Federal Basic Body Tempering Technique

Twenty kilometers.

For an ordinary person on Earth in his previous life, that was a grueling half marathon most people could never finish.

But on Floating Land on Cloud Mountain Star, where gravity was multiplied, it was the first pass-or-die test.

Even though Federation youths trained before enlistment and advances in medicine had improved their physiques, the demand was still punishing.

Ugh—

The moment the column stopped, retching rose from every direction along the edge of the square.

Thousands of recruits collapsed across the cold alloy ground as if their souls had been drained away.

The air reeked of sour sweat, with faint traces of blood. Alveoli had ruptured under the high-pressure air, leaving bloody froth in their coughs.

Several hovering spherical Medical Robots glided past in silence, extending mechanical arms to drag away recruits who had fallen unconscious from shock.

Their fate was sealed: once they woke, they would be put straight onto a transport bound for the logistics zone.

Near the front of the column, the youths with better physiques had flushed faces and heaving chests, but most could still barely stand.

Some even pulled tubes of faintly blue-glowing liquid from their clothes and tipped them back.

Seconds later, their ragged breathing had eased considerably.

Jiang Yue stood among the crowd, hands braced hard against his knees. Sweat dripped from his nose onto the black deck and evaporated instantly.

Pain.

His lungs felt aflame, and his legs were heavy as lead.

But he did not fall.

Breathe out—breathe in—

He kept up that strange breathing rhythm.

At the edge of his vision, a line of gray-white text flickered.

[Entry: Smooth Breath (White) active... Stamina recovery speed increased... Lactic acid buildup easing...]

Half an hour later, at the Recruit Camp.

The quarters were arranged like a honeycomb, built for one thing: getting recruits housed fast.

Inside the vast gray building stood tens of thousands of Soldier Capsules, each two meters long and one meter wide.

There was no privacy here. Only efficiency.

Instructor One-Eye stood on the mess hall's raised platform and slammed his alloy pointer against a table.

"Those are your kennels. That's the toilet. And here—"

The instructor pointed to two enormous metal serving windows behind him, his mouth twisting into a cruel smile.

"—is where we decide whether you survive these three months."

Jiang Yue followed the instructor's finger.

A green light hung above the window on the left. Its sign read [District A: Basic Rations].

Gray toothpaste-like tubes were piled there in heaps. Most of the recruits recognized them: Nutrient Paste.

A red light hung above the window on the right. Its sign read [District B: High-Energy Rations].

Even from more than ten meters away, the smell of meat made his mouth water uncontrollably.

It was no ordinary livestock. It was the flesh of Exotic Beasts that held cosmic energy!

"Window A: standard Federation Nutrient Paste. Free, and as much as you can eat."

The instructor's voice was cold. "Enough nutrition for your daily needs. It'll keep you alive through training."

"Window B: Dragon-Elephant Pig ribs, specially prepared Fierce Beast Bone Broth, and Gene Enhancement Serum."

He paused there, his single eye sweeping over face after face made ravenous by hunger.

"Want meat? Trade points for it!"

"A minor exam every ten days. A major exam every thirty. The bottom ten percent go straight to the mines! Only the top ten percent earn the right to eat meat! As for everyone in between..."

The instructor sneered. "Live on slop."

The crowd erupted.

Jiang Yue touched his hollow stomach as a fierce hunger welled up inside him.

That toothpaste-like paste might keep him from starving, but expecting it to send his Blood Energy soaring and carry him into the Martial Artist Realm was a fantasy.

To grow stronger, he had to eat meat.

And to eat meat, he had to compete against everyone else.

After the twenty-kilometer run and a short recovery, they were all ravenous.

There were no tables or chairs in the mess hall, only long alloy counters running from east to west.

Tens of thousands of recruits stood in formation. In front of each person were two recesses for military rations.

Jiang Yue stood in line as the burning in his lungs slowly subsided under the steady rhythm of his [Smooth Breath] entry.

He received his two tubes of Nutrient Paste.

They were iron gray, cold to the touch, and even smelled faintly of synthetic plastic.

Here on Floating Continent 17, whether they came from wealth or poverty, everyone swallowed the same gray paste.

Jiang Yue twisted off a seal, squeezed the paste into a recess, then bent his head and swallowed in silence.

The moment it touched his throat, a faintly fishy bitterness burst across his tongue.

Made to maximize energy efficiency, it clearly gave no thought to taste.

The thick paste slid down his esophagus into his stomach like a heavy lump of lead.

Buzz.

At the edge of his vision, the panel sensed his energy intake, and text appeared without a sound:

[Action: Eating]

[Status: In progress]

[Current entry: Food Digestion (White)]

[Description: Stomach contractions accelerate, extracting scant vital essence hidden in poor-quality food, reducing waste buildup and improving the efficiency of stamina replenishment.]

[Accumulated progress: Increasing...]

Jiang Yue felt the change in his stomach.

As the [Food Digestion] entry took effect, the heavy pressure in his abdomen began to ease.

The once-cold Nutrient Paste was broken down in his stomach, becoming threads of warmth that spread through his exhausted limbs.

Beside him, a boy gagged at the taste, tears spilling from his eyes. Even so, he could only force the mess back down.

Jiang Yue quickened his swallowing, his face expressionless.

Being able to eat was another test. Without enough nutrition, how could anyone train?

Half an hour later, they assembled again in the square.

Instructor One-Eye had taken off his long black Federation coat, revealing a tight crimson vest.

His arms were massive. The skin covering them was a dull blue-black, with a weighty sheen under the lights like old iron.

"You've eaten. Time to move."

The instructor's voice rolled across the empty square with a vibration that set teeth on edge.

"Federal Basic Body Tempering Technique, Ninth Edition."

"This is the strongest Foundation-Building Cultivation Method, developed by the Federation with three War Gods, twelve thousand Martial Arts Grandmasters, and simulations run on the Deep Blue Super Quantum Computer."

"Today, I'll teach you the first stage—[Skin Tempering]."

He stepped into the training ground and suddenly sank into a stance.

"Watch closely!"

At his low shout, his muscles knotted like the roots of an ancient tree. His movements were exceedingly slow, yet they bore the crushing force of an avalanche.

These were the eighteen forms of the Skin Refining Chapter.

The first form was called "Bell Striking."

The instructor brought his arms together and bowed slightly, his whole body taking the shape of an ancient bell.

Driven by his Blood Energy, his blue-black Skin Membrane began to vibrate at high frequency.

A series of dull booms sounded through the air, a strange effect produced by his Skin Membrane rubbing against the atmosphere.

"The key to Skin Tempering isn't force. It's friction."

"Use your Blood Energy to grind at this layer of skin. Grind until every callus falls away and your body is hard as iron. Only then have you made a start."

Before tens of thousands of recruits, the instructor moved like a living statue of steel, demonstrating the eighteen strange, contorted postures one by one.

Every form defied ordinary human anatomy. Some demanded a spine coiled like a dragon; others required limbs interlaced like vines.

As the instructor demonstrated, a wave of scorching Blood Energy enveloped the entire square.

"Move!"