Bottleneck

After switching on the punch force tester, Guan Ning stood before the target and threw a punch straight out. The target vibrated violently, emitting a low, muffled thud, and the display screen now showed a line of data: "65326kg".

"So much?"

"How could it be this high?" Guan Ning widened his eyes. Although he had fantasized about this, nearly 15,000 kilograms was a full half more than the 10,000 kilograms provided by the Jade Marrow. He felt as if he had been struck by a massive pie falling from the sky, leaving him dizzy.

"After using Dragon Blood, consuming Jade Marrow produces even more significant effects."

Suddenly, a piece of information he had once seen flashed through his mind.

Could it really be because of the Dragon Blood? But this is too exaggerated!

In reality, Guan Ning's assessment was incomplete; it wasn't just the Jade Marrow and the Dragon Blood, but also the contribution of the Tuoshan Deer cub and the four deer antlers he had consumed.

Although he had been consuming resources frantically over the past month, a vast amount of nutrition remained hidden within his body.

The Dragon Blood had not only failed to deplete these hidden nutrients but had instead left an even more powerful force of Dragon Blood lurking within him.

The Jade Marrow had acted as a catalyst, guiding all the hidden nutrition from the Tuoshan Deer and the power of the Dragon Blood to surface, which resulted in the increase of nearly 15,000 kilograms of force, pushing his physical fitness to the Junior War God level.

8,000 kilograms to 64,000 kilograms belongs to the War General level.

Once physical fitness reaches 64,000 kilograms, one crosses the threshold of a War God.

How could he not be surprised and astonished?

However, this was as far as it would go; the energy hidden in his body had been completely released, and from now on, he would have to rely on his own hard training!

"It's a pity I'm not a Psychic Master, otherwise..."

Guan Ning indulged in a brief daydream before dismissing such idle thoughts.

He quickly adjusted his mindset; after all, he was heading out to hunt tomorrow, and his top priority now was to master this newly acquired strength.

He began to train diligently in the practice room.

Meanwhile, Luo Feng received a notification from Inspector Wang and arrived once again at the villa deep within the training camp.

It was the same study, the same tea fragrance, and the same person, but the matter at hand was different.

"You are a Psychic Master?" Inspector Wang said in a flat tone.

He was an Inspector, an existence surpassing the War God level; even if Luo Feng was a Psychic Master, as long as he hadn't reached his level, he wouldn't pique his interest.

Luo Feng nodded, and then, one after another, throwing knives rose into the air. A total of four knives lined up in front of him.

Luo Feng could currently only ensure that four throwing knives maintained their maximum lethality; if the number increased, the power would decrease. He wouldn't try to act tough in front of an Inspector. With the Inspector's discernment, he would see the true situation at a glance. It was better to display it openly; if he were to fake it, not only might he anger the Inspector, but the Inspector's evaluation of him would also drop. It was a thankless task, and he understood this clearly.

"Hmm." Inspector Wang nodded in approval and then pointed to the table. "This is for you. Take a look."

When Luo Feng entered, he had already noticed the item on the table; it didn't look like a contract, but rather a small booklet.

Sure enough, it was a small booklet, and on the cover were written the words "Psychic Master Basics".

No way? It really is...

Seeing these words, Luo Feng seemed to realize something, and he looked at the booklet in his hands in disbelief.

After steadying his mind, he slowly opened the booklet. On the title page, a sentence was written:

"This is the cultivation method for Psychic Masters of our Limit Martial Hall. Those who practice it must never pass it on. Once leaked, not only will you be hunted down by the Limit Martial Hall, but the General Hall Master Hong himself will take action."

It was actually a Psychic Master cultivation method!

And the General Hall Master Hong would actually take action personally!

This is... this is...

Luo Feng was extremely shocked after seeing this. With his current clearance, he could enter the War God section of Limit Home, but even there, there wasn't a shred of information regarding Psychic Master cultivation methods, let alone something that could alarm Hong—the founder of the Limit Martial Hall, the strongest person on Earth, an existence who could stand on equal footing with the five major nations!

"Hoo!"

Luo Feng took a deep breath, finally calming down, and continued to read:

"The manual contains 9 patterns. As long as you practice diligently, you can progress from one throwing knife to two, from two to three, from three to four... However, these 9 patterns are extremely exquisite and complex, making them difficult to master."

"There is also a mental attack technique. If you wish to use psychic power to destroy an opponent's soul, you usually need to be at least three levels higher than your opponent. If you possess a mental attack technique, this is not required."

To think one could use psychic power to attack the soul—how miraculous!

I wonder where the Martial Hall obtained this?

Luo Feng thought to himself.

This "Psychic Master Basics" was naturally not the 3-star manual in Hong's possession, but a simplified version, which was very suitable for the current Luo Feng.

"Finished reading?" Seeing Luo Feng look up, Inspector Wang said, "This was specially bestowed upon you by the General Hall Master. You must cherish it well!"

Speaking of this, Inspector Wang couldn't help but reveal a hint of longing. This was a gift from the General Hall Master, but unfortunately, it was for a Psychic Master and not suitable for him. He warned, "I assume you understand its value. I don't need to tell you what the consequences will be if it is leaked."

Thinking of how all the Psychic Masters across the globe would fall into a frenzy if this item were leaked, Luo Feng, lacking the confidence to protect it, nodded heavily.

"Alright, if there's nothing else, go back and practice hard. Don't let the General Hall Master's cultivation go to waste." Inspector Wang picked up his teacup, signaling the end of the meeting.

"I have one thing I would like to request of the Inspector," Luo Feng said with a nervous expression; it concerned the safety of his family, so he couldn't help but be tense.

"I already know what you are asking for," Inspector Wang frowned slightly. "However, this is a private matter between you and Li Yao, and it is not appropriate for the Martial Hall to intervene."

Luo Feng's face turned pale, and then he said firmly, "I only hope the Martial Hall can protect my family. As for Li Yao, I will resolve it myself."

Huh?

Inspector Wang observed Luo Feng carefully, only then noticing that his gaze was incredibly firm, without a trace of retreat or fear; instead, there was a soaring fighting spirit. He couldn't help but nod, "Rest assured. As long as you remain a member of the Dojo, no one will dare to touch your family."

"Thank you, Inspector Wang." Luo Feng thanked him with excitement. Although he had escalated the situation, he didn't believe Li Yao and his cohorts would simply let it go. However, with Inspector Wang's guarantee, he could finally set his mind at ease and properly battle Li Yao.

Li Yao, come on!

At this moment, a flame called fighting spirit ignited in Luo Feng's eyes.

Guan Ning learned later that Inspector Wang had sought out Luo Feng. Of course, he didn't know the specific details, but with the pressure from Li Yao, he figured Luo Feng would be even stronger than he was at this same period in the original story.

The plot had already been altered by him, and he didn't know how it would turn out, but it was generally developing in a positive direction.

Aside from going to the Wilderness Area to hunt monsters on odd-numbered days, Guan Ning spent all his remaining time researching sword techniques and pondering movement techniques, hoping to break through to the second level of the Basic Sword Technique as soon as possible.

Time flowed by; immersed heart and soul in the world of martial arts, time passed quickly.

In the blink of an eye, it was July.

July was incredibly sweltering, though there was a touch of coolness in the dead of night.

Inside the basement of Guan Ning's residence at Jiangnan Pavilion.

A cyan figure shuttled through the basement like a ghost. Under the illumination of the lights, streaks of sword light were as thin as silk, flickering in and out of existence, nearly ethereal.

Yet, strangely, while the speed of the cyan figure and the sword light exceeded the speed of sound by many times, no massive sonic boom was produced—no, it wasn't that there was none, but rather it was so faint that one couldn't hear it without listening very carefully.

As time passed, more and more sweat appeared on Guan Ning's body.

His speed grew faster and faster, even producing afterimages.

The sword light grew dimmer, and the sound of it slicing through the air became lower and lower, gradually becoming inaudible.

However, his eyes grew brighter and more excited.

Yes!

That's it!

This feeling is simply wonderful!

This sword light, this arc—it's truly mesmerizing!

"Pfft!"

Guan Ning felt as if he heard a sound in his heart. The muscles and bones within his body seemed to vibrate in unison, forming a special frequency. His speed surged abruptly, reaching seven or eight times the speed of sound, yet it remained even more concealed, without a single sound leaking out.

At the same time, the previously somewhat chaotic sword light suddenly became orderly. Under his wielding, these flickering streaks of light formed a complex and exquisite pattern, appearing beautiful and illusory under the glow of the lights.

Guan Ning stopped and sheathed his sword, and the pattern in the air vanished along with it.

Finally, it was a success; it was worth all the hard work over the past three months.

The sword light pattern that had just appeared meant that Guan Ning had perfectly mastered the second level of the Dugu Sword Manual, and his speed had also surged at that very moment.

Come to think of it, Guan Ning had racked his brains during this period to cultivate the Hidden Edge Sword Technique to perfection.

By mid-May, Guan Ning had already further compressed the Hidden Edge Sword Technique, which had been condensed into six moves, down to three.

However, for the month or so that followed—that is, until July—the Hidden Edge Sword Technique made no further progress. Guan Ning knew he had hit a bottleneck; as long as he could break through this barrier, he would be able to cultivate the Hidden Edge Sword Technique to perfection.

Yet, this bottleneck was both easy and difficult; it might be broken in an inadvertent moment, or one might go over a decade without any progress.

Guan Ning naturally couldn't just wait around, nor did he pin his hopes on some ethereal flash of inspiration. Instead, he took a different path, using the Qingming Sword to begin researching the Hidden Edge Sword Technique.

Although their compatibility was poor, Guan Ning's current insights into the Hidden Edge Sword Technique far exceeded what they were before, and his control over the Qingming Sword had also improved, which instead allowed him to forge a set of "Hidden Edge Sword Technique" that was similar yet different.