Chapter 40: New Combat Technique

"Of course, Qiantishi you can truly master the new combat technique within fifteen days."

The slightly hoarse voice also carried a hint of amusement; his attitude was clearly much improved from before.

Lin Qing paused for a moment, then asked: "What if it’s faster? Earlier?"

"Same deal."

The hoarse voice said: "This is already the highest benefit the headquarters can offer. Outside the urban zones, no one on the entire planet can give you better terms."

Lin Qing nodded thoughtfully and said: "Alright, I understand. I’ll prove it with the Zizai Body series technique, 'Speed'."

He wasn’t particularly worried inside.

As long as he could enter the technique, he could immediately draw an advance.

Moreover, he had already refined the Zizai Body series technique 'Agility' to the level of instinctive mastery; learning any other Zizai Body technique would grant him significant bonuses!

Last time he barely entered it—this time, at least entering shouldn’t be a problem, right?

As long as he could enter it, he could draw an advance!

"'Speed'?"

The slightly hoarse voice said: "This technique does pair well with 'Agility'."

Lin Qing naturally understood that, which was why he specifically chose 'Speed'.

'Agility' primarily enhances neural reaction speed and flexibility; the speed boost is merely incidental.

'Speed', on the other hand, is purely about increasing speed.

Especially in movement speed, its enhancement is extreme—far surpassing 'Agility'.

But 'Speed' doesn’t improve reaction time; if you trained 'Speed' first, your reactions couldn’t keep up with your body.

So these two techniques are a perfect match.

"Close your eyes."

The hoarse voice reminded him.

Lin Qing immediately closed his eyes, emptied his mind in the darkness, and waited calmly.

Moments later.

"Open your eyes."

When Lin Qing opened his eyes, the scene before him was a rugged land, dotted with countless holes—large and small.

Invisible gales roared out from these openings, violent air currents sweeping dust and sand into the sky, free and swift, racing wildly across heaven and earth.

Then the scene rapidly receded, and Lin Qing realized the background was the same as the one he’d seen before for 'Agility'—a simplified human figure.

And those countless holes? They seemed to be pores on the skin’s surface.

Then the scene shifted again, the entire background changing into a single image.

It was a gale!

A hurricane nearly engulfing heaven and earth!

Fierce and vast, it rolled up a thousand layers of cloud waves, majestic and overwhelming, blotting out the sun and moon, as if ready to swallow everything within!

"Boom!"

The howling hurricane surged violently from the image, engulfing Lin Qing himself. Within the colossal storm, he felt like a lonely, powerless leaf, tossed helplessly, beyond his control.

At the same time, the mysterious energy within his body stirred restlessly, as if about to manifest a new quality.

After a long while.

Lin Qing slowly opened his eyes, glancing around, and said: "This naked-eye 3D comes with real wind currents?"

"Of course," the hoarse voice chuckled softly. "Otherwise, the visualization wouldn’t be clear enough."

"It’s clear enough," Lin Qing nodded.

Though he had regained full awareness, the mental image of the howling wind remained deeply etched in his mind—crystal clear.

"You woke up so quickly? Your mental will is quite strong. Good."

The hoarse voice praised: "That’s also one of your advantages—at least when facing those strange psychic awakeners, your mental will can play a significant role."

"Psychic awakener?" Lin Qing asked.

The hoarse voice, clearly in a much better mood than before, replied patiently: "You’ve heard of the three types of awakening, right?"

"Mm."

Lin Qing nodded and said: "Gene, psychic, and power, right?"

"Correct. Power we’ll set aside for now—it’s said to be an awakening designed to preemptively control some ultra-high-energy force, but it’s just legend… The original Chaoyang Training Method, fundamentally, is meant to increase the probability of gene awakening—though I mean the original version."

The hoarse voice said: "Psychic awakening is even rarer. There are almost no training methods; it relies almost entirely on Tianfu . If someone is born with exceptionally sharp mental perception, they might awaken spontaneously from a surge of emotion."

Lin Qing’s eyes lit up. He immediately asked: "Sharp perception? You mean intuition?"

"You could say that," the hoarse voice replied. "Psychic awakener, even without using their eyes, can perceive their surroundings through psychic sense. Even before awakening, they often possess strong intuition and perception."

Lin Qing recalled his recent missions, the sudden intuitions he’d experienced, and his heart stirred.

He immediately asked: "Is this intuition unstable? Fluctuating between strong and weak?"

"Unstable?"

The hoarse voice sounded puzzled: "I’m not entirely sure. After all, I’m just a supervisor in the Patrol Oversight Department—I only know the general picture."

"Alright…" Lin Qing shook his head slightly.

"Don’t overthink it."

The hoarse voice said: "If you earn a First-Class Merit, you’ll be able to learn three special awakening methods—including the psychic awakening method. If you truly meet the standard for psychic awakening, you can awaken on the spot using it."

Lin Qing nodded slightly.

When he learned the Qiqi version of the training method, Instructor Tan Yanwen had mentioned this before.

!.

But…

First-Class Merit is still too distant.

In his memory, only Yuan Anping, the overall commander of the Lin’an City Patrol Bureau, had ever received a First-Class Merit. Other division commanders, especially the junior ones, might not even have a Second-Class Merit.

There was no way around it—the difficulty of earning a First-Class Merit was too high.

Unless he uncovered and eradicated a major criminal organization like the Yuanhong Society, even if he raided one of their underground fighting rings, it would still only be one part of their black industry—he wouldn’t get a First-Class Merit.

After all, the escapee from Qinghu Island was so terrifying; logically, one person could easily crush an underground organization like Yuanhong Society—and yet, even he received only a First-Class Merit.

Clearly, the difficulty of earning a First-Class Merit was immense.

"There’s no way around it: only those who earn merit can learn combat techniques. That’s a rigid rule established by the Chaoyang Dojo."

The hoarse voice said: "But if your talent for combat techniques is genuine and you’re willing to work hard, under the training of our Patrol Headquarters, you’ll have a chance to earn a First-Class Merit someday."

Lin Qing nodded slightly.

He suddenly asked: "What level of strength is required to join the Global Elite Patrol Division?"

"When your strength is sufficient to be promoted to Patrol Commander, that’s enough."

The hoarse voice said: "That is, the level of Yuan Anping, overall commander of the Lin’an City Patrol Bureau."

"What exactly is his level?" Lin Qing still wasn’t clear.

"Master one series of combat techniques, plus the foundation of the original Chaoyang Training Method," the hoarse voice said. "I believe you have the potential."

Lin Qing nodded in understanding.

No wonder his cousin said that Commander Yuan Anping and the Qinghu Island escapee could defeat her with a single move.

The gap was truly staggering.

"You may leave."

The hoarse voice said: "Remember—you must master the new technique within fifteen days. Otherwise, this opportunity expires."

"Understood." Lin Qing immediately turned and left.

…

After leaving the combat technique training chamber, Lin Qing returned to the second floor and was about to go downstairs when he saw Xiao Peidong descending from the third floor.

"Lin Qing."

Xiao Peidong glanced toward the corridor leading to the training chamber and smiled: "Just went to learn a combat technique?"

"Yes." Lin Qing nodded.

"Good."

Xiao Peidong smiled and praised: "I heard you mastered your first technique in less than a month. Impressive."

"Just luck," Lin Qing shook his head. "Commander Xiao, I’ve got something to do—I’ll be going."

"Alright, go ahead," Xiao Peidong nodded with a smile.

After Lin Qing went downstairs, his expression suddenly darkened. He took a deep breath, then returned to his usual demeanor.

"I can’t wait any longer…"

(End of Chapter)