Extreme Pressure!

A phantom panel prompt flashed across his retina, and deep within Jiang Yue's originally calm eyes, an extremely bright light suddenly burst forth.

This omnipresent pressure was nothing less than a heaven-sent forge!

It was precisely the most critical step to help him thoroughly compact his qi and blood deep into his flesh, break through the limits of mortal strength, and continue transforming toward a higher dimension!

"Beep—Gravity increase: 2.5 times!"

"Beep—Gravity increase: 2.8 times!"

The cold mechanical broadcast sounds echoed through the deep well like death-knell notes, again and again.

As time passed and the gravity index soared, the originally crowded arena saw those who could still barely maintain a standing posture sharply reduced to fewer than a hundred.

The vast majority of new recruits were either knocked unconscious by the pressure, triggering the protective mechanism of the Gravity Chamber floor, or lay sprawled on the ground like starfish, unable to move even a finger, gasping for air like dying fish.

"Creak... crack..."

When the gravity climbed to 2.8 times, Jiang Yue felt his bones finally begin to emit a mournful groan of unbearable strain.

This was already approaching the physical limit that his current layer of skin and flesh could withstand.

If he continued to stubbornly tough it out, once the defensive layer was torn apart by the heavy pressure, his internal organs would inevitably be severely damaged.

Jiang Yue understood clearly that this was fundamentally different from lifting heavy objects in normal times.

If it were weighted squats, with his current strength foundation, lifting three times his own body weight would be no problem at all.

But this was a full-coverage gravity field!

This meant that not only his bones and muscles, but even the flow of blood within his body, the weight of his five viscera and six organs, and even the traction force on his eyeballs were all increasing exponentially!

However, Jiang Yue did not choose to fall with the flow. Instead, he clenched his teeth tightly, using this gravity that pressed him to the limit to continuously hone and squeeze out every last shred of residual potential within his body.

"Gravity increase: 3.0 times!"

"Gravity increase: 3.2 times!"

Thud! Thud!

Around him, tough men who were still standing kept rolling their eyes and fainting, then being ruthlessly dragged out of the arena by Crawler Robots.

"The limit..."

Finally, after enduring several more rounds of pressure increase, Jiang Yue's vision began to darken intermittently, and the roaring in his ears drowned out all external sounds.

His limit had finally arrived.

The indicator light above the Gravity Chamber was starkly fixed on a number that made one's scalp tingle—3.5 times standard gravity!

In the last second before his consciousness completely sank into darkness and his body pitched forward, Jiang Yue used his final strength to sweep his gaze around.

Within the vast deep well, there were actually still over a dozen figures, like flickering candle flames in the wind, swaying precariously yet stubbornly rooted in place, refusing to fall.

"After all the layers of screening, the ones left now are truly terrifying... I wonder what rank I'll end up with this time..."

Jiang Yue's mind raced, imprinting the faces of those dozen or so people deeply into his memory. Then, the protective mechanism of the [Calm Spirit] trait instantly took over this body on the verge of collapse.

He closed his eyes, completely lost consciousness, and crashed heavily onto the cold metal floor.

Above the Gravity Well, inside the ring-shaped Main Control Room.

"Bang."

Iron Wrist instructor looked at the figure of Jiang Yue falling on the screen. There was not a trace of disappointment in his eyes, but rather a flash of strong approval.

He turned around and heavily patted One-Eye on the shoulder with his dark red Mechanical Prosthetic.

"He's a promising talent!"

Iron Wrist's rough voice carried a rare note of affirmation. "Knowing to pull back the second before the skin membrane collapses and internal organs are damaged, he managed to maximize his potential without harming his foundation."

"This level of control over his own body can be called excellent."

Having said this, Iron Wrist paused, and a hint of expectation appeared in his cold eyes. "However, the pressure resistance test only shows his ability to withstand blows and his stable base. Whether he can become a true martial artist depends on more than that. I hope your judgment is correct."

"If he can truly maintain this terrifying rate of progress he's shown over the past ten days..."

Faced with Iron Wrist's evaluation, One-Eye did not speak.

He merely stared quietly at the holographic light screen, at the data record frozen at "Jiang Yue / 3.5 times," a complex light flickering in his remaining eye.

Then, One-Eye raised his hand cleanly and silently shut down the monitoring terminal before him.

He turned around, picked up the microphone on the main console, and his cold, stern voice once again rang out across the entire square:

"Clear the field! Next batch!"

New Recruit Field Medical Station.

"Beep—Vital signs stable, repair progress 100%."

Accompanied by the flashing indicator light atop the Medical Pod, a cold mechanical synthesized voice echoed through the silent cabin.

Almost the instant the prompt tone faded, Jiang Yue, submerged in the pale blue healing fluid, snapped his eyes open.

There was none of the sluggishness or disorientation that came with waking from a deep coma. The moment the [Calm Spirit] effect lifted, his brain instantly switched from an extremely low-frequency dormant state back to the razor-sharp combat instincts of full alertness.

Jiang Yue ripped off the life-monitoring electrode patches stuck to his chest and temples. With a splash of water, he sat up from the Medical Pod, bare-chested.

He raised his head and glanced at the electronic clock on the wall.

Only half an hour had passed since he collapsed in the Gravity Well.

From the corridor outside the medical bay, the shrill screams of other recruits and the grinding sound of medical robot treads over the floor could still be heard from time to time.

Most of the recruits who had been crushed under 2.0 times gravity—or even lower—were now lying on hospital beds, groaning in pain.

That kind of full-scale organ strain and massive capillary rupture would take an ordinary recruit at least two or three days to barely get out of bed, even with the help of a Medical Pod.

But Jiang Yue was different.

He lowered his head and examined his own body, a flicker of blazing intensity flashing through his eyes—an intensity that even startled himself.

Under the terrifying pressure of 3.5 times gravity, every inch of bone, every muscle fiber, and even the tiniest cell within him had undergone a devastating forging.

If it had been anyone else, they would have been crippled—if not dead.

Yet this life-threatening injury, which others would consider fatal, had forcibly become the strongest catalyst to shatter his physical limits!

Jiang Yue stood up, his bare feet pressing against the cold metal floor. He closed his eyes and carefully sensed the changes within his body.

The muscle fibers that had been torn apart by the immense pressure were not only fully healed but had grown thicker and stronger.

He could clearly feel a dramatic surge in both his bone density and muscle mass. His entire body felt like a piece of steel that had been repeatedly quenched and tempered into shape.

What surprised him even more was the membrane on the surface of his skin.

Jiang Yue raised his right hand and gently pressed his fingers against his left arm.

The sensation was no longer the softness of ordinary human flesh and blood. Instead, it carried an extremely tough resilience, faintly shimmering with a dull, bluish luster—like a layer of iron skin covering his body.

"The embryonic form of the skin membrane is much more solid than before."

"Earlier, it was like tanned leather armor. Now, it's starting to feel like iron or stone."

"They say that when you truly reach the Skin Tempering realm, the appearance actually becomes unremarkable, indistinguishable from ordinary skin."

A sharp light burst from Jiang Yue's eyes. His right hand clenched into a fist. Without even gathering any momentum, he threw a straight punch directly into the air before him!

Crack!

A crisp, explosive sound—like a steel whip lashing through the air—rippled through the medical bay.

With nothing but pure physical kinetic energy, he had forcibly produced a piercing sonic boom!

As he threw that punch, his entire core energy remained as steady as a mountain. Power traveled from the soles of his feet, through his waist and hips, and finally along his spine straight to his fist. Zero loss in force transmission!

Jiang Yue slowly withdrew his fist, feeling the surging, devastating power rippling between his knuckles. The corner of his mouth finally curled into an extremely cold, sharp arc.

"I broke through..."

Ten days ago, his initial test had only yielded a pitiful two hundred-plus kilograms.

Three days ago, he had stopped a 400-kilogram heavy blow with one hand and killed his opponent with a single punch.

And now, after the life-or-death squeeze of 3.5 times gravity, the power within him had shattered some invisible dam, ushering in a qualitative leap.

"It's definitely over 500 kilograms! Maybe even higher!"

Five hundred kilograms—in the military standards of this era—was an extremely important watershed: Quasi-Martial Artist!

This meant he had officially stepped out of the category of cannon fodder. His physical foundation had been initially laid.

As long as he continued to temper his blood and qi, refining a skin membrane capable of perfectly bearing a limit of 1,000 kilograms of force, he would formally enter the first gate of the martial arts system: the Skin Tempering Realm!