197: Chapter 197: Combat Power Increased by 355.2 Times

"Hahaha~"

Beside the dining table, Fang Dawei and the others burst into laughter.

Li Ru laughed, "Our little Bai is truly smart. It hasn't even been two months, and he already recognizes people. Fang Zhuo isn't home often, so he probably finds his face unfamiliar and doesn't want to stay with him."

"Little sister Yue is actually the same, except she is exceptionally close to Fang Zhuo. Every time she sees Fang Zhuo, she actively asks to be held."

Xu Xue chimed in.

Bai Shiwei wore a warm smile, silently watching Fang Zhuo holding their daughter on the balcony.

After the family finished eating.

Fang Zhuo walked over holding Fang Yue and looked at his father-in-law, Bai Qiming, "Dad, have you reached Perfection in Body Control yet?"

Reaching Perfection in Body Control was a necessary condition for attempting a Breakthrough to Transcendent.

His father-in-law's Life Level had reached Level 39 for over a year now. After entering the Thunder Fire Small World to cultivate, he didn't know if he had digested his insights yet.

If possible, Fang Zhuo hoped he could help his father-in-law also become a Transcendent Martial Artist.

"Still a little short..."

Bai Qiming felt a bit embarrassed. His son-in-law had given him quite a few resources, especially the cultivation spots for the Thunder Fire Small World.

Yet, so much time had passed, and he still hadn't been able to elevate his Body Control to Perfection.

He really felt ashamed to have wasted these resources.

"No rush. Here, take these few stone milk crystals. Once you reach Perfection in Body Control, try to make the Breakthrough to Transcendent."

Fang Zhuo handed several stone milk crystals to his father-in-law.

"This... it's too valuable!"

Bai Qiming's pupils constricted slightly. He looked at the stone milk crystals in Fang Zhuo's hand with a covetous gaze. As a veteran Advanced Martial Artist who had spent years in the Jianghu of Origin Star, he certainly recognized stone milk crystals!

A single piece was worth billions of federation currency! Even the most impressive Advanced Martial Artist would find it hard to earn that in a lifetime, unless they had incredible luck and found a great treasure in the Wilderness Area.

As a grassroots Advanced Martial Artist, it was usually impossible to have the opportunity to consume stone milk crystals to attempt a Breakthrough.

"It's not too valuable. I have quite a few dividends from the group now, so there's plenty. Dad, you take them. If you break through to become a Transcendent Martial Artist, I can rest easy when I'm not at home."

Fang Zhuo smiled and pressed the stone milk crystals into Bai Qiming's hand.

"Fang Zhuo is giving them to you, so just take them."

Xu Xue, who was watching from the side, also had her eyes widened and quickly urged him.

"Then... thank you very much."

Bai Qiming accepted them as if he had obtained a precious treasure, "Rest assured, from now on, whenever the family goes out, I will accompany them."

"Good, I'll have to trouble you, Dad."

After Fang Zhuo finished arranging this matter, he spent some time with his daughter before consuming his second thunder-fire source crystal of the day in the cultivation room.

After absorbing and digesting it, he headed straight to the Bamboo Forest Martial Arts Dojo to begin intensive training on the Secret Manual, Thunder Fire Blade, and to comprehend the ninth layer.

...

In the blink of an eye, half a year passed.

In the morning, Fang Zhuo practiced the secret technique Jade Shatter Divine Annihilation; in the afternoon, he improved his Body Control; and in the evening, he comprehended the Secret Manual, Thunder Fire Blade.

During this time, he lived at home and was able to accompany his family every day, especially watching the two children grow up day by day, with changes that were particularly obvious.

The 130-plus thunder-fire source crystals had also long since been exhausted.

Fang Zhuo's Body Control and his practice of the Secret Manual, Thunder Fire Blade, were both at a stage where they were just one step away from a Breakthrough.

On this day, there wasn't a single cloud in the sky, and it was a clear, boundless day.

"Little Yue, be good, say Daddy." Before leaving to cultivate, Fang Zhuo hugged his daughter, Fang Yue.

"Da-da~"

Fang Yue fluttered her big eyes and called out indistinctly.

"Mm, Little Yue is amazing."

Fang Zhuo grinned.

"Honey, hurry to the cultivation room. Little Yue has already called out a dozen times." Bai Shiwei took their daughter from Fang Zhuo's arms with some helplessness.

This husband of hers would surely become a daughter-slave sooner or later.

As for Fang Zhibai, he was likely to receive Fang Zhuo's iron fists in the future.

As Bai Shiwei was thinking this, a cool breeze of early autumn blew in. She shivered for no reason, and her worry about the Civilization Assessment surfaced in her heart once again.

Unknowingly, the Civilization Assessment was already approaching. Could the federation safely pass it?

"Shi Wei, don't worry, I'm here."

Fang Zhuo gently patted Bai Shiwei's shoulder. As an old married couple, he could tell Bai Shiwei's worry with just one look.

"...Mm, I believe in you, honey."

Bai Shiwei held eight-month-old Fang Yue, gently rocking her back and forth, while looking up slightly at Fang Zhuo with soft eyes.

...

In the cultivation room.

After entering, Fang Zhuo strode into the wooden dummy area and shouted in a low voice, "Activate Heaven-Reaching Perfection Body Control training!"

A 'beep' sound came from the console. The next second, 48 specially made wooden dummies agilely sprang out, forming a formation to hunt down Fang Zhuo, who was standing in the center.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Fang Zhuo dodged left and right, his figure flickering unpredictably, evading several consecutive strikes from the wooden dummy formation.

"The feeling today is quite good!"

While moving and shifting, the Life Core in Fang Zhuo's Sea of Consciousness maintained only the lowest rotation speed, providing no gravity. He relied purely on the strength of his Physical Body and his Body Control.

The specially made wooden dummies connected their attacks tightly. Although Fang Zhuo could dodge every time, he was gradually forced into a corner, and the space available for maneuvering became smaller and smaller.

"Is it still lacking a bit...?"

Fang Zhuo retreated step by step into the corner, the cold wall behind him making him frown slightly.

'Whoosh'

At this moment, the two wooden dummies that were relentlessly chasing him from directly in front swung their arms flexibly, striking at Fang Zhuo from the left and right, while other wooden dummies waited above and below to seal his path.

"There's no way to avoid it, unless I use my flying ability, jump straight up and fly to the left... or if my Body Control reaches Heaven-Reaching Perfection, allowing me to borrow force in the air to maneuver to the left!"

As his thoughts raced, Fang Zhuo had already jumped up.

With a 'whoosh', a wooden dummy that had been waiting to block him in front also jumped up simultaneously, swinging its fist toward Fang Zhuo's face.

"This is it... Got it!"

While in the air, feeling the fist wind blowing in his face, Fang Zhuo grasped the insight that had long been separated by only a thin layer.

"Heaven-Reaching Perfection!"

As his body relaxed and tightened, the flow of air in the air changed drastically. Fang Zhuo felt as if a hand were pushing his right waist.

His whole body shifted lightly to the left, barely dodging the punch from the wooden dummy in front.

"Hahaha, finally succeeded!"

After landing, Fang Zhuo felt his body become a few degrees lighter, and his strength flowed through his body as smoothly as if it were controlled by his own fingers.

"Body, mind, Qi, and strength integrated as one; is this the feeling of Heaven-Reaching Perfection?"

The wooden dummy formation changed and surrounded him again, but it could no longer cause Fang Zhuo any trouble. Fang Zhuo was like a slippery fish.

With Body Control at Heaven-Reaching Perfection, his combat power increased by 48 times, and his explosive power and flexibility were greatly improved!

After adapting to the Heaven-Reaching Perfection Body Control for a moment, he excitedly rushed out of the wooden dummy area and headed straight for the Bamboo Forest Martial Arts Dojo.

Now, with less than five months left until the Civilization Assessment, the Martial Arts Arena was already vacant, and Jiang Chen and Takeuchi Reina had also left one after another to go to Origin Star.

These two were squeezed in with Wang Jinhua, taking turns using the High-Civilization Gravity Chamber every day.

These three occasionally asked about Fang Zhuo in the seeds' group chat, asking about the progress of his Body Control and Secret Manual practice, but never mentioned themselves again.

'Rustle—'

In the autumn breeze carrying a hint of chill, the bamboo forest rustled in the sky.

Fang Zhuo strode onto the bamboo forest path, rushed straight into the Martial Arts Arena, and struck the drum with the hilt of his blade, producing a strange drum sound like the roar of a Dragon-Elephant.

"Slash!"

Over the past six months, the Thunder Fire Blade ninth layer, which had already been just one step away, suddenly grasped the key in this moment of peerless, sharp-witted state of mind.

A sky full of fiery red blade shadows appeared.

Fang Zhuo felt the blade itself getting hot, and Saber Qi erupted, following the blade shadows, slashing forward.

Rumble!

Thunder Fire Blade, ninth layer!

After the Saber Qi flew out of the Martial Arts Arena, its power remained undiminished, continuously chopping down a large area of the bamboo forest, with bamboo leaves and dust flying in the sky.

"Good! After the dual Breakthrough of Body Control and the Secret Manual, my combat power has now increased by 355.2 times... If I use the Divine Ability 'Flame', as long as the opponent is still a Flying Martial Artist, I should have the strength to fight them, right?"

Fang Zhuo let out a long breath and sheathed his blade. He planned to find Minister Chu Jiang for a spar in a few days to test the limits of his combat power.

"However, there are still more than four months left. This Secret Manual obtained from the stage-up return, Jade Shatter Divine Annihilation, is only just barely at the entry level now, and its difficulty exceeds my expectations. I wonder if I can master it by the time of the assessment."