of the air around me, I need to be fast enough. To be fast enough, I need great strength, speed, and physical fitness."

Ji Yun continued reading.

"Fierce Wind contains a complete movement technique, Wind Motion; a complete Guide Technique, Mystic Wind Guidance Technique; and a complete set of spear techniques, Fierce Wind. Of the three, the Guide Technique is the foundation!"

"Only through the Guide Technique can you build a powerful physique!"

"Physical fitness is the foundation!"

"The spear and movement techniques are skills. They require repeated practice and insight!"

The ultimate goal of Fierce Wind was to comprehend and master the Conception of Wind, then harness the wind in battle to amplify its power.

Ji Yun continued reading. The manual contained five sections of the Guide Technique. According to its description, the Mystic Wind Guidance Technique had five sections in total. The spear techniques in the manual likewise covered only the first five levels, as did the movement technique. Ji Yun studied it closely, reading every word from beginning to end.

"The introduction says the spear and movement techniques have five levels, which help a Martial Artist unleash more power and move faster."

"The final two levels help a Martial Artist comprehend the Conception of Wind and ultimately master wind."

"So that's how you generate force. The method I worked out on my own only counts as the first level."

Every advanced manual had its own method of generating force. Ji Yun had previously figured out a way to generate force that was called Hidden Force, but it could only add one extra burst of power and couldn't be stacked. The force-generating method in Fierce Wind was far more advanced.

As mentioned before, a normal person might put all their strength into a spear thrust, using ten-tenths of their power. But a practitioner of Fierce Wind used only eight-tenths of their strength when thrusting. As they unleashed the first burst, they would make their bodies unleash a second burst of equal force. The two bursts stacked together, giving them sixteen-tenths of their power.

Fierce Wind had five levels, allowing practitioners to unleash up to forty-eight-tenths of their power and giving them nearly five times their normal strength.

In other words, with enough practice, they could even use this explosive power to fight opponents at a higher level.

Holding his spear, Ji Yun took his stance as instructed by the first level of the manual, then suddenly thrust.

"Whoosh!" The sound of the spearhead piercing the air rang out.

Ji Yun had used eight-tenths of his strength in that thrust, but had only managed to produce six additional bursts of force, bringing the total to fourteen-tenths of his normal power.

Even with my foundation in Hidden Force, it's still so difficult to master the technique completely.

Ji Yun nodded. If it weren't difficult, how could it be an SS-grade manual? Many people spent years trying to figure out how to generate Hidden Force. Ji Yun had nearly succeeded in mastering the first level on his very first try—that was already impressive.

"I'll try again and see where I went wrong."

Time passed. Although Ji Yun had joined the Eagle Strike Squad, the team was on vacation during this period. He spent the month studying Fierce Wind's spear and movement techniques, as well as its Guide Technique. The Guide Technique, practiced alongside Genetic Origin Energy, had the most noticeable effect. Ji Yun's physical strength was increasing much faster than before.

Ji Yun had already mastered the first level of Fierce Wind, but still had some way to go before reaching the second. After mastering the first level, his speed of absorbing Genetic Origin Energy had also advanced by a whole tier. Following this period of consolidation, he had fully entered the Low-Level War General rank. He was no weakling even among Low-Level War Generals, and with his techniques, he was among the very best.

On the morning of September 2, Ji Yun wore a combat vest beneath a white robe, which concealed it.

He slung a warrior's backpack over his shoulders and carried a Wind Lifter Spear. A communication watch was secured to the wrist guard on his right arm. He had also packed water and some high-energy food in his bag.

"Today, September 2, is the first time I'm leaving a Base City to officially enter the Wilderness Zone." Ji Yun took a deep breath.

Today was the day the Eagle Strike Squad set out!

Ji Yun went downstairs and saw Ji Shan and Luo Hong's family sitting in the living room, all watching him.

"A-Yun, be careful," Ji Shan said quietly.

"Don't worry, Dad. I'm not that kid who'd only just become a Quasi-Warrior anymore." Ji Yun smiled.

"Come back safe. Don't keep Xiao Yue waiting," Luo Hong said, his voice a little hoarse.

"Ji Yun, when you come back, will you go out with me?" Luo Yue's eyes were a little red, as if she had been crying.

"Mm." Ji Yun nodded and hugged Luo Yue. Then he picked up his car keys and walked out the door.

Ji Yun drove for two hours before arriving in Kyoto Base City.

Kyoto Base City, the capital of Huaxia Nation, was extremely prosperous. In its central district stood an eighty-eight-story skyscraper. The enormous letters "HR" gleamed brightly across its facade. Around the building's ground floor lay a beautiful plaza and the largest statue in all of Kyoto Base City, depicting Jia Yi, a Beyond War God. Over a thousand fully armed soldiers patrolled the plaza, forbidding any outsiders from setting foot inside.

Passersby looked at the skyscraper with curiosity and envy as they went by.

"Beep."

An electronic chime sounded.

The soldiers standing guard and on patrol immediately stepped aside. A sports car bearing the Limit Dojo logo on its license plate pulled up in front of the skyscraper's entrance.

Ji Yun got out and took his weapons from the trunk, then slung his backpack over his shoulders.

"Sir, please come in." The doorman at the entrance bowed respectfully.

Ji Yun entered the building and, following the directions he'd received, went straight to a private lounge on the second floor.

As he went upstairs, Ji Yun took a close look at the HR Alliance Mall. The Underground Alliance, formed by the world's superfamilies and financial groups, had its headquarters here. The building was extravagantly luxurious.

The floor of the lobby was polished to a mirror shine, and even its simple decorations were extraordinary.

The male servers in the lobby were handsome, the women graceful and lovely, and every one of them wore a welcoming smile.

The HR Alliance headquarters in Kyoto Base City was a little different from those elsewhere. Since it was fairly close to another Base City, Northeast Base City, it sold fewer materials and had a larger rest area.

Ji Yun found the room, knocked, and went inside.

When the Eagle Eye Zhang Taofang saw Ji Yun, he smiled. "A-Yun, come sit down."

"Let me introduce you. This is our squad's deputy captain, Li Ke, known as Stray Arrow. Li Ke uses a saber, but he's also an expert with throwing knives. That's where his nickname comes from."

Li Ke nodded and smiled at Ji Yun.

"This is our squad's Shield Mountain, Zhang Yan."

He was a burly, rugged-looking man, his body packed with bulging muscles. He looked full of strength. He wore only a combat vest, exposing his tanned muscles as they rippled with every movement.

Zhang Yan laughed heartily. "A-Yun, just call me Brother Yan."

"Brother Yan, Brother Li." Ji Yun greeted them with a smile.

"Our squad had only four members before. Now that you've joined, there are five. I'll introduce the last one when she gets here," Zhang Taofang said.

"First, I'll tell you about our squad's strength."

"All four of us are War General Level. Li Ke and I are Mid-Level War Generals, while Zhang Yan and the other member are Low-Level War Generals," Zhang Taofang said gravely.

"Your physical fitness should be at the Low-Level War General level too, right?"

Zhang Yan and Li Ke were both surprised. An eighteen-year-old Low-Level War General was certainly gifted.

"Yes, Captain."

"You'll be learning from us how to fight and survive in the Wilderness Zone. Your physical fitness is already pretty good, so our target will remain the same this time: Beast General Rank monsters. And we're headed somewhere quite unusual—the prefecture-level city of Dongying in what used to be Qilu Province."

"Dongying?" Ji Yun was taken aback.

"Dongying is on the coast, at the mouth of the Yellow River. Because it's by the sea, the monsters there are generally higher-ranked, with more Beast Generals, so we can hunt them more quickly. But it's also more dangerous."

As he spoke, Zhang Taofang smiled. "There she is. Let's get ready to leave."

Ji Yun followed the three of them downstairs to the first floor, where he saw a woman sitting on a sofa. She had a short, neat haircut and dark skin, and exuded a wild charm.

"This is our squad member and its only female member, Naili."

"Hello." Naili greeted him enthusiastically. "Wow, our new little brother is so young!"

"Don't get any ideas. He's Ji Shan's son," Zhang Taofang said with a laugh and a shake of his head. "All right, enough teasing. Let's get going!"

"Let's go!"

"Get in the car!"

Ji Yun tucked his car keys into his pocket, and the five of them got into the HR Alliance's vehicle.