https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-246-Obtaining-the-Spirit-Ability/12551144/
Chapter 247: Hitting a Bottleneck
Chapter 247: Hitting a Bottleneck
It was already late at night when Xia Qingyu and Misha returned, slightly tipsy. Hearing the noises coming from the training room, they went in to find Ji Xinghuo sweating profusely.
"Have you been training since morning?" Xia Qingyu asked, incredulous.
Ji Xinghuo, in the middle of a set of bench presses, didn't get up but turned his head to glance at them, his action serving as an answer.
"Damn, that's impressive!" Xia Qingyu exclaimed, staring at Ji Xinghuo as if he were a monster. A day in the Star Realm lasted 49.6 hours, and in the nearly 40 hours that they had been away, Ji Xinghuo had spent the entire time in the training room. Yet, he still looked energetic, as if he would never tire.
Everyone knew how dull and monotonous Xing power cultivation could be.
Anyone who could persist for more than ten hours a day was already considered diligent. But Ji Xinghuo was cultivating for forty hours a day!
Furthermore, not all mutants could withstand such long periods of intense training.
Xia Qingyu suddenly understood.
The reason why Ji Xinghuo had become so powerful in just two years of being a mutant wasn't solely due to his extraordinary talent. His superhuman self-discipline and willpower meant that even with mediocre talent, he would still achieve greatness.
Feeling ashamed compared to Ji Xinghuo's dedication, Xia Qingyu said, "I'll work hard too, starting tomorrow!"
Misha mocked, "Why not now?"
"Because I'm going to bed." Xia Qingyu shrugged and pulled her upstairs. Soon, loud noises could be heard.
Ji Xinghuo, in the training room, frowned but quickly ignored the sounds.
After completing another cycle of exercises, his Xing power was once again depleted.
Ji Xinghuo opened the interface of the Myriad Star Pupils, and it displayed: 【Xing Power: 0/1055】. His Xing power had increased by 11 points after a whole day of cultivation!
He felt a sense of accomplishment.
The reason he could persist through a 40-hour training session was because of this tangible progress that constantly motivated him.
With each completed cycle of exercises, his Xing power increased by one point.
A fair reward for his efforts.
Such efficient cultivation and strong feedback kept him immersed and driven, making it hard to stop.
It was even addictive!
Ji Xinghuo watched as his Xing power rapidly recovered, and he sensed his body. Although he wasn't very tired, thanks to the dual recovery effects of the Titanoboa blood and the rotating magnetic field, he could still easily manage another ten days or half a month of training without issues. However, he decided to heed the importance of rest and give his body a break.
"Continue tomorrow," he told himself.
After washing up, Ji Xinghuo returned to his bedroom and quickly fell asleep.
When the sky brightened, he woke up, had breakfast outside, and then went back to the training room to continue his exercises for the day.
On this day, he increased his Xing power by 12 points.
The third day also saw a 12-point increase.
On the fourth day, as Ji Xinghuo was training at noon, a Snow Ape Giant guard visited and informed him that Chief Hanqiu had invited him to the tribe.
"The Magnetism Spirit Star Core must be here!" Ji Xinghuo's spirits lifted. He changed into clean clothes and set off to meet Chief Hanqiu. As he entered the tribal hall, he saw the chief sitting on the massive stone chair. On the table in front of him was a metal box, rectangular and only palm-sized, which didn't seem extraordinary at first glance.
However, Ji Xinghuo's electromagnetic sensing immediately picked up on something. In his mind, he perceived an extremely strong magnetic source within the box!
The magnetic field strength of the object far surpassed that of everything else around it, like a bright beacon in the darkness, impossible to ignore.
"Chief Hanqiu," Ji Xinghuo greeted the Snow Ape Giant with a ritualistic gesture, his eyes unable to tear away from the metal box on the table.
"Welcome, honored guest," Chief Hanqiu replied with a kind smile, gesturing to the table. "This is the item that the Venerable has asked me to deliver to you. Please take good care of it."
He didn't know the details of the transaction between Ji Xinghuo and the Ethereal Spirit, only relaying messages and delivering items as instructed.
"Thank you," Ji Xinghuo said as he stepped forward and picked up the box, not bothering to hide his actions from Chief Hanqiu. He carefully opened it.
The box was filled with a completely transparent gel, and within the gel was a small, black crystal grain, with a diameter of only about 5 millimeters. If one were to toss it onto the ground, it would blend in with the dirt and look like a tiny pebble; it was difficult to discern its uniqueness with the naked eye.
But to Ji Xinghuo, this tiny crystal grain was extraordinary!
Its surface appeared rough, but upon closer inspection, it was composed of hundreds of minuscule facets. The color was a deep, dark shade, yet it reflected light, shimmering with a dazzling array of colors.
"A black rainbow?" Ji Xinghuo thought to himself.
Through his electromagnetic sensing, he perceived that the tiny black crystal grain emitted an extremely strong magnetic field. The deeper he probed into the crystal, the more the magnetic field strength increased exponentially.
At its very core, there existed a blind spot, akin to a singularity.
A blank space.
There was no reaction to either magnetic or electric fields, as if it were the edge of a black hole's event horizon, beyond the reach of electromagnetic sensing.
"So this is the Magnetism Spirit Star Core. It's truly remarkable!" Ji Xinghuo marveled inwardly.
He glanced up and noticed that Chief Hanqiu was also curiously observing the contents of the box, evidently seeing the Magnetism Spirit Star Core for the first time and thus, not recognizing it.
"My apologies for the display," Ji Xinghuo said as he closed the box and put it away in his pocket.
"Ahem..." Chief Hanqiu looked a bit embarrassed and picked up a roll of beast hide paper from beside him, handing it to Ji Xinghuo. "This is the latest transaction list. Please have a look."
Ji Xinghuo took the proffered paper and perused it.
Most of the items on this new transaction list were similar to the previous one.
A few new items had been added, mostly weapons and equipment, including some priceless treasures of the Apocalypse level. However, the prices were exorbitantly high, far beyond his reach. The list of items being procured had also expanded, most of which Ji Xinghuo had never heard of.
Back at home, Ji Xinghuo admired the Magnetism Spirit Star Core by himself. Previously, the Ethereal Spirit had explained that this item was different from the usual method of implanting a stargland.
Most starglands required surgical implantation.
Depending on the characteristics of the stargland and the physical structure of the different races, the implantation site would vary.
On Earth, there were specialized companies that served beings, assisting their ascension to super beings. They provided guidance on stargland selection, analysis, and implantation, data collection, pre-implantation compatibility tests, and job template matching, making the process quite complex.
To ensure a successful implantation, an entire ascension team would be required to provide services for two to three months, or even longer.
In any case, it was a troublesome process.
However, the Magnetism Spirit Star Core was different; it didn't require any assistance or surgical implantation.
According to the Ethereal Spirit, as long as the being was compatible with the Magnetism Spirit Star Core and met the conditions related to the mastery of electricity and magnetism, it would naturally integrate into the body and take effect.
If one couldn't merge with the Magnetism Spirit Star Core, then it was simply not suitable for them.
"Hopefully, it will be a success," Ji Xinghuo thought to himself, feeling confident but with a hint of trepidation. After all, anything was possible.
The Magnetism Spirit Star Core had come at a great cost to him, and if the Ethereal Spirit hadn't exaggerated, it was the pinnacle of starglands in both the Galaxy and the Star Realm, with more potential than any artificial stargland. If the implantation failed, it would be a tremendous pity.
"I'll quickly cultivate my Xing power to the bottleneck of a High-Ranked Mutant, and then I'll ascend," he decided.
Putting away the Magnetism Spirit Star Core, he continued his cultivation.
Time passed day by day.
Ji Xinghuo seemed to know no fatigue. Upon waking up, he would enter the training room, and aside from eating and sleeping, he cultivated for over 40 hours every day.
The dual effects of etheric resonance and the "Refined Etheric Solvent" boosted his cultivation efficiency to new heights.
It was both fast and stable.
On average, his Xing power increased by 12 points every day.
The weather in the Star Realm grew colder day by day. After the "Interval Moon" came the "Cool Moon," a whole 37-day period during which Ji Xinghuo cultivated on the Skyfall Cliff. Aside from meals, he didn't take a single step outside of Xia Qingyu's home, and then the "Mist Moon" arrived.
The nights lengthened, and the starlit nights shortened.
During the Mist Moon, the Bloody Highland was mostly cold and damp, and the color of the grasslands and forests changed. The greenery diminished, and the vast land took on a desolate hue.
Countless mountain peaks were covered in frost and snow, with the snow line descending from the mountain waist to its foot.
On the Skyfall Cliff, inside Xia Qingyu's home, Ji Xinghuo finished a cycle of exercises in the training room. He wiped away the sweat from his body, put on a jacket, and looked at the interface in his field of vision.
His Xing power was rapidly recovering.
【Xing Power: 1/1549】
Ji Xinghuo patiently waited for nearly 80 minutes. His Xing power recovered to its peak of 1549 points but didn't increase further. Earlier that morning, his Xing power had stopped rising, and to confirm that it wasn't a fluke, he had continued cultivating for over a dozen more hours, yet there was still no change.
After over forty days of cultivating in the Star Realm, his Xing power had always increased after completing each cycle of exercises.
Now that it had stopped, it indicated that he had reached a bottleneck!
"Finally..." Ji Xinghuo exclaimed with delight.
For beings, the first three evolutions occurred automatically once their Xing power exceeded a critical point, promoting them to the next rank. However, for High-Ranked Mutants, their Xing power would stop increasing once it reached a certain level, and external interference was required to continue evolving.
This was the first real bottleneck beings encountered on their evolutionary path.
"Hu..." Ji Xinghuo took a few deep breaths to calm himself.
Xia Qingyu and Misha were not at home. The two of them had been living it up this month, spending half their time partying at bars and the other half selling two Scarlet Emperor Blood Crystals to upgrade their weapons and equipment and search for suitable exotic beasts. They also cultivated from time to time but never for too long.
Ji Xinghuo had figured out the reason.
Xia Qingyu had decent talent, yet he had remained a Super Mutant for so many years. If he had spent the time he wasted on drinking and women on cultivation instead, he would have become a Legendary Mutant by now.
However, other people's business was none of his concern, nor did he want to interfere.
Once he ascended to become a Super Mutant, he would leave Skyfall Cliff and continue his quest for spiritual source energy.
"It's good that they're not here; they won't disturb my ascension," Ji Xinghuo thought as he took out the box containing the Magnetism Spirit Star Core from his dimensional pocket.
He opened the box, and the black crystal grain within the gel was unchanged.
Following the Ethereal Spirit's instructions, Ji Xinghuo took off his shirt. A faint lightning bolt burst from his fingertips, slicing through the gel and attaching itself to the black crystal grain, suspending it in the air. As more and more lightning bolts infused the crystal, it gradually activated, emitting a radiant light.
Through electromagnetic sensing, Ji Xinghuo perceived the magnetism of the Magnetism Spirit Star Core growing stronger and stronger, to the point of being almost "dazzling"!
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle...
Suddenly, the sound of electricity filled the air, and the black crystal grain was fully activated.
Before Ji Xinghuo could react, the Magnetism Spirit Star Core transformed into a bolt of electricity and shot into his chest. Immediately, a mild numbing sensation spread throughout his body.
Boom!
His mind exploded with a loud bang, and the Xing power within his body instantly boiled.
Ji Xinghuo's body floated uncontrollably in the air, surrounded by dazzling lightning bolts. His evolution had begun!
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
