Iron Will

Wang Ji slowly regained consciousness. He was in the warrior villa at Military Base No. 8.

Wang Ji sat dazed, thinking back on the battle. "The Dianyuan Defense... What a brutal battle!" He slowly rose and bowed toward the Dianyuan battlefield outside. He was grateful to all those who had fought and sacrificed themselves for the survival of their people!

It took Wang Ji a while to collect his thoughts.

"Wang Ji

Age: 17

Strength: 4290 kg

Speed: 49 m/s

Nerve Reaction: Micro-level Movement Technique

Instance: Dianyuan Defense, complete!

Rewards: 1. Essence Source *368

2. Extraordinary Item: Iron Will"

Seeing that he had gained 368 Essence Sources, Wang Ji was overjoyed. His seven days of fighting nonstop had paid off. But what was the extraordinary item, Iron Will?

Wang Ji was intensely curious. With a thought, a crystal-like object, both real and illusory, appeared in his hand. It seemed to be a phantom mass of light, yet it shimmered with a metallic sheen. It looked like two pyramids joined at their bases, forming a regular octahedron.

"Use!" In an instant, the object vanished from Wang Ji's hand and appeared in his sea of consciousness. He hadn't been able to look within it before. After all, he wasn't a psychic.

But with the help of this extraordinary item, Wang Ji could easily see into his sea of consciousness. It was a hazy, gray expanse. At its center was a cluster of white, vaporous matter, which was probably his soul—or, in other words, his consciousness. Now, a magnificent, crystalline octahedron gleaming with a metallic sheen enveloped his entire soul.

From his soul's perspective, the extraordinary item looked enormous, as if it were a hundred meters long and wide. It was nothing like the small object he'd held in his hand. As Iron Will shielded his soul, the wisps of spiritual power slowly emanating from it no longer vanished without a trace, like water carried in a bamboo basket. Instead, they gathered together. Wisps of spiritual power began to take shape!

This was Spiritual Force!

Wang Ji felt as if a giant pie had just fallen on his head. He sensed the faint Spiritual Force. At that moment, those few wisps weren't even strong enough to lift a few grains of sand off the ground. But this was only the beginning!

Wang Ji estimated that in ten days or half a month, his Spiritual Force could reach the strength of a warrior-level psychic. It might not be much use in a fight, but as an auxiliary ability, it was ridiculously powerful! Just being able to fly and scan his surroundings with his consciousness—and even influence an opponent at a critical moment—was incredibly useful! And forming Spiritual Force was merely a minor side effect of this extraordinary item!

Once Wang Ji had finished celebrating, he began exploring Iron Will's true functions.

"Protection: Can resist attacks on the mental level and shield the soul; maximum capacity unknown"

"Will Enhancement: Gradually enhances willpower"

Wang Ji was stunned. These two functions were simply incredible! Though he didn't know the upper limit of its protection, the item was worth at least five-star rank. No treasure that protected the soul was below five-star rank. Most had functions available only at the Immortal Level or above. And enhancing willpower was even more outrageous. Its effects might not be apparent day to day, but at a critical moment, it was more useful than any talent.

He'd struck it rich! The reward for clearing the instance had certainly been a pleasant surprise.

"Use! 100 Essence Sources!"

"Strength: 5290 kg, Speed: 54 m/s"

"Use another 100 Essence Sources!"

"Strength: 6290 kg, Speed: 59 m/s"

Wang Ji felt his strength surging almost beyond his control, and fought the urge to keep adding points. He needed to adjust first! He spent two whole days holed up in the villa's training room, slowly getting used to his newfound strength.

"Bang! 6310 kg!" Great! Wang Ji grinned broadly.

With a thought, the table in the training room slowly floated into the air. In just two days, his Spiritual Force had grown to 200 kg, a little faster than he'd expected. But Wang Ji understood that his Spiritual Force was gradually emerging from the soul in his sea of consciousness, and that his soul depended on his body. His Spiritual Force probably couldn't exceed his physical strength. The closer it got to his physical strength, the slower its growth would likely become.

"This is pretty good as it is!" Wang Ji thought. He closed his eyes. Everything within a ten-meter radius, down to the tiniest speck of dust, appeared in Wang Ji's mind with perfect clarity. "Iron Will probably boosts my mental scanning, too. My Spiritual Force should have a greater scanning range than that of an ordinary psychic."

With a thought, his War Blade, shield, and other gear flew onto his body. "Let's go. Today, I'll finally take a look at the real Wilderness Zone."

Fully equipped, Wang Ji headed out alone through the north gate. It wasn't that he was timid; he just needed to get used to things first. The north gate faced Yangzhou City and opened onto the hinterland between the military base and the Base City, so it was much less dangerous.

The north gate stood wide and sturdy. The reinforced-concrete wall was a full ten meters thick, and the gate itself was made of alloy more than a meter thick. Atop the gate, an old man with graying hair sat ramrod straight on the battlements, dressed in a military uniform. His gaze was cold and deep.

"Lao Bao!" Wang Ji called out hoarsely from deep in his throat. It was Lao Bao! He... Wang Ji remembered the seven days and nights he'd fought alongside Lao Bao in the instance. Now, a long scar ran down Lao Bao's cheek. His left sleeve hung empty, and his gaze remained deep and distant.

Wang Ji wanted to go up and tell him who he was, but he didn't know how to explain it. After a long moment, Wang Ji smiled freely and called up to him, "Lao Bao! I'll bring you some Jade Melon Liquor next time!"

Lao Bao turned around and fixed Wang Ji with his cold gaze. "?"

"Lao Bao! I'll bring you some Jade Melon Liquor next time!" Wang Ji repeated with a smile.

Lao Bao's stern expression finally cracked. He stared at Wang Ji in surprise. "You know me? Does someone in your family know me?"

"I do! He told me your story." Wang Ji nodded earnestly.

Lao Bao's lips trembled. "Good!" Then he added, "Keep killing monsters! And be careful out there!"

Wang Ji nodded, then walked out through the gate.

In a single day, Wang Ji killed four beast-soldier-level monsters and rescued an exploration team along the way. The team gave him two wild ginseng roots as a gift for saving their lives. Wang Ji accepted them without hesitation.

Wang Ji gradually adjusted to the Wilderness Zone. He fought, hid, rested, and explored. "I must be the lousiest Advanced Warrior there is! I've only made a little over ten thousand in the past few days!" Wang Ji joked with a grin. Still, he was delighted with that little over ten thousand.

His gear was worth thirty million, but he really had no money. He only had a few thousand yuan, saved from working part-time and scrimping on everything. His sister still had to work to support the family. It was absurd. The tens of thousands he'd earned in the past few days were nearly as much as the siblings' combined income for an entire year before.

As for the two million in startup funds promised by the Limit Martial Hall, he wouldn't receive it until he passed the Quasi-Martial Artist practical exam.

After a few days of adjustment, Wang Ji had mastered his newly increased strength. So, aside from keeping 40 Essence Sources in reserve, he used the rest all at once.

"Strength: 7610 kg, Speed: 72 m/s"