If Nie Yan could join such an organization, the significance for Sky Group would be immense, as all of Sky Group’s businesses could expand several times over. Genius Group’s entry into the top ten domestic conglomerates would then be just a matter of time.
The requirements to enter Tianwang are extremely high, with only one or two people selected each year. First Military Academy is huge, filled with countless strong individuals, many of whom are better candidates than Nie Yan. Qin Han, whom he encountered earlier, is one of them.
As Nie Yan’s father said, whether Nie Yan can enter Tianwang cannot be forced; it must happen naturally.
In his previous life, Nie Yan wasn’t a student at First Military Academy and knew nothing about its inner workings. He planned to ask the guys like the indestructible troublemaker about it someday.
Nie Yan asked his father to help gather some information about Tianwang so he could learn more and be prepared when interacting with its members.
Just as Nie Yan and Xie Yao returned to the villa, in a secret meeting room at First Military Academy, a group of people had gathered.
Around a long rectangular table sat a total of twenty-six individuals, discussing something. Their ages varied—some were in their fifties or sixties, while others were as young as twenty-three or twenty-four. Every year during the school’s opening, they would gather here to discuss the recruitment of new members. This meeting happened annually without exception. All of them were once students at First Military Academy, and now many had become influential figures in politics, the military, and business.
“Who do you think is more suitable between Nie Yan and Qin Han?” Sitting at the head of the table was a tall, middle-aged man in a crisp military uniform, exuding authority. His shoulder insignia bore five golden stars—he was a general.
“Qin Han has stronger backing, which would be more beneficial to us. In South America, the Mone Group holds considerable influence, while Sky Group is just a small domestic group. Even if we prop them up, it won’t amount to much,” said an older, slightly overweight man sitting at the edge. Although somewhat aged, he remained energetic and sharp in his Zhongshan suit.
These two were pivotal figures—one a high-ranking military officer, the other a senior government official. Normally, they wouldn’t mention each other’s names, but if their names were revealed outside, they would undoubtedly cause a seismic impact.
“The one behind Nie Yan might not be just Sky Group. From what I know, the young princesses of Longyue Group and Zhengrong Group are currently living with Nie Yan. Xie Jun wouldn’t have allowed his daughter to be with Nie Yan if he didn’t approve. If we factor in Longyue and Zhengrong Groups, the situation changes completely,” said a young man around twenty-three or twenty-four. When joining Tianwang, soft power such as connections and networks would also be considered.
“It seems Lin Yu leans more toward Nie Yan. Since Nie Yan and Qin Han are bitter rivals, neither willing to yield, let’s just wait and see the final outcome,” the general smiled. Currently, Lin Yu was a director of Tianwang, responsible for its internal affairs. After both Nie Yan and Qin Han were nominated, they needed at least a two-thirds majority vote from the organization’s members to be accepted. This was only the beginning.
“I got hold of something you might find interesting,” Lin Yu said, tapping his laptop. Soon, a video appeared on the large screen at the front of the meeting room—footage of Nie Yan’s training session in the gym.
Every detail of what Nie Yan did was captured by the surveillance cameras.
“You actually installed surveillance in the gym?” Several people nearby looked at Lin Yu with annoyance. They frequently visited the gym, some even bringing their girlfriends for some “fun” activities. Upon hearing that Lin Yu had hidden cameras, their faces turned pale.
“Lin Yu, we need to have a little chat after this meeting,” said a tall, muscular young man from a distance, cracking his knuckles ominously at Lin Yu.
Lin Yu felt his scalp tingle. That young man was from senior year, one grade above Lin Yu. His name was Leisu—a prominent figure at First Military Academy. He was the heir to Tiangeng Multinational Group, a three-time consecutive campus martial arts champion, and the federal FG aircraft piloting champion, among other impressive titles. Leisu was talented and loyal, but his only flaw was his womanizing—he was a regular at the gym, often bringing girlfriends with him. Lin Yu recalled one time when Leisu had brought five women into the gym together. The scene afterward was too graphic to describe, though Lin Yu had watched it all with great interest, like watching a free adult movie. The hidden cameras he installed could zoom in and out freely, giving him a clear view of whatever he wanted.
Hearing Leisu’s words, Lin Yu inwardly groaned. Knowing he was in trouble, he still straightened his posture, given the presence of so many influential figures around, and said, “This is the training video of Nie Yan in the gym.”
The middle-aged general watched the video for a while before turning to Lin Yu and asking, “What’s his latest test score?”
“It’s even higher than when he took the exam before. Squat: 915.28, Pull: 622.81, Leg: 721.35, and the highest punch: 1036.28,” Lin Yu replied, then added, glancing at Leisu, “This time, you won’t have to complain about having no rivals on the battlefield anymore.”
“This kid’s pretty strong. His punches and kicks are even stronger than mine. I wonder how his martial arts skills are,” Leisu licked his lips, his blood boiling with excitement. Finally, he might find a worthy opponent.
“There’s another point worth noting. During the last recruitment at Huada Affiliated High School, Nie Yan’s scores weren’t this high. There are two possibilities: either his strength has improved significantly in this short time, or he held back during the last exam,” Lin Yu continued. He glanced at the silent senior officials beside him and knew from their expressions that he had successfully caught their interest.
“He should be close to reaching the Shadow Dancer level in Faith, right?” the general said after watching the video.
Lin Yu was momentarily stunned. He didn’t understand why General Moyunfeng suddenly mentioned Faith.
“According to information intentionally leaked by Sky Group, the infamous thief Nie Yan is already level ninety-seven, nearing Shadow Dancer,” Lin Yu replied, regaining his composure.
“Damn, level ninety-seven! That guy’s not human!” several younger members exclaimed from afar. They knew how hard it was to level up in Faith. The highest among them had barely reached level eighty.
“This kid has good potential. Just now, when he tested his punch, he used the special forces’ elite training techniques,” General Moyunfeng said to the senior officials beside him.
Lin Yu was a bit puzzled. What was the connection between the two? He noticed the expressions of the senior officials on both sides but couldn’t figure out what General Moyunfeng was talking about. However, those few officials understood.
“Keep a close eye on Nie Yan,” General Moyunfeng said to Lin Yu.
“Understood,” Lin Yu immediately responded. He would have to wait for another opportunity to resolve his confusion. It would be unwise to ask General Moyunfeng and the others directly now.
Unknown to Nie Yan, while he was worrying about how to approach Tianwang, the organization’s top officials were already closely watching him. Compared to Qin Han, those officials were clearly more interested in Nie Yan.
Nie Yan and Xie Yao spent the entire afternoon out, and as dusk approached, she also logged into the game.
Nie Yan continued training his skill proficiency on the vast grasslands. Besides the five free skills, he also prioritized his Pickpocket skill, trying to improve its proficiency here.
In the distance, he spotted a wandering Minotaur warrior. Nie Yan slowly approached, getting within about five yards behind it before suddenly springing into action. He used the Spinal Crush skill on its back.
The Minotaur warrior was stunned for five seconds.
Pickpocket!
Nie Yan used the Pickpocket skill on the Minotaur warrior.
System: Pickpocket skill successfully executed. You have obtained seventy-six silver coins and gained 50 skill proficiency points.
Fifty times the skill proficiency!
Nie Yan was ecstatic. If he could improve his Pickpocket skill level, it would be of great significance to him. Currently, his Pickpocket skill was level four. Compared to the basic level, level three or four Pickpocket did increase the success rate significantly, but it was still very low—only one success out of many attempts. Normally, it could only steal money, and the chance of stealing equipment was extremely low.
Nie Yan had read some articles. A Shadow Dancer thief once commented that Pickpocket skills below level seven were useless and impractical. However, if the Pickpocket skill could be upgraded to level eight or above, its effects would be completely different. If it reached level ten or higher, it would become a divine-level Pickpocket skill, extremely powerful, capable of making enemies furious.
In his previous life, Nie Yan had tried practicing Pickpocket for a while but only managed to reach level three after a whole month. The higher the level, the harder it was to improve, requiring more time. He had wondered then whether anyone had ever managed to reach level eight. That would take an unimaginable amount of time—practically impossible.
But now, in this world, what was once impossible had become possible.
I must reach level ten Pickpocket!
Suddenly, Nie Yan felt a strong desire. He wanted to know what level ten Pickpocket would be like. The Shadow Dancer had said it could make enemies furious—what kind of situation would that be?
The Pickpocket skill had a short cooldown but a high failure rate. Against a level 120 Minotaur warrior, successfully using Pickpocket once out of ten attempts was already considered lucky.
While the Minotaur warrior was stunned from the Spinal Crush, Nie Yan continuously used the Pickpocket skill. As the five-second stun was about to wear off, Nie Yan immediately used the Overwhelming Intimidation skill to keep it under control.
By using various skills to keep the Minotaur warrior incapacitated, Nie Yan could keep using Pickpocket.
Fifty skill proficiency points, fifty skill proficiency points…
Soon, a crisp system notification sounded.
System: Your Pickpocket skill has reached level five.
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