"Oh?" Chen Feng's eyes shone. He was too clear on how strong the devil race was. Just the first wave of their invaders had already been so strong that the weakest of them was A class. What of the remaining devil race members, then? Their years of hibernation had obviously been for the increase in their strength.
Similarly, the ancient race was not to be underestimated. It might seem like at present, three powers were counterbalancing each other on this planet, yet humans, who controlled the most territory, were instead the weakest of the three. The moment the ancient race decided to launch an invasion or the devil race completed their reawakening, humanity would be finished.
In this era where the majority of the top existences among humanity were A class or peak class warriors, humanity was way too weak compared to the ancient race and devil race. What was the plan mentioned by Hou Liang, then?
"Are you aware of the classification of the strongest existences among humanity at this time?" Hou Liang asked suddenly.
"Yes," Chen Feng replied without hesitation. Presently, the majority of the strongest among humanity were still around A class. However, due to the difference in strength between those in the same class, different tiers were used.
For example, "beginner A class" referred to those who had just entered A class, genetic warriors who yet to learn a secret art.
"class expert" referred to class warriors who had mastered a secret art. Based on their initial strength and the strength of their secret art, there were further subdivisions among these experts.
"Peak A class" referred to the top existences among those in A class. Such was the current makeup of the top existences among humanity. These were also the main pillars of humanity. During the devil race invasion, the 30-plus warriors deployed by the Genetic Union had been in this category. All these people were collectively known as A class, the A class that the commoners knew of.
"The so-called A class is merely a single stage," Hou Liang stated faintly. "As for the division of those within the class, it is rather simple. The present simplest method of division among A class is rather straightforward. The class experts I have encountered can be divided based on their strength into A1, A2, A3, and so on. This continues all the way until A9. For them, what's important is to divide their strength into something simple and easy to understand."
Chen Feng chuckled. "That's true." He remembered clearly how he had once read on the learning forum that people once divided those in A class into several classifications, such as "void into truth," "reversal of the laws," "endless energy," "descent of Heaven and Earth," and numerous other different classifications. There had been even more detailed descriptions on top of all those. Chen Feng had indeed once studied them in detail, yet he had already forgotten all of them.
Who could actually be bothered with remembering all those complicated classifications? Even though this was the first time he had heard of the classification of A1 through A9, he already felt that this method was so much better.
"Naturally, none of that is important." Hou Liang raised his brow slightly and asked, "Do you know about those surpassing A class?"
"Surpassing A class?" Instantly, Chen Feng's heart became solemn. "Peak A class" referred to those who were theoretically the strongest in A class. In truth, there were still existences above A class. These were the people who had stepped past A class, transforming into an even stronger existence. These were known as "beyond A class."
"I have seen them, once," Chen Feng stated without hesitation. "I am aware of the existence of these people beyond A class."
Hou Liang heaved a sigh of relief. "It's good that you are already aware of them." Since Chen Feng was already aware of this, he would not need to explain as much. "Those beyond A class are in fact extremely unique existences." Hou Liang continued with a solemn expression, "In the beginning, when humans reached the theorized bottleneck of A class, they noted that regardless of what they tried, they were incapable of breaking through A class. At that point, A class seemed like the limit of humanity. However, those people were not willing to stop there. As such, they tried using other methods to increase their strength. And with that, those beyond A class were born. As for the S class in the legends, that was nothing more than a legend. Not a single person actually reached that level."
Chen Feng widened his eyes. "S class does not exist?" He had initially believed that after "beyond A class," there would be S class, SS class, SSS class, and so on.
Hou Liang shook his head. "Nope. Humans are different than the devil race. The life span of a human is limited. As such, we do not have the luxury of time to research this aspect indefinitely. Even the appearance of 'beyond A class' was the result of much research by countless seniors."
"Oh. Let me note this down." Chen Feng was rather confused. So, the top of humanity was A class. S class did not exist. Those big shots that had been stuck at peak A class had ultimately transcended A class through their research, becoming existences known as "beyond A class." That was what enabled their dramatic increase in strength, completing their search for a brand new realm after A class.
Chen Feng raised his hand. "I have a question."
Hou Liang looked at him. "Say it."
"I have once witnessed the strength of a person beyond A class. That is a strength much stronger than an A class. Why not classify that as S class, then?" Chen Feng felt doubtful. In essence, beyond A class was also a new realm. Wasn't that the same as S class, then?
Hou Liang shook his head. "Naturally, that's not the case. Have you forgotten what the main point of breaking through each class from F to A is?"
"Main point…" Instantly, Chen Feng was startled awake. "Gene!"
"Correct. Gene." Hou Liang sighed. "The fusion with a gene is the roots of a breakthrough."
Chen Feng came to a realization as he heard this. It was no wonder that the newly discovered realm was not classified as S class. That was because from F class to A class, each breakthrough enabled a genetic warrior to fuse with a brand new gene, enabling said genetic warrior to undergo a transformation. Why was the difference between genetic warriors of different classes larger the higher their level was? That was because of the additional genes the higher-level genetic warriors had. Even between those with three and four genes, the difference was extremely large. Toward the end, when one possessed four or five additional genes, the gap between them was even larger.
Gene fusion was in fact an extremely mysterious and abstruse affair. As for the so-called A class, that was a fusion with six different genes. Since they had yet to discover a method of fusing with the seventh gene, S class would forever remain a legend.
Hou Liang's expression dimmed. "The limits of humanity. The Genetic Union and Gene Production Association have never stopped their research in this aspect. Alas, after countless years, there have still been no new breakthroughs in the research. Our equipment runs hundreds of millions of calculations on a daily basis, yet all our research has yet to bear fruit to anything thus far. S class still remains a legend."
So that's the truth of things. Now Chen Feng finally understood everything. "What is the goal of this new project then?" Chen Feng was suddenly excited. Had they gotten some clues to the breakthrough toward S class? If so…
Hou Liang shook his head. "This project is unrelated to S class. The focus of this project is 'beyond A class'."
"Mhm?" Chen Feng widened his eyes. Beyond A class? Wasn't that a completed research? What more was there to research, then?
Suddenly, Hou Liang asked, "Do you have any idea what exactly 'beyond A class' is?"
Chen Feng shook his head. "Nope." For him, even beyond A class was something out of the legends. The only thing he knew was that a person beyond A class was so much stronger than an A class. They were in completely different leagues.
"The key to going beyond A class is to be beyond A class," Hou Liang stated with a solemn expression.
Chen Feng: "…" Are you bullshitting me?
"Those not beyond A class will remain in A class."
Chen Feng: "…" Are you bullshitting me again?
"Therefore..." Slowly, Hou Liang continued, "The goal of this project, apart from beyond A class, is to try to generalize the concept of 'beyond' in the beyond A class. Our goal is to allow every single class to reach the realm called 'beyond.' For example, beyond B class, beyond C class, or beyond D class."
Bang!
Chen Feng's heart jolted furiously. Was this possible?