“Hiss! That really hurts. If I hadn’t trained my Great Sun Golden Body to the second level, and kept colliding my fingers with the sword blade, even if the sword isn’t sharpened, my hand would still be swollen and red from that.”

Seeing the female swordsman stop, William Carter quickly shook his fingers.

The other party was clearly someone who had achieved Foundation Establishment, so he couldn’t keep fighting: “This woman is crazy. Little Olivia, let’s go.”

With that, he grabbed the still-dazed Olivia Carter and hurriedly ran out.

About ten seconds later, the female swordsman seemed to snap out of her shock as if waking from a dream. She quickly called out, “Wait a minute!”

At the same time, she hurried after them: “You haven’t taken off your protective gear…”

It was only when she rushed out that she realized the set of armor was placed right by the door.

She looked up, glanced at the two—William Carter and his companion—who had already disappeared from sight, and recalled the faint golden glow that had emanated from him during their fight. She found it hard to believe…

“It’s actually… real…”

Chapter 9: Video

“Emily, what’s wrong?”

At this moment, a woman in her thirties heard the commotion and walked out from a nearby office.

“Mr. Parker.”

The female swordsman quickly greeted her.

“Was someone causing trouble just now?”

“N-no…”

The female swordsman quickly waved her hand, then hesitated before asking, “Director, do you think… is it possible for someone to train the Great Sun Golden Body to minor achievement within a month?”

“To train the Great Sun Golden Body to minor achievement in a month?”

Mr. Parker chuckled: “How could that be possible? Back in the day, even Bodhi Dragon Child took a full three months to reach minor achievement in the Great Sun Golden Body. Could someone’s talent in cultivating the Great Sun Golden Body surpass Bodhi Dragon Child?”

“What if I said… maybe someone really did it?”

“Hm!?”

Mr. Parker put away her smile and looked at her: “You’re not joking?”

“Director, come with me. I’ll show you a video. You’re experienced—please help me verify it.”

The female swordsman Emily Clark said this, then quickly took out her phone in her break room, logged into the Sha app, and found a video from her browsing history.

“It’s too hard! With my one-star aptitude, I almost collapsed training the Great Sun Golden Body!?”

Mr. Parker read out the video’s title, then continued: “Aptitude actually refers to the compatibility between the body and vital energy. The higher the aptitude, the better the compatibility and absorption rate of vital energy. For example, when refining a spirit stone, a five-star aptitude cultivator can gain ten points of spiritual power from it, while a one-star can only get one point—a tenfold difference. Martial artists use materials to strengthen their blood and energy, so the aptitude requirement is lower, but for the extremely difficult Great Sun Golden Body, training with one-star aptitude is just a waste of time.”

On the bullet screen, messages kept refreshing.

“I clicked in as soon as I saw the title. Looks like it’s going to be another fun day.”

“Another poor soul about to collapse.”

“One-star aptitude training the Great Sun Golden Body? That’s hilarious.”

“Pat pat, if you’re sad, DM big sis. People need a little care. Big sis will buy you tea, you just need to pay a small tea fee.”

“Warning! This video causes strong discomfort. I suggest clicking X in the top right corner!”

Mr. Parker watched and laughed: “These comments are pretty spot-on.”

“Keep watching, Director.”

Emily Clark said.

William Carter’s video was only four minutes and forty-six seconds long. The beginning was a rather dull montage—twenty-nine days of repetitive training and check-ins.

Fortunately, this part took less than two minutes.

At one minute and fifty-six seconds, the previously sparse bullet comments suddenly multiplied geometrically.

“High energy ahead!”

“Second time watching! Fifty-cent special effects incoming!”

“At least eighty cents! The uploader really put in effort, don’t discourage him!”

“This must be the lighting guy’s work, give him a drumstick!”

“Damn! F*** your mother!”

“My eyes!”

“This is truly breaking me down (*丨▽丨*)”

“Posting a video after just a month of training? I’ve trained for three years, did I ever show off… Wait… where’s my knife…”

Just then, the BGM “Evolution Song: Heart of Courage” started playing. The protagonist in the video fully activated the Great Sun Golden Body, and a visible golden light flowed from his body. At night, the brightness was no less than a ten-watt light bulb.

“This is…”

Mr. Parker saw this scene, and her pupils shrank sharply: “Impossible!”

She immediately shouted, “Stop! Turn off those comments!”

Emily Clark quickly operated the phone, pausing and turning off the bullet comments in one go.

Mr. Parker stared at the video for a full three minutes, even fast-forwarding and rewinding several times, before saying in a deep voice, “This is at least the minor achievement stage of the Great Sun Golden Body. It’s impossible to reach this level in just one month. It’s fake—definitely post-production special effects.”

“I also think it’s impossible. One of those bullet comments was even mine, but…”

Emily Clark said, then added, “Director, come with me to the surveillance room and we’ll know for sure.”

“Could it be…”