In the dimness, Luo Feng sat on the small personal sofa beside him, his mind far from peaceful: "This power is too immense. An ordinary small-caliber police pistol would probably only manage to punch a tiny hole in that rockery boulder. Yet, controlling the steel spikes, I managed to pierce right through the entire structure—the power increase is dozens, perhaps even a hundred times greater!"

The war between humans and monsters had dragged on for decades precisely because the monsters were so overwhelmingly strong.

The monster population had its tiers of strength and weakness.

Even the weakest of the monsters could easily ignore those small-caliber handguns. Forget the monsters; even the weakest human martial artists could often rely on mere muscle to stop the trajectory of standard small-caliber bullets. The truly powerful monsters were utterly immune to conventional firearms; only heavy sniper rifles, large-caliber heavy machine guns, anti-aircraft guns, or even autocannons posed a credible threat!

Of course, some apex monsters, like the 'Black-Crowned Golden Eagle,' could endure sustained barrages from a 20mm Vulcan cannon without losing a single feather! That was true terror.

"I can actually control objects from a distance... this, is this perhaps..." A thought sparked in Luo Feng’s mind. "Could this be the 'Telekinetic Force' of a Psychic Master?"

Luo Feng knew very little about Psychic Masters.

But he did know some fundamental information: Psychic Masters were usually formidable martial artists themselves, cultivating Genom Energy just like others! However, on top of cultivating Genom Energy, they cultivated a second type of energy—Psychic Energy! This Psychic Energy was commonly referred to as 'Telekinetic Force.'

"But whether this is truly Telekinetic Force or not, I’ll need to investigate properly later to confirm," Luo Feng mused internally.

A Psychic Master—he had only ever met one in his entire life.

That was the mysterious silver-haired man in black robes, whom 'Wu Tong,' the chief instructor at the Yangzhou City Limitless Arena, referred to as 'Captain.'

"The penetration of the steel spikes is incredible, but monsters at the level of the Black-Crowned Golden Eagle completely ignore thermal weapons. Only laser cannons or nuclear weapons pose a threat to them," Luo Feng understood clearly. Despite his current astonishing strength, there were beings across the globe ten, a hundred, or a thousand times stronger than him!

Like that supreme expert seen in the network videos, the one who slew the Black-Crowned Golden Eagle—

His movement speed surpassed the speed of sound! A single slash could cleave the Golden Eagle in two! One kick could demolish a six-story residential building!

That was the caliber of a peerless master among martial artists.

"And the world's number one expert, 'Hong,' and the world's number two, 'Thunder God,' they can command the five major powers to negotiate with them as equals!" Luo Feng took a deep breath. To hold parity with an entire nation illustrated just how staggeringly powerful such experts must be.

"Controlling the steel spikes now, I probably couldn't even graze their physical bodies," Luo Feng cautioned himself privately. Though he was immensely strong now, there were still countless beings far superior.

Despite this self-admonishment…

Those peerless experts were still too distant for Luo Feng. For the present moment, his strength was more than enough to secure a superior life for his parents and younger brother.

"Keep striving!"

"I am still young; perhaps in the future, I can step into the world's most elite circle of masters," Luo Feng felt a surge of anticipation.

...

In the quiet bedroom, Luo Feng had awakened his ability, and the excitement made it difficult to sleep.

"Forget it, I'm too keyed up today; sleep is unlikely. I'll just cultivate my Genom Energy instead." Luo Feng sat cross-legged on the bed, adopting the five-point contact posture, closing his eyes to begin his practice.

Having the experience from the first time, and with Genom Energy already present in his body, he sensed the presence of cosmic energy with ease.

"Ssshh~~" The cosmic energy flowed continuously into his body through the soles of his feet, the palms of his hands, and the Baihui point on his crown. "The speed of absorbing cosmic energy seems even faster today." The cosmic energy traveled along five distinct channels into Luo Feng’s body, where every cell greedily devoured this mysterious energy.

After being transformed by the 'mitochondria' within the cells, the cosmic energy was converted into Genom Energy.

"Huh? My head..." Luo Feng sensed a significant portion of the cosmic energy surging into his brain. As he focused his consciousness there—

Boom!

It was as if his entire soul shuddered. Afterward, Luo Feng was shocked to find that his consciousness had entered a miraculous place.

This mysterious location was boundless, enveloped by ceaseless, swirling mists. At the very center of this mist stood a dark-gold sphere, slowly rotating like a miniature star. This sphere continuously emitted wisps of vapor, ensuring the surrounding mist of this strange place never ceased to accumulate.

"This mist... this is, this is Telekinetic Force?" Luo Feng easily sensed the power within the mist; it was precisely the psychic energy he used to manipulate objects.

"And—"

Luo Feng clearly saw strands of transparent energy continuously seeping in from the periphery of this mysterious space. They were quickly assimilated into the surrounding mist-like power. His consciousness also registered that this transparent energy was the cosmic energy.

"The mist is Telekinetic Force, and the transparent energy is cosmic energy. The cosmic energy is absorbed here and converted into Telekinetic Force. And my Telekinetic Force extends out from my brain," Luo Feng was profoundly shaken. "Is this my mind? Or perhaps, this is my Sea of Consciousness?"

Sea of Consciousness was the specific term martial artists used for the area within the skull.

"Why is there a dark-gold sphere at the center of my Sea of Consciousness?" Luo Feng's awareness observed with confusion. This slowly rotating sphere constantly emitted wisps of mist (Telekinetic Force), and during this emission process, Luo Feng felt an immense sense of ease within his Sea of Consciousness.

"I've passed out several times throughout my life; it's likely because of this dark-gold sphere," Luo Feng had a strong intuition.

"The dark-gold sphere releases Telekinetic Force?"

"And I had virtually no Telekinetic Force before. It only appeared after this recent blackout," Luo Feng reasoned. "Then it must be during that blackout that this dark-gold sphere released a massive amount of Telekinetic Force. Not only did it grant me powerful psychic abilities, but it also simultaneously modified my physical body."

His physical constitution was strong, but compared to the Psychic Power, it was far inferior.

"Right."

"Those convicts attacked me earlier; one of them released a flying knife. That knife suddenly changed direction just as it was about to pierce my shoulder. That must have been my Telekinetic Force taking effect," Luo Feng deduced the truth based on the circumstances.

Indeed, the dark-gold sphere had released a large burst of Telekinetic Force during the blackout.

But in reality, on the very first night Luo Feng entered the cell, when he cultivated Genom Energy for the first time and absorbed cosmic energy, it had already caused a fluctuation in his Sea of Consciousness. Even without the flying knife incident forcing the sphere to release a massive amount of psychic energy prematurely, it would have eventually manifested naturally over time.

That sneak attack with the flying knife only caused Luo Feng to awaken early.

"My past headaches and blackouts were most likely caused by this dark-gold sphere acting up. But now, since the sphere is continuously releasing Telekinetic Force, it shouldn't cause me to black out anymore," Luo Feng felt. It was like a dam holding back a flood; because the dark-gold sphere had been unable to release its energy previously, Luo Feng suffered daily headaches. Now that there was a conduit for the overflow, releasing the psychic energy constantly, he should be fine.

××××××

The next morning, when Luo Feng went downstairs from his bedroom, he found a person sitting in the living room.

"Mr. Luo Feng, good morning," a man in a military uniform stood up and smiled lightly.

"Hello," Luo Feng replied with confusion. "Where exactly is this place, and why am I here? Also, I don't recall meeting you."

The officer smiled courteously. "Let me introduce myself, I am Dong An from the Yian District Detention Center. And this is the military recuperation compound for our Yian District. Mr. Luo Feng... I didn't expect you had already passed the Provisional Martial Artist assessment. Our detention center certainly has no authority to hold you any longer, Mr. Luo Feng has every right to return home now."

"Go home now?" Luo Feng nodded.

He had beaten up so many inmates yesterday, especially hitting metal tables and stools with his fists and feet; it was easy for them to gauge his strength. Luo Feng wasn't surprised.

"I want to ask, who exactly wanted to harm me?" Luo Feng frowned.

The officer hesitated slightly.

"If your detention center cannot provide an answer, I will submit an application through the Limitless Arena to the Jiangnan City Security Bureau to investigate everything," Luo Feng stated. If this matter were exposed—that a Provisional Martial Artist was attacked while incarcerated, and the facility covered for the criminals—the higher-ups at the detention center would face severe trouble.

The officer quickly laughed. "Mr. Luo Feng, please don't be anxious. Here is the situation: according to our investigation, it was a local thug named 'Zhou Huayang' who arranged for those detained inmates to attack you. Based on our findings, they intended to break one of your legs and one of your arms."

"Oh?" Luo Feng frowned. "Break an arm and a leg? That’s ruthless. They wanted to cripple me? I don't know this Zhou Huayang; who instructed him?"

The officer immediately replied, "We have already interrogated Zhou Huayang; a young man named Zhang Haobai asked him for assistance."

"Zhang Haobai?"

Luo Feng's gaze turned cold. "Truly courting death!"

"He is indeed courting death," the officer smiled. "Luo Feng, you absolutely have the right to apply to the Jiangnan City Security Bureau to apprehend Zhang Haobai. Instigating an attack against a Provisional Martial Artist is a serious felony! A sentence of twenty years imprisonment is entirely possible."

"Don't blame me for being too frank, but Zhang Haobai's uncle is also a martial artist!" the officer added. "Luo Feng, you can choose to disregard his uncle and proceed with the arrest of Zhang Haobai... The Security Bureau is the governing body for martial artists, possessing immense authority. Zhang Haobai’s uncle would have no way to influence their actions."

"You can choose to make an enemy of his uncle and still deal with Zhang Haobai."

"Or you can opt for a private settlement, allowing the Zhang family to compensate you financially. The choice is entirely yours, Luo Feng," the officer finished with a smile. "I have delivered my message. Here are your phone and other belongings, Mr. Luo Feng."

Luo Feng nodded.

Should he press for a private settlement, demanding a massive sum of money? Or should he insist on dealing with Zhang Haobai directly?

"Hello, Dad," Luo Feng picked up the phone and dialed. "I’m out of the detention center and will be home soon for breakfast! Don't worry, Dad, your son is powerful now; how could anything happen to me?"

—————— P: Episode One concludes, Episode Two begins! Luo Feng is about to step into the circle of martial artists, stirring up a storm to come... .