82: Chapter 82 The Extraordinary Martial Artist Fang Zhuo

On the 99th floor, in front of the High-Civilization Gravity Chamber.

Fang Zhuo took a deep breath. He intended to use multi-fold gravity to awaken his body, enter an extremely 'starving' state, and then consume the phoenix essence blood to break through to become a Transcendent Martial Artist in one go!

One portion of phoenix essence blood wasn't enough, and two portions were questionable, so what about three?

"Little Fang."

"Did you get the phoenix essence blood?"

Old Man Zhang stood with his hands behind his back, a hint of surprise appearing on his withered, sallow face.

Fang Zhuo being able to break through to Inner Sight in physical control and obtain the phoenix essence blood reward from the customized contract was within his expectations.

However, he hadn't expected it to happen so quickly.

He had originally thought that after reaching Level 34, Fang Zhuo would still need a week or two to comprehend the third level of the Thunder Fire Blade before he could break through.

Just in time for the end of the year.

"Uncle Zhang..."

Fang Zhuo called out. How did Old Man Zhang know?

His physical control had broken through to Inner Sight; only Bai Shiwei and Research Department Minister Song Qingyang knew about this. Could it be the scent wafting from the phoenix essence blood?

"Heh, I have my own channels."

Old Man Zhang chuckled, assuming the air of an expert. If he weren't wearing a martial arts uniform, and had instead put on a Taoist robe and held a horsetail whisk, he would truly look somewhat like a sage...

"You kid... not bad. Perhaps Wang Jinhua will have a rival in the future."

"Go on in. There are no appointments right now."

Old Man Zhang waved his hand.

The door of the High-Civilization Gravity Chamber opened with a boom.

"Many thanks."

Fang Zhuo strode inside. He hadn't used his 8 hours of gravity chamber time for December yet, specifically waiting for this moment.

3.9.

4.0, 4.1... 4.9!

"Straight to 5x gravity!"

Fang Zhuo gritted his teeth and adjusted the gravity coefficient directly to 5x.

If you aren't ruthless, you won't stand firm. This time, to break through to become a Transcendent Martial Artist, he had to push his body's potential to the limit; otherwise, it would be an insult to a top-tier treasure like 'phoenix essence blood'!

Once the 5x gravity was set.

The air in the room instantly became heavy, pressing down on Fang Zhuo until his scalp tingled.

"This feeling, it's intense..."

Fang Zhuo moved with difficulty, pacing a circle in the small room. After 'warming up', he spread his feet to shoulder-width, stood firm, raised his hands to chest level, and assumed the standard 'Great Dragon Stance'.

From then on, every minute and every second felt incredibly long to Fang Zhuo.

In less than an hour, his entire body was soaked, and sweat dripped 'drip, drip' from his cheeks to the floor.

...

When the time approached midnight.

Outside the High-Civilization Gravity Chamber, an appointed martial artist arrived.

Old Man Zhang straightened his back; this time slot was a 'golden time' specially arranged for the group's top management.

The elevator door on the 99th floor opened, and a tall woman with a cold temperament walked out. She was wearing a loose black martial arts uniform, and her sword-like eyebrows were slightly furrowed.

"Manager Song Min."

Old Man Zhang took the initiative to greet her, saying, "I may have to trouble you to wait a few minutes."

"I have to wait?"

Manager Song Min walked closer and asked in surprise.

This 'High-Civilization Gravity Chamber' was reserved for group management after midnight. Which newcomer had enough face to get Uncle Zhang to speak on their behalf?

"Uncle Zhang, it's not that I won't give you face, but I'm very angry right now and need to enter the gravity chamber immediately to vent... to cultivate!"

"When the time is up, open the door."

Manager Song Min's voice was cold as she stared directly at Old Man Zhang.

A few hours ago, she had been scolded by Song Qingyang, who questioned why she hadn't listened to orders and hadn't contacted Fang Zhuo. She was furious right now.

Fang Zhuo's physical control had broken through so quickly... Father wanted her to take the initiative to go find and talk to Fang Zhuo; that was absolutely impossible!

There were customized contract geniuses every year; the Research Department wasn't lacking this one.

Manager Song Min thought with an arrogant expression.

Seeing Manager Song Min's tone that brooked no negotiation, Old Man Zhang was in a difficult position. Fang Zhuo was a youngster he thought highly of, and this time Fang Zhuo had entered the gravity chamber to prepare for consuming the phoenix essence blood.

The more extreme the 'starving' state, the better the effect.

Seeing that it had been nearly four hours and Fang Zhuo still hadn't come out, he wanted to stall a bit longer, hoping it would be best if Fang Zhuo came out on his own.

"Manager Song Min, the little guy inside is Fang Zhuo, one of the two customized contract geniuses who came this year. You see..."

"Fang Zhuo?"

Manager Song Min wasn't too bothered until she heard the name, which made her even more depressed. However, she let out a soft harrumph and said, "Fine, then I'll wait."

He had just taken the contract reward and immediately entered the High-Civilization Gravity Chamber; he was clearly going to consume the phoenix essence blood!

She wanted to see how long Fang Zhuo would remain stuck before becoming a Transcendent Martial Artist after consuming the phoenix essence blood and having his Life Level soar to Level 39.

Manager Song Min crossed her arms in front of her chest and added, "The extra time will be on me."

Now Old Man Zhang was a bit surprised; he couldn't figure out what Manager Song Min was thinking.

Time passed minute by minute, and at exactly twelve o'clock.

The door of the High-Civilization Gravity Chamber slowly opened.

Fang Zhuo walked out, soaked through. His hair was clumped together in strands, and his martial arts uniform was plastered tightly against his skin, revealing his body's lines clearly.

"Old Zhang."

"Manager Song Min?"

After nodding to Old Man Zhang, Fang Zhuo looked at the curious-looking Manager Song Min. He recognized her, or rather, he had seen her photo in the group's internal organizational chart.

Starry Sky Group was the Federation's number one martial artist group and the most powerful force.

With the group's Cosmic Martial Artists being elusive and the six ministers rarely appearing, the managers of the six major departments could be considered figures with absolute real power.

Manager Song Min, Manager of the Research Department.

Seeing her in person now, Fang Zhuo suddenly found her somewhat familiar. It wasn't because he had seen her photo, but because she felt somewhat similar to Song Qingyang, whom he had seen in the video earlier.

They both had the surname Song; could these two be father and daughter?

"Hmm."

Manager Song Min looked Fang Zhuo up and down, nodded slightly, and then walked into the gravity chamber on her own.

Life Level 34; improving so quickly, yet the foundation seemed quite solid?

She thought to herself, then suddenly turned back and said, "Fang Zhuo, your talent is not bad. Cultivate well. The phoenix essence blood is precious; after consuming it, you can quickly reach Level 39, greatly shortening the time accumulated as an Advanced Martial Artist. Strive to break through the Transcendent Martial Artist bottleneck within another year."

"Many thanks, Manager Song Min."

Fang Zhuo was puzzled. He didn't know why Manager Song Min had suddenly 'given him advice', but he still thanked her respectfully.

Becoming a Transcendent Martial Artist wasn't that easy; the difficulty was extremely high, and it was in a completely different dimension from the primary, intermediate, and advanced stages.

Otherwise, Transcendent Martial Artists wouldn't have such a high status in the Federation. Back then, a single phone call from Ding Nan had moved all of Jinhe City.

For martial artists who graduated from key Martial Arts Undergraduate programs, raising their Life Level from 30 to 39 generally took 3-5 years. After accumulating at Level 39, trying to become a Transcendent Martial Artist would take another 3-5 years of bitter cultivation and accumulation.

In the end, less than half of the elite martial artists at this level succeeded.

Across the entire Federation, if you counted all the ordinary undergraduate and vocational programs, the ratio was even lower, to a terrifying degree!

Furthermore, someone as talented as Zhao Wuxie, the customized contract genius of Starry Sky Group last year, had successively consumed two portions of phoenix essence blood, hoping to break into the Transcendent Martial Artist level in just over a year, but ultimately failed.

Fang Zhuo realized that Manager Song Min's words were slightly overestimating him. Thinking back to what Song Qingyang had said earlier, this woman clearly intended to watch a joke?

Or was it tsundere, or was she unable to back down after misjudging him? They say a woman's heart is a needle at the bottom of the sea; Fang Zhuo couldn't understand Manager Song Min's true thoughts.

He just shook his head. He would succeed in becoming a Transcendent Martial Artist because he had eight portions of phoenix essence blood!

...

In the cultivation room.

Fang Zhuo pushed the door open and entered. Bai Shiwei had already returned home to prepare a 'big meal'. He hurriedly locked the door and set the smart system to 'Do Not Disturb' mode.

Only then did he stride to the center, sit cross-legged, beckon with his hand, and take out eight small jade boxes from the system space.

"Transcendent..."

"One step at a time, first reach Level 39!"

Fang Zhuo inhaled the first drop of 'phoenix essence blood'. His already 'starving' body instantly felt like a shriveled sponge meeting water.

Streams of pure source power and energy were frantically absorbed by the cells throughout his body.

Burning, itching, swelling... various strange sensations came from deep within his body.

The physical strengthening lasted less than half an hour before Fang Zhuo, utilizing the starving state brought about by the gravity chamber and the ability granted by his Innate Divine Ability 'Devour', had finished digesting the first drop of 'phoenix essence blood'.

The speed was countless times faster than Bai Shiwei's.

During this period, Fang Zhuo's aura climbed steadily, his Life Level rose bit by bit, and he suddenly rushed to Level 39.

"The breakthrough, officially begins!"

Fang Zhuo opened the second jade box.

He swallowed the second drop of phoenix essence blood. His already Level 39 body was still burned extremely uncomfortably. The phoenix essence blood transformed into the purest source power, and under the effect of his Innate Divine Ability 'Devour', it became energy bombs.

Every cell in his body was shattering and regenerating.

Transcendent, transcending the mundane. Compared to primary, intermediate, and Advanced Martial Artists, his lifespan would suddenly increase by 80 years, allowing him to live to 200 years old!

This was a qualitative change, a true leap in Life Level!

How could a breakthrough be without some pain?

"Hiss—!"

Fang Zhuo gritted his teeth so hard his lips broke, but he still couldn't help but groan. The shattering and regeneration of his entire body's cells was a kind of pain no ordinary person could endure.

If his Life Level hadn't already been 39, and his vitality hadn't already far exceeded that of ordinary people, and if he hadn't had the massive, pure energy from the phoenix essence blood...

with his cells being instantly repaired the moment they shattered, Fang Zhuo would not have doubted for a second that he would have already died.

After half an hour of agony.

Fang Zhuo's aura suddenly increased, seemingly about to cross the threshold of an Advanced Martial Artist, but at the critical moment, it stagnated.

"Still a bit short... then the third drop!"

"Transcendent, break for me!" Fang Zhuo swallowed the third drop of phoenix essence blood, his trembling body standing firm in the 'Great Dragon Stance'. As his qi and blood surged, he frantically absorbed the pure energy within his body.

His aura, which had been about to fall, immediately stabilized and surged upward with unstoppable momentum.

In that instant, every cell in Fang Zhuo's body had shattered and reshaped countless times.

"It's done..."

"Transcendent Martial Artist!"

Fang Zhuo smiled and looked at himself in the mirror. His 1.8-meter height had increased slightly; it wasn't obvious, but it could be detected.

His black martial arts uniform had long since been torn to shreds. His muscles weren't obviously bulging, but they were filled with explosive power.

His physique was perfectly sculpted, as if carved.

Fang Zhuo didn't test his punch strength first; instead, he stepped on an electronic scale.

"180kg..."

"My weight is a full 100kg heavier than before?"

Fang Zhuo was somewhat surprised. At the moment he promoted to Transcendent Martial Artist, he had felt that the density of his muscles and bones had increased significantly, but he hadn't expected the increase to be so exaggerated!