Military Secret Arts

The moment Jiang Yue stepped into the training ground, his pupils sharply contracted.

In the center of the vast arena, there were no extraneous facilities—only the deafening roar of metal shattering echoed through the air.

There stood the chief instructor, One-Eye, bare-chested, his muscles knotted like dark-gold rock.

And facing him was an Iron-Skin Puppet, a full three meters tall, forged entirely from high-density alloy!

This grade of alloy boasted extreme strength, practically indestructible.

Yet under Instructor One-Eye's storm-like assault, the massive Iron-Skin Puppet let out a shrill, metallic wail.

One-Eye sidestepped, his unmodified left arm whipping out in a brutal hook punch, and a visible white sonic boom cloud exploded in the air!

Boom!

The chest of that costly Iron-Skin Puppet instantly caved in with a terrifying fist imprint, then cracked apart inch by inch. Countless alloy fragments shot outward like bullets as the hulking frame collapsed with a thunderous crash!

"So this is a third-rank martial artist..."

Jiang Yue stood at the edge of the field, his heart jolting.

He knew the martial system well.

Once one surpassed Skin Tempering and Flesh Tempering to reach the [Bone Tempering] level—a third-rank martial artist—every bone in the body, tempered by the endless refinement of blood and qi, became as tough as refined steel.

At this level, a warrior's baseline physical strength could reach a terrifying five thousand kilograms. When they erupted, their destructive power was inhumanly exaggerated.

This alloy puppet before him, in the old era before the Martial Era descended, had armor thickness and defense comparable to a war machine called a tank.

On the battlefields of that time, it would have been an unstoppable weapon.

But now, that unstoppable weapon had been effortlessly crushed into scrap metal by Instructor One-Eye's bare flesh and blood!

"How is it?"

As Jiang Yue walked into the arena, Instructor One-Eye casually grabbed a towel to wipe the sweat from his body, his single eye fixed on Jiang Yue, his voice carrying an unguarded wildness.

Jiang Yue took a deep breath, his eyes revealing genuine longing. He nodded: "Flesh and bone rivaling steel cannons—the path of martial arts truly stirs the soul."

The empire didn't keep idle men, nor did it need false modesty. Bluntly displaying ambition for power was the survival rule of the barracks.

Sure enough, hearing Jiang Yue's reply, Instructor One-Eye laughed heartily and tossed the towel aside:

"Good! No beating around the bush. With a heart that craves power, you've got what it takes to grow on this meat-grinder of a path!"

The laughter faded. One-Eye walked over to the pile of alloy scrap, kicked a broken armor plate with his boot, and said gravely:

"My current baseline physical strength is closing in on the ten-thousand-kilogram mark."

"But... if you go by raw physical data, ten thousand kilograms is just ten tons. Calculated by instantaneous burst, that's absolutely not enough to punch through this level of special protective armor barehanded."

One-Eye turned, staring hard at Jiang Yue: "But the result is obvious—I smashed this lump of metal to pieces. Do you know why?"

Jiang Yue frowned slightly, his gaze falling on the fractured alloy cross-section, and shook his head.

If he had to dig into how over ten thousand kilograms of force could produce such a qualitative leap in destructive power, he truly didn't know the reason.

By the numbers, that force indeed shouldn't be enough to shatter the armor.

Seeing Jiang Yue shake his head, Instructor One-Eye didn't drag it out. His mechanical eye glowed with a cold light as he enunciated four words:

"This is a military secret technique—called [Limit Breaking]!"

"A martial artist's baseline strength is one thing. The instantaneous burst power generated by resonating blood and qi with the bones is another!"

One-Eye's voice rang out like a great bell, exploding in Jiang Yue's ears.

"In the early stages of martial arts, this gap isn't obvious. But the further you go, the wider it becomes, like a chasm! Paper stats and actual combat power have never been the same thing!"

"I called you here today precisely for this secret technique."

Hearing this, Jiang Yue's heart pounded. The dormant craving deep within him ignited instantly. He looked up and said, "Instructor means I can learn it too?"

"Don't get too excited."

Instructor One-Eye sneered, dousing him with cold water: "Only those who have fully completed gene optimization and unlocked the shackles within their bodies can attempt to master and use this technique of squeezing cellular potential."

"And the higher the completion rate of gene optimization, the shorter the adaptation time, the greater your affinity for this secret technique!"

"The essence of [Limit Breaking] is a full-power burst after unlocking the Gene Lock!"

"Therefore, anyone who hasn't injected gene serum is like a sealed iron barrel—utterly incapable of achieving it."

With that, Instructor One-Eye strode up to Jiang Yue, looking down at him with piercing, all-seeing sharpness:

"And you—your affinity is extremely high!"

Though One-Eye didn't spell out that shocking record, this statement made it clear that Jiang Yue's secrets in the medical pod hadn't fooled this seasoned officer.

"So, I'm setting you a goal!"

Instructor One-Eye suddenly thrust out his mechanical right arm, slapping it heavily onto Jiang Yue's shoulder. "New recruits have a test every ten days, a major exam every thirty."

"The monthly major exam twenty days from now will be far harder and have far more eliminations than today's!"

"I want you to take the top five hundred in that monthly exam! Earn the qualification for the next deep-level gene optimization! Then you can formally learn this technique and truly have the capital to stand on the interstellar battlefield!"

Top five hundred!

It might not seem like a huge gap, but you have to remember—everyone is improving.

To surpass them, you have to do better and progress faster.

Hearing this, Jiang Yue felt no fear. Instead, he sensed the [Gluttony] trait within him trembling faintly, as if stirred by the impending high pressure.

"I will do my utmost to try." Jiang Yue didn't waste words; he nodded firmly.

"Good." One-Eye withdrew his hand, then seemed to recall something, a rare, crooked smile tugging at his lips. "By the way, I heard from the medics and the mess hall that you're quite the eater, kid?"

Ding!

The moment he finished speaking, the military terminal on Jiang Yue's wrist let out a crisp chime.

He looked down—it was a notification of 100 points credited!

"Consider these 100 points extra training support."

One-Eye casually dismissed the terminal's light screen, turned around, and waved a hand. "Go on. Don't disappoint me."

Jiang Yue clenched his fist and took a long look at One-Eye's retreating back.

These 100 points, added to what he had left, would let him trade for plenty more exotic beast meat!

For someone who had just advanced to [Gluttony (Green)] and urgently needed massive energy to build up his dermal foundation, this was a timely gift!

"Thank you, Instructor."

Jiang Yue gave a crisp military salute, turned, and strode out of the training ground.

As the airtight door sealed shut, the training ground fell back into dead silence.

One-Eye turned and waved to the Supervision Team veteran who had been standing in the shadows. "Go. Keep calling people in according to the list."