"Congratulations. Once again, you have perfectly mastered the Vortex-Word Technique at a breakthrough speed. Xiao Chi is truly astonished."
AI Xiao Chi's emotional voice rang out.
This was the first time Li Yi had heard AI Xiao Chi reveal such emotion.
Before this, although AI Xiao Chi's voice had been pleasant, it had still sounded mostly stiff and mechanical.
Li Yi waited a moment, then asked with renewed disappointment:
"So this time, I didn't trigger any hidden training either?"
"That is correct. Would you like to enter the previously triggered hidden training mission, or learn a new basic mech technique?"
Li Yi was somewhat surprised.
"There's more? There are this many varieties of mech techniques?"
And this time, AI Xiao Chi had actually addressed him respectfully.
Had his consecutive record-breaking performances unsettled even the AI?
"Yes, but this is indeed the final basic technique. Would you like to arrange the training?"
"Sure. Set it up quickly."
"Understood. I will now arrange the Rupture-Word Technique for you."
"Although the Rupture-Word Technique is a mech technique, it also possesses armor-piercing effects. It is the most complex and combat-practical of all basic mech techniques. Please study it carefully."
As everyone immersed themselves in virtual reality training, Chen Qiong Zhi's voice suddenly came through the public channel:
"Due to certain unforeseen circumstances, this instructor will be unable to attend the remainder of this afternoon's training. Your virtual reality training time is now extended until the end of today's session. Training will resume normally tomorrow. Please take note."
The moment she said that, a whole crowd started swearing.
There was no helping it. The opponents arranged in the virtual reality simulations were far too powerful, specialized in targeting weaknesses, repeatedly used the Quake-Word Technique to knock trainees unconscious from afar, then forcibly woke them up again.
Although some people had gradually adapted by the end of the process,
they still couldn't stand it.
After all, adapting was one thing. Feeling unwilling and miserable was another.
Li Yi was doing all right. In the virtual reality simulation, he was the one beating up his opponent.
Still, this Rupture-Word Technique had indeed taken him quite a while.
It had actually taken a full ten minutes!
When he controlled the Pluto Mech and threw a punch at the target ahead, directly cracking the enormous material as hard as a planetary core,
AI Xiao Chi's slightly trembling voice followed:
"Congratulations. Once again, you have mastered the Rupture-Word Technique at a breakthrough speed and produced the Cracking impact effect."
"You have triggered another hidden training mission!"
"This hidden training mission was established by second-generation instructor Zong Kaishan. Completing all stages gives you a chance to master the Divinity Technique, Open Heaven."
"Would you like to..."
"I didn't expect ten minutes to be enough to break the record."
Li Yi sighed, then cut in first. "Accept it, then postpone it."
"Received. Regarding your question, I can tell you that in the Jade Pool (Yaochi) No. 7's past records, the fastest anyone learned the Rupture-Word Technique was one and a half days."
"Therefore, your learning speed for mech techniques makes you the undisputed record king of the Jade Pool (Yaochi) No. 7."
Li Yi was also deeply moved. It seemed that all those years of focusing on acquiring combat memory fragments had not been wasted.
Training a skill like that to perfection had, incidentally, brought his comprehension in the field of combat to an extraordinary level.
However, he suddenly thought of a problem.
"You said I'm the record king. Then if no one can break my records afterward, wouldn't that mean these hidden training missions can't be triggered?"
"Theoretically, yes."
AI Xiao Chi said, "However, if no one triggers them for ten consecutive years, the system will automatically adjust the mechanism and lower the activation requirements. After all, these are your humans' ultimate techniques. It would be a pity if their inheritance were interrupted."
Li Yi nodded. "Understood. Now, please help me activate the hidden training mission for the Quake-Word Technique. I've completed the mech technique fundamentals and cleared the fourth stage, so it shouldn't be a problem now."
"Understood. Activating it for you now."
With Chen Qiong Zhi no longer keeping them in line, once the virtual reality's designated time ended, everyone, no matter how exhausted or miserable they were, started partying like wild horses freed from their reins.
At the virtual reality seats, someone had already jumped onto a chair and was shouting recklessly at the top of his lungs.
Hiss—
The helmet automatically opened. Li Yi opened his eyes and took a moment to adjust to the shift from virtual to reality.
Beside him, Cai Xiaodong's complexion was still terrible, but he looked much better than last time.
"You still haven't completely mastered the Quake-Word Technique?" Li Yi asked.
"No. AI Xiao Chi told me I'm still a little short and need more real combat experience to grasp it."
Cai Xiaodong wore the exhausted expression of a sage who had seen through life.
"It's fine. I think another round tomorrow should do it. After all, I still have some foundation."
"Then I hope you get it in one shot tomorrow."
Li Yi stood up, ready to head to the cafeteria.
At that moment, a familiar voice came from behind him.
"Looks like you've adapted pretty well over the last two days."
That voice... Lin Guotao?
Li Yi turned around. It really was him. He immediately smiled. "What brings you here, sir?"
"I happened to have some time. I wanted to talk about what I mentioned last time. Come with me."
As he spoke, Lin Guotao rose to his feet and walked toward the entrance of the enclosed venue.
Li Yi told Cai Xiaodong to sort out his own dinner, then hurried after him.
After leaving the enclosed training hall, Lin Guotao looked steadily at Li Yi and said:
"I had originally planned to come back in a month, but some unexpected changes have occurred recently, so I had to come early."
"I was somewhat worried you hadn't adapted yet, but seeing your current condition, I know you've fully adapted to Chen Qiong Zhi's intensive training pace and made significant progress."
"For example, isn't your overall physical condition now a little stronger than it was during the last competition?"
Li Yi found that somewhat strange.
After two days of gravity training and high-intensity nutritional supplementation, his physical condition had indeed improved considerably.
But that was a normal pace, wasn't it? Why emphasize it specifically?
"Are you wondering why I brought this up?" Lin Guotao asked.
Li Yi nodded.
"It's simple. I'm here to make you realize that you've already broken through your physical limit."
Li Yi was instantly stunned. "Wasn't it said that one had to receive enough Divinity Radiation to break through the limits of the human body and embark on the path of evolution?"
"That is correct in theory."
Lin Guotao nodded.
"But if someone can train their combat techniques to perfection, possess exceptionally powerful self-control, and combine that with sufficiently abundant high-energy nutrition, there is a chance they can break through the limits of the human body."
As he spoke, Lin Guotao raised two fingers.
"In your case, you can gain one more opportunity than ordinary people to break through your limits. In other words, after independently breaking through the limits of the human body, you can still use Divinity Radiation to break through a second limit."
Li Yi was still doubtful. "This counts as breaking through the human body's limits? That can't be right. I have improved, but it doesn't feel earth-shattering."
"No. You need to understand that you had already reached the peak of a non-evolved person. Theoretically, your physique could not improve any further before you became an evolver."
Li Yi nodded slightly. That explanation did seem reasonable.
Previously, he had thought he could improve purely because he had received high-energy nutritional supplements.
But from another perspective, Lin Guotao might be right.
"Breaking one shackle only removes the bottleneck that had previously suppressed your body's progress. To achieve a transformation-level improvement, you still need to keep training. So you have plenty of room to improve afterward."
"Only when you reach the next bottleneck, or receive enough Divinity Radiation, will the issue of breaking through a second limit arise."
Lin Guotao continued:
"Because you have already broken through the first limit, I can now explain the classified plan to you."
"A classified plan?"
"That's right. The Deus Mech Project."
Inside the enclosed training hall.
Cai Xiaodong was packing his things, preparing to leave.
At that moment, Zhang Xuqiang and another tall man walked over and stopped in front of Cai Xiaodong.
"Kid, you've gotten pretty close to Li Yi lately. Where did he go?"
Cai Xiaodong frowned. "What do you want?"
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