39: Chapter 39 Sprint to Power

Wang Pingan returned to the dormitory and locked the door behind him.

He leaned against the door, his back soaked with cold sweat, the fabric clinging uncomfortably to his skin.

He gasped for breath, his heart still thumping like a drum in his chest, as if it were about to leap out of his throat.

Eighteen thousand points.

Just a scrap of iron lying there, winking and beckoning to him.

He almost couldn't help himself.

If he had just pried that thing off and pocketed it, he could have upgraded his gear instantly.

But those two deadly warnings from the system were like two buckets of ice water, chilling him to the bone from head to toe.

Core activation?

He had no doubt that if he had actually triggered an explosion, never mind a lowly Second-Rank Martial Artist like him, the entire Shen City would probably have gone up in smoke along with him in an instant.

That was a bad deal.

At least, not right now.

It took Wang Pingan a long time to suppress the lingering fear.

He walked to the bedside, sat down, and pulled up his system panel.

[pay-to-win points: 5606]

Seeing this number, his racing heart finally settled back into his chest.

Although he didn't catch the biggest fish, even a mosquito's leg is still meat.

If he spent this bit of money wisely, it would be enough to keep him going for a while.

He stared at the panel, his mind racing.

He couldn't touch his cultivation realm for the time being.

Otherwise, his persona as a "tragic genius" would collapse on the spot, fast-forwarding the plot to "Otherworldly Demon, surrender now."

That didn't leave many other places to spend his money.

His gaze fell on the martial arts column.

[Meteor Fist Technique], Perfection.

[Phantom Step], Perfection.

Attack and movement techniques were both maxed out.

But he still felt like something was missing.

Right.

He was missing a turtle shell.

A defensive shell that would allow him to stand his ground and go head-to-head with others.

He remembered the defensive martial art he had learned at the Elite Base, which sounded like it could take a real beating.

[Indestructible Vajra].

He had been stingy with this one before, only leveling it up to Mastery.

Now that he had money and confidence, he had to max it out.

"System."

He spoke in his mind, emphasizing each word.

"Upgrade [Indestructible Vajra] to Perfection!"

[To upgrade [Indestructible Vajra] to Perfection, 2000 pay-to-win points are required. Confirm?]

"Confirm!"

Buzz.

A wave of heat, thicker and hotter than any before, instantly spread through his entire body.

He felt his skin, muscles, fascia, and even his bones being frantically strengthened and compressed at a terrifying speed under the washing of this heat.

He could even hear dense, crackling sounds like beans popping coming from inside his body.

He squeezed his arm.

It felt as tough as century-old ox hide, and the muscle underneath was as hard as a lump of iron.

This defensive power...

Wang Pingan's eyes lit up, and a wild idea instantly took shape in his mind.

He mobilized the 430 cal of blood qi in his body, condensed it into his right fist, and then unhesitatingly delivered a heavy blow to his own left chest.

Bang.

A muffled thud.

He didn't even wobble.

The feeling of the fist hitting his chest wasn't like hitting flesh, but rather like striking a steel plate wrapped in thick rubber.

The moment the violent force touched his skin, it was dissipated layer by layer by an invisible, tough force, unable to harm his internal organs in the slightest.

"Holy crap, it's this strong?"

Wang Pingan himself was shocked.

In a fight from now on, he could probably just stand there and let the other guy hit him until they died of exhaustion, right?

He stretched his limbs with satisfaction, feeling a powerful sense of security radiating from the inside out.

Attack, movement, defense.

All three were maxed out.

He was now a well-rounded warrior who could fight, run, and tank.

But he still felt like something was missing.

He lacked a trump card that could seal the deal in one blow.

An extremely profound force-exertion technique that Instructor Chen Feng had explained to him during a private session came to mind.

Inch Force.

A method that could condense the entire body's strength into a single point in an instant, unleashing highly penetrative damage.

Instructor had only mentioned it briefly at the time, saying it was extremely difficult to master and required an almost abnormal level of control over one's own power.

But Wang Pingan wasn't afraid.

He had cheats.

"System, integrate the Inch Force technique into the [Meteor Fist Technique]!"

[host request detected, beginning martial art deduction...]

[Deduction complete.]

[To perfectly integrate the 'Inch Force' technique into the Perfection-level [Meteor Fist Technique], 500 pay-to-win points are required. Confirm?]

"Confirm!"

Another massive flow of information exploded in his mind.

It was no longer just simple moves and experience.

It was a deeper understanding of the application of force.

How to mobilize every muscle.

How to twist every bone.

How to push the explosive power of blood qi to the limit within the distance of an inch.

Everything became like instinct, deeply etched into his body.

He slowly threw another punch in the cramped dormitory.

It was still the starting stance of the [Meteor Fist Technique].

But the feeling of this punch was completely different from before.

If the previous Perfection-level technique perfectly condensed power into the knuckles...

...then now, this punch was taking that extreme concentration of power and compressing it even further.

He could even feel the air in front of his fist letting out an overwhelmed moan under the pressure of this invisible force.

Control at will, restrained force, penetrative lethality.

It was done.

This was the trump card he wanted.

Wang Pingan let out a long sigh and stood up from the bed.

He glanced at his balance of pay-to-win points.

[pay-to-win points: 3106]

He had spent 2,500 points, leaving a little over 3,000.

It was enough.

He stretched, feeling the power within him that was several times stronger than before, yet restrained to the extreme.

Since his spiritual power had long since broken the 50-point mark, it now flooded the entire dormitory like a tide.

He closed his eyes.

He could "hear" the Instructor on night patrol at the end of the corridor yawning softly.

He could "see" a guy in the dormitory downstairs hiding under his blanket, secretly watching scantily-clad girls dancing on the Star Net.

He could "smell" the scent of the free-floating spiritual energy molecules in the air, which had become active due to his recent cultivation.

This clear and detailed sense of control over his surroundings gave him an unprecedented surge of confidence.

He knew.

From this day forward.

He was no longer the Wang Pingan who needed a realm advantage just to compete with Lin Zhan.

Now, even if he suppressed his realm to the same level as Li Moran...

...he had absolute confidence that he could pin Li Moran to the ground and crush him repeatedly.

He walked to the mirror.

In the mirror was still that clean-cut, harmless-looking youth.

Wang Pingan grinned and slowly, inch by inch, pulled back the surging, hard-to-control aura into his body.

Tomorrow.

He could hardly wait.

He wanted Li Moran and everyone who doubted him to see clearly...

...exactly what freaking despair looked like.