System Cultivation

Elite Training Camp, ninth floor of the Nine-Fold Tower.

When Ji Yun and Situ Ye walked out of the 'Trial Room' chatting and laughing, the spacious hall on the ninth floor fell silent as genius warriors from all over the world, of every skin color, stared over in surprise. The earlier Shi Jiang asked, "Teacher, did he pass the trial?"

Even though Situ Ye had given his assurance, confirmation was still reassuring.

"Of course, Ji Yun passed. From now on, Ji Yun is a student of the Elite Training Camp." Situ Ye smiled. "I'm taking him to handle the paperwork now. You'll see him this afternoon."

"Haha," Shi Jiang was clearly pleased, which meant China's influence in the world had grown a bit more. "Christine, what do you think?"

"Let's see the rankings first." The proud, aloof white girl called Christine snorted coldly, turned, and walked away.

"Mm, he should be staying at Yanjing Pavilion. Jiang Chuan, look after him a bit."

Coming out of the Nine-Fold Tower, the sun was still bright outside.

"Ji Yun, I'll give you a few pointers too. Even though I know it probably won't affect you, I still have to say what I need to say." Situ Ye suddenly spoke.

"Although there are only a little over 180 students here, behind the scenes it involves the world's five major powers, as well as the various families of the HR Alliance. The waters here run deep. Becoming a member of the Elite Training Camp, as long as you aren't eliminated, your future is destined to be brilliant!"

"Inside the camp, government armies will try to recruit you, special organizations will try to recruit you, families of the HR Alliance will try to recruit you... there might be temptations of money, women, and power. But you must remember, the most important thing is your strength!"

Situ Ye's voice was low.

"The ranking is crucial. A high rank directly determines how many resources you get."

Ji Yun nodded in understanding.

"Alright, pick a number. Today is January 29th, so you'll officially join the training camp on February 1st, 2057... Therefore, the first four digits of your code must be '5702'. As for the last two, since you're the only one joining in February, you can choose any two numbers."

"What will the last two digits be?" Situ Ye asked.

"Then, 18. I happen to be 18 this year." Ji Yun smiled.

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

That very day, the 182nd name appeared on the world's number one training camp's Black Dragon Sculpture ranking—"NO. 182 Ji Yun (570218)."

This news spread almost instantly to the world's five major powers and every base city. Various government military special departments, as well as the nine core families of the HR Alliance and dozens of important families, quickly received the news. And that same day, each of these institutions and organizations obtained a detailed dossier on Ji Yun!

But they all found it very troublesome.

His father was also a War God, and still relatively young. There was little appeal left to lure him in.

That night.

Ji Yun sat at his desk, facing the laptop issued by the training camp.

The laptop had just been turned on not long ago. Ji Yun sat in his chair, carefully reading the 'Student Handbook'.

"Training in the Ancient Civilization Ruins?"

"Trial Room? Challenge Room? Gravity Room? These three training rooms were all built using products from the Ancient Civilization Ruins." As he read, Ji Yun learned more and more about the entire Elite Training Camp. The camp indeed had a lot of hardware, but the most valuable were still the Ancient Civilization Ruins equipment.

"As expected, the ranking is the key to using these training devices."

The higher the rank, the more time you could allocate! But that was just one of the benefits!

As Ji Yun continued reading, he grew more and more shocked.

"Ranked first in the monthly ranking, if you accumulate nine first-place finishes, you can receive a portion of Dragon Blood worth 80 billion, freely choose any three complete sets of secret manuals, and choose either 'Hong' or 'Thor' as your teacher, becoming their personal disciple."

"Ranked first in the monthly ranking, if you accumulate six first-place finishes, you can receive a drop of Jade Essence worth 30 billion, freely choose any one complete set of secret manuals, and receive one opportunity for personal guidance from 'Hong' or 'Thor'."

There were even tiered rewards for specific levels...

"Punch Force Release Level 6, you can receive a portion of Dragon Blood worth 80 billion, a full set of SS-grade combat suit and weapons..."

"Punch Force Release Level 5, you can receive..."

"Trial Tower Level 5, you can obtain the position of Limit Dojo 'Inspector', receive a portion of Dragon Blood worth 80 billion, a full set of SS-grade combat suit and weapons, any three complete sets of secret manuals, and one set of the Ancient Civilization Ruins 'Black God'..."

It seemed the Trial Tower was the most important, with rewards significantly higher than other improvements. Ji Yun nodded slightly. The Trial Tower tested combat ability, unrelated to physical fitness, so it was indeed more critical.

Soon.

Ji Yun finished reading the entire Student Handbook. He found that the training camp valued three things the most—Trial Tower level, Punch Force Release level, and the Black Dragon Sculpture ranking!

The ranking was determined by points.

Points were simple, decided by Combat Amplitude and Battle Merit Points.

Battle Merit Points came from hunting monsters. Combat Amplitude was the Trial Tower level multiplied by the Punch Force Release level!

For example, If someone had 1000 Battle Merit Points, a Punch Force Release level of 1.5, and a Trial Tower level of 2, then their Combat Amplitude would be 3. Their points would be 1000 multiplied by 3, equaling 3000 points!

And exchanging Battle Merit Points for points was very inefficient.

"The training camp really values Punch Force Release level and Trial Tower level. A slightly higher Combat Amplitude makes the points skyrocket." After reading the 'Student Handbook' e-book, Ji Yun pulled up some instructional videos from the training camp's specially equipped laptop.

"At my level, many War Gods can't compare to me."

The directory clearly divided the videos into categories—Guiding Techniques, Body Movement, Force Release, Saber Techniques, Sword Techniques, Spear Techniques, Staff Techniques, Hammer Techniques... many types.

Although Ji Yun's methods seemed numerous, in the end, his entire strength was rooted in his own Spear Path. Whether it was body force release or even the Conception of Wind, which he had only comprehended through the Spear Path, everything was best matched with the Spear Path to be effective.

The Conception-level Spear Path brought a Conception-level Spear Step, which was his body movement level, while his force release level provided killing power.

Ji Yun flipped through a few instructional videos on movement techniques, but most were explanations at the micro-level. Some instructors' descriptions of movement were even inferior to Ji Yun's own understanding, let alone worth learning from.

He then looked at explanations on punching power. Ji Yun's current punch force was at a 3.2x multiplier, a decent level even among War Gods.

Still, one particular video gave Ji Yun considerable insight.

"Teacher, my punch burst can reach 1.8 times my normal strength. But my leg burst can only reach 1.5 times my normal strength. You said that leg power burst should be able to reach the same multiplier as fist power burst. Why can't I do it?" In the video, a young black man asked.

In the video, a burly white man smiled and said, "That's something you need to figure out for yourself! Think carefully about how your arms and fists exert force, then go back and ponder how your legs and feet exert force! You've already reached 1.5 times, which means you've made progress. From here, you can only rely on yourself. A teacher can only point the way."

Logically, a person's hands and legs are both controlled by muscles to exert force. If the arms can do it, the legs should be able to as well.

Although Ji Yun had previously focused on his legs due to training in the Spear Path, he had never paid attention to this issue.

"How did I not think of this? Since I can transmit Hidden Force to my arms, I can naturally transmit it to my feet as well! Is this also the reason why my speed is a bit faster than other martial artists of the same level?"

Ji Yun felt a bit frustrated. Because of this oversight, he had missed many things—many necessary trainings he hadn't even undertaken.

"My current burst power reaches 3.2 times. That means my leg burst can also reach 3.2 times. My speed could increase by sixty to seventy percent!" For true experts, speed is actually more important than power. If your speed far surpasses your opponent's, you can toy with them completely.

"My speed is already close to the speed of sound. Adding sixty to seventy percent, I'll probably reach around 500 m/s. That's likely the speed of an average War God!"

Ji Yun was somewhat excited but restrained himself and continued watching. Sometimes cultivation isn't about how difficult it is, but about finding the right direction. That direction needs to be guided by systematic training.

The Spear Path...

Ji Yun casually browsed a bit, then closed the video. When it came to the Spear Path, even War God Chen Qingzhi couldn't offer much guidance. Once you reached the level of artistic conception, you could only verify things through mutual sparring. Unless you could reach a realm beyond artistic conception—but Ji Yun had never heard of anyone achieving that. Perhaps? Only Hong, or Thor?

"Ji Yun! Get ready. Tonight, a group of us fellow disciples from Huaxia are holding a banquet together to welcome you." The senior disciple Jiang Chuan, whom Situ Ye had instructed earlier, called out from outside.

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

After washing up and changing into slightly more formal casual wear, Ji Yun stood before the bathroom mirror, examined his reflection, and felt quite satisfied. "I wonder how many floors I can clear in the Trial Tower? Maybe the third floor? Sir Situ only reached the third floor, and my realm and burst power might not be inferior to his."

Straightening his clothes, Ji Yun turned and headed out the door to attend the banquet.

At eight in the evening, on the second floor of the Elite Training Camp's No. 1 cafeteria, a full twenty trainees from Huaxia had gathered to welcome Ji Yun's arrival! Although Mandarin was widely spoken worldwide—after all, both Thor and Hong spoke it fluently—only among Huaxia people did conversations feel truly warm and familiar.

After the banquet wound down slightly, Ji Yun leaned alone against the railing, gazing into the starry sky.

"Ji Yun!" A cheerful voice rang out.

Ji Yun turned to look. A tall, sharply featured young man walked over, accompanied by Shi Jiang, whom he had greeted earlier.

Ji Yun knew something about Shi Jiang—after all, he was among the top five on this month's rankings. But the man beside him?

"Haha, Ji Yun, let me introduce you. This is Senior Brother Chu Qiang, whom you've probably heard of." Shi Jiang introduced with a smile. "Don't be fooled by my high ranking on this month's board. I might drop down again next month. Senior Brother Chu Qiang has been consistently in the top three."

"Hello, Ji Yun."

Chu Qiang's voice was gentle. "I already know the military has invited you, but I still want to try once more. Would you be willing to join the Huaxia Military?"

"In terms of treatment, the military is never stingy with talent. Your post-graduation compensation in the army will naturally depend on your strength! The stronger you are, the higher your pay. We can discuss the details slowly later. And if you agree to join... then during your five years at the training camp, the military will provide you with an annual operating budget of 5 billion."

Ji Yun was visibly moved. 5 billion before even graduating—and it was his just for nodding.

"5 billion. The military is really willing to spend big, huh." Ji Yun said with a smile.

Normally, martial artists weren't very efficient at hunting monsters. For example, a low-level War God would find it very difficult to successfully hunt a low-level Lord monster! How many martial artists like Ji Yun and his father Ji Shan had comprehended artistic conception before even becoming War Gods? So a low-level War God earning 5 billion a year was already considered good. And War Gods' expenses were terrifyingly high, so most of them were chronically short on money.

"As I said before, I prefer freedom... Besides, I already hold a nominal rank in the military, don't I?"

Chu Qiang said casually, "I just asked on a whim. I had to try, after all. Today, you're the center of attention. Many factions want to invite you, and many have tried through your father. Regardless of your decision, the Huaxia Military's doors will always be open to you."

That night, Ji Yun turned down eight invitations. Many factions were extremely eager to have him, especially since his family still had a War God in his prime. And Situ Ye's earlier words had given Ji Yun a bit of fame. Passing a B-level trial meant he had at least C-level ability—yet many trainees in the camp were only at C-level.