Northwest Base City, the Limit Hall's Headquarters Building.
In the Martial Arts Training Hall on the thirtieth floor, Yang Zheng was immersed in training alone.
After signing a contract with the Limit Martial Hall, he had also secured a place at the Elite Training Camp. To Yang Zheng, however, the Elite Training Camp held little appeal.
As for its instructors?
Yang Zheng was not boasting, but no one on Earth-not even Babata, who lay asleep beneath Mist Island-was qualified to guide his cultivation.
As for training equipment, the Limit General Hall was, after all, the headquarters for an entire base city. Its facilities were not as comprehensive as those of the Basic Training Camp, but they were sufficient for Yang Zheng's current needs.
A replica Gravity Room, a dedicated Blade Training Room, a Movement Training Room, a Nerve Reaction Training Room...
Previously, access to these valuable facilities had required a certain level of contribution points, and even then, training time had been limited. Once Yang Zheng signed the training contract, they were opened to him directly.
Immersed in the world of martial arts, he barely noticed the time passing outside.
A month passed.
Bang!
In a corner of the enormous Martial Arts Training Hall, the striking pad of the Punch Strength Tester shook, and a reading quickly appeared on its display.
"64,322 kg."
A month earlier, his tested punching strength had been 42,395 kilograms. Increasing it by twenty thousand kilograms in such a short time had been possible thanks to the jade marrow delivered by Huaxia Country's Military.
Although jade marrow did not produce as dramatic an improvement as dragon blood, its effects were gentle. In just one week, it had raised his physical fitness to the Elementary War God Level.
Over the past month, however, physical fitness had been his smallest improvement. His greatest advances had been in his blade techniques and movement techniques.
[Nine-Layered Thunder Blade, eighth layer] (2%) [Artistic Conception Level movement technique] (100%)
A month of relentless training, aided by the replica Gravity Room and other equipment, along with occasional trips to the Wilderness Zone to hunt monsters, had finally brought his strength to its current level.
The only active progress bars were still those for the Nine-Layered Thunder Blade and his movement technique. He urgently needed to improve his combat strength; expanding into other progress bars would have to wait until he had time.
"I've made breakthroughs in both movement and force output. Time to collect my reward!" Yang Zheng rose and headed toward the testing room next door.
The first clause of his contract stipulated that achieving a force amplitude of four times within three years would earn him any three complete sets of manuals, along with a complete set of S-Class Weapons and an S-Class Battle Suit.
Yang Zheng had fulfilled that clause twenty days earlier, immediately taken the test, and collected the reward for clause one.
Clause two required him to achieve a force amplitude of five times and reach the artistic conception level in his movement technique within three years. Completing it would earn him one drop of the plant spirit Verdant Grass Dew.
Even if one drop of Verdant Grass Dew can't raise my physical fitness to High-level War God, my spiritual force will probably shatter that Pyramid completely and exhaust its dormant energy.
Calculating silently, Yang Zheng entered the testing room. Inside were only a simple sofa and a helmet-the helmet for entering Virtual Space.
Inspector Liu had brought it along when delivering the reward for clause one, allowing Yang Zheng to test his strength whenever he wished.
"I want to take the test for clause two of my contract!"
Putting on the helmet and entering the silvery-white space, Yang Zheng made his request directly to the Intelligent System.
Everyone's physical fitness in Virtual Space was standardized at Beginner Warlord, with a base punching strength of ten thousand kilograms. Testing force output here completely eliminated the possibility of cheating.
Whoosh!
A Punch Strength Tester suddenly appeared out of thin air on the silver ground before Yang Zheng.
Bang!
His fist slammed into the striking pad like a cannonball. The pad shook violently, and a string of numbers immediately appeared on the display.
"56,000 kg."
"Congratulations. Your punching force amplitude is 5.6 times. You have passed the force output test for clause two!" An electronic voice echoed through Virtual Space.
"Next: the artistic conception level movement technique test."
Clause two required a force amplitude of five times and an artistic conception level movement technique. The force output test was relatively simple: he only needed to produce the required reading.
The movement technique test, however, assessed not only his neural reactions but also his performance in actual combat.
Yang Zheng soon passed the assessment and uploaded both sets of test results to the Virtual Space Terminal.
"Now all I have to do is wait for the reward!"
In the testing room, Yang Zheng removed his helmet, eager to see how much Verdant Grass Dew would improve his strength.
That afternoon.
A purplish-red triangular fighter aircraft arrived above the base city. Inspector Liu had returned with the reward for clause two.
"This is Verdant Grass Dew."
"Also, once you've taken it, come with me to Headquarters. The Hall Master wants to see you!"
Inspector Liu handed him a combination-lock case, his gaze complicated as he looked at Yang Zheng.
The Hall Master had put him in charge of matters concerning this prodigy, including managing Ancient Civilization Equipment, advising him on cultivation, assessing his strength, and distributing rewards...
Yet Yang Zheng had essentially completed all his training alone. All Inspector Liu could do was improve the equipment available to him, and now he had been reduced to running errands.
"The Hall Master wants to see me?"
Yang Zheng accepted the case, a strange glint flashing through his eyes. It seemed his cultivation speed had truly caught Hong's attention.
"Yes. Go take the Verdant Grass Dew first and improve your strength. We can discuss the rest afterward. There's no rush; we can leave tomorrow."
Inspector Liu nodded. Although he had been reduced to an errand runner, he had also seen Yang Zheng's bright prospects and did not mind making a small investment in his own future.
"All right!"
Yang Zheng nodded and returned to his underground chamber with the case, immediately taking out the Verdant Grass Dew.
Despite being called a drop of dew, it was as large as a fingertip-sized glass marble. It resembled a dewdrop that had condensed year-round at the tip of a leaf, clear and emerald green, with a faint image visible inside.
It was a four-leaf clover, emerald green throughout. Its veins gave off a pale blue-green glow, as though starlight flowed across them.
"Here goes."
Yang Zheng sat cross-legged and used his spiritual force to send the Verdant Grass Dew straight into his mouth.
The fingertip-sized drop melted the instant it entered his mouth. A cool, soothing sensation immediately spread through his body, making even his soul tremble.
Apart from those with certain special effects,
most plant spirits that improved physical fitness caused no pain when consumed.
Bzzzz...
Before long, Yang Zheng felt the surface of his skin trembling slightly. As it vibrated, traces of gray-black matter seeped out through his pores.
Within his body, the boundless vitality contained in the Verdant Grass Dew brought astonishing transformations to his tendons, bones, muscles, and even his cells.
His cellular activity increased rapidly, and his physical fitness rose just as quickly.
Meanwhile, within his boundless Sea of Consciousness, the Pyramid was releasing vast quantities of energy.
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