Chapter 118: Enchantment Transcendence, Insufficient Purity, Ultimate Technique's Domain (4K)

Chapter 118: Enchantment Transcendence, Insufficient Purity, Ultimate Technique's Domain (4K)



"Clang—Clang—Clang—"

On the deck beside the large swimming pool, Xue Jing lay on a lounge chair, wearing nothing but a pair of beach shorts, his body absolutely perfect and without flaw in the eyes of humans. He wore a pair of sunglasses as he soaked in the sun.

The sound of the crew repairing the cruise ship rang in his ears. It had been half a day since the sea bees attacked, and it was now ten o'clock in the morning of the second day.

Last night, after dealing with the sea bees, it was too late, and the crew had also exhausted too much energy in their fear. They had only temporarily patched up the holes in the bottom of the ship to prevent further flooding before resting.

It was only this morning that the real repair work began.

During this time, several rescue ships cautiously approached and, after communicating with the management of the Infinite Nova, took away many passengers who were psychologically traumatized or severely injured during the evacuation.

Xue Jing had also intended to board a rescue ship, but none of them were headed for Fengcheng. They were all planning to take the passengers back to Qingcheng or elsewhere.

The Infinite Nova had originally planned to return to its port of departure as well, but when the captain learned that Xue Jing, the savior of the entire ship, was headed for Fengcheng, he decided to change course and take Xue Jing to his destination for repairs.

And so, here they were.

Xue Jing picked up a glass of freshly squeezed fruit juice from the small table beside him, took a sip, and stretched lazily. He sat up, removing his large sunglasses.

"Splash—"

Ning Fengwan's slender figure emerged from the water in front of him, causing ripples to form in the pool. She reached out and grabbed the pool ladder, pulling herself out of the water.

The cat-eared girl had taken off her glasses and now wore a black and white backless one-piece swimsuit that accentuated her curvaceous figure.

As soon as she climbed ashore, she tilted her head and reached up to pat her head, her cat ears twitching as if to shake out the water within.

Then, mimicking a cat shaking off water, she began to shake her whole body wildly, her long black hair flying everywhere.

Countless droplets of water and mist burst forth from her, splashing Xue Jing in front of her.

Xue Jing wiped his face, feeling a bit speechless as he looked at her.

"Hmph~"

Ning Fengwan lifted her chin proudly, took the fruit juice from Xue Jing's hand, and took a sip.

She then looked around.

"...There really isn't anyone else here but us."

The large water park on the deck was now empty, with only the two of them left.

If it weren't for the sound of the ship being repaired in the background, the entire cruise ship would have felt like a ghost ship.

Xue Jing waved his hand and sighed softly, "I don't understand what these passengers are thinking."

Although several rescue ships had taken away many passengers, there were still at least two thousand people who remained on the Infinite Nova.

Even though most people weren't in the mood to play after yesterday's incident with the sea bees, it was strange that not a single person was around.

In fact, when Xue Jing had first come to the water park, there had been dozens of passengers enjoying the facilities.

However, upon seeing him, they had all fallen silent and bowed respectfully to him.

Some had even made prayer gestures, as if worshipping a Buddha.

Soon after, everyone had gradually left the water park, leaving only Xue Jing and Ning Fengwan.

"This weird skill, Enchantment..."

Xue Jing opened his panel and took a look.

【Enchantment Lv10 (3221/?)】

【Transcendence Conditions:

First, ??????? (Satisfied)



Second, Reach Level 10 (Satisfied)



Third, Godhood Required: 1000】

Last night, after he had killed the soldier bees and was striking a cool pose on the deck, countless panel notifications had suddenly popped up.

【Someone admires and worships you, Enchantment experience +89】

【...Enchantment experience +102】

【...Enchantment experience +133】

【...Enchantment...】

The endless stream of notifications had pushed his Enchantment skill directly from Level 9 to Level 10.

Subsequently, it had triggered a skill transcendence notification, similar to what he had experienced with the Fitness skill.

Unlike Fitness, whose first condition was still unknown, Enchantment's first condition was also a question mark, but it showed that it had already been satisfied.

Now, he only needed the final condition—1,000 Godhood—to transcend this skill.

But... it felt a bit annoying.

Xue Jing shook his head.

He had always felt a bit annoyed by the Enchantment skill and didn't particularly like it.

However, it was also the skill that gained experience the easiest.

Just like yesterday, when he had struck a pose and been seen by so many passengers, his Enchantment skill had immediately leveled up to Level 10.

"So much experience, it would be great if it could be used for skills other than Cooking."

"To be fair, Enchantment is quite useful," Xue Jing thought to himself.

Ever since he obtained the panel after his rebirth, he had unknowingly reaped many benefits from the Enchantment skill.

Much of the goodwill and positive sentiments from others were due to the influence of this skill... Although he hadn't consciously thought about it, he was aware that it had brought him numerous advantages.

However, he just couldn't bring himself to like this skill.

How should he put it... It didn't align with his aesthetics.

It lacked the purity of raw, unadulterated strength.

The skill was powerful, but it represented a 'tainted' kind of power.

In simpler terms, it was underhanded and just felt slimy.

Its purity was too low.

Even though he understood that if this skill were to transcend, it would undoubtedly become even more formidable and bring greater benefits, he didn't want to waste his Godhood on it.

It was like playing a video game and having a skill that was extremely useful, but it just didn't feel cool to use, so you didn't want to.

"Let's just leave it be for now. When I have an excess of Godhood with nothing else to use it on, then I'll transcend this skill."

Xue Jing glanced at the experience bar behind the Enchantment skill's level on his panel.

(3221/?)



The amount of experience required to level up had turned into a question mark.

Oddly enough, he could still gain experience for it, and he wasn't sure why.

Was it because the current level had reached its upper limit, and he would need to transcend the skill before he could continue leveling it up?

Or had it simply become invisible?

As he pondered this, Ning Fengwan beside him yawned.

"Those two people from the 'Giant God Caravan' we met yesterday..."

The girl spoke up.

"...are most likely still alive."

Xue Jing was interrupted from his thoughts, a hint of surprise in his eyes.

"Oh? How so?"

"Their bodies are still on the ship, aren't they? One was cut in half at the waist, and the other was chopped into six pieces by you..."

Ning Fengwan sat on the armrest of Xue Jing's lounge chair, her voluptuous buttocks leaving a slight mark on her swimsuit as she sat down, accentuating her curvaceous figure even more.

"To say that they're not dead... I'm not so sure about that either."

The girl tucked her wet black hair behind her ear with her hand, a strangely alluring gesture as Xue Jing caught a glimpse of her slender, pale neck from his angle.

"The 'consciousness upload' from sci-fi novels, you know about that, right?"

Xue Jing raised an eyebrow:

"This is getting pretty cyberpunk... Has our technology really progressed to that level?"

Ning Fengwan shook her head:

"With just our own human technology, there are still many unsolved challenges, so we're not quite there yet."

"However, there's a company called 'Deep Blue Networks' that has successfully mastered the technology of 'consciousness uploading' through some method."

Xue Jing's curiosity was piqued. "What method?"

Ning Fengwan ran her fingers through her long hair as she casually replied, "I don't know."

"This is their company's most fundamental secret, and they would never reveal it externally... But many people speculate that Deep Blue Networks might possess a 'consciousness life-form' in the form of a Boundary creature, which is how they achieved consciousness uploading."

"In any case, ever since Deep Blue Networks acquired this technology decades ago, many people have chosen to upload their consciousness as a backup into the Deep Blue Networks."

"Of course, it's expensive."

She twirled a lock of her hair around her finger as she looked at Xue Jing.

"The Giant God Caravan is a group of Boundary hunters who take on jobs that ordinary people can't handle. Although their lives are always on the line, they are well-compensated, and the cost of consciousness uploading is not a burden for them."

"I examined the bodies of those two people yesterday and found a deep blue, nerve-connected sphere embedded in their brainstem."

"After that, I searched the Inner World Forum and found out that these spheres are used to continuously upload one's consciousness and memory data to the Deep Blue Networks."

Xue Jing stroked his chin thoughtfully. "No wonder those two didn't seem afraid of death..."

Especially the female, who had been staring at him adoringly even as she died.

He had initially thought it was because they often walked the line between life and death, but now it seemed there was another reason.

"However, whether the digitized self after consciousness uploading is still the original self is a difficult question."

Ning Fengwan hugged her arms, her breasts pushing against her swimsuit as she said, "This is one of those eternal philosophical questions, isn't it? The Ship of Theseus?"

Xue Jing took a sip of his fruit juice and casually asked, "Is Deep Blue Networks the only entity that currently possesses consciousness uploading technology?

Ning Fengwan said, "Then they must have access to countless secrets!"

"Of course, they would have signed strict agreements to not violate customer privacy... but whether or not they abide by those agreements is another matter."

"The truly significant secrets are also only known by the big shots, right... Currently, there doesn't seem to be anyone who could be considered a 'big shot' who has uploaded their consciousness to Deep Blue Networks... After all, this technology has only emerged in the last few decades, and many concepts, ethics, and considerations from various aspects have prevented consciousness uploading from becoming a popular choice. As a result, Deep Blue Networks' market value is also relatively low among the giant corporations."

She paused, then continued, "Moreover, there are other methods of prolonging life besides consciousness uploading... It's just that the Giant God Caravan often faces life-and-death situations, has a strong desire for self-preservation, and doesn't have access to other life-prolonging methods, so they opt for consciousness uploading."

...

After a long chat with Ning Fengwan, during which Xue Jing learned a lot, he had lunch at noon and then returned to his suite.

Ning Fengwan had already transformed back into her cat form and was curled up asleep on the bed.

Xue Jing opened the glass door to the balcony, stepped outside, and breathed in the salty sea breeze, listening to the relentless waves. He closed his eyes, and his mind sank into the void.

In his mental space, countless pixels rotated and assembled to form an exact replica of the Infinite Nova.

Then, Xue Jing's own body appeared on the ship.

Due to exhaustion, he had fallen asleep the previous night without testing how much stronger he had become.

With a thought, countless pixels gathered in front of him, transforming into an extremely exaggerated barbell.

The two large black weight plates on either side were packed to the brim, indicating an incredible weight.

Xue Jing walked forward, gripped the barbell, and with a flex of his muscles, lifted it easily.

"A one-ton weight... not bad."

Xue Jing lifted the barbell over his head, the alloy bar barely withstanding the weight of the plates, bending into an arc and emitting an unbearable metallic creaking sound.

He couldn't remember the last time he had tested his physical strength.

Xue Jing twisted the barbell in his hands and forcefully flicked it upward.

"Creak—"

The alloy barbell bent to its limit, then snapped in half with a loud pop.

"Specific strength values don't really mean much anymore; they don't correspond to actual combat power at all..."

Xue Jing stroked his chin thoughtfully.

Spiritual martial artists, with their powerful spirits, could interfere with their self-reality and exhibit combat power far beyond their physical limits.

Like him, for example, his pure physical strength might only allow him to lift one or two tons, or at most, not exceed five tons.

While this level of strength sounded impressive, it was still insufficient to lift a road roller.

If he added jinli (power technique) to the mix, he might be able to exert seven or eight tons of force, but even then, it wasn't remarkable, and his combat power was nothing special.

However, what about his actual combat performance? A single chop of his blade could unleash a continuous dragon-shaped slash that extended over a dozen meters, and with the addition of Yinyan, he could unleash a black tornado that formed a dragon whirlpool on the sea.

Regardless of the power, the range was already extraordinary and couldn't be achieved by mere physical strength.

Xue Jing's thoughts stirred, and an image of a muscular man appeared before him.

"Alright, Big Brother Meng, it's time for you to make an appearance again."

Xue Jing clenched his fists, and the knuckles of his fists knocked against each other twice.

After Meng Boshang's image appeared, he glanced at Xue Jing, his expression calm and composed, and he nodded slightly as if greeting him.

Xue Jing was stunned for a moment.

It seemed that after the upgrade of Guanxiang·Zhen, the simulated figures had become more lifelike.

"Whirlwind Thunder Extreme!"

"Boom!"

Meng Boshang crossed his arms in front of his chest and took the punch head-on. The front of his shirt exploded, revealing his muscular chest adorned with intricate dragon scale imprints, far more intricate and detailed than the dragon scale skin Xue Jing used.

"His personality seems to have been partially recreated as well. Previously, he would have blocked this move with his arm."

Xue Jing was left speechless.

He felt that his senior martial brother had somehow outsmarted him.

He concentrated, healing the wounds on his senior martial brother's body.

"Speaking of which, I've also comprehended the final Move Penetration, so I've learned all five of the Five Killing Moves of the Hidden Dragon Style."

"The next thing I need to work on is the ultimate technique that combines the five killing moves."

"Ultimate Technique·Point Polishing... But how do I go about doing that?"

Xue Jing furrowed his brows in thought.

...

(Transition chapter, writer's block, update is a bit late)

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end