38. Training Program

However, this process was far more difficult than Ye Feng had imagined. Despite pushing with all his strength, the internal energy seemed to encounter tremendous resistance, advancing at a painfully slow pace—like a tortoise crawling. Ye Feng exerted every ounce of effort, finally managing to guide the internal energy along the entire route for one cycle. After completing the circuit, he felt an obvious change within himself—though he couldn't pinpoint exactly what was different, he felt much more comfortable overall.

As Ye Feng continued circulating his internal energy, energy particles in the air began to slowly enter his body, gradually transforming into internal energy and moving steadily through his meridians. Meanwhile, the mischievous system within him sent another message: "System energy accumulation accelerating, 8%, 9%, ... 30%..."

Thus, Ye Feng persisted in pushing the flow of energy, completing four cycles in total. The effort required to keep the energy moving grew increasingly arduous, and only then did Ye Feng withdraw from the internal flow. Slowly opening his eyes, he realized it was already broad daylight. Glancing at his watch, he saw it was past eleven in the morning. He had spent nearly four hours circulating his energy four times—clearly, completing nine cycles would not be an easy feat.

"Not bad! Your speed is much faster than I expected!" The mischievous voice suddenly echoed in Ye Feng's mind.

"Uh..." Startled by the voice, Ye Feng cursed angrily, "You scared me out of my wits, popping up like that! I nearly died of fright!"

The system responded teasingly, "Heh... If you are the enemy of GOD, and yet can't even handle this, what are you doing here? Besides, your body has already been strengthened; you're hardly that fragile!"

"Hmph..." Ye Feng grumbled in dissatisfaction before asking, "Weren't you supposed to enter deep sleep due to insufficient energy? How come you're awake now?"

"Surprised?" The mischievous voice replied, "Who knew you'd work so hard? I only started a light sleep to save energy for a few hours, and you immediately began internal energy training. After four cycles, you've supplied enough energy for me to wake from light sleep. To enter deep sleep again, you'd need to complete at least four more cycles!"

"Another five cycles? It took me nearly four hours for just four cycles, and if I do five more, I won't have time for anything else today! This internal energy training is too time-consuming. If I keep at this rate, I'll die before I reach level ten!" Ye Feng exclaimed in astonishment.

"I never realized how thick-headed you are," the system scolded, "There's always a first time for everything. Practice makes perfect. You're new to this, so it's normal to take longer. Once you're skilled, a cycle will only take minutes. The main reason you're slow now is your meridians aren't used to the energy flow yet. Even though they're expanded threefold, your acupoints are still closed. To increase speed, you'll need to open your seven meridians and eight vessels—that's for later. What I gave you is the internal energy training method used by the future military. If everyone needed decades to train, it would be useless! The military values efficiency and quick results." The system spoke with the tone of someone exasperated by a slow learner.

"Quick results? Isn't that risky, like fast food with no nutrition?"

"You think I'd give you something flawed? It's been improved over countless generations—no problem at all. Today, focus on your training, and give me at least four more cycles. Otherwise, you'll regret it." With that, the system disappeared.

Ye Feng was left alone, sitting cross-legged on the bed, diligently cultivating his internal energy. As the system had said, practice made the process much easier. The second round of four cycles took only two hours—saving two hours compared to the first attempt.

Night fell. The mischievous system appeared again in Ye Feng's dream. This time, the setting was no longer a classroom but a room filled with complex instruments. From what he’d learned during the day, Ye Feng immediately recognized these as surveillance devices.

"Why did you bring me here? Didn't you already give me all the information?" Ye Feng asked, perplexed.

"Nonsense, of course it's for training! Theory alone isn't enough. Without practical operation, it's not real learning—you aren't writing a thesis here. We have eight hours until morning, which amounts to over eight hundred hours in dream time. I’m going to train you thoroughly!" The system gave a sinister laugh.

Over the next five hundred hours, Ye Feng fully experienced the 'training' the system had promised. The system created numerous scenarios for Ye Feng to practice tracking and counter-tracking. He followed various people—celebrities, spies, businessmen, officials, and more. Tracking was just the beginning. Due to his lack of familiarity, Ye Feng was caught many times. Those bodyguards were ruthless, and the system had set their skills to match Ye Feng’s own. Alone, Ye Feng could win a fight, but they always came in groups. Predictably, Ye Feng ended up beaten again and again.

At first, Ye Feng thought that since it was a dream, it shouldn’t hurt—but he soon learned that dreams could feel real. Each blow landed painfully. He protested, but the system dismissed his complaints, insisting that real combat training required authenticity. Fortunately, Ye Feng adapted, and after integrating the knowledge implanted in his mind by the system, he managed to avoid getting beaten in subsequent tracking attempts, successfully completing each task.

Where there is tracking, there is counter-tracking. After mastering various tracking techniques, the counter-tracking training became much easier. After just three sessions, Ye Feng was able to easily shake off pursuers, graduating quickly from this phase.

Ye Feng's rapid progress surprised the system. Even professional agents would need six or seven hundred hours of training, and still might not reach Ye Feng’s level. Clearly, Ye Feng possessed some talent.

"Alright, I originally planned to use the whole night to train you, but you’ve performed so well that you finished in half the time. Still, from your training, I see you're lacking in another area," the system said meaningfully.

"What area?" Ye Feng couldn’t imagine what subject could be related to tracking.

"Combat training!" The system grinned mischievously, as if something exciting was about to happen.

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