“Ding Ding!”
“Test completed. Your punching force is 805kg, and the speed is 22m/s.”
In a simple training room, Xu Zong, who had just finished his exercise, saw the test results displayed on the machine. He wiped the sweat from his cheeks, plopped down on a stool nearby, and guzzled down several gulps of a sports drink.
“My punching power just crossed 800, and the speed is over 20… I guess I’ve barely reached the threshold for advanced students.”
Xu Zong took a few deep breaths, regulating his breathing.
Based on this training progress, he should be able to become a pre-Warrior in three months.
He was quite satisfied with this result.
After all, he was only 16 this year.
To be exact, he was 15 years, 11 months, and 24 days old. His 16th birthday would be in 7 days.
He hadn’t even joined the Martial Arts School yet because there was an age limit for joining. According to the regulations, minors under 16 years old were not allowed to join!
Among the 16-year-olds who joined the Martial Arts School, ninety percent were beginners, a small portion were intermediate students, and only a very few with excellent training environments could reach the advanced level!
The training environment Xu Zong had in his life was just decent. It was far from excellent.
Under such circumstances, being able to reach the strength of an advanced student before joining the Martial Arts School was very commendable. With this strength and age, once he joined the Martial Arts School, there was an 80% chance that he could enter the “Basic Training Camp.”
“Such a pity, I still missed the major events in the early stage!”
Xu Zong sighed with regret. His gaze shifted to the LCD TV on the opposite wall. He had a habit of listening to the news while training.
It was broadcasting a funeral, a nationwide live broadcast.
The one being buried was one of the eight heroes who saved Earth from the Swallowed Star beast disaster. He was only 22 years old, had a promising future, but selflessly gave his life. He was the world’s top Mind Teacher — Luo Feng!
Of course, Luo Feng left no body behind. Even his family could only build a tomb for him. What was being broadcast on TV was just a memorial service. Nevertheless, a large number of politicians, business elites, War God masters, and powerful legislators came to mourn him. The elites from various fields that one could occasionally see walked past like a stream.
Now it was January 17, 2060.
This was the world of “Swallowed Star,” renowned in the Origin World for its vastness, precision, and the oddities that attracted attention.
The Swallowed Star beast disaster had just passed three days ago.
Just three days ago, the whole Earth was like doomsday. The scene of the Swallowed Star beasts threatening Earth and the sea monsters massively invading the land was still lingering in Xu Zong’s mind. The panic that spread across the 52 base cities and the scenes of doomsday were alike. Even he, who knew the outcome in advance, couldn’t help but feel uneasy.
Knowing and experiencing were two completely different things!
That feeling of helplessness, of handing over your life to fate and waiting for its judgment, was something no one wanted to experience a second time.
“But who made me transmigrate so late…”
A look of frustration appeared on Xu Zong’s face.
He was born in 2044, a full 6 years younger than Luo Feng!
In July 2056, when Luo Feng rose as a Warrior, Xu Zong was only 12 years old! Just graduated from primary school!
In August 2057, when Luo Feng became the overseer of the Jiangnan base city with the title of an unbeatable War God, Xu Zong had just started middle school!
By the time Luo Feng died with the Swallowed Star beasts on January 14, 2060, just three days ago, Xu Zong was still preparing for the final exams of his first semester in high school! Due to the huge casualties caused by the Swallowed Star beasts, the entire world was busy mourning and rebuilding. The final exams were forcibly cancelled by the government, so Xu Zong started his winter vacation early.
Because of the age limit of 16 in the Martial Arts School, Xu Zong couldn’t even join it now!
Moreover, he wasn’t a Mind Teacher, he couldn’t even start training!
If he had been born in the same era as Luo Feng, given his strength as an advanced student at the age of 16, he would have definitely rivaled Luo Feng’s glory — at least in the early stages!
“Ever since I knew I had arrived in the Swallowed Star world, I haven’t dared to slack off in my daily training. But due to my age, I still missed the most exciting era on Earth!”
Xu Zong slapped his cheek.
At this point, dwelling on the past wasn’t useful. The priority was to continue training hard and strive to become a Warrior as quickly as possible. Only then could he catch up with the tail of the era!
“By now, Luo Feng should have just taken over the beast known as the Swallowed Star, a golden-horned behemoth. Hong and Thunder God had to burn their souls to sleep in order to deal with the golden-horned behemoth. The other five heroes have just been buried, so I should have over a year to catch up to them!”
In two to three years, the first batch to enter the universe from Earth would be Luo Feng, Hong, and Thunder God.
Yes, in about two to three years.
The reason he could recall the previous timeline so vividly was that he had personally experienced these events, whereas the future timeline would have to rely on his memories from his previous life.
However, to be honest, he read novels for amusement and wouldn’t deliberately memorize them. Especially after so many years since he had crossed over, his memories of the Swallowed Star novel were quite vague. No matter how hard he tried to recall, there wasn’t much he could remember.
Over the years, he had written down the original memories that occasionally popped into his mind on paper. It only filled a few thin pages. Of course, to prevent exposure, he had encoded it in a way only he knew.
If he had known he would cross over, he would have definitely memorized all the plotlines and settings of the novel long ago.
Returning to the main point, if he wanted to rise in this universe as quickly as possible, he had to seize the opportunity when Luo Feng entered the universe!
Otherwise, he didn’t know how many years he would have to wait for a good opportunity to enter the universe.
This wasn’t a matter of clinging to power, but a matter of seizing opportunities!
“Since I’ve come to this world, wouldn’t it be a shame if I didn’t achieve something?”
Never mind pursuing lofty ideals like martial arts, this was a clear opportunity to gain longevity, slice through the galaxy with a wave of his hand, roam the universe, and have countless wealth, beauty, and power!
Even the laziest person wouldn’t be able to resist this temptation, right?
Xu Zong admitted that every time he thought about roaming the universe, his heart was burning with passion. He wished he could roll into the universe in a tumble!
“Keep going! At least I have to catch up with those people!”
With this thought, Xu Zong’s heart was filled with motivation again.
He had rested long enough. Xu Zong quickly got up and started a new round of training.
There wasn’t anything special about his methods, just basic exercises such as running, squatting, sit-ups, and dumbbell lifting to train his muscles.
There was no other way.
Xu Zong in this life, although not impoverished, was also not part of the upper class. He could only use these ordinary methods to train himself, as he could not afford those high-end instruments.
That being said, such training methods should not be underestimated. After all, his single-arm full force reached 805 kg. Ordinary equipment couldn’t withstand such strain! So the dumbbells he used were made from “Kro Alloy”, a material made by fusing “Blue Gold” found on the moon with metals on Earth. It was harder and heavier than diamonds and was also the main material used to create weapons for Warriors and monsters.
“Huff! Huff! Huff……116! 117!”
The hundreds of kilogram heavy dumbbells were like toys in Xu Zong’s hands, rising and falling as he squatted. Sweat flowed down his body uninterrupted, soaking his white training suit.
His muscular body tightened and relaxed again and again. Over time, his breath gradually became heavy, the strength in his body quickly drained, and a sense of soreness gradually ate into his marrow.
“One more… One more…”
It seemed as though he had reached his limit, but another push, and he reached a new limit!
Though the moment of reaching his limit was extremely tough to endure, the sensation of continuously breaking through oneself inadvertently brought about a strong sense of pleasure. It was this pleasure that entrapped Xu Zong, pushing him to endlessly pursue his limit.
Few people knew that working out could produce pleasure, similar to when solving a difficult math problem — the moment when, after racking one’s brain, you finally break through, there’s an addictive sense of satisfaction!
“Ah-ha!”
However, his spirit soon hit its limit. Just a moment of lax in thought, and his entire strength was drained in one breath, making him plop down on the ground. The dumbbell hit the floor with a loud noise.
“Huff, huff…”
Xu Zong took deep, gasping breaths, as if desperately snatching the oxygen in the air.
He flat out laid down on the ground, reveling in the rare rest period after an intense half-hour workout. His mind began to wander freely again.
At first, he did anticipate some sort of cheat code.
Later, as he couldn’t find any cheat codes, he realized that in life, no matter what, only he himself was the most reliable.
He had already worked hard in this manner for several years, essentially becoming accustomed to this intensity of training, claiming he worked harder than ninety-nine percent of his peers.
Hoping to rely on cheats was a child’s mentality. Even if one gains a strong power, they are not a true powerhouse.
As an adult like us, one must establish a powerhouse mindset, thinking, “I don’t need cheats, I alone am enough to become stronger!”
“Ding! Detected mindset matches the standard. Welcome to the ‘I Rely Only on Myself to Get Stronger’ chat group!”
“Damn it! Finally, a cheat code!”
Xu Zong excitedly sat up from the ground.
“Quick! Open the chat group! I control it with my consciousness, right?”
With a mere thought, he entered the chat group quite skillfully.
Chat group:?
Where is the promised “mindset meets the standard”?
And why are you so proficient? How many times did you practice privately？