Chapter 1207 Exchange?

Lin Rui didn't react much to Captain Cheng Jianyu's actions. In his perspective, that device was likely meant to shield SHIELD's internal monitoring systems. Lin Rui didn't mind their actions, and he even supported them.

So, when Captain Cheng Jianyu made these moves, Lin Rui didn't express any concern. He calmly observed Cheng Jianyu. The energy fluctuations that Lin Rui had sensed earlier, which closely resembled his own internal energy, did not originate from Cheng Jianyu but from two of Cheng Jianyu's teammates.

"Alright, Phantom Knight, we're pleased that you agreed to meet with us." While Lin Rui was sizing up the two members of the China team, Cheng Jianyu greeted him.

From Cheng Jianyu's tone, it was apparent that they weren't surprised that Phantom Knight had accepted the meeting. This might be due to the attractive conditions offered by China or perhaps because they had some knowledge about Phantom Knight.

"Hello." After acknowledging Cheng Jianyu and his team, Lin Rui simply nodded to the five members of the team.

As Lin Rui had been born in that Eastern country in his previous life, even though it differed greatly from the current China, he still felt a certain affinity for these "compatriots." Hence, he didn't perceive any threat from them.

Moreover, even if they had any ill intentions, Lin Rui felt confident in his current abilities. Besides his formidable personal strength, he also had the Magic Cube tucked away in his pocket dimension and he could eliminate them if it came to that.

"Now, our time is limited, so let's not waste it. The main reason for our meeting with Phantom Knight is to clarify one thing. That is... where did you acquire your ancient martial training technique?"

...

"Where did you acquire your ancient martial training technique?" Hearing Captain Cheng Jianyu's question, Lin Rui's expression remained mostly unchanged.

Lin Rui had already sensed that the two teammates by Cheng Jianyu were emitting energy waves similar to his internal energy. Hence, he easily deduced that they were special ability users who had practiced a training technique, just like him. 

It was the first time Lin Rui had encountered individuals who practiced a training technique aside from himself.

Lin Rui had obtained his training technique from the System Shopping Center. From the initial Beginner training technique to the most Advanced one he was currently practicing, Lin Rui could be considered somewhat of a prodigy in this field. 

However, besides his training technique, he seemed quite ordinary in other aspects, such as magical abilities.

Given Lin Rui's sensing of the similar internal energy in the two teammates, it was likely that they had only practiced an Intermediate training technique, albeit for many years. Despite having a large amount of internal energy, its depth and density couldn't compare to Lin Rui's.

To put it simply, if Lin Rui and the China team members with their Intermediate training technique were to attack an enemy, Lin Rui could defeat them with just one percent of his internal energy, while the two teammates might need to deplete their entire internal energy reserves. 

After all, if the quality isn't high, no matter how much you expand the capacity, it remains limited.

Regarding Captain Cheng Jianyu's question, Lin Rui naturally couldn't tell the truth. His training technique and many other things had been obtained through exchanges at the System Shopping Center. 

When he had spoken to Tony earlier, he had simply made up a fantastical place. Now, Lin Rui repeated that fabricated story.

"I obtained this method to enhance my abilities from a very special place..."

"Save these lies; we won't believe them. Apart from China, it's impossible for any other place to possess intact ancient martial training techniques, especially the Advanced or top-tier ones that you're practicing." Just as Lin Rui was about to spin a tall tale, Captain Cheng Jianyu abruptly interrupted him, waving his hand as he spoke.

Evidently, Cheng Jianyu and the members of the China team didn't buy into Lin Rui's story. Of course, Tony hadn't believed it initially either, but he hadn't pursued it further.

"Well... if you don't believe me, there's not much I can do. Anyway, my training technique didn't come from your side in China," Lin Rui admitted somewhat awkwardly after being interrupted by Cheng Jianyu.

In truth, what Lin Rui said wasn't entirely untrue. After all, the System Shopping Center could be considered a unique place, existing not on Earth but perhaps in an entirely different universe.

Upon hearing Lin Rui's words, Cheng Jianyu and the other four members of the China team stared at him earnestly for a few seconds. In the end, they couldn't discern anything from Lin Rui's expression.

"Alright, actually, that previous question isn't that important. Although it's true that complete ancient martial training techniques are only preserved in China, we're merely curious about how you obtained such a training technique," Cheng Jianyu continued after a few seconds of silence.

"But... I'd like to ask on behalf of China, Phantom Knight, would you be willing to... sell your practiced ancient martial training technique? Or perhaps, we can negotiate for an exchange," Cheng Jianyu proposed another request after setting aside the issue of Lin Rui's training technique's source.

When making this request, Cheng Jianyu's tone became noticeably more cautious. This was because, based on their judgment and their estimation of Phantom Knight's strength, they believed that Phantom Knight had already surpassed the Advanced level and reached the pinnacle of training techniques.

As an ancient nation with thousands of years of continuous history, besides having mutants and metahumans like other countries, the core and most stable group of powerful individuals in China were those who possessed the talent to practice ancient martial training techniques.

However, due to various unexpected events throughout history, many of these ancient martial training techniques were lost or damaged. Now, even finding a complete Advanced-level ancient martial training technique within China was considered extremely rare, let alone a top-tier training technique.

In the records that had been passed down, the top-tier ancient martial training techniques, when practiced to the highest level, were said to allow one to achieve a state of physical transcendence. 

Some even claimed that practitioners could shatter the fabric of reality with their own power. Otherwise, where did China's many mythological stories come from? All of those stories were grounded in truth!

And after Lin Rui consistently showed his capabilities, he finally attracted China's attention. According to their analysis of Lin Rui's actions, they had reasonably deduced that his abilities stemmed from practicing an ancient martial training technique. 

Therefore, taking advantage of SHIELD's proposal to establish a global federation, China dispatched a team of practitioners of ancient martial training techniques to make contact with Phantom Knight.

...