"Instructor Wu!"

As Rowan walked into the training center, he called out loudly.

Instructor Wu, a seasoned martial artist with keen senses, looked up immediately.

"Rowan?"

He raised an eyebrow in surprise.

He had been wondering all week why Rowan hadn't shown up to the martial arts center. To see him suddenly appear today was unexpected.

Instructor Wu left the student he had been coaching and walked over.

"Rowan, here to train today?"

Rowan shook his head. "No, Instructor Wu, I'm here to test."

"Test?" Instructor Wu's eyes widened. "You mean… you want to take the advanced trainee assessment?"

"That's right. I feel I've made a lot of progress recently. I think I've reached the standard, so I wanted to come in and see."

"Have you tested your punch strength at home?"

Rowan shook his head. "No."

He had been immersed in his training the past few days and hadn't made it to the S.H.I.E.L.D. testing facility to check.

"All right, come with me. I'll take you to the testing chamber."

Instructor Wu was curious to see how much Rowan had advanced.

Soon, the two arrived in a side hall dedicated to combat assessments.

As the door slid shut behind them, the noise from outside disappeared completely.

"Rowan, start with your punch strength," Instructor Wu said, nodding toward the testing machine not far away.

"Okay." Rowan stopped glancing around the room and stepped in front of the machine.

The machine here was clearly more sophisticated than the standard ones. As he stood before it, Rowan's expression remained calm.

He took a deep breath, spaced his feet slightly apart, bent his arms, and gathered his strength.

Without even squatting for added force, he launched a direct punch.

To an average observer, the motion might have seemed casual. But Instructor Wu's eyes glimmered with approval.

To his experienced gaze, Rowan's posture was like a fully drawn bow. Though his form wasn't perfect, he had mobilized every ounce of strength in one fluid, controlled strike.

Compared to his previous test, Rowan's technique had clearly improved by a full tier.

Buzz...

The machine vibrated intensely.

The screen flickered rapidly before settling on a final number.

"783 kg."

"What?"

Instructor Wu's expression shifted to disbelief.

He even started to question if the machine was malfunctioning.

Last week, Rowan's punch had measured at 544 kg.

Now, a full 239 kg increase in just one week?

Impossible!

Even Rowan looked stunned at the number.

"Seven hundred eighty-three kilos? My strength really jumped that much?"

Though surprised, Rowan wasn't entirely unprepared. After all, over the past week he had:

Consumed high-grade beast meat daily

Soaked in enhanced medicinal baths post-training

Practiced the Ten Foundational Forms of the Extreme Martial Hall

Trained under the guidance of Friday, his AI assistant

And on top of that, he had recently been infected with the RR virus, which meant his physical potential was still surging.

All these factors combined had led to his explosive growth.

Regardless, the data didn't lie. His punch strength was now approaching the threshold of a quasi-warrior, which began at 900 kg.

He was close. Very close.

Rowan felt a surge of excitement.

Once he reached the quasi-warrior level, he'd have a solid foundation for surviving in the Swallowed Star universe.

It would also open the door for him to collaborate with the Extreme Martial Hall on technologies like arc reactors and basic AI systems.

"Rowan, how could your strength increase this much? Try punching again!"

Instructor Wu could no longer maintain his composure.

Rowan nodded.

This time, he bent his knees slightly and pulled his arm all the way back before launching another punch.

BOOM!

The sound echoed through the hall like a firecracker.

A moment later, the screen displayed a new result:

"786 kg."

Instructor Wu's jaw dropped.

"It's real..."

He stood in stunned silence.

"How in the world did your punch improve this much?"

Rowan smiled.

"My family recently bought a batch of beast meat. I've also been training hard, so I guess my strength went up faster than expected."

"Beast meat, huh? That explains it."

Instructor Wu's expression relaxed.

Beast meat was incredibly rich in nutrients and vital energy, especially helpful for strengthening the body. Most families couldn't afford it.

Even wealthy families only managed to buy it occasionally.

Clearly, Rowan's family was doing quite well if they could afford a whole batch to support his training.

"But even so, that kind of improvement is still remarkable," Instructor Wu said with admiration.

Rowan was only sixteen and had been at the martial arts hall for just one week, yet his punch had reached 786 kg.

At this rate, he'd break into the quasi-warrior level in no time.

A sixteen-year-old quasi-warrior.

That meant he had the potential to reach at least the Warlord class in the future.

Instructor Wu, already in his thirties and still only a mid-level warrior, couldn't help but feel both envious and humbled.

Talent like this... When the gap was small, it inspired jealousy. But when the difference was this vast, it only left you in awe.

Instead of being resentful, Instructor Wu felt a sense of pride.

After all, he had been the one to discover and guide Rowan first.

If Rowan became a Warlord or even a War God someday, that would be a story worth telling for the rest of his life.

"Rowan, let's test your speed next!"

The thought of Rowan possibly becoming a War God made Instructor Wu's heart race. But being a seasoned warrior himself, he quickly composed himself.

"Sure!"

Rowan nodded, energized by the progress he'd made.

He got into position. On Instructor Wu's signal, he launched forward.

The side hall was fifty meters wide, and Rowan crossed the space in a flash a black streak cutting through the air.

Instructor Wu checked the speed tracker beside him.

19.3 meters per second.

Shock rippled through him.

Just last week, Rowan's speed was only 14 meters per second.

A jump like this in a single week?

Improving strength was one thing, but speed was much harder to enhance.

It required development of the tendons, ligaments, and numerous minor muscle groups in the legs.

Many advanced trainees met the strength requirements but couldn't break the 25 m/s barrier needed for the quasi-warrior level.

Yet Rowan's improvement in speed was just as astounding as his strength gains.

Instructor Wu stared at him, speechless.

Rowan turned, saw the number on the display, and raised an eyebrow.

"19.3 meters per second?"

"That means I really am close to being a quasi-warrior!"

He hadn't expected this.

He knew from experience how difficult it was to improve speed.

His own progress had stalled at 8 meters per second for more than six months.

If not for arriving in the Swallowed Star universe and gaining the RR virus, who knew how long he would've been stuck?

And now, just one week later, he had already made a breakthrough.

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