"What's going on?" Wei Wen, who had been resting, saw the system notification flash before his eyes. Despite his exhausted state, he jolted upright in shock.
If his memory served him right, this was his first time absorbing genetic energy. The massive surge in strength had triggered his initial awakening as a spiritual master on the spot.
That first awakening had catapulted his warrior strength to a punching power of 6,400 kg. This was normal; when a spiritual master awakens, it significantly enhances their physical physique and strength.
However, every spiritual master typically only gets one such opportunity for a major power-up. Wei Wen had already experienced that first awakening. He never imagined a second one was possible?
Regardless, Wei Wen decided to give it a try. Besides, this was a special system reminder—how could it be wrong? After all, everything he had achieved so far was thanks to the system and Luo Feng.
Ssshh~~
Under Wei Wen's guidance, genetic energy streamed into his body through the Baihui points on the soles of his feet, his palms, and the crown of his head.
"The speed of absorbing cosmic energy today seems faster, just like during my first spiritual master awakening." A realization dawned on Wei Wen, and his eyes lit up.
Cosmic energy flowed into his body through five channels, and every cell in his body frantically devoured this miraculous genetic energy. Stimulated by the genetic energy, Wei Wen suddenly felt his entire soul tremble.
His sea of consciousness was boundless, already shrouded in endless mist. At its center, a dark golden sphere rotated slowly, like a celestial body.
As it spun, it rapidly emitted streams of mist, causing the fog in this mysterious space to thicken rapidly. Under normal circumstances, the release speed of mental power wasn't nearly this fast. It was clear that Wei Wen was truly experiencing a bizarre second awakening.
When the second awakening actually occurred, Wei Wen's mind went blank. But when he regained his composure, a hint of surprise flashed across his face.
Whether this situation was normal or not, it was undoubtedly a good thing for Wei Wen. This second awakening opened a floodgate; the dark golden sphere continuously released spiritual power.
This not only granted him stronger mental power but also transformed his physique once more.
Boom!
Wei Wen clenched his fist and threw a punch, the force causing the air to roar.
"I'll find time tomorrow to go to the Extreme Martial Club and test my current strength." Wei Wen was eager to see the effects of this second awakening.
Of course, even without a test, as a warrior, his control over his power was relatively accurate. His strength had probably increased by about 100% compared to before this awakening. He estimated his punching power was now around 10,000 kg!
Generally, a punching strength of 4,000 kg is considered the baseline for a senior warrior-level combatant, while 8,000 kg is the baseline for a junior general-level warrior.
This was only a rough standard, as strength nowadays wasn't judged solely by physical fitness but by actual monster-slaying records. After all, physical fitness was just one aspect of strength; with superb blade techniques and movement techniques, the weak could defeat the strong.
But that was a digression. The point was, after this second awakening, his warrior strength had reached the junior general level.
Furthermore, before their spiritual power is exhausted, a spiritual master's strength is typically two major levels higher than their warrior level. This meant Wei Wen was now a spiritual master at the senior general level.
Although a second awakening was unbelievable, from every angle, this was a tremendous boon for Wei Wen.
…
At five o'clock the next morning, as dawn broke, Luo Feng hurried to the Extreme Martial Club in Yi'an District.
He hadn't received his official quasi-warrior certificate yet, so he used his senior martial arts student ID to enter the advanced student teaching building.
"Madman, congratulations on passing the quasi-warrior exam!" a senior student exclaimed upon seeing Luo Feng. "But… you've already passed. Why are you here so early?"
Luo Feng's nickname Madman had been around for a long time, probably since he defeated three senior students single-handedly.
"The warrior combat test is on August 1st. I need to prepare in advance," Luo Feng replied with a light smile. "How did you guys find out I'm a quasi-warrior?" He thought the news wasn't widely known.
"The teacher told us during training yesterday. Wei Wen, you, and Brother Yang have all become quasi-warriors," the senior student explained. "I even saw Wei Wen earlier and confirmed it with him."
"Wei Wen?" Luo Feng smiled.
Just thinking about it, he had not only cultivated genetic energy on the first day but also awakened as a spiritual master. Facing Wei Wen, the rival he aimed to surpass, Luo Feng finally felt he could breathe a little easier.
'A piercing howl?'
Luo Feng, who had just relaxed, was startled by a sharp sound coming from upstairs.
"Which master is making such a loud noise?" Luo Feng wondered curiously.
Immediately, he transformed into a blur, swiftly heading up the stairs towards the fourth floor. Normally, only quasi-warrior were allowed on the fourth floor. But now that Wei Wen was a warrior, he naturally had access.
As for Luo Feng, having passed the quasi-warrior assessment, the duty officer turned a blind eye, allowing him to enter the fourth floor without issue.
"Huh?" Luo Feng's gaze fell upon the sole figure in the fourth-floor training hall, and he was momentarily stunned. "Wei Wen?"
In the fourth-floor martial arts training hall.
"It shouldn't be broken, right?" Wei Wen switched on the punching power tester, took a deep breath, and stood before it.
After briefly adjusting his breathing, Wei Wen threw his fist forward in a powerful arc, carrying an overwhelming force.
Boom!
A low, drum-like sound echoed as the punching target vibrated violently. A line of data immediately appeared on the display: 10081 kg.
An ordinary truck only weighs a few tons. One could imagine the sheer force behind Wei Wen's punch—enough to send someone straight to the afterlife.
"The increase is pretty much what I expected," Wei Wen murmured, a satisfied smile gracing his lips.
"Damn, Wei Wen, was that sound just now from you?" Luo Feng asked, utterly shocked.
He walked towards Wei Wen, and when his eyes landed on the display screen, he froze upon seeing the number.
"10,081 kg?" Luo Feng stared at Wei Wen as if the latter had transformed from a human into a monster. "Did you produce this data?"
After absorbing genetic energy and awakening, Luo Feng had also estimated his own strength, placing his punching power around 3,000 kg. Factoring in his spiritual master power, which should be about four times greater, that would be around 12,000 kg.
Reaching that level, Luo Feng felt he might have finally surpassed Wei Wen and could finally relax when facing him. But witnessing Wei Wen's punch, Luo Feng realized he had celebrated too soon.
"Who else could it be but me?" Wei Wen replied lightly.
It was a simple method to gauge a general's strength, but judging by Luo Feng's expression, it seemed highly effective.
Luo Feng wasn't one to give up easily. Even faced with Wei Wen's staggering punching power, he still held the courage to catch up and surpass him. After all, he was a spiritual master too.
But Luo Feng didn't know that Wei Wen was also a spiritual master.
Whether or not Luo Feng knew that Wei Wen was a spiritual master, he was fully aware of the typical standards for enhancing physical fitness by absorbing genetic energy.
For a spiritual master like himself, increasing his punching power by 2000kg was already considered genius-level progress. Yet, Wei Wen had boosted his own punching power by nearly 9000kg.
"Wei Wen, how did you achieve such a massive increase in strength?" Luo Feng asked, his expression one of bewilderment.
Luo Feng was eager to learn the reason, and if possible, he wanted to emulate it.
"Of course... through relentless hard work!" Wei Wen declared earnestly, though his words were pure nonsense.
It wasn't that Wei Wen refused to tell Luo Feng the truth, but the actual reason was simply unbelievable. Even if he explained it, Luo Feng wouldn't be able to replicate his method.
"Hard work?" Luo Feng took a deep breath. "It seems my efforts still aren't enough."
The thought of Wei Wen's tremendous improvement, coupled with the fact that Wei Wen always arrived at the martial arts club earlier than him, suddenly jolted Luo Feng into clarity.
"Keep at it!" Hearing Luo Feng's words, Wei Wen couldn't help but pat his shoulder approvingly.
The only issue was that the effect was a bit too potent—Luo Feng's mindset seemed to have been pushed to an extreme... Wei Wen wasn't sure if that was entirely good or bad.
Still, there was nothing wrong with diligent practice. It would only serve to strengthen both of them, making it a clear win-win situation.
"Hard work is fine, but Wei Wen, could you give me some guidance?" Luo Feng, who shared an excellent relationship with Wei Wen, got straight to the point without any polite preliminaries.
"No problem!" Wei Wen smiled. This was precisely part of his plan. "What do you want to learn?"
"First, how to absorb more genetic energy like you do. Second, how to achieve micro-level movement," Luo Feng stated directly after a moment of silence.
Wei Wen fell into thought upon hearing this.
Teaching Luo Feng micro-level movement and helping him improve his strength as quickly as possible was part of Wei Wen's plan, so that wasn't a concern.
The issue lay in enabling Luo Feng to absorb more genetic energy, which could only rely on the optimized Five Acupoints Skyward Practices.
As far as many knew, the Five Acupoints Skyward Practices was the only genetic energy cultivation technique on the entire planet.
After a brief silence, however, Wei Wen stopped hesitating.
First, he knew Luo Feng well. If he couldn't trust Luo Feng, then there was no one on Earth worthy of his trust!
Second, Luo Feng was his golden thigh and a primary source of his own growth. Teaching Luo Feng would greatly benefit him.
Besides, the Five Acupoints Origin Method wasn't an entirely different cultivation technique—it was merely an optimized version of the Five Acupoints Skyward Practices.
Even if it were accidentally exposed, he could simply claim his comprehension was exceptional and that he had perfected the method himself.
Moreover, Luo Feng had been working for him, and as the boss, it was unreasonable to keep him empty-handed indefinitely.
"No problem. Let me first explain why I can absorb more genetic energy. It's because I optimized and improved the Five Acupoints Skyward Practices," Wei Wen clarified.
"After the optimization, even without the support of a guidance technique, it allows me to absorb more genetic energy."
"With a guidance technique, the absorption efficiency becomes even more exaggerated. As for the specific practice method..."
Wei Wen briefly explained the principles of the Five Acupoints Origin Method and gave a short demonstration.
To be blunt, the optimization of the Five Acupoints Skyward Practices wasn't particularly profound.
For instance, the standard method primarily channels genetic energy into the body through the Five Acupoints, making it impossible to nourish every cell comprehensively.
In contrast, the Five Acupoints Origin Method allows cells throughout the body to independently absorb genetic energy.
"So that's how it is..." Luo Feng's eyes lit up with sudden understanding. "I never imagined genetic energy could be absorbed this way."
Luo Feng quickly grasped the Five Acupoints Origin Method. After a brief attempt, he confirmed he could indeed absorb more genetic energy than before.
[Ding! Your friend Luo Feng is absorbing genetic energy. Your physical strength continues to improve.]
In truth, Wei Wen had another motive for teaching Luo Feng the Five Acupoints Origin Method: to potentially obtain a more advanced genetic energy cultivation method through system feedback.
Unfortunately, after waiting a while, he heard no such prompt.
This made Wei Wen realize that the so-called feedback couldn't repeatedly generate new high level techniques, dashing some of his hopes for exploiting loopholes.
Nonetheless, with Luo Feng understanding the Five Acupoints Origin Method, his ability to absorb more genetic energy was assured.
This meant Luo Feng would grow stronger faster, and Wei Wen, in turn, would improve more rapidly through system feedback.
"As for micro-level movement, that's simpler." Having reaped the benefits, Wei Wen proceeded to explain micro-level movement to Luo Feng.
"Common sense dictates that practicing movement techniques requires a solid foundation, typically built over years of diligent effort."
"But you've already mastered the basics and can skillfully control your body's strength, so I won't elaborate on that."
"The difference between micro-level and basic movement is that micro-level represents more refined control over strength and the body, enabling the most precise dodges at the minimal cost."
"It allows you to evade all kinds of attacks as if calculated by a computer!"
"The challenge in mastering micro-level movement is that even the slightest error in evasion can easily result in being hit by a monster!"
"Under normal circumstances, it requires real combat to master. Of course, if you have mental power, there's an alternative path." Wei Wen pointed out.
He wasn't wrong—without life-and-death battles, mastering micro-level movement was indeed difficult.
But why could Luo Feng master it?
Because mental power can attach to objects, such as clothing, boots, or armor.
Luo Feng could use his mental power to make fine adjustments to his movements, naturally enabling him to execute exquisite dodges with minimal motion.
Of course, errors could still occur, depending on his control over mental power.
However, Luo Feng possessed the greatest mental power amplitude in the world, a clear indication of his unparalleled talent as a spiritual master. His control over mental power was even more profound.
Such immense mental power amplitude also reflected his extraordinary comprehension, which was why he could break through to micro-level and even perfected movement within just a few months.
After listening to Wei Wen's guidance, Luo Feng fell into deep thought.
As the name implies, movement techniques inherently involve combat; mere meditation is insufficient.
If Luo Feng wanted to comprehend it quickly, he would have to train even harder to reap the rewards later.
"Come, let's spar briefly at quasi-warrior level strength so you can experience what micro-level movement feels like," Wei Wen suggested, looking at Luo Feng.
"Okay!" Luo Feng nodded. At his core, he was someone who refused to admit defeat and was brimming with fighting spirit.
The two stood facing each other, ten meters apart, without any weapons.
"Wei Wen, be careful!"
Seeing Wei Wen with his hands in his pockets and no intention of attacking first, Luo Feng stomped the ground and launched a punch toward Wei Wen.
Even at quasi-warrior level strength, their speed was incredibly fast.
In less than a second, Luo Feng closed the distance, his right fist whistling through the air as it struck hard at Wei Feng's abdomen.
Wei Wen sidestepped slightly, effortlessly evading Luo Feng's attack.
Seeing Wei Wen dodge so easily, Luo Feng held nothing back, unleashing a flurry of punches and kicks.
Yet each time, Wei Wen moved casually, avoiding every one of Luo Feng's strikes with ease.
Luo Feng could sense that Wei Wen's speed was roughly on par with his own, yet Wei Wen evaded his attacks with such nonchalance. He could feel Wei Wen's utter relaxation and control.
"So this is micro-level movement?" Luo Feng couldn't help but look astonished.
Only by sparring with Wei Wen personally did Luo Feng understand the prowess of micro-level movement. With equal strength, Wei Wen gave him the impression of being as unfathomable as an ancient well.
"Your movement skills are indeed proficient, but your control over power isn't yet refined enough. You're unable to manipulate strength on a more detailed level," Wei Wen explained simply.
"If your fist technique reached the same level as your movement, I probably wouldn't have it so easy."
"But as long as you persist, you'll reach my level sooner or later."
If Wei Wen remembered correctly, shortly after Luo Feng entered the training camp and became Jiang Fang's disciple, his blade technique were looked down upon by Jiang Fang.
This was because Luo Feng's mastery in blade techniques lagged far behind his movement technique—a fact evident from how easily Wei Wen could dodge his attacks.
...
Enjoying the story? Get early access to 70+ advanced chapters.
👉 Join me on Patreon: patreon.com/DarkLord621