Chapter 109: Purgatory VII Meat Grinder

Chapter 109 Purgatory-VII Meat Grinder

[The Advanced Imperial Body Forging Method comprises one hundred and twenty-seven forms, designed to press the physical potential of Rank 3 martial artists to its absolute limit, laying a rock-solid foundation for ascending to higher tiers of life.]

Watching the 3D model in the video demonstrate movements that were vastly more complex, contorted, and joint-defying than those of the Intermediate Imperial Body Forging Method, Qin Feng felt an unyielding resolve harden in his eyes.

He commenced his cultivation without a moment's delay.

At the very first posture, his bones and sinews groaned under a crushing strain, muscles and fascia stretched to an unprecedented precipice of agony that brought a wave of intense, searing soreness.

Yet, it was precisely beneath this relentless, torturous compression that he could distinctly feel his newly evolved physique unleashing a torrent of staggering potential, greedily absorbing psionic energy to adapt to this higher echelon of training.

His rate of adaptation was nothing short of miraculous.

In the span of a single day, he had thoroughly mastered all one hundred and twenty-seven hyper-complex forms.

The toll, however, was that his already astronomical rate of resource consumption skyrocketed once more.

[You have successfully comprehended the Advanced Imperial Body Forging Method]

[Advanced Imperial Body Forging Method (Novice)]

[Proficiency: 12/100]

[Effect: None]

It was worth noting that upon switching to the advanced method, the effect read as none, and the passive attributes had vanished entirely.

"Could it be because my latent physical potential is simply too vast?"

"What a bizarre panel. Just what kind of artifact is this thing anyway?"

Qin Feng was deeply perplexed.

"It couldn't possibly be the work of some Outer God, could it?"

After a moment of contemplation, Qin Feng dismissed the absurd notion with a shake of his head and threw himself right back into his training.

Another three days drifted past.

A single vial of advanced psionic elixir, valued at half a million Imperial Credits, had been drained entirely by his ravenous cultivation.

His remaining two vials would scarcely sustain him through a few more days of such high-intensity training.

[Advanced Imperial Body Forging Method (Novice)]

[Proficiency: 113/100]

......

Early morning.

Qin Feng arrived precisely on time at the rooftop terrace of the Corona Borealis Building.

Instructor Lin Yue was already standing there, awaiting his arrival.

"Are you ready?"

Lin Yue inquired.

"I am ready."

Qin Feng nodded in affirmation.

"Good."

Lin Yue regarded him steadily and began to dissect the intricacies of the upcoming assignment.

"The destination we are heading to this time, Purgatory-VII, presents a rather unique environment. Nominal terms dictate it as an Imperial frontline warzone, but in actuality, it is a colossal colosseum engineered solely for the tempering of martial artists."

"The native human populace of that world was essentially evacuated during the opening salvos of the war. Currently, those locked in combat with the greenskins across the planet are all trial martial artists just like you, drawn from every corner of the Imperial star-seas."

"The high command of the Empire has deliberately preserved the greenskin ecology on that world to feed war with war. The ultimate objective is to continuously forge a relentless stream of powerful warriors who have truly been baptized in blood and fire."

Hearing this, Qin Feng was momentarily stunned.

"So... this war that has dragged on for a hundred and fifty years is actually entirely within the Empire's sphere of control?"

"You could look at it that way."

Lin Yue nodded. "The trial planets possessed by the Empire are beyond counting. This particular one possesses a danger rating that is perfectly suited for your current strength."

"I see."

Qin Feng understood now.

It was reminiscent of the battleground quests found in ancient video games.

Once inside, the core directives were slaughter and self-refinement, yet one could technically choose to withdraw at any given time, for the grand trajectory of the entire theater of war remained perpetually under the firm grasp of the Empire.

"This celestial body is classified as a medium-sized planet. According to the latest census, there are currently around thirteen billion registered martial artists undertaking long-term trials upon its surface."

"What?!"

Qin Feng's eyes widened in sheer disbelief, utterly dumbfounded by the magnitude of the figure.

Over thirteen billion martial artists, all undergoing trials on the exact same planet?

What a terrifying, monumental spectacle that must be!

Observing his shell-shocked expression, Lin Yue offered a soft, amused smile. "There is truly no need for such astonishment. Trial planets like Purgatory-VII within the borders of the Empire are measured in units of trillions. There are even more terrifying proving grounds where entire star systems, and even whole galactic sectors, serve as the battlefield."

"The grandeur and sheer vastness of the Empire far exceed the boundaries of your imagination."

Qin Feng fell silent, nodding slowly.

He felt his perception of the universe being violently shattered and rewritten once more.

He had previously harbored the illusion that planet Morningstar was already immense.

But looking at it now, Morningstar, and even the entire Canaan Star System, amounted to nothing more than a speck of cosmic dust in the grand presence of the Empire.

"One final point."

Lin Yue's countenance shifted to one of absolute severity. "For this deployment, in order to achieve the most unadulterated tempering effect, trial participants below Rank 4 are strictly prohibited from utilizing any external psionic armaments, nor are they permitted to equip standard-issue power armor."

"You must rely solely on your own flesh and blood, alongside cold steel, to wage war against the greenskins." "Understood."

"Excellent. The teleportation sequence is about to commence."

Lin Yue manipulated her personal terminal for a brief moment, subsequently transmitting a coordinated squad teleportation invitation to Qin Feng.

Qin Feng accepted the prompt without hesitation.

In the succeeding instant, a familiar, crushing sensation of spatial distortion and tearing washed over him.

When he parted his eyelids once more, he discovered he was no longer standing upon the open terrace of Morningstar First High School.

He was standing within the interior of an incredibly monumental, monolithic structure that bled a freezing, metallic aesthetic.

Gazing out through the colossal observation viewport beside him, a massive, clay-yellow planet hung silently, suspended in the deep, abyssal reaches of the cosmos.

Directly beneath this titanic structure, an orbital elevator that could only be described as a cosmic miracle stretched downward like a pillar bridging heaven and earth, anchoring the void of space to the planetary crust.

At the terminus of that space elevator, sprawling across the surface of the world below, rested a megacity of such staggering architectural proportions that it utterly defied the limits of language.

Fringing the outer perimeter of the metropolis were alloy ramparts that pierced the cloud layer, bristling with a dense, interlocking matrix of defensive battery emplacements.

A megalopolis, a space elevator, and a star fortress.

The three as one formed an impregnable war fortress.

Qin Feng could imagine countless greenskins surging like a tide, endlessly assaulting that colossal city.

Within the city, high-level martial artists of the Empire stood guard, ensuring no mishap.

And they, the trial participants, could use this space fortress like paratroopers, directly dropped into various combat zones on the planet.

This space fortress was like a gigantic, utterly safe "respawn point."

"Here they come."

Just as Qin Feng was stunned by the sight before him, a heavy footstep sounded.

A burly martial artist, clad in full-coverage heavy power armor and nearly three meters tall, walked over, nodded at Lin Yue as a greeting.

"Mm."

Lin Yue gave a slight nod.

The voice of the power-armored martial artist, processed electronically, sounded dull and merciless: "The training room you requested is ready. It has real-time battlefield maps and regional danger level classifications. Keep an eye on your own people. Here, you're responsible for your own life or death. Don't come to me if you die."

He paused, then continued, "Room number C-709, you can use it for a year."

"Alright, thank you."

Lin Yue expressed her thanks.

The power-armored martial artist said no more and turned to leave.

Lin Yue then led Qin Feng through the steel-maze-like space fortress, searching for their training room.

As they walked, Lin Yue explained.

"That was the rotating officer in charge of this 'Aegis-III' space fortress, a planetary-level martial artist."

"Actually, he's also on an Empire mission. He's responsible for the daily operations of this area, ensuring no major mistakes for three months. Once the mission is complete, he'll receive Empire contribution points as a reward."

"Empire contribution points are very rare."

Lin Yue emphasized, "You can only get them by completing various missions issued by the Empire. They can be exchanged for many things that money can't buy, like power armor, weapons, mental techniques, martial killing arts, psychic weapons, and so on..."

"Once you become a fourth-level martial artist, you can unlock the 'Empire Missions' section on the subspace network."

As Lin Yue explained, they changed internal magnetic levitation elevators several times, passed through several massive functional zones, and finally arrived at Sector C.

Eventually, they stopped in front of an alloy door marked "C-709."

——

The alloy door of Training Room C-709 slowly closed behind them, shutting out all sounds from inside the space fortress.

This was their exclusive base for the next three months.

The room's interior was simply furnished, with a massive holographic tactical platform in the center, large enough for dozens of people to move around simultaneously.

Lin Yue walked up to the platform and lightly tapped the control panel with her finger.

"Buzz—"

A huge, three-dimensional map instantly unfolded in the center of the room.

It was a complete, yellowish-brown planetary model.

Its surface was covered with densely packed, multicolored light points and grid lines.

"This is the real-time battlefield map of Inferno-VII."

Lin Yue pointed at the planetary model and said, "The entire planet has been forcibly divided by the Empire's military into five hundred and thirty-two independent combat zones using energy barriers. As you can see, each zone is about the size of a large country on a barbarian planet."

Qin Feng's gaze was deeply drawn to this magnificent map.

He saw that in some zones, the red light points representing combat were incredibly dense, almost forming a sea of fire.

In other zones, it was relatively calm, with only sporadic conflicts.

"Why this division?"

Qin Feng asked.

"To prevent the greenskin boys from grouping up."

Lin Yue explained, "The greenskin race has a unique talent called the 'Waaagh!' field. The more greenskins gather, the stronger and crazier they become, and the more likely a terrifyingly powerful 'Warboss' will emerge. This zone division is to keep their numbers within a certain range and prevent accidents beyond the trial level."

Her finger swept across the map, passing over the deep blue ocean areas.

"Marine combat environments are complex, not suitable for a newcomer like you. We'll choose land combat."

Finally, her finger stopped on a deep red-marked plain zone, codenamed "Meat Grinder-03."

"According to intelligence, this zone is currently one of the most active areas for third-level greenskins. This is the place."

(Chapter End)