...
BANG!
In the training grounds, Zhou Chen was sent flying several meters by his coach's punch, landing hard on a mat. He stared dazedly at the ceiling, completely stunned by the blow.
"Can you still stand?" the burly coach asked coldly, withdrawing his fist.
Zhou Chen struggled to move, but ultimately couldn't get up. "I'm out of strength..." he said, his voice faint.
The coach snorted coldly and headed for the locker room without a backward glance.
"That's it for today's session. Don't be late tomorrow."
Completely drained of strength, Zhou Chen lay sprawled on the ground like a pile of mud.
After being discharged from the hospital yesterday, he knew he had to improve his combat abilities over the next five days to prepare for his upcoming undercover mission.
His fighting skills, for instance.
If Fina hadn't been controlled by the "Lover" beforehand, which made her careless and consumed by lust; if his Extraordinary Ability hadn't happened to incinerate the Desire Worm, driving her into mental chaos; if he hadn't launched a surprise attack... without these factors, he would have been no match for Fina at all.
Even ten of him combined would have stood no chance against Fina at her peak; death would have been the only outcome.
Even without using her Extraordinary Abilities, Fina could have toyed with him using her masterfully honed killing techniques, slowly torturing him to death.
So, the first thing he did after being discharged was rush to the training department to learn practical Fighting Skill.
For every Ascender, combat arts were a mandatory subject. Their very lives depended on it. They had to master at least one type of Fighting Skill to a passable level just to have a better chance of surviving out in the field.
This was especially true for a disposable tool like him, who danced on the edge of death with every mission. If he didn't have a few tricks up his sleeve, it wouldn't be long before he was killed in the line of duty.
And the result of learning Fighting Skill was his current state: beaten black and blue, a miserable sight to behold.
After a discussion with his coach, Zhou Chen decided to focus his training on his Body Technique, concentrating on improving his explosive power and speed.
His Extraordinary Ability was essentially a debuff, continuously inflicting mental damage on its target until their Essence was completely burned away. Thus, the longer a fight dragged on, the more it favored him.
Once the Cyan Flame took effect, his enemies would be critically weakened and at his mercy.
The downside, however, was that an experienced Ascender would never give him that chance.
Take Fina Blanch, for example. In a normal fight, her bizarre Body Technique would have been enough to kill him long before the Cyan Flame took effect—several times over, even.
This was why speed and explosive power were so crucial. 'If they get in my face, I'll run. If they get tired, I'll burst forward and charge recklessly. If they're weakened by the Cyan Flame, I'll find a chance to launch a sneak attack and backstab them...'
Simply put, he had to kite his opponents and use guerilla tactics. He would avoid direct confrontation at all costs, using rolls, dodges, and sidesteps to their fullest extent. He'd play defensively when he could and fight dirty when necessary, just like one of the Soul Players.
It was a good plan in theory, but against an opponent whose power was on a completely different level, it would all fall apart like a house of cards.
For the entire day, Zhou Chen practiced his Body Technique by being chased all over the training grounds by his coach. No matter how hard he tried, he could never get more than a few paces away. The coach stuck to him like glue, and every time he was caught, he received a brutal beating.
The mere thought of his coach's brutally violent training methods—not to mention the man's undisguised, savage killing intent and terrifying power during their spars—made Zhou Chen shudder as he lay on the floor.
'A real Demon coach...'
But as terrifying as the coach was, his teaching ability was undoubtedly top-notch. In just a single day, he had brutally drilled into Zhou Chen the techniques for exerting force with every muscle in his body, resulting in a considerable increase in his Power, speed, and explosive force.
It couldn't be helped. It was just like with writers: normally, they're lazy, procrastinating all day without producing a single word. But give them a deadline and someone threatening to bash their head in if they miss it, and suddenly every one of them is astounded by their own latent talent.
It was pretty much the same principle.
To avoid a few extra beatings, Zhou Chen had unlocked a talent for learning that surprised even himself.
In addition to teaching him unarmed combat and Body Technique, the coach also gave him a few hours of lessons in armed combat—after all, a chainsaw could, in a sense, be considered a melee weapon.
All in all, the day of training had been quite fruitful.
The price was a body full of bruises.
After lying on the floor for a good while, once his Physical Strength had mostly recovered, Zhou Chen slowly climbed to his feet. He took a shower, changed into clean clothes, left the training department, and took an elevator down to the thirteenth basement level.
This was the Alchemy Department.
Following the room number on his course schedule, Zhou Chen found the Basic Alchemy classroom. To his surprise, even though it was past eight o'clock, the room was almost packed. Fifty or sixty scholars sat in their seats, waiting for the lecture to start.
He quickly found an empty seat and sat down, then pulled a vial filled with a milky-white liquid from his bag. He uncorked it and downed it in one gulp.
This was a nutrient solution. Now that he was flush with cash, Zhou Chen had bought an entire month's supply at once, so he wouldn't have to worry about going hungry if he ran out of money later.
No matter what, making sure he had enough to eat was his top priority.
After downing one vial of the nutrient solution, he smacked his lips. He could feel his depleted Physical Strength slowly recovering, but a dozen minutes later, his stomach was still growling.
So he drank another, and then another.
Only after downing three vials in a row was the gnawing hunger in his stomach finally held at bay.
Zhou Chen knew exactly what was going on: the intense training had completely drained his Physical Strength, so his body needed more nutrients to recover.
'Looks like I need to buy more nutrient solution. Don't want to mess with my development phase. I'd rather not have my body start consuming itself...'
With that, Zhou Chen opened the Star Association's internal app and ordered another twenty vials of nutrient solution at the member price. He even got lucky and snagged a 2,000-credit voucher, so it only ended up costing him 158,000.
After completing the payment, he closed his eyes to rest and meditate. About ten minutes later, the Alchemy professor entered the classroom, and the previously noisy room fell silent in an instant.
Before long, the lecture began.
The young professor stood at the lectern and began to speak eloquently:
"Today, we will begin with the fundamentals of Alchemy. First, the essential Rule of Alchemy is 'to gain, one must give.' In order to achieve a result, a price must be paid."
"If you've ever witnessed an alchemical experiment, you'll have noticed that a great deal of residual waste is produced. That is the so-called 'price'."
"But you would be gravely mistaken to think the price of Alchemy is something so simple. Organs, flesh, your very Soul, even something as intangible as destiny—anything and everything in this World can become the price for Alchemy."
"Of course, that Realm is still far beyond your reach. You'd be lucky if you can even manage to create a stable alloy."
"Next, I'll talk about the history of Alchemy..."