Chapter 20: Mystery Woman

A week later, inside the energy tower, Fang practiced quietly in a small room.

Light enveloped Fang’s body, growing brighter than ever, and he was surrounded by a cocoon of energy. Excited, Fang concentrated harder. As large reserves of energy flowed in, his body soon disappeared in the intense light. Then, with a bang, energy exploded inside the room as Fang looked around.

Intermediate level!

This layer of energy was at least at the 1st grade, thicker than before and able to deliver an incomparable amount of defense and offense. Fang’s eyes lit up with joy; it had only taken a month to break through that bottleneck into the intermediate level.

It had taken almost a month to progress from an 8th grade novice to a 9th grade novice, which for most people would be considered an impressive speed. However, advancing from the 9th grade novice to the intermediate stage wasn’t that simple and should have taken at least four months or longer.

The energy tower could improve practice speed to an extent, and he was in the tower only for an hour each time. So, there was only one reasonable explanation: it was due to the endless method he was training in. In theory, because this method didn’t distinguish between types of energy, there should be no bottleneck, as every grade could transition smoothly. The results seemed to indicate that the theory was correct.

Since he had entered the intermediate levels, he could drastically change his attacks. He couldn’t compare to his former self, as he had witnessed firsthand during the fight against Garret how much of an advantage ranged attacks provided.

In the tower, he couldn’t practice any combat techniques, so he quietly meditated until the bell rang.

Out of habit, as he walked out, Fang glanced at the room next to him, but there wasn’t anyone there.

After that outburst, Blue hadn’t attended class or done anything for the past week, staying inside his room. He was probably still embarrassed by that incident and needed some time to calm down; Fang hoped Blue would recover soon. There wasn’t much time left for the intermediate school.

Usually, after advancing to a new stage, most fighters would evaluate their skills to see how much they had improved, and Fang was no exception.

He arrived at the empty practice field and punched the air fiercely—a trace of energy flew through the air, traveling over twelve meters before dissipating.

Without practicing any of the martial arts skills he had seen, his energy traveled a fair distance, and Fang was satisfied.

Although people were graded based on the level of energy they possessed, it didn’t account for the various skills, nor the quality and purity of their energy. A person’s fitness also influenced how well they could control their energy. According to the lectures Fang had diligently studied, most people could propel their energy from five to seven meters, and those with pure energy could reach eight to ten meters. People with a purer concentration of power could display a radically different grade of skill with martial arts techniques; no wonder the “Sonic Cut” actions Fang mimicked led to a stronger Sonic Cut.

The first of the tests determined the purity of energy, and with that complete, Fang moved on to the second test. Slowly breathing in, Fang sent out repetitive punches in succession, attempting to determine his speed. An average fighter could deliver three to four infused punches on the crystallized dummy before time ran out; five or six were considered good, but Fang delivered eight punches that met the energy threshold for each effort.

For the final test, Fang entered a chamber attached to wheels. It was a simple machine that moved when energy was put into it.

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If the first two test results could be considered excellent, the third test was outstanding. The majority of people could only run around 60 meters before stopping, the talented perhaps 90 meters, but Fang maintained the journey for 180 meters. This endurance and his ability to efficiently use energy were exceptional.

After seeing his results, Fang felt extremely elated. He knew his energy would improve, but he hadn’t expected the power, acceleration, sustainability, and strength to be top class from this leap into the intermediate stage. He was confident that if he had some time to learn and practice suitable skills, he would easily be a match for 4th, no, even 5th grade intermediates!

Moonlight shone on the thick trees around the field, a lone figure standing alone on the field. However, no one would have thought that within the darkness, a pair of eyes watched everything. A bright light illuminated their eyes, and they seemed to be excited.

Yume had scouted a really good candidate. During the entrance examination, Yume said that Fang was only a recent 9th grade novice. But now, just after a month of training, he had already broken through into the intermediate level!

Although his first test result wasn’t so impressive, the next two were exceptional.

Considering his potential, his speed alone placed him with excellent potential. If you combined his power and speed, it was one of the best, and his endurance made him a genius with unlimited potential!

Soon, he would display that brilliance to the world and attract the attention of more people; they couldn’t wait any longer.

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Two days later, after dinner, Fang resumed his practice, experimenting with his energy. Nighttime, he figured, was the best time to practice as there were rarely other people training, and the environment was relatively quiet.

Noticing his lamp had almost run out, Fang stopped and picked it up. Thanks for reading on ManaNovel!

It would be a holiday tomorrow; he hoped that Durin wouldn’t come and ask to go drinking again in Minuet City. Although Fang didn’t get hangovers or experience any troubles with alcohol, he felt it was too much work to deal with drunk people. Moreover, memories of the last time he went out came up… it had strained his friendship with Blue, as he couldn’t comfortably look at Blue for the time being.

I’ll just head back to the dormitory and sleep, he reasoned, and continued walking. Moments later, the world instantly turned dark, with his lamp extinguished, and the sky darkened. To control the darkness of the night—this person was at a level no one in the training camp could reach.

Fang was initially shocked but quickly calmed down.

To protect the youths, experts regularly patrolled the camp, so naturally, no one meaning harm would be allowed in.

Out of the shadows, a person shrouded in a dark cloud walked towards Fang and stopped.

Her face was covered with a dark, gray mask with black accents. Captivating, her eyes stared intently at Fang, a dark robe flowing down her figure.

The woman slowly spoke, “Student Fang?”

He had never seen this woman before, but she had called out his name.

As if she knew what Fang was thinking, she continued, “Not surprisingly, you don’t know me. Let me introduce myself. My name is Valeria, head of the Chamber of Commerce in Minuet City.”

Although Fang was from a small city, he still knew the importance of such a position.

Amazingly, this young lady was already the head of a department!