68: Chapter 68 Research Department, Unrest in the Wilderness

"The first stage A trial has been passed. First-time completion, 100,000 federation currency reward has been issued."

"First stage B trial, time limit 3 minutes, kill one Level 34 exotic beast Iron-Back Bear. Do you accept the challenge?"

"Yes."

After Fang Zhuo confirmed with his mind.

The original desert scene shifted again, turning into a cliffside. The Green Barbarian Ox that had previously been hacked into pieces also disappeared.

At the edge of the cliff, an exotic beast Black-Back Bear, standing over three meters tall, was beating its chest and letting out a low roar.

Seeing Fang Zhuo, it immediately rushed over with red eyes.

Rumble! The ground shook incessantly.

"Its speed is slightly slower than a Level 34 Life Level martial artist, but its base strength should be nearly double?" Fang Zhuo's eyes narrowed slightly as he quickly made his judgment.

This exotic beast Black-Back Bear's base strength should exceed 60,000kg!

If it were an ordinary Level 30 martial artist, it would truly be difficult to pass.

However, Fang Zhuo's Body Micro-Control was at perfection, and his physical explosive power was even greater than the Black-Back Bear's, so he naturally had nothing to fear. He didn't move his feet and raised his hand to strike.

Thunder Fire Blade, First Layer!

A pale red blade shadow flashed by, and the Black-Back Bear was decapitated, crashing heavily to the ground with a 'boom'.

"First stage B trial passed. First-time completion, 100,000 federation currency reward has been issued."

"First stage C trial, 5 Level 32 exotic beast Wind Wolves refresh every minute. Requirement: Survive for half an hour. Do you accept the trial? Note: Each time the Wind Wolves are cleared, you can choose to refresh the next wave of Wind Wolves early!"

"...Hmm?"

Fang Zhuo didn't confirm immediately this time. 5 Level 32 exotic beast Wind Wolves every minute... If one's combat power isn't enough to finish the fight quickly and kill them all within a minute.

The exotic beast Wind Wolves will gather in increasing numbers... Theoretically, there could be over a hundred Wind Wolves present at once, surrounding the challenger.

Of course, the premise is that the challenger's movement technique is good enough, or that they are thick-skinned enough to hold out until the end.

This rule... To pass the trial, one must continuously kill the exotic beast Wind Wolves, clearing one wave after another; that is the best-case scenario.

This is extremely difficult for Level 30–34 martial artists, unless their Body Control has reached the perfection of Micro-Control, and they have no shortcomings in explosive power, endurance, or movement technique.

"It seems that the three stages of testing on each floor of the Heaven-Reaching Tower focus on 'group combat burst', 'single-target assault', and 'endurance and resilience' respectively."

Recalling the three stages of the first floor's trial, Fang Zhuo had a realization in his heart and said: "Accept."

With his strength, passing this first floor wasn't a problem, but breaking the record would be difficult, after all, his Life Level was only 30.

And the first floor is open to challenges from Level 30–34 martial artists.

Level 34 martial artists still far exceeded him in terms of base strength and speed.

The trial began. Light and shadow converged, and after the 5 Wind Wolf exotic beasts materialized, they rushed rapidly toward Fang Zhuo.

Facing Fang Zhuo in his prime state, this first wave of Wind Wolves was completely slaughtered in less than thirty seconds.

Fang Zhuo did not choose to refresh the next wave immediately, but instead chose to rest and recover his energy.

One wave per minute. As time passed, Fang Zhuo felt increasingly strained. His blade swings slowed down slightly, and the time taken to kill the five Wind Wolves grew longer and longer.

By the final wave, he barely managed to finish killing them in the fifty-ninth second.

"First stage C trial passed. First-time completion, 100,000 federation currency reward has been issued."

"Second stage A trial, time limit ten minutes, kill ten Level 37 Saber-Toothed Tigers. Do you accept?"

"No."

Fang Zhuo opened his eyes and stood up from the ground. He was panting heavily, feeling mentally exhausted.

"Life Level 30 is still a bit of a stretch... If I were Level 34, no, even if I were Level 32, it would be enough to easily crush them!"

"But it's not bad either. I passed smoothly and got a 300,000 reward."

Fang Zhuo logged into the group's website and looked through the records for the full clearance of the first floor of the 'Heaven-Reaching Tower'.

First place, Zhou Zeyu, time taken 5 minutes 12 seconds.

Second place, Meng Fan, time taken 5 minutes 24 seconds.

"These two people look familiar, they are in the top ten of the group's advanced group combat power leaderboard... Let's see what rank Brother Wang is?" Fang Zhuo pondered as he scrolled down.

It took a long time to find it.

986th place, Wang Jinhua, time taken 21 minutes 28 seconds.

"So mediocre?"

Fang Zhuo stroked his chin: "It seems Brother Wang wasn't very eye-catching when he was an Advanced Martial Artist; he belongs to the late bloomer type."

He scrolled down for a long time again and found himself near the 2,000th place.

"Fortunately, in this position, I can be considered uniquely 'dazzling'."

Nothing else, the other martial artists on the leaderboard for this first floor were all uniformly Level 34 in Life Level; only he was an eye-catching Level 30.

"Time to go back and go into seclusion."

"Recently, I will focus on the secret manual 'Thunder Fire Blade', striving to master the second layer as soon as possible, then aim for the third layer, and subsequently try to break through the realm of Body Control."

"Of course, during this period, I must also find time to temper my physical body and raise my Life Level!"

Fang Zhuo's expression was firm as he strode out of the 'Heaven-Reaching Tower'.

Starry Sky headquarters building, 149th floor.

Research Department.

"Manager, is there really no need to talk to Fang Zhuo, the talent with the custom-level contract that the group recently signed?" A burly man asked with a respectful expression.

He kept his head lowered, not daring to look directly at the woman behind the desk.

"No need. When the six ministers held the roundtable meeting and decided to offer him the custom contract, the distribution was already settled."

"Fang Zhuo's Superior Martial Aspect has never appeared in the Blue Moon Federation, his Innate Divine Ability is unknown, and his comprehension is also quite good; coming to our Research Department is the most appropriate."

The woman raised her head slightly, revealing an exquisite face, only the size of a palm. She said indifferently: "This was decided by the Minister's efforts."

"But what if he breaks into the top ten of the combat power leaderboard after his training period ends?"

The burly man was a bit anxious: "I heard that people from the Supervision Department already went to contact Fang Zhuo yesterday. This is an attempt to steal our person!"

"They won't. Fang Zhuo's Life Level is rising extremely fast; the Innate Divine Ability bestowed by his Martial Aspect is likely related to cultivation."

This female manager of the Research Department adjusted her glasses and shook her head: "His comprehension is good, and his combat power is outstanding, but it is impossible to break into the top ten of the combat power leaderboard in one year."

"But... what about Meng Fan?"

The burly man retorted. It is difficult for newcomers to break into the top ten, and it hasn't really happened before, but a freak appeared this year.

One can't guarantee that Fang Zhuo won't be the second one.

If such a talent who is extremely suited for the Research Department were snatched away by the Supervision Department, wouldn't they regret it deeply then?

"Meng Fan is different. His Martial Aspect 'Zhenyue Giant Spirit' has an Innate Divine Ability born specifically for slaughter, providing too great an additional boost to combat power. They cannot be compared in the same breath."

Seeing that her secretary still wanted to say something, the woman's small face immediately showed displeasure. She waved her hand and said: "That's enough. If you have time, do more work. The Minister brought back another King-level Exotic Beast corpse the day before yesterday."

"Analyze the results as soon as possible and see if we can optimize the nutrients for the 'Phoenix Meat Field'. Recently, the supply of phoenix essence blood has become increasingly tight."

"If the two talents with custom contracts signed this year both meet condition three, the 'phoenix essence blood' inventory will truly hit rock bottom."

"...Yes!"

Seeing that his manager's tone was impatient, the burly man had to swallow his words.

September 21st.

On this day, there was no daylight on Origin Star. The entire Starry Sky Base City was gloomy. In both the inner and outer city areas, the martial artists on the road all had miserable and worried expressions.

Starry Sky Group building, 80th floor.

In the cultivation room, Fang Zhuo was practicing the second layer of the Thunder Fire Blade. As the blade slashed, the qi flow was faintly agitated, emitting a 'crackle' sound.

The red blade shadow was clearly visible.

"Almost there... At most no more than a week." Fang Zhuo sheathed his blade and murmured, a hint of a smile appearing on his face.

"Husband~ You are really too fast. It's only been a few days, and you've almost mastered the second layer!"

Bai Shiwei handed over a clean sweat towel, pouting as she sighed: "Yet I haven't even managed to master the first layer."

"It's okay, take your time."

"Your Life Level is only Intermediate Martial Artist, it's normal to be a bit slow." Fang Zhuo comforted her.

Just then, Bai Shiwei lowered her head to look at her wristband, then said with a worried expression: "Last night, a King-level Exotic Beast appeared in the B12 Wilderness Area. The news says that many intermediate and Advanced Martial Artists were affected, and dozens of people died."