"This is Jiangnan Pavilion," Yang Hui explained as he led Han Jue through the entrance, his demeanor unusually restrained. "Currently, there are only three students living here, all from Jiangnan Base City."
This was something the founder had personally arranged!
Even the instructors in the training camp rarely saw Hong all year round. So who was this young man? His strength seemed comparable to some War Gods, could he be the founder's...? No, that didn't make sense. The physical resemblance wasn't there. Yang Hui's thoughts churned with speculation as he studied Han Jue from the corner of his eye.
Han Jue noticed immediately and understood, Luo Feng had followed his advice and revealed his talents early, earning his place in the elite training camp ahead of schedule. A satisfied smile crossed his features.
"You know each other? That makes things easier." Yang Hui hesitated, the words of caution he'd been about to offer dying on his lips. "You... well, just explain the rules to him. I should be going."
Who would need protecting here was still very much in question.
"Don't worry, leave it to me!" Zhao Ruo declared, patting her chest with confidence. "With me, your senior sister here, he won't suffer any harm. Wait, haven't I said this before?"
"You're very strong," Shi Jiang said suddenly, his brow furrowing as he studied Han Jue with obvious intensity.
Hearing Shi Jiang's assessment, Zhao Ruo turned in surprise. "Junior brother, how old are you this year?"
"I just turned sixteen in July," Han Jue replied honestly, seeing no reason to hide the truth.
"Hiss!" Both Shi Jiang and Zhao Ruo drew sharp breaths.
Luo Feng was slightly better prepared, having known about Han Jue's talent in advance, but even he felt shock ripple through him.
Yang Hui had previously mentioned that Shi Jiang's strength was comparable to his own. And now Shi Jiang was saying Han Jue was very strong. The mathematics wasn't complicated:
Han Jue ≈ Shi Jiang ≈ Yang Hui = Mid-level War God.
At sixteen years old.
"Your strength is improving incredibly fast!" Luo Feng couldn't help but exclaim, genuine admiration coloring his voice.
"Then I have to thank Lei Shen for his tremendous support," Han Jue said with a casual smile. "Well, aren't you going to invite me inside?"
"Come in, come in!" Zhao Ruo said hastily, jolting from her momentary stupor.
Lei Shen?
Shi Jiang's mind raced. Was there an instructor with the surname Lei at the Extreme Martial Arts School?
Speaking of the surname Lei and using the founder's title... the only person who fit was Thunder God himself!
Shi Jiang glanced at Han Jue with newfound understanding. It seemed this 'newcomer' had quite the impressive background.
"Jiangnan Pavilion only has three buildings, so you might have to share quarters with Luo Feng for a while," Zhao Ruo said apologetically.
"It's a small matter," Han Jue waved dismissively. He wouldn't be staying long anyway.
After reviewing the standard student guidelines, most of which were identical to those at the Thunder Dojo, Shi Jiang suggested that Han Jue take the Trial Tower assessment to establish his official ranking.
"That? No need to test it. I'm at level 4.1," Han Jue said nonchalantly.
Shi Jiang became even more certain this newcomer must be a direct disciple of Thunder God, temporarily transferred to access some of the Extreme Martial Arts School's superior equipment.
"That's incredible!" Zhao Ruo's eyes widened. "You could break into the top twenty easily! What's your combat power amplitude?"
"8.2," Han Jue replied with a light laugh.
"Your force amplification is that low?" Shi Jiang couldn't hide his puzzlement.
Didn't he practice the Nine-Layer Thunder Blade?
"Yes," Han Jue offered no further explanation.
"You should rest first," Shi Jiang said after taking a deep breath to compose himself. "We've prepared a welcome dinner for you tomorrow night."
"There will be plenty of good food at the dinner," Luo Feng added with an encouraging smile.
After the group finished their initial conversation, Han Jue followed Luo Feng back to his residence and found an empty room to settle into.
Sitting cross-legged on the bed, Han Jue pulled out a notebook, a gift Hong had presented to him after their meeting earlier.
The pages contained profound insights into Artistic Conception and Domain comprehension, along with practical applications for both concepts. The knowledge would prove invaluable for Han Jue's future development.
Thunder God had also given Han Jue a notebook, though his was considerably simpler than Hong's comprehensive guide.
Lightning and light.
Both belonged to the lower-order laws derived from the Origin Law of Time, completely unrelated to space.
Yet the process of comprehending the Artistic Conception within them remained worthy of serious study.
Han Jue quickly immersed himself in the contents, absorbing the accumulated wisdom with rapt attention.
---
The next morning arrived swiftly.
Luo Feng took Han Jue to the gravity chamber within the Nine-Storied Building.
This particular gravity chamber had been discovered in ancient civilization ruins, capable of reaching up to one thousand times Earth's gravity, far beyond anything human scientists had managed to reverse-engineer or replicate.
"Han Jue, how many hours can you use the gravity chamber?" Luo Feng asked curiously.
He knew Han Jue had come specifically to access equipment the Thunder Dojo couldn't provide. Given his demonstrated strength, he shouldn't be limited like Luo Feng himself, who'd only managed one hour during his first month. Of course, that was the past, now in his second month and having broken into the top one hundred, Luo Feng's available time had doubled.
"Ninety hours," Han Jue said after glancing at the message Hong had sent him.
"Ninety hours? Isn't that the same allocation as the number one ranked student?" Luo Feng exclaimed in astonishment.
"Hmm? A newcomer?"
A blond young man nearby overheard Luo Feng's surprised exclamation and turned to see an unfamiliar face.
"Luo Feng, won't you introduce us?"
Luo Feng's expression shifted subtly, already sensing trouble brewing.
"Han Jue, this is William Edith, from the European Union," Luo Feng said with noticeable reluctance.
"Han Jue, what a fine name!" William said with exaggerated enthusiasm. "I've always been curious about China. There are so many talented Chinese warriors in this training camp. Luo Feng is a Spirit Reader, so I couldn't compete with him fairly in the virtual realm. I'd like to challenge you instead and see how we compare. I wonder if you, Han Jue, would honor my request?"
Luo Feng's expression darkened. This man had said almost exactly the same thing to him before, hadn't he?
His plan had only failed because Luo Feng was a Spirit Reader. Senior Sister Zhao Ruo had warned him that William and his foreign associates often targeted newcomers with gambling challenges, trying to cheat them out of their money through carefully stacked matchups.
"Of course," Han Jue said with an easy smile.
"We won't bet anything excessive. How about ten billion Yuan?" William's smile broadened, becoming even more enthusiastic and predatory.
"No," Han Jue shook his head.
William's confident expression faltered, and he was about to speak when,
"It's too little," Han Jue continued smoothly.
William blinked in surprise.
"Actually, I have a better idea," Han Jue said, his smile taking on a decidedly dangerous edge. "I've never left China, so I don't really know the strength of warriors from other regions. Why don't you invite a few more people over? We can test our abilities against each other, that way I can get properly acquainted with everyone here."
He paused, letting the words sink in before adding, "Don't worry. I'll bet five billion Yuan on each individual match. How does that sound?"
"This..." William hesitated, uncertainty flickering across his features.
"Han Jue, you're only sixteen years old and new to the training camp! Don't agree to his scheme!" Luo Feng said urgently, genuine concern evident in his voice.
"Of course it's fine!" William recovered quickly, laughing with barely contained excitement. "Excellent! Wait right here, I'll spread the word!"
Within minutes, most of the trainees had learned that a wealthy newcomer with deep pockets was willing to stake five billion Yuan per match against warriors from around the world!
Looking at the crowd now thronging the challenge room, Han Jue's smile widened with satisfaction.
"No need to rush," Han Jue announced cheerfully, his voice carrying clearly across the assembled warriors. "Line up and come one by one. If anyone wants to increase the stakes, that's perfectly acceptable too."
Luo Feng, who had witnessed the entire sequence of events unfold, stood somewhat stunned by the sheer audacity of what was happening.
With Han Jue's demonstrated strength, he could handle all forty-plus people gathered here without breaking a sweat!
That represented over two hundred billion Yuan!
'Making money really is that easy when you're this talented,' Luo Feng thought with a mixture of awe and amusement.