Gandalf found a chair to sit down on at random, closing his eyes to rest his mind.

Behind him, Yasuo, Xiang Yu, Da Yi, Sona, Gabriel, and Moria stood silently in place like six lifeless statues, completely motionless.

Time ticked away, second by second, in this almost frozen silence.

This wait lasted for a full five hours.

"Creak—"

The metal door that had been tightly shut for hours finally slid open slowly once more.

A figure stumbled out from inside.

It was indeed Professor Li.

At this moment, he no longer possessed the hale and hearty spirit he had when he first entered.

His white lab coat was crumpled and wrinkled, and his forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat that slid down his cheeks.

His eyes were filled with exhaustion.

He leaned against the doorframe, panting heavily as if he had just finished running a marathon.

"Whew... Whew..."

"Finally... It's finally almost done."

He raised his hand, using his sleeve to wipe the sweat from his forehead, and muttered to himself in a raspy voice.

"Making so many high-concentration Energy Agents all at once is really a damn grueling task."

"It almost squeezed this old body of mine completely dry."

Professor Li composed himself and retrieved a row of test tubes shimmering with a faint blue light from his Storage Ring.

Each test tube contained a viscous liquid as deep and dark as the starry night sky.

He shook the test tube in his hand and looked at everyone.

"The Energy Agents have been prepared."

"Who's first?"

Zhou Huai controlled Gandalf, his gaze falling on the silent Yasuo beside him.

"Yasuo, you go first."

Yasuo received the command and nodded in cooperation.

Without a single wasted word.

He quickly stripped off his equipment, revealing a robust, steel-like physique beneath his outer clothes.

His muscle lines were well-defined, bursting with a sense of explosive power.

The next second, without saying a word, he leaped forward.

"Splash."

Water splashed as he plunged into the giant glass container.

It was clean, swift, and straight to the point.

Professor Li adjusted the parameters while looking at Gandalf.

"Is this student Yasuo participating in the experiment for the first time?"

"Shall we start with an intensity of 1.0 then?"

Gandalf quickly waved his hand.

"No need, Professor Li. Start directly at 3.0 intensity."

"These friends of mine can take a beating."

Upon hearing this, Professor Li looked troubled.

"Is that really a good idea?"

"Do you think everyone is like you, able to remain completely unfazed under 3.0 intensity?"

"This could kill someone!"

Zhou Huai remained insistent.

"Professor Li, please just do as I requested."

"I will take full responsibility for any issues that arise."

Hearing Gandalf put it that way, Professor Li had no choice but to nod.

"Alright then, I'm starting."

He took a deep breath and pressed the start button.

Buzz—

Within several thick transparent tubes, the faint blue energy liquid began to flow slowly, pouring into the glass container.

The clear water inside the container was quickly dyed a deep blue, with countless tiny bubbles churning and rising, blurring Yasuo's figure.

Professor Li's gaze was locked tightly on the console's monitor.

On it, a green curve was providing real-time feedback on Yasuo's mental fluctuations.

One of his hands remained hovering over the red emergency stop button.

If Yasuo showed any signs of excessive mental stress, he would terminate the experiment immediately.

However, the curve on the screen was so flat and straight that it made him question his life.

It was like a straight line drawn by a precision instrument.

Without the slightest ripple.

"What's going on? Did the equipment malfunction?"

Professor Li muttered to himself subconsciously.

He reached out and slapped the console hard, but the curve remained as steady as ever.

"Impossible..." He shook his head, dismissing his own thought.

This machine was the culmination of his life's work; there was absolutely no way it would malfunction at such a critical moment.

That left only one explanation.

The willpower of the man in the container was, just like Gandalf's, strong to an unimaginable degree.

Professor Li felt his understanding of reality being repeatedly shattered.

He wiped the cold sweat seeping from his forehead and muttered under his breath.

"Bloody hell."

The experiment proceeded incredibly smoothly.

Yasuo absorbed the Energy Agent extremely fast, not lagging behind Gandalf's initial performance in the slightest.

What Professor Li found most mind-boggling was that the other party's mental fluctuations were actually as calm as water, just like Gandalf's.

Buzz!

Right at that moment, a brilliant white light suddenly erupted from Yasuo inside the container.

His Level reached Level 46!

Professor Li subconsciously wanted to let Yasuo come out and take a breather.

This was already the standard procedure of a routine Body Tempering experiment.

But before he could speak, Gandalf's voice rang out again.

"No need to stop, Professor Li."

"Keep going, raise him straight to Level 50 first."

Professor Li opened his mouth, but hesitated.

He looked at Yasuo inside the container, wanting to see his reaction.

He saw Yasuo, immersed in the deep blue liquid, give him a clear "OK" hand sign with a relaxed expression.

Professor Li was completely left speechless.

He nodded silently and increased the injection dosage of the Energy Agent once more.

The entire process progressed slowly and steadily.

In the laboratory, there was no other sound except for the humming of the machinery.

Xiang Yu, Da Yi, Sona, and the others stood still like statues, seemingly completely indifferent to everything before them.

Until late at night.

"Boom!"

The lid of the glass container was violently forced open from the inside by a massive strength.

A figure leaped out, landing steadily on the cold metal floor.

Tiny silver electric arcs crackled and danced across his entire skin.

Crackling loudly.

He seemed to carry a storm of thunder with him, exuding a heart-palpitating aura.

He had already reached Level 50!

As Yasuo landed, an aura far stronger than before swept through the entire laboratory with a bang!

That was no longer the oppressive force that an S-Rank Expert could possess.

It was a kind of... sovereign aura that ruled over the world!

Professor Li's pupils suddenly contracted to the size of pinpricks.

His mind went completely blank, with only one thought echoing frantically.

I misjudged him.

This man is not S-Level at all.

This is fucking SS-Level!

Our Great Xia Nation's Military Department actually had a hidden lightning-element SS-Rank Professional?

This is massive news.

Professor Li was filled with excitement, feeling that he was truly participating in a key national-level project.

He had even begun to fantasize about his Body Tempering experiments gaining the attention of the Military Department, followed by a nationwide rollout.

After all, these experts were nurtured using his own Body Tempering equipment!

Zhou Huai had no time to notice Professor Li's reaction.

He immediately transferred his consciousness into Yasuo's body to check the skill Yasuo had unlocked at Level 50.

【Skill Name】: Lightning Dissociation

【Skill Effect】:

Active Trigger: Consumes 2,000 Mana points to briefly deconstruct your physical body, transforming it into a pure lightning element form.

Lightning Form: In this form, your movement speed is increased tenfold, turning you into a flash of lightning that cannot be captured by the naked eye. You will be immune to all physical attacks and obstacles for 5 seconds. Every attack in the Lightning Form will carry the power of Thunder Origin, dealing 30% true damage that ignores defense.

【Cooldown】: 30 seconds