"A God of War must have hunted that Shadow Cat, right?" A warrior who had witnessed the battle from thousands of meters away trembled with excitement.
Two of the powerful figures in the fight appeared exceptionally young. Judging by their faces, Wei Wen and Luo Feng seemed to be only seventeen or eighteen years old. If they truly possessed God of War strength at such a tender age, they would have long been renowned throughout China.
'Could they actually be much older and just have youthful appearances?'
…
"God of War Lu Gang, it's an honor to have you here! You've been neglecting us!" At Supply Base 003, the person in charge of the HR Alliance was a kind-faced, round-faced middle-aged man.
"You two young men, please have a seat as well!"
Wei Wen and Luo Feng sat down calmly, picked up the teacups in front of them, and drained them in one go.
Seeing this, the supervisor inwardly sighed. This was top-quality tea, yet they were drinking it as if it were plain boiled water.
However, he quickly reminded himself that this wasn't the first time Lu Gang had approached them to sell materials from lord-level monsters in over a month. Compared to the income from those materials, this bit of tea was insignificant, so he held his tongue.
Previously, Lu Gang had always come alone, without Wei Wen and Luo Feng in tow.
"Senior, you mentioned earlier that you have another batch of materials from lord-level and general-level monsters for sale?" the round-faced HR Alliance supervisor said with a smile.
To be honest, very few God of War warriors chose to hunt lord-level monsters, as mentioned in the original work. After all, lord-level monsters were typically surrounded by hordes of soldier-level and general-level monsters.
It was impossible for a warrior to succeed every time. A single misstep could lead to being swarmed by a beast tide. For instance, in the original work, Lu Gang met his end after being surrounded by a rat tide.
Yet, no one could figure out how Lu Gang had managed to hunt so many lord-level monsters recently.
In fact, it wasn't just the HR Alliance that was suspicious. The warrior supply base was a small place, and Lu Gang's activities were impossible to keep under wraps.
Soon, stories about Lu Gang spread throughout the supply base: he was a madman God of War, obsessed with hunting lord-level monsters every day to make money!
"Yes!" Lu Gang's mouth twitched slightly.
Without another word, he grabbed the backpack beside him and gave it a sharp tug. A large quantity of materials from lord-level and general-level monsters spilled out.
"Another lord-level monster?" The HR Alliance supervisor's mouth twitched involuntarily.
"Senior Lu Gang, tell me, have you discovered some secret location where lone lord-level monsters appear, and a new one shows up right after you kill one?"
"Hmph, you talk too much!" Lu Gang snorted coldly.
If such a place truly existed, why would he ever tell anyone?
Besides, most of these lord-level monsters hadn't been killed by him alone.
As a warrior, even as a mid-level God of War, his mobility couldn't compare to Wei Wen and Luo Feng's. So, when they targeted lord-level monsters, Wei Wen and Luo Feng usually took the lead in dealing with them, while Lu Gang was responsible for planning their strategies.
"Ahem."
The supervisor coughed, and staff members immediately stepped forward with professional equipment to assess the type and value of the monster materials.
"Low-level lord-class Shadow Cat, materials exceptionally intact. Estimated value: 12 billion Chinese coins!"
"Mang Niu horns, combined with high-level general-level materials. Total value: approximately 30 billion Chinese coins!"
The staff members tested and reported simultaneously, their voices tinged with excitement and awe.
"As expected of a veteran God of War. Even the lowest-quality materials are from high-level general-level monsters. Each batch means he's slain another high-level general!" the supervisor marveled inwardly.
Monsters of this level were second only to lord-level beings. It was incredibly difficult for a God of War–level warrior to hunt them down. For example, in the original novel, Luo Feng was fortunate to encounter a Silver-Moon Wolf. A God of War team had only managed to wound it but failed to kill it.
Lu Gang usually operated alone, so hunting a high-level general-level monster was no easy feat. Yet, for some reason, he had recently been hunting high-level general-level and lord-level monsters like a man possessed!
…
"Lu Gang has been on a rampage lately. It's insane how he's slaughtering high-level general-level and lord-level monsters."
"How does he manage to bring back so many materials every time he returns?"
"Who knows?"
"If anyone knew this secret, why would they share it?"
"But I heard he earned 30 billion just from selling materials this time. How much has he made in over a month?"
"Damn, I hadn't realized until now. It's shocking."
"Why is he hunting high-level general-level and lord-level monsters every day, right in the middle of monster hordes?"
"Such high-intensity hunting must be exhausting, right?"
"Who knows? But that lunatic Lu Gang has been at it for over a month now."
Countless God of War–level warriors at the supply base were discussing Lu Gang.
Many God of War–level warriors envied Lu Gang while also thinking he was insane!
"This young man is truly both crazy and interesting."
Of course, for warriors beyond the God of War level who rarely ventured into the wilderness, it was merely a topic of amazement.
However, Lu Gang found the criticism over the past month utterly frustrating. He felt like he was taking the fall for someone else.
Still, there were advantages to being the scapegoat. For one, the money he earned in over a month rivaled his income from previous years combined.
Secondly, after Wei Wen's Nine Stage Thunder Blade surpassed his own, Wei Wen had given him some pointers. Admittedly, these were insights into the Nine Stage Thunder Blade, a technique created by the Thunder God.
But with his accumulated experience, Lu Gang had actually broken through to the fourth level of the Nine Stage Thunder Blade—a 3.5x force amplification, a height many high-level Gods of War never reached.
Even if he were unlucky enough to encounter another rat tide, he might not necessarily die this time.
…
Since they were scheduled to leave China at the end of the month for the global headquarters of the Extreme Martial Hall, today would likely be their last monster-hunting expedition.
As this was their final sale of monster materials, Wei Wen proposed splitting the earnings equally among the three of them.
Logically, Wei Wen deserved the largest share, as per the default rules for dividing spoils among warriors. Even Luo Feng, a high-level warrior-level spiritual master with triple telekinetic amplitude, wasn't as efficient at hunting monsters as Lu Gang.
However, Lu Gang had taken great care of Wei Wen and Luo Feng before. So, when Wei Wen suggested an equal split, Luo Feng agreed without much hesitation.
Since Wei Wen and Luo Feng, who would have taken the lion's share, both agreed, Lu Gang stopped being polite. Each of them received over 10 billion.
Over the past two months, the money Luo Feng earned from hunting monsters was almost enough to buy the Aquatic Life, priced at 300 billion!
They drank late into the night, not parting ways until the next morning.
From that day on, their three-person team was officially disbanded. Wei Wen and Luo Feng were headed to the global headquarters, while Lu Gang would continue fighting alone!
…
Extreme Martial Hall Headquarters, Jiangnan Base City.
While waiting for the special envoy from the headquarters to arrive, Wei Wen decided to test his current strength.
"The punching strength data tested after the second awakening was 10,081 kg." Wei Wen stood in front of the punching force tester in the training hall and stretched slightly.
"Nearly two months have passed since then. I wonder what level my physical fitness has reached now!"
Wei Wen switched on the punching force tester, and the screen lit up instantly.
"Let's not use the explosive force method of the Nine Layers of Thunder Blade for now." Wei Wen took a deep breath and threw a straightforward punch.
Boom!
His fist, like a cannonball, slammed into the punching target. The target shook violently, and soon a number appeared on the screen: 24,068 kg.
Luo Feng, who had trained for over half a year longer in the original work, had likely only reached this level of strength.
"Such a significant increase?" Wei Wen couldn't help but feel surprised as he looked at the number displayed before him.
It's important to note that in the original work, even after Luo Feng cultivated the third stage of the Nine Stage Thunder Blade and had access to the various facilities of the elite training camp, he typically only increased his punching power by a little over 2,000 kilograms per month.
Without the resources of the elite training camp, that increase would likely have been limited to about 1,000 kilograms per month.
Comparatively, the current Luo Feng possesses the advantages of the Five Hearts Heavenly Technique and an optimized version of the Nine Stage Thunder Blade. His rate of improvement now surpasses even his efficiency during his time at the elite training camp in the original timeline.
As for Wei Wen's growth… Not only does he receive feedback from Luo Feng's practice, but he has also reached the realm of the Sixth Stage Thunder Blade himself.
Even if his innate genetic talent isn't exceptionally high, his efficiency in absorbing genetic life energy is still quite respectable.
While the two of them increasing their punching power by approximately 1,400 kilograms might seem a bit unbelievable, upon careful consideration, this figure is actually within expectations.
The baseline for a senior warrior-level punching power is around 32,000 kilograms, and Wei Wen's power is already approaching this threshold.
"Let's see how far the Thunder God's sixth stage Thunder Blade can reach!" Wei Wen smiled, gathering his momentum once more.
This time, Wei Wen employed the sixth layer's hidden force method of the Nine Stage Thunder Blade. The moment he threw his punch, his fists accelerated successively.
Their speed easily broke the sound barrier, producing a terrifying sonic boom. The fist ultimately struck the target like a heavy hammer.
Boom~~
The punching target shuddered violently, swaying for a long moment before settling back.
"Cool."
Wei Wen looked at the display screen. It paused briefly before showing a line of staggering data—117,900 kg.
A punch with nearly 120 tons of force?
For reference, a large truck only weighs a few tons. One can imagine just how exaggerated the power behind Wei Wen's punch was.
Wei Wen himself was quite surprised by this data. After all, the baseline for a mid-level God of War is only 125,600 kg, and he was already very close.
However—the strength of a Spiritual Master, once their hidden spiritual power is fully utilized, is typically two major levels higher than that of a warrior, effectively quadrupling their strength!
"This is the first time testing my mental power; let's see just how strong it is." Wei Wen thought. A flying knife suddenly materialized.
Wei Wen channeled his mental power into the flying knife, making the hilt fly towards the punching machine's target.
The flying knife instantly transformed into a streak of light, shooting towards the target!
Peng~~
The target vibrated violently, emitting a low, resonant sound that could stop an ordinary person's heart. A line of data appeared on the display screen—"96,280 kg"!
Seeing this number, Wei Wen couldn't help but shake his head and sigh.
One must understand that this flying knife attack doesn't rely on raw force; its advantage lies in extreme speed!
A flying knife that wins through speed can carry the formidable power of a junior God of War. A direct hit from such a blade would be enough to easily kill a junior God of War!
Furthermore, Wei Wen's telekinetic amplitude is 6-fold, meaning he can control six flying knives simultaneously, each reaching the peak of telekinetic.
Imagine six flying knives stabbing from all directions—front, back, left, right—at speeds exceeding ten times the speed of sound, capable of changing trajectory instantaneously.
No matter how strong a high-level God of War's physical body is, no matter how profound their blade skills or how nimble their movement techniques, they would most likely perish.
The flexibility and unpredictability of a Spiritual Master's flying knives are far superior. This is the inherent advantage of a Spiritual Master!
Wei Wen was already capable of defeating the vast majority of high-level Gods of War. Apart from a select few monsters or other 'Spiritual Masters', it was already difficult for anyone below the God of War level to match him.
…
At one o'clock in the afternoon, Wei Wen and Luo Feng, accompanied by God of War Yang Hui, boarded a passenger plane headed for Hongning Base City.
After roughly an hour and a half, they finally arrived at their destination, where they then boarded a special vehicle sent by the Extreme martial Hall to pick them up.
There are currently five major powers in the world, governing a total of 23 base cities, yet Hong occupies only one!
Hong is the most powerful individual on Earth!
The wealthiest person!
Of course, his comprehension is also exceptional. Early on, at the Planetary level, Hong had already comprehended a domain—a realm incomparably profound!
Above the Planetary level are the Star level and the Universe level. However, not all Universe level experts can comprehend a domain.
For instance, the Golden Horned Beast, whose body Luo Feng later seized, possessed a World Master level bloodline. Its talent and comprehension were certainly not poor, yet it only entered the domain stage at the Universe level.
This highlights just how formidable Hong's comprehension was.
If not for Luo Feng's emergence, Hong might very well have been the protagonist of his generation. After all, he later became the strongest individual in the universe within a single reincarnation era.
"Hong… is truly a remarkable man." Wei Wen couldn't help but muse to himself.
Twenty minutes later, the special vehicle stopped in front of the gate of the Extreme martial Hall global headquarters.
"We're here. This is the global headquarters of our Extreme martial Hall!" Yang Hui explained simply. "What do you think? Doesn't it look like a spaceship?"
"It really does!" Wei Wen and Luo Feng nodded in unison.
Wei Wen knew very well that the Extreme martial Hall Headquarters was, in fact, a genuine spaceship, albeit a damaged one incapable of space navigation.
Even so, Wei Wen was still astonished.
One must realize, the spaceship before them was several hundred meters tall and tens of thousands of meters long.
To see such a colossal spaceship structure in person was an indescribable experience.
In front of this gigantic spaceship building was a massive hatch dozens of meters wide, large enough to accommodate a great many people.
"Wei Wen, Luo Feng, and Mr. Yang Hui have been summoned by the Hall Master."
As soon as Wei Wen and Luo Feng approached the gate of the Extreme martial Hall headquarters, a warrior in black robes appeared.
"Come, I'll take you inside. Only a select few high-ranking officials at the headquarters have the authority to enter."
"Entering the headquarters gate without authorization is strictly forbidden; the defense system will eliminate any intruders."
The three of them nodded in understanding and silently followed him into the headquarters!
Wei Wen felt a sense of anticipation about meeting Hong soon and wondered just what benefits he might gain from him.
After all, the so-called elite training camp was merely a transitional stage. The most crucial aspect was the potential gains one could acquire.
Whether it was Dragon Blood, which directly enhanced strength, or powerful equipment from the 'ancient civilization ruins,' such resources would still be immensely useful to Wei Wen at this stage.
Upon entering the lounge, Wei Wen noticed that many powerful individuals were already waiting there.
These strong figures were visibly shocked upon seeing Wei Wen and Luo Feng's arrival.
One must understand, Hong had just emerged from seclusion. The people waiting here were no ordinary figures, and none looked as young as Wei Wen and Luo Feng.
For these two youths to be granted an audience with Hong at such a young age clearly indicated they possessed something extraordinary.
"Wei Wen, Luo Feng, the Hall Master has summoned you." A warrior wearing a gray combat uniform appeared.
Wei Wen and Luo Feng had barely taken their seats. They thought they would have to wait longer to see Hong, but unexpectedly, the summons came almost immediately.
Everyone present looked at Wei Wen and Luo Feng with even greater astonishment.
In Swallowed Star, strength is respected; there is no concept of first come, first served. The fact that Hong chose to meet them first made everyone even more curious about what made Wei Wen and Luo Feng so special.
Consequently, the smiles directed their way became noticeably warmer. Regardless of the reason, it was clear that Wei Wen and Luo Feng were anything but ordinary.
Wei Wen and Luo Feng took a deep breath, followed the warrior, and soon arrived at the door of a reception room.
"Wei Wen, Luo Feng, come in." Hong's deep voice resonated from within.
"Yes." Wei Wen and Luo Feng nodded, pushed open the door, and entered the reception room.
"Sit!" Seeing them enter, Hong looked up, his gaze resting on Wei Wen and Luo Feng, a slight smile playing on his lips.
There were only three cushions in the reception room. Under Hong's gesture, Wei Wen and Luo Feng sat down opposite him.
"Your mental power is very strong, indicating a substantial reserve of latent spiritual force. Furthermore, your talent for cultivating genetic energy is also quite good." Hong couldn't help but praise.
The amount of latent mental power a person possesses is almost indicative of their brain's capacity—that is, their level of brain development, commonly referred to as comprehension ability.
The fact that Wei Wen and Luo Feng's mental power was still rapidly improving demonstrated that their latent mental reserves were immense. It was no surprise, then, that their comprehension skills were so formidable.
However, they were spiritual masters, while Hong was a warrior. Wei Wen understood that their status as spiritual masters wasn't the primary reason Hong wanted to meet them.
"Aren't you curious why I wanted to see you?" Hong smiled.
"A little," Wei Wen replied softly.
"Yan Ran showed me the video of your previous monster battles, and I noticed something unique about your power application," Hong explained simply.
"But since your strength was still relatively low at the time, I couldn't discern much from it."
"Now, can you tell me why your method of exerting force seems slightly different from the Nine Stage Thunder Blade?"
'As expected of the greatly perceptive Hong,' Wei Wen couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
Hong had managed to detect an issue with their force application just from a video. He truly lived up to his reputation as a monster who had nearly single-handedly comprehended the realm.
"While I was practicing the Nine Stage Thunder Blade, I had a sudden flash of insight," Wei Wen began after a moment's silence, deciding not to hide the truth.
Sooner or later, Hong would discover the flaw in Earth's force application methods. Revealing it now might bring him greater benefits, creating a win-win situation for both.
"It felt like the power exertion of the Nine Stage Thunder Blade was somewhat... wasteful."
"Wasteful?" Hong was taken aback. "Explain in detail."
"Generally, warriors new to force generation might only use it for explosive attacks," Wei Wen simplified.
"More astute practitioners can also apply it to their legs to increase speed." Luo Feng, for instance, only became aware of this application after entering the elite training camp.
"So, I wondered if force exertion could also be used for defense..." Wei Wen continued. "I followed that line of thought and actually managed to create this method of force application."
"Indeed, every field has its masters, and each person excels in different areas," Hong couldn't help but exclaim.
"Moreover, an individual's wisdom has its limits. Every supremely talented practitioner has a unique way of thinking and a different perspective on force application."
"We failed to improve our force exertion methods. I never expected you to grasp it through a single moment of inspiration."
Hong wasn't wrong. Take Hong and the Thunder God, for example: Hong could comprehend the realm and seemed to have deeper insights than Thor. Yet, Hong's achievements in force exertion fell short of Thor's.
"If you've truly improved the force exertion method, it will benefit all of humanity. Would you allow me to see it?" Hong asked after a moment of silence.
"Naturally, I won't let you suffer a loss. I can offer you significant benefits, such as spirit master secret techniques that are exceedingly rare across the entire Earth."
"No problem," Wei Wen's eyes immediately lit up.
Luo Feng, without any proper spirit master techniques, had managed to triple his mental power amplitude in just two months.
With relevant secret methods, his growth rate would be even faster, and Wei Wen himself could advance more rapidly, alleviating his deep-seated anxiety about insufficient strength.
It had to be said, after meeting Hong and making a simple comparison, Wei Wen felt like an ant in the face of such power. This only intensified his suppressed fear of weakness. He was eager to enhance his strength, and the resources Hong offered were a perfect opportunity.
Wei Wen then demonstrated his improved Nine Stage Thunder Blade before Hong, who watched with wide-eyed astonishment.
The techniques and concepts behind Wei Wen's improved Nine Stage Thunder Blade provided immense enlightenment for Hong and Lei Shen, who had been blindly attempting to create their own force generation secrets all along.
"So that's where we went wrong... Our approach to force exertion was flawed. I blame myself. Even the Thunder God has felt that practicing force exertion is becoming increasingly difficult," Hong sighed.
To use an analogy, cultivating force exertion was like constructing a skyscraper. For the building to stand firm, it needed a solid foundation!
Hong and Lei Shen had already encountered problems with their force exertion because they solely pursued higher explosive power. This made it increasingly difficult for their bodies to withstand stronger bursts of energy.
After all, the body's basic strength was limited. The force of the ninth stage of the Nine Stage Thunder Blade was seven times the base strength. How could the body possibly endure such an extreme pursuit of hardness?
They had made a mistake in the foundation. They kept building the skyscraper higher and higher on a flawed base. Naturally, the higher it went, the harder it became to improve, and the more difficult it was to reinforce the foundation.
In short, if they continued down this wrong path, they would have very little room left for improvement.
A perfected force exertion method could increase the body's defensive amplitude, enhancing its endurance. This would naturally allow for easier bursts of higher force and make practice less difficult.
"I wonder if you'd be willing to teach the force generation method you created to all warriors?" Hong asked after another moment of silence. "Of course, you won't be teaching it for free."
"Teach it?" Wei Wen asked, slightly puzzled.
"Yes, teach it," Hong continued. "Although we've reached an agreement with the monsters now, avoiding another so-called decisive battle..."
"The number of monsters is simply too vast. There are too many humans, and especially the quantity and variety of monsters in the sea are practically endless."
"No one knows when even more powerful monsters might evolve and appear. At the very least, we humans are not yet entirely safe on Earth."
"Besides the threats on Earth, we've also explored some ruins and discovered that threats from beyond Earth far surpass the monsters here."
"I won't go into specific details with you. Knowing them is useless without sufficient strength. Currently, the greatest immediate threat remains the Earth's monsters."
"To combat the monsters, the secret manuals created by Thor and myself are available for purchase, sale, and learning. This is also a contribution to the safety of all mankind."
"And your force exertion method... I feel it's sufficient to lead a transformation in human power application... Its significance surpasses even our buying and selling of secret manuals."
"If possible, I hope you can compile this new force exertion method into a secret manual and teach it to all warriors. It would be immensely helpful in raising the overall strength of warriors."
"As for the price, that's up to you to decide."
Hong did not force Wei Wen, leaving him to consider it himself.
In truth, not all warriors were willing to teach their unique skills to others. After all, if others understood their secrets, they might later turn against them. To put it bluntly, everyone feared being surpassed—this was also a root of Wei Wen's anxiety about insufficient strength.
"No problem," Wei Wen said after a moment's thought. "But my main focus is on my own cultivation. I won't waste too much time on this; I'll only provide some basic guidance and suggestions."
"That's fine," Hong didn't mind. He understood that Wei Wen couldn't possibly single-handedly perfect all force exertion secrets.
"After you enter the elite training camp, someone from the Extreme martial Hall will likely contact you after some time to produce and record the relevant manual and video materials."
"Once completed, your manual can be sold in our Extreme Martial Hall's online store. All profits earned, excluding necessary maintenance fees, will belong to you."
"In addition, this is a consciousness-sensing helmet. It allows you to enter the virtual space for trials at any time, which will also help you improve your strength faster."
"Furthermore, I will also directly send you the related spirit master secret technique, 'Spirit Master's Foundation,' through the virtual space."
Luo Feng, in the original timeline, had purchased this Spirit Master's Foundation at a cost of 3 star-level credits—equivalent to three portions of Dragon Blood—which was certainly not cheap.
"Ahem, Hall Master, you are also aware that Luo Feng's talent isn't bad," Wei Wen said after a brief hesitation. "Could you also provide him with a consciousness sensor and the secret technique?"
Given Wei Wen's own talent, if his method was only somewhat useful, it wouldn't be as beneficial to Luo Feng as having his own resources.
"Alright," Hong agreed.
…
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