Chapter 72 - 69: Safe Zone’s Combat Power Greatly Improved

Chapter 72: Chapter 69: Safe Zone’s Combat Power Greatly Improved

"The Training Ground’s effects are this powerful... truly this powerful!" Shi An marveled.

He had underestimated it before. Although, before it was actually built, he couldn’t see the Training Ground’s specific functions. For the strong, they could use the Training Ground to swiftly master a Curse Art or rapidly refine their skills. Ordinary Dream Descenders could similarly drastically increase their development of Curse Objects in a short period.

Shi An had previously felt that the one to three hours of dream-dropping time for Ordinary Dream Descenders was far too short to be spent in the Training Ground. In reality, it wasn’t short at all. An hour was enough to activate a Curse Art dozens of times.

With a massive number of Curse Object activations and focus entirely concentrated on their development, this single hour was enough for many Fusion Stage Dream Descenders to double their Curse Object development. Their strength would also practically double! If they used this to cross into the Control Stage, they would step onto a completely new tier.

Shi An adjusted the location of the Training Ground, grafting the entrance to one side of the business area. His current pricing for the training rooms was 100g of Dream Dust per hour.

Not expensive. He hoped to use the Training Ground to elevate the strength of the Dream Descenders gathered around the Safe Zone.

As a result, just a few hours after he introduced the Training Ground, it was already fully booked.

"Is it too cheap?" he wondered. "No, even if it were priced at 200g or 300g of Dream Dust per hour, it would probably still be packed."

Because for many Dream Descenders... even the relatively poor Fusion Stage Dream Descenders could grit their teeth and fork over a few hundred grams of Dream Dust to sprint toward the Peak of Fusion Stage. Moreover, the training rooms could be co-rented with others. If three people split the cost, the individual expense would be even lower.

At this moment, out of the five training rooms, Shi An kept Room One for his own use, leaving only four available to the public. This room for his own use wasn’t just for Shi An himself; the Blood Hand Seal and Nether Robe also needed to practice their abilities. Of the other four, the Hair Ghost occupied one, Xi Xue and Peaches occupied another, three co-renting Dream Descenders took a third, and Profound Sword, who had arrived not long ago, took the last one.

Meanwhile, a line had already started to form outside the Training Ground.

Shi An stroked his chin and thought, "Whether or not I adjust the price for the Training Ground’s usage is a separate matter, but I need to add a time limit. Hmm, I should also set a rule that members can rent it for longer single sessions.

"This way, the appeal of a membership will skyrocket once again. Even those experts who don’t fear the dangers of the Nightmares will stick closely around the Safe Zone just for a membership."

Shi An checked the situation in each training room. Ordinary Dream Descenders indeed couldn’t train for too long; one to two hours was about their limit. Experts, especially after reaching the Control Stage and Refining Stage, faced practically zero side effects under the Training Ground’s buff. Their Physiques were equally powerful, granting them strong endurance, so they could actually use Curse Objects for a very long time.

Shi An thought, "Wait, at this point, what limits their training isn’t their physical stamina, but their Curse Power.

"Experts who practice Curse Arts, in particular, consume even more Curse Power. It probably won’t be long before their bodies are completely drained."

Just as Shi An thought this, he saw Xi Xue in Room Two pull out a Curse Power Potion and chug it down, GLUG GLUG GLUG.

Right, there were also potions. Experts were often wealthy. However, even if experts were wealthy, under normal circumstances, they wouldn’t carry many recovery items on them.

Therefore, Shi An recalled the formula Xi Xue had provided.

[Curse Power Potion: A potion that replenishes Curse Power. Repeated use within a short period will cause the user to suffer from Curse Power erosion.]

He had already entered the formula into the Alchemy Workshop. The refinement cost wasn’t cheap. The main material was actually an Incomplete Level Curse Object, though a single Incomplete Curse Object was enough to produce several vials of the potion. This was a precious recovery medicine; usually, only those in the Refining Stage were qualified to use it.

"But once I stock it on the shelves, some Dream Descenders who don’t lack money might also buy it to use. Paired with other recovery items, they might just be able to train for over ten hours straight. Hiss—"

Spending money—spending big money to train themselves to the limit. This was the world of Dream Descenders.

Watching those intensely competitive Dream Descenders, Shi An began to feel a sense of urgency himself. As Manager, he couldn’t be too weak, right? He was also practicing Curse Arts at this moment. What he was practicing, however, wasn’t the ’Infinite Corridor’ he had created not long ago, but a few Universal Curse Arts.

These were a return gift brought by Profound Sword. Instantaneous Sword, Punching Fist, Phantom Step, Capturing Wind and Shadow, and Taking Objects in the Air!

The first two were attack-type Curse Arts. Among them, Shi An reached the Entry Level of Instantaneous Sword with just a little practice. Phantom Step was a Body Technique Curse Art, capable of increasing speed and excelling at evasion. More often than not, the very first Universal Curse Art learned by Dream Descenders from major factions was a Body Technique Curse Art. The final two were support-type Curse Arts. Capturing Wind and Shadow could significantly enhance one’s kinetic vision and reaction speed. Taking Objects in the Air was exactly as its name suggested and seemed to have marvelous uses in many situations.

Profound Sword had said, "These Curse Arts are not part of the internal legacy of my Extreme Intent Martial Arts Hall, so you may use them freely, Manager Shi. Perhaps you already possess some of these Curse Arts, but they include annotations from the seniors of our martial arts hall. I hope they will be of some use to you."

However, Manager Shi didn’t actually have a single Curse Art on hand. These Curse Arts were exactly what he needed to solve his urgent need. Otherwise, watching Profound Sword and Xi Xue HUFF AND PUFF as they practiced Curse Arts while he couldn’t learn any himself would be rather unbearable.

Meanwhile, inside the training room, Profound Sword was still practicing Instantaneous Sword.

Entry Level, Familiarity, Proficiency, Peak of Perfection, and Mastery!

He thought, "As long as I practice Instantaneous Sword to Proficiency, I’ll be able to integrate it into the Curse Art of my Evil Eye Sword.

"And Proficiency..."

He previously didn’t dare to even think about it, but now he saw the possibility.

In the adjacent training room, grassroots Dream Descender Li Wei was currently co-renting the space with two other Dream Descenders. Li Wei had only crossed into the Control Stage after the last Nightmare subjugation. Originally, he would have had to methodically develop his Curse Objects, temper his Will, and attempt to subjugate Nightmares time and time again until he stepped into the Refining Realm.

But now...

Li Wei thought, "I clearly just crossed into the Control Stage not long ago, yet in just a few short hours, I’ve already developed my Curse Object to 100%.

"Next, refining a Curse Object requires an opportunity, which isn’t so easy to grasp. Before then, perhaps I can try to develop my own Lifebound Curse Art!"

Li Wei came from grassroots origins and hadn’t undergone systematic learning in any major organization. Previously, he hadn’t dared to extravagantly hope for creating a Curse Art so early. But now, he had this ambition. An ambition with a complete chance of being realized.

"Praise the Manager."

In the business area.

"Welcome. This is the Safe Zone, a place where you no longer need to fear being slaughtered by Nightmares."

Inside the store, a young man wearing a black trench coat was greeting incoming guests. He was the temp worker, K.

Not long ago, K had finally arrived at the Safe Zone once more. This was his third official Nightmare. He was a rising star in the Countermeasures Bureau, a high school student, a part-time employee in the rookie department, and a reserve member of the action team. Yet, he was under immense pressure, as many people were eyeing his cultivation quota. K knew very well that he had never been some sort of genius; he was just an ordinary newbie with a tiny bit of luck.

Sure enough, during his second Nightmare, without Uncle Yao leading him and unable to find the Safe Zone, he had found himself fraught with peril. After surviving with a few scares but no real danger, his meager battle record meant he received very little feedback. There was hardly any improvement.

But fortunately, during his third dream-dropping today, he had found the Safe Zone once again. And this time...

The three-piece subjugation set, memberships, and the Training Ground!

These left K overwhelmed with choices, allowing him to see the possibility of his strength taking off. Consequently, he put on the Dream-Dropping Pearl provided by the Manager and took on the role of a temp worker in the Safe Zone. This allowed him to earn a bit of Dream Dust and Contribution Points, trading them for a chance to use the Training Ground during the day when there were fewer customers in the store.

If he seized this opportunity, he too could become an expert in the Control Stage.