Lu Yuan's Formidable Combat Power

The Black Scale Horn Wolf's body sailed backward through the air and hit the ground dead.

*Strength isn't bad at all.*

Who would have thought that in such a short time, Lu Yuan could casually dispatch a Boss Grade Black Scale Horn Wolf? Back in Sandy Rock Underground Palace, an Elite Grade specimen had been enough to leave him and Gelin breathless. Now he was one-shotting a First-rank Boss Grade version.

And that was without Black Steel Force. With it, his strength would only climb higher.

White light swallowed the simulation space, and Lu Yuan blinked back into the silver pod.

He'd been cycling through opponents all session, and with each round his picture of his own capabilities had grown sharper.

Before moving on to First-rank opponents, he had set up the Ancient Sea Giant Crocodile Boss at 100% tempering. He'd taken its Water Arrows full-on without dodging — point-blank, straight to the face. There was some sensation this time, a faint sting that hadn't registered at 90%. Still nothing more than minor discomfort. He'd pressed in, landed a strike — not enough to kill — then followed up twice more before it finally fell.

*He'd felt firsthand just how formidable the Boss Grade Ancient Sea Giant Crocodile's defenses were.* Even so, tanking its hits barely left a mark. At full Crimson Copper Light, his defensive capability was equivalent to a First-rank Elite Grade Feral Beast at roughly 60% tempering.

Already impressive.

He'd also run a quick test on Rejuvenation during the session. He stood completely passive while a beast raked a deep gash across his forearm. One activation of the technique. Within a few breaths, the wound vanished — not healing, *gone.* Every trace of it, gone.

Better than a Potent Serum.

*The technology behind this Simulation Room is extraordinary.*

Then again — hover-cars, robotic arms, all manner of technology on Great Qi Star had been derived from Land of Origin discoveries. A hyper-realistic combat simulator was hardly surprising, when he put it that way.

After the defense benchmarks, he'd upgraded to First-rank opponents.

A new shape materialized from the far end of the simulation space. Massive, armored from nose to tail in jet-black scales, a single horn rising from its brow, its shoulder height clearing two meters.

A Giant Wolf.

The moment he saw it, Lu Yuan thought back to the Black Scale Horn Wolf he'd encountered in Sandy Rock Underground Palace.

It spotted him and loosed a howl, its body blurring into a shadow as it lunged.

Lu Yuan raised an eyebrow. One step to the side — the charge sailed past.

He let it come again and again, slipping each lunge with minimal footwork. Then, when the timing felt right, he pivoted and swept his leg in a wide arc, the kick driving squarely into the wolf's flank.

Its body slammed into the ground and didn't move. Dead on impact.

*One hit. Without Black Steel Force.*

He looked down at the body and ran his assessment. His strength was roughly equivalent to a First-rank Elite Grade Feral Beast at 45% tempering. Activate Black Steel Force and double it.

*The wolf that once had us scrambling isn't even a warm-up anymore.*

The Black Scale Horn Wolf Boss Grade died. The simulation reset. Fourth session.

This time, he chose a speed-oriented opponent.

The configuration resolved: First-rank Elite Grade, 40% tempering, speed specialist — the Black Mane Demon Wolf.

It appeared at the far end: lean, low-slung, built entirely for velocity, its dark mane fanning out as it circled. Its signature was Demon Wolf Charge, a burst-type Combat Technique that compressed its speed into a single explosive instant.

They clashed. Without the technique active, Lu Yuan held a slight edge in pace. The moment the wolf triggered Demon Wolf Charge, the gap reversed — but only just.

He turned it over in his mind. His two Boss Grade Transcendent Genes each provided a minor speed bonus; the Moonstone added another layer; and his cultivation level outpaced most First-rank Feral Beasts of comparable grade. Factor all of that in, and the numbers made sense.

He hadn't inscribed a single speed-type Transcendent Gene. His Gene Chain tempering hadn't even begun. For someone operating under those constraints, matching a 40% tempering speed specialist in raw pace was genuinely solid.

Speed remained his weakest attribute. Against a speed-focused Elite Grade beast, he was roughly equivalent to one at 30% tempering. Room to grow.

*His improvement rate over this short a window has been remarkable.*

After the Black Mane Demon Wolf fell, Lu Yuan configured his next opponent.

A real wall this time: First-rank Boss Grade, 10% tempering. The Great Force Savage Bear.

It materialized — three meters of dark red muscle planted on all fours, and it opened its throat in a rattling roar that rolled through the simulation space.

Lu Yuan raised his greatsword and moved in.

*BOOM.*

Collision. The rebound sent him skidding back five meters. He landed clean, watching the bear from across the field.

They traded for minutes. Neither pulled clearly ahead.

The Great Force Savage Bear leaned toward strength and defense — its speed wasn't remarkable. But it soaked punishment and returned it in equal measure, and every exchange left him recalibrating.

*Overall,* he thought, *my combat power sits roughly at the level of a 10% tempering First-rank Boss Grade. Speed slightly below par. Defense clearly above.*

He narrowed his eyes and moved in again to press the attack —

The bear went still.

White light erupted, flooding every corner of the simulation.

When it cleared, Lu Yuan was back in the silver pod.

He blinked. The fight wasn't over — why had the simulation terminated?

Then the mechanical voice came, flat and indifferent:

"Your Simulation Room session has expired. Please pay to continue if you wish."

The door swung open on its own, as though politely showing him the exit.

His expression went flat. *Right.* He'd only booked one hour. Several rounds of combat had burned through it without him noticing — adding up the time, it tracked perfectly.

Lu Yuan: "..."

*Just when it was getting good. One measly hour.*

He clicked his tongue, reluctant to leave.

He had a clear enough read on his current power level.

Defense at full Crimson Copper Light: withstands a First-rank Elite Grade Feral Beast at 60% tempering. Strength without Black Steel Force: equivalent to a First-rank Elite Grade at 45% tempering — higher with it. Speed: equivalent to a speed-specialist First-rank Elite Grade at 30% tempering. Overall combat power: comparable to a First-rank Boss Grade Feral Beast at 10% tempering, with speed on the lower end and defense comfortably above.

There was no need to keep renting Simulation Room time. He had what he came for.

Lu Yuan stepped out and made his way back downstairs to the Construct at the front desk.

"I'd like to rent a Gravity Room."

"The Gravity Room is eighty Spirit Crystals per hour. How many hours?"

He thought for a moment. "Five hours for now."

He paid his Spirit Crystals and received a black access card. Then he headed back upstairs.

The Gravity Room was on the fourth floor. He located his assigned room and stepped inside.

Quite different from the Simulation Room.

The space was considerably larger — roughly a hundred square meters. Floor and walls were molded from white alloy. Various training apparatuses occupied the room. Beside the door stood a black control unit; he gave it a glance.

Two rows of digits on its face. The top row showed a countdown for his remaining session time. The bottom row displayed the active gravity multiplier. It currently read: **1**.

One standard gravity — approximately equivalent to Great Qi Star's natural gravitational pull.

He reached over and dialed it to two.

The change hit immediately. His body felt noticeably heavier.

And it wasn't only the weight. His organs registered the pressure — a dull, inward wrongness. His heartbeat grew ponderous and thick. Blood moved sluggishly through his veins.

He was genuinely surprised. Hadn't expected the effect to be this sharp.

Two times wasn't enough. He kept turning.

Three. Four. Five...

The initial discomfort faded each time; he adapted quickly. He kept going.

By the time he reached eight times gravity, his face had gone crimson. Breathing came in labored pulls. His organs felt as though they were being slowly wrenched apart — a dull, grinding pain that saturated everything. Every part of his body felt crushingly heavy.

Beyond the oppressive weight, his insides felt wrong. His heartbeat was a thick, dragging thud. Blood barely moved.

He pressed on.

If someone asked him to *lift* eight times his own body weight, he wouldn't break a sweat. That posed no challenge at all.

But eight times *gravity* pressing inward from every direction simultaneously — that was something else entirely. There was no angle to push against. It came from everywhere at once, compressing him uniformly from the inside out.

He felt like he was right at the edge of what he could handle.

His physical body was already formidable. His defensive reinforcement ran deep — the same evolution that had hardened his skin and muscle had tempered his organs alongside everything else. Everything inside him was tougher than it had any right to be.

And still — eight times gravity had him straining at his limit.

"The Gravity Room's effect..."

Lu Yuan grinned.