New Mission—Check-In

Just as Su Wuming was gloating over Lin Pangpang's misfortune, the system notification suddenly rang out in his mind:

[Mission: 30-Day Challenge to Push Your Limits.]

[1: Strike a wooden post with full-force punches 1,000 times. Today's progress: 0/1000.]

[2: Strike a wooden post with full-force kicks 1,000 times. Today's progress: 0/1000.]

[3: 1,000 push-ups. Today's progress: 0/1000.]

[4: 1,000 sit-ups. Today's progress: 0/1000.]

[Completed check-in days: 0/30.]

[Notes:]

[1: If you fail midway, your check-in progress will be reset.]

[2: Food may not be used to restore stamina during the check-in period.]

[3: The check-ins must be completed in order. Reversing the sequence will be considered invalid.]

[Reward: System Coins +150.]

Su Wuming, who had been sympathizing with Lin Pangpang for all of one second, could not help but laugh bitterly inside when he saw that string of missions.

Hehe~ So I was the clown all along...

The latter two check-in missions were manageable, but the difficult part was that he had to start with the first one—striking the wooden post with full force—and complete them continuously in the order of 1, 2, 3, 4.

Just finishing the first two would probably exhaust him badly. After all, the key word in the mission was "full force."

And he could not use food to recover during the process.

This series of missions reminded him of the prerequisites for unlocking the Eight Gates.

First, one needed not only powerful chakra and a specific training method.

One also needed iron will and the ability to push one's body to its limits.

Chakra was the term used in anime. Here, the system had changed it into Armament Haki converted from spiritual power gained through cultivation.

The system would not issue missions without reason. These tasks were meant to make his body surpass its limits again and again until he met the requirements to open the Opening Gate.

Based on his previous experience, the attack power and duration of the Rubber Gear One skill he had unlocked were likewise determined by the limits his body could unleash.

The boost from raising his cultivation would ultimately have limits, and cultivation mostly increased the reserves of Armament Haki within him.

Moreover, he felt that Armament Haki could also increase in attack power through tempering. Otherwise, where would the title Iron Fist Garp have come from?

In that case, the Eight Gates had to be the same. It was not something he could use perfectly just by gathering enough System Coins to unlock it.

After all, this was taijutsu!

The Opening Gate removed the restrictions on the brain, allowing one to unleash one hundred percent of one's abilities. It also consumed bodily energy beyond its limits to increase attack speed.

All of this required specialized training. It was not something he could use freely just because he possessed a Rubber Constitution.

It was like being handed a piece of divine metal. If you did not polish and forge it into a divine artifact, it would ultimately be no different from scrap iron.

Now, time was tight and the task was heavy. The training method the system had tailored for him could not be wrong.

Su Wuming firmly believed that.

So, having just sat down cross-legged, he stood up again and walked toward Instructor Mo Lan.

"Instructor, I want to change my training method. After all, I am a strength-type Spirit Martial Practitioner. Cultivating myself is the foundation."

Mo Lan had actually been considering how to devise a suitable training method for Su Wuming. After all, this was her first time encountering a strength-type Spirit Martial Practitioner with a second mutation. Her original plan had been to test his aptitude again, but he had rejected it.

Because she knew very well that a Spirit Martial Practitioner with a Second Awakening mutation would undergo a qualitative leap in aptitude.

Not many people knew about this, and the relevant departments had not made it public. Perhaps they had their own reasons for that.

So, not testing him was a form of protection.

Now that Su Wuming had brought it up himself, Mo Lan became interested. She wanted to hear his thoughts before using her experience to help him refine them.

"Tell me in detail~"

Su Wuming then explained his idea to Mo Lan and used the burst of power when he had pushed past his limits while fighting Qin Ming as proof that his idea was correct.

Of course it was correct. How could the system possibly be wrong?

After hearing him out, Mo Lan pondered briefly and quickly ran through the plan in her mind. She immediately found it feasible.

Moreover, she added another training task to Su Wuming's plan.

That was to cultivate the Dao Guidance Method while tempering his body, achieving the ability to focus on two things at once. Normally, only Spirit Martial Practitioners who had reached Silver Rank would encounter this.

But Mo Lan believed Su Wuming was different.

Su Wuming did not refuse her suggestion and accepted it gladly.

Next, he followed Mo Lan directly outside.

The laboratory building was shaped like the character "hui" and covered a vast area. At its center stood a huge Martial Arena.

At the very center of the Martial Arena stood a pitch-black wooden post made from rare ironwood. It could withstand attacks from Silver Tier Spirit Martial Practitioners and was extremely sturdy. A screen at the top displayed attack values.

After arriving, Mo Lan gestured for him to throw a full-force punch at the post.

Su Wuming did as instructed, throwing his full strength into a fierce punch against it.

The wooden post immediately let out a dull thud, and a layer of black dust shook loose from its surface.

Then, a string of numbers instantly appeared on the screen above—Strength: 1200.

At the same time, the panel for the first check-in mission changed:

[1: Strike a wooden post with full-force punches 1,000 times. Today's progress: 1/1000.]

When Mo Lan saw the number on the screen, her eyes immediately lit up.

"Not bad. Ordinary strength-types only reach 1,000 kilograms of force at Black Iron Nine-Star. I never expected you to reach it at Black Iron Six-Star, with your strength doubled outright."

Su Wuming nodded at her words, completely unsurprised. It was just basic stuff, and this was not even his limit.

"Alright, train here. Until you reach Bronze, you do not need to attend the afternoon combat practice for now."

"Thanks, Instructor!"

"No need to thank me. Do you know why I chose your Class One, Senior Year?"

Su Wuming shook his head blankly. How was he supposed to know something like that...

"Because I like 'one.' Before I came here, I made a bet with someone that the class I led would definitely be first."

Uh...

What did that have to do with the "one" in Class One, Senior Year?

Instructor, wasn't that a little too arbitrary?

No, wait, saying that would mean dragging myself into it too. It was not arbitrary at all—extremely wise, in fact!

Who would have thought Instructor Mo Lan was such a competitive woman?

"Don't worry, Instructor. I definitely won't let you down!" Su Wuming said solemnly.

Mo Lan showed no reaction to his words. Without saying anything, she turned and left.

Behind her remained only the sound of Su Wuming's fists striking the wooden post again and again.