After Zang Yichen finished speaking, instead of dragging Qin Fen into a night of sordid sparring as he usually did, he chose to vanish from this peculiar mental space, leaving Qin Fen standing rooted to the spot in deep contemplation.

Qin Fen had pondered the concept of a "sordid" fighting style for more than just a day or two. Zang Yichen's words struck him like a sudden, deafening clap of thunder, or perhaps a mighty hand parting the clouds to reveal the sun. Instantly, countless images flashed through his mind.

The control of power. The Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill circulated slowly within his body. Minute details, ones he had never noticed before, became palpable in this moment.

The entire night passed in Qin Fen’s contemplation.

Just as the crimson blush of the sun began to appear on the horizon, Qin Fen awoke from his heavy repose. The recent military training had instilled in him the habit of waking precisely at a set time.

After a quick wash, Qin Fen ran down the stairs from his room; the morning drill was an indispensable ritual.

He arrived in the lobby just as the elevator doors slid open. Xue Tian yawned, emerging with the distinctly un-awake look of someone who had just woken up.

"Morning…" Xue Tian stretched languidly.

"Morning," Qin Fen nodded. To possess skill among the elite of their age, diligence was clearly a prerequisite.

"I hate the holographic phone," Xue Tian grumbled as he walked beside Qin Fen out of the hotel. "I thought being on assignment meant I could finally escape the early morning training curse, but I still got the wake-up call."

Qin Fen smiled faintly, saying nothing. If not for his past habit of delivering milk early in the morning, newcomers to the army would surely find adapting to such an early rise quite uncomfortable.

The two ran three kilometers, and Xue Tian’s complaints never ceased. As they passed an intersection, Xue Tian scanned the surroundings, spotting a few stone benches. "Buddy, the drill instructor dragged you up too, right? There are benches over there; how about we slack off a bit and take a breather…"

Before Xue Tian could finish his sentence, Qin Fen had already sprinted ahead.

Morning exercise, at best, was just a warm-up. If he didn't move, Qin Fen actually felt a degree of discomfort.

"Well, you go ahead then. I’m catching a few winks here."

Xue Tian genuinely sat down on the stone bench and promptly fell asleep. Qin Fen glanced back at him, his eyes filled with confusion. How could such a lazy bum possess such formidable strength? How did he train it? Did he train secretly every night?

Shaking his head, Qin Fen continued his morning run. His mind was still incessantly preoccupied with Zang Yichen’s cryptic hint about a "sordid ultimate technique."

Sordid. Sordid. Sordid ultimate technique? Qin Fen pursed his lips. It must be incredibly difficult for someone who isn't inherently sordid to invent a truly sordid ultimate technique.

"If you have the guts, don't run!"

An angry shout from the outside world brutally shattered Qin Fen's deep concentration.

Not far off, a young man was sprinting at full tilt, chased by a slightly heavier young man wielding an iron rod.

"If you have the guts, don't run…"

The pursuing youth shouted again, but the more he yelled, the faster the one in front ran, widening the gap between them.

"You brat, if you have the guts…"

Qin Fen slowed his pace, watching the chase between two people nearly his age with wide, suddenly illuminated eyes.

Yes! That was it! Running away when you can't win—it was certainly shameless. But could it be connected to 'sordid'? If one were fighting a much higher-level expert and gained the upper hand, only to suddenly flee knowing they couldn't secure a full victory, wouldn't that completely catch the opponent off guard?

Movement technique! Movement technique! Qin Fen excitedly clenched both fists. Zang Yichen’s suggestion for a sordid ultimate skill finally had a lead! Whether for escape or during combat, movement technique played an absolutely vital role.

Creating one's own unique ultimate technique was never easy. Qin Fen didn't rush back to ponder immediately; instead, he continued his morning run, striving to achieve absolute consistency in the force exerted with every footfall.

Control. Precise control. Only through deliberately practicing in every minor detail of daily life could one progress rapidly.

After running five kilometers, Qin Fen returned to the hotel dining hall. Xue Tian was already enjoying the buffet. Judging by the arrangement of bowls and chopsticks on the table, he had been back for quite some time.

"Old Qin, over here," Xue Tian waved his hand. "I got your breakfast sorted out."

Breakfast consisted of jam on bread, a fried egg, and milk.

Qin Fen held the bread in one hand and the jam in the other. His usual habit was to smear the jam directly onto the bread before eating.

Spreading jam on bread was easy; spreading it perfectly evenly was immensely difficult—a feat Qin Fen had never achieved.

Starting today, Qin Fen silently resolved, and began to spread the jam.

One slice… failure… two slices… failure… three slices… thirty-five failures…

A stack of bread slices nearly a foot high accumulated beside Qin Fen’s seat. He had failed thirty-five times in a short period. Making the jam appear evenly spread wasn't hard, but truly achieving even coverage was anything but simple.

"Sir…" A kind waitress approached with concern. "We prohibit waste here, sir. You might be fined."

"Fined?" Qin Fen chuckled. What was a few slices of jam and bread? But seeing the waitress’s embarrassed expression, he picked up a failed slice and put it in his mouth.

One slice… two slices… three slices… five slices… thirty slices…

The waitress’s eyes nearly bulged out of her head. She had been working this job for over a year and had never seen anyone eat this much; after thirty slices, she showed no sign of being full.

Having consumed the thirty-five failed attempts, Qin Fen deliberately picked up the thirty-sixth slice of bread. Xue Tian, who had initially watched for amusement, now showed a mixture of surprise and seriousness in his eyes.

He is practicing control! And he has strong control over his power! But he still feels it's not enough! The flippant expression on Xue Tian’s face vanished, replaced by one of frustration and a heavy sigh.

"Sigh… Is he trying to make the rest of us live in agony?" Xue Tian moaned. "He already has natural talent, and now he works this hard. If the old guys find out, are they going to kill me?"

Xue Tian picked up a slice of bread and began imitating Qin Fen’s spreading technique.

The restaurant staff gradually stared in disbelief. Were these two young men actually eating breakfast? Spreading jam on bread took an ordinary person only a few dozen seconds, yet they were spending five, six, seven minutes on a single slice, and their movements were getting slower.

The action looked less like spreading jam and more like conducting a grand artistic creation.

A simple breakfast meal ended up taking the two of them a full four hours.

Every server in the restaurant was dumbfounded; these two young men engrossed in spreading jam had completely lost track of time as it flowed from morning into noon.

People arriving for lunch also turned to stare at Qin Fen and Xue Tian, who were still eating jam on bread for their midday meal.

Completely immersed in training their power control, Qin Fen didn't realize the time had shifted from morning to noon.

Ding…

The metal spoon, tracing the jam, struck the bottom of the jam jar with a crisp sound, pulling Qin Fen and Xue Tian back from their state of absorption into the real world.

The jam was gone…

Qin Fen looked at the jam bread beside Xue Tian, and Xue Tian looked at the jam bread beside him.

They exchanged smiles. This entire morning session dedicated to power control, while perhaps not meeting their final requirements, was far from fruitless.

Bread, being inherently uneven, made spreading jam uniformly far more challenging than they had initially imagined.

The waitress stood nearby again, her expression troubled.

Four hours of spreading had resulted in far too many jam-covered bread slices—enough to stuff even the hungriest man.

Qin Fen and Xue Tian exchanged another knowing glance, and to the absolute astonishment of the waitress, they promptly devoured every last piece of jam bread.

The other diners were also stunned into silence. Were these two ghosts reincarnated as the starving dead?

Glancing up at the clock on the wall, Qin Fen realized with a slight weariness that his breakfast had stretched into lunchtime. After swallowing the last of the bread, he called Song Jia and hurried to the hotel where they were meeting.

Eating breakfast only to immediately proceed to lunch—Qin Fen could only smile weakly at the thought. A few-dollar bracelet, a few-hundred-dollar necklace.

Standing beside Song Jia, Lambda and the others were greatly surprised. Why was she so excited wearing such crudely made jewelry? Had the trends of high society suddenly shifted again?

Qin Fen entered the lobby and immediately spotted the jewelry Song Jia was wearing.

No earrings, no watch; today, Song Jia wore only a bracelet and a necklace.

"Sorry, I’m late."

Qin Fen offered an apologetic nod. This time, dealing with the scalpers had taken far too long; they were scheduled to meet at nine, and now it was nearly half past noon.

"Buddy, you look a little worn out," Lin Liqiang smoothly deflected the awkwardness of his tardiness. "Did you get a room service call last night and just couldn't resist…"

"Qiang Zi, do you think Qin Fen is like you?"

Song Jia lightly slapped Lin Liqiang on the back in protest.

Lambda emerged from behind Song Jia, stepping forward in two strides until he stood before Qin Fen. He turned back toward the direction Qin Fen had come from and announced, "Young Master Ge, this is the Qin Fen we mentioned—the master of paintball, the powerhouse of virtual aerial combat."

Qin Fen followed Lambda's gaze and saw a young man he hadn't noticed yesterday among the crowd. His inverted triangle physique made his shoulders appear exceptionally broad, and his sharply chiseled features looked as if they were carved by a master sculptor. Even standing among a group of clearly capable young men, he possessed an aura of standing above the rest.