Breakthrough! Late First-Order Stage!

The lights in the cultivation room were slightly dim.

Lin Yuan sat cross-legged on the specially made alloy floor.

Each circulation of the Heavenly Dipper Qi Refining Formula brought intense pain.

But once the pain faded, it was replaced by an indescribable tingling sensation.

Under the repeated washing of true qi, his skin and membranes were constantly transforming.

This was Skin Tempering.

It tempered the fragile surface of the human body until it was as tough as cowhide, even comparable to alloy.

Time passed second by second.

The cultivation room was silent.

Only Lin Yuan's increasingly heavy breathing echoed through the empty room.

The first day.

The second day.

The third day.

Lin Yuan seemed to have turned into a stone statue.

Other than eating when necessary to replenish his nutrition, he never left the room.

In the blink of an eye, the sixth day arrived.

The true qi Qi Vortex within Lin Yuan's body suddenly expanded by a full circle.

"Buzz—"

Accompanied by a faint series of pops from his bones.

A faint golden sheen emerged over the surface of Lin Yuan's skin.

The strand of true qi within him had originally been no thicker than a hair.

Now, it had grown to the thickness of a thumb, brimming with explosive power.

The next moment.

Lin Yuan suddenly opened his eyes.

A concealed gleam flashed through his pupils.

Powerful.

Unimaginably powerful.

Compared with when he had been at the Mid First Rank, his strength had at least doubled.

Then.

With a thought from Lin Yuan.

A transparent screen immediately appeared before him.

[Host: Lin Yuan]

[Strength: Late Stage Tier-One Martial Warrior]

[Technique: Heavenly Dipper Qi Refining Formula, First Layer (Mastery Realm 1%)]

[Martial Skills: Broken Rock Fist (Entry Realm 93%), Wandering Dragon Step (Entry Realm 95%), Overlord Spear (Entry Realm 87%)]

[Treasures: None]

Looking at the data on the panel.

Lin Yuan excitedly threw several punches.

The fist wind howled, even producing faint sonic booms in the air.

So this was the Late First-Order Stage.

This system cheat was simply a dimensionality-reduction strike.

As long as he was willing to put in the effort, there would absolutely be no bottlenecks.

A moment later.

Lin Yuan stood up and stretched his body.

The bones throughout his body let out a series of crisp crackles.

After stabilizing the surging true qi within him, Lin Yuan pushed open the heavy alloy door.

Inside the training ground.

The others stopped what they were doing when they saw Lin Yuan.

Their eyes were filled with awe and envy.

They practiced the Basic Breathing Technique until they were practically dead, only barely managing to sense spiritual energy.

Yet this young man before them was already a lofty martial warrior.

Lin Yuan gave them a slight nod and walked straight toward the central training ground.

Inside the training ground.

Su Qingxue was correcting the force-generating posture of a soldier king.

Hearing the footsteps, she turned around.

The moment her gaze fell on Lin Yuan, her entire body froze.

His blood and qi flowed like mercury, and his steps were steady.

Most importantly, there was a faint sound of wind and thunder in Lin Yuan's breathing.

This was a sign that his skin and membranes had been tempered to Mastery.

"You broke through?"

Su Qingxue crossed several steps to Lin Yuan and looked him over from head to toe.

"Pure luck."

"I only touched the threshold last night, then broke through this morning."

Lin Yuan grinned and admitted it openly.

Luck, my ass!

Su Qingxue roared inwardly.

She had been a Fifth Tier martial warrior in her previous life. What kind of genius had she not seen?

Ye Qingshan? Chu Tiankuo?

It had taken them more than three months to advance from the Mid First Rank to the Late First-Order Stage.

But what about Lin Yuan?

In an environment where spiritual energy had yet to fully recover.

From the day Lin Yuan began cultivating until now.

It had been less than two months, even counting it generously.

Was this even a human cultivation speed?

"Don't get happy too soon."

"Cultivation level is one thing. Actual combat strength is another."

"Come on, let's conduct a full test over there."

A moment later.

Su Qingxue put on a stern face and displayed the authority of an instructor.

She pointed at the scientific testing area in the distance and spoke to Lin Yuan.

Old Li, who had been watching the surveillance feeds, had already rushed over with several researchers.

"Lin Yuan, hurry, hurry, hurry!"

"Let me see the results of your closed-door cultivation these past few days!"

"Once you're ready, throw a punch. Use your full strength."

Old Li pushed Lin Yuan before a brand-new punching-force testing machine.

This machine had only been made a few days ago and could withstand impacts of up to one hundred tons.

Lin Yuan steadied himself and bent his legs slightly.

He sank his qi into his dantian, and true qi surged through his meridians into his right arm.

There were no flashy movements, only an incomparably pure straight punch.

"Bang!"

An earth-shaking muffled boom rang out.

The alloy target, which weighed several tons, immediately began shaking violently.

Even the bolts securing it to the floor let out creaks under the unbearable strain.

Everyone looked toward the electronic display.

The red numbers jumped wildly.

Then they finally froze.

12528 KG!

The entire training ground fell into deathly silence.

Only extremely heavy breathing continued to echo around them.

Several soldier kings subconsciously rubbed their eyes, thinking they were hallucinating.

More than twelve tons of punching force!

Could this still be considered human?

Even a light armored vehicle would be scrapped on the spot if it took that punch!

Su Qingxue stood to one side, expressionless on the surface.

But the defenses in her heart had completely collapsed.

A normal Late Stage Tier-One Martial Warrior had punching force around 10,000 KG.

Even some geniuses who specialized in strength would not exceed 12,000 KG.

But Lin Yuan...

This guy was simply too monstrous.

"What are you standing around for?"

"Don't we still need to test his speed?"

Su Qingxue snapped coldly, breaking the deadlock.

Old Li jolted awake as if from a dream and hurriedly had someone activate the one-hundred-meter testing lane.

Lin Yuan walked to the starting line.

As the red light turned green.

"Boom!"

Lin Yuan shot forward like a cannonball leaving its barrel, trailing an afterimage too fast for the naked eye to catch.

By the time everyone reacted.

Lin Yuan was already standing at the one-hundred-meter finish line without even breaking a sweat.

The electronic display flashed.

2.7 seconds.

"Good heavens..."

"At that speed, even a cheetah would be like a snail in front of him."

A young researcher clutched his head, his voice trembling.

Su Qingxue was speechless as well.

She was currently at the Mid First Rank, yet her own one-hundred-meter time was only 3.9 seconds.

If they truly fought with real weapons now.

Lin Yuan could run her to death on speed alone.

She would not even be able to touch the corner of his clothes. How the hell was she supposed to fight?

Just then.

A rapid set of footsteps came from the entrance.

Nie Dingguo hurried over with a group of officers.

His expression was extremely grave, but an irrepressible excitement lurked between his brows.

When he saw the test data on the big screen, Nie Dingguo paused briefly.

He gave Lin Yuan another look and nodded in satisfaction.

"Lin Yuan, Instructor Su."

"You two, come with me."

"To the No. 1 Classified Conference Room."

Then.

Without another word, Nie Dingguo gestured for the two of them to follow.

"Sir, what happened?"

Lin Yuan asked in surprise.

He had been at the Northwest Military Region for more than a month now.

So he understood the significance of the No. 1 Classified Conference Room.

Unless something major had happened.

The military would never use the No. 1 Classified Conference Room.

"A highest-level video conference."

"Those people at the center want to see you."

Nie Dingguo lowered his voice as he answered while walking.

The moment he said that.

Lin Yuan could not help but freeze.

Even Su Qingxue, standing beside him, showed a stunned expression.

Those people at the central command?

They were the ones steering the entire Dragon Country from the Peak Stage of power.

Fortunately.

The corridor leading to the confidential meeting room was long.

Nie Dingguo rapidly explained the current situation.

"Over the past month."

"Based on the intelligence provided by Instructor Su, the higher-ups secretly mobilized a large number of special forces."

"We conducted a carpet search of major nature reserves, remote mountains, and dense forests across the country."

"We did uncover some extremely troublesome things."

"Many animals have undergone abnormal mutations."

"They have grown larger, become extremely aggressive, and even the most advanced thermal imagers cannot lock onto them."

"So the higher-ups need Instructor Su to confirm some key information."

At this point.

Nie Dingguo paused and turned to look at Lin Yuan.

"Also."

"Those leaders want to see you in person."

"You are now the greatest trump card of our Dragon Country military."

Upon hearing Nie Dingguo's words.

Lin Yuan's heartbeat involuntarily quickened by half a beat.

He was about to face Dragon Country's highest leadership directly.

To say he was not nervous at all would have been a lie.

But as he felt the true qi within him, his emotions quickly settled.

Strength was the greatest source of confidence.

As long as he was strong enough.

He could protect the people he cared about in this world that was on the verge of collapse.

With that thought in mind.

Lin Yuan straightened his back, and his steps grew even steadier.