Instructor Jiang Nian utilized his warrior privilege, foregoing the need for a ticket, and brought Luo Feng directly onto the train bound for the main urban area of Jiangnan City.

Jiangnan City was divided into the main urban area and eight satellite cities.

The mode of transport between the main city and the eight satellite cities was the train. For ordinary people to ride these trains, they had to book tickets three days in advance, and the fare was steep. As for traveling from one base city to another… the ticket price was astronomical, utterly unaffordable for the common person. Thus, the two hundred million residents of Jiangnan City rarely had the chance to leave the confines of their base city in their entire lives.

××××××

Jiangnan Base City, Main Urban Area.

Luo Feng and Jiang Nian walked side-by-side on the wide pavement.

“Luo Feng, do you feel any difference between the main city here and our Yangzhou City?” Jiang Nian asked, smiling as he gestured to their surroundings. Luo Feng glanced around and shook his head. “Not really. It just feels like there are more people, more cars, and the roads are wider. Other than that, it’s pretty standard.” Indeed, in such a small snapshot, there was nothing remarkable.

Jiang Nian smiled faintly. “At first glance, the difference isn't obvious. You'll see the difference shortly.”

“Hello?” Jiang Nian tapped his phone screen.

“Jiang Nian, how long until you arrive?” The avatar of an old man appeared on the screen.

“Uncle Bai, we’ll be there within ten minutes,” Jiang Nian replied with a gentle smile.

“Good. I’ve even invited the Director-level figure over. Don’t mess this up,” the white-haired elder stated gravely.

“Director-level figure?” Jiang Nian was momentarily stunned.

As they spoke, Luo Feng’s gaze caught sight of an expansive area ahead. Beyond the stretching, silver-white compound walls stood a towering, deep-blue skyscraper. Four enormous characters, visible clearly even from miles away, were emblazoned across the building: Limit Martial Arts Association!

“This is the Limit Association Headquarters! Our Limit Martial Arts Association’s main hub in Jiangnan City,” Jiang Nian explained.

“So many soldiers,” Luo Feng gasped, taking a sharp breath.

Outside the compound walls of the Limit Association Headquarters, men stood guard at every access point, armed with live ammunition. The entire facility gave the impression of a heavily armed behemoth. The main gate was a staggering hundred meters wide, with rows of soldiers intently surveying the area.

“These are our internal security forces for the Limit Martial Arts Association,” Jiang Nian explained smoothly. “We are authorized to maintain our own security contingent within the Association.”

“Let’s go, inside,” Jiang Nian led Luo Feng toward the main gate.

“Pass!” A one-armed man with a scar across his face waved his hand. Instantly, the soldiers stepped back, their synchronized movement causing Luo Feng’s breath to hitch.

The one-armed man gave Jiang Nian a friendly look. “Old Jiang, haven’t been to headquarters in a while, huh? Come by later, we brothers should grab a few drinks.”

“Sure,” Jiang Nian nodded with a smile, glancing at Luo Feng. “Luo Feng, this is your senior. Give him a respectful greeting, Uncle Lu.”

“Uncle Lu,” Luo Feng called out respectfully. He could sense that this one-armed man was an exceedingly powerful martial artist.

“Good lad,” the one-armed man smiled and nodded.

“No time to chat now, I’ll catch up with you later; Uncle Bai is waiting inside.” Jiang Nian immediately ushered Luo Feng into the courtyard of the Limit Association Headquarters. The massive complex resembled a sprawling park, complete with miniature bridges, flowing water, rockeries, and flowerbeds everywhere. Moreover, the area was bustling with people coming and going, each one striking Luo Feng as extraordinary.

As they walked, Jiang Nian sighed lightly. “The man you just called Uncle Lu was a brother-in-arms with whom I once battled through life-or-death situations. We’ve shared true hardship. He lost that arm to a Black-Haired Iron Ape, one of the ape-type monsters.”

Luo Feng listened quietly.

“The martial artists of our Limit Association are extremely united,” Jiang Nian said, pointing toward the skyscraper. “See that building? That’s the headquarters for all the martial artists of the Limit Martial Arts Association in Jiangnan City! Almost everyone entering or leaving that tower is a martial artist.”

“Almost all martial artists?” Luo Feng was surprised.

He could faintly make out silhouettes through the glass of the ground-floor lobby; there must have been over a hundred people inside.

“Jiangnan City has a total population of two hundred million; how could we not have many martial artists in the Limit Association?” Jiang Nian chuckled. “The people in the ground-floor lobby are mostly there drinking and chatting. Floors two through nine of this headquarters building are where Warrior-level martial artists frequently train and stay. Floors ten through nineteen are for Warlord-level martial artists. As for floor twenty and above… those areas are reserved for collective meetings.”

Luo Feng’s curiosity piqued, and he asked immediately, “Instructor, martial artists are divided into Warrior-level and Warlord-level?”

“Martial artists are primarily divided into Warrior-level, Warlord-level, and the exceedingly rare God-level!” Jiang Nian explained softly. “The Warrior-level constitutes the largest group! Many martial artists remain at the Warrior-level their entire lives. The Warrior-level is further divided into Junior Warrior, Intermediate Warrior, and Advanced Warrior. Generally, a martial artist who has just passed the initial assessment is a Junior Warrior!”

“Luo Feng, with your current strength, you are considered an Intermediate Warrior,” Jiang Nian stated.

Luo Feng nodded. It seemed his current combat power only placed him near the base of the martial artist hierarchy.

“Warrior-level martial artists can generally still be killed by conventional firearms.”

“But Warlord-level martial artists are usually impervious to conventional weaponry,” Jiang Nian mused. “For instance, if you fire a heavy machine gun at a Warlord martial artist, they can easily dodge the rounds purely based on their nerve reaction speed and agility! Thus, a Warlord martial artist is absolutely considered an outstanding elite among warriors.”

“Despite your great talent, you are young, so you are still a rookie for now,” Jiang Nian said with a smile.

Luo Feng could only rub his head sheepishly. Luo Feng was certainly aware of the supreme experts among martial artists—like that peerless powerhouse he saw in a video, who cleaved a Black-Crested Golden Eagle in half with a single strike… Even using his psychic power, Luo Feng doubted he could scratch that person’s skin.

“Above the Warlord-level is the God-level!” Jiang Nian’s eyes shone with reverence. “They are true Gods of War! Each one can effortlessly walk through hails of bullets, moving as fast as lightning, with unbelievably quick reflexes. Every single punch or kick from one of them can obliterate a residential building. God-level! That is the God-level.”

Luo Feng listened intently. Warrior-level… Warlord-level… God-level! His own pure martial strength was only Intermediate Warrior-level! Perhaps after utilizing his psychic power, his strength would jump considerably, possibly allowing him to cross into the Warlord-level.

“Instructor, is there anything above the God-level?” Luo Feng inquired eagerly.

“Yes.” Jiang Nian nodded with a smile. “Above the God-level, there do exist such beings around the world. Each one possesses the strength to overturn heaven and earth! Even nations must treat such powerful individuals with extreme caution. However, there are far too few of them. Even under the command of our Huaxia Nation’s government, there are only two or three such invincible experts.”

Luo Feng was inwardly shocked. Above the God-level, even the Huaxia Nation, one of the five major powers, only had two or three under direct government command?

“That is why martial artists worldwide only categorize the martial artist tiers as Warrior-level, Warlord-level, and God-level!” Jiang Nian explained. “Of course, the global standard for judging strength isn’t actually based on your power, speed, or nerve reaction. Instead, it’s based on your battle record!”

“Battle record?” Luo Feng was puzzled.

“Correct. Even though Luo Feng, your current physical conditioning might meet the standard for an Intermediate Warrior! Once you officially become a martial artist, your identity profile will still list you as a Junior Warrior! Only after you have successfully hunted enough monsters—monsters of sufficient might—to meet the criteria for an Intermediate Warrior will you be classified as such!” Jiang Nian sighed thoughtfully. “After all, some people have better physical conditioning, some possess superior blade work or movement techniques, and others master various tactics. The sole criterion for determining a person’s strength is their proven battle record!”

Luo Feng nodded, finally grasping the concept. Right… even if physical conditioning varied wildly, a weaker person could still kill someone physically stronger.

“Work hard and aim to become a Warlord! You will be the pride of our Yangzhou City,” Jiang Nian said warmly. “The Brother Yan Luo who came to see me last time—he is a Warlord-level expert.”

“Oh,” Luo Feng replied with a slight nod. If he used his psychic power, just how strong would he be? Could he rival a Warlord? He would likely have to wait for the future to determine all that.

……

Luo Feng and Jiang Nian conversed as they walked, soon arriving outside a three-story detached villa. This villa occupied a sizable plot of land, and from the second-floor balcony, the white-haired elder called out, “Jiang Nian, hurry up and come here.”

“Let’s go, follow me up.”

Jiang Nian led Luo Feng swiftly into the villa.

—————— P: Tomato shouts—I want recommendation votes!!! Everyone, throw your recommendation votes to Tomato! .