Chapter 122 - 108: Purgatory-VII Meat Grinder
[The *Advanced Imperial Body Refining Technique* consists of one hundred twenty-seven movements. It is designed to push the physical potential of a Third-level Martial Artist to its absolute limit, building a solid foundation to break through to a higher level of life.]
As Qin Feng watched the 3D model in the video demonstrate the movements—each one far more complex, contorted, and unnatural than those of the *Intermediate Imperial Body Refining Method*—his gaze became incredibly resolute.
He began his training immediately.
With the very first movement, his body let out a CREAK, as if under immense strain. His muscles and fascia were stretched to an unprecedented limit, bringing an intense, aching pain.
But it was precisely under this extreme pressure that he could clearly feel his newly evolved body erupting with astonishing potential, frantically absorbing Spiritual Energy to adapt to this higher-intensity training.
His rate of adaptation was astonishingly fast.
It took him only one day to master all one hundred twenty-seven incredibly complex movements.
The price, however, was that his already staggering rate of resource consumption skyrocketed once again.
[You have successfully comprehended the *Advanced Imperial Body Refining Technique*]
[Advanced Imperial Body Refining Technique (Novice)]
[Proficiency: 12/100]
[Effect: None]
It was worth noting that after switching to the Advanced Imperial Body Refining Technique, the effect became "None." The passive enhancement was gone.
’Is it because my body’s potential is too high?’
’What a strange panel. What is this thing, anyway?’
Qin Feng was very puzzled.
’It couldn’t be the work of an Evil God, could it?’
Qin Feng considered it for a moment, decided he was overthinking things, and simply shook his head, immersing himself in his training once more.
Another three days passed.
A high-grade Spiritual Energy Potion, worth five hundred thousand Imperial Coins, was completely consumed by him.
The two Potions he had left wouldn’t support his high-intensity training for more than a few days.
[Advanced Imperial Body Refining Technique (Novice)]
[Proficiency: 113/100]
...
Early the next morning, Qin Feng arrived promptly on the top-floor terrace of Beikai Tower.
Teacher Lin Yue was already waiting for him.
"Are you ready?"
Lin Yue asked.
"I’m ready."
Qin Feng nodded.
"Good."
Lin Yue looked at him and began to explain the details of the mission.
"The place we’re going, Purgatory-VII, is a special case. Nominally, it’s an Imperial frontline battlefield, but in reality, it’s a massive ’gladiatorial arena’ established specifically to cultivate Martial Artists."
"The native human population on this planet was almost entirely evacuated during the early stages of the war. Now, the ones fighting the Green Skins on the planet are all Trial Warriors from every corner of the Imperial Star Sea, just like you."
"The Imperial high command deliberately preserved the Green Skin ecosystem on this planet, using war to fuel war. The purpose is to continuously cultivate powerful Warriors for the Empire, ones who have truly undergone a baptism of blood and fire."
Qin Feng was a bit stunned to hear this.
"So... this war, which has lasted for one hundred and fifty years, is actually within the Empire’s control?"
"You could say that."
Lin Yue nodded. "The Empire has countless Trial Planets. The danger level of this particular one is perfectly suited for you right now."
"I see."
Qin Feng understood.
It was like a battlefield mission from one of those ancient video games.
Once you were in, the core objectives were to kill and hone your skills. But in reality, you could choose to withdraw at any time, and the overall direction of the war was always under the Empire’s Control.
"This is a medium-sized planet. According to the latest statistics, there are currently over thirteen billion registered Martial Artists undergoing long-term trials on it."
"What?!"
Qin Feng’s eyes widened, completely shocked by this number.
Over thirteen billion Martial Artists, all on the same planet for a trial?
What a terrifying thought!
Seeing his shocked expression, Lin Yue gave a faint smile. "It’s nothing to be surprised about. Within the Empire, Trial Planets like Purgatory-VII are counted in units of ’trillions.’ There are even more terrifying Trial Grounds that use entire star systems, or even entire Star Zones, as their battlefields."
"The sheer scale and vastness of the Empire are far beyond your imagination."
Qin Feng nodded silently.
He felt as if his worldview had just been shattered all over again.
He had originally thought Qiming Star was already huge.
But now it seemed that Qiming Star, and even the entire Canaan Star System, wasn’t even a speck of dust before the vastness of the Empire.
"One last thing."
Lin Yue’s expression turned serious. "For this mission, to achieve the purest tempering effect, Trial Takers below Level 4 are not permitted to use any external Spiritual Weapons, nor are they allowed to equip Standard Power Armor."
"You can only rely on your own body and cold weapons to fight the Green Skins."
"Understood."
"Good. The teleportation is about to begin."
Lin Yue operated her terminal for a moment, then sent Qin Feng a group teleportation invitation.
Qin Feng accepted the invitation.
The next second, he felt a familiar sensation of being pulled through space.
When he opened his eyes again, he was no longer on the terrace at Qiming First High School.
He found himself inside an immense, magnificent structure filled with the cold texture of metal.
Looking out through a massive viewport beside him, he saw a giant, ochre-colored planet suspended silently in the deep Cosmos.
Below the massive structure, a space elevator that could only be described as a miracle connected space to the planet’s surface like a colossal pillar reaching from heaven to earth.
At the end of the space elevator, on the planet’s surface, sat a colossal city whose scale defied description.
The city’s perimeter was fortified with towering alloy walls that scraped the clouds and a dense array of defensive turrets.
A megacity, a space elevator, and a Space Fortress.
The three formed a single, impregnable War Fortress.
Qin Feng could imagine countless Green Skins surging toward the megacity like a ceaseless tide.
Meanwhile, high-level Martial Artists from the Empire would be stationed within the city, ensuring it was completely secure.
And Trial Takers like them could be deployed directly from this Space Fortress to various combat zones on the planet, like paratroopers.
This Space Fortress was like a massive, absolutely safe "Rebirth Point."
"Someone’s coming."
Just as Qin Feng was taking in the breathtaking sight, the sound of heavy footsteps approached.
A burly Martial Artist, nearly three meters tall and clad in fully-enclosed heavy power armor, walked over and nodded at Lin Yue in greeting.
"Mm."
Lin Yue inclined her head slightly.
The voice of the power-armored Martial Artist, electronically processed, sounded muffled and emotionless. "The Martial Arts Room you requested has been arranged. Inside, you’ll find a real-time battlefield map and area danger-level classifications. You watch over the person you brought. Here, you’re responsible for your own life and death. Don’t come crying to me if you get killed."
He paused, then continued, "The room number is C-709. You can use it for one year."
"Alright, thank you."
Lin Yue expressed her thanks.
The power-armored Martial Artist said no more and turned to leave.
Lin Yue then led Qin Feng through the Space Fortress, which was like a steel labyrinth, in search of their assigned Martial Arts Room.
As they walked, Lin Yue explained.
"That was the rotating supervisor of this ’Divine Shield-III’ Space Fortress, a Planet-level Martial Artist."
"In truth, he’s also undertaking a mission for the Empire. He’s responsible for the daily operations of this area, and if he can ensure no major issues arise within three months, he’ll complete his mission and receive a reward of Imperial Contribution Points."
"Imperial Contribution Points are extremely difficult to obtain."
Lin Yue emphasized, "They can almost only be obtained by completing various missions issued by the Empire. You can exchange them for many things that money can’t buy, such as power armor, weapons, Spirit Secret Skills, Martial Dao killing techniques, Spiritual Weapons, and more..."
"Once you become a Level 4 Martial Artist, you’ll be able to unlock the ’Imperial Missions’ section on the Subspace Network."
As Lin Yue explained, they switched between several internal maglev elevators and passed through a number of massive functional zones before finally arriving at Zone C.
Finally, they stopped in front of an alloy door marked with the number "C-709."
-----------------
The alloy door to Martial Arts Room C-709 slowly closed behind them, sealing off all sound from the Space Fortress’s interior.
This would be their exclusive base for the next three months.
The room’s furnishings were simple. In the center was a massive holographic tactical platform, large enough for dozens of people to move around on at once.
Lin Yue walked to the platform and lightly tapped the control panel with her finger.
"VWOOM—"
A huge, three-dimensional map instantly unfolded in the center of the room.
It was a complete model of an ochre-colored planet.
Its surface was covered in a dense web of grid lines and light-points of various colors.
"This is the real-time battlefield map of Purgatory-VII."
Lin Yue pointed to the planetary model. "The entire planet has been forcibly divided into five hundred and thirty-two independent combat zones by the Imperial Military Department using an Energy Barrier. Look, the area of each zone is equivalent to a large country on a Barbaric Planet."
Qin Feng’s gaze was completely captivated by the magnificent map.
He saw that in some zones, the red light-points indicating active combat were so dense they almost merged into a sea of fire.
Other zones, however, were relatively calm, with only sporadic conflicts.
"Why the divisions?"
Qin Feng asked.
"To keep the green-skinned kids from ganging up."
Lin Yue explained, "The Green Skin race has a peculiar talent, a force field called ’Waaagh!’ The more Green Skins that gather, the stronger and crazier they become, and the more likely it is for an incredibly terrifying ’War Lord’ to emerge among them. This regional division is to control their numbers within a certain range, preventing any accidents that exceed the trial’s difficulty level."
Her finger swept across the map, passing over the deep blue ocean areas.
"Naval combat environments are complex and not suitable for a newcomer like you. We’ll stick to land battles."
Finally, her finger landed on a plains area marked deep red, codenamed "Flesh Grinder-03."
"According to intel, this area is currently one of the most active zones for Level 3 Green Skins. This is it."