At first, hunger and the thick stench of blood and foul odors around him constantly distracted him.
But gradually, as his consciousness sank ever deeper,
in this extreme environment, fraught with danger and surrounded by powerful enemies,
Luo Feng's mind became more focused than ever before.
His potential erupted!
The night passed, and the next morning,
when Luo Feng opened his eyes again, a faint light was already coming through the window.
Luo Feng was delighted to discover
that he absorbed Cosmic Energy far more efficiently here than in the safety of a Base City!
It really did take a high-pressure environment to bring out the body's potential.
Over the next week, Luo Feng fully immersed himself in this extreme cultivation life, living next door to monsters
and walking on a blade's edge.
By day, he hunted all kinds of monsters, from Beast General Level to Horde Leader Level.
All of them became targets for honing his blade techniques.
With every battle, Luo Feng continued to improve.
At night, he returned to the danger-filled skyscraper
and cultivated cross-legged amid the roars of monsters.
The high-pressure environment was like the harshest of catalysts,
forcing his body and mind to remain taut at all times.
On average, a little over a week would pass, and when his supplies were nearly exhausted,
only then would Luo Feng quietly return to Hongning Base City.
Luo Feng usually chose to enter the city late at night.
He would rent a room at an ordinary hotel and wash the grime and stench off his body in the bathroom.
After tidying up his appearance,
he would go shopping for the supplies he needed for the next stretch of time.
Only after all that would he head to the Elite Training Camp
and put in a token appearance.
Sometimes, he would also join the other trainees on routine monster hunts in City 1001,
mainly to secure his position on the Black Dragon Ranking.
And so, in the new month,
Luo Feng's name held fast among the top ten of the Black Dragon Ranking like an immovable rock.
A newcomer who had only just enrolled
would be called a genius among geniuses for breaking into the top hundred in his first month.
Luo Feng, however, had charged straight into the top ten.
This quickly drew the close attention of the Training Camp's upper ranks, as well as major powers and families across the world.
Countless eyes turned to this dark horse who had appeared out of nowhere.
However, Luo Feng's elusive movements left everyone who tried to approach him empty-handed.
Before long, the month was drawing to a close.
Only a few days remained before the Black Dragon Ranking's final tally.
At that moment, on the twenty-eighth floor of the ruined skyscraper,
Luo Feng had just finished a brief clash with two Advanced Beast General Level monsters.
His body was stained with a little monster blood.
"That's enough. The month is almost over. It's time to go back."
Hearing this, Luo Feng was somewhat puzzled.
"Teacher, what do you mean?"
"Go back to the Training Camp, test your Punch Force Exertion Level, and then challenge the Trial Tower."
Lin Mo's clear answer stirred something in Luo Feng's heart.
Of course, he knew that the final ranking on the Black Dragon Ranking
depended not only on the base points earned from hunting monsters, but, more importantly, on Combat Power Amplitude.
Combat Power Amplitude was the product of Punch Force Exertion Level and Trial Tower Level.
Before this, Luo Feng had never taken the test or challenged the tower.
His Combat Power Amplitude had remained at the base value of one.
He had managed to reach the top ten entirely on the strength of his monster points.
If he tested his exertion level and challenged the tower to obtain his true Combat Power Amplitude multiplier,
Luo Feng's total points would see explosive growth!
The moment to charge for first place was now!
At the thought, a warm current welled up in Luo Feng's heart.
Once I get the resources and graduate from the Training Camp, I should have enough standing to ask the Xu Family for her hand in marriage, right?
Xu Xin's gentle, trusting smile flashed through Luo Feng's mind.
At once, he felt that all the hardship, struggle, and effort along the way had been worth it.
"Teacher, let's go back right now!"
Luo Feng's gaze was firm as iron.
Without a moment's delay,
he returned to his base and gathered the things he was taking with him.
Then he left the building without looking back and raced toward Hongning Base City.
A few hours later, Luo Feng appeared at the Elite Training Camp once more.
His return did not attract much attention from the other trainees.
After all, everyone was busy at the end of the month.
This time, Luo Feng headed straight for the testing room in the Training Camp.
His goal was clear.
First, he would test his Punch Force Exertion Level, then challenge the Trial Tower!
Before long, Luo Feng arrived at the testing room.
Quite a few trainees were already there.
Some were waiting in line, while others were undergoing various measurements.
At Luo Feng's appearance,
the previously noisy testing room fell silent for a moment.
Quite a few trainees cast curious, probing glances his way.
After all, Luo Feng's name had shone too brightly on the Black Dragon Ranking this month,
yet the man himself was as elusive as a ghost, like a legend.
At that moment, a Wargod instructor in charge of the testing room noticed the commotion
and came straight over to Luo Feng.
"Luo Feng, welcome."
The Wargod instructor looked Luo Feng up and down,
his eyes showing undisguised admiration and anticipation.
"I've been waiting for you for a long time."
"Honestly, you made it into the top ten on the base points from hunting monsters alone."
"I'm curious to see what multiplier your Punch Force Exertion Level can reach."
Luo Feng merely smiled faintly, his voice calm but carrying absolute confidence.
"Teacher, I won't disappoint you."
And so, under everyone's gaze,
Luo Feng came to stand before the enormous, high-precision Punch Strength Tester.
He took a deep breath and slowly assumed his stance, making ready.
Before this, Luo Feng had also asked Lin Mo in his sea of consciousness:
if he used the first of the Three Blade Techniques Lin Mo had taught him
and applied its Force Application Technique to his fist, how terrifying a force multiplier would it unleash?
Lin Mo's answer had carried a trace of disdain and pride.
Although it was only the first technique,
its effect would certainly be far stronger than the so-called divine-level secret technique on Earth, the Nine-Layered Thunder Blade.
Even the ninth layer of the Nine-Layered Thunder Blade unleashed only seven times the force.
The first of the Three Blade Techniques, on the other hand, had a force multiplier of at least twelve.
Pulling his thoughts back, Luo Feng's gaze instantly turned razor-sharp.
Soon, Origin Energy surged through Luo Feng's body.
His muscles, bones, and fascia instantly resonated at a specific frequency.
He executed the force application method of the first technique perfectly.
Boom!
He threw a punch, and a deep sonic boom even rang out in the air.
The punch slammed squarely into the tester's target.
Immediately afterward, a jaw-dropping scene unfolded.
The precision machine that could test Punch Force Exertion Level
actually began to shake violently, while the piercing sound of parts shattering came from within.
Luo Feng's punch had wrecked the machine outright!
But in the instant before the machine began pouring out black smoke and its screen went dark for good,
a breathtaking result flashed briefly on the high-strength LCD screen.
12.8!
Seeing the result, Luo Feng slowly withdrew his fist.
His expression was calm, without a trace of surprise.
Lin Mo's estimate was as precise as ever.