Chapter 14: Superpowers
Chapter 14: Superpowers
"Thank you for purchasing from High Fly Toy Company. Please give us a thumbs up, dear customer!"
Fang Xing opened the delivery box and took out the drones and surveillance equipment inside.
A soft and sweet voice sounded and then faded into silence.
These drones, customized per Fang Xing's request, were designed to resemble various simulated birds, and the surveillance equipment was also equipped with camouflage capabilities.
"My wallet..."
He silently mourned for his wallet for three seconds and then prepared to embark on his journey.
A flash of silver light.
Alternate World.
Temporary Camp.
The camp had been camouflaged and was now covered in a layer of camouflage netting, making it indistinguishable from the surrounding jungle when viewed from above.
Fang Xing had been startled by a flying monster previously, so he hastily upgraded the camp's camouflage.
'After all, it's just a temporary camp, not very safe...'
'I need to think about setting up a permanent camp. I can choose a cave in the cliff or dig underground... the deeper, the better.'
For Fang Xing, there was no such thing as being trapped and unable to get out.
Therefore, the deeper the cave, the more time he could buy himself to escape, the safer it would be!
'Wait a minute! Doesn't this mean... I'm going to turn into a burrowing mole?'
'No, a hamster seems a bit cuter...'
Fang Xing mocked himself and turned to look at the surveillance screen.
"Hmm?"
After scanning for a few moments, his eyes lit up.
Based on the route taken by the group of four, he had sent drones to scout in the direction they had come from, the east, and his efforts had paid off.
"A hundred miles to the east, there are signs of human settlements!"
Fang Xing looked at a photo that showed the outlines of plowed fields.
Around the fields were houses built of wood and thatch, and people seemed to be farming in the fields.
"Farmland?"
"Looks like these surveillance devices will come in handy."
"Even if these farmers are martial artists, they're probably old and frail, with deficient qi and blood, and may even be hard of hearing and blurry-eyed... They're unlikely to discover the surveillance devices immediately. I can deploy the bird-shaped drones disguised as pebbles, beetles, and the like..."
According to Fang Xing's estimation, only the leader of the group of four, the martial artist at the Purity Jade Stage, would have a certain probability of discovering the surveillance equipment.
After all, martial artists at the Purity Jade Stage often possessed a kind of innate spiritual sense, making them adept at detecting hostile gazes.
Although the surveillance devices were more akin to inanimate objects, there was still a chance of being discovered.
'If it were a Purity Jade martial artist from the Blue Star Federation, the probability of discovery would be even higher...'
'The indigenous martial artists here should be unfamiliar with technology and lack interference, detection equipment, so the probability of discovery is lower... Let's do it!'
Fang Xing set the program and commanded the simulated birds to take off.
If one looked closely, they would notice that the claws of these simulated birds were holding small objects like pebbles and beetles.
These birds would cross the hundred-mile distance to the farmland area and then drop the small stones, beetles, and other surveillance devices.
Then, they would silently collect information and data...
...
Several days later.
Yucai High School.
Fang Xing stood silently, his consciousness converging on the attribute panel:
[First Realm: Flesh (Refine Flesh: 99/100)]
[Juntiquan Twelve Forms: 9/100 (Proficient)]
[Great Dragon Stake: 29/100 (Proficient)]
"Just a little more, and I'll have fully refined my flesh!"
Looking at his martial arts realm, Fang Xing was quite satisfied: "However, the Great Dragon Stake hasn't reached the next level, the third stage as mentioned by Teacher Xiaolong. It's most likely that I can only achieve a copper-refined flesh... Thankfully, both flesh and skin are at the same realm. After refining my flesh, if the Great Dragon Stake reaches the third stage, it will silently refine my skin, turning copper into jade."
Just then, his gaze landed on a pair of eyes filled with unabashed hatred.
Those eyes, bloodshot, belonged to a tall, Caucasian youth.
"Cole..."
Fang Xing smiled faintly, "What is it? Do you want to spar again?"
"No, let's leave it until the end-of-term exam."
Cole retracted his gaze and replied politely.
This show of restraint caused Fang Xing to raise his estimation of him slightly, and he became a little more vigilant.
"Xing, be careful. I heard that Cole's family is quite wealthy. After losing to you last time, he hired a private coach and spent a lot of money on qi and blood-boosting medicines..."
Liu Wei came up beside Fang Xing and whispered.
Cultivating martial arts required taking one step at a time. Instant breakthroughs and sudden gains in power didn't exist.
Even with a renowned teacher and ample resources, one still needed time to manifest the results!
Fang Xing could even sense that Cole's strength was currently in a rapid growth phase.
As the end-of-term exam approached, there might be some surprising developments!
"Rest assured, in the face of absolute strength, any schemes or tricks are futile." Fang Xing replied confidently.
With an entire alternate world as his resource base and a cultivation environment akin to a cosmic secret realm, his rate of growth would surely outpace Cole's! After all, Cole's family background was nothing extraordinary, perhaps even inferior to Gu Yun's.
If Cole dared to cause trouble during the exams, Fang Xing wouldn't mind showing him what despair truly meant!
"You've changed a lot, Xing." Liu Wei couldn't help but remark.
"People change," Fang Xing replied.
"Yeah... People do change. I hope I can become stronger too... I don't have the resources or the talent that you have, Xing. All I can do now is pray for a sudden awakening and become an Ability User," Liu Wei said, half-joking.
"Ability User? That evolutionary path isn't all it's cracked up to be..." Fang Xing shook his head.
The so-called 'Ability Users' or 'Mutants' had rather mysterious origins. While most scientific research suggested that their abilities were the result of gene mutations, a highly random process, there was more to the story.
Undeniably, the emergence of Ability Users wasn't a phenomenon that occurred after humanity entered the space age but rather after the 'Doomsday' event! While genes were always subject to mutation, and it was reasonable for humans to unlock their evolutionary potential after encountering the vast cosmos, according to the Blue Star Federation's projections, such genetic evolution should occur over tens of thousands of years.
However, after the Doomsday event, this 'process' seemed to have been accelerated a thousandfold.
Some sects also claimed that Ability Users were the favored children of extradimensional gods, a 'New Humanity'! This was why finding the extradimensional evil god suspected of possessing the 'Ability' authority was a top strategic priority for the Blue Star Federation.
"Since the origins of Ability Users are unclear... suddenly awakening an ability might not necessarily be a good thing," Fang Xing continued.
"I believe that abilities have nothing to do with extradimensional evil gods; they're just the result of normal gene mutations, and the probability is extremely low. It's just speculation... Besides, didn't our top scorer in last year's college entrance exam from Astral Hawk Star come from an Ability User background? They didn't face any restrictions or discrimination..." Liu Wei's expression showed his skepticism, but his heart was filled with complicated emotions.
He recalled the black-robed cultist who had approached him before, offering to induct him into their sect. The condition was that he would bestow upon him the ability to awaken a flesh-type ability!
Whether it was 'Steel Body' or 'Super Regeneration', or even the most basic 'Strength Amplification', it would be of great benefit to a martial artist! Once obtained, one's martial progress could advance by leaps and bounds.
After all, even a low-level 'Strength Amplification' ability would be considered 'Innately Strong' in ancient times, equivalent to a martial arts prodigy with exceptional talent!
He was indeed hesitating...
After all, compared to naturally awakening an ability, this deliberate induction was undoubtedly linked to the extradimensional evil gods.
Getting involved with them meant stepping into the abyss!
'But... if I can't awaken an ability, how can I surpass Xing?'
'If I can't even surpass him, how can I hope to pass the college entrance exam? How can I escape the flesh and blood battlefield?'
'How can I... make Lian Yi see me?'
Liu Wei clenched his fists tightly, his determination wavering.
"Why did you bring this up suddenly? Could it be... you've awakened an ability?" Fang Xing looked at Liu Wei with a hint of suspicion.
"If only I had," Liu Wei replied, his expression calm.
He was still in a state of flux, having not yet accepted the 'blessing', so he felt no guilt.
Even if he went for a gene test at the medical center, nothing unusual would show up.
"You're right... While spontaneous ability awakening is dangerous, for people like us, if we want to succeed, we have to take the risk..."
"Even being an Ability User is better than being cannon fodder."
"Moreover, who's to say that the emergence of Ability Users isn't just a natural law of the universe? Maybe the Federation is overthinking it."
Fang Xing felt that his classmate might have truly awakened some ability, and his tone turned slightly consoling.
However, this attempt at consolation stung Liu Wei's pride.
"Yeah... If only I had," Liu Wei murmured.
Initially, he had been hesitant, but seeing his classmates progress at an astonishing rate, and even Xing, who came from a similar background, surpassing him, he finally made up his mind.
'Even if I fall into the abyss, I want to see that fleeting glimpse of light!'
(End of Chapter)
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