A group of mercenaries surged into the Martial Arts Hall.
The Extreme Martial Arts Hall, which had merged ten Second-tier training camps, was exceedingly large.
The first and second floors were connected, with a ceiling height of over eight meters, and the ends of both sides were the second-floor spectator stands.
What caught the attention of all the Awakeners the most was the square Martial Arts Arena made of white brick and stone right in front of the main gate, into which the bold word "Extreme" was engraved. It seemed as if with one glance, one could feel the sheer force of breaking limits and advancing relentlessly.
Indeed, the Hall Master of the Extreme Martial Arts Hall was remarkable!
"The Martial Arts Arena of our Extreme Martial Arts Hall measures fifty by fifty meters and is made of special materials. Any student can freely spar on the Martial Arts Arena. Without any exaggeration, there are few Awakeners nowadays who can manage to crack it," Shay said, gesturing to a guard in the distance.
The guard shouldered a portable rocket launcher, leapt high, and pulled the trigger.
The rocket roared with a trailing flame, slamming into the pure white Martial Arts Arena.
A burst of light exploded, and as the dust cleared,
aside from some debris and black ash, the surface of the white brick and stone remained smooth. Soon, someone cleaned up the rubbish, and upon a closer look, not even a trace of scorching could be seen on the polished surface of the Martial Arts Arena.
"Of course, that's nothing. It merely represents the tip of the iceberg of our Extreme Martial Arts Hall's power," Shay led the Awakeners that had come in toward the side of the Martial Arts Arena.
"I believe what everyone is more concerned about is whether our Martial Arts Hall has the capacity to provide a suitable training environment and whether every student can experience significant improvement."
"That is certainly possible!"
Shay was introducing everything at the forefront.
The Awakeners behind him scanned the surroundings, pausing briefly whenever Shay introduced a type of training facility.
"Who knows if these facilities are as useful as that person claimed, arm training machine, which is supposed to significantly increase one's arm strength within three days?"
This person's words were laced with doubt.
No wonder—it's always been the case that merchants overstate the virtues of their products.
Other Martial Arts Halls might manage if they were on the level of the big four, and even some smaller Martial Arts Halls had hyped themselves to the sky.
"It's hard to say whether it's useful or not, but sadly, for us Advanced Awakeners, it's not likely we'll get a chance to use them."
"Yes, the science academy recently proved that Awakeners possess extraordinary potential, and by relying on self-training, that is how to unearth that potential. It's said that once one fully taps into their own potential, even Awakeners at the same level can have a huge difference in combat power. However, the exact extent of that difference is still something the science academy hasn't been able to quantify."
"It's just a pity that, even with the training equipment from the major Martial Arts Halls, they could at best only accommodate First or Second Layer Awakeners. For us on the Fourth or Fifth Layer, we can barely maintain a training effect by doing several hundred push-ups a day."
The words "Fourth or Fifth Layer" were spoken quite loudly.
Envious and admiring looks immediately filled the surroundings.
While they were enjoying the attention from the other Awakeners on one side, they sighed on the other.
It wasn't a pretense.
If there were more significant training methods, they would definitely be willing to try...
"Unfortunately, for us, the Martial Arts Hall is at most a place to find a Martial Arts Hall Teacher to feed us moves, a consolation if nothing else."
Suddenly, someone beside them mentioned, "Recently, because of the Zhentian incident, most Martial Arts Halls have canceled outdoor field training, but I heard that the One Punch Martial Arts Hall, the leading one among the big four, has introduced a new practical combat training mode."
Many surrounding people slowed their steps and listened intently.
"It's still battling Demonized Beasts, but unlike the fights in the wild before, now the Martial Arts Hall traps live Demonized Beasts and raises them in special battle rooms, offering hands-on combat training for the Martial Arts Hall students. I must say, this method of real combat training has gained the trust of many students. They feel that even if they stay in the Sanctuary, they can become battle-hardened Awakeners..."
"Really, heh..." the speaking Awakener said with a sneer, "But the business at One Punch Martial Arts Hall has reportedly picked up quite a bit because of this."
The Red Maple Leaf Mercenary nodded in agreement.
Then, looking around at these brand-new training machines, "the equipment at Extreme Martial Arts Hall looks good, but I guess, even if Extreme Martial Arts Hall's hardware is better than the other major Martial Arts Halls, at most, it can only satisfy the needs of third-layer Awakeners."
"Given the pace of discovery of new materials and the progress of research at the science academy, I do believe that in time, there will be equipment capable of training Fourth or Fifth Layer Awakeners. But by then, we surely won't be staying at the same rank anymore."
Shay babbled on for quite a while, then looked up to see many Awakeners had already let their minds wander elsewhere.
Failing to complete the tasks set by the Lord would mean a salary deduction!
He infused his voice with Source Power, drawing the attention of the surrounding Awakeners back to him.
"I've said so much, why don't a few of you come up and try these machines at our Martial Arts Hall, and then you'll know if I've been exaggerating," he suggested.
Shay walked over to a two-meter-high machine and pointed, "This is the latest model of Punching Power Tester from our Martial Arts Hall. Without any exaggeration, it's leagues ahead of those Punching Power Testers on the market—I mean several Drunk Flower Streets ahead. I wonder if anyone would like to come up and give it a try, the higher the strength, the better."
He paused and then suddenly raised his volume, "If anyone can blow up the Punching Power Tester, Extreme Martial Arts Hall will award a reward of ten thousand Source Crystals, certified in the name of the Martial Arts Hall!"
Immediately, many Awakeners had bloodshot eyes and started breathing rapidly.
Those who were proud of their strength and initially didn't want to step forward, feeling they would be made a spectacle of, now had their thoughts twisted into a completely different shape.
They were itching to rush forward.
Ten thousand Source Crystals were simply too much!
Perhaps some large Mercenary Corps could afford it, but that was an entire Mercenary Corps. For an individual, even a leading mercenary from a high-ranking Corps might not be able to produce so many Source Crystals.
There's no denying that it is a Martial Arts Hall aiming to make money.
They're really damn rich.
Extreme Martial Arts Hall dared to offer such a hefty reward with confidence, without a doubt, in the durability of their Punching Power Tester.
But which Awakener present lacked confidence in themselves?
Among them were even experts at the Peak of Fifth Tier.
Trying it out didn't cost anything, what if they succeeded?
What if that Punching Power Tester was actually frail, and someone else beat them to it, watching as ten thousand Source Crystals slipped through their fingers—how painful would that be?!
"It's my turn, it was clearly me first, whether entering the Martial Arts Hall or stepping forward, it was clearly me—"