96: Chapter 97: 132x multiplier!

Lu Chen took a bath.

He wore a brand new black shirt.

He took the elevator down to the dining hall.

The long, massive table was already filled with people.

His parents, Luo Nianwei, Luo Nianyin, and Shen Ci.

Various uncles and aunts.

And cousins of all ages.

His grandfather, grand-uncles, and Great-Grandfather sat at the very front.

Quietly.

Exuding a silent authority.

Lu Chen walked forward.

He greeted everyone present respectfully.

Lu Daohong smiled and beckoned to him.

"Come, sit by me. From today on, this is your seat, until you are ready to succeed me as the head of the Family."

Lu Chen tilted his head.

He smiled gently.

"Great-Grandfather, I hope you will always be the head of the Family."

Lu Daohong immediately laughed.

"Ah, that silver tongue of yours is truly something."

They then enjoyed a sumptuous breakfast together.

The entire hall was filled with laughter and cheerful conversation.

After breakfast.

The household staff began preparations for the grand banquet to be held at the estate tonight.

The event had been widely publicized.

It was expected that major forces from the entire A-1 Base City and other regions.

Any influential organization of note would send representatives to attend.

This would be the most extravagant and largest gathering ever hosted by the Lu Family.

But compared to yesterday's Family dinner.

Lu Chen didn't feel much anticipation for it.

He returned to the training room.

Ignoring the clamor outside.

He activated his Soul Skill, Max Level Comprehension.

And began practicing the Ten Directions Annihilation Sword.

As his understanding of this sword technique gradually deepened.

The time required for a Breakthrough in the Ten Directions Annihilation Sword grew longer.

Even with the Soul Skill of Max Level Comprehension.

It was still impossible to achieve it in one go.

Three hours later.

Sweat had soaked his clothes.

Lu Chen suddenly had an epiphany.

Feeling the final obstacle blocking the bottleneck vanish.

His expression remained calm.

He continued practicing unhurriedly.

An hour later.

With the sound of a familiar notification!

[Ding, Ten Directions Annihilation Sword has broken through to the fifth layer.]

Lu Chen slowly let out a breath.

A sharp aura seemed to flash across his body for an instant.

Then it settled into calmness.

With the Ten Directions Annihilation Sword breaking through to the fifth layer.

His power increased by 12 times.

Not counting elemental bonuses.

His total base power multiplier now reached 132 times.

His theoretical Peak combat power soared to 396.16 million tons.

—Surpassing the base power of 360 million tons for a B-rank ninth-layer warrior.

Lu Chen sheathed his sword.

Tonight wouldn't be just about attending a banquet for him.

He would make any Genius who dared challenge him feel fear and despair.

He would etch his name into the minds of everyone in attendance.

Afterwards, he sat quietly in the center of the training hall.

Golden sunlight pierced through the skylight overhead.

Falling upon his pristine training uniform.

His breathing was slow.

A rhythm of expansion and contraction.

Extremely measured.

But with every exhalation.

It was like a muffled thunderclap on flat ground.

Stirring up a gust of wind in the room.

At this moment, his mind was clear.

Various thoughts rose and fell in his mind.

He examined his own gains and losses.

Countless thoughts gradually converged.

Forming a single notion.

—His power was too immense.

This was a fortunate burden.

With such formidable power.

A single sword strike could cleave mountains and part waves.

Not to mention Human Race warriors.

Slaying monsters of the same Realm or even higher Realms was as easy as slaughtering dogs or chickens.

Often, with a single swing of his sword.

The battle would end before it even began.

However.

While this kind of instant, unsurprising, one-hit kill was clean and efficient.

It offered no help whatsoever to his own combat skills.

It was not the path of a warrior as he envisioned it.

The path of a warrior he yearned for.

Was not merely about killing enemies.

It was about that kind of heart-pounding, adrenaline-fueled, evenly matched, flesh-and-bone combat.

It was about the insights and afterglow brought by the sublimation of combat will, combat skill, and combat spirit.

Only then could he fully unleash all his potential.

And better pursue his life evolution.

If he continued to rely on his sword Dao to crush everything before him.

Continuing to stack dozens, even hundreds of times more power multipliers.

He would never experience the satisfaction of pouring out everything, wringing dry every last ounce of his potential.

He would never feel that subtle sublimation of pushing himself to new heights after a hard-fought victory against a worthy opponent.

He would never truly feel the joy inherent in a warrior's cultivation.

He needed something else.

Something long-term, something that could truly unlock his astonishing potential.

A unique combat style, one befitting the sole heir of the Lu Family.

His gaze fell upon the rows of training dummies lined up against the far wall.

These high-tech, metal-forged human models could withstand tremendous force.

Their surfaces were covered with shallow indentations.

Marks left by past trainees.

He could imagine how easily he could cleave them in two with a single sword strike.

But that would be meaningless.

He clenched his fist.

The sword should not be used here.

This would be disrespectful.

Not just to himself.

But also to the sovereign of all weapons.

He wanted to rely on his own true strength.

To face the challenges sent by hostile Families and forces lurking in the shadows.

At tonight's banquet.

They would inevitably test him.

They would use any possible means to provoke, probe, and gauge his strength.

Lu Chen smiled faintly.

Then he would use them for a trial run.

When the time came.

He wouldn't use his sword.

He would use his own two hands to receive them.