The Path of Cultivation

Countdown: 144:00:00.

Midnight, in the darkness.

Seeing that the chat was about to end, Li Tongyun quickly and quietly came out of the bathroom and tiptoed towards the living room.

Now that Grandma and Grandpa have come, Xiao Tongyun's bedroom in this small two-bedroom apartment will be reserved for them, and she will have to sleep in the same bedroom as her mother.

This is very inconvenient.

So, when Qing Chen told her in advance tonight that he was going to create a chat group, Xiao Tongyun cleverly suggested that she sleep on the sofa in the living room.

Jiang Xue was a little surprised when she heard the suggestion in the evening. After all, the little girl usually slept with her mother. Why did she suddenly change her personality today?

Li Tongyun explained that she heard today that her classmates had already gone to sleep on their own, and she couldn't be worse off than the other children.

Hearing this, Jiang Xue felt a surge of relief; her daughter had finally grown up.

However, she probably never imagined that her daughter would grow seven years older overnight...

They even became sisters...

Just as Li Tongyun lay down on the sofa, she suddenly noticed that the living room lights were on.

Jiang Xue stood at her bedroom door and asked curiously, "Why did you take so long to go to the bathroom?"

Li Tongyun quickly said in a pitiful voice, "Mom, I feel a little uncomfortable in my stomach."

Jiang Xue was taken aback. "I told you not to eat so much tonight, you must have indigestion."

As she spoke, she took out some digestive tablets and handed them to Li Tongyun. The little girl said, "Grandma's cooking is so delicious!"

"Wait a minute," Jiang Xue asked, "You didn't hide in the bathroom playing on your phone, did you? Let me see your phone."

Li Tongyun obediently handed over her phone. "I really didn't play on my phone."

Jiang Xue unlocked the little girl's password, but after searching for a while without finding anything amiss, she finally felt relieved. "Do you want to sleep with Mommy?"

"No need," Li Tongyun said obediently, "Grandma and Grandpa are going back to Zhengcheng tomorrow, so one more day won't make a difference."

"Okay, then you should go to sleep early," Jiang Xue said, tucking the blanket around her.

Li Tongyun breathed a sigh of relief as she watched Jiang Xue return to her room. Luckily, her phone had two screens, otherwise Jiang Xue would have seen her on the chat app.

Sure enough, one must be as cautious as Brother Qing Chen at all times, or one will get beaten up.

Li Tongyun recalled what she had done that night and estimated that if she got a beating, it wouldn't be light.

However, she felt that although playing like this was dangerous, it was also very interesting.

Stimulate.

Meanwhile, Qing Chen went to Yang Yang's room to take a look, but Huan Yu, the holder of the Demon Stamp, had not sent any new letters.

He returned to his bedroom and began his unwavering sniping training.

In the mysterious world of Conquer by Virtue, when Qing Chen moved the target to 800 meters, the trajectory had already begun to show a slight parabola.

He had studied known real-world cases online, the most typical of which was a high-altitude operation called "Operation Anaconda," in which a sniper used a sniper rifle equipped with a 16x optical scope to kill a terrorist with three shots at a distance of 2,430 meters.

The first shot missed, the second shot hit the terrorist's backpack, and it wasn't until the third shot that the terrorist finally succeeded.

At the time, the sniper was at an altitude of 3,000 meters, where the air was thin and air resistance was minimal.

Even so, the bullet's trajectory still reached a maximum vertical drop of 20 meters.

The calculation of this huge drop in the parabola is one of the important factors that limits most snipers from hitting targets 1500 meters away.

If you could see the trajectory of a sniper rifle bullet, it would look more like a cannonball, taking more than two seconds at long range before finally falling to the ground in a parabolic arc.

After leaving the mysterious world, Qing Chen asked Yi, "When the distance exceeds 2000 meters, is the effective lethality of 'Conquer by Virtue' still sufficient to kill an A-level enemy?"

"At a shooting distance of over 2000 meters, even hitting the hard bone of B-Class target might not be enough to penetrate, so you have to aim for the eye socket," Yi said. "Otherwise, why do you think the target only has a single coin?"

Qing Chen was stunned for a moment. He had said earlier that no sniper training was this harsh, with everyone being human targets.

Hitting a toothpick or coin at 200 meters or 400 meters is manageable, but hitting a coin at 2000 meters or more sounds like a myth.

It turns out that the target shooting training in the mysterious world was originally designed for extraordinary individuals, and the goal was to hit the eye socket.

Qing Chen pondered to himself, could he really do it? Perhaps he could, but he would have to dedicate even more time to training.

Moreover, this was only because he gained an advantage by using the Conquer by Virtue, since most sniper scopes allow for a tolerance of 0.28 mils, which means the crosshair will deviate from the target by 42 centimeters at 1500 meters.

This is because it is inherently difficult to guarantee zero error during the production process.

Therefore, snipers need to adjust their sights themselves while firing to eliminate this 42-centimeter error.

However, it is not used to Conquer by Virtue. It is Forbidden Item created under the rules, and it is an absolutely perfect anti-material sniper rifle in itself.

When the trajectory became parabolic, Qing Chen's training progress slowed down significantly.

It took him an entire night to move the target to a distance of 800 meters.

This is the standard for 7.62mm caliber sniper rifles used in the military. In other words, Qing Chen is now finally considered a qualified sniper, but not yet a god among snipers.

However, in urban environments, 800 meters is sufficient unless for specific sniping situations.

"It's enough for now," Qing Chen said, training with every second in order to develop the ability to kill someone from a distance.

Now, no matter what the situation, as long as they are within 800 meters, even if Huan Yu is a B-Class Time Walker, he must die.

Moreover, the other party may not even be able to control B-Class expert.

Qing Chen did some calculations and realized that his previous estimate that he could master the effective range of 2,600 meters in 7 days was an overestimation of himself and an underestimation of the difficulty.

It appears that it will take at least 12 days, and that's just based on wind speed.

After he completes his wind speed training, he will need to undergo additional training at different altitudes.

This is a long-term training plan.

Accumulate knowledge and experience before unleashing its full potential.

As training ended, Yi suddenly said, "Are you training Hu Xiaoniu and the others? I suggest you buy Chen's ASG oral medication from the Inner World market in the underworld. It's not as expensive as gene-enhancing drugs, and its main function is to balance muscle growth and improve cardiopulmonary function. This stuff has one side effect: excessive sweating after taking it, but long-term clinical evidence shows no other sequelae. In the Federation Group Army, ambitious soldiers who haven't been selected as gene warriors secretly buy ASG to take. It can probably help ordinary people quickly reach the critical point of F-Class, which is 2.999."

After careful consideration, Qing Chen said, "It's not time to take the medicine yet. What Hu Xiaoniu and the others need to improve most right now is not their physical fitness, but their mental will."

Unwavering perseverance and an indomitable will are what the path of a knight requires most.

This kind of will can only be forged in absolute adversity.

After thinking for a moment, Yi said, "I agree with you on that point. My mother, Yang Xiaojin, once said: 'When disaster strikes, mental fortitude is the First Sequence defense for humanity in the face of danger.'"

Countdown: 138:00:00.

Hu Xiaoniu heard a knock on the door. He groggily opened his eyes, glanced at the time on his phone—6 a. m.

"Who is it?" Hu Xiaoniu got up to open the door, only to see Qing Chen at the door looking energetic, followed by a listless Nan Gengchen.

"Uh, Qing Chen, what are you doing?" Hu Xiaoniu was stunned.

"Didn't you want me to teach you how to kill enemies? The course starts today. You and Zhang Tianzhen have five minutes to change your clothes and go for a run with me," Qing Chen said calmly.

"Huh?" Hu Xiaoniu was shocked. "Running at 6 a. m.?"

"6 o'clock isn't early. In many county towns, high schools start running at 5:40 in the morning," Qing Chen said. "Remember, I'm only giving you 5 minutes, or I'll tell the boss you're not qualified."

Hu Xiaoniu immediately sobered up. He hurriedly went back and grabbed Zhang Tianzhen as well. The two of them frantically washed up and finally finished within 5 minutes.

At this moment, Zhang Tianzhen was still somewhat reluctant, but Hu Xiaoniu had completely adjusted his emotions. "Qing Chen, let's begin."

"Okay," Qing Chen said, "Let's start with a 5-kilometer run. This is just a warm-up. The training volume will increase in the future."

After running five kilometers, Nan Gengchen, Hu Xiaoniu, and Zhang Tianzhen were all drenched in sweat.

In this winter, everyone is slumped at their doorstep, their heads steaming with heat.

Because of the cold weather, they felt as if the icy air was chilling their trachea and lungs when they breathed.

With each breath, my body aches stiffly.

After finishing his run, Qing Chen prepared to go home without saying a word.

Hu Xiaoniu originally wanted to ask when he could learn how to kill enemies, but he suddenly remembered what his father, Hu Dacheng, had once said: If the other party doesn't promise you a happy ending, but makes your path particularly difficult, then it's not torture, but a test.

Thinking of this, Hu Xiaoniu immediately gave up the idea of asking questions, and even felt a surge of fighting spirit.

It's just training, it's just torture, he can handle it.

Hu Xiaoniu looked at Qing Chen's retreating figure and said, "Qing Chen, classmate."

"Hmm?" Qing Chen had already opened the door to his home in the hallway.

Hu Xiaoniu said sincerely, "Please tell the boss that I will definitely continue down this path."

Qing Chen said, "I will pass on the message."

Nan Gengchen seemed to be deep in thought after hearing this.

It was 6 a. m. on the third day after the return.

This time, instead of waiting for Qing Chen to wake everyone up, Hu Xiaoniu grabbed Zhang Tianzhen and went downstairs, taking the initiative to knock on Qing Chen's door.

Qing Chen opened the door and asked curiously, "After strenuous exercise, lactic acid starts to accumulate in your muscles. Don't your legs feel sore?"

"It hurts," Hu Xiaoniu nodded and said, "But I can bear it."

Zhang Tianzhen's fighting spirit seemed to be spurred on by Hu Xiaoniu: "Yes, we can endure!"

At one point, Qing Chen even saw a reflection of himself in Hu Xiaoniu.

It seems that this is how he moved Li Shutong when he was in Prison No. 18.

Qing Chen smiled and said, "Then let's begin."

It must be said that high school students are generally in good physical condition and are not as fragile as middle-aged men.

Although everyone was exhausted, they recovered well after a good night's sleep.

Although everyone was exhausted from running, they were still able to keep up with Qing Chen's pace.

During the run, Qing Chen led the way, while the three behind him had to barely keep up.

While running today, Qing Chen said, "Try to keep your stride consistent."

Gradually, everyone's steps came to the same rhythm.

It was difficult, but we persevered.

Only then did the four of them finally begin to show some semblance of organization.

Qing Chen didn't plan to teach them how to kill enemies right now. He wanted to use training to build up the team's sense of belonging and teamwork so that Bai Zhou could be called an organization, not just a gang.

Next, it's not just Hu Xiaoniu and his group who need to run; Qing Chen believes that Jiang Xue, Liu Dezhu, and others must also join in.

This is an essential process for an organization to undergo rigorous training.

Moreover, this is also the process of selecting "knights," which must be extremely arduous.

After the running training session, Hu Xiaoniu, Zhang Tianzhen, and Nan Gengchen were still out of breath from exhaustion.

Qing Chen calmly asked, "Aren't you going to ask me when I'll start formally learning combat skills, instead of just mindlessly running around like this?"

Hu Xiaoniu took a moment to catch his breath and forced a smile, "We won't ask. We have the patience to wait until that day."

Qing Chen: "Very good."

Deep inside the Lijing Gate of Los Angeles, Xiao Ying and other Kunlun members on duty were cleaning.

They carried huge bamboo brooms, each one resembling an ascetic monk in a temple.

The gate to the courtyard was pushed open, and when Xiao Ying looked up, she was surprised to see that it was none other than the boss, Zheng Yuandong had returned.

The other person had a calm expression, and his clothes were still covered with the morning mist and dew.

The Xiao Ying ran back to the courtyard and grabbed a towel and hot water. "Boss, why were you gone for so long this time?"

"My colleagues in the intelligence team and I tracked down Kashima's trail. The Time Walker they control secretly entered the country from Changbai Mountain. We chased them all the way," Zheng Yuandong wiped his face with a hot towel. "Many of the Kashima Time Walker who led this team are from outside Yanbian. Such lawless places breed villains. We absolutely cannot let them just wander around the country like this."

"So, boss, did you capture them all?" Xiao Ying asked curiously. In his mind, since the boss had personally led his intelligence team, there was absolutely no chance of anything going wrong.

Zheng Yuandong said, "We haven't arrested them yet. After they came in, they changed various long-distance buses and headed directly to the inland areas. They only stopped in Xiancheng yesterday. We're not arresting them yet because we want to play the long game and catch bigger fish. Their target is too clear. They were heading to Xiancheng in a low-key manner, which I find very suspicious."

Zheng Yuandong continued, "This proves at least two things. First, someone inside the country guided them and even planned their route. If it weren't for the competence of our intelligence team members, they probably would have really shaken them off. There are Kashima agents with counter-surveillance capabilities within the country, and we must find them."

"Secondly, they went straight to Xiancheng, so they must have found a target. I want to see what they're up to," Zheng Yuandong explained. "Is there any food at home? Get me some."

Everyone in Kunlun is destined for a life of toil, and even Zheng Yuandong is no exception.

Unlike He Jinqiu, he never sat behind the scenes strategizing. Instead, he did most things personally, and he would appear wherever there was danger in the mission.

This is also why Kunlun has always been short-handed, but Zheng Yuandong still insists on the principle of "better to have none than to have bad ones," and absolutely cannot allow people with impure intentions to infiltrate Kunlun's ranks.

At this moment, Xiao Ying excitedly said, "Boss, the criminals who came this time are from overseas. Once we catch them, won't we be able to slap Jiuzhou in the face and let them be so arrogant every day!"

Zheng Yuandong glanced at him and said in a deep voice, "Is this how national security is compared? Are there different organizations in Jiuzhou and Kunlun, and are there different organizations among the civilians who are harmed? Don't say such things again."

"I'm sorry, I was wrong," Xiao Ying immediately lowered his head. "By the way, boss, I have something to report to you. I ran into Qing Chen in the Inner World!"

Zheng Yuandong was somewhat surprised. "Lu Yuan also said he saw him at the Begonia Boxing Gym in the Fourth District."

"Huh?" Xiao Ying said with some surprise, "I saw him next to Li Changqing. It looks like he's being kept by that powerful woman."

"Tell me in detail," Zheng Yuandong frowned.

He always felt something was strange. Qing Chen's identity changed too quickly. He inexplicably became Tigerweight boxing champion, and then inexplicably became the mistress of a big shot from the Li family.

This kid is so restless...

Xiao Ying said, "It's like this, you know about Li Changqing's attack, right? I had just returned to the Banshan Manor after my vacation that afternoon when she was attacked, and then I was notified to go on a mission together. Originally, we were supposed to go and witness the siege of Heng Society, but we were attacked by the Kashima forces as soon as we entered the Fourth District."

"Next, our convoy was blocked on the street. That kid covered Li Changqing's way into the building to carry out the decapitation plan and almost wiped out all the Kashima assassins in the building."

"He was just a genetically engineered warrior, how could he have been killed?" Zheng Yuandong asked.

"It's said he's incredibly skilled with firearms. I heard from Li Changqing's Old Liu... now called Old Nine, that Qing Chen can identify every type of firearm and every caliber of bullet in the Inner World just by hearing the gunshot," Xiao Ying said. "Boss, does someone like that really exist in this world?"

"It exists, but I've only seen one in the military before," Zheng Yuandong said calmly.

"Who is it? Have I seen it before?" the Xiao Ying asked curiously.

"You've met He Jinqiu," Zheng Yuandong said. "Although I don't know where Qing Chen learned to use firearms, it seems I have to go find him myself."

"By the way, boss, I'm planning to infiltrate their organization. Do you agree?" Xiao Ying asked. "I need to tell you about this first, otherwise you'll think I've betrayed them."

"I agree," Zheng Yuandong glanced at him, "As long as you can actually join. But I'm a little curious, what's your purpose in joining?"

"Of course it's to gather intelligence! As a member of Kunlun, how can I ignore the Time Walker appearing right under my nose?" Xiao Ying declared righteously, "It's my duty!"

A chapter of 5,000 words.

I've already updated 10,000 words today, sorry for the late update.

Thank you Lu Ya for becoming a new ally of this book. You are a generous and outstanding ally!