War God Ji Shan?

In a private room of a restaurant on the fourth floor of the HR Alliance Mall, the table was laden with a full spread of dishes. The members of the Eagle Strike Squad gathered around a laptop at the edge of the room. Captain Zhang Taofang quickly passed through fingerprint verification and a triple dynamic password to log into the squad's shared account.

"1.002 billion Huaxia Currency. We'll split it as discussed earlier. Any objections?" Zhang Taofang looked at the others.

Everyone nodded, and Ji Yun smiled as well.

The distribution rules for a martial squad had to balance competition among members with maintaining unity.

"Transfer successful."

The notifications rang out one after another. Ji Yun glanced at his Communication Watch—his account, which had only 5 million left, now had an additional 219 million.

"Beast General Rank monsters really do pay well," Ji Yun remarked. "I wonder what kind of price Lord Rank monsters can fetch."

"I'll treat everyone to dinner today, both to celebrate our safe return and to welcome A-Yun properly," Zhang Taofang said with a smile.

"The captain's raking in so much, treating us to a meal is just pocket change." The others all grinned.

"A-Yun's strength is improving so fast. In a few years, he'll become a High-Level War General, and a War God is within reach after that. Maybe in a few years, we'll be the War God Squad." Everyone ate and drank heartily, chatting freely, fully relaxing.

Every time they came back from the Wilderness Zone, it was like walking out from the brink of death! In the Wilderness Zone, especially when entering large, ruined cities, they were always on edge. No one dared to let their guard down in those cities... after all, monster hordes, Beast General Rank monsters, and even Lord Rank ones were far too common there.

Just as the Eagle Strike Squad was enjoying their meal, Zhang Taofang's Communication Watch let out a sound.

"Beep—"

"Hm?" Zhang Taofang looked at his Communication Watch, but his expression quickly turned serious.

"Everyone, hold up. I have something important to tell you."

Seeing the captain's solemn face, the squad members stopped their laughter and turned to Zhang Taofang.

Zhang Taofang gave a complicated smile and said, "Chief Instructor Ji Shan just sent me a message. He wants A-Yun to withdraw from our squad."

"Huh?"

"How can this be!" Everyone was stunned.

"How can Instructor Ji Shan make A-Yun withdraw without even asking for his opinion? The Martial Arts Association instructors shouldn't have that authority, right?" Li Ke couldn't help asking.

"I've received confirmed news. Instructor Ji Shan has already broken through to War God level physical fitness! From now on, we might have to call him Instructor Ji Shan the War God."

"War God!"

Everyone was utterly shocked. A War God! There were only a few thousand War Gods in the entire world. A single base city district had a population of over a hundred million, and a full base city easily housed over a billion people. Yet across all 23 base cities globally, there were only a few thousand War Gods!

A War God powerhouse meant stepping into the highest circle in the world—possessing the power to move mountains and drain seas.

"With a War God around, it does make sense for A-Yun to withdraw," Li Ke said with a bitter smile. "Looks like this meal is also A-Yun's farewell banquet."

"Come on, let's drink."

"Cheers."

"Bottoms up. Brother Zhang, we've been brothers for seven or eight years. On the battlefield, you've saved my life countless times. I won't say much—just one toast."

Even Naili, who rarely drank, got thoroughly drunk and leaned against Zhang Yan, completely out of it. Everyone could tell there was something between Zhang Yan and Naili.

This time, it was both a celebration of the massive wealth they'd earned and a deeply sorrowful moment because of A-Yun's departure. Everyone's feelings were mixed—though they'd made a fortune, they all truly valued this young brother who, despite just joining, had excellent strength and character.

The meal didn't end until eight in the evening. Ji Yun waved goodbye to the Eagle Strike Squad members, and the cool breeze cleared his head considerably.

Ji Yun pulled out the car keys he'd tossed in his bag, walked straight to the Underground Alliance's garage, and drove out his own car.

It was already late at night. A silver sports car pulled up to the neighborhood gate, passed through without any obstruction, and entered the compound.

Back home, Ji Yun took off his Combat Suit, showered, and went down to the living room on the first floor. Ji Shan was sitting there, waiting for Ji Yun.

"A-Yun, you must have heard by now," Ji Shan said with a smile. "Over these twenty days, my physical fitness broke through to War God level."

"So once I stabilize, I'll go hunt Lord Rank monsters to earn the War God title."

"Then why did you make me withdraw from the Eagle Strike Squad?" Ji Yun asked, puzzled.

"The Eagle Strike Squad's strength is still a bit low. I plan to go hunting in a month or two. With your force output level, you can already unleash the power of a High-Level War General. If you train hard these few months, reaching or even approaching Mid-Level War General physical fitness won't be a problem. I want to take you to see the world—to City 003 in Former Shanghai City," Ji Shan said.

"That's too big a leap." Ji Yun was startled.

Ji Shan explained, "City 003 is infested with many Lord Rank monsters, even lone Lord monsters. If we went to other cities, we'd easily get surrounded by monster hordes. From that perspective, City 003 is relatively safe."

"Just wait for me to stabilize my realm in a month or two, and I'll take you to City 003."

"I understand, Dad." Ji Yun smiled in response.

He was genuinely happy for his father Ji Shan's breakthrough. Ji Shan had always been exceptionally talented, but he'd put his own training on hold to take care of Ji Yun. Now that he'd made a breakthrough, it was a time for joy.

"These few months, I'll train hard and definitely break through to Mid-Level War General physical fitness!" Ji Yun silently resolved.

Cultivation required balancing work and rest for maximum efficiency.

So—

Back home, Ji Yun could fully relax. On the first day back, he didn't train at all but completely unwound. Alone, wearing loose Training Suit, he strolled leisurely through the neighborhood, his steps naturally light and carefree, as if merging with the gentle breeze, relaxing from both mind and body.

That night, after a good day's rest, Ji Yun began this phase of training.

In the Martial Arts Hall on the third floor, there was a window at the center of the ceiling. When opened, one could feel the gentle night breeze, and the moonlight like water poured in through the empty frame. Sitting in the hall, Ji Yun could even sense the flow of the wind through that window.

"Swish, swish—"

Ji Yun swung his long spear, each strike following a pattern yet carrying a casual ease. The technique was somewhat similar to the spear art taught by Fierce Wind, yet also distinct. Still, Ji Yun made every strike perfectly rounded and seamless.

"My physical condition is already considered decent at the Low-Level War General level, and I feel that cultivating the second layer of Fierce Wind still holds potential for further digging—the accumulation from this stage hasn't been fully consumed! But my improvement isn't fast enough; otherwise, I could rise a step within this time. Unless, unless I can break through to the third layer of Fierce Wind, or even the fourth." Ji Yun said slowly in his heart. "Right now, what I need to do is find the fastest way to increase my physical strength!"

Late at night, in the Martial Arts Hall, Ji Yun repeatedly contemplated that one spear strike born between life and death. Sometimes he stood still, sometimes he thrust quickly. With each recollection, he strove to find that feeling of condensing wind.

But artistic conception was the hardest thing to grasp. Without some kind of trigger, breakthroughs were rare. Ji Yun had only gained a faint insight in that moment between life and death—yet such moments were extremely dangerous, with a high chance of falling. Unless Ji Yun could experience the Conception of Wind up close.

But the Conception of Wind was incredibly hard to find. Across the entire world, only one person had mastered it. As for nature itself, places imbued with the Conception of Wind were all human forbidden zones—even War Gods dared not enter easily, let alone Ji Yun, a mere War General martial artist.

After practicing the spear continuously for an hour and a half, Ji Yun sought to comprehend that one strike with every thrust. Soon, he sat cross-legged on the ground, unable to move at all. The exertion of Fierce Wind placed immense strain on the subtle parts of the body! After resting for five minutes following the spear practice, once he could barely move his body, Ji Yun then cultivated the Guide Technique 'Mystic Wind Guidance Technique'. His exhausted body felt as if soaking in a hot spring, leaving him comfortably limp.

Finally, after finishing the Guide Technique and spear practice, Ji Yun began cultivating Genetic Origin Energy, letting his body absorb Cosmic Energy.

The moment he started, every cell in his body felt ravenously hungry. As soon as Genetic Origin Energy was generated, it was devoured wildly, and the cultivation speed increased with each passing moment. One minute, two minutes... time ticked by, until at last every cell in his body was saturated, as if stuffed full, unable to take in any more.

"The Genetic Origin Energy I absorbed today is worth several days of previous cultivation." Ji Yun was slightly surprised. The secret manual said it could increase cultivation speed—so this was how.

Ordinary people, no matter how hard they trained, would eventually exhaust themselves to the point of immobility.

That was because too much lactic acid built up in the muscles—only the muscle cells participated in the exertion! Many cells in the body barely took part in the movement at all. But the exertion method Ji Yun practiced released Hidden Force in an instant. This method essentially involved deep-level exertion from the body, with all body cells participating.

This meant that all body cells joined in the movement. The muscle cells weren't overly fatigued, producing harmful substances, but instead consumed energy appropriately, driving metabolism throughout the body.

With the body's cells consuming more energy, their 'appetite' also greatly increased, allowing them to absorb more Genetic Origin Energy!

From that day on, Ji Yun began training himself nearly to the limit every day. He also discovered the optimal training method: practicing the 'Wind Motion' footwork while simultaneously comprehending his Spear Path! It didn't matter how many times he thrust, nor did he need to pursue any particular force. He only needed to put his full effort into each attempt at comprehension, to feel that artistic essence.

When his footwork and Spear Path training left him utterly exhausted, he would then practice the Guide Technique.

After the Guide Technique, his stamina recovered somewhat.

Then he would train in body movement and Spear Path again! Followed by another round of Guide Technique practice!

Finally, he would cultivate Genetic Origin Energy. This method was the most efficient! One full cycle took about six hours. This was the fastest way to improve physical strength that Ji Yun had created, combining his father's advice with his own experience.

Every session pushed him close to the limit, even reaching it. This made it easier to break through the limit and reach a higher level. It was more stable than breaking through the limit all at once, but also more exhausting and more demanding on one's willpower. After all, pushing oneself to the utmost every day—few could endure it.