He was currently at the Body Tempering Fifth Layer.
Among D Level Students, he was still just one of the crowd, completely unremarkable.
But once he broke through to the Body Tempering Seventh Layer and entered the Body Tempering Late Stage, his physical constitution would undergo a heaven-and-earth-shaking transformation.
Only then would he be qualified to apply for a promotion to C Level Student.
C Level Students were the ones who had truly escaped the bottom of the giant pyramid that was East Sea Martial Arts University.
Resource allocation, new privileges unlocked, and even... the ability to apply for official flight courses.
'Goal: Body Tempering Seventh Layer!'
A fire seemed to burn within Han Feng.
Thirty-five thousand Contribution Points could be converted into twenty-three hours of flight time.
Combined with the Qi Blood Potions he would need, it was enough for him to attempt this breakthrough.
As for the path of a Mechanic, he had never thought of giving it up.
Flying was his Dao, his way of soaring through the heavens as if with a sword in hand.
And being a mechanic was the craft he needed to find his footing and make a life for himself in this concrete jungle.
Going it alone was too hard.
Being noticed by Zhao Yu today was just the beginning.
He would use this path to connect with the vast Spiritual Energy Industrial System behind the Mechanical Repair Department and find himself a powerful backer to shield him from the storm.
Pilot and Mechanic, sword and sheath; one was indispensable to the other.
With this realization, the oppressive feeling from having witnessed death vanished completely.
He left the rest area and returned to the cramped dormitory for D Level Students.
Pang Hu and Xiaoli were lying on their beds, excitedly chattering about where they were going to have fun during their day off tomorrow.
Zhou Wen, as always, was quietly reading a book.
Seeing Han Feng push the door open, Pang Hu shot up from his bed with a kip-up.
The bed frame groaned under his bulky body.
"Madman, you're finally back!"
"Director Liao just posted in the group chat. We totally crushed this assessment, so he gave us a special day off tomorrow!"
"A day off?"
Han Feng was a little surprised.
"Yeah! But it doesn't matter to you."
Xiaoli poked his head out, giving him a wink and a mischievous grin.
"Engineer Zhao's project team doesn't get days off. You, my friend, can get ready to slave away for the big boss tomorrow!"
Han Feng just smiled, not saying anything.
He walked to the small empty space in the center of the dorm, took a deep breath, and assumed a stance.
He wanted to see how effective the Skills he'd grasped in the air that day would be on the ground.
He closed his eyes, and the profound feeling of Human-Machine Unity he'd experienced when executing Spiral Charge in the jet instantly surfaced in his mind.
With a single thought, his Qi Blood Power surged through his body, following the path etched in his memory.
The next second, he violently pushed off the ground!
He shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow.
He was so fast he even created a faint RIPPING sound in the air!
"Holy shit!"
Pang Hu jumped, startled, and the personal terminal in his hand fell with a SMACK onto his face.
"Madman, what the hell was that Body Technique? Are you on stimulants?!"
Han Feng didn't answer. He had barely managed to stop in front of the wall, and his brows were tightly furrowed.
'Something's wrong.'
'The feeling is completely wrong.'
'This feels more like a crude way of exerting force.'
'The speed was there, but the strain on my muscles and bones was immense. It was nothing like the effortless freedom in the air, where I could ignore inertia and move as I pleased.'
'It was like taking a majestic eagle that soared through the heavens and cramming it into a tiny chicken coop.'
He then tried Reversal of Heaven and Earth.
His body twisted into a bizarre posture, and he barely managed to complete the movement.
But the motion was stiff and clumsy, making him look as comical as a twitching duck.
'In the end, these Body Techniques were extensions of the Sword Control Technique.'
'Without the "sword," they had lost their soul.'
Next, he placed his final hopes on Sword Qi Release.
He extended his right hand, pressing his index and middle fingers together to form a sword-finger, mimicking the classic stance of the Sword Immortals from ancient legends.
He mobilized what little Qi Blood he had, sending it surging frantically toward his fingertips!
He could feel the skin on his fingertips swelling slightly.
A scorching Energy ran amok within them, yet it was constantly blocked by an invisible barrier, unable to break free from his body.
In the end, the power reluctantly dispersed, sinking back into silence.
[System Prompt: Body Tempering Cultivation is insufficient. Conditions for "Qi Blood Release" not met. Skill activation failed.]
'As expected.'
Han Feng understood.
'The Body Tempering Realm is for quenching the muscles, bones, and flesh.'
'Only when one's Qi Blood was so abundant that it overflowed and permeated the entire body, quenching it through and through, could one possibly project it and harm someone from a distance.'
'And that threshold was precisely the Body Tempering Seventh Layer.'
"Madman, are you doing some kind of ritual dance? What's with all the weird gestures? Are you practicing some Evil Techniques?"
Xiaoli sidled over, his face full of curiosity.
"Just stretching."
Han Feng relaxed his stance and began practicing the most basic *Body Forging Technique*.
Every move was executed with meticulous precision.
He could clearly feel faint wisps of external Energy being drawn into his body with each movement, merging into his Qi Blood.
[*Body Forging Technique·Proficient* Skill Proficiency +1]
[Body Tempering Cultivation +0.1]
After finishing one full set, a realization struck Han Feng.
'Since the system activated, even the Cultivation efficiency of the Basic Body Forging Technique has more than tripled.'
'It's already comparable to students with B Level Talent.'
'A pity.'
'Compared to flying a jet, this is still as slow as a snail.'
Han Feng snarked to himself.
He made up his mind. From now on, the Body Forging Technique would only serve as a warm-up, a way to get used to his explosive increase in power.
True Cultivation had to be done tens of thousands of feet in the air!
He glanced at his account balance: 35,000.
All of this money had to be converted into fuel and Qi Blood Potions.
'I have to break through to the Body Tempering Seventh Layer as soon as possible!'
...
「The next morning.」
Following the address on his terminal, Han Feng arrived at the Aviation Division building in the northeast corner of the Martial Arts University campus.
In stark contrast to the noisy, greasy hangars below, this was a true sanctum of scientific research.
The corridors were so quiet you could hear your own heartbeat.
Holographic light screens flowed across the pristine white walls, displaying complex Spiritual Power diagrams that the average person couldn't hope to understand.
The air was filled with the crisp scent of cold metal and high-purity Energy.
On the seventeenth floor was the exclusive experimental zone for the "Hunting Falcon Gen-3 Spiritual Energy Engine Project Team."
After his identity was verified, a pair of heavy alloy doors slid open silently.
A vast, pure-white space, like a futuristic hangar, unfolded before his eyes.
In the center of the space sat a silver-gray fighter jet. Its lines were sleek and beautiful, a perfect example of aggressive aesthetics.
It was the Hunting Falcon Gen-3 prototype.
Its engine section was dismantled, exposing an intricate lattice of Spiritual Power conduits and Rune Arrays that were as complex as a work of art.
A dozen or so Engineers in white clean suits bustled around it, working intently.
The beeps and chimes of various instruments rose and fell, weaving together into a symphony of high-tech precision.
Chen Gang was already there.
He stood beside an Engineer, listening intently to the explanation.
He too had changed into a pristine research suit, his expression one of deep concentration and absorption, as if he naturally belonged there.
When Chen Gang saw Han Feng enter, his gaze swept over, lingering for less than half a second.
Then, he arrogantly looked away, his focus returning to the sophisticated engine.
It was as if looking a moment longer would be a waste of his precious time.
"You must be Han Feng, then? Welcome, welcome!"
A gentle voice sounded from the doorway.
A middle-aged man with hair frosted at the temples and a kind smile on his face strode over.