War God!

As the final metal ingot dissolved into a wisp of gray mist and burrowed into the pitch-black blade of Calamity, only a tiny amount of grayish-white powder remained in the metal box.

Lin Fan looked down at Calamity in his hands.

The weapon felt heavier now, and the dark purple luster flowing along the edge had become significantly more prominent.

Suddenly.

Boom!

An energy more violent and overbearing than any before surged through the cold hilt, pouring into Lin Fan's body like a burst dam.

"Hiss..."

Lin Fan drew a sharp breath.

"What the hell?!"

Crack, crack, crack!

Lin Fan could hear the bones throughout his entire body popping, sounding as if someone were stir-frying a pot of soybeans inside him.

In the empty basement, the noise made his scalp tingle.

Under the infusion of this energy, every bone in Lin Fan's body trembled.

It felt as if countless invisible little hammers were constantly pounding against his frame.

Sweat instantly soaked Lin Fan's clothes, only to be evaporated into white mist by the soaring temperature of his skin, rising from the top of his head.

"Damn it."

It hurt like hell.

Yet, amidst the excruciating pain, there was an indescribable sense of relief, making Lin Fan almost suspect he was awakening some strange fetish.

This feeling of painful pleasure lasted for a full ten minutes before slowly subsiding.

Lin Fan let out a long breath.

"Finally over."

He slowly stood up and stretched his body.

Pop!

His joints emitted another series of crisp cracks.

"It feels different now."

Lin Fan moved his body, feeling an incredible sense of lightness.

With the slightest exertion, a sense of explosive power flooded his entire being.

Lin Fan clenched his fist and looked toward the punch force tester in the corner.

"This shouldn't be an illusion..."

He walked a few steps to the punch force tester in the corner of the martial arts hall.

This was a high-end model specially provided by the Limit Martial Arts Hall for warriors to test their strength at home, possessing extreme durability.

It was more than enough to withstand the strikes of any warrior below the planetary level.

Lin Fan took a deep breath, his eyes instantly turning sharp.

He slammed his feet into the ground, the force rising from his soles, traveling up through his calves and thighs, and reaching his waist and hips in an instant.

At this moment, his body was like a fully drawn bow.

Bang!

His right fist shot out like a cannonball, tearing through the air with a piercing sonic boom.

He used no special force-generating techniques.

He used no combat skills.

All he employed was his purest, unadorned physical strength!

Bang!!

A dull, thunderous roar exploded in the basement.

The anchor bolts securing the tester groaned with a teeth-gritting screech, and the entire machine swayed.

The numbers on the display screen jumped wildly before finally settling.

[66,200 kg]

Lin Fan looked at the number, feeling quite surprised.

"I've reached the War God level???"

"That fast?"

He had only been a student-level fighter when he first transmigrated. It had only been a few days, and he was already a War God?

Lin Fan slowly retracted his slightly numb fist, feeling the surging power still coursing through his body, still finding it hard to believe.

Sixty-six thousand kilograms!

And this was his base punch force without any force-generating amplification.

If he combined it with the force-generating techniques of the Basic Warrior 36 Forms...

"Tsk tsk, if I unleash my full power, even an entry-level War God would probably have to kneel and sing for mercy."

Lin Fan shook his head.

This meant he had stepped into a realm others could only look up to, becoming a true powerhouse capable of standing on his own.

"Is this what it feels like to have a cheat code? It's great."

After sensing his strength, Lin Fan sat cross-legged again, his gaze falling on Calamity.

The pitch-black scythe lay quietly on the ground. After devouring the metal essence, the patterns on its surface seemed to have become more intricate.

Lin Fan reached out, his fingertips gently brushing the cold blade, feeling a sense of intimacy as if they were connected by blood.

As his thoughts stirred, pale blue ripples appeared on his retina, and lines of clear data scrolled out.

[Companion Divine Weapon: Calamity (Tier 1)]

[Current Growth: 12%]

[Special Status: Unlocked Tier 1 of Calamity Killing Art]

Lin Fan looked at the glaring percentage and raised an eyebrow.

"Only 12%?"

He couldn't help but click his tongue.

He had expected that dumping three hundred million in funds would at least evolve this thing by more than half, but it hadn't even reached one-fifth.

"This thing is a gold-devouring beast..."

"It seems the resources required to advance to Tier 2 will be an astronomical figure."

However, high investment often meant high returns; the potential of this companion weapon was clearly extraordinary.

"Since the hardware upgrade has hit a bottleneck for now, let's look at the software."

Lin Fan took a deep breath.

"Extract Tier 1 of Calamity Killing Art."

Boom!

As the command was issued, a massive stream of information instantly flooded his mind like a burst dam.

Lin Fan's vision went dark, and when it cleared, an ancient and desolate scene appeared before him.

He found himself in a pitch-black, boundless void.

"Where is this..."

Boom!!

Suddenly, a giant scythe that seemed to span the entire galaxy appeared before him.

In Lin Fan's stunned gaze, the scythe slowly swung down toward the distant galaxy.

There were no flashy movements, no complex changes, only a sense of suppression and destruction that was pure to the extreme.

This strike caused the surrounding space to twist and collapse in a way visible to the naked eye.

It was a terrifying simplicity of the Great Dao, an art born purely for slaughter.

Lin Fan watched the giant scythe, beads of sweat forming on his forehead, his body trembling from the immense mental load.

Snap.

As the strike fully landed, Lin Fan slowly opened his eyes, a deep sense of shock and exhaustion flashing in their depths.

"Damn, this sword art... is pretty badass."

He let out a long, stale breath and rubbed his throbbing temples.

Without any hesitation, Lin Fan called out in his mind,

"True Self, record Tier 1 of Calamity Killing Art, begin deduction and cultivation!"

[True Self has responded]

[Recording Tier 1 of Calamity Killing Art "Mountain Collapse"... Recording complete]

[True Self has entered cultivation state]

This time, unlike before, the system actually emitted a prompt.

Then, within the Bronze Hall deep in Lin Fan's consciousness, a golden figure identical to Lin Fan quickly condensed.

The little golden figure didn't waste any time. Holding an illusory scythe, it began to mimic the movements of the majestic figure from before, slashing forward violently.

"Mountain Collapse!!"

Watching his True Self practice the move over and over, Lin Fan nodded in satisfaction, a relaxed smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"Not done yet."

As he exited his consciousness, he flipped his palm, and Sky Splitter appeared out of thin air.

"Extract Tier 1 of Sky-Splitting Escape Method!"