Swallowed Star

by Alexander Buchanez

  "I'll check out my legs' strength!" Luo Feng started using the force exertion technique from the��Nine Stage Thunder Blade��.

  First attempt of the first stage of the��Nine Stage Thunder Blade��!

  One extra exertion of force on top of the original force.

  "PU!" "PU!" Luo Feng's right leg blurred as it continuously kicked.

  "There's some feeling"

  "Yea, send out the force"

  "Just like this!"

  Since Luo Feng already reached the��Nine Stage Thunder Blade��'s third stage, it was easy for him to reach 1.4x of the force in his leg. With that, Luo Feng started swiftly charging back and forth like lightning in this narrow 25 m2 room. While also doing swift horizontal dodges to the left and right, he began his swift technique training.

  When fighting in a real battle, your body has to constantly change directions. Sending out 1.4x of the force constantly is much more difficult than just using your original strength.

  After 20 minutes, Luo Feng's two legs were completely used to exploding 1.4x of his normal strength over and over again!

  Luo Feng is already able to explode 2.8x of his normal strength when swinging his blade over and over again. He already has the experience, so now he just has to apply that experience to his legs. The only thing he needs is time to get used to it.

  .....

  Next is the second stage of the��Nine Stage Thunder Blade��, attempt to let both legs reach 2.1x of the normal strength.

  ......

  "Luo Feng! Aren't you working a bit too hard? Bitterly training in the underground training room on the first day? It's almost 8 PM. Tonight, our Chinese brothers and sisters are going to hold a banquet to welcome you" senior Zhao Ruo's voice came from outside.

  Inside the training room.

  Luo Feng, whose excitement couldn't be hidden, finally stopped with his body completely drenched in sweat.

  "It's almost 8? I entered the underground training room at around 4. Who would've known that around three hours already passed" Luo Feng was extremely joyful inside, "In three hours, my leg are pretty much set. I can continuously maintain them at 2.1x when dodging nonstop. As for 2.8x, that'll probably take some more time"

  Luo Feng immediately charged out of the underground training room.

  "Senior, I'm going to go wash first and change clothes. I'll be right back" said Luo Feng.

  At this time, the rain already stopped. Shi Jiang and Zhao Ruo in the courtyard couldn't help but to shake their heads as they laughed after seeing Luo Feng drenched in sweat.

  "This Luo Feng is pretty hardworking" complimented Shi Jiang as he laughed.

  "Well yea, but this guy kept bitterly training until 7:30 in the underground training room even though the banquet starts at 8" said Zhao Ruo helplessly. She wasn't too surprised though, since virtually everyone in this training camp was extremely hard working. However, there aren't too many people like Luo Feng who start bitterly training in the underground training room on the first day they arrive at the camp.

  .....

  After washing up, Luo Feng put on some relaxing casual clothes and stood in front of the bathroom's mirror with a bright smile on his face: "Mirror, oh mirror. I'm sure that I'll reach 2.8x soon enough. When that happens, my speed will multiply! With such an increase in speed, how far can I reach in the tower of trials?"

  What does it mean to double your speed? It'll be scary to see how much your strength increases as a result. If Luo Feng combines his doubled speed with his technique that's at the intermediate level and reaching the gates of the perfect level to the B grade exam, then Luo Feng would be able to take out those 100 raging bulls with no trouble.

  "Okay, time to participate in the banquet! Let me take a look at all those geniuses from China" Luo Feng smiled at the mirror and then turned around and swiftly headed downstairs.

  With seniors Shi Jiang and Zhao Ruo, they left Jiang-Nan pagoda and headed towards the camp's gathering of those from China.

  Chapter 118: Rookie

  8 PM, second floor of restaurant #1 in the elite training camp. A full 21 students from China have gathered here, just to welcome Luo Feng's arrival! People are quite passionate with others from the same country, so many seniors were happily chatting and drinking with Luo Feng.

  One hour later.

  "Phew, I'm finally let off" Luo Feng held his glass and stood in a corner.

  "This banquet was prepared for you. You're the main character, so of course everyone will find you to chat and drink with" Zhao Ruo's face was slightly red. Under the light of the room, she seemed quite charming, "And Luo Feng, senior Zhu Qiang paid for this banquet tonight. Do you know how much this banquet will cost?"

  Luo Feng shook his head: "All of these dishes taste extremely great, but I can't guess how much they'll cost. However, even if the cost is up at the sky, probably around a million Chinese dollars right?"

  How expensive could eating and drinking be?

  "A million? Nice joke!" Zhao Ruo lowered her voice, "The chefs at the elite training camp are the world's best. Also, many of these dishes were made out of monster materials, so this banquet for 21..... would cost at least 10 million"

  Luo Feng blinked twice.

  "Don't complain about the price! You can't even eat certain things around the world with just money!" Zhao Ruo shook her head, "However, this bit of money really is nothing for senior Zhu Qiang. In our training camp, if any top 10 student is willing to join an organization, they'll definitely receive tons of money!"

  "Zhu Qiang joined some organization?" Luo Feng asked with surprise.

  When he arrived yesterday, Zhu Qiang appeared to be rank 2 on the black dragon ranking. Someone who can be ranked second, even if it's just temporary, is probably quite scary.

  "Zhu Qiang was pulled over by our Chinese army. Everyone knew of this since last year" Zhao Ruo whispered, "And I even heard that the Dojo of Limits is trying to get Zhu Qiang on their side too. Even certain organizations within China are fighting over him. Apparently, the army prepared a special division. After Zhu Qiang graduates, he'll become the leader of this entire division!"

  Luo Feng gasped in shock.

  An army established a special division just to welcome Zhu Qiang?

  "Well, there's no helping it. Zhu Qiang really is strong" sighed Zhao Ruo, "He can easily stay within the top 5. In the training camp, 10 people have the ability to reach the top 5 in terms of pure strength! However, only one or two people can consistently stay within the top 5 over time"

  Luo Feng nodded to show he understood.

  The black dragon ranking ranks people based off of battle score. Even if the powerful people are ranked higher, the ranking cannot rank people with 100% accuracy! If I charge into the top 5 this month, someone with similar skill could charge into the top 5 next month. Everyone's strength isn't too different at that point.

  So that's why...... there are 10 people with the ability to enter the top 5.

  Those who can stay in the top 5 for an extended period of time are the scary ones.

  "The government is definitely going to pay Zhu Qiang a gigantic amount of money every year" sighed Zhao Ruo, "In our training camp, there are three types of people with tons of money..... First, people like Zhu Qiang who are extremely powerful and joined some special organization. Second, someone who joined one of the core families of the HR alliance. Third, spirit readers!"

  "However, people of the second category who join the core families of the HR alliance are pretty dumb. Even though they have money, how can their power compare to armies of the government? The Dojo of Limits? The Thunder Dojo?"

  "And as for the third category, spirit readers. Sigh, nothing we can do about that. With their spiritual force, hunting monsters is like harvesting wheat! The amount of materials they receive every day is astonishing. Just with this, they earn a crazy amount of money! The amount of money a single spirit reader can earn is comparable to ten of us!"

  Luo Feng la
ughed.

  As a spirit reader himself, of course he was clear on how quickly spirit readers could make money! An intermediate level warlord, like Gao Feng, only made 200 to 300 million last year. And advanced level warlords would be lucky to make around a billion a year. As for Luo Feng, an advanced level warlord level spirit reader, it wouldn't be weird for him to make nearly 10 billion a year.

  Even better than a beginner level wargod!

  Advanced level warlord level spirit readers rival a beginner level wargod in strength. With their spiritual force, they can hunt monsters with higher efficiency.

  "These three types of people are the people with the most money in our training camp" mumbled Zhao Ruo.

  "Luo Feng!" a clear sound rang.

  Luo Feng and Zhao Ruo turned their heads. What they saw was a tall youth whose face looked like it was carved with an axe. Indeed, he's the legendary figure of the training camp--Zhu Qiang!

  "Senior Zhu Qiang" laughed Zhao Ruo as she yelled, "You guys chat". As she said that, she obediently left.

  Luo Feng and Zhu Qiang stood in the corner.

  "Luo Feng" Zhu Qiang glanced at the other people and then lowered his voice, "Our Chinese army is quite interested in you. Not sure if you have any interest in joining the army?"

  "The army?" Luo Feng froze.

  He just joined the elite training camp and people are already trying to pull him over?

  "Indeed!" Zhu Qiang took a sip of wine, "No worries, the army isn't stingy at all. They'll treat you based off of your strength after you graduate the camp! When you become stronger, they'll treat you with more respect! As for the details, we can slowly discuss that later. Also, if you agree to join..... then for the five years you remain in the camp, the army will fund you with 5 billion a year"

  Luo Feng's heart beated slightly faster.

  "Five billion?"

  If he wasn't a spirit reader, then he wouldn't be efficient in hunting monsters. For example, a beginner wargod would have lots of trouble successfully hunting a low level horde leader monster! So it's pretty good for a beginner level wargod to earn 5 billion a year. And wargods also spend an astonishingly high amount, so many wargods need money!

  Dragon blood, elixir of life, SS grade battle uniform.....

  Which one of these isn't astronomically expensive?

  Many wargods can't afford these.

  For example, the battle uniform set that Luo Feng earned back at the steel armored dragon's nest only had a SS grade vest. Clearly, the wargod who passed away couldn't afford the entire SS grade set and only bought the most important part.

  "Senior, I just entered the training camp, so I'm not planning on joining any organization. I'll think about it a few years later" said Luo Feng.

  "Oh?" Zhu Qiang was surprised, "Alright, your way of thinking is right too. These five years are the most important five years to raise your strength. If you ever decide to join the Chinese army, just let me know"

  .....

  On this night, Luo Feng received six invitations! Three of the organizations were inside China. Only after receiving these invitations did Luo Feng know..... other than the army, there were other special organizations. However, the army is more powerful than all of them.

  As for the other three invitations, two of them came from the core families of the HR alliance while another came from a mercenary group called the 'Flame Legion'.

  There are quite a few mercenary groups on this world.

  However, while many of them are quite average in terms of strength, some of them are extremely powerful!

  Both 'Hong' and 'Thunder God' have one headquarter city and have spread both of their dojos all over their world. Their power isn't inferior to a country's.

  They are the two major figures on earth.

  There are other ambitious people on earth who wish to establish a power of their own! For example, the 'Flame Legion' was created by two existences that have surpassed the wargod level. Their mercenary group is extremely powerful and invited by several African headquarter cities to assist them.

  However.....

  Luo Feng rejected all six invitations!

  ���

  March 30th, morning. The temperature was very low.

  Quite a few students were running or walking in the training camp; Luo Feng was one of those students too.

  "Luo Feng, Luo Feng"

  While walking on the stone paved road, Luo Feng, who was wearing a black training uniform, turned his head back in surprise. He saw a blonde, short haired youth smile as he walked over. With his especially accented Chinese, one word was all that was needed to determine that a foreigner was the one speaking.

  "My name is William, William��Edison, from the EU" said the blonde youth passionately.

  William?

  Luo Feng mumbled to himself, this name is just like Russia's 'Alexander', United States' 'David', and China's 'Wang Wei' and 'Zhang Wei'; all of these names are so common that they can't become any more common.

  "William? Nice to meet you" smiled Luo Feng.

  "I've always been curious about China" said the blonde youth, William, passionately, "And in the training camp, there are many geniuses from China. And Luo Feng, you entered this camp alone, so I really want to have a practice match with you to test our strength. I wonder if you are willing to grant my request"

  Luo Feng froze: "Practice match?"

  "Yea, we can do it at the battle room, is that okay?" asked the blonde youth, William, passionately.

  "Battle room?" the contents of the 'student notice' that Luo Feng read immediately came to mind. This battle room is also one of the things from the archaeological ruins. After entering the battle room, the two people enter the 'virtual space' via the brain computer interfaces and then start a battle to the death!

  Usually, these battles have stakes!

  "Let's not bet too much, how about one billion Chinese dollars?" the smile of the blonde youth, William, became even more passionate and bright.

  "William!"

  A tender voice rang.

  Luo Feng turned his head and saw Zhao Ruo wearing a purple training uniform. Her face was full of rage as she yelled: "William, how can you be so shameless! Luo Feng just came here and is still a rookie, and now you're challenging him to a staked match in the battle room? You filthy people secretly found some rookies at the beginning of March and challenged them to some staked matches to get their money! If you're so great, why don't you bet with me!"

  "Lady Zhao Ruo, this has nothing to do with you, doesn't it? There is no problem, I believe that Luo Feng is very powerful. Maybe I'll lose to him" William looked towards Luo Feng.

  Zhao Ruo turned towards Luo Feng: "Luo Feng, don't trust this foreign devil. Some people in the training camp are just sneaky and always pick on the rookies. They wouldn't dare to do it out in the open, so they do it through staked matches...... And virtually all the rookies lose those matches and their money. Only until then do the rookies realize the strength of the seniors! This foreign devil has a battle ability amplifier of 'intermediate'. Even though that's not high, it's not low either. Most rookies aren't his opponent"

  "Just a billion"

  The blonde youth, William looked towards Luo Feng, "If you just join any organization, you'll earn even more than this in a year, I'm sure"

  Luo Feng completely understood what was going on. Some people pick on the rookies who don't understand everything yet and passionately drag them to the battle rooms to cruelly snatch their cash away.

  "It's William!" a Chinese youth ran over here. This Chinese youth was named Jiang Chen, who Luo Feng met yesterday in the banquet, "Luo Feng, don't bet with him! This guy is extremely devious. I just joined the training camp on March 1st and was tricked by him on the first day I arrived. He took a bunch of my cash from that"

  "****!"

  William's face wasn't looking too good at the moment. Initially, he just wanted to find a chance where he could talk to Luo Feng alone, but who would've known
that so many people would come and destroy his plan.

  "Alright, if you want to bet, we can" Luo Feng smiled as he looked at him.

  "Luo Feng" Zhao Ruo and Jiang Chen looked at him with astonishment.

  "Oh" William let out a face of unexpected happiness, "Luo Feng, let's arrange a time"

  "However, one billion is just too little, so I'm not interested. Let's make it slightly bigger, five billion!" Luo Feng glanced at William, "If you wanna play, then let's go. If you're too scared, then nevermind"

  Zhao Ruo and Jiang Chen widened their eyes.

  "5 billion?" William froze too.

  Chapter 119: Challenge

  A beginner wargod's one year of hard work could only earn him around 5 billion. Even though these geniuses of the elite training camp have extremely bright futures and receive money from all sorts of different organizations, 5 billion is still quite a large number. Usually, only spirit readers or students with high ranking use such high stakes when challenging each other.

  Of course, there are unexpected situations too. For example, when two people argue and get into the mood, they could raise the stakes to an extraordinarily high amount!

  "5 billion?" William squinted and carefully examined Luo Feng.

  "Luo Feng......" Zhao Ruo and Jiang Chen looked at Luo Feng with surprise.

  "If you're too scared then nevermind" Luo Feng shook his head, "Senior Zhao Ruo, Jiang Chen, let's go". Zhao Ruo and Jiang Chen woke up from their astonishment by now and immediately laughed as they went with Luo Feng. Jiang Chen even sneered at William before he left. Because of William, he lost a ton of money.

  Seeing how Luo Feng was about to leave.

  "Wait" yelled William.

  "What, not scared anymore?" Luo Feng looked at William, "5 billion. Not playing if it's lower"

  "Alright, 5 billion, I'll do this" even though he had trouble with the Chinese tones, it was clear from William's eyes that he was going to go for this with everything he had.

  "Alright, nice!" Luo Feng laughed.

  "Say a time" William was full of confidence.