Chapter 302: Supersonic Flight

Chapter 302: Supersonic Flight

The True Marrow Injector was obviously an artificial creation, providing only a single additional fusion opportunity, yet it was priced at a hundred Ether Crystals.

Ji Xinghuo knew it was a rip-off, a grossly inflated price.

A hundred Ether Crystals could buy him two spiritual energy variants, yet the Ethereal Spirit was not shy about their asking price.

But since he was in dire need, he could only accept.

Any expansion curios that could be bought with money, regardless of the cost, was always a worthwhile exchange of currency for strength.

The Ethereal Spirit likely had more in their possession.

"I had originally intended to use these for other trades, but since you've spoken up, I'll sell them all to you," the Ethereal Spirit said, as two more vials of the serum dropped out of the vortex. Their tone implied that they were doing him a big favor.

Ji Xinghuo caught the vials and took the initiative to say, "Senior, for these two True Marrow Injectors, I'm willing to pay an additional fifty Ether Crystals."

"You're quite thoughtful."

The Ethereal Spirit smiled, "But this time, it's unnecessary. I'll sell them to you at the original price. Consider it a discount since you've bought so many things from me."

"Thank you, Senior," Ji Xinghuo expressed his gratitude, but his mind was screaming at the audacity of calling an overpriced sale a discount.

He sent two hundred Ether Crystals into the vortex.

As if guessing Ji Xinghuo's thoughts, the Ethereal Spirit said, "The True Marrow Injector is a militarily controlled resource of the Eternal Empire. This time, I managed to get my hands on three vials, taking quite a risk and paying a hefty price."

Ji Xinghuo's heart stirred at the mention of the Eternal Empire.

He had heard about this nation more than once from the Ethereal Spirit, and in fact, the information collected by the countries of Earth also included data on the Eternal Empire.

There wasn't much information about this empire, and most of what they knew came from the True Dragon Dynasty.

According to the information, the Eternal Empire was the most powerful civilization in the Milky Way Galaxy and the largest nation. Out of the forty-five star zones in the galaxy, nine of them belonged to the domain of the Eternal Empire! Their territory within the Star Realm was also unimaginably vast.

And this was the Eternal Empire in its decline.

In the distant past, the Eternal Empire, at its peak, controlled two-thirds of the Milky Way Galaxy.

To some extent, it once was the Galactic Empire!

Even in its current state of decline, the Eternal Empire remained an unshakeable superpower in the Milky Way and the Star Realm, making the True Dragon Dynasty seem insignificant in comparison.

Although it was unclear whether the Ethereal Spirit had obtained the True Marrow Injectors directly from the Eternal Empire or through a middleman, and whether they had truly taken a huge risk, it was enough to show the rarity and value of the injectors.

"I will remember the favor you've shown me, Senior."

Ji Xinghuo quickly expressed his indebtedness.

The Ethereal Spirit smiled in satisfaction and continued, "The True Marrow Injector also has additional effects. After using it, you will gain a recovery ability no less than 'Rapid Self-Healing', enhanced endurance, faster metabolism, and the ability to quickly expel toxins in the event of poisoning."

"That's incredible!"

Ji Xinghuo was astonished. This was equivalent to fusing with two or three physique-type variants. Just the 'Rapid Self-Healing' ability alone was a super-limit variant.

The other effects were also comparable to exceptional and superior variants.

And it didn't even occupy a fusion slot.

He suddenly felt that the price of one hundred Ether Crystals per injector was a bargain, a very reasonable price.

"That's how powerful it is," the Ethereal Spirit said, "If it were just an ordinary expansion curio, why would the Eternal Empire bother controlling it?"

Ji Xinghuo was delighted and expressed his gratitude once more.

Previously, when the Ethereal Spirit had mentioned wanting to be friends with him and "invest" in him, he had thought it was all empty talk. But now, he finally saw their sincerity.

After the trade was completed, the Ethereal Spirit departed.

Ji Xinghuo put away the other two True Marrow Injectors. He picked up one of the vials, its pale blue serum contained within a metal syringe. There were some fracture marks on the surface of the needle, and the originally tight security measures had been deliberately destroyed.

There was no need for a password or security deactivation; it could be used directly.

He removed the needle cover and forcefully jabbed it into his arm, the needle tip piercing through bone and entering his body. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he slowly injected the serum.

Soon, the entire dose was inside his body.

Ji Xinghuo pulled out the needle, and the pores on his bones and flesh immediately healed. Then, he waited for the serum to take effect.

In less than half a minute, he felt something unusual.

A surge of icy energy spread from his arm, flowing through his entire skeletal system. In this process, it seeped out from his bones, merging with his blood and muscles, beginning to transform his body.

At the same time, the energy of the serum also blended with his stellar power, like gasoline being ignited, causing a violent reaction.

"Ouch!"

Ji Xinghuo grunted, his face unchanging.

This level of pain was within his tolerance. As the serum took effect, his entire body, from the inside out, felt a scorching heat, which was soon replaced by a bone-chilling cold. The alternating sensations of hot and cold were like the Nine Frozen Hells.

It lasted for more than half an hour before his body gradually calmed down.

"It's done."

He felt a sense of hunger, knowing that he could now fuse with another variant.

Additionally, his strength had increased slightly, and his stamina and metabolism had improved as well. The rapid self-healing effect, however, was not very noticeable.

For the time being, Ji Xinghuo set aside exploring these ancillary effects, as the most important task at hand was to fuse with the new variant.

He took out the "Acceleration" variant.

This glass marble-like variant was unknown to anyone on Earth, and there was no information about it. Ji Xinghuo had no idea how to fuse with it.

However, the process of fusing with variants usually followed a few standard methods.

After a few attempts, Ji Xinghuo figured out how to use it. He made a small cut on his palm, placed the variant on the wound, and as it came into contact with his blood, it slowly began to melt, mixing with his blood and seeping into his flesh through the cut.

The variant quickly moved towards his head after entering his body, and in the blink of an eye, it disappeared into his brain.

Then nothing happened.

Ji Xinghuo waited for a few seconds, but there were no further reactions, leaving him stunned.

"Ah?"

He opened the interface of the Myriad Phenomenon Star Pupil, and as expected, he saw a new ability added to his list of powers.

[Ability: Acceleration (Level 1/3331)]



"This Star Meteorite variant is truly bizarre, even its fusion process is so peculiar. What incredible speed!"

Ji Xinghuo shook his head in amazement, his heart filled with joy.

Immediately, he noticed that his stellar power value was rising rapidly, and the surrounding ether energy was being sucked into his body and absorbed, transformed into stellar power by his Magnetic Spirit Star Core.

In just half a minute or so, his stellar power had increased by 100 points! And it was still rising.

With each new variant fusion, his stellar power increased, and the upper limit of his stellar power also improved. As "Acceleration" was a Star Meteorite variant, Ji Xinghuo speculated that his stellar power limit might have already exceeded 15,000 points!

He paid no heed to the rising stellar power and began to test his new ability.

Whoosh!

A gale suddenly blew through the cultivation room, and in an instant, Ji Xinghuo's surroundings changed as he entered his maximum speed. In what felt like less than 0.2 seconds, he had moved 15 meters, as if propelled by a tremendous force, about to crash into the wall.

Having activated his Hyperfrequency Thought Process beforehand, he was able to stop himself just centimeters away from the wall.

He was mere centimeters away from impact.

"Ugh..."

Ji Xinghuo felt a bit uncomfortable, as in that brief moment, he had gone from extreme stillness to extreme motion, and then back to stillness.

His body had endured two abrupt changes in inertia, as if he had been slammed hard twice.

But it was just discomfort, and he hadn't sustained any injuries.

"Is there really no acceleration process?" Ji Xinghuo was astonished, as this completely defied the laws of physics.

"Let's try again."

This time, Ji Xinghuo entered the Myriad Phenomenon State and moved backward from the wall, sweeping through the room. In an instant, he was back to his original position.

In the Myriad Phenomenon State, his perception was extremely clear.

Every detail of the process was laid bare before him.

Ji Xinghuo's face lit up as he realized, "So there is an acceleration process, but the 'acceleration' itself has been accelerated, drastically reducing the time it takes, less than 0.2 seconds, or even shorter! Such a rapid acceleration is hard to discern even with Hyperfrequency Thought Process."

He continued to test his ability, his figure moving at high speed within the cultivation room.

He darted left and right, like a flash of lightning.

"Faster than the Flash Step."

With each complete movement, he experienced two changes in inertia, and while it was uncomfortable at first, he gradually adapted to it.

"With my current physical fitness, I should be able to withstand accelerating or abruptly stopping a couple of hundred times without issue." Ji Xinghuo understood, "This 'Acceleration' ability has an overcoming effect on inertia."

Otherwise, it wouldn't have been so effortless.

Furthermore, he discovered that when he shifted from a stationary state to acceleration and movement, his Rotating Magnetic Field and Turbulent Shockwaves instantly activated.

Both of these abilities were amplified by "Acceleration"!

The same was true for the Flash Step and Instant Step.

Not only were they faster, but the distance they covered had also increased by about half, greatly reducing the stamina consumption and allowing for continuous, unpredictable movements.

Ji Xinghuo recalled how Qian Lu had demonstrated control over her acceleration and direction changes.

He attempted to replicate it a few times.

Starting from one end of the cultivation room, he accelerated into motion but didn't reach his maximum speed. Instead, he slowed down slightly, then abruptly changed direction by 90 degrees when he was halfway through, and just before hitting the wall, he turned again, retracing his path.

Whoosh! Ji Xinghuo stopped just in front of the wall, exhilarated.

"This is interesting!"

He turned to look at the path he had just taken, resembling an electrocardiogram. Such an illogical route would leave most opponents unable to react in time.

However, when changing directions, the inertia was more pronounced, and changing directions multiple times in quick succession might cause him to injure himself.

"No wonder Qian Lu didn't change directions frequently." Ji Xinghuo finally understood the situation back then.

Boom!

Like an arrow released from its bow, Ji Xinghuo's body tore through the air, leaving a straight trail in the sky.

In an instant, his speed reached 150 meters per second.

This was the upper limit of his full-burst speed, which he could maintain for 20 minutes.

Ji Xinghuo immediately noticed that his speed had surpassed his previous limit and was still increasing!

"This is Acceleration!"

"As expected, it lets me break through my speed limit!"

Ji Xinghuo quickly calculated and found that his speed was increasing by about 1 meter per second. In less than a minute, his speed had exceeded 200 meters per second!

What delighted him the most was that his star power consumption was less than expected. Although it had increased, his star power value was still within a manageable range.

"Keep accelerating!"

After a little more than two minutes, Ji Xinghuo's speed had surpassed 340 meters per second.

If he were on Earth, he would have broken the sound barrier!

And he was still accelerating.

With his mind highly focused, Ji Xinghuo continued for about three more minutes, and his flight speed reached 500 meters per second, or 1,800 kilometers per hour.

The clouds and earth rushed past, and the scenery in his vision became distorted.

Huge air resistance hit him head-on.

The flow-shaping barrier protecting his body rippled in the high speed, and the air felt like a solid wall, creating a loud noise as he pushed through.

"This is when I should change direction..."

"Or come to a sudden stop!"

The thoughts flashed through Ji Xinghuo's mind, but he dared not attempt it, as it might be suicidal.

His flight continued to accelerate.

However, the star power consumption suddenly surged, increasing by an order of magnitude. His star power value plummeted as if a dam had burst. At this rate, his star power would be depleted in less than five minutes.

"Decelerate."

With a thought, Ji Xinghuo's flight speed began to drop rapidly, from 500 meters per second to 400, then 300, and finally slowing to a stop within 200 meters.

Boom! The air exploded in a radius of several dozen meters, emitting a loud boom.

Ji Xinghuo hovered in the sky and looked back. He had gone from a speed of over 1,800 kilometers per hour to a complete stop in less than a hundred meters. This was nothing short of a miracle.

Of course, his body also endured a violent inertial impact, and he felt sore all over as if his body was about to fall apart.

"And this is just Level 1 Acceleration."

Ji Xinghuo waited for his body to recover and then opened the interface of the Myriad Phenomenon Star Pupil.

He had over 32,000 points of spiritual source energy, which he immediately invested in the Acceleration ability to upgrade it.

Upgrading Level 1 Acceleration required 3,331 points of ability energy, and it quickly reached Level 2 (Level 2/21211).

"Acceleration is indeed extraordinary," Ji Xinghuo shook his head. The amount of spiritual source energy required to upgrade it was much higher than for other abilities. Without hesitation, he upgraded Acceleration again to Level 3 (Level 3/127321).

"It needs this much spiritual source energy just for Level 3!"

Ji Xinghuo was astonished.

However, Level 3 Acceleration should be fast enough.

A sound like an exploding sonic boom rang through the air as Ji Xinghuo instantly reached his speed limit and continued to accelerate madly.

With Level 3 Acceleration, the acceleration was noticeably faster.

His star power consumption was lower, and his body's ability to overcome inertia was more apparent. In just over a minute, Ji Xinghuo reached a speed of 500 meters per second, and his star power consumption was still manageable. It was only when he reached 700 meters per second that he could no longer maintain it.

Having discovered his new speed limit, Ji Xinghuo began to decelerate.

After some experimentation, he found that his cruising speed could be maintained at slightly over 220 meters per second, equivalent to 800 kilometers per hour!

He could sustain this flight speed.

Back on Earth, he could easily break the sound barrier, although his star power consumption would increase. Even then, he could maintain this speed for about an hour!

"Hahaha..."

Ji Xinghuo laughed heartily and sped back to Tianzhuai Cliff in a flash.

He visited Chanyu Han Qiu and offered to purchase 30 portions of "Ether Refining Solvent" at a higher price. Normally, each person could only buy three portions per Stellar Year, but Han Qiu agreed to the request, considering it was for the Ethereal Spirit.

That same day, Ji Xinghuo left Tianzhuai Cliff and flew east.

In half a day, he flew out of the Bloody Highland and entered the Thousand Peak Forest, where he slowed down to avoid alerting the winged people of Tianyu Wangting.

The next morning.

After flying through the night, Ji Xinghuo gazed at the horizon ahead. Using the Myriad Phenomenon Star Pupil to zoom in, he spotted a familiar giant city over a hundred kilometers away.

He had reached Olympia!

The next chapter begins a new volume, so I'll take some time to organize the plot. See you tomorrow!

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end