Golden Apostle! Black Blade!
Infused with three soul fragments, his potential ascended to the legendary gold tier. Black Blade seemed to have gained profound insights, standing motionless in the gravity chamber.
Fang You opened Black Blade's status panel and examined it closely.
"Black Blade (Triple Awakening)"
"Potential: Gold"
"Skills: Basic Saber Technique (Mastered), Blade Slash (Transcendent Sage - New), Vile Pursuit (Expert), Phantom Step (Expert), Basic Contemplation (Expert), Edge Accumulation (Proficient)... and various basic skills."
"Equipment: Evil-Slaying Great Saber, Standard Combat Saber, Standard Combat Suit"
"Ability: Cold Killing Intent"
"Talents: Instructor, Indomitable Will"
—
"Cold Killing Intent"
"Ability Development: Intimidation, Attachment, Armament"
Gold potential, dual talents!
The improvement lay primarily in potential and the future. The higher the potential and the stronger the talents, the easier it was for basic stats to grow and for breakthroughs during awakenings.
Talents influenced the long term, but the immediate combat power increase was not that...
"Alright, actually, it's still significant."
"When Black Blade and Silver Bell ascended from blue to purple potential, they each gained only one new talent. However, from purple to gold, it was more than just that."
"Besides the 'Indomitable Will' talent, Black Blade's physique and spirit saw considerable improvements. Black Blade is now undoubtedly the foremost in dual-attribute stats... after all, his Instructor talent alone significantly boosts these stats. This also reflects the difference in potential; setting aside his skills, Black Blade's base stats far surpass those of a triple awakened individual, allowing him to easily defeat opponents even without using skills."
"Furthermore, the Instructor talent has also been enhanced this time, manifesting as..."
He checked.
Essentially, the range and duration of the Instructor talent's effect had increased. Now, even if Black Blade was away on missions for several days, the trainees within the training base could still benefit from the instructor's buffs.
Concurrently, Black Blade could receive feedback from the trainees' training.
It was a bit too strong.
As for the talent 'Indomitable Will', its description was somewhat mystical, but even its currently observable effects were...
Just moments ago, as Black Blade's potential was elevated, his Blade Slash proficiency also broke through, reaching the Transcendent Sage level.
This saved him a precious purple-tier skill cultivation card.
"Transcendent Sage, this seems to be the highest level of proficiency. Black Blade has cultivated Blade Slash to its extreme. I wonder how terrifying this Blade Slash truly is."
He felt a slight urge to test it.
But then he remembered, Black Blade seemed to be in a state of enlightenment at the moment and should not be disturbed.
He quietly left.
It had absolutely nothing to do with worrying he might lose.
He was, after all, the invincible Spark Mentor.
…
Xing Jinglei and the others were unaware of Black Blade's potential breakthrough, let alone the ordinary trainees undergoing training within the base.
It wasn't until evening, when the trainees tested their progress for the day, that they were astounded to discover…
"My physique increased by 0.26 today, even more than yesterday. Awesome! Does this mean I have a promising future?!"
"According to conventional theory, the rate of physique growth should naturally slow down. If today's increase is greater than yesterday's, it indeed signifies that unknown potential has been tapped, which is a good omen."
"The results are in, and my physique growth today also increased by 0.03 units compared to yesterday!"
"Mine too!"
"Me too!"
"???"
The trainee who had been about to erupt in joyous laughter suddenly froze.
While it was good that everyone had improved, the happiness was no longer as intense.
Damn it!
"There's only one explanation: our nutritional meals were upgraded again today."
"But the taste hasn't changed much."
"You mean that nutrient solution?"
"Still just as bitter."
"But with the bitterness of that nutrient solution, any changes would be hard to detect, since it's all bitter anyway."
"Emmmm, this handsome guy thought he might have gained a slight edge, but it turns out everyone did."
In other words, the gap remained the same.
There was no advantage in the enrollment assessment!
And the competition to join Spark was getting fiercer and harder with each passing session!
He heard that in the early days, as long as trainees met the standards and passed the assessment, they could officially join, meet the mentors, and be granted their identity.
That was the earliest stage.
Later, the assessment became a bit more complex, and the difficulty increased. It was said that this was because there were fewer people initially, so the standards were relaxed.
Even later, and currently, to join, one not only had to pass the assessment but also be ranked in the top ten, top eight, or even top six of that session's assessment to qualify.
The quota for each session was limited!
Those who were not outstanding enough, not powerful enough, would be pushed aside.
A nameless extra, henceforth referred to as 'Someone', ranked 33rd in the previous assessment. This ranking looked good; at first glance, he might be able to join in a few more sessions.
But in reality, it wasn't calculated that way.
Those behind him could potentially surpass him, especially the exceptionally talented newcomers who had only recently arrived at the training base but were improving at an astonishing pace.
Someone knew an older brother who ranked 9th in the assessment of the session before last, missing out on membership by a single spot.
But by the last assessment, that individual, who was ranked No. 1 among the trainees, was surpassed by several trainees from later batches and once again missed out on the official membership quota.
And for the next session…
Well, three days ago, hundreds of newcomers arrived, and the monster-like newcomers among them were increasing. Someone heard that one of them achieved in two days of training what took them ten to twenty days.
That older brother had already despaired.
And for him, "Joining is harder than ascending to heaven."
Someone, Zhou, had already lost hope, but giving up was not an option. As a member of Spark, how could one give up?
What else could he do? Keep training!
In the words of the instructor, if you don't die from training, train to death. Sooner or later, persistent training would bring its own rewards.
Even if there were no rewards, at least by doing it, one would have no regrets.
"Let's go for it!"
"Thirty more laps!"
"Brother Zhou, Brother Zhou, great news, incredibly great news!"
A junior newcomer, running at a speed of eleven seconds for a hundred meters, sprinted to him, panting, and said, "Instructor Xu just announced an important piece of news."
Black Blade was the Head Instructor.
Xu Tian, Fan Anyuan, and others had now been promoted to training base instructors and were responsible for various matters… after all, Black Blade never managed these things.
"Instructor Xu, Instructor Xu said that besides the membership assessment, a new assessment will be introduced. Passing this assessment will make one a quasi-official member of Spark, and… and it seems like one can even get a chance at awakening!"
A chance at awakening!
Supernatural power!
Zhou's eyes lit up. Why had he resolutely come to this training base? Why had he been able to endure hardship and train relentlessly? It was all for supernatural power!
Of course, not entirely. Some of it was because everyone else was persevering, and more importantly, the world was facing a disaster. Only by becoming stronger could they protect their families and the world.
But supernatural power remained his and many trainees' aspiration!
The junior newcomer couldn't explain it clearly, so Zhou immediately went to the location where the announcement was posted. Quite a few people were already gathered there. Zhou squeezed his way in, but even with his strong physique, he struggled to get through.
There were no weaklings here!
He felt dejected.
Suddenly, his phone vibrated. It was a trainee's phone. He opened it and saw, "Oh, the announcement has already been synced to the training base's app."
"Notice Regarding Awakening Standards and Pre-Assessment"
The notice was not extensive; the instructors had written it simply and clearly.
"Simply put, those of us who are not official Spark members can also have a chance at awakening. However, this chance is not guaranteed, and the process will be a bit dangerous."
"The path of mysterious awakening is inherently dangerous. Aren't we also facing danger from vile creatures in the future? What's there to fear? Those who fear danger wouldn't be here anymore."
"But this isn't a question of danger, it's that we still need to meet certain standards to obtain this opportunity, and the requirements for these standards are not low."
Physique needs to be greater than 2.5, spirit greater than 1.3, and at least one basic skill such as saber technique, fist technique, or spear technique must reach the proficiency level.
One must also pass a willpower assessment.
This assessment tests the mastery of basic skills and the strength of willpower.
The requirements are indeed not low, almost reaching the standard for the membership assessment.
The only thing that brought Zhou and others a sigh of relief was that passing the awakening assessment meant success, and there was no nerve-wracking quota limit.
"Wait a minute, trainees who pass the awakening assessment are quasi-officials, and to become official, they still need to undergo the membership assessment. So, in other words..."
"Damn! The membership assessment will be even more competitive in the future!"
…
With the addition of an awakening assessment and a not-so-distant chance at awakening, all the trainees in the training base were in a state of excitement.
Newcomers might not feel it as deeply; the chance at awakening was still out of reach for them.
But the veteran trainees were different.
Especially elite trainees like Zhou, who had repeatedly felt close to the chance of joining, only to be surpassed by monstrous newcomers time and again.
There were too many monsters in this training base!
They were under immense pressure.
Was it because they weren't working hard enough, or their progress was slow? Neither! Their progress was already very fast, improving day by day, but the monster newcomers… they were truly not human!
Now, the membership assessment might become increasingly competitive, but at least there was a chance for supernatural power.
As of today!
The trainees from the Investigation Bureau were also very excited.
They couldn't join, and they didn't need to compete with Spark's monster newcomers, but…
Compared to trainees from ordinary backgrounds, they, as investigators, were more aware of the difficulty of awakening and desired it more than anyone else.
Now, an opportunity had arisen.
"Spark has a special method of awakening!"
"But not only do we need to pass the assessment, it seems we also have to pay an additional fee."
They could enjoy all the benefits of trainees.
However, the chance at awakening was a benefit for quasi-officials, and Spark would guide them through awakening and ensure their safety, which would undoubtedly involve significant costs.
Their training here and rapid improvement were already a gain, so it was very reasonable for the chance at awakening to incur an additional fee.
The investigators looked at Yang Chang.
Yang Chang nodded, "I've already discussed it with Instructor Fan. Those who meet the criteria should all sign up. It's also a way to test the results of your training. Don't be outdone by Spark's ordinary trainees."
"Don't worry, Chief Yang."
"That's for sure!"
"We've been training for such a long time, and we've experienced multiple battles. How could we be outdone by hothouse flowers?"
"Restoring the glory of the investigation starts today!"