A Useful Ranking

January 31, afternoon.

A light drizzle fell. In this part of Central Asia, rain was a rare sight.

"Ji Yun, this is my aunt, Instructor Jiang Fang," Jiang Chuan introduced her.

"My aunt is a High-Level War God who specializes in twin blades. She's been at the Elite Training Camp for nearly ten years."

Jiang Fang was also a renowned figure among War Gods around the world.

She had come from a poor family and happened to be born during the most turbulent years of the Great Nirvana Period. It was fair to say she'd had a rough life. Her husband had died saving her during a hunt in the Wilderness Zone. After that, Jiang Fang stopped involving herself in power struggles and matters of the heart, devoting herself entirely to the martial path—and ultimately achieving great success.

"You specialize in twin blades?"

Ji Yun was puzzled and couldn't help asking, "But I use a long spear."

"Don't rush," Jiang Chuan explained. "The Training Camp learned that you're practicing the Fierce Wind manual of War God Chen Qingzhi. Chen Qingzhi is the only person in the world to have mastered Fierce Wind. He's already in seclusion, striving to break through to become a Beyond War God, so he can't come teach at the Training Camp."

"My aunt, Instructor Jiang Fang, is here to assess your spear skills and report back to the Training Camp, so they can decide who will teach you from now on."

Ji Yun looked thoughtfully at the young, tall woman before him, dressed in a purple Training Suit. This was Jiang Fang, the War God. "So I'm going to spar with you, Instructor Jiang Fang?"

Jiang Fang smiled. "Come on. Situ Ye said you could easily pass the B-level test, so your level must be quite good. I'm here to assess your skills. I certainly won't be the one teaching you."

"Let's go. Bring your spear."

Jiang Fang took Ji Yun to a training area, swiped their credentials, and led him inside.

"Come on, Ji Yun... show me your spear skills and fight me! I won't use more strength or speed than you."

"Okay," Ji Yun said gravely.

Ji Yun stood still, holding his spear and holding his breath, his eyes fixed on Jiang Fang's twin blades. Suddenly, he charged forward two steps and thrust. The spearpoint shot forward like lightning.

Jiang Fang kept the curved blade in her right hand still and raised the back of the blade in her left to knock the spearpoint aside. But it didn't work as expected. Ji Yun's spearpoint seemed to vibrate, completely disrupting Jiang Fang's block and throwing off her next move.

Ji Yun also sensed something was off. When Jiang Fang blocked, it felt as if there were no force behind it. If his spear skills hadn't been so advanced, she might have gotten close to him.

"Oh?" Jiang Fang watched Ji Yun in surprise, seeming eager to test him. "Again."

Ji Yun didn't move. Instead, he put some distance between them and kept shifting around Jiang Fang in small steps, apparently searching for an opening.

Jiang Fang's blade work was truly exceptional—so masterful that she had reached a profound level of blade intent, nearly the limit of close-quarters combat with blades. But Ji Yun could tell that her intent wasn't a level above his own Spear Path. At most, she'd had more time to refine it.

Feeling reassured, Ji Yun put some distance between them and stopped. Then he ran forward, dragging his spear. It scraped against the ground with a harsh rasp.

As he closed in, Ji Yun swung Wind Lifter straight at Jiang Fang. When using a long weapon against a short one, he had to exploit its advantages in length and weight. The blow came down with tremendous force. It no longer bore the light, nimble traces of Ji Yun's usual spear work. Instead, it carried a hint of the battlefield's bloodshed.

Jiang Fang retreated two steps in a row and called out, "Good!"

Then she raised the curved blade in her right hand and tapped a spot on the shaft just below the spearpoint with the back of her blade. Using the force, she turned and flowed along the shaft, her left-hand blade sweeping toward Ji Yun's center.

Ji Yun arched backward, guiding the shaft to follow Jiang Fang's movements. After the two of them spun around, neither had managed to touch the other, and they separated again.

"Huff, huff." Ji Yun began breathing heavily. Sparring against a master of Jiang Fang's caliber took a tremendous amount of concentration.

"Excellent spear work."

Jiang Fang returned her twin blades to the small of her back. "There's no need to continue. Your spear skills are already legendary. Your Spear Path has reached Unity of Heaven and Man—you're more than qualified to teach. Compared to me, your level is at least as high. I can't believe you're only eighteen. How did you train to get this far?"

"But watching your spear work, I'd have expected it to be swift and fierce. Why was that last attack so imposing, with a hint of using force to overcome the Way?" Jiang Fang asked, puzzled. By rights, she knew Wind Lifter was designed for quick, agile attacks, which didn't quite match Ji Yun's last strike.

"Some time ago, I helped repel a wave of sea beasts," Ji Yun said in a low voice, slowly explaining. "I was prepared to die. I lured a Lord-level beast into the artillery bombardment, then fought hundreds of General-level beasts on the beach. I nearly died from my injuries."

"That was when I realized that the spear has no fixed path—only different styles. If one thrust can kill, then that's the best Spear Path. In that instant, I finally understood what the Spear Path was."

Ji Yun explained slowly, his tone heavy and tinged with guilt. In a sense, these insights had come at the cost of the soldiers' blood. Though great strength could save and help more people, Ji Yun still couldn't bear to think of the soldiers he'd seen die before his eyes.

"A wave of beasts..."

Jiang Fang sighed too, her voice wistful.

"What's your force output?" Jiang Fang asked. "With your Spear Path, there's no need to find you a weapons instructor. I'll see if I can find you someone who specializes in training force output."

"3.2."

"My goodness! You've just entered the Training Camp, and your spear skills are already so advanced. But why is your force output so high, too?" Jiang Fang exclaimed in shock.

"I'll report this to the Training Camp right away. The only person in the entire Elite Training Camp who can teach you the Spear Path is Hong. But Hong's time is precious, and he won't have much time to teach you. We still have to follow the rules."

"This is the Gravity Room, discovered in the Ancient Civilization Ruins," Jiang Fang said. Ji Yun examined the room. Its walls, floor, and ceiling were made of an alloy mottled with yellow and black. The strange alloy gave the entire Gravity Room an unusual feel.

"At your current level, only facilities like this can improve your strength. After I report to the higher-ups, I'll first guide you through training, as the Inspector wishes. We'll make other arrangements after your ranking changes. That's why I brought you here directly. Don't forget to try the Trial Tower—you'll gain a lot from it."

"From the first to the thirtieth of each month, trainees use the Trial Room and Gravity Room. Every day during those thirty days, from noon to one in the afternoon, the facilities are closed for a one-hour break. If there's a new trainee assessment, it's usually held during that hour," Jiang Fang explained.

"Beep!" After speaking, Jiang Fang pressed the switch beside her.

"Your physical strength is at the Mid-Level War General level. Twelve times gravity should be close to your limit." As she spoke, Jiang Fang quickly pressed the button to increase the setting. The numbers on the display kept changing—

2, 3, 4, 5...

"Thump!"

An invisible force instantly enveloped every part of his body. He couldn't even exhale. The gravity setting quickly rose from eleven to twelve. Ji Yun's vision went black, and he couldn't help bracing himself against the floor. His heartbeat boomed like a drum, and he could hear his blood rushing like a river. Everything was startlingly clear.

"How is it?" Jiang Fang asked with a smile. Seeing a genius whose physical strength was only slightly greater than hers struggle was rather amusing.

Ji Yun struggled to his feet, his face pale and his body swaying. "My whole body feels so heavy. My heart feels awful, and it's hard to breathe. Every part of me hurts."

"Ji Yun, why is the Gravity Room so effective?"

Ji Yun looked puzzled.

"The Gravity Room's gravitational force acts on everything—your bones, blood vessels, internal organs, right down to your cells, molecules, and atoms!" Jiang Fang explained. "Gravity is everywhere, so it naturally affects even the tiniest things."

"So inside the Gravity Room, especially when you're at your limit!" Jiang Fang said with a smile. "Even if you stand perfectly still, every cell in your body is being acted on by gravity, resisting it and consuming energy! It's much more effective than any other kind of training."

"Then if I trained in the Gravity Room every day, wouldn't I reach the High-Level War God level very quickly?"

"What are you thinking?" Jiang Fang shook her head, chatting easily under twelve times gravity.

"There's only one Gravity Room," Jiang Fang continued. "Even the Thunder Dojo's Elite Training Camp doesn't have one. One training room is shared by 183 trainees. How much time do you think you'll get?"

"That's why the higher your ranking, the more time you can use it," Jiang Fang continued. "The Gravity Rooms our Earth scientists have copied can range from one to three times gravity. In other words, they can only go up to three times gravity. Training in a Gravity Room is most effective when you get as close as possible to your own limit."

"So you can train in a replica Gravity Room regularly. It'll still help, just not nearly as much."

Ranked first: In February, 90 hours in the Ancient Civilization Gravity Room and 90 hours in the Trial Room.

"Ranked second: In February, 60 hours in the Ancient Civilization Gravity Room and 60 hours in the Trial Room."

That evening, Ji Yun returned to Yanjing Pavilion and read through a basic schedule sent over by Jiang Fang, prepared by the Elite Training Camp.

Ji Yun was ranked 182, an even number. So on even-numbered days in February, he'd have to join the other trainees in the Wilderness Zone to hunt monsters and earn merit points. On odd-numbered days, he'd train at the Training Camp.

Ji Yun had already used his one hour of Gravity Room training for January, but today was already the last day of the month. His time would reset tomorrow.

"Then I'll try the Trial Tower tomorrow and get a good score."

Every trainee had the privilege of taking the Trial Tower test during their first month at the Training Camp. The time spent on the test didn't count against their allotted hours.

Ji Yun went down to the training room and began practicing how to use his legs to produce the same force output as his arms. Every trainee's residence had an underground chamber, its walls made of Kro Alloy, where trainees could practice to their hearts' content.

He turned on the lights. Their glow passed through the tiny holes in the alloy panels, brightly illuminating the entire underground chamber. The chamber was about two and a half meters high, five meters long, and five meters wide. The walls and floor were dark green, clearly made of an alloy that contained materials besides pure Kro Alloy.

Faintly indented fist and footprint marks covered the alloy floor and walls, left behind by previous trainees.

Ji Yun casually punched the wall, his arm producing 3.2 times his normal force. Altogether, the force exceeded the War God level!

"Bang!"

A mark about three centimeters deep appeared in the alloy wall. It was deeper than the marks that had already been left there.

With Ji Yun's current mastery of the third level of Fierce Wind, it was easy enough to make his legs produce the full 3.2 times force output. Unlike blade and sword techniques, the Spear Path relied more on coordination between the feet and arms. Still, reaching this level required practice.

After all, a fighter's body was constantly changing direction in battle. Producing 3.2 times his force output again and again in an instant was much harder than doing it just once. What's more, repeated bursts of force placed a strain on the body. If his leg muscles couldn't bear the load, he wouldn't be able to produce the force accurately. In battle, force he couldn't control was worse than no force at all.

Before long, Ji Yun had fully adapted to producing 3.2 times his force output, and his speed had soared to around 500 m/s.