Systematic Training

Elite Training Camp, Ninth-Floor Tower, ninth floor.

When Ji Yun and Situ Ye walked out of the Trial Room, chatting and laughing, the genius martial artists of various skin colors from all over the world looked over in surprise from the spacious hall on the ninth floor. Shi Jiang, who had spoken to them earlier, asked, "Teacher, did he pass the test?"

Although Situ Ye had assured them, it was still better to confirm.

"Of course. Ji Yun definitely passed. From now on, he's a trainee at the Elite Training Camp." Situ Ye smiled. "I'll take him to complete the paperwork now. You'll see him this afternoon."

"Haha." Shi Jiang was clearly pleased. This meant Huaxia's influence in the world had grown even stronger. "Christine, what do you think?"

"We'll see what the rankings say." The proud white girl called Christine snorted and turned to leave.

"Well, he'll probably be staying at Yanjing Pavilion. Jiang Chuan, keep an eye on him from now on."

Outside the Nine-Fold Tower, the sun was still shining brightly.

"Ji Yun, let me give you a few pointers. I know they probably won't change your mind, but I still have to say them," Situ Ye said suddenly.

"Though there are only a little over 180 trainees here, the place is secretly connected to the world's five great powers, the families of the HR Alliance, and so on. There's a lot more going on here than meets the eye. Once you become part of the Elite Training Camp, as long as you aren't eliminated, you're destined for a brilliant future!"

"Here at the Training Camp, the government and military will try to recruit you, as will certain special organizations and families in the HR Alliance... You may face all kinds of temptations—money, women, power. But remember, your strength matters most!"

Situ Ye's voice was low.

"The rankings are crucial. A high rank directly determines how many resources you'll receive."

Ji Yun nodded in understanding.

"All right, choose a number. Today is January 29, and you'll officially join the Training Camp on February 1, 2057... So the first four digits of your code have to be '5702.' As for the last two digits, since you're the only one joining in February, you can choose any two numbers."

"What do you want the last two digits to be?" Situ Ye asked.

"Then... 18. I'm only 18 this year, after all." Ji Yun smiled.

"18?" Situ Ye nodded. "Your trainee code will be 570218. The rest of the paperwork will be done soon."

That very day, a new name appeared on the Black Dragon Sculpture Ranking at the world's number-one Training Camp: "NO.182 Ji Yun (570218)."

The news spread almost instantly to the world's five great powers and their various Base Cities. Government and military special departments, the nine core families of the HR Alliance, and dozens of other influential families all received the news quickly. That same day, every one of these institutions and organizations received a detailed file on Ji Yun!

But they all found him extremely difficult to recruit.

His father was also a War God, and still relatively young. There was little they could offer to win him over.

That night.

Ji Yun sat at his desk in front of the computer provided by the Training Camp.

The laptop had only just started up. Ji Yun sat in his chair, carefully reading the "Trainee Handbook."

"Training at Ancient Civilization Ruins?"

"Trial Room? Challenge Room? Gravity Room? These three training rooms were all made using artifacts from Ancient Civilization Ruins." As he read, Ji Yun learned more and more about the Elite Training Camp. The Camp certainly had plenty of high-tech equipment, but its most precious assets were the devices from Ancient Civilization Ruins.

"Not bad. The rankings really do determine how much time you get to use these training devices."

The higher your rank, the more time you were allocated! But those were only some of the benefits!

As Ji Yun read on, he grew more and more astonished.

"Rank first for a month, and if you manage to place first nine times in total, you'll receive a bottle of Dragon Blood worth 80 billion, get to choose any three complete sets of secret manuals for free, and choose either Hong or Thor as your teacher, becoming one of their personal disciples."

"Rank first for a month, and if you manage to place first six times in total, you'll receive a drop of Jade Essence worth 30 billion, get to choose any complete set of secret manuals for free, and receive one personal instruction session from either Hong or Thor."

There were even finely graded rewards for skill levels...

"Punch-force exertion level 6: receive Dragon Blood worth 80 billion, an SS-class Combat Suit, a complete set of weapons..."

"Punch-force exertion level 5: receive..."

"Trial Tower level 5: receive the position of Inspector at the Limit Dojo, Dragon Blood worth 80 billion, an SS-class Combat Suit, a complete set of weapons, any three complete sets of secret manuals, and a set of the Black God from the Ancient Civilization Ruins..."

The Trial Tower seemed to be the most important. Its rewards were considerably better than those for the other improvements. Ji Yun nodded slightly. The Trial Tower tested combat ability, which had nothing to do with physical fitness, so it was indeed more important.

Soon,

Ji Yun finished reading the entire Trainee Handbook. He realized that the Training Camp valued three things most: Trial Tower level, punch-force exertion level, and Black Dragon Ranking!

The ranking was determined by the number of points.

The points were simple to calculate: they were based on Combat Power Amplitude and achievement points.

Achievement points came from hunting monsters. Combat Power Amplitude, meanwhile, was your Trial Tower level multiplied by your punch-force exertion level!

For example,

If someone had 1,000 achievement points, a punch-force exertion level of 1.5, and a Trial Tower level of 2, then their Combat Power Amplitude would be 3. Their score would be 1,000 multiplied by 3, for a total of 3,000 points!

Converting achievement points into ranking points was worth very little.

"The Training Camp really values punch-force exertion level and Trial Tower level. Even a slight increase in Combat Power Amplitude gives you a huge jump in points." After finishing the Trainee Handbook e-book, Ji Yun opened some tutorial videos on the laptop provided specially by the Training Camp.

"With my current level, I'm already better than many War Gods."

The videos were clearly divided into categories: Guide Technique, movement, force exertion, saber techniques, sword techniques, spear techniques, staff techniques, hammer techniques... There were many different categories.

Although Ji Yun seemed to have a wide range of skills, in the end, all his strength came down to his Spear Path. His physical force exertion and even the Conception of Wind, which he had comprehended through his Spear Path, would work best when used in tandem with it.

His Spear Path, which had reached the Conception Level, had given him spear steps at the Conception Level as well—that is, movement at that level. His force exertion, meanwhile, provided his killing power.

Ji Yun browsed a few movement tutorials, but most explained Micro-Level movement. Some instructors' explanations were even less insightful than his own understanding, let alone offering him anything new.

He also watched a video about punch-force exertion. His current level was 3.2 times, which was quite good even among War Gods.

Still, one video gave Ji Yun quite a bit of insight.

"Teacher, my punches can reach 1.8 times my normal strength. But my legs can only reach 1.5 times my normal strength. You said that the power of my legs should be able to reach the same multiplier as my punches. Why can't I do it?"

In the video, a young Black man asked the question.

A burly white man smiled and said, "You'll have to figure that out for yourself! Think carefully about how you exert force through your arms and fists, then go back and study how you exert force through your legs and feet. You've already reached 1.5 times your normal strength, which means you've made progress. From here on, you're on your own. A teacher can only point you in the right direction."

In theory, a person's hands and legs were both controlled by muscles to exert force. So if the arms could do something, the legs should be able to do it too.

Although Ji Yun had focused on his legs while training in the Spear Path, he had never paid attention to this question before.

"I can't believe I never thought of this. If I can transmit Hidden Force to my arms, then of course I can transmit it to my feet too! Is this also why I'm a little faster than other martial artists at my level?"

Ji Yun felt annoyed with himself. He had missed out on a lot because of this, and he hadn't even done many of the exercises he should have.

"My explosive power is at 3.2 times now. That means my legs and feet can reach 3.2 times as well. My speed could increase by sixty or seventy percent!" For a true expert, speed was actually more important than strength. If you were much faster than your opponent, you could toy with them in the palm of your hand.

"My speed is already close to the speed of sound. If I add sixty or seventy percent, I'll probably reach around 500 m/s. That's probably about as fast as an ordinary War God!"

Ji Yun was excited, but he held himself back and continued watching. Sometimes training wasn't difficult; you simply couldn't find the right direction. That was where systematic training could guide you.

Spear Path...

Ji Yun only browsed briefly before closing the video. When it came to the Spear Path, even Chen Qingzhi, the War God, couldn't offer him much guidance. Once you reached the Conception Level, all you could do was spar with others and test your understanding. Unless you could reach a level beyond Conception—but Ji Yun had never heard of anyone who had. Perhaps only Hong or Thor could?

"Ji Yun! Get ready. A bunch of us from Huaxia are holding a dinner tonight to welcome you," Jiang Chuan called from outside. He was the senior trainee Situ Ye had mentioned earlier.

"Okay, I'll be right there." Ji Yun answered, then shut down the computer.

After washing up, he changed into slightly more formal casual clothes and checked his appearance in the bathroom mirror. He was quite satisfied. I wonder how far I'll get in the Trial Tower. Maybe the third level? Mr. Situ only made it to the third level, and my level and force exertion might be no worse than his.

After tidying his clothes, Ji Yun turned and headed out to the dinner.

At eight that evening, twenty trainees from Huaxia gathered on the second floor of Restaurant No. 1 at the Elite Training Camp to welcome Ji Yun! Although Mandarin was widely spoken around the world, especially since both Thor and Hong spoke it, only when Huaxia people spoke to one another did it feel familiar!

After the dinner had started to wind down, Ji Yun leaned against the railing alone, gazing at the starry sky.

"Ji Yun!" a hearty voice called out.

Ji Yun turned around and saw a tall young man walking over, his features as sharply defined as if they'd been carved with an axe and chisel. Shi Jiang, whom he'd met earlier, was beside him.

Ji Yun knew a little about Shi Jiang, since he was ranked in the top five on the monthly rankings. But who was the man beside him?

"Haha, Ji Yun, let me introduce you. This is your senior, Chu Qiang, someone you've probably heard of." Shi Jiang smiled. "Don't let my high ranking this month fool you. I might drop back down next month. Senior Chu Qiang, on the other hand, has stayed in the top three consistently."

"Hello, Ji Yun."

Chu Qiang's voice was gentle as well. "I've heard that the military invited you, but I'd still like to try one more time. Would you be willing to join the Huaxia Military?"

"The military never skimps when it comes to talent. After you graduate, your benefits in the military will naturally depend on your strength! The stronger you are, the better your benefits. We can discuss the details later. And if you agree to join, then... the military will provide you with 5 billion in activity funds every year for the five years you're at the Training Camp."

Ji Yun was tempted. He could get 5 billion before even graduating, simply by agreeing.

"5 billion. The military's willing to spend quite a lot, huh?" Ji Yun smiled.

Ordinary martial artists weren't very efficient at hunting monsters. Even a Beginner War God would have a hard time successfully hunting an Elementary Lord monster! How many martial artists like Ji Yun and his father, Ji Shan, had comprehended Conception before becoming War Gods? A Beginner War God earning 5 billion a year was already doing well. And War Gods spent a ridiculous amount, so most of them were short on money!

"I've already said that I prefer my freedom... Besides, I already hold an honorary rank in the military."

Chu Qiang answered easily, "I'm just asking. I still had to give it a try. You're the guest of honor tonight. Plenty of factions want to recruit you, and many have even gone through your father to invite you. Whatever you decide, the Huaxia Military will always keep its doors open to you."

That night, Ji Yun turned down eight invitations. Many factions were eager to recruit him, especially since his family also had a War God in his prime. And Situ Ye's earlier words had brought Ji Yun a little fame. Passing the B-level test meant he had at least C-level ability, and there were plenty of trainees at the Camp who were only C-level.