Chapter 1038: Chapter 1038

Almost the moment he heard He Ao’s words, An Ming’s eyes widened.

He stammered, pointing first at He Ao and then at himself, his eyes filled with disbelief.

"So what exactly did they tell you?"

He Ao smiled as he looked at the young man before him.

"They simply told me, ’Mercenary’ is here, asking if I wanted to come over."

An Ming glanced at He Ao and stuttered.

Mercenary was the code name He Ao used at the Research Institute.

Of course, after formally joining the Research Institute, everything was completely under real names.

Honestly, when He Ao first heard this ’code name’, he even felt as if he was in another world.

He Ao smiled and continued to ask.

An Ming paused for a moment, nodding slightly.

He still seemed to be recovering from the shock just now, his mind still foggy, but soon, he ’awakened’ and looking at He Ao, who was smiling at him, he stuttered,

"Minister He... is it here? Do I start now?"

He Ao’s hand rested on the documents on the table, he spoke soothingly, "Just perform a set as you usually do, let me see."

Taking a deep breath, An Ming’s demeanor then settled, he gazed at He Ao and slowly raised his hand, "Sir, the Five Beasts Fist passed down in my family has been corrected by you, and after a few months of practice, please take a look."

His words came out very smoothly, with the smoothness of nervous stammering, as if he had rehearsed countless times, finally reaching the examination hall.

He Ao nodded, gesturing for him to continue.

Looking at the gentle cheeks of the young man before him, An Ming’s nervousness dissolved a bit more, he raised his hand, assuming a starting pose.

He slowly raised his hand, power flowing from legs to waist, and from waist to shoulders and elbows, half-stepping forward, punching out.

A slight whistling sound came from the air, a surging force rushing towards He Ao, like a tiger descending the mountain, opening its fierce gaping mouth, charging straight at He Ao.

He Ao looked up at the incoming fist, in a trance, the roaring tiger seemed to dive into the clouds, dissipating into nothingness.

The tiger hadn’t fully formed; clearly, An Ming was holding back, cautious of offending him.

He Ao smiled at An Ming, "Don’t hold back."

An Ming nodded vigorously, "Next move, Leopard’s Speed."

Then he raised both hands, his body arching like a fully alert feline. In the next instant, his body shot forward like an arrow from a bow, his fists exploding, as fast as a shadow, like a cheetah pouncing on its prey, aiming straight for the vital points.

He Ao glanced at An Ming, quietly resolving the fierce momentum of the invisible leopard coming through the air, "Continue."

An Ming nodded lightly.

His previously tense muscles instantly relaxed, but not completely, akin to thawed icy ropes in winter—supple, yet with some support retained.

His hand floated forward, like a nimble great snake, severing everything before him.

As the snake vanished from He Ao’s vision, An Ming quickly transitioned into the next move.

His supple body gathered some energy again, then his arms and legs synchronously moved to the side, like a nimble monkey darting through the forest, deftly altering his form, the force of his punches slightly tricky.

But immediately after, his form changed, his center of gravity dropped, and he exerted force with his legs, waist, shoulders, and elbows, like a bear-sized beast, colliding in the void.

A dull sound echoed in the silent air.

That bear-like momentum slowly dissolved in He Ao’s gaze.

However, at this moment, An Ming did not stop; looking at He Ao, he quickly said, "Sir, I have one more move, which I’ve realized myself during the practice and reflection on your guidance, integrating Five Beasts Fist."

He Ao looked up with interest and gestured for him to continue.

Seeing He Ao’s gaze, An Ming took a deep breath, stepped back a few steps, fixed his gaze on He Ao, and slowly raised his hand, "Sir, the force might be a bit strong, please be careful."

He Ao gently shook his head, "Show me your full strength."

An Ming, after a brief hesitation and another deep breath, raised his hand, "This is my first time using this move with full force, please be cautious."

This time, there was no special technique; he merely raised his hand, then took a half step forward and suddenly thrust out his fist.

In that instant, illusions of five gigantic beasts—tiger, leopard, snake, monkey, and bear—appeared behind him.

The ferocity of the tiger, the swiftness of the leopard, the flexibility of the snake, the agility of the monkey, and the brute courage of the bear seemed to merge together in that brief moment.

In an extremely short amount of time, An Ming leaped out several meters, directly crossing the entire office to appear in front of He Ao.

His form was nimble and flexible, seemingly elusive, his fist fierce and oppressive, carrying tremendous force.

Then, he realized he seemed to have overshot.

Under full force, the strength of the move somewhat exceeded his estimates, causing his body to go slightly out of control, overshooting by half a meter more than expected.

And that half meter, precisely overshot the desk, striking the young man behind it.

He hurriedly tried to control his force, but found it was already too late; his fist was about to hit the young man’s face.

He wasn’t worried about harming the legendary hero before him, but such a hit, if considered offensive, could almost nullify any chance of becoming a disciple.

And if anything was broken, he might not be able to afford the damages.

Worst of all, the blood in the cracks of the floor below hadn’t dried yet!

He wished he hadn’t shown off this move.

Numerous thoughts accompanied by intense regret rose in his mind.

And those thoughts coalesced into just two words, ’It’s over’.

Then he saw the young man in front of him raise a hand, the index finger extended, gently touching his fist.

A slight and gentle force transmitted through his fist, in an instant, dissolving the fierce momentum and surging power.

He stopped, not because he collided with something or was forcibly restrained, but because the force inside him naturally dissipated, and his body controlled itself to a halt.

The opponent had not used any brute force to stop him; he could even feel that the gentle touch was no more than the force of an ordinary person.

In this instant, whether it was regret or fear, all evaporated from his mind; he lifted his head, looked at He Ao with disbelief and a desire to understand the truth of Martial Arts, "How did you do that?"

He Ao glanced at the youth in front of him and smiled, "But the method of Fusion is too rough, causing you to lose control of the power, which leads to misjudgments."

He lightly tapped An Ming’s fist with a finger and gently moved the entire fist upward by half an inch, and at the same time, An Ming’s body also twisted at a very subtle angle.

An Ming, puzzled, looked at He Ao. He was about to ask something when a sense of smoothness from his body abruptly silenced him.

He blankly withdrew his fist, staring at his palm, "So, this is how it is, this is how it is."

Then he looked up at He Ao, hesitated for a moment, turned around, and charged at the wall beside him again.

The swift Fist Technique instantly flashed forth, but this time, the fist did not go beyond the expected distance, stopping half a fist’s distance from the wall, and his fist was a bit higher than when he first swung it.

Then he looked at the wall and stepped back a few steps before punching out again; this time it was even closer.

He quickly tried a few more times, and finally, the fist steadily stopped an inch before the wall, without any deviation.

He turned back, staring blankly at He Ao, then immediately bowed in gratitude, "Thank you, sir..."

Then He Ao instantly appeared in front of him, reaching out to support him.

He Ao steadied An Ming’s body with a smile and asked.

An Ming’s eyes sparkled with unsatiated excitement and astonishment, "Just a small change was needed; this move was actually controllable, I can achieve this level."

He looked at He Ao, his eyes brimming with inexplicable admiration, "Sir, even if you killed me now, I would be satisfied."

What kind of bizarre things has this guy been watching before coming here.

"I don’t need your life,"

He Ao chuckled and shook his head, then returned to his desk, smiling at An Ming, "Alright, you’ve found the person you were looking for, anything else?"

An Ming suddenly snapped back to reality, hesitating as he looked at He Ao.

At that moment, He Ao seemed to recall something, and spoke slowly, "Your Talent is ’Fighter,’ right? I happen to have a friend who knows the Talent beyond Fighter and how to get promoted. You could become a D-Level Transcendent, even a C-Level Transcendent."

He smiled at An Ming, "If you earn enough merits here, you might have a chance to become a D-Level, even a C-Level Transcendent."

"Transcendents can be promoted? To D-Level and C-Level?"

An Ming was slightly stunned, his gaze fixed on the calm and gentle face of the young man before him, but he quickly calmed down.

He looked at He Ao, took a deep breath without hesitating, and spoke his innermost thoughts, "Minister He, I want to learn Martial Arts from you. I know you have concerns and cannot take me, but being by your side to follow and assist is enough for me."

"You’re not considering being a Transcendent?"

He Ao sat on a chair, casually closing the documents in his hand, "You are already a Transcendent, and you should know that the power of Transcendents comes much faster than learning Martial Arts. Can you, without Extraordinary Abilities, defeat an E-Level Transcendent using brute force?"

An Ming paused, took a slight breath while looking at He Ao, and stated earnestly, "But sir, I still want to learn Martial Arts."

He Ao lifted his head, gazing at An Ming, "It’s a very difficult path."

An Ming stared blankly at He Ao.

The originally calm gaze of ’Minister He’ transformed almost instantly like a sharp blade, slicing through his consciousness.

In a trance, he seemed to see a rugged mountainous path; he was climbing alone on this road while the people beside him were riding elevators, swiftly ascending.

This road is so long and rugged that even when he was old and frail, he could not see the summit.

Feeling the pressure from this invisible illusion, An Ming took a deep breath, looked at He Ao, and nodded seriously and resolutely, "I’m sure."

"You go to this address,"

He Ao shifted his gaze away from the young man in front of him, picked up the nearby mobile phone, found An Ming’s Research Institute account, and sent him the address, "The people there will teach you a basic Fist Technique, as for later,"

He Ao put down the phone, gazed at the young man in front of him and smiled, "I don’t need you to be servile, just do your job well."

Hearing this, An Ming felt his emotions drop drastically like a rollercoaster, and then swiftly rise again; he immediately straightened up and loudly said to He Ao, "Yes, sir!"

"Alright, go and handle the paperwork for joining, Yan Yue will assign you to a team and tasks."

He Ao leaned back in his chair, smiling as he spoke.

An Ming nodded excitedly, then he opened the room door and walked out.

The nervous concerns when he first opened the door had now completely dissipated; his mind was now solely filled with repaying his mentor and working hard.

As the office door closed behind him, He Ao slightly shifted his gaze towards the window.

He could diligently practice the moves for months, his perseverance was commendable, and he could comprehend new techniques from simple ones, easily achieving understanding with just a bit of guidance; his Talent was also quite good.

The resolve to pursue the path was visible.

Next, it would be time to see his character.

There are many types of Martial Arts fanatics, some are lawful and kind, truly seeking the path, while others are ruthless, stopping at nothing just to practice Martial Arts.

And these traits can only be discerned through specific actions.

Time will reveal a person’s nature.

He hoped that this initial ’little Martial Arts fanatic’ would not disappoint him.

He Ao withdrew his gaze and looked at the personal attributes panel in his field of view.

[Authority Level: Advanced Player]

[Physical Condition: 11631]

[Skills: Talent Sequence 272: Super Memory (B-grade), Basic Firearms Mastery, Talent Sequence 144: Miracle Scholar (B-grade)]

[Mechanical Modification: None]

[Martial Arts: Qi Refinement and Spirit Transformation (B-grade)]

He was currently activating Super Memory; his original physical condition was 8221, increased by 3410 through Super Memory.

And when Super Memory was recently promoted, the increase was only 2420, it has increased by nearly 1000.

At the same time, during his conversation with An Ming, he also utilized some power from Super Memory.

He tried to invoke a certain ’emotion’ in An Ming’s mind using Soul Power, and judging from An Ming’s reaction, he was successful in triggering the emotion; An Ming seemed to cooperate with his words, seeing some kind of ’arduous obstacle’.

This large-scale, coordinated influence on people’s emotions and thoughts using one’s words is the ability of the Talent Sequence ’Orator’ corresponding to B-grade Super Memory.

These signs indicated he was close to fully mastering B-grade Super Memory.

In the Linen Copy World, multiple large-scale speeches that affected the public’s thoughts greatly accelerated his mastery of the ’Orator’.

He Ao withdrew his gaze and closed the character attribute panel and Super Memory.

He picked up a pen nearby and naturally sketched out some of the Array trajectories he had seen on the Wheel of Stars.

The towering High Tower, the tightly closed door of the Central Control Room, and the pounding sounds echoed in his mind.

The final tearing words of 8753 seemed to reappear before him.