CHAPTER 99: CHAPTER 99 - BREAKING THROUGH THE WARRIOR, A NEW MISSION_1

The appearance of the name Wang Yidao caused the three Martial Kings’ expressions to change inexplicably.

"It’s him... one of the top figures from the Federal Military Martial Arts Academy back then," King Xiong said, a hint of lament in his voice.

"He said he would search for a new path back then, and since then, there has been no news of him. I don’t know where he is now," the King of Thunder said, sighing deeply.

Among the three, King Xing was the only one unfamiliar with Wang Yidao. "I’ve heard of his name but never dealt with him. I only know he was a powerhouse."

"More than a powerhouse... it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call him a demon," King Xiong breathed deeply, reminiscing. "A true genius who broke through to become a Martial King just after turning thirty. It’s just a pity he was too stubborn..."

"Stubborn? What do you mean?"

The King of Thunder clarified, "I remember it was about twenty years ago, during a high-level Federation meeting discussing the future of mankind. All the Federation’s Grandmasters who didn’t have wartime missions were essentially present. It was one of the grandest events in recent human history."

"I heard about that event. What happened next?" King Xing asked.

"When discussing the Martial Arts Path, Wang Yidao claimed that current Martial Artists were all on the wrong path. By then, he was already a Martial King and a renowned figure in the Federation. As such, he had become an obstacle for many people. So, when he made such a bold statement, many powerful individuals rebutted him."

The King of Thunder looked at King Xing with a profound gaze and said, "You should be well aware that there are also some dregs among the Federation’s high-level officials! Wang Yu’s existence was too dazzling, so much so that it blocked the paths of many people."

"Because of Wang Yidao’s presence, that convention ended without any resolution regarding martial arts matters. Mankind’s martial arts cultivation system today is still as it was decades ago," King Xiong said with a bitter laugh. "After that, Wang Yidao resigned from all his positions in the Military Department, claiming he was going to search for the true Martial Arts Path."

"To this day, there’s been no word about him; nobody knows where he went. This matter was treated as one of the Federation’s top secrets and has been kept under wraps all this time."

At this point, King Xiong unconsciously looked at Wang Zhan, who was shown on the screen.

"The secret this youngster holds is most likely something Wang Yidao left behind."

"That seems to be the case."

Perhaps because the topic was a bit heavy, the three Martial Kings did not feel like engaging in idle talk for a while. Instead, they silently watched Wang Zhan on the screen, waiting for the emergence of a new Warrior.

「Time passed quickly.」

By evening, Song Dongming and his team returned to the Melted Cave, dragging their exhausted bodies.

After an entire afternoon of fighting, they had finally managed to kill a lower Soldier-level beast.

Initially, they were all in a state of excitement; after all, defeating a Soldier-level beast with their strength as Martial Artists was certainly cause for celebration.

However, the moment they returned to the Melted Cave, they were instantly taken aback by the oppressive atmosphere within. One by one, they fell silent, only able to stare blankly at Wang Zhan.

"What’s happening?" Zhou Weiya asked anxiously.

"He’s cultivating his mental energy," Sun Kelan whispered, "and it seems he’s at a critical point. Don’t disturb him."

Although everyone in the team was at least a Level 7 Martial Artist and had awakened their mental energy, only Sun Kelan had actually begun to apply it.

Sun Kelan was cultivating her family’s mental energy technique, the Clear Heart Technique, which was categorized as an Earth-level Mental Energy Cultivation Method in the human martial library.

Because Mental Energy Cultivation Methods cannot be changed once started, this level was already considered an extremely high starting point.

However, at this moment, Sun Kelan looked astonished. The Five Thunder Deity Refinement Method... Where did the Captain get this? It’s practically the pinnacle of human Mental Energy Cultivation Methods! she thought, inwardly shocked.

With Sun Kelan’s warning, no one dared to disturb Wang Zhan. Instead, they went to a corner on the other side of the Melted Cave to rest or eat quietly.

"Wang Zhan’s cultivation always causes such a huge commotion. If it’s like this tomorrow, we’ll have to kick him out," Huang Pufeng grumbled to Song Dongming.

The usually rational Song Dongming couldn’t help but nod in agreement.

They had no choice. Because of Wang Zhan, the atmosphere in the Melted Cave was extremely oppressive, and the air was thick with the pressure from his mental energy, making it truly unbearable.

Soon, it was early morning.

Everyone had grown accustomed to this pressure and slowly fell asleep.

About one or two hours later, around 2 a.m., Wang Zhan suddenly opened his eyes in the pitch-black Melted Cave.

Remnants of electricity still lingered in his eyes, flashing briefly in the pitch-dark environment.

Soon, the light in Wang Zhan’s eyes faded.

"The Five Thunder Deity Refinement Method has finally broken through," Wang Zhan said, a hint of joy on his face.

Ever since he began cultivating the Five Thunder Deity Refinement Method as a Level 6 Martial Artist, only today had he finally broken through the bottleneck of the first floor.

Only now could he be considered to have truly begun the Five Thunder Deity Refinement Method.

Wang Zhan opened his attribute panel.

He then discovered that all the other values remained unchanged, but his mental energy had surged to 150 points.

Has the range of Spiritual Energy I can control with my mental energy reached 150 meters? That’s an increase of a full 100 meters from before! Indeed, to truly begin the Five Thunder Deity Refinement Method, one must reach the Warrior level.

At this moment, Wang Zhan could be considered to have one foot half-stepped into the Warrior realm.

His mental energy had met the standard; all that remained was the breakthrough for his physical body, to once again shatter its limits and reach a new level.

Thinking of this, Wang Zhan took out the last Mixed Essence Pill from his backpack, consumed it, and began his body refining cultivation.

「Time passed second by second, and in the blink of an eye, the night was over.」

When the team members woke up, they found that the eerie oppressive feeling in the Melted Cave from yesterday had vanished. Wang Zhan was currently sitting cross-legged at the cave entrance, gazing into the distance.

"Captain, have you finished your cultivation?" Sun Kelan asked curiously, jogging up to Wang Zhan. "Your mental energy must have greatly increased, right?"

Wang Zhan smiled and nodded; his mood was genuinely good at this moment.

Counting the time, he had been cultivating almost without rest for the better part of a year, constantly engaged in intense training.

Last night, his body refining reached a critical moment. Just moments before sunrise, he finally broke through the shackles of the Martial Artist Stage and entered the Warrior Stage.

This was indeed a significant step forward on his Martial Arts Path.

Host: Wang Zhan

Strength: 1,601

Agility: 1,601

Physique: 1,601

Charm: 30

Wisdom: 25

Mental Power: 150

Looking at his new attribute panel, all three of his main attributes had broken through the Martial Artist level and entered the Warrior realm.

His mental energy was now also three times its previous level, meaning the enhancement Wang Zhan received was at least threefold.

Now, just by using Wind and Cloud Break, I should be able to directly kill lower Soldier-level beasts. Even for an intermediate one, as long as I use all my techniques, I might be able to take it on alone, Wang Zhan thought to himself.

Soon, Song Dongming and the others were also ready.

After greeting Wang Zhan, they set off together to continue their hunt for the day.

Once the others had left, Wang Zhan continued towards the Royal Martial Arts Academy team. After all, he wasn’t one to pass up a good opportunity. Now that Song Dongming and his team could hunt lower Soldier-level beasts by themselves, Wang Zhan could poach from the Royal Martial Arts Academy.

By acquiring points through these two avenues, the Chu State Military Martial Academy Team’s ranking would certainly not be low.

But not being low isn’t enough; I’m aiming for first place! The competition has only just started. We have a whole month ahead; we can’t slack off.

「Time flew by quickly, and in a blink of an eye, Wang Zhan had been in Oceania for a week.」

In one week, the Chu State Military Martial Academy Team’s harvest had been quite good.

"Today, we finished off two more lower Soldier-level beasts. Besides that, Chen Mengshu has also broken through to Level 9," Song Dongming reported to Wang Zhan as usual.

Upon hearing the news of Chen Mengshu’s breakthrough, Wang Zhan offered his congratulations before asking, "How many beast cores have we collected so far? And how many points can we exchange them for?"

"Eleven from lower Soldier-level beasts and three from intermediate ones," Song Dongming answered. "That’s 2,600 points in total."

"Speaking of which, you seized all three intermediate ones from the Royal Martial Arts Academy. Is that really okay?" Song Dongming said, somewhat exasperated. "It’s fine to shear some wool, but we can’t just keep fleecing the same sheep so ruthlessly, can we?"

"Can’t be helped. They’re the only other Martial Arts Academy nearby. We’ll let them off when we run into another one," Wang Zhan shrugged, a hint of schadenfreude in his tone.

However, just as they were sorting through their gains, Sun Kelan suddenly called out, "Everyone, check your personal terminals! There’s an update."

Hearing this, Wang Zhan hurriedly opened his personal terminal and indeed found a change.

Previously, the personal terminal only had a communication function, but now it featured a regional map option, as well as a points leaderboard!

"We’re only in second place?" Huang Pufeng, who paid the most attention to the leaderboard, had always assumed the Chu State Military Martial Academy Team was first.

"First place is Yanjing Martial Arts Academy, 3,700 points? How many intermediate Soldier-level beasts did they kill?" Wang Zhan was also somewhat surprised.

Besides Yanjing Martial Arts Academy, the other two of the "Big Four," Federal Military Martial Arts Academy and Federal Martial Arts Academy, were ranked third and fourth respectively.

As for the Royal Martial Arts Academy, their ranking wasn’t even in the top ten; they were in eleventh place.

"Captain, you’ve really done a number on the Royal Martial Arts Academy," Sun Kelan said, trying to suppress her laughter.

Wang Zhan, however, merely shook his head slightly, his attention more focused on the new map function.

Opening the map, he found that large areas were blacked out, with only the terrain of their current location clearly displayed.

"Remember the last condition for earning points? Exploring unknown areas," Wang Zhan said, taking a deep breath.

"It seems this first week was just for us to adapt to the environment. I think the real test of this competition probably lies in these so-called unknown areas."