Past midnight.
Jiang Yan glanced at Janet sleeping quietly beside him.
He gently removed her right hand from his chest, sat up carefully, and moved to the window.
Cross-legged, he closed his eyes.
His current physical fitness was still not enough.
Since he had already decided to head to City 003, he needed to raise his strength by another major step.
In that chaotic place, being a high-level general didn't mean much.
Even some God of War-level warriors struggled.
He could not afford to be weak.
"I hope my luck is still with me," Jiang Yan murmured silently.
"If I can trigger the critical hit rule again tonight, that'd be perfect."
He began cultivating Ninefold Hunyuan, the internal cultivation method paired with the Ninefold Thunder Blade—the highest-level cultivation technique he currently had access to, and the most efficient way to improve his body.
He quickly entered a deep state of practice.
Waves of energy between heaven and earth surged into his body, nourishing and strengthening gene cells.
Time passed quietly.
An hour.
Two hours.
His gene cells were full, yet—
No trigger.
Only simple progress.
[Cultivation Progress +1]
[Ninefold Hunyuan Progress +1]
"So… I can't expect good luck every single time, huh?"
Jiang Yan let out a light sigh and opened his personal panel.
[Name: Jiang Yan]
[Realm: High-Level General (Progress: 6/100)]
[Body Technique: Perfect (Progress: 1/100)]
[Knife Technique: Basic (Progress: 88/100)]
[Thunder Flash: Minor Attainment (1/100)]
[Ninefold Thunder Blade: First Layer (81/100)]
[Ninefold Hunyuan: Minor Attainment (2/100)]
Looking at these numbers, Jiang Yan couldn't help smiling.
"In a single day, I went from an intermediate general to a high-level general, and my body technique and knife technique both improved tremendously… That's already more than enough."
His one day of progress equaled other people's one or two years.
He was satisfied.
He quietly returned to bed, lay beside Janet, and closed his eyes.
Good night, Makabaka.
Morning came quickly.
After waking up, Jiang Yan and Janet once again studied the Origin of Life together, then finished preparing and went straight for the Ninefold Building.
Before leaving, Janet also carefully picked up the towel that had turned red last night.
Ninefold Building — Eighth Floor
The tower stood over a hundred meters tall.
Training rooms, gravity chambers, simulation halls—everything was located here.
At this moment, Candace and William were training inside the martial arts hall on the eighth floor.
Candace hammered a target with fierce punches, venting emotions he didn't dare express.
William lifted barbells while chatting.
"So Jiang Yan hasn't shown up yet?" Candace asked coldly after finishing another heavy punch.
"Not yet," William said quickly. "I've already arranged someone to watch the elevator on the ninth floor. If Jiang Yan arrives, I'll get the message instantly."
"Hm. Notify me when his assessment results come out."
Candace turned away, entered a vacant training room, and shut the door.
He wanted to see it with his own eyes.
When he first joined the camp, he passed the assessment in eleven minutes.
He did not believe Jiang Yan could beat that.
Not on his watch.
Jiang Yan Arrives
Jiang Yan and Janet entered the Ninefold Building shortly afterward.
Many official students were coming and going. Training here consumed nearly their entire day.
When they saw Jiang Yan and Janet together, countless gazes shifted toward them.
Some shocked.
Some envious.
Some openly jealous.
"The assessment is on the ninth floor," Janet said softly, pulling him into the elevator.
The ninth floor was a massive open hall.
Most of the twenty-one candidates were waiting here.
A few official students had also come to watch.
On the hall's giant screen, the names of candidates who had already passed the A-level assessment were displayed—
Time to clear ranged from 26:38 to 29:56.
Any slower than that, and you failed.
"This year's assessment is insane."
"Thirty one-horned berserk bulls in thirty minutes?"
"At least they only require junior beast general strength…"
"Still terrifying! When the herd charged, I thought I was dead!"
Nervous chatter filled the room.
Yang Hui, expressionless as always, observed them.
These weren't top-tier talents, but they were still true geniuses.
Failing the simplest A-level exam would be disgraceful.
Yet not a single one had completed it in under 20 minutes.
A disappointment.
Just then—
Ding—
The elevator opened.
Janet stepped out with Jiang Yan's hand wrapped around her arm.
Instantly, every gaze in the room locked onto them.
The envy in the air was palpable.
Even the official students felt sour.
The video from last night wasn't fake after all.
Someone immediately messaged Candace.
Yang Hui's cold face finally lit up.
"Jiang Yan, you're here!"
Everyone stared.
Teacher Yang never smiled at US…
Double standards!!!
"Hello, Teacher Yang," Jiang Yan replied politely.
Janet added, "Teacher Yang, we're not late, right?"
"Haha, perfect timing."
Another set of doors opened as someone else finished their assessment—27:31.
Passed.
Yang Hui turned back.
"Jiang Yan, follow me."
Janet gave Jiang Yan a playful wink.
He nodded and walked in.
In less than two minutes, Candace and William rushed up to the ninth floor as well.
Candace wanted to watch Jiang Yan fail.
Because he refused to believe Jiang Yan could beat his eleven minutes.
Inside the Assessment Room
"Teacher Yang, no need to explain," Jiang Yan said before Yang Hui could speak.
"Janet already told me everything."
"Oh? Even better."
Yang Hui laughed, motioning toward a dark blue virtual helmet.
"Put this on."
His eyes were full of expectation.
Jiang Yan sat down, put on the helmet—
Boom—
A slight dizziness.
And then he appeared in a vast virtual world.
Silver earth stretching beyond sight.
A star-covered night sky overhead.
A massive seven-story tower stood before him.
He looked at his virtual body.
"So real."
Virtual testing limited every candidate to the same physique:
Punch force: 10,000 kg
• Speed: 150 m/s
• Reaction: Junior general level
• No mental power allowed
Pure combat technique only.
Jiang Yan stretched casually, then walked toward the Trial Tower.
As he approached, information appeared:
Name: Jiang Yan
Identity: Reserve Member – Genius Training Camp
Trial Tower Level: 1
"Perfect. Real combat with monsters. I can use this to train my knife skills."
Body technique was already perfect—no room to grow from this.
But knife technique…
He needed to elevate it to specialization.
"Candidate Jiang Yan," an electronic voice rang out,
"Please select combat uniform and weapon. Enter the Trial Tower within one minute."
Weapons materialized in front of him.
He quickly donned a combat suit, selected a Bloodshadow Battle Knife and a shield, then stepped inside.
The Trial Begins
He appeared atop a vast green prairie.
"Requirement: Kill 30 one-horned berserk bulls within 30 minutes.
Their strength: Junior Beast General.
Good luck."
Jiang Yan exhaled lightly.
With 10,000 kg base strength and 1.4× force amplification—
He could cut with 14,000 kg.
More than enough.
Especially since a berserk bull's top speed was only 100 m/s.
Against his perfect body technique, they were nothing.
"Let's see how quickly I can finish."
He gripped his blade.
And then—
Thirty berserk bulls materialized.
Blood-red eyes.
Hooves pounding.
A simultaneous roar shook the prairie.
They charged.
The ground trembled like an earthquake.
Jiang Yan narrowed his eyes.
"Come."
He stepped forward—
His figure flashed like silver lightning.
Thunder Flash!
He closed distance in an instant.
The Bloodshadow Blade swung at a strange angle straight toward the root of a bull's ear—
The weakness.
Swoosh—!
A bloody arc.
Half the beast's skull flew.
"One."
Without pausing, Jiang Yan weaved between the other bulls, perfect body technique slipping through their deadly charge.
"Too easy."
His movements accelerated.
Seven seconds later—eight bulls down.
One minute—fifteen down.
Three minutes—twenty-five down.
Jiang Yan deliberately took more than ten cuts to kill each beast, using them as training dummies to refine his knife technique.
Five minutes later—
The thirtieth berserk bull collapsed.
At that moment—
A brilliant line of text burst into existence.
[Ding! You diligently practice knife techniques while killing.
Critical hit rule triggered — 10,000× EXP gained!]
And then everything exploded.
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