161: Chapter 161 The Doubts of the Three Major Martial Arts Groups, Fang Zhuo's Escape to the Universe?

Meanwhile.

Beside the Bamboo Forest Martial Arts Arena, lights flickered on in many rooms within the New Moon Group headquarters building.

On the 120th floor, in a certain luxurious suite.

Takeuchi Reina sat up in bed, startled. Barefoot, she paced to the window, gazing intently at the nearby Bamboo Forest Martial Arts Arena.

"Thunder Fire Blade, the Seventh Stage...!"

As a Flying Martial Artist with a Life Level of 57, Takeuchi Reina had long since mastered the seventh stage of the Sky Light Flash, and she was well-versed in the eighth stage as well.

She was currently comprehending the ninth stage.

Since the Thunder Fire Blade was also one of the three great Secret Manuals, she often used it for comparison and reference, so she was no stranger to the seventh stage of the Thunder Fire Blade.

Just by hearing the sound of the blade, even without seeing Fang Zhuo swing it with her own eyes, she could be certain that he had mastered the seventh stage of the Thunder Fire Blade.

That is excellent!

A rare smile appeared on Takeuchi Reina's cold, aloof face.

With this, the Transcendent battle in the Civilization Assessment would have great competitiveness, and Fang Zhuo would have a strong chance of winning.

The pressure on the Flying Martial Artist battle and the Cosmic Martial Artist battle would also be reduced.

Takeuchi Reina took out her phone and composed several messages in the seed exchange group.

Takeuchi Reina: October 29, 569, 4:12 AM. Fang Zhuo of the Blue Moon Federation, with a Transcendent body, has mastered the seventh stage of the Thunder Fire Blade. Let us all strive together!

Takeuchi Reina: For the Blue Moon Federation Civilization Assessment!

Takeuchi Reina: Blue Moon Martial Artists will never be slaves!

New Moon Group headquarters building, 25th floor.

In a certain large apartment, Takeuchi Miko and Ling Qi woke up simultaneously. Dressed only in their undergarments, they walked together to the window.

"Senior Sister!"

"What happened at the Martial Arts Arena?"

Ling Qi rubbed her eyes, looking puzzled.

The thunderous sound from just a moment ago had faintly carried a noise similar to an explosion of gunpowder.

"Is this... the sound of the Thunder Fire Blade, the Seventh Stage?"

Takeuchi Miko was unsure and immediately shook her head: "That shouldn't be. Fang Zhuo is only a Transcendent Martial Artist. Even with high Comprehension Ability, it's impossible to master a Flying-level Secret Manual Move in just half a year."

"Thunder Fire Blade, the Seventh Stage?"

Ling Qi exclaimed.

Senior Sister suspects Fang Zhuo mastered the seventh stage of the Thunder Fire Blade?

"This... the Group suspended the Martial Arts Arena for internal use. It's one thing that they've been letting Senior Sister Reina use it for the past half year, but they've also let Fang Zhuo from the Starry Sky Group use it for so long, just to let a competitor master the seventh stage of the Thunder Fire Blade?"

"I'm not sure."

Takeuchi Miko also frowned.

Half a year ago, the New Moon Group issued a notice that the Martial Arts Arena was suspended, with the Cosmic Martial Artist claiming it was for maintenance. In reality, it had been Takeuchi Reina and Fang Zhuo using it the entire time.

Over the past half year, the matter had fermented within the Group, sparking constant heated discussions both openly and privately.

The Martial Artists had various opinions, and most expressed dissatisfaction.

"Senior Sister, why do you think Director Zhao won't explain? Although with the strength and prestige of a Cosmic Martial Artist, she could force it down, everyone's resentment is already very strong!"

"If this news is true, I'm afraid it might not be a good thing for Fang Zhuo. The hot-headed Flying Martial Artists in the Group might end up trying to trip him up."

Ling Qi analyzed it logically, then sighed: "Sigh, it's been half a year. I haven't used the Martial Arts Arena for half a year! Now everyone has accumulated dozens of hours of usage time. When the Martial Arts Arena reopens, won't we have to queue until next year?"

Takeuchi Miko was silent for a moment, then said gently: "Actually, it's not just within our Group. The Future Group and the Starry Sky Group are the same; their high-level civilization Martial Aspect instruments and gravity chambers have also been suspended."

"Ah?"

Ling Qi adjusted her shoulder strap.

"You, you only care about training. You don't touch any outside news or interact with people. Aren't you afraid of training yourself into a fool?"

Takeuchi Miko rolled her eyes at her Junior Sister: "Just like the Martial Arts Arena, the Martial Aspect instruments and gravity chambers of the other two groups are now being used alternately by Wang Jinhua and Jiang Chen."

"The Martial Artists in those two groups can't use them either. It's not just you newcomers; we Transcendent ones, and even the Group's middle and high-level managers and department heads, are no exception!"

"There's such a thing!"

Ling Qi's sleepiness completely vanished: "Senior Sister, do you think the Three Great Warrior Groups are doing this to cultivate a few Cosmic Martial Artists as quickly as possible?"

Other than that, there seems to be no other explanation.

Jiang Chen of the Future Group, Wang Jinhua and Fang Zhuo of the Starry Sky Group, and Takeuchi Reina of her own group—in terms of talent, they are indeed the four strongest individuals of the current Blue Moon Federation.

"Perhaps..."

Takeuchi Miko's gaze was deep. As she looked toward the Bamboo Forest Martial Arts Arena, she suddenly fell into silence.

More than two months ago, they were opponents competing on the same stage at West Sea Island. Now, they are striving toward becoming Cosmic Martial Artists?

"Finally mastered it..."

Inside the Bamboo Forest Martial Arts Arena, Fang Zhuo let out a long sigh, then quickly composed his emotions. The Moves for the eighth stage of the Thunder Fire Blade appeared in his mind.

He took a step forward, and amidst the falling leaves, he swung his blade, swung again, and swung once more!

"In the remaining year and a half, on one hand, I must try to master the eighth stage of the Thunder Fire Blade! On the other hand, I must focus on Body Tempering, integrate civilization points, and condense the Source Pattern Flowers faster!"

Fang Zhuo continued to swing his blade, his thoughts remarkably clear.

In his Sea of Consciousness, the embryonic Life Core slowly circled. The surface, which had originally been rough, now appeared to have a more delicate texture.

When he departed from the Starry Sky Group for New Moon five months ago, there was only one 'Source Pattern Flower' on the surface of the Life Core. Now, there are six more.

"If it were a medium-grade Life Core, I could probably condense it successfully in another two or three months!"

This speed was very fast, more than twice as fast as Wang Jinhua's, but Fang Zhuo could not be happy, because the high-grade Life Core he needed to condense required 81 flowers.

Calculating the progress, it was barely 7/81.

"Right, now that over 8.64 million civilization points have been completely integrated into my body, the speed at which the 'Source Pattern Flowers' form seems to have slowed down a bit?"

Fang Zhuo looked thoughtful and suddenly stopped swinging his blade.

"The civilization points one possesses also have a bonus effect on the cultivation of condensing the Life Core!"

"This is not hard to imagine... I have been too focused on practicing the Thunder Fire Blade over the past half year. The pressure of the Civilization Assessment battle is still too great."

"In that case, I can have a good chat with the Group's Commercial Department manager about cooperation. I can cooperate with filming advertisements, but everything must be settled in civilization points!"

"Also, I can borrow some civilization points from various departments. With Shi Wei's returns, if you borrow and repay, it's not hard to borrow again!"

"Besides getting the remaining 5 million points needed to condense the high-grade Life Core, what if I get an extra 10 or 20 million? If I get an extra 200 or 300 million civilization points through Shi Wei's returns, how much will the speed of condensing the 'Source Pattern Flowers' increase?"

"During the Civilization Assessment, it would be best to condense all 81 flowers so I can break through to a Flying Martial Artist at any time. At critical moments, I could even use 750 grams of red jellyfish fluid to push for the Peak of the Flying Martial Artist level, or even reach the Cosmic Martial Artist level?!"

Fang Zhuo took a deep breath.

Even if he were guaranteed to win the Civilization Assessment a year and a half from now, it would only be one victory for the Blue Moon Federation. As for the outcomes of the remaining Flying Martial Artist battle and the Cosmic Martial Artist battle, that was not something he could control.

If, by some chance, the Blue Moon Federation lost both of those battles.

The civilization would be downgraded to a primary level one, and the seven stars of the Federation would be purchased by powerful beings in the Universe, becoming slave planets.

At the very least, he would still have a fallback plan: to break through to the Cosmic Martial Artist level in a short time and roam the Universe with his family.

Otherwise, at only the Transcendent or Flying level, even if he managed to acquire a space adventure ship from the Group and take his family away from the Blue Moon Federation, how could they gain a foothold and survive in the vast Universe?