Chapter 49: Rising Two Levels
Chapter 49: Rising Two Levels
Ji Xinghuo returned to the Qinghao Road villa, retrieved the ether-sensitive exotic from his room, and entered the training room.
Having consumed the Qing Kong Guo in the afternoon, its effects had already kicked in.
The hunger he felt after using the Life Spirit Seed before made it clear that he could fuse another exotic.
He sat in the middle of the training room, examining the exotic in his hand. The most common method of fusing with the ether-sensitive exotic was also the simplest—ingestion. Without hesitation, he popped the quartz-like exotic into his mouth. It was a little hard, but fortunately, it was only the size of a mung bean, and he easily swallowed it with his saliva.
After waiting a few minutes, Ji Xinghuo felt it.
Ether energy was flowing towards him.
However, compared to the commotion caused by the fusion with the rotating magnetic field, this was much quieter and could even be described as silent. If not for his ability to sense the difference, he would have thought the fusion had failed.
The ether energy, which he had previously been unable to see, became slightly clearer in his field of vision.
They were everywhere.
Like the air, they were imperceptible yet profoundly influencing everything.
As Ji Xinghuo absorbed the ether energy, he felt his body undergoing a subtle transformation. This transformation did not affect his physical fitness but made him more sensitive to ether energy.
The ether energy he perceived became increasingly prominent, almost visible to the naked eye.
He opened the Wanxiang Xing Tong interface.
His star power was slowly rising, and every few dozen seconds, the value would jump, increasing by 1 point! During his over-40-day hunting trip, he had not specifically cultivated, but the frequent consumption and recovery of star power had a training effect, increasing his star power by 2 points to a total of 103. Now, with the fusion of ether sensitivity, it began to increase rapidly, like a rocket.
Half an hour later, the growth of star power finally stopped.
【Star Power: 161/161】
Ji Xinghuo was both surprised and delighted.
Previously, when he fused with the rotating magnetic field, his star power had increased by 41 points. Now, ether sensitivity, which was just a superior exotic ability, had increased his star power by 58 points, even more than the rotating magnetic field.
He ran a few steps in the training room. While the increase in star power did enhance his physical fitness, it was not by much.
The interface information also updated.
【Exotic Ability: Ether Sensitivity (Level 1, 1/23)】
"I only need 23 points of Spiritual Source Energy to upgrade?" Ji Xinghuo was astonished. It seemed that the amount of Spiritual Source Energy required for an exotic ability upgrade was linked to its quality. The better the ability, the more Spiritual Source Energy needed for upgrades, and vice versa.
He glanced at the remaining Spiritual Source Energy at the bottom: 【Spiritual Source Energy: 132】
Before, in Juefeng Valley, although he had not hunted the Shi Liam Giant Evil Spirit, he had killed several dozen monsters. The journey back to Olympia had also been filled with encounters.
Adding to the 38 points he had before entering the valley, he now had a total of 132 points of Spiritual Source Energy.
Ji Xinghuo immediately upgraded his ether sensitivity.
As the Spiritual Source Energy was invested, the progress of ether sensitivity gradually advanced, and he felt his perception of ether energy improving step by step.
Soon, ether sensitivity reached Level 2!
【Exotic Ability: Ether Sensitivity (Level 2, 1/103)】
"I can still upgrade it once more!"
Ji Xinghuo was delighted. Upgrading this exotic ability was much easier than he had anticipated. In the blink of an eye, ether sensitivity reached 【Level 3, 1/433】.
Level 3 ether sensitivity!
He turned to look around, and with a slight focus, the ether energy before his eyes became visible.
This energy had no color and, like the molecules and particles that make up matter, could not be seen in a microscopic state. However, on a macroscopic level, it existed as a gas, constantly changing and moving.
When he waved his hand, causing the air to flow, it also disturbed the ether energy, forming vortices or turbulences that seemed entirely random.
Ji Xinghuo observed himself.
It was evident that his body had a much more considerable influence on the ether than other objects.
This was not solely due to the ether sensitivity exotic ability but also because he was an Other, and the star power within his body was derived from the conversion of ether energy.
He went outside for a walk and quickly understood ether sensitivity's use through observation. Where ether energy gathered, there was bound to be an influence from a transcendent power, such as Ren Mian's garden, where the ether energy density was several times higher than elsewhere.
The higher the ether energy density, the stronger the general power or the more precious the treasure.
Ji Xinghuo soon figured out the trick.
By combining his magnetic field perception with ether sensitivity, he should be able to judge an Other's strength with high accuracy.
"Know yourself, know your enemy. A hundred battles, a hundred victories."
"This is indeed a good way to gauge an enemy's strength!"
Ji Xinghuo glanced at the remaining 6 points of Spiritual Source Energy and left them untouched as he returned to the training room to cultivate.
His total bench press weight had reached 800 kilograms, but for safety, he used 500-kilogram barbells and continuously performed over a dozen sets of bench presses, squats, and deadlifts, along with other groups of exercises that consumed physical energy and star power. After more than an hour of aerobic and anaerobic exercises, he was finally exhausted.
"Huff..."
Ji Xinghuo sat down, drenched in sweat, and noted the time. "Now, let's see how fast my star power recovers."
Two hours later, his star power had recovered to 161/161.
"So fast!"
Although it took 20 minutes longer to fully recover compared to before, his star power had increased by about 60 points. After calculations, his star power recovery speed had increased by approximately 38%!
His stamina recovered even earlier.
The rotating magnetic field also accelerated stamina recovery, and he had stopped feeling fatigued an hour and a half ago.
"Once more!"
Ji Xinghuo pushed himself to the limit, depleting his physical energy and star power, before waiting two hours to fully recover. With time to spare, he spent nine hours in the training room, completing three training cycles.
When his star power recovered to full for the third time, the value jumped unexpectedly.
【Star Power: 162/162】
"It increased!" Ji Xinghuo was delighted.
Without ether sensitivity, it would have taken him a week of cultivation to increase his star power by 1 point. Now, this 1-point increase was definitely not solely due to today's training but had likely reached a node of value change.
Otherwise, if his star power increased by 1 point every day, his cultivation efficiency would have increased sevenfold, and a Level 3 ether sensitivity ability wouldn't have such an incredible effect.
"I'll try again tomorrow."
Full of anticipation, Ji Xinghuo returned to his room, freshened up, and went to bed.
He only slept for six hours. When he woke up, the sky was still dark, and he headed to the training room to begin another day of hard work.
The sky gradually brightened.
Ji Xinghuo tirelessly continued his training, spending the entire starglobe day in the training room, only leaving to eat and use the restroom. In total, he spent 42 hours and completed 14 training cycles.
He maintained this routine for the next day.
However, right after completing a training cycle, Ji Xinghuo's star power increased by 1 point, reaching 163/163.
"54 hours!"
Ji Xinghuo finally stopped and recorded the time taken for each training cycle.
He had sweated for 54 hours to gain this 1-point increase in star power, and the physical exhaustion was instantly forgotten as his mood lifted. This meant that his cultivation speed had increased by about 30%, slightly less than the increase in star power recovery speed, but still impressive.
"These past two days were just tests. In the future, I won't be able to devote myself like this every day, and I'll also need to practice martial arts and exotic abilities."
"However, I should be able to complete at least nine training cycles per starglobe day."
"In two starglobe days, I'll be able to increase my star power by 1 point."
Ji Xinghuo quickly formulated a new training plan.
He would cultivate for 27 hours a day, practice martial arts for 9 hours, spend 2 hours on archery, and allocate the remaining time for eating, resting, and sleeping. This added up to 49.6 hours a day.
He didn't know when his next life evolution would occur, but he felt it wouldn't be too far away.
He estimated that his star power limit as a junior exotic would be around 230.
As long as he dedicated himself to cultivation in Olympia for a few starglobe months, he should be able to undergo another life evolution.
"Intermediate exotic..."
Ji Xinghuo calculated the time. It was currently early October on Earth, and he should be able to reach the intermediate level by the end of June next year.
Advancing from a junior to an intermediate exotic in less than a year would be an incredibly fast speed, even on a global scale.
"If I had more Spiritual Source Energy and could upgrade ether sensitivity a few more times, I could be even faster." Ji Xinghuo couldn't help but think, but he didn't know when the next hunting trip would be.
During mealtime, he asked Ren Mian about it.
"We don't have any plans for now," Ren Mian replied. "If we find a suitable hunting target, we'll go out. However, it's already October, and I have something I need to leave for a few months. I'll be back next year."
"Where are you going, Ren Jie?" Ji Xinghuo asked, surprised.
"It's a personal matter, and I can't tell you about it yet," Ren Mian said mysteriously. "I leave Olympia for about four months every year. During this time, you can do as you please. You can return to Earth, focus on your cultivation, or join other teams for hunting trips."
Chi Zhonglin and Jiang Nan Caiyi both nodded, indicating they already knew about this.
"I'll be returning to Earth in a few days to prepare for the Martial Arts Master Promotion Tournament," Chi Zhonglin said, having already made his arrangements.
Jiang Nan Caiyi said, "I'll be going home to visit my mother, but I'll come back every other week to clean and take care of my sister's garden."
The three of them found it strange that Ji Xinghuo looked clueless.
"Xinghuo, aren't you going back to Earth?" Ren Mian asked.
"I've only recently arrived in the starglobe and don't want to go back yet," Ji Xinghuo said, scratching his head. He hadn't told his teammates about the Sword Bureau.
Ren Mian smiled and said, "Then you can stay here and cultivate in peace. You can also help take care of the house while we're gone."
"No problem," Ji Xinghuo readily agreed.
A few days later,
The villa was left empty, with only Ji Xinghuo remaining.
Ren Mian had left two days ago, and Ji Xinghuo guessed that she must have another, more important garden somewhere else. The villa's garden was probably just a temporary planting site for her, and she could abandon it at any time, along with the three-leaf osmanthus tree that could be used to cultivate Qing Kong Guo.
Chi Zhonglin and Jiang Nan Caiyi were also returning to Earth today.
After some consideration, Ji Xinghuo finally asked Chi Zhonglin to deliver a message to his second brother, Zhong Ming, telling him that he was doing well and not to worry.
"Can't you tell him in person? Why not call or email him?"
"It's better if my identity isn't revealed, right?"
Upon receiving Ji Xinghuo's affirmative response, Chi Zhonglin found it a little strange but still promised to do so.
After seeing Chi Zhonglin off, Ji Xinghuo turned and entered the training room to begin his daily cultivation.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
