Lei Meng’s deep voice boomed, "By the way, Brother Qin, how did your seclusion go? What’s your life force index now? Your aura is way scarier than before. You must have made some serious progress, right?"

Xiong Yanfu immediately shot him a curious look. He leaned in and asked in a low voice, "So? How’d it go? Did you break 90?"

In their eyes, Qin Feng’s life force index was 70 before his seclusion. For it to increase by 20 points in just over a year was already an astonishing speed.

Qin Feng swallowed the beast meat in his mouth and said calmly, "One-ten."

"Oh, right, one... huh?"

Xiong Yanfu nodded subconsciously, but then it hit him. His eyes instantly bulged wide as saucers. "How... how much?!"

Lei Meng’s chewing also froze mid-motion. He stared at Qin Feng in disbelief.

"One hundred and ten," Qin Feng repeated.

"Hiss—"

Xiong Yanfu and Lei Meng both sucked in a sharp breath in unison.

The two stared at each other, seeing the thick, undeniable shock and horror mirrored in the other’s eyes.

"M-my god..."

Xiong Yanfu stammered, "Brother Qin, you... you’re not kidding, are you? One hundred and ten?! How the hell long has it even been?!"

"Forget it. Your strength is just way too far beyond ours. We were originally thinking of asking you to do a mission with us, but now... that wouldn’t be doing a mission together. That would just be you carrying us. Never mind."

Xiong Yanfu shook his head with a wry smile, his voice filled with emotion.

He had thought his and Lei Meng’s rapid progress over the past year had made them some of the best among the new students. But compared to Qin Feng now, their small improvements were barely worth mentioning.

"Sigh..."

Lei Meng also heaved a heavy sigh, setting the rack of ribs in his hand down on the table. He’d instantly lost his appetite. "Comparisons are the thief of joy."

He looked at Qin Feng, his expression complex, and said, "It’s embarrassing to say, but the two of us have also been desperately doing missions and cultivating arduously for the past year. Even so, our life force indexes just barely broke the 65-point mark." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

"We’ve both been doing missions frequently. As soon as we save up enough Contribution Points, we go into seclusion so we can calm our minds and open Acupoints."

Xiong Yanfu added, "We’re both cultivating an Acupoint Opening Method for 108 Acupoints, which is considered high-grade. So far, we’ve both managed to open eight Acupoints."

Qin Feng’s heart stirred at his words.

"I’ve also opened eight," he said.

"Sigh."

Xiong Yanfu stared at Qin Feng, his eyes full of envy. "Brother Qin, you must be cultivating one of those ultimate, Top-grade Acupoint Opening Techniques, right? The kind that requires opening 360 major Acupoints?"

Qin Feng nodded, not denying it.

"So that’s it..."

Xiong Yanfu and Lei Meng glanced at each other, seeing a glimmer of understanding in the other’s eyes, along with a deeper sense of helplessness.

"Sigh, Brother Qin, to be cultivating a Top-grade Acupoint Opening Technique and still opening Acupoints this fast... you’re truly incredible," Lei Meng said with sincere admiration.

"The ceiling for Top-grade Acupoint Opening Techniques is just too high," Xiong Yanfu remarked with a sigh. "Once all the Acupoints are opened, the final life force index you can achieve will probably be several times, maybe even ten times, higher than ours. It takes more time and the resources required are astronomical, but... in a place like Cannan Starry Sky Martial Arts University, the one thing we don’t lack is a way to get those resources."

The group chatted animatedly, the topic always revolving around strength and cultivation.

This was the norm in Canaan. Strength was the eternal, unchanging core topic.

This small get-together lasted for about thirty minutes. Just as Qin Feng was about to get up and leave, his personal terminal vibrated again.

It was a communication request from Zou Yun.

Qin Feng accepted the call.

Zou Yun’s somewhat arrogant face appeared on the holographic screen.

"Qin Feng, you’re out of seclusion?"

His tone carried a hint of pleasant surprise, but it quickly turned serious. "What’s your strength level now?"

"Life force index is one hundred and ten," Qin Feng said concisely.

Zou Yun, on the other end of the screen, was clearly stunned for a moment. Then, an incredulous gleam erupted in his eyes.

"Good! Excellent!"

He seemed extremely excited. "We have a special mission here that offers a huge amount of Contribution Points, but the personal Hard Power requirement is also extremely high! Come to the ’Dauntless’ District. We’ll talk in person!"

"Okay, I’m on my way."

Qin Feng replied crisply and ended the call.

He stood up and said to Xiong Yanfu and Lei Meng, "Something’s come up. I have to go."

"Sure, Brother Qin. Go take care of your business."

They both understood the priorities and stood up as well.

Qin Feng bid them farewell, and his figure quickly disappeared into the crowd.

...

「The "Dauntless" District.」

Cold metal and a murderous aura were the eternal themes here.

When Qin Feng’s figure appeared at the designated Assessment Point Seven, he immediately spotted Zou Yun, who was already waiting there.

Standing beside Zou Yun were two other young men dressed in black Combat Suits.

The auras of these two were clearly more condensed and heavy than Zou Yun’s.

Their gazes were as sharp as an eagle’s, their temples bulged high, and their entire bodies radiated a savage fierceness that could only be honed through countless life-and-death battles.

’They’re upperclassmen.’

’And extremely powerful ones at that.’

The moment Qin Feng took a step toward them, the expressions of the two previously indifferent upperclassmen changed almost simultaneously.

Their bodies subconsciously tensed in an instant.

An indescribable, extremely dangerous aura washed over them like an invisible tide as Qin Feng approached.

It wasn’t killing intent, but a purer sense of pressure that originated from a fundamental level of life itself.

The two upperclassmen felt the hairs on the back of their necks stand on end, and a faint, needle-like stinging sensation prickled their skin.

’It’s like having spikes at your back!’

They exchanged a look, and deep within each other’s pupils, they saw a flash of unconcealable shock and gravity.

’That guy Zou Yun... he really managed to call over an incredible expert from the new students.’

’Looks like this mission should be in the bag.’

With a simple exchange of glances, the two had already reached a consensus.