The Bottleneck

After turning on the Punch Strength Tester, Guan Ning stood in front of the target and threw a punch. The target shook violently with a deep thud, and a line of data appeared on the display: "65326 kg."

"That much?"

"How could it be so high?" Guan Ning's eyes widened. He had imagined this might happen, but nearly 15,000 kilograms—half again as much as the 10,000 kilograms Jade Marrow was supposed to add. He felt as if a gigantic pie had dropped out of the sky and hit him, leaving him dizzy.

"After using Dragon Blood, swallowing Jade Marrow has an even more pronounced effect."

A piece of information he had once read suddenly flashed through his mind.

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

In truth, Guan Ning hadn't thought of the whole picture. The increase wasn't due to the Jade Marrow and Dragon Blood alone. The young Tuoshan Deer he had eaten, along with the four deer antlers, had also contributed.

Although he had been burning through energy like crazy over the past month, plenty of nutrients still lay dormant in his body.

The Dragon Blood hadn't consumed those hidden nutrients. On the contrary, even more powerful Dragon Blood energy had been lying dormant inside him.

The Jade Marrow drew out both the Tuoshan Deer nutrients and the Dragon Blood energy hidden within his body. That was what had added nearly 15,000 kilograms of strength and brought his physical fitness to the entry-level War God Level.

From 8,000 to 64,000 kilograms was the War General Level.

Once a person's physical strength reached 64,000 kilograms, he crossed the threshold into the War God Level.

How could Guan Ning not be delighted? How could he not be surprised?

But that was all it could do. All the energy hidden in his body had been released. From now on, he would have to rely on his own hard training!

What a shame I'm not a Psychic Master. Otherwise...

Guan Ning let his imagination run wild for a moment, then stopped thinking about such things.

He quickly steadied himself. After all, he was heading out to hunt tomorrow, and his most urgent task now was to master his newly gained strength.

He began training hard in the Training Room.

Meanwhile, Luo Feng received a summons from Inspector Wang and once again made his way to a villa deep within the Training Camp.

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

"You're a Psychic Master?" Inspector Wang asked in a calm voice.

He was a Patrol Envoy, a being Beyond War God Level. Even if Luo Feng was a Psychic Master, he wouldn't interest Inspector Wang unless he reached the same level.

Luo Feng nodded. Then one flying knife after another rose into the air. Four knives hovered above his head, lined up in a row (the original novel didn't say how many Luo Feng could control at this point, so I've made an estimate).

At the moment, Luo Feng could only ensure that four flying knives all struck with their full power at once. If he controlled any more, their power would fall. He wasn't going to put on a false show in front of the Patrol Envoy. With the man's keen eye, he'd see the knives' true capabilities at a glance. It was better to demonstrate them openly. Faking it might anger the Patrol Envoy, and it would certainly lower his opinion of Luo Feng. It was a losing proposition, and Luo Feng knew it.

"Mm." Inspector Wang nodded approvingly, then pointed at the table. "This is for you. Take a look."

Luo Feng had noticed the item on the table as soon as he entered. It didn't look like a contract, but more like a small booklet.

Sure enough, it was a small booklet. Six characters were written on its cover: "Psychic Master Basics."

No way. It really is...

Seeing those words, Luo Feng seemed to realize something. He stared at the booklet in his hands in disbelief.

Once he had composed himself, he slowly opened it. A sentence was written on the title page:

"This is the Psychic Master training method of the Limit Martial Hall. Anyone who practices it must never share it with others. If it is leaked, the Limit Martial Hall will hunt down the culprit, and even Hall Master Hong will personally take action."

It was actually a Psychic Master training method!

And Hall Master Hong would personally take action!

This was... this was...

Luo Feng was stunned. With his current access privileges, he could enter the War God section of Limit Home, but even there, he hadn't found the slightest bit of information about Psychic Master training methods. And this one was important enough to draw Hong's attention—the founder of the Limit Martial Hall, the strongest person on Earth, and someone on equal footing with the Five Great Nations!

"Phew!"

Luo Feng took a deep breath and finally managed to calm himself down. Then he continued reading:

"The manual contains nine diagrams. With diligent practice, one can progress from controlling one flying knife to two, from two to three, from three to four... However, these nine diagrams are extremely intricate and difficult to master."

"It also contains a secret method for spiritual attacks. To use Spiritual Force to destroy an opponent's soul, one must be at least three levels above them. With the spiritual attack method, this is no longer necessary."

Spiritual Force could even be used to attack someone's soul. How incredible!

I wonder where the martial hall got this from?

Luo Feng thought to himself.

This Psychic Master Basics manual wasn't the three-star-level manual in Hong's possession, of course. It was merely a simplified version, but it was perfectly suited to Luo Feng's needs at the moment.

"Finished reading?" Seeing Luo Feng look up, Inspector Wang said, "The General Hall Master specially granted this to you. You must treasure it."

As he spoke, Inspector Wang couldn't help showing a hint of longing. It had been granted by the General Hall Master, after all. Unfortunately, it was meant for a Psychic Master and wasn't suitable for him. He cautioned Luo Feng, "I assume you understand its value. I don't need to tell you what would happen if it got out, do I?"

If this item were leaked, Psychic Masters all over the world would go mad for it. Luo Feng had no confidence that he could protect it, so he nodded firmly.

"All right. If there's nothing else, go back and train hard. Don't let the General Hall Master's investment in you go to waste." Inspector Wang lifted his teacup. It was a clear hint that the meeting was over.

"There's something I'd like to ask of you, Inspector." Luo Feng looked apprehensive. The safety of his family was at stake, so he couldn't help feeling nervous.

"I already know what you're asking." Inspector Wang furrowed his brow slightly. "But this is a private matter between you and Li Yao. The martial hall can't interfere."

Luo Feng's face paled, but he replied firmly, "I only hope the martial hall can protect my family. As for Li Yao, I'll deal with him myself."

"Hm?"

Inspector Wang studied Luo Feng closely. Only then did he notice how resolute his eyes were—not a trace of hesitation or fear, only a fierce fighting spirit. He nodded. "Don't worry. As long as you're a member of the martial hall, no one will dare touch your family."

"Thank you, Inspector Wang." Luo Feng thanked him excitedly. He had made a big fuss over the matter, but he didn't believe Li Yao and the others would let it go. Now that Inspector Wang had given his word, though, Luo Feng could put his mind at ease and face Li Yao head-on.

Li Yao, come on!

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

Guan Ning later learned that Inspector Wang had met with Luo Feng. Naturally, he didn't know the details, but with Li Yao putting pressure on him, Luo Feng would probably grow even stronger than he had at the same point in the original story.

The story had already been changed by his actions. He had no idea what would happen next, but at least things seemed to be moving in a better direction.

Aside from hunting monsters in the Wilderness Area on every other day, Guan Ning spent the rest of his time studying swordsmanship and refining his footwork, hoping to break through the second layer of Basic Sword Technique as soon as possible.

Time passed. Completely immersed in the world of martial arts, he found that the days flew by.

Before long, it was July.

July was scorching, though the late-night hours brought a welcome coolness.

In the basement of Guan Ning's residence at Jiangnan Pavilion,

a blue figure darted through the basement like a ghost. Beneath the lights, streaks of sword light, fine as silk, flickered in and out of sight, almost seeming to vanish altogether.

Strangely, both the blue figure and the sword light moved many times faster than the speed of sound, yet they produced no deafening sonic boom. No—that wasn't quite right. The sound was simply so faint that it was impossible to hear unless one listened closely.

As time passed, Guan Ning grew sweatier and sweatier.

His speed increased until he seemed to leave afterimages.

The sword light grew dimmer, and the sound of it cutting through the air grew softer and softer until it was barely audible.

But his eyes grew brighter and brighter, and his excitement intensified.

Yes!

Exactly like this!

This feeling is incredible!

The sword light, the arcs—it's all so mesmerizing!

"Pfft!"

Guan Ning seemed to hear a sound in his mind. The muscles and bones throughout his body appeared to vibrate together, forming a special frequency. His speed suddenly surged, reaching seven or eight times the speed of sound, yet becoming even harder to detect. Not a sound escaped him.

At the same time, the previously chaotic streaks of sword light fell into perfect order. As he moved, the faint, flickering lights formed an intricate, exquisite pattern that looked beautiful and unreal beneath the lights.

Guan Ning stopped and lowered his sword. The pattern in the air faded away with it.

He had finally done it. Those three months of hard work had paid off.

The pattern of sword light that had just appeared meant that Guan Ning had perfectly mastered the second layer of the Dugu Sword Art. His speed had surged at the same moment.

During this period, Guan Ning had racked his brains trying to perfect his mastery of the Hidden Edge Sword Technique.

By the middle of May, he had already condensed the Hidden Edge Sword Technique into six moves and further compressed them into three.

However, over the next month or so, all the way until July, he made not the slightest progress with the Hidden Edge Sword Technique. Guan Ning knew he had hit a bottleneck. If he could break through it, he would be able to master the Hidden Edge Sword Technique completely.

The bottleneck was both easy and difficult to overcome. He might break through without even realizing it, or he might make no progress for more than a decade.

Guan Ning couldn't just sit around and wait, nor would he pin his hopes on some elusive flash of inspiration. Instead, he took another approach and began studying the Hidden Edge Sword Technique with the Qingming Sword.

Although the two were poorly suited to each other, Guan Ning's understanding of the Hidden Edge Sword Technique was far deeper than before, and his control over the Qingming Sword had improved as well. In the end, he managed to master a version of the Hidden Edge Sword Technique that was similar, but not quite the same.