When Luo Feng found Wei Wen, he was on the second floor of the training hall, casually practicing his Thunderblade Technique.
At first glance, Wei Wen's movements seemed informal, but Luo Feng's eyes narrowed. He stood silently, observing closely. The strikes bore a resemblance to the Ninefold Thunderblade, a foundational combat technique Luo Feng had long studied.
"It feels like the Ninefold Thunderblade… but it's disjointed. Not a full system," Luo Feng murmured, analyzing the nuances.
The longer he watched, the more Luo Feng's mind began connecting the dots. At first, it seemed ordinary. But gradually, he sensed a refinement—something hidden beneath the surface. A version of the Ninefold Thunderblade… but optimized.
He became immersed.
Luo Feng's previous insights into the Ninefold Thunderblade resurfaced like lightning, his mind instinctively comparing Wei Wen's version against the original. Subtle deviations. Small shifts in power delivery. Timing. Flow.
Then a prompt from the virtual assistant system flickered into view:
[Your friend Luo Feng is comprehending the Optimized Ninefold Thunderblade. Your understanding of the technique is rapidly improving.]
Luo Feng's eyes widened in disbelief.
"This… is insane," he whispered. "It looks like the Ninefold Thunderblade—but it's different. More efficient. More elegant. It's an evolution."
And here's the thing—Luo Feng hadn't even started formally learning the Ninefold Thunderblade yet. But he could already tell that the way Wei Wen was applying force was superior.
Even with only a glimpse, Luo Feng felt awe swelling in his chest.
Wei Wen finally turned around, only to find Luo Feng frozen in place, eyes locked in silent thought. The look in his eyes said it all—he was still mentally reconstructing every motion, every strike, every layer of intent embedded in the technique.
Ironically, Luo Feng's own comprehension far surpassed Wei Wen's.
To Wei Wen, it had been casual practice. But to Luo Feng, it was revelation. Watching Wei Wen was like witnessing a system of knowledge unveil itself—he was experiencing an epiphany.
Wei Wen scratched his head, speechless.
"Seriously? I was just goofing off."
He could only sigh. Luo Feng's gift for comprehension was monstrous. The higher one climbed in cultivation, the more important raw comprehension became—not strength, not gear, but sheer understanding.
Take Domains and Origin Laws for example: even if someone had access to powerful techniques, if their comprehension was low, they'd hit a wall. Forever.
Beasts like the Golden-Horned Behemoth possessed innate memory inheritance—secret techniques wired into their brains—but even then, many never grasped a Domain before hitting the Universe Rank.
Wei Wen? Compared to that, his comprehension was average at best.
As for Hong and Thunder God, the two strongest fighters on Earth—they did grasp Domains at the Planetary Rank, but their bloodlines were too ordinary. Their potential was capped. Without repeated life-and-death trials, Babata—the AI companion of Luo Feng—once said they'd probably only reach the Astral Rank in their lifetime.
The Golden-Horned Behemoth, in contrast, naturally matured at the World Lord Rank. That was a tier higher than even the strongest human Territory Lord Rank bloodline.
Talent and comprehension—those were the two pillars of cultivation.
And right now, Wei Wen had neither.
"Even with the Slacker System helping me cheat the grind," he muttered, "I'm still being crushed in raw talent and comprehension."
Still, he didn't worry too much. The system ensured he could outpace others in the short term. Later, once he reached the broader universe, there would be methods to enhance his bloodline and understanding.
Luo Feng finally spoke, eyes still wide.
"That Thunderblade technique you just used—what's the deal with it? It's close to the Ninefold Thunderblade, but not quite the same."
Wei Wen shrugged, straight-faced.
"The Ninefold Thunderblade? Oh, yeah… I'm just naturally talented. Made a few tweaks here and there. Optimized it a bit."
Absolute nonsense—but said with such sincerity, it was hard to argue.
Truthfully, he hadn't meant for Luo Feng to find out about the optimized version, but now that he had… there was no harm. He trusted Luo Feng.
In fact, teaching it to Luo Feng might help Wei Wen too.
Luo Feng scratched the back of his head, a little embarrassed.
"Would you… be willing to teach me?"
He knew how valuable secret techniques were—especially optimized versions. That kind of thing could be priceless.
Wei Wen smiled.
"Sure. But keep this to yourself. At least publicly, only show the first stage of the standard Ninefold Thunderblade."
"No problem," Luo Feng nodded immediately.
He'd bought secret manuals before. He knew how important secrecy was. If news got out that Wei Wen had improved one of the core human techniques, it could draw the attention of powerful organizations—or worse.
Wei Wen then began explaining.
From posture to force application, angle of strikes, and motion flow—his breakdown was shockingly precise.
Luo Feng soaked it all in.
This wasn't just a better version. It was a foundational overhaul. It built strength not just for explosive power, but for speed, control, and future growth.
"I never would've thought to apply force like this," Luo Feng whispered. "This makes everything else I've studied feel primitive."
He'd spent money on techniques like Thunderblade Nine Skies, but compared to this… they were outdated.
"Wei Wen, you're a damn genius. This isn't just optimization. It's a complete rethinking of how force should be used. And the way you explained it—from basic to advanced—this is the clearest breakdown I've ever seen."
At his current level, Luo Feng only used brute-force explosiveness. He hadn't even begun integrating movement speed or defensive mechanics into his strikes. The standard Ninefold Thunderblade didn't teach those things.
But Wei Wen's optimized version did.
With the same body and the same level of strength, a practitioner of the optimized technique could overwhelm someone using the standard one.
Luo Feng had taken just over a month to reach the first stage of the Ninefold Thunderblade. Three stages took him around six months.
But now? With this version, he estimated it would take him less than two months to master the first three stages.
If he kept this up, he was confident he'd pass the B-Rank Evaluation by late August.
The optimized Ninefold Thunderblade included movement methods and directional force guides—things that significantly enhanced both offense and agility.
Suddenly, Luo Feng remembered something.
"Oh right—Wei Wen, are you planning to join the Elite Training Camp?"
Wei Wen looked surprised. "You're not thinking of skipping out, are you?"
"Not exactly," Luo Feng said, a bit hesitant. "But… you know my family's situation."
Wei Wen nodded.
"Actually, it's not as restrictive as you think. The Elite Camp has a very open structure. You can communicate freely with your family—calls, video chats, all of it."
"Also, let's be honest. In this world, strength is money."
"The faster you grow stronger, the faster you can solve your problems—help your family, lift your brother out of that chair… even marry Xu Xin."
Luo Feng blinked.
"Marry Xu Xin?"
Wei Wen grinned.
"Hey, I'm just stating facts."