"312 basic formulas of the Control Master lineage for spiritual masters?" Wei Wen's eyes suddenly lit up as he read the system feedback displayed before him.
While he had encountered other foundational texts for spiritual masters before, he had always found them obscure and difficult to grasp. Given his current level of comprehension, making any significant progress with them seemed nearly impossible.
The 312 basic formulas of the Control Master, however, was completely different. It could be considered the simplest and most straightforward secret method for a spiritual master to practice.
As Wei Wen focused his thoughts, a stream of secret memories concerning the 312 basic formulas of the Control Master flooded his mind. The memories contained a vast number of complex and varied carvings, along with over 300 sets of practice catalogs, all accompanied by translated texts from ancient ruins.
Just from a preliminary scan, Wei Wen could feel the immense volume of data contained within this secret method, far surpassing anything a basic-level spiritual master would typically encounter. Yet, despite its greater complexity, it felt significantly easier to practice than the former texts.
Wei Wen began practicing the Basic 312 Postures as instructed by the feedback from the system. Once he started, he truly began to appreciate the profound and abstruse nature of this method!
In terms of sophistication, it was vastly superior to the Pictures of the Gods found in standard The Basics of Spiritual Masters. After all, the Celestial Catalog of the Gods was essentially a monotonous catalog that required a spiritual master to control flying knives, repeatedly simulating techniques to increase proficiency.
To put it simply, its cultivation principle boiled down to: Practice makes perfect and Repetition breeds skill. By constantly pushing mental power to its limit in controlling the flying knives, one could achieve an increase in mental amplitude. However, this method made further increases in amplitude progressively more difficult.
The foundational training method of the Control Master lineage was different. This secret method had been refined by numerous powerful figures over a vast span of time in the distant past.
The secret technique that had emerged from this rigorous process immediately made Wei Wen feel the stark difference between the two!
After just practicing the 312 basic formulas, a spiritual master like Wei Wen could tangibly feel his control over the flying knives improving. This rate of improvement was drastically faster than when he had no proper secret method, leaving Wei Wen utterly astonished.
…
"What did you say?" Inspector Wang's face filled with disbelief upon hearing Yang Hui's report.
He had just learned from Yang Hui that this was Wei Wen's very first attempt in the Trial Tower, and he had directly broken through to the fourth floor!
This indicated that, in addition to his superhuman power level, Wei Wen's abilities in other areas were also exceptional... One had to remember that ordinary Planetary-level experts typically only reached the fourth level.
Wei Wen was only 18 years old. How long had those Planetary-level experts been training? A genius of this caliber was probably unprecedented on the entire planet.
Immediately, Inspector Wang entered the virtual space to verify the information once more.
4.0! Inspector Wang checked his smart watch and finally confirmed that Wei Wen's score was genuine.
"A new warrior, who has only been cultivating for two months since becoming a fighter, has achieved this? If this gets out, the entire elite training camp—no, the entire world—will be shocked!"
"Also, if I recall correctly, the better a student performs in the elite training camp, the more resources they receive. It seems we need to secure those for him."
"Luo Feng's performance is also quite good; we can offer him a standard reward contract."
In reality, the elite training camp had set reward standards, but they generally required signing a gambling contract. For instance, in the original timeline, Luo Feng had such a contract. But for Wei Wen, were they considering granting rewards even before he signed one?
…
Inspector Wang proposed a round-table meeting. Except for Hong, who had just entered seclusion, the other Planetary-level inspectors had already received the relevant information.
Since Hong rarely involved himself in routine matters, general decisions could be discussed and made jointly by the five inspectors stationed around the world.
Virtual Space.
The five inspectors of the Extreme Martial Hall Academy, scattered across the globe, had gathered in a mysterious conference hall within the virtual space.
A round table stood in the center of the hall, with the five inspectors seated around it.
Inspector Wang distributed the information on Wei Wen and Luo Feng to the others. Each inspector's expression shifted differently as they reviewed the files.
"Everyone, this is the performance data for Wei Wen and Luo Feng in the Trial Tower," Inspector Wang began, looking at each of them.
"Let's start with Wei Wen. He just entered the elite training camp today, yet he passed the C-level assessment on the third level of the Trial Tower. His final Trial Tower rating is 4.0."
"But according to the records from Zhu Yang Hui, his power level is only 4.9, his body movement technique is only at the 'Perfect' level, and his sword technique is even weaker. So how did he achieve a Trial Tower rating of 4.0?"
"Most who have just reached the Planet level barely make it to the fourth floor of the Trial Tower. Given how short his training period has been, how could he possibly accomplish this?"
"Could he be cheating?"
"The Trial Tower's assessment is conducted by the virtual intelligence system left by the Hall Master. Cheating is absolutely impossible!"
"Then what's going on?"
"Regardless of the reason," Inspector Wang said directly, cutting through the chatter, "we only need to know that Wei Wen has reached Trial Tower level 4. That makes him eligible to sign a gambling contract."
"Based on Wei Wen's performance, I propose we increase the resource rewards for his training. We should provide him with resources like Dragon Blood and the Black God Suit for free, allowing him to improve as quickly as possible."
"Old Wang, Dragon Blood costs 800 billion even at half-price. The Black God Suit is even more valuable. Isn't it unfair for a new warrior like him to receive them directly?"
"On the contrary, I think these resource rewards are not excessive. In fact, they might still be somewhat low considering his potential."
"Indeed. With Wei Wen's talent, he will reach our level sooner or later. There's no need to hold him back in this regard..."
All the inspectors were seasoned individuals, and they quickly grasped the implications. Thus, the resource rewards concerning Wei Wen were swiftly confirmed.
However, the five inspectors had differing opinions regarding Luo Feng's resource rewards, leading to a heated discussion.
But before their discussion could progress far, they received the Hall Master's own decision on the resource rewards for Luo Feng.
Seeing Hong's decision, the five inspectors were momentarily stunned. They had thought Inspector Wang's proposal was generous enough, but Hong's was even more so.
"Do you have any objections to the Hall Master's decision?" an electronic voice inquired.
"No."
"None."
One inspector after another responded quickly.
Under normal circumstances, the round-table meeting's decisions were made by the five inspectors. But once Hong made his stance known, even if they truly had objections, would they dare to raise them?
This highlighted the difference between an established powerhouse and a mere genius. A true powerhouse could decide almost everything. If one couldn't, it simply meant they weren't powerful enough.
As for genius? That was not necessarily the case. After all, a genius's growth requires time and is fraught with unforeseen variables.
It was just like the genius competitions held by the Virtual Universe Company—there was no shortage of talent.
Many geniuses considered themselves the darlings of heaven, believing that even the Virtual Universe Company should value their opinions and give them opportunities to compete.
But they never expected to receive a brutally straightforward reply.
To put it simply—Take it, or leave it.
…
Jiangnan Pavilion was the residential area for trainees from Jiangnan Base City within the training camp. It contained three separate pavilions. Since both Wei Wen and Luo Feng were from Jiangnan Base City, they were naturally assigned to live here.
Currently, two other students from Jiangnan Pavilion, who had just returned today from their life-and-death experience in August, were also present. One was Shi Jiang, and the other was Zhao Ruo.
Shi Jiang had been in the training camp for three years, and his strength was now quite formidable. After all, in the original storyline, even Yang Hui wasn't confident about defeating him when Luo Feng first arrived.
As for Zhao Ruo, his talent and strength were inferior to Shi Jiang's. He had entered the training camp in the year 55 and currently couldn't even break into the top 100 rankings.
At the moment, Wei Wen, Luo Feng, Shi Jiang, and Zhao Ruo were gathered in Shi Jiang's living room.
"I just got back to the training camp and didn't expect such a pleasant surprise—two new talents from Jiangnan Base City joining us this month!" said Shi Jiang, a young man dressed in black, who appeared lean yet well-muscled.
"Our Jiangnan Base City might not be number one, but it's certainly never short on talent!" added Zhao Ruo, a bright-eyed girl with short hair and an agile air about her.
Under normal circumstances, among the five major base cities in China, only one person from any single base city would be admitted to the elite training camp every five years.
"To join the elite training camp at this time, you must have been specially recruited and passed the B-level assessment, right?" Zhao Ruo asked curiously.
"Just a stroke of luck," Wei Wen and Luo Feng replied modestly.
"Being specially recruited and passing the B-level assessment is no mere luck," Shi Jiang said with a light laugh. "Who knows, I might need you two to look out for me in the future."
"In the elite training camp, you only need to remember one thing: points and rankings," Shi Jiang advised. "Points determine your rank. The higher your rank, the more training resources you can access, and the faster you'll improve. It's a virtuous cycle."
He was absolutely right. For instance, access to the gravity chamber, a relic of an ancient civilization, was offered to Luo Feng at the price of 90 units of Dragon Blood. But with only one elite training camp, how should such resources be allocated? The answer lay in the rankings.
The higher your rank, the more time you could spend using these facilities. More resources led to faster growth in strength, and vice versa. In essence, points were everything!
"Wei Wen, Luo Feng, I noticed you weren't at your residence. Are you at Shi Jiang's place?" Yang Hui's voice called from outside as they were chatting.
"Yes!" Wei Wen and Luo Feng responded.
Hearing their reply, Yang Hui quickly entered Jiangnan Pavilion.
"Teacher Yang, you seem in a hurry. What brings you here looking for them?" Shi Jiang asked, puzzled.
"No need for secrecy. To put it simply, the higher-ups are very pleased with Wei Wen and Luo Feng's performance. Inspector Wang wishes to meet with you. Rumor has it he intends to provide you with some resources," Yang Hui stated directly.
"What?!" Shi Jiang and Zhao Ruo were visibly shocked by Yang Hui's words.
They had already learned that Wei Wen and Luo Feng passed the B-level assessment and were specially recruited into the elite training camp, which had already earned them considerable respect.
But now, having just joined the camp, they were already attracting attention from the top brass and were even being granted resources?
This indirectly indicated that Wei Wen and Luo Feng's capabilities went beyond merely passing the B-level assessment; they had likely underestimated the duo.
Wei Wen's eyes lit up, as he knew a little about Inspector Wang. He guessed that due to their outstanding performance, the authorities planned to allocate them some resources. For Luo Feng, they probably intended to set certain benchmarks and corresponding rewards.
Soon, Yang Hui brought Wei Wen and Luo Feng to meet Inspector Wang.
"Please, have a seat," Inspector Wang said, his attitude towards Wei Wen and Luo Feng more amiable than they had anticipated.
Wei Wen and Luo Feng didn't stand on ceremony. They found mats and sat cross-legged, mirroring Inspector Wang's posture.
Shortly after, a staff member arrived and presented the relevant contracts.
"This is the official recruitment contract of our Extreme Martial Hall. It outlines your rights and obligations. Please read it carefully, and if you find everything in order, you may sign," Inspector Wang said directly.
Wei Wen's recruitment contract was straightforward, filled mostly with rewards and obligations, with noticeably few restrictions.
The rewards included several years of activity funds and Earth currency… things Wei Wen didn't particularly care about. However, Wei Wen also received the long-desired Dragon Blood, a first-tier force suit—the Black God Suit—as well as SS-grade combat equipment capable of facing king-level monsters, and more.
First, let's talk about Dragon Blood. After using it, a warrior's physical strength could at least double.
Wei Wen was currently close to being a high-level warrior, similar to Luo Feng's level when he used Dragon Blood in the original story. Therefore, the effects should be comparable, likely propelling him to the level of an entry-level God of War.
Consequently, his spiritual master strength could reach the level of an advanced God of War. This was just from Wei Wen personally using the Dragon Blood.
If Luo Feng also used it, his subsequent improvements would feedback to Wei Wen through their bond, further enhancing Wei Wen's strength. Perhaps with the equivalent effect of two doses of Dragon Blood, Wei Wen might even break through to the planetary level as a spiritual master.
As for the Black God Suit and SS-grade equipment, their value was no less than that of Dragon Blood, hinting at their profound nature.
In short, all these abundant resources were readily available to Wei Wen simply by making a move and signing the contract. Even though Wei Wen had anticipated rewards, he hadn't expected the terms to be so generous.
As for Luo Feng, his contract remained the same as in the original: he needed to meet specific benchmarks to receive many of the rewards, including the Dragon Blood.
"You possess excellent talent and comprehension. It would be a pity to waste time solely on improving your physical fitness. However, Dragon Blood can help you enhance it rapidly in a short period," Inspector Wang said with a smile. "It's a shame Dragon Blood can only be used once. Any additional use would be wasteful."
"And Luo Feng, your performance is also outstanding. The terms our Extreme Martial Hall Academy is offering you are exceptionally generous. No other organization in the world could match this treatment."
"What are your decisions?"
Without hesitation, Wei Wen and Luo Feng signed their names on the contracts directly. After all, they couldn't let resources delivered to their doorstep go to waste.
"Wei Wen, your rewards—the Dragon Blood, Black God Suit, SS-grade equipment, and so on—have already been delivered," Inspector Wang said, smiling upon seeing the signed contracts. "As for Luo Feng, your rewards will be granted once you meet the relevant benchmarks and conditions."
"But if you can master the third level of the Nine Stage Thunder Blade within a month or two, I believe you should be able to obtain the first reward, including the Dragon Blood."
…
Wei Wen and Luo Feng were in the basement of Jiangnan Pavilion. Wei Wen entered with a silver-white suitcase containing the various resources.
After stepping into the gravity room and closing the door, Wei Wen placed the suitcase on the alloy floor. A simple fingerprint verification later, he opened it, revealing the array of rewards inside.
His eyes immediately fell on one test tube, securely nestled in foam. Within the tube was a golden liquid: Dragon Blood.
As someone who had traversed worlds, Wei Wen certainly knew the correct way to use Dragon Blood—it wasn't for drinking, but for external application.
'Just how much will my strength increase after using this?' he wondered.
Wei Wen pulled out the stopper of the test tube, poured the Dragon Blood into his palm, and began applying it evenly over his body.
As for giving the dragon blood to Luo Feng, Wei Wen had indeed considered the possibility, but ultimately dismissed it as entirely unnecessary.
Firstly, Luo Feng would obtain dragon blood sooner or later, likely within the next two weeks. Since Wei Wen was currently in his hibernation period, using it now or later made little difference to his own plans.
Secondly, even if he gave the dragon blood to Luo Feng in advance, the feedback energy wouldn't be enough to restore Wei Wen's own strength to the Planetary level.
Furthermore, there was another drawback to letting Luo Feng use it first: by the time Wei Wen got around to using dragon blood himself, his power might have grown too strong for it to have any effect.
Therefore, using the dragon blood himself was Wei Wen's best option.
In short, the lower one's strength, the more pronounced the effects of dragon blood would be.
Just as Wei Wen had anticipated, the area where he applied the dragon blood began to heat up, signaling its activation.
The thermal current around his body intensified, and his body temperature continued to climb!
He felt as if thousands of ants were biting him from within. The sensation was a torturous mix of numbness and pain, somehow more unbearable than pure agony alone.
Perhaps due to the system's influence, all negative feedback was significantly weakened; otherwise, the pain would have surely rendered him unconscious. After all, even someone with a will as strong as Luo Feng's had fallen into a coma from the unbearable pain when using dragon blood.
Sizzle~~
With the dragon blood's miraculous effects taking hold, Wei Wen felt every cell in his body devouring the strange energy within it. His strength began to surge repeatedly!
Even the two times he had awakened as a spiritual master hadn't transformed his physique as rapidly as this!
The genetic material within his cells was also rapidly evolving under the dragon blood's energy, shedding useless genes and optimizing the rest.
This transformation, reaching deep into his cellular genetics, occurred at an incredible pace—thousands, even tens of thousands of times faster than his usual cultivation speed!
As a mentalist, the enhancement of his warrior strength also allowed him to accommodate even greater mental power.
Within Wei Wen's sea of consciousness, the dark golden orb at its center—shrouded in endless mist—was no longer rotating slowly as before.
Instead, it was like a burst dam, releasing a massive amount of mental power into his sea of consciousness. The rate of release was thousands, if not tens of thousands, of times faster than normal!
Vast quantities of nearly liquid spiritual power spread wildly, saturating his entire sea of consciousness and body.
With this release from the spiritual master core, Wei Wen's mental power increased at a terrifying rate.
The dark golden orb furiously emitted mist at a speed thousands of times faster than usual, if not more!
His mental power, previously at a level close to that of an Elementary God of War, now began to soar astonishingly!
Gradually... the density of the mist quickly reached its limit and actually began to condense, forming droplets of mental energy!
The mental power within Wei Wen's sea of consciousness now existed in a state where mist and liquid coexisted.
…
"Is it no longer effective?" Wei Wen's body trembled slightly as he awoke from the euphoria of his rapidly increasing strength.
"4.9 times the power, explosive force!"
He punched the alloy wall of the basement, denting it deeply with his fist. He followed with another powerful punch from his right fist, each strike leaving a shocking impression.
Having suddenly gained such immense power, Wei Wen vented his exhilaration in the most primal and brutal way.
A warrior's control over their power was profound, and Wei Wen could clearly feel his greatly enhanced strength.
"And the Black God suit."
He had long coveted the Black God Suit, a relic from the No. 9 ancient civilization ruins. After all, it was an essential artifact for survival in the early stages.
Being familiar with the original work, he had often contemplated how to acquire one, but he never expected to obtain it so quickly.
"The refining method for the Black God Suit is quite simple. Essentially, it's a blood-binding recognition." Wei Wen smiled.
Once worn, the Black God Suit would automatically merge with the skin, absorbing a trace of blood.
After absorbing the blood, the suit would be refined and undergo certain mutations.
As a combat suit, the Black God Suit represented an extremely advanced technological level. It could integrate seamlessly with the body, appearing as skin or retracting entirely, all according to the wearer's will.
"Black God Suit." Wei Wen took out the suit and held it in his hand.
At first, he felt nothing, but after about 30 seconds, his scalp suddenly tingled.
"Tsk~~"
The entire Black God Suit trembled in his hands like boiling black water, then slowly merged into his body.
The entire refining process lasted roughly 20 minutes.
"Is this the Black God Suit?"
With a mere thought, a layer of black instantly covered Wei Wen's skin.
According to the original description, once the Black God Suit was deployed, attacks from Planetary-level powerhouses—those beyond the God of War level—generally couldn't breach its external defense.
Of course, it didn't make him completely immune to Planetary-level attacks, but it could weaken them by 90%.
The remaining 10% of the force could be dispersed evenly across the entire body covered by the Black God Suit, making its defensive capabilities truly miraculous.
Precisely because of the Black God Suit's incredible nature, aside from Hong and Lei Shen, no Planetary-level powerhouse had ever been recorded killing another Planetary-level opponent who wore one.
With the Black God Suit, even though Wei Wen was only at the God of War level, his ability to preserve his life had been vastly improved.
After refining the dragon blood and the Black God Suit, Wei Wen freshened up and headed to the Nine-Story Tower once more. This time, many students had gathered there.
"Isn't it still time for the open recruitment?"
"Could it be a specially recruited student?"
The students were surprised to see Wei Wen, a stranger, but didn't think too much of it. After all, aside from the 10 slots open for recruitment each year, talented newcomers occasionally joined the elite training camp.
"Brother, are you from China?" a young man with short hair asked Wei Wen.
"Yes, you too?" Wei Wen nodded.
"With you here, us Chinese have one more student. Keep it up," the short-haired young man said with a smile.
"I'm not the only one this time; there's another," Wei Wen simply explained. "I'm sure you'll see her soon too."
"What if there's another newbie from China?" a slightly provocative voice sounded.
"Haha." Wei Wen chuckled lightly. With a thought, powerful mental energy erupted.
Six SS-grade flying knives shot out from his boot sheaths, transforming into streams of light that instantly appeared and halted right in front of the man.
"No..." The one who had just provoked Wei Wen felt a palpitation upon seeing the flying knives.
He sensed that if not for the elite training camp's rule against killing each other, Wei Wen could have ended him in that instant.
The elite training camp wasn't without mentalists who could control flying knives at extreme speeds, but none could match the velocity Wei Wen had just demonstrated.
This move alone proved that Wei Wen's telekinetic strength was, at the very least, at the medium God of War level.
Moreover, Wei Wen could simultaneously control six flying knives at their maximum speed, giving him strength sufficient to sweep aside high-level God of War warriors.
Although the provocateur's own strength was decent, as a junior God of War warrior, he was like an ant before Wei Wen.
With another thought from Wei Wen, the flying knives silently returned to their sheaths on his boots.
This time, as Wei Wen quietly entered a small training hall, no one dared to provoke him again.
…
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