Approaching the kicking machine, Nie Yan took up a stance and breathed in deeply. With a deep shout, he threw out a sidekick and ruthlessly struck the sandbag. A loud bang rang out as the sandbag was sent flying up into the air. The sandbag violently swayed back and forth as the chain suspending it nearly snapped in two from the powerful impact.

The value on the monitor fluctuated rapidly before finally stopping at a kick force of 721.35 kg.

Nie Yan was shocked! His kick force during the Top Military Academy entrance exam was only 563.23 kg! It had increased by over 150 kg in such a short amount of time! This was truly unbelievable.

Could it be some kind of mistake? Thinking about it, Nie Yan discarded the thought. What kind of place was the Top Military Academy? This place had the best of the best, the top of the line facilities. It was accurate to two decimal places. There was no way such a large error could occur.

Nie Yan shook his leg. His kicking force increasing was far from a bad thing. During the next exam, his results would be even higher.

Nie Yan continued testing.

Squat: 915.28 kg

Lat Pulldown: 622.81 kg

...

All areas saw noticeable improvements. Nie Yan felt like he was brimming with strength.

The final test was punch force.

Nie Yan stood in front of the machine. He warmed up his body, then planted his foot in the ground. With a deep shout, he threw a punch forward.「Bang!」The sandbag was knocked back and shook violently.

The monitor displayed a value of 569.12 kg. This was much higher than his previous punching force of 511 kg.

Every person’s body had a limit. The closer you reached that limit, the harder it would be to make progress. Under normal circumstances, a fighter increasing their punching force by 10 kg in a month’s time would already be impressive. Nie Yan had raised his by 50 kg! If others found out about this, he would be treated as a freak.

These stats were far too astonishing. With his improved physique, training fighting techniques would become much easier.

Nie Yan’s stats were probably comparable with top fighters in the professional scene.

After working out in the gym for three hours, Nie Yan got in touch with Xie Yao. He would be out in 15 minutes. As he packed up his things and was walking out the door, he suddenly halted his steps and looked back at the punching machine.

A strange idea suddenly struck him. After thinking for a moment, he turned back and stepped in front of the sandbag.

There was something he really wanted to test out!

Accelerating forward and pushing off from his waist, Nie Yan focused all his power into his right fist. He paid close attention his movements, constantly correcting and adjusting.

Nie Yan struck forward with his fist. He felt a strange feeling as all the power in his body gathered in his right arm.

It wasn’t close enough. His movements were still stiff!

With a loud bang, Nie Yan struck the sandbag. He could clearly sense that this punch was by far the strongest one he’d thrown in both his lives.

The monitor beside the sandbag rapidly changed before finally stopping at 821.28 kg.

Nie Yan sucked in a cold breath of air. He didn’t expect to achieve such a result. If he could do this consistently, he could compete on the international stage.

That technique was actually based in reality?

All sorts of doubts filled Nie Yan’s heart. He wouldn’t get an answer any time soon. He had heard that the VR helmets and game capsules improved a person’s physique by stimulating their muscles. Looking at it now, it didn’t seem to be only this. No wonder the federation named the VR helmet and game capsules as the top inventions of this age.

In any case, he had grown stronger. This was a fact!

His movements earlier were stiff, but he had still managed a punching force of 821.28 kg. If he polished his movements even more, just what kind of result would he achieve?

Nie Yan threw out a few more punches before he finally got the hang of the feeling. Taking up a peculiar posture, every cell in his body exploded all at once as power surged through his arm. With a loud bang, the value displayed on the monitor kept fluctuating until it finally stopped at 1021.35 kg.

Though he had mentally prepared himself, Nie Yan couldn’t contain his excitement. He estimated even the professional boxers on the world stage were only at this level. Of course the world champion was a different matter altogether.

Nie Yan tried his best to calm his excitement.

...

The Top Military Academy’s entrance, Xie Yao was waiting for Nie Yan. He had sent her another message that he would be another 15 minutes.

Xie Yao stood next to flower garden. In her blouse and violet skirt while carrying a coffee coloured handbag, she amplified the beauty of the scenery. Many of the students passing by couldn’t help but let their gazes fall on her. Some got curious and wanted to know who she was waiting for.

A few male students drummed up the courage to approach her. However, Xie Yao maintained a polite distance away from them. They could only sadly depart.

At this moment, Qin Han walked over toward Xie Yao. Who knew if it was mere coincide or on purpose.

“Hello,” Qin Han greeted. He acted like a true gentleman.

“Hello,” Xie Yao greeted back. She gazed toward the school. What was taking Nie Yan so long?

“Fancy bumping into you here. We’re old classmates. May I treat you to a cup of coffee?” Qin Han said with a smile. He was polite and gave off an affable impression.

“Sorry, I’m busy.” Xie Yao shook her head, politely declining. She didn’t have much interest in Qin Han. She had met many of these gentlemanly types, but they all turned out to be hypocrites deep inside.

“Are you waiting for someone?” Seeing Xie Yao repeatedly glancing back at the school, a dark emotion flitted across his heart.

“Yes.” Xie Yao curtly nodded, pulling further away from Qin Han. She didn’t want to associate with this fellow in any way, shape, or form. She knew that he had entered Conviction and caused Nie Yan many problems. It was best to stay as far away from him as possible.

“Alright, I’ll leave you be then.” Qin Han chuckled. He understood that lingering around any longer would only annoy Xie Yao. When he turned away, his eyes flashed with a cold light.

Qin Han’s back slowly receded before disappearing into the stream of students going home.

About five minutes later, Nie Yan ran bolted from the path and stopped in front of Xie Yao, panting for breath.

“Sorry, I’ve made you wait,” Nie Yan said with an apologetic smile.

Seeing Nie Yan perspiring with sweat, Xie Yao shook her head with a sweet smile. “It’s fine. Let’s go.”

Xie Yao’s smile left the surrounding students dumbstruck. In the past, she didn’t smile often, but when she did, it was simply angelic. All the male students gazed at Nie Yan with deep envy.

Nie Yan and Xie Yao left together.

“What the hell. That guy is so plain looking. How’d he find such a pretty girlfriend?”

“That girl is Xie Yao from the management faculty. Who’s that guy?”

“He’s from the command faculty. I think his name is Nie Yan. He was high schoolmates with Xie Yao. They entered the Top Military Academy together. I heard he scored number one overall in the entrance exams.”

The command faculty and ranked first in the overall score, with this revelation, many people shut up. The command faculty was an Ace major in the Top Military Academy. Every student who graduated and entered the army would become a battalion commander or higher, not to mention they would rise through the ranks very quickly. Even then, the fact he placed first in the overall ranking wasn’t even taken into consideration. This was an unreachable existence for these passersby.

In a distant corner, a pair of cold eyes gazed at Xie Yao and Nie Yan leaving. It was Qin Han who had left just a moment ago.

Whether in terms of background, authority, or resources, Qin Han felt he was far superior to Nie Yan. He was the first to court Xie Yao, but Nie Yan had stolen her away from him! This left a sour taste in his mouth.

“I’ve been been waiting all day. Why haven’t the people from Heavenly Kings gotten back to me yet?” Qin Han frowned.

Suddenly his phone rang, he had received a text from an unknown number. He read through the contents.

「Between you and Nie Yan of the command faculty, we’ll only be choosing one this year. We don’t need losers.

-Heavenly Kings 」

Qin Han’s expression turned cold as he tightly gripped his phone. It was that bastard again!

Heavenly Kings, Qin Han had always dreamed about joining this club. If he entered, with the backing of the several heavyweights there, he could easily crush his rivals and secure power in his family.

He clearly understood what kind of organization Heavenly Kings was. Composed of 26 members altogether, six high officials in the federation, five were high officials in the Chinese government, and the remaining were powerful tycoons of regional bigshots.

From the first moment he entered the Top Military Academy, Qin Han urgently got into contact with a member from Heavenly Kings to help vouch for him. He believed it would all be smooth sailing from there. He didn’t expect to encounter a roadblock.

Nie Yan and Xie Yao returned to their villa. After eating lunch, Nie Yan called up his parents.

As the conversation topic drifted to daily life in the Top Military Academy, Father Nie said in a solemn tone, “If people from Heavenly Kings look for you and ask you to join, be polite and quickly accept.”

“What kind of organization is Heavenly Kings?” Nie Yan couldn’t help but ask. He had already heard this club mentioned countless times. Previously, he didn’t attach any importance to it. But with his father talking about it in such a serious tone, he realized this matter wasn’t simple.

“You don’t need to ask for now. You just have to understand that every person in Heavenly Kings is an unreachable existence. If you’re able to join, you’ll naturally know. However, from my estimates, you’re still not qualified. We can only hope the heavens are on our side.” Father Nie sighed. He informed Nie Yan of the origin of this club.

Hearing Father Nie’s words, Nie Yan had a rough understanding of Heavenly Kings. In fact, every prestigious university had a similar organization. Over the years, the most outstanding elites of the school would gather together, creating an exclusive student club. Everyone shared their resources, allowing the strong to become even stronger. The clubs in ordinary universities probably didn’t hold any real influence outside of school grounds. However, the school Nie Yan entered was the Top Military Academy! It had lauded history of several hundred years, nurturing elite after elite. If the Top Military Academy caught a cold, the entire nation would cough. A club composed of all the school’s top elites over the years, one could imagine what kind of power it held.