Test Your...

"Baseline data collection complete. Static indicators... outrageously excellent."

Another researcher muttered, with a hint of acknowledgment in her voice: So this S-Rank really has something. But she still seemed to find it insufficiently exciting.

"Next item! Dynamic strength test! Target: strike the force-sensing pillar!"

Carl's voice was full of anticipation.

The restraints loosened. Lu Mingfei let out a breath and flexed his wrists before walking over to the cylindrical object covered in sensor pads. It looked incredibly sturdy.

"Use your full strength! S-Rank! Let's see your limits!"

Lu Mingfei took a deep breath, recalling the old knight's teachings. He grounded himself, drew on the strength he had honed in the Lands Between, and threw a punch!

There was no Dragon Communion enhancement—only pure physical strength.

Bang!

The sensor pillar did not budge, but the numbers on a huge LCD screen beside it leaped wildly before finally settling on a value that made everyone outside the glass wall suck in a breath.

"Holy shit! That strength... it's comparable to a small hydraulic hammer!"

"Peak electromyographic signal... a monster!"

"Quick! Record it! That explosive power! The instantaneous pressure..."

Lu Mingfei shook his slightly numb fist and stared at the number in a daze.

So he was this strong now? He certainly had not felt that way when he had been chased around and hacked at in the Lands Between.

Then again, his enhancements had always been focused on "strength" and "perception."

"Reaction speed test! Get on the treadmill!"

Carl's voice rose even higher.

On one side of the room, an ordinary-looking treadmill rose from the floor. But the moment Lu Mingfei stepped onto it, a ring of laser grids sprang up around him, and high-speed cameras locked onto him.

"Dodge the randomly appearing laser beams! Their speed will gradually increase! Last as long as you can!"

The instruction came through.

Lu Mingfei groaned inwardly.

Why does this feel like a game? These people are treating me like some oversized toy!

The treadmill started up, and its initial speed was manageable.

The first laser swept in from the side, and he easily dodged it with a sidestep.

The speed increased, while the lasers appeared more and more frequently and from increasingly tricky angles.

Lu Mingfei focused. Within the narrow bounds of the running belt, he twisted, shifted, and dodged, his movements so fluid that even he was surprised.

The reaction speed he had developed while facing diving warhawks and ambushes from monsters around corners in the Lands Between was now on full display.

"Dynamic capture analysis... neural reflex speed... inhuman!"

"Dodge success rate... 98.7%! Increasing speed further!"

"Add more! Bring out the interference balls!"

Carl slapped the glass wall excitedly.

Several launch ports suddenly extended from both sides of the treadmill, firing rubber balls with whooshes. Their trajectories were erratic. Lu Mingfei instantly found himself scrambling; he had to dodge both lasers and balls. He stumbled and nearly fell, twisting his body awkwardly. He barely avoided getting hit anywhere vital, though one ball still smacked him in the ass.

"Haha! The interference is working! The data's fluctuating!"

Cheers rose from outside the glass wall, as if they had witnessed something precious.

These mad scientists really loved stirring up trouble!

"Final main event! Word Spirit intensity test!"

"Release your Word Spirit, 'Eye of the Storm King'! Target: destroy the simulated targets generated ahead! We'll gradually increase the targets' strength and environmental interference! Hold on, S-Rank! For science!"

There was an inexplicable fanaticism in Carl's voice.

Lu Mingfei steadied himself and focused his will. His Golden Eyes slowly lit up, and obscure, ancient words from primordial times gradually left his lips.

He actually did not need to chant at all to instantly cast a Word Spirit, but to get through the inspection, Lu Mingfei decided to keep a low profile.

Whoosh—!

A violent gale instantly howled through the chamber!

Powerful air currents swirled and condensed around Lu Mingfei, forming a visible, high-speed miniature storm! The metal simulated targets ahead groaned under the strain of the wind, rapidly warping and deforming!

"Energy readings are soaring! But they're still within historical records. Let's see how flexible it is..."

"Oh! It's incredibly controllable! Eye of the Storm King can actually achieve this kind of effect?"

Lu Mingfei awkwardly dodged the simulated attacks in the cramped space, praying only that the test would end soon. This really was not work meant for a human being!

Could a human even come up with such a devious method?

"Increase the protective barrier's energy output! S-Rank, release Dustless Land next. We'll directly simulate live combat attacks!"

He saw panels on the ceiling and side walls of the sealed chamber open. Several machine-gun-like devices descended, their menacing muzzles slowly turning toward him.

"Hey, hey, hey..."

A bad feeling rose in Lu Mingfei.

Those aren't live rounds, are they...?

"What are you talking about, S-Rank!"

Deputy Director Carl's righteous voice came through the intercom.

Just as Lu Mingfei thought his life was safe, the deputy director spoke again.

"Of course they're live rounds! To show you our utmost respect, we've loaded the latest Alchemical Bullets! The Equipment Division would never do anything to slight you!"

Lu Mingfei closed his eyes. Only one thought remained in his mind.

It's over. That bowl of plain noodles is probably going to become my last meal.

In Cassel College's armory, Alchemical Bullets were specially made to deal with high-risk Mixed-Bloods and even Pure-Blood Dragons. Their warheads were inscribed with Alchemical Matrices capable of tearing apart dragon scales. Even a graze could scare the soul out of an ordinary person.

"You call this 'respect'?!"

He practically roared it, but before his words had faded, the machine guns' rotating barrels had already begun to hum.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Lu Mingfei instinctively spread his arms, and the field of Dustless Land abruptly expanded. Invisible barriers rippled through the air. The instant the bullets struck them, blinding sparks burst forth as the Alchemical Matrices violently clashed with the power of the Word Spirit.

"Field intensity meets the standard! But energy consumption is on the high side!"

A researcher's voice came through the loudspeakers, accompanied by Carl's excited muttering in the background.

"Try widening the barrage! Let's see whether the field is uniform."

The machine-gun array suddenly adjusted its angles. Bullets poured down from every direction, forcing Lu Mingfei to shrink the field to its limit. He curled up within a spherical space less than a meter in radius.

For the sake of his life, Lu Mingfei had no choice but to deploy a second Word Spirit at the same time.

Eye of the Storm King!

His temples throbbed violently. He had only experienced this kind of intensity when fighting Margit, the Fell Omen!

"Deputy Director!"

Someone outside the glass wall suddenly cried out.

"The S-Rank is releasing two Word Spirits simultaneously! Not only does he possess multiple Word Spirits, he can control them at the same time!"

Lu Mingfei nearly laughed in anger. He cursed everyone in the Equipment Division eight hundred times in his heart, but his hands did not stop moving.

The light in his Golden Eyes suddenly blazed brighter, and the turbulent currents of Eye of the Storm King instantly expanded, erupting within the sealed chamber!

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Every piece of equipment began smoking and failed outright under the hurricane's assault.

"Data collection complete!"

The system finally issued its termination prompt. Lu Mingfei collapsed onto the floor and heard Carl sigh regretfully.

"What a pity. We still didn't completely break the historical record. If you could have held on for another five minutes, we could've found the critical point..."

"Test your ass!"