Volume Two: Embarking on the Journey Chapter 24: The Test After the Breakthrough

Perhaps it was because he had advanced two levels in his cultivation technique at once.

Wang Jue found this breakthrough so smooth that he could hardly believe it, and its speed was astonishing as well.

What truly excited him was that his cultivation had actually risen from the fourth level of the Spirit-Nurturing Realm all the way to the ninth!

A full five-level increase!

“This…”

After completing his breakthrough, Wang Jue sensed his current cultivation and wore an expression of shock and disbelief.

“You’ve got to be kidding me, right? How did I jump five levels this time?”

He had gained quite a bit of experience with the improvement of his talent.

Yet he clearly remembered that whenever his enhanced talent drove his cultivation forward, it had always resulted in exactly three levels of advancement—never more, never less.

Why had it suddenly become five levels this time?

“Could it be…”

Wang Jue sank into thought. After a while, his eyes suddenly lit up.

“Could it be because of the cultivation technique?”

Every time he accumulated enough Star Origin Points, his first choice was always to improve his talent. As for his cultivation technique, he had consistently ignored it.

Who would have thought that, because he had so many Star Origin Points this time, choosing to improve his cultivation technique after enhancing his talent would allow him to discover that the technique itself could also drive his cultivation forward?

Although a breakthrough in his cultivation technique could only raise his cultivation by one level—far less than the three levels brought about by improving his talent—Wang Jue normally did not have much time to devote to cultivation in the first place.

Most of his progress had come from enhancing his talent, which allowed him to advance rapidly. He rarely spent time cultivating directly.

On top of that, most of his time was devoted to mastering martial techniques, leaving him with little opportunity to train.

That was why Wang Jue’s strength had always surpassed that of his peers, while his realm had never been considered truly outstanding.

After this round of improvements, however, whether it was his talent, strength, or cultivation—or the martial techniques that had already far surpassed those of his peers—every aspect of him had risen dramatically.

Although Wang Jue could not yet be called unrivaled in his generation, he could at least be considered one of the very finest among his peers.

Breaking through several levels in succession naturally left Wang Jue somewhat excited, but the feeling did not last long before he suppressed it.

During this period, he had spent most of every day honing his martial techniques and hunting star beasts, barely getting any proper rest.

Now, taking advantage of his breakthrough, Wang Jue lay down with a contented smile and promptly fell asleep.

He intended to use the opportunity to recover from the physical and mental exhaustion that had accumulated over this period…

…

The next day.

A little after eight in the morning.

After waking, Wang Jue received a message on his wristwatch from the Adventurers’ Headquarters, notifying him to return to City One.

Once he had packed his things and stepped out of the tent, he discovered that the camp had become nearly deserted. Hardly anyone remained.

Since the rat tide had yet to disperse, the human authorities had no choice but to notify the warriors in several nearby camps to return to City One. They would have to wait until the rat tide passed before they could leave the city and resume hunting.

In fact, the warriors in the camp had shown no dissatisfaction upon receiving the order. Instead, most seemed relieved.

After all, they had been worried that the human authorities might order them to remain behind and defend the camp against the rat tide.

Now that they had been told to return to the city, most of the warriors began packing their belongings before setting off toward City One in groups of two or three.

Afraid of encountering the rat tide again, they all hurried along as quickly as they could.

About two hours later.

Outside the Adventurers’ Headquarters.

“Hey, God-Slayer Wang, why are you only getting back now?”

“Wang Jue, you must have made quite a bit of money over the past two months. You didn’t have anywhere to spend it at the camp, so now that you’re back, shouldn’t you show some appreciation?”

“That’s right, God-Slayer Wang. You have to treat us to a good meal and let us brothers celebrate together.”

“…”

Quite a few warriors who had returned earlier and had a good relationship with Wang Jue greeted him cheerfully when they saw him arrive.

Almost no one knew that Wang Jue’s team had made a fortune the last time by selling star bones.

However, during these past two months, Wang Jue’s frenzied slaughter of second-level star beasts had made him well known among the warriors throughout the camp.

In less than two months, he had slaughtered more than ten thousand second-level star beasts as effortlessly as chopping vegetables.

That achievement could only be described as insane.

Thus, it was hardly surprising that he had earned the nickname God-Slayer.

Because of this, everyone also held Wang Jue in much greater respect.

Practice makes perfect.

After all, even the dullest person would become highly skilled at killing star beasts after slaughtering more than ten thousand of them in succession.

“Hahaha… Sure, no problem,” Wang Jue said with a hearty laugh. “How about tonight?”

“Sounds good. Then it’s settled!”

The warriors who were close to Wang Jue all laughed when they heard him agree.

Most of them had merely been joking.

They had never dreamed that Wang Jue would actually accept.

Since he had agreed, they naturally would not let such a fine opportunity to feast at the expense of a wealthy man slip away.

“Sure. We can’t leave the city right now anyway.”

Wang Jue smiled, exchanged a few more words with them, and then entered the Adventurers’ Headquarters.

At this moment, the main hall was packed with warriors.

Wang Jue abandoned the idea of finding somewhere to have a drink. Since he had broken through in cultivation the previous night, he decided to test his strength instead.

After finally making his way to the elevator, he pressed the button.

With a ding, the elevator doors opened.

Wang Jue stepped inside. Seeing that no one else was coming, he pressed the button to close the doors.

Before long, the elevator reached the tenth floor, where the warriors usually trained.

The doors opened, and Wang Jue stepped out.

There were not many warriors in the training hall. When the young receptionist saw him arrive, she immediately called out, “Greetings, esteemed warrior. Would you like something to drink? I can bring it to you.”

“No need.”

Wang Jue smiled and asked, “By the way, where is the strength-testing room?”

“Go through the large door on the far left,” the receptionist immediately replied. “I’ll take you there…”

Before she could finish, Wang Jue waved his hand and interrupted her.

“Thank you, but there’s no need to trouble yourself. I can go on my own.”

With that, Wang Jue walked in the direction the receptionist had indicated.

…

Wang Jue arrived at the testing hall.

Looking at the enormous facility before him, he could not help but sigh with emotion.

“It’s huge… The Martial Association branches in the safe zones can’t compare with this place at all!”

After marveling inwardly, Wang Jue walked over to the punch-force testing machine, switched it on, and then activated the speed tester as well.

Once the speed tester was running, he stepped onto the track.

“Let’s see how much my strength has improved during this period.”

Wang Jue had been standing casually on the track, but in the next instant, he shot forward with a whoosh, like an arrow released from a bow.

In the blink of an eye, he had crossed the track and slowed to a stop.

Afterward, Wang Jue walked over to the speed tester and looked at the display.

101.8 meters per second!

“Not bad.”

His eyes brightened when he saw the number.

“I didn’t expect my speed to have caught up with a Crimson Star Realm warrior.”

One hundred meters per second was precisely the basic physical standard of a Crimson Star Realm warrior, without the use of martial techniques.

If martial techniques were included, even a Body Tempering Realm warrior could move much faster than a Spirit-Nurturing Realm warrior who was not using any techniques.

If one relied on martial techniques, then such a test would lose its meaning.

“Next, let’s test my punch force.”

Wang Jue walked over to the punch-force testing machine, took a deep breath, and suddenly exerted his strength.

Boom!

His fist struck the target like a cannonball. The target trembled violently, and a number appeared on the screen.

8,901 kilograms!

“Not bad. Although it’s still inferior to a Crimson Star Realm warrior, it’s quite formidable among Spirit-Nurturing Realm warriors.”

Wang Jue nodded in satisfaction.

Of course, this was only a rough numerical standard. In the present era, strength was judged not by physical attributes alone, but by one’s realm and overall power.

After all, physical strength was only one part of a warrior’s capabilities.

“Finally, let’s see how much force I can unleash with a martial technique.”

Wang Jue regulated his breathing. Then his eyes snapped open.

He pushed off with both feet, causing the floor of the entire testing hall to tremble faintly. A powerful force surged through his legs and instantly reached his waist and hips.

Crack, crack, crack!

His spine straightened section by section as the star power within his body flowed into his right arm.

At the same time, the force gathered in his waist, hips, and back.

He threw a punch.

As Wang Jue’s fist shot forward, its speed continued to climb. A sound like an explosion of air erupted as the punch slammed directly into the target.

Boom!

The target was knocked nearly flat. Only after a moment did it slowly return upright.

The screen paused briefly before displaying a line of figures.

15,910 kilograms!

“My goodness, that’s nearly double!”

A smile appeared on Wang Jue’s face. He knew that punch-force measurements were only approximate. Sometimes the result would be slightly higher, sometimes slightly lower, and both were normal.

In other words, Wang Jue could unleash nearly sixteen thousand kilograms of force at full power.

Although Wang Jue’s cultivation had now reached the ninth level of the Spirit-Nurturing Realm, his physical strength had yet to reach the Crimson Star Realm. In terms of speed, however, he could already contend with a first-level Crimson Star Realm warrior.

Of course, Wang Jue’s true strength was certainly not limited to this.

After all, he was a swordsman.

“Finally, let’s test my neural reaction speed.”

In high spirits, Wang Jue entered the neural reaction testing room.

He directly selected Crimson Star Realm mode and set the machine to start after a one-second delay. After pressing the red button, he quickly stepped into the marked circle.

Wang Jue stood inside the circle for roughly five seconds.

Bzzz…

The muzzle of the neural reaction testing machine began to rotate, accelerating continuously until it reached an astonishing speed.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…

Dozens of barrels within the enormous muzzle fired rubber bullets in rapid succession, sending them streaking toward the red enclosure.

“Damn, that’s fast!”

Standing at the center of the red circle, Wang Jue moved with swift, ethereal steps.

He made it look effortless.

Even someone with neural reactions as fast as Wang Jue’s would probably have been unable to dodge with such ease.

That was because Wang Jue’s footwork had already reached the threshold of the Transcendent Realm.

With the control granted by his near-Transcendent footwork, he could maximize his ability to evade.

Bang! Bang!

Two bullets struck him in succession, but he did not hesitate in the slightest and continued dodging.

A minute later, the muzzle slowed until it stopped rotating.

Wang Jue walked over to the screen and examined it carefully.

“Oh? Sixty seconds. Hit five times, without touching the red light.”

He was quite surprised by the result. He had actually managed to achieve an excellent score of only five hits in the Crimson Star Realm neural reaction test.

In truth, what this so-called neural reaction test measured was, more accurately, a warrior’s ability to evade.

And evasion ability was related to speed, neural reactions, awareness, and other factors.

Nevertheless, this was already the best testing method available.

Wang Jue was very satisfied with the result.

After completing the tests, Wang Jue returned to the main hall on the first floor by elevator, still in high spirits…