Chapter 103: Chairman Song: Is this an ordinary punch?

Chapter 103: Chairman Song: Is this an ordinary punch?

Chairman Song possessed an impressive ability to cultivate his Qi.

Or perhaps, it was his deep and calculating nature.

He didn't lose his temper on the spot but instead invited Chen, "Mr. Chen, I've prepared some local tea. Let's get in the car and chat over a cup of tea."

"Sure, Chairman Song," Zhao Zheng agreed.

The two of them stepped into the business car.

The interior of the car was luxurious, with seats as comfortable as sofas.

"Little Zhang, drive us to the Association," Chairman Song instructed.

The driver promptly started the car and headed towards the Association building.

During the ride, Chairman Song chatted with Zhao Zheng.

"Mr. Chen..."

"Chairman Song, please call me Little Chen," Zhao Zheng replied.

"Alright, I'll be informal and call you Little Chen," Chairman Song said.

He nodded slightly in approval of Zhao Zheng's politeness.

"Little Chen, how did you and my daughter meet?"

"Oh, I was a graduate of Zhenwu University. In May, I wanted to revisit the campus and take a trip down memory lane. That's when I bumped into my junior, Song Haitang..."

Before coming, Zhao Zheng had, of course, rehearsed his story with Song Haitang to ensure consistency.

As for his fabricated background as a Zhenwu University graduate...

Zhao Zheng wasn't worried about Chairman Song verifying his story.

Firstly, Chairman Song didn't currently have the authority to investigate the records of graduates from an extraordinary university.

Only after becoming the provincial chairman would he have such power.

By then, Song Haitang would have already covered her tracks at the university.

Chairman Song nodded.

The story matched what his daughter had told him, so there didn't seem to be any issues.

"Little Chen, I must ask, how far have you progressed in the Spirit Realm?"

"Just passed the 19th layer," Zhao Zheng replied.

This number was carefully considered by Chen Ye.

He believed that his current strength should be no weaker than his neighbor, Qin Muyin. Since Qin Muyin was at the 26th layer, he decided to play it safe and claim to be at the 19th layer.

He had initially planned to say he was in the 20s.

However, considering his young appearance, claiming to be in the 20s would be too conspicuous.

The 20th layer of the Spirit Realm was a significant milestone, and few had managed to surpass it.

Hearing this, Chairman Song was surprised and glanced at Zhao Zheng.

He himself had only reached the 23rd layer!

This young man was catching up to him quickly?

"My daughter mentioned that you're only 23 years old this year?"

Chen Ye nodded, and Chairman Song sighed, "The youth are truly formidable!"

...

The Association building in Lu'an City was not far from the train station.

As they talked, the car arrived at the entrance of the Association building.

"We're here, Chairman," the driver reminded.

Chairman Song nodded and invited Zhao Zheng to get out of the car.

They entered the Association building.

Chairman Song asked, "Little Chen, before you came, did my daughter explain everything to you?"

"Yes!" Zhao Zheng understood Chairman Song's intention and said, "I'm here to join the Association."

"Good, let's register your information first and create your membership file!"

Zhao Zheng nodded and took out his fake ID card.

Wait, that's not right!

His ID card was genuine; it could be swiped, read, and used to open a bank account.

His information was also available in the police system.

Soon, the basic membership registration was completed.

Next was the assessment of his abilities.

To be honest, Zhao Zheng was also curious about his current strength.

"Before the test, I have a question," Chairman Song said.

"Little Chen, what divine ability did you obtain in the Holy Land?"

"It's the Superman Fruit - Power Amplification," Zhao Zheng answered promptly. "It currently enhances my strength by three times (previously five times, now revised)."

He couldn't reveal his Kryptonian heritage, as that would be incriminating himself.

Among the divine abilities in the Holy Land, only the Superman Fruit - Power Amplification fit his situation.

Other abilities like the Devil Fruit or Mutant Heritage exhibited extraordinary manifestations.

The Superman Fruit - Power Amplification simply enhanced strength.

"The Superman Fruit - Power Amplification?" Chairman Song asked, then continued, "That's an excellent divine ability. There was once a top-tier powerhouse who possessed it."

Indeed!

Zhao Zheng knew that top-tier powerhouse, and the grass on his grave was almost as tall as a person.

"It's not as good as Song Haitang's Burn Burn Fruit ability," Zhao Zheng said with a smile. "And my performance in the Spirit Realm is even more inferior."

Hearing the young man praise his daughter, pride shone on Chairman Song's face.

"Oh, no, no... Haitang was just lucky..."

With false modesty, Chairman Song continued, "Since you have the Superman Fruit - Power Amplification, you must be following the strength path, right?"

Zhao Zheng thought for a moment and replied, "Yes, focusing on strength with agility as a secondary attribute."

"Good, then the upcoming test will focus on strength."

Chairman Song instructed his subordinates to make preparations as he led Zhao Zheng towards the back of the Association building.

Behind the building was a stadium-like structure used to assess the abilities of extraordinary individuals.

Everything inside, from the walls to the floor, was made of special materials infused with metal.

Moments later, Chairman Song and Zhao Zheng arrived at the strength testing area.

Chairman Song pointed to the nearby machines and explained, "This is the latest model of the punch power testing machine, capable of withstanding up to 50 tons of force. Over there is the grip strength tester, which can handle up to 10 tons of squeezing force. And this is the weightlifting area..."

"All of these can test your strength, Little Chen. Which one do you want to try?"

Zhao Zheng pointed to the punch power testing machine and said, "Let's test my punching power!"

He chose the punch power testing machine because it was the safest option for him.

Weightlifting, for example, required systematic training and mastery of force application techniques to maximize its potential.

While Zhao Zheng did possess strength, his lack of training would significantly diminish the effectiveness of weightlifting.

He came this time to showcase his strength!

For Zhao Zheng, the best way to demonstrate his power was to throw a punch and show his destructive force.

"Alright! Let's test your punch strength."

Chairman Song said, immediately instructing the staff to set up recording equipment.

The recording was necessary because it needed to be uploaded to the headquarters for review.

It wouldn't do to have the branch office claim someone was strong without proof, would it? Otherwise, anybody and everybody could be considered a powerhouse.

Once the recording equipment was set up,

Zhao Zheng stood in front of the punch power testing machine and threw a punch.

"Boom!"

The massive impact sounded like a thunderstorm.

Zhao Zheng didn't use Armed Color Domination or Bone Fist Impact; it was just a regular punch.

The punch power testing machine quickly displayed a number.

Soon, the number stopped, showing that Zhao Zheng's punch had a strength of 45 tons!!

It was almost at the limit of the testing machine!

"Great!!"

Seeing Zhao Zheng's performance, Chairman Song's eyes lit up, and he couldn't help but cheer loudly.

He hadn't told Zhao Zheng that this punch power testing machine could withstand the test of a "Fifth Rank" strength-type powerhouse.

Zhao Zheng's punch just now was enough to earn him a "Fifth Rank" strength evaluation from the headquarters!

...

A moment later.

Zhao Zheng was led to Chairman Song's office.

In the office,

Chairman Song politely poured tea for Zhao Zheng.

"Xia Chen, you've truly given me a big surprise!"

It was indeed a surprise.

He originally thought that Chen Ye was a Fourth Rank powerhouse.

But this kid actually had Fifth Rank strength! A 45-ton punch!

What did that mean?

If this kid were to wreak havoc in a city, he would become the king of destruction; no building could withstand his attacks.

To achieve a 45-ton punch, one would need at least 3000 points in strength attribute!

Even with the triple amplification from the Power Amplification Fruit, it still indicated that this kid's strength attribute had surpassed a thousand.

It also showed that this kid performed exceptionally well in his Spirit Realm, earning him such high attributes.

Because his strength attribute had surpassed a thousand,

it meant his constitution attribute was at least 500 points or more.

"Chairman Song, is this enough?"

Zhao Zheng felt that such a test was a bit too simple. He had only thrown a regular punch.

It wasn't his true strength at all...

"Enough, enough," Chairman Song smiled. "It's more than enough."

He himself had just been evaluated as a Fifth Rank powerhouse, and now he had managed to recruit a Fifth Rank powerhouse into the association, which was enough to satisfy the headquarters.

Don't think Fifth Rank powerhouses are common.

In the entire Lu'an City, there were only two or three known Fifth Rank powerhouses, including Chairman Song.

"Since it's enough, I should take my leave."

Zhao Zheng said.

He planned to go home and see his parents.

"So soon?" Chairman Song couldn't help but ask. "How about staying for a simple meal? You've come all this way and helped me so much; I should at least show some hospitality, right?"

At this moment, Chairman Song had a good impression of Zhao Zheng.

He thought this kid was skilled but not arrogant, which was very rare.

He was much better than that brat from the Zhao family!

"Thank you, Chairman Song, but I have some matters to attend to..."

Just as Zhao Zheng was about to politely decline,

Suddenly.

"Beep—"

A piercing alarm sounded throughout Lu'an City.

Zhao Zheng was taken aback, thinking it might be a drill.

But when he looked at Chairman Song, he saw that the chairman's face had changed drastically, indicating that something serious had indeed happened.

In the next moment,

The office door was pushed open, and Chairman Song's secretary burst in without knocking.

"Chairman, it's bad!"

The secretary hurriedly said, "The nearby military district has just sent an urgent telegram. Their radar detected a temporal rift appearing to the southeast of Lu'an City, only ten kilometers away!!"

Upon hearing this,

Chairman Song's face paled even more.

However, he didn't panic and maintained his composure, asking the secretary, "What level of temporal rift is it?"

The secretary quickly replied, "The military's preliminary assessment is B-Rank!"

Upon hearing this, Chairman Song immediately made a decision and ordered, "Use the emergency communicator to call for support from above!"

"Understood!"

The secretary acknowledged and hurriedly ran out.

Chairman Song then rushed to his desk, picked up the landline phone, and dialed the military district's number.

Landline phones were now very rare.

His office still had one because it provided stable communication without signal interference.

While Chairman Song was on the phone, Zhao Zheng took out his phone and searched for information about the temporal rift.

It turned out that a temporal rift was an unstable passage linking the monster world to the human world.

Temporal rifts weren't a new phenomenon.

Since the appearance of monsters, they had occurred at regular intervals.

According to official statistics, there had been over a hundred temporal rifts in Xia Nation alone!

Experts speculated that the fusion of the monster world and the human world was causing spatial anomalies, leading to the appearance of temporal rifts...

There was no discernible pattern to the frequency of temporal rifts.

Sometimes they appeared several times a year, and sometimes not at all for several years.

Each time a temporal rift appeared, it brought a large number of monsters to the Blue Planet!!

Temporal rifts varied in strength.

For example, Song Haitang's mother had died in the A-Rank temporal rift disaster over a decade ago.

A B-Rank temporal rift, while not as terrifying as an A-Rank, was still very dangerous.

Seeing this,

Zhao Zheng's expression became serious, and he deeply furrowed his brow.

...

With this thrilling moment over, the protagonist will go home and reveal everything to his parents.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end