74: Chapter 74: A Battle of Group Geniuses, Sparks of Inspiration

149th floor, Research Department.

"Manager, Fang Zhuo broke the record for the first floor of the 'Heaven-Reaching Tower'. In just over half a month, his Thunder Fire Blade is already at the second stage, and his combat power amplification is now 14.4 times. Are we really not going to contact him?"

The burly male secretary looked at the updated Combat Power Rankings, his worries deepening.

If this trend continued, it wouldn't be much of a problem for Fang Zhuo to master the third stage of the Thunder Fire Blade within three months. By the time his one-year training period ended, he might even have a chance of mastering the fourth stage!

If he really succeeded, his Body Control would likely break through to the Inner Sight level as well. How terrifying would his combat power amplification be then?

It might even exceed 30 times!

With another portion of phoenix essence blood, his Life Level would be at least level 38. Forget about the top ten on the Combat Power Rankings, even taking first place wouldn't be a problem.

"Are you done with your work?"

Ning Qing looked up at her secretary, her palm-sized face showing no emotion.

The burly man bowed and said, "It's all done. The research report on the King-level Exotic Beast that the Director brought back last time is out. Its blood has a chance of being used as an optimizing nutrient for the Phoenix Meat Field, and the experiment is currently underway."

"Manager, the Logistics Department and the Commercial Department have also sent people to contact Fang Zhuo. He was originally assigned to our Research Department. If Fang Zhuo breaks into the top ten of the Combat Power Rankings and chooses another department..."

"That's enough."

Ning Qing raised her hand to interrupt her secretary. "You've been with the Group for several years now. How are you still so impatient?"

"Was the momentum of last year's custom-contract genius, Zhao Wuxie, any less than Fang Zhuo's when he first joined the Group? And how did that turn out?"

"The top ten of the Combat Power Rankings is not something a newcomer can break into," Ning Qing said calmly. "Meng Fan is just an exception. You don't understand the Martial Aspect 'Zhenyue Giant Spirit'."

"You are not a combat-type talent, and you don't understand the difficulty of SS-class manuals. The difficulty of cultivating each stage of the Thunder Fire Blade increases exponentially."

The burly man was puzzled.

Ning Qing said indifferently, "It is indeed unexpected that Fang Zhuo mastered the second stage of the Thunder Fire Blade so quickly, but the third stage is not that easy to master."

"This isn't to look down on Fang Zhuo's comprehension. His comprehension is unquestionable and not inferior to other custom-contract geniuses. But after the third stage, it requires not only comprehension, but also depends on one's Life Level!"

"For the third stage of the Thunder Fire Blade, one's Life Level must be at least level 35 to have a chance of mastering it."

"This is a hard requirement. Just look at Wang Jinhua—how monstrous is his comprehension? Yet, isn't he also stuck at the sixth stage of the Thunder Fire Blade? As long as he doesn't become a Flying Martial Artist, it is impossible for him to comprehend the seventh stage of the Thunder Fire Blade."

The burly man came to a sudden realization. His Martial Aspect was the Mid-tier Martial Aspect 'Spirit Fox', and his Innate Divine Ability was very useful for analyzing the blood and meat composition of various exotic beasts.

But it was only average when it came to cultivation and combat.

So there were actually such intricacies to cultivating SS-class manuals?

But on second thought, he couldn't help but ask, "But, Manager, what if his Body Control breaks through?"

"There is indeed a chance."

Ning Qing said, "By then, he has a probability of fulfilling Condition Three and obtaining the phoenix essence blood reward. But even with all of that, it's highly unlikely he'll reach the top ten."

"When the one-year training period is up, reaching the 11th to 20th place would be his limit."

"You have to understand, among the Group's Advanced Martial Artists, there are many veterans who have been accumulating experience for five or six years. They are also geniuses, and their talent isn't much worse."

"The other departments contacting Fang Zhuo are just hoping for a fluke, wanting to get lucky. We just need to wait for the assignment at the end of the year."

Ning Qing waved her hand indifferently. "You may leave."

"Yes." Seeing the impatience on his manager's face, the burly man quickly bowed in response, grabbed the specimens and research reports on the desk, and left.

...

October 17th.

On the 80th floor of the Group's building, inside an independent cultivation room.

"Don't slouch your waist, drop your shoulders, strike even faster, and capture that sense of explosion and scorching heat when the fire burns. Yes, very good, keep going."

Fang Zhuo was teaching Bai Shiwei how to practice the Thunder Fire Blade step-by-step.

Bai Shiwei was completely drenched in sweat, her gray training suit clinging tightly to her body, fully revealing her exquisite curves.

Hearing Fang Zhuo's words, she quickly adjusted her blade-striking posture, doing it over and over again. Just as she was about to reach her limit—

A faint red blade shadow suddenly materialized where the blade passed.

"I did it!"

Bai Shiwei was overjoyed. After more than a month of hard cultivation, she had finally mastered the first stage of the Thunder Fire Blade...!

"Not bad..."

Fang Zhuo also smiled. It hadn't been easy, and seeing Bai Shiwei, who had been somewhat frustrated and depressed lately, make a breakthrough made his own mood a bit better too.

As one of the three major SS-class manuals of the Blue Moon Federation, the Thunder Fire Blade was indeed extremely difficult to cultivate.

Over the past half month or so, he had been practicing tirelessly, but the third stage of the Thunder Fire Blade had hit a bottleneck, much like how his Body Control was stuck at the perfection of Micro-Perception.

"This third stage... isn't actually a problem of comprehension. The key still lies in the Life Level. My basic speed and strength are a bit lacking, making it hard to grasp the key elements of the moves."

Fang Zhuo frowned slightly and sighed softly in his heart.

Bai Shiwei hung the wooden sword back onto the weapon rack, wiped off her sweat with a towel, and immediately leaned over when she saw Fang Zhuo's slightly troubled expression.

"Hubby~ The cultivation difficulty of the Thunder Fire Blade is indeed too high. I specially looked up some information these past few days, and it's best to practice this third stage after reaching Life Level 36."

"There's nothing wrong with your comprehension!" Bai Shiwei pumped her fist to encourage him.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Fang Zhuo reached out to tuck a strand of hair behind Bai Shiwei's ear and smiled. "Come on, let's go up and relax. There's a big battle to watch today."

Regarding the challenge between the Logistics Department and the Commercial Department last time, both sides had been negotiating over the past few days and had finally finalized it.

The stakes hadn't changed much, still 1 million civilization points and a portion of phoenix essence blood!

The Logistics Department's genius, Zhao Wuxie, and the Commercial Department's genius, Meng Fan, would decide the winner in a single battle in the Civilization Arena.

The news had already caused a huge stir.

Bai Shiwei was also aware of it. Hearing Fang Zhuo mention it, she immediately nodded her small chin. "Alright, both of them are top-tier Advanced Martial Artists in your Group."

"The secret manual they cultivate happens to be the Thunder Fire Blade as well. Watching the battle later might give you some inspiration to master the third stage!"

"Exactly what I was thinking."

Fang Zhuo smiled. He had exactly this plan in mind; as the saying goes, other stones can be used to polish jade!

"As expected of us, we really are on the same wavelength~"

Bai Shiwei beamed, two shallow dimples appearing at the corners of her mouth.

...

Group building, 201st floor.

This floor had been converted into a massive viewing area. The venue was spherical, with a giant 3D screen standing in the center.

Right now, it was broadcasting the scene from the Civilization Arena.

Many people were already seated inside the venue, mostly Intermediate and Advanced Martial Artists, along with the family members of the Group's martial artists, all here to watch the excitement.

Bai Shiwei excitedly pulled Fang Zhuo into the venue.

"Hurry, Hubby~"

"It's about to start!" Bai Shiwei's beautiful eyes swept across the screen in the center of the venue, and she quickly urged him.

The two of them quickly walked into the viewing area and found empty seats in the back row to sit down.

Civilization Arena.

The surrounding spectator stands were already packed with martial artists, almost all of whom were Advanced Martial Artists, each full of energy and bearing an extraordinary aura.

Amidst the dense crowd, Fang Zhuo caught sight of two familiar figures: his father-in-law, Bai Qiming, and Ding Shixun's father, Ding Xu!

He had only seen photos of Ding Xu before, but looking at him now through the Group's immersive 3D broadcast, Ding Xu looked seventy percent like Ding Shixun.

However, his expression was more resolute, and his face looked as if it had been carved by a chisel. He was much more masculine than in the photos he had seen before, with a faint, chilling aura of slaughter about him.

Was it mostly honed in the Wilderness Area?

Fang Zhuo was deep in thought but didn't pay it too much mind. His current target was Ding Nan; this Transcendent Martial Artist was his biggest and most dangerous enemy.

He focused his attention on the Civilization Arena.

Zhao Wuxie was dressed in black, his temperament gentle and refined. He didn't look like a martial artist, but more like a university student.

"Brother Meng, please guide me!"

Opposite him, Meng Fan was dressed in a pure white training suit. Holding his blade with one hand, he didn't reply, but simply raised his hand and slashed out fiercely.

*Crack!*

Fang Zhuo's ears twitched as he clearly heard the sound of sparks bursting.

The third stage of the Thunder Fire Blade!

It was as if he had grasped onto something; his eyes didn't blink once as he stared intently at the two in the Civilization Arena.