Chapter 551: New Power Realm

Behind Black Cloud Stronghold, a secluded valley.

Morning mist not yet cleared, birdsong in the woods clear and crisp.

Chen Wen stood beside a flat slab of blue stone, with Lin Chong and twenty hand‑picked veterans of the Northward Aspiration Army standing beside him.

These soldiers each had sharp eyes and steady breath, veterans of the Battle of Eagle's Beak Valley.

"Today I summoned you all to test a new method."

Chen Wen swept his gaze over the crowd, his tone calm.

"I have made some progress recently; in the art of 'assisting', my range of control has grown considerably. I want to see how far it can go when applied to you brothers."

Chen Wen also wanted to see the gap between this new Ability Granting and what it used to be.

He did not mention system levels, only using 'progress' and 'assisting' to refer to Ability Granting.

Lin Chong clasped his fists, anticipation in his eyes: "Just follow your orders!"

Chen Wen nodded, first looking at Lin Chong: "Instructor Lin, you go first. Feel it and see how it differs from before."

His thought stirred slightly, locking onto Lin Chong.

"Grant, eightfold!"

A warm current far more mighty than before, yet still gentle and controllable.

With Chen Wen's thought, it crossed space and surged into Lin Chong's body.

Lin Chong's body trembled slightly, his eyes suddenly flashing with brilliant light!

He felt a vast surge of power welling from deep within his limbs and bones, his blood rushing faster.

His five senses instantly became extraordinarily sharp, the trembling of surrounding leaves, the faint sound of the stream flowing,

even the frequency of distant mountain birds' wingbeats became clearly discernible.

The ordinary iron spear in his hand now felt as light as straw, yet seemed to fuse with his arm, obeying his will like an extension of his fingers.

"Ha!"

Lin Chong gave a low shout, without any preparatory motion, his figure instantly blurred!

The next moment he appeared three zhang away, his iron spear turning into a dark sheet of light that enveloped a thick hardwood tree by the stream.

"Screech—"

A grating, dense cracking sound burst forth!

The light faded; Lin Chong lowered his spear and stood, breath slightly labored, his face filled with incredulous exhilaration.

Everyone stared; on the hardwood trunk appeared dozens of holes of varying depth, all piercing through the wood, tightly packed, faintly forming a ring!

From activation to completion, Lin Chong took only two or three breaths.

"Good!"

Chao Gai beside him could not help but shout aloud; he too was a connoisseur, seeing that this move was not only fast but extremely precise, its force control exquisite to the finest degree.

Chen Wen also had a clear idea in his mind.

Under eightfold Ability Granting, Lin Chong's short‑burst explosive power had reached a terrifying level, akin to a human weapon.

Combined with his already superb spear technique, on the battlefield he could cut down commanders and seize flags, virtually unmatched.

"How do you feel? Any burden?" Chen Wen asked.

Lin Chong adjusted his breath slightly, then said solemnly: "Power surges, control follows my will."

"But… this state is hard to sustain; after roughly a hundred breaths, I feel my qi and blood churning, the strength showing signs of dissipation."

"If it exceeds one hundred fifty breaths, it may injure tendons, bones, and vital energy."

Chen Wen nodded; this matched his estimate.

High‑magnitude Ability Granting places a huge burden on the recipient's body; it is a burst‑type measure, not to be used as a constant state.

"Next, let's try a tiered coordination."

Chen Wen turned to the twenty veterans.

He split his focus, simultaneously locking onto five of them.

"Grant, fourfold!"

Then he locked onto another ten.

"Grant, twofold!"

The remaining five received no effect.

The warm currents surged separately; the fifteen selected soldiers' spirits were all uplifted, their strength, speed, and reaction markedly enhanced, they looked at each other with eyes full of astonishment and excitement.

"Instructor Lin, you lead these five fourfold‑boosted men as the vanguard."

"Heavenly King Chao, you lead these ten twofold‑boosted men as left‑wing support."

"The remaining five, follow me to observe the formation."

Chen Wen quickly gave the order: "Fifty steps ahead, that rocky area—assume the enemy holds it. Eliminate the 'enemy traces' at maximum speed, coordinate, and feel each of your state differences."

"Received!"

Lin Chong and the five veterans with fourfold enhancement shot out like arrows from a bow, their speed clearly surpassing that of ordinary people.

In an instant they plunged into the rocky area, blades flashing, eliminating the presumed target swiftly and cleanly, their coordination seamless.

Chao Gai's twofold unit followed closely behind, its speed and strength not matching the vanguard.

Yet it was still a notch faster than normal, excellently completing the flank sweep and reinforcement.

The five who received no enhancement were visibly a beat behind, barely keeping pace.

In just a few dozen breaths, the drill ended.

Everyone returned, breathing noticeably heavier, especially the five with fourfold enhancement—sweat already on their foreheads, but their eyes bright.

Chen Wen carefully inquired about the feelings of each group.

The quadruple group generally reported feeling strong all over, with quick reactions, but after a hundred breaths they began to feel muscle soreness and a rapid heartbeat.

The double group felt a clear improvement, with much less burden, and should be able to sustain combat for the length of an incense stick without major issues.

The unenhanced group felt no different from ordinary training.

"It seems the quadruple Ability Granting can serve as an elite spearhead for breaking formations and attacking strongholds, but its use must be strictly limited in time and frequency, and supplemented with good physique and recovery."

"The double Ability Granting is better suited for large-scale application, noticeably boosting the sustained combat ability of ordinary troops, with a smaller burden, and could serve as a regular enhancement measure."

Chen Wen silently summed it up in his mind.

"The eightfold and even higher sixteenfold levels belong to the strategic tier; they should not be used except at crucial moments for crucial objectives."

He now had a clearer chart of the practical application of Ability Granting under the new gradations.

At that moment, a personal guard hurried over and handed up a sealed letter.

"Your Majesty, news has come from the southern caravan."

Chen Wen took it, skimmed it quickly, and frowned slightly.

The letter was sent back by Qian Gui's intelligence network, written in coded language.

"After decryption, the gist was that the False Song Imperial Court had recently issued several orders urging Yue Fei to 'hold the defensive zone' and 'not advance lightly,' each edict harsher than the last."

At the same time, the peace faction in the court was active, maintaining close contact with several officials who oversaw the Censorate.

More notably, individuals of unknown identity and mysterious movements have recently appeared in Lin'an Prefecture, suspected of being linked to certain Grey Shadows in the north.

"Indeed… step by step, they tighten the pressure." Chen Wen crushed the letter and scattered it into the stream.

The shadow of the Iron Crow Army had already become clearly visible within the False Song Imperial Court.

Their pressure on Yue Fei was swiftly shifting from the military arena to a more insidious political scheming.

"Shi Dun, over there, you must speed up even more."

Chen Wen gave orders to the personal guard.

"Send word to him: the situation has changed, the warning must be more straightforward, and make sure General Yue realizes that the threat comes not only from the Jin forces on the battlefield front."

"Yes!"

The personal guard accepted the order and left.

Chen Wen gazed southward, his eyes heavy.

His newly gained power realm gave him more chips for intervention.

But the opponent's counterstrike and scheming also came faster and more cunning.

The struggle over Yue Fei's fate had quietly escalated.

"Just how far can this newly sharpened sword of the Northward Aspiration Army cleave through the ever thickening mist of the Wind-Wave Pavilion?"