Iron Will

Wang Ji slowly regained consciousness. He was in a martial artist villa at Military Base No. 8.

Wang Ji stared blankly, recalling the battle. "The Dianyuan Defense, what a tragic battle that was!" He slowly stood up and bowed toward the direction of the Dianyuan battlefield outside. He gave thanks to those who had sacrificed themselves for the survival of their people!

After a long while, Wang Ji finally pulled his thoughts back.

Wang Ji
Age: 17
Strength: 4290kg
Speed: 49m/s
Neural Reflex: Micro-level movement
Instance: Dianyuan Defense, Completed!
Rewards: 1. Essence Source *368
 2. Strange Object: Iron Will

Wang Ji was overjoyed to see the 368 points of Essence Source. It made the seven days of non-stop, day-and-night fighting worth it. But what was this "Strange Object: Iron Will"?

Wang Ji was extremely curious. With a shift of his mind, a surreal, crystalline object appeared in his hand. It looked like a phantom projection of light, yet it shimmered with a metallic luster. It resembled an octahedron formed by two pyramids joined base-to-base.

"Use!" In an instant, the object vanished from his hand and appeared within his sea of consciousness. Normally, Wang Ji wouldn't have been able to look inside his own sea of consciousness; he wasn't a spirit reader.

But with the help of this strange object, Wang Ji could see it with ease. His sea of consciousness was a gray, misty expanse, with a cluster of white gas in the center—his soul, or rather, his consciousness. At this moment, a crystalline, metallic-lustered octahedron was shielding his entire soul within it.

From the perspective of his soul, the object appeared as vast as a hundred meters in length and width. It was definitely not the small, delicate thing he had held in his hand. As the Iron Will protected his soul, wisps of spiritual energy that had slowly been dissipating from his soul no longer scattered like water through a bamboo basket; instead, they were condensed. Wisps of spiritual energy had formed!

This was telekinetic power!

Wang Ji felt as if he had been struck by a windfall. He sensed this faint telekinetic power; right now, these few wisps couldn't even 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, he could reach the telekinetic strength of a martial artist. It might not be of much use in combat yet, but as a support tool, the effect was heaven-defying! Not to mention anything else, just the ability to fly, to use it for sensory scanning, or to influence an opponent at a critical moment... it was incredibly useful! And this formation of spiritual energy was merely a minor side effect of the strange object!

Once Wang Ji had finished rejoicing, he began to explore the true functions of the Iron Will.

"Guard: Can resist attacks on the spiritual level and protect the soul; upper limit unknown."

"Enhance Will: Can subtly and gradually improve one's will."

Wang Ji was shocked; these two effects were simply heaven-defying! Although he didn't know the upper limit of the protection, its value was at least Tier 5! There were no treasures related to soul protection below Tier 5. Most were effects only found at the Immortal level. And improving one's will was an even more absurd ability. While it might not be visible on the surface, it was more useful than any talent at a critical moment.

He had hit the jackpot! The completion rewards were truly a pleasant surprise.

"Use! 100 points of Essence Source!"

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

"Continue using! 100 points of Essence Source!"

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

Wang Ji felt a surge of power that was almost uncontrollable, and he forced himself to resist the urge to add more points. Adaptation! He needed to adapt for a few days! Wang Ji holed himself up in the villa's training room for two full days before he finally adjusted to his surging strength.

"Bang! 6310kg!" Good! Wang Ji wore a bright smile.

With a thought, the table in the training room slowly floated up. In two days, his telekinetic power had grown to 200kg, slightly faster than expected. But Wang Ji understood that his telekinetic power was derived slowly from his soul, and his soul relied on his physical body. It was highly unlikely that his telekinetic power could exceed his physical strength. He estimated that the closer it got to his physical strength, the slower the growth and conversion would become.

"This is good enough!" Wang Ji thought. He closed his eyes, and within a 10-meter radius, even a speck of dust was clearly displayed in his mind. "Iron Will likely provides a boost to sensory scanning as well. My telekinetic scanning range should be larger than that of a normal spirit reader."

With another thought, his combat blade, shield, and other gear flew onto his body of their own accord. "Let's go, it's time to see the real wilderness today."

Fully armed, Wang Ji left the city alone through the North Gate. It wasn't that he was cowardly; he truly needed to adapt first. The North Gate faced the direction of Yangzhou City and was part of the hinterland between the military base and the base city, making it much less dangerous.

At the wide, heavy North Gate, the reinforced concrete wall was a full ten meters thick, and the gate itself was made of alloy over a meter thick. Atop the gate, an old man with gray hair and a beard, dressed in a military uniform, sat straight on the battlement. His eyes were cold and deep.

"Lao Bao!" A muffled sound escaped from the depths of Wang Ji's throat. It was Lao Bao! He... Wang Ji remembered the seven days and nights he had fought alongside Lao Bao in the instance. Now, Lao Bao had a long scar on his cheek, his left arm was missing, and his eyes were hollow.

Wang Ji wanted to go up and acknowledge him, but he didn't know how to explain it. After a long while, Wang Ji gave a carefree smile and shouted up to him: "Lao Bao! I'll bring you some Jade Melon Liquor next time!"

Lao Bao turned his head, his cold gaze fixed on Wang Ji. "?"

"Lao Bao! I'll bring you some Jade Melon Liquor next time!" Wang Ji smiled again.

Lao Bao's expression instantly broke, and he looked at Wang Ji in surprise. "You know me? Did your elders know me?"

"I know you! He told me your stories," Wang Ji nodded earnestly.

Lao Bao's lips trembled. "Good!" He then added, "Kill monsters well! And stay safe!"

Wang Ji nodded and walked out of the gate.

In one day, Wang Ji killed four soldier-level monsters and even saved an exploration team along the way. The team gifted him two wild mountain ginsengs as a reward for saving their lives. Wang Ji accepted them calmly.

Wang Ji slowly adapted to the wilderness. Fighting, hiding, resting, exploring. "I must be the most mediocre high-level warrior! I've only earned a few tens of thousands in these past few days!" Wang Ji chuckled at himself. However, even those few tens of thousands made him feel wonderful.

Although his equipment alone was worth 30 million, Wang Ji really had no money. He only had a few thousand, which were savings from his previous part-time jobs. He still relied on his sister's wages to support the family. It was tough. Earning tens of thousands in a few days was almost the equivalent of what the two siblings used to earn in a year.

As for the 20 million in startup capital promised by the Limit Martial Hall, he would have to wait until he passed the prospective martial artist combat assessment to receive it.

After a few days of adaptation, Wang Ji had mastered his newfound strength. Therefore, aside from keeping 40 points of Essence Source in reserve, he spent the rest all at once.

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