The image on the screen went dark.
A brief silence settled over the spacious No. 1 Conference Room.
Nie Dingguo reached into his pocket and took out a pack of special-issue cigarettes.
He put one between his lips, but paused before lighting it.
"The orders have been issued."
Nie Dingguo exhaled a stream of blue smoke and looked at the two people before him.
"First."
"Lin Yuan, Instructor Su."
"You two will remain in the Northwest Military Region. You're not going anywhere."
"Lin Yuan, you have one task: grow stronger at any cost."
"Instructor Su, you'll remain head instructor. Put everyone they send here through hell."
Su Qingxue nodded silently.
She understood exactly what the arrangement meant.
"As for that Ferocious Beast at the Peak Second-Order Stage in Shu Capital..."
Nie Dingguo paused.
He looked at Lin Yuan.
"Lin Yuan."
"Before the Spiritual Energy Revival reaches full force,"
"the higher-ups will send you straight to Shu Capital to defend it."
"That's your hometown. Can we count on you to protect it?"
Lin Yuan clenched his fists.
His knuckles whitened with the force of his grip.
"I guarantee I'll complete the mission!"
His parents and younger sister were in the family housing compound. He would never let Shu Capital fall.
That monster at the Peak Second-Order Stage had to die.
"Second."
"Starting today, resources from across the country will be directed to the Northwest Military Region."
"High-Energy Nutrient Solution, Century-Old Wild Ginseng, all kinds of rare medicinal herbs."
"If it helps cultivation, you'll have as much as you need!"
"The other military regions will step up their selection efforts too."
"Any promising recruits who can sense Aura will be flown here around the clock."
Nie Dingguo's voice carried an authority that brooked no argument.
"So I'll have more and more people to teach."
Su Qingxue raised an eyebrow.
"Exactly."
"Be ready for it."
Nie Dingguo's answer was blunt.
"Third."
"Besides you two, the moment anyone else breaks through and becomes a true Martial Warrior,"
"we'll pack them up and send them out!"
"Wherever a Beast Tide might strike, that's where they'll be stationed."
"We're racing against death."
"These seeds must be sown along defensive lines across the country before it's too late."
Nie Dingguo walked to the tactical map and tapped it hard with a finger.
Lin Yuan studied the red dots marked on the map.
Every one marked a place where Su Qingxue remembered a Beast Tide breaking out.
"Fourth."
"Roll out the Basic Breathing Technique."
"The entire military must learn it before the Spiritual Energy Revival!"
"Many soldiers can't sense Aura yet, so practicing now may seem pointless."
"But if we build it into their muscle memory, if we ingrain the Breathing Method in their bones,"
"then the day Aura erupts in full force, the entire military will be ready to fight."
Nie Dingguo turned around, his expression grave.
Su Qingxue quietly agreed.
"That's a wise decision."
"We suffered too much in my previous life because we made no preparations early on."
Lin Yuan couldn't help asking,
"What's the fifth point?"
"What have the higher-ups decided about releasing the Breathing Method to civilians?"
Nie Dingguo sighed.
"They're still discussing it. No final decision yet."
"Why?"
"Wouldn't we stand a better chance against the Ferocious Beasts if everyone could fight?"
Lin Yuan was puzzled.
Su Qingxue glanced at him and answered.
"You're thinking too simply about human nature."
"Powerful fighters don't always obey the law."
"What do you think ordinary people would do if they suddenly gained Transcendent power,"
"with no military discipline to restrain them?"
Lin Yuan froze.
"Robbery, revenge killings, private armies..."
"After the apocalypse began in my previous life,"
"almost as many people died at human hands as in the jaws of Ferocious Beasts."
"Release it to civilians before we have enough power to enforce order..."
"and society will collapse ahead of time."
There was an icy chill in Su Qingxue's voice.
With her memories of her previous life, she understood human nature better than Lin Yuan did.
Nie Dingguo nodded in agreement.
"Instructor Su is right."
"We can't rush this."
"We must wait until the military is strong enough before gradually releasing the Basic Breathing Technique."
"You two should get back. Make every second count."
After leaving the No. 1 Conference Room,
Lin Yuan went straight into his Exclusive Cultivation Room.
The alloy door slowly closed, shutting out every sound from outside.
[Host: Lin Yuan] [Strength: Late Stage Tier-One Martial Warrior] [Cultivation Technique: Heavenly Dipper Qi Refining Formula First Layer (Mastery Realm 1%)] [Martial Techniques: Broken Rock Fist (Entry Realm 93%), Wandering Dragon Step (Entry Realm 95%), Overlord Spear (Entry Realm 87%)] [Treasures: None]
After a glance at the System Panel,
Lin Yuan immediately immersed himself in the Heavenly Dipper Qi Refining Formula.
True Qi surged through his meridians like a rushing river.
With every complete Heavenly Orbit, his skin grew tougher.
His muscles tore and knit themselves back together, leaving a tingling sensation that was painful and exhilarating at once.
Four full hours passed.
Only then did Lin Yuan stop circulating his Cultivation Technique.
He stood, walked to the weapon rack in the center of the room, and grabbed an alloy spear weighing a hundred jin.
Overlord Spear, opening stance!
The spear shot out like a dragon, unleashing a sharp sonic boom.
Lin Yuan darted and twisted through the confined space.
With Wandering Dragon Step woven into his spearwork, he became a blur of afterimages.
Even without a real enemy,
he kept imagining himself facing a horde of beasts.
"Too slow."
"I can go faster."
In the days that followed,
Lin Yuan's life became rigidly routine and dull.
Apart from eating and sleeping, he did nothing but train relentlessly.
Outside, however, the world was changing beyond recognition.
Every day, helicopters landed on the Northwest Base helipad.
Batch after batch of promising recruits arrived at the Underground Base.
In just one month,
the once-empty Underground Training Ground was packed with over a thousand people.
Every one of them was an elite soldier.
Yet they all looked at Lin Yuan with fervent admiration.
To them, Lin Yuan was a towering peak far ahead of everyone else.
One morning,
a sudden ripple of energy erupted in a corner of the training ground.
Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to look.
"I did it!"
Ye Qingshan punched the air, producing a muffled boom.
He had finally broken through to the First-Tier Early Stage!
Just then,
Su Qingxue approached from nearby with a document in her hand.
"Ye Qingshan."
"Congratulations on becoming a Martial Warrior."
"Pack your things. A helicopter is waiting for you upstairs."
Ye Qingshan blinked.
"Instructor."
"I've only just broken through. Can't I consolidate my strength first?"
Su Qingxue looked at him impassively.
"There's no time."
"You're needed to defend Magic City. The pressure there will be immense."
Ye Qingshan's expression instantly turned solemn.
He stood straight and gave a crisp Military Salute.
"I guarantee I'll complete the mission!"
Before leaving,
Ye Qingshan glanced toward Lin Yuan's Exclusive Cultivation Room.
He did not disturb Lin Yuan.
He merely vowed to himself that he would not let Lin Yuan pull too far ahead.
Ye Qingshan's departure seemed to sound a starting gun.
Two days later,
a burst of energy erupted from a valiant-looking female soldier.
Song Qingyin.
China's War Goddess in Su Qingxue's previous life had successfully broken through to the First-Tier Early Stage!
As expected,
that afternoon, Song Qingyin boarded a plane bound for the south.
Next,
Chu Tiankuo, Xiao Zhan...
The names that had once stood out on the list crossed the threshold into the Transcendent Realm, one after another.
Breakthroughs, farewells, departures for the battlefield.
It happened every day at the Underground Base.
The air was heavy with parting.
But fire burned in everyone's eyes.
They all knew the next time they met might be on a battlefield strewn with blood and flesh.
Time flew.
Only three months remained until the full resurgence of aura.
The Northwest Military Region's resources were being consumed at a staggering rate.
But the results were just as striking.
Inside Lin Yuan's Exclusive Cultivation Room.
Lin Yuan sat cross-legged in the center, bare from the waist up.
His skin had taken on the dark blue-green sheen of metal.
The Qi Vortex inside him spun and compressed at a furious pace.
Half an hour later.
Lin Yuan's eyes snapped open, a piercing gleam flashing through them.
He rose to his feet, and his bones cracked in a rapid succession of pops.
Power surged through him, so explosive that he wanted to throw back his head and roar.
"Buzz..."
At a thought from Lin Yuan.
A transparent screen appeared before his eyes.
[Host: Lin Yuan] [Strength: Peak First-Order Martial Artist] [Cultivation Technique: Heavenly Dipper Qi Refining Formula First Layer (Perfected Realm 1%)] [Martial Skills: Broken Rock Fist (Minor Mastery Realm 8%), Wandering Dragon Step (Minor Mastery Realm 14%), Overlord Spear (Minor Mastery Realm 6%)] [Treasures: None]
Before you continue