Hearing the roar of the engine abruptly stop, Engineer Li tapped the stopwatch displaying six minutes and thirteen seconds and turned his head to look at Pei Yan, who had dashed ahead: "Five kiloters in six minutes and thirteen seconds, that’s a speed of fifty kiloters per hour. If you were in a human state, you’d have broken the world record. Is this your limit?"
Pei Yan, displaying no sign of fatigue, shook his head: "I feel like I can go faster, but if I do, I won’t be able to maintain my balance and risk falling!"
"Indeed, the human body isn’t constructed like a vehicle. We’ll go back and think carefully about a solution to this problem." Saying this, Engineer Li bent down to examine the row of wheels extending from beneath Pei Yan’s feet, which had autonomously sprung out after his start, propelling him forward with powerful force.
After carefully observing and taking photos, Engineer Li stood up, supporting himself on his knees: "Alright! Go proceed with the combat test your leaders most desire!"
Monts later, Pei Yan watched as a gigantic Eight Trigrams Platform suddenly rose in the center of the Jiezhi Space training field, looking perplexed at Hu Wenjun beside him.
"This is a Jiezhi Space specifically used for supernatural ability competitions. Our bureau has only one, while the military has three!" Hu Wenjun stared at the slowly rising platform with envy and a hint of jealousy in his eyes.
"Supernatural ability competition?"
"Yes, every year the bureau and the military hold an internal supernatural ability tournant, and once every three years, a competition between the bureau and the military is held to improve both parties’ combat techniques."
"Then this platform must have so intriguing secrets, right?" After listening to Hu Wenjun’s explanation, Pei Yan squinted his eyes, carefully scrutinizing this peculiar platform. Unlike typical platforms, its area was massive, about the size of two basketball courts, while its shape was an octagonal Bagua. Instead of ropes, its periter was blocked by large energy walls that extended upwards, ultimately converging and intersecting over thirty ters above the ground, enclosing the entire field.
"Yes, follow !" With that, Hu Wenjun strode towards the platform, with Pei Yan following closely behind him up the stairs on the side. When reaching the top stairs, a small platform suddenly erged from within the larger platform, piercing the energy wall and extending in front of them.
Hu Wenjun stepped aside, gesturing for Pei Yan to step forward, pointing at the small platform: "This platform has been modified by our personnel from the one used by the Daoist Realm’s Immortal Palace during selections for the Law Enforcent Team. Restore your hand to flesh and place it on the platform—it may hurt a little, but don’t worry, just leave it there for five minutes."
"Oh!" Hearing this, Pei Yan deactivated the ability in his right hand, pressing his palm onto the platform. A sudden sting ca from his palm, but thanks to Hu Wenjun’s prior warning, he remained motionless. Soon, a patch of blood red stained the entire small platform, which then retracted back into the larger platform, disappearing into the ground.
"You can now step inside. As long as your blood is left on the small platform, you’ll be forcefully transported out of the platform should you be deed in a near-death state inside, and your body will return to the state at the mont you left your mark." Hu Wenjun pulled out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and took a puff as he explained.
"So that ans!"
"Yes, it ans you can fight recklessly inside, but still be cautious with lethal blows. If you instantaneously kill your opponent before the platform can react and transport them out, they will die, but don’t worry too much." After saying this, Hu Wenjun nodded towards Elder Lin, who had ascended the other side of the platform: "With him controlling the situation, go on up!"
The two stood face-to-face in the center of the platform.
"How do we start? Just begin?" Xia Yu straightforwardly asked.
Pei Yan tilted his head, pondered for a mont, and said, "Do you rember how we started with one punch back then?"
"I rember. So, is it still one punch from you, and one punch from ?"
"Yes! You hit first this ti! With all your strength! I want to see if I can withstand it!" Pei Yan said, raising his arms to shield himself.
"Okay!" Xia Yu, unhesitating, leaped back several tis, took a deep breath, sprinted a short distance to accelerate, and delivered a straightforward punch wrapped in red light right into Pei Yan’s arms.
"Thud!" A dull thud echoed, but the scene of getting knocked back from before didn’t reoccur. Pei Yan’s body trembled violently and leaned backward, but he quickly stabilized his stance with a backward step of his right leg.
Xia Yu squinted at the spot she had punched, leaving only a shallow fist mark that instantly vanished, her left hand aching subtly as she shook it and shouted, "Your turn!"
"Isn’t this a bit unfair?"
"It’s okay! Use all your strength. I also want to gauge your actual power!" Xia Yu said while raising her arms, wrapped thickly with red light, in front of her.
"Alright!" Pei Yan, unlike Xia Yu’s back-kick sprint, stood still, slowly raising his right arm. His fist and forearm seed to retract inward like a retractable spring until he finally unleashed an explosive force akin to a cannonball firing, pounding onto Xia Yu’s arms.
This ti, Xia Yu suffered a significant loss, her body flew backward like a kite with a broken string. Just before hitting the energy wall behind her, she twisted her body mid-air, pushed off the wall with her feet, and darted back with a swift step, rolling on the ground to stand up again.
"Are you alright?" Pei Yan hurried over, disengaging his helt shield, and asked with concern.
Xia Yu, rubbing her numb arms, looked up and asked, "How much of your strength did you use?"
"Uh, all of it!"
"Stop lying, how much was it actually?"
"Seventy percent. The helt analyzed your previous attack and gave data assessing the impact on you!" Pei Yan answered, embarrassed.
"Did your helt indicate anything else?"
"If I used full force, your bones would’ve been damaged! I didn’t think it was necessary."
Hearing this, Xia Yu didn’t respond further. She moved to the edge of the platform, crouched down, and spoke to Gu Shenghui, who stood outside: "No need to continue. Below the first level, I can’t beat him, and I suspect few others can."
Before Gu Shenghui could reply, Liu Xuan, standing beside him, interjected: "Young lady, isn’t that quite a bold statent? Isn’t it just brute strength? There all sorts of abilities, and strength-type abilities are seemingly on the weaker side, aren’t they?"
"Feel free to try, but I personally can’t do it, and I doubt there are others stronger than ," Xia Yu shrugged, jumped off the platform, and responded bluntly. With that, she picked up her clothes, slung them over her shoulder, and moved aside, not looking back.
As the flung clothes almost hit him in the face, Liu Xuan stepped back, smiling wryly: "What a temper! New recruit of Old Gu?"
"Three years already, she was recruited after you were transferred. Why, don’t you trust my team’s judgnt?" Gu Shenghui turned his head, slightly smiling at Liu Xuan next to him.
"Not entirely convinced?" Hu Wenjun said, sheepishly adjusting his military cap that had gotten skewed.
"Then, let’s bet."
"Bet on what?"
"You pick five soldiers who haven’t reached the first level of awakening, and if they collectively beat him, I’ll concede defeat."
Upon hearing this, Liu Xuan raised an eyebrow in discontent: "Gu Shenghui, that’s unfair! One against five—why not one against ten? Do you really think your subordinate is Yip Man?"
"Are you betting or not?"
"Bet on what!"
"If I lose, I won’t insist on Pei Yan’s fate. If you lose, the military cannot forcibly enlist Pei Yan from ."
Liu Xuan imdiately and firmly refused: "No bet!"
"Why not dare?"
Facing Gu Shenghui’s aggressive deanor, Liu Xuan remained unruffled and calmly responded: "Old Gu, no need to provoke ! I’m not a three-year-old kid. I won’t fall for that. I won’t agree to this."
"I know you have no say in the matter, so let’s alter it—if you lose, loan this Jiezhi Space for a year for bureau use." Understanding Liu Xuan’s temperant, Gu Shenghui voiced his real intent.
"Half a year!"
"Deal!"
"You trust your new subordinate that much?" After confirming the deal with a handshake, Liu Xuan asked in puzzlent.
With arms akimbo, Gu Shenghui watched Pei Yan, executing combat moves back and forth on the platform, and replied with a aningful remark: "Just like you said, after shedding its skin, let’s see whether it’s a snake or a dragon now!"
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