Qin Fen returned to the barracks somewhat dishevelled. The door was unlocked. The screen was displaying the Four-Star Martial Artist Forum on the Sky Combat Network.

The threads here were more explosive than ever before.

Even the sensation Qin Fen caused by taking down fourteen Four-Star Martial Artist sects in one day hadn't generated the kind of fervent heat currently boiling over the forum.

The entire first page of the Four-Star Martial Artist Forum was dominated by a single person's posts: 'Thirty-Six Hours: Shocking the Prison City Once Again.'

Videos of the sect-destroying battle at the Dragon Hall were not just rampant on the Four-Star Forum; they were spreading rapidly across the Meteor-rank, Three-Star, Two-Star, One-Star, and even the Military Personnel forums.

‘The Feat of One Man Challenging Seven Hundred.’ The posts were constantly replaying the footage captured over the thirty-six hours since he was exposed.

The first few pages were overwhelmingly filled with praise. They expressed astonishment at his ability to operate the M134 solo and showered him with admiration for managing to temporarily disable and cripple Mobile Armor.

Discussions followed, featuring various analyses and commentary on the operation.

Qin Fen watched these replies with great interest, occasionally cross-referencing them with his own videos. He simply dismissed those who were incorrect with a faint smile, but made sure to absorb the lessons from those whose analyses were accurate.

Scrolling through the replies, Qin Fen became increasingly certain that there were Special Forces operatives among the commenters; otherwise, their evaluations of the special operations aspect couldn't have been so precise.

Aside from the videos of sect annihilation, the final confrontation—the Four-Star Martial Artist challenging a Five-Star Martial Artist—was also heavily featured under the title: ‘A Gross Mismatch: How a Four-Star Martial Artist Defeated a Meteor-rank Master.’

The most popular location for this particular thread wasn't the Four-Star Forum, but the Meteor-rank Martial Artist forum itself.

This forum hosted Five-Star Martial Artists, but also Six-Star and Seven-Star masters who were classified under the Meteor rank. They watched the comments, offering less praise for Qin Fen and more critical evaluations of the fight itself.

Five-Star Meteor-rank masters noted that the Five-Star opponent in the video had made tactical errors due to underestimating his foe.

However, the replies from Seven-Star Meteor-rank masters were invariably razor-sharp. Almost all of them concluded that if 'Thirty-Six Hours' had fought with his true full power, the outcome would likely have been Robert being beaten to death.

When several Five-Star masters voiced their doubts, a Seven-Star master named Ban Chan Niu directly posted: "Thirty-Six Hours must have true ultimate moves he held back. If he had deployed his hidden ultimate techniques, he should have been capable of defeating Robert despite the level gap."

After Ban Chan Niu's post appeared, the questioning Five-Star masters ceased their debate. Within the Meteor ranks, Ban Chan Niu might not have been the absolute strongest, but he was certainly the most distinctive.

Ban Chan Niu, who had reached the Seven-Star Meteor level by mastering the Creation of Feathered Immortality Divine Art, and further enhanced it with the graceful Night Blooming Lotus palm technique, had drawn the attention of the Federal Sacred Martial Hall, which extended him one of its exceedingly rare invitations.

After receiving an invitation that drove nearly every other martial artist to maddening envy, Ban Chan Niu did something that stunned everyone.

He refused the Sacred Martial Hall's offer.

The commentary from such a powerful and uniquely principled master immediately piqued wider interest in "Thirty-Six Hours," leaving many curious about what other secret skills the 'Money Leech' possessed.

It was rare, both in reality and on the Sky Combat Network, for high-level martial artists to issue challenges to lower-level ones.

High-level martial artists were expected to uphold the dignity and bearing appropriate to their status.

With the emergence of 'Thirty-Six Hours' videos, this rarely broken convention was shattered dozens of times overnight.

In his inbox, Qin Fen found dozens of challenge letters from Five-Star Meteor-rank martial artists. Many detailed specific requests, hoping the duels could be kept secret.

Faced with challenges from dozens of Meteor-rank warriors, Qin Fen was tempted. He carefully selected several styles of New Martial Arts and Ancient Martial Arts he had never encountered before, and sent them the required fees for a challenge match.

Qin Fen then performed his mandatory two rounds of Arhat Fist and Hong Fist before showering and finally collapsing into bed. When the wake-up call sounded, Qin Fen awoke from his sleep, gently stretching his limbs. Last night, the 'Luminous Man' had miraculously granted him a full day off.

With extra time for assimilation, Qin Fen had spent the night pushing his Vajra Berserk Tide technique further into creation. His precision in controlling raw power had also seen significant improvement.

"You are...?"

The barracks door opened. The new recruit walking at the front stopped dead, letting out a sound of surprise.

Seeing a man standing shirtless, displaying a physique of taut, hard muscle first thing in the morning, was enough to make anyone suspicious.

"Greetings," the man, whose upper body revealed muscles as hard as iron, said politely, bowing with hands clasped in greeting to the opening recruit. "My name is Cha Chan. I am a new recruit arriving from Taizhou. I hope to meet Qin Fen, the top fighter among the new recruits."

Cha Chan? The top new recruit from Taizhou?

The room, which had been murmuring with morning activity, fell instantly silent. Nearly every eye was fixed on the doorway, and instinctively, the others parted to create a path leading to Qin Fen, who was currently straightening his uniform.

Cha Chan, wearing a polite and gentle smile, stepped across the threshold. The new recruit blocking his path instinctively sensed an inexplicable danger. Without conscious thought, he sidestepped, opening the way.

The new recruit watched Cha Chan, who nodded and smiled back at him before continuing forward. How could this man, barely reaching 170 centimeters in height, exude an aura like that of a mighty tiger?

"Hello," Cha Chan said, stopping before Qin Fen and clasping his hands again. "Please allow me to introduce myself once more. My name is Cha Chan, a new recruit from Taizhou. At fifteen, I won the Youth Division championship of the Xintai Boxing Competition."

Qin Fen sized up Cha Chan. His height offered no distinct advantage, but his body radiated a dense scent of bloodlust layered beneath a killer instinct. His very bones seemed to seep a ferocity, bravery, and tyrannical dominance completely at odds with his outwardly gentle demeanor.

Once upon a time, Muay Thai was known entirely as a martial art born for pure combat. With the rise of New Martial Arts and Ancient Martial Arts, Muay Thai entered a period of decline.

Like any martial art experiencing a lull, if the lineage isn't entirely severed, a naturally gifted genius will eventually emerge to elevate it to a new peak.

Muay Thai was no exception. This fighting style, inherently designed for battle, had been fused by Luo Fengzi with several schools of Ancient and New Martial Arts, creating Neo-Muay Thai built upon the original foundation, making it even more tyrannical, brazen, ruthless, and bloody.

Qin Fen had seen users of Neo-Muay Thai on the combat net before, but never anyone who reached Cha Chan’s level. If he hadn't miscalculated, this man had definitely killed before.

"You wish to spar?"

Qin Fen, restored by rest, was in peak condition. Stirred by the bloody, domineering aura emanating from Cha Chan, his dormant fighting spirit began to awaken and surge.

"No, no," Cha Chan shook his head repeatedly. "I am here to take the title of the top new recruit fighter. True combat involves no sparring; there is only life and death."

Qin Fen offered a nonchalant smile. For Neo-Muay Thai, one of the Killing Martial Paths, such an answer was entirely reasonable.

"Then you brought enough money?"

This voice did not belong to Qin Fen. It came from the barracks entrance.

A figure of immense stature, over 1.8 meters tall and weighing 280 kilograms, resembling a mountain of flesh that nearly blocked the doorway, was Gangben Wu. A sneer of contempt played on his lips.

He raised an arm thicker than an average man's thigh and shoved aside the new recruit blocking his path.

The recruit instantly felt as if he were caught in a massive ocean wave, knocked off balance, retreating several steps before finally stabilizing himself.

Such immense power? The recruit was astonished. His training over the past few days had been grueling, and his strength had improved considerably, yet he was easily pushed away by a single contact.

Gangben Wu, with steps that made the floorboards tremble, slowly advanced into the room.

"Money?"

Cha Chan visibly froze. Even the wild, dominant scent of bloodlust around him momentarily paused.

"That's right, money," Gangben Wu stated haughtily as he advanced steadily. "This Qin Fen, who possesses no martial honor, has decreed that anyone wishing to claim the title of top new recruit fighter must pay a fee of one thousand units before engaging him."

"Not anyone," Qin Fen corrected. "Rather, my fee doubles every time I defeat a challenger. So, those wishing to spend less money to challenge me should come sooner."

Gangben Wu and Cha Chan exchanged a look, both letting out cold sneers simultaneously. They had never encountered anyone so arrogant. Without even starting a fight, his words implied he had already won.

"Mr. Gangben, you are too cunning,"

A loud, clear voice carrying notes of arrogance echoed again from the doorway.

Qin Fen looked up. The newcomer was clean-featured, and the structure of muscle and bone beneath his dōgi suggested an indescribable symmetry. Just standing there gave the impression of hardness, like unyielding stone.

New Karate? The two black characters embroidered on his chest—Kyokushin—indicated the Kyokushin style? Qin Fen's furrowed brow smoothed out, replaced by a faint smile.

He shook his head slightly. What kind of day was this? He should have checked the almanac. Young new recruits from various prefectures were arriving to challenge him first thing in the morning.

"Mr. Kyokushin Genichi, for the future of our New Sumo, I apologize," Gangben Wu said without turning around, his voice devoid of any real apology. "Once our prefecture secures the title for the best new combatant, why should we worry about divisions between us?"