Chapter 95: The Acceleration Ring
Chapter 95: The Acceleration Ring
"That was close!"
Ji Xinghuo touched the faint white scar on his neck left by the Great Kun man's scimitar. He was fortunate that the lightning had paralyzed his opponent, weakening the power of the blow and preventing it from cutting through his golden scales.
He looked down at the decapitated head on the ground.
This fourth-rank Great Kun man was exceptionally strong, far beyond a typical Super Feibu user. In addition to his incredible speed, his cognitive abilities, footwork, and perception were all top-notch. Ji Xinghuo had intended to take him down with his bow and arrow, but even with Wanxiang Senlu activated, he hadn't found an opportunity to strike.
No matter how he shot, the Great Kun man was able to dodge.
In the end, he had no choice but to engage in close combat.
Although he had emerged victorious, it had been a narrow escape. Both he and his opponent had aimed to behead each other, and a slight misstep would have resulted in his own decapitation.
"This Great Kun man is definitely not an ordinary fighter in Beiluosimen," he thought. "If he were on Earth, his abilities would surely place him on the global ladder. He's an absolute genius, one in a million!"
"But in the end, I won."
Ji Xinghuo glanced at the interface and saw that his starlight energy had decreased by two-thirds after using Wanxiang Senlu for a few seconds.
If he encountered another enemy now, he would be in a dangerous situation.
He immediately scalped the Great Kun man, picked up the scimitar, which was clearly a superpower weapon, and took the boots, which were also superpower equipment. However, the footwear was unsuitable for humans due to the significant difference in foot structure, so he could only salvage them for materials and sell them for a reduced price.
"A superpower ring?"
Ji Xinghuo removed a ring from the Great Kun man's hand.
It had a blue-patterned metal band with a simple design and intricate lines engraved on the inner circle that resembled runes. Holding it in his hand, he could feel the abundant ether energy within the ring.
His starlight energy recovery rate suddenly increased, and he felt lighter, with clearer thoughts and faster reactions.
He felt as if he could fly!
"What a great item!"
This was probably the most valuable item on the Great Kun man, at least a two-star superpower. Ji Xinghuo didn't have time to examine the ring carefully. He put it on his left ring finger, recalled Qinghong, and entered a stealth state to escape.
After running for a few kilometers, Ji Xinghuo felt the effects of the ring.
The most noticeable effect was the increase in his running speed—about five meters per second faster. His steps were light and agile, as if he were running with the wind, and this wasn't even the limit of the ring's acceleration ability.
The faster he ran, the greater the acceleration effect became.
Additionally, the ring increased his starlight energy recovery by about 30%!
This was similar to the effect of a first-rate ether sensitivity ability, and Ji Xinghuo could feel that his perception of ether energy had indeed improved.
Lastly, the ring also enhanced his reactions.
"Could it be high-frequency thinking?" he wondered.
Ji Xinghuo was delighted and tried to activate the ring while running. Instantly, his brain entered a state of high-speed operation, and everything around him seemed to slow down. His senses of sight, hearing, touch, and other perceptions became sharper, allowing him to make faster and more responses.
He quickly realized that it wasn't the world that had slowed down but that his own thoughts had accelerated.
"Indeed, it's high-frequency thinking!"
Ji Xinghuo was very familiar with this feeling.
When he activated Wanxiang Senlu, he experienced a similar sensation, but compared to Wanxiang Senlu, the effect of high-frequency thinking was far inferior—a vast difference.
In the Wanxiang Senlu state, the world seemed to be at a standstill.
In contrast, the high-frequency thinking state only slowed down the surroundings by about a quarter. For extremely fast-moving objects, he still wouldn't be able to react in time.
Nevertheless, it was still incredibly useful!
Ji Xinghuo deactivated the high-frequency thinking mode as it consumed a lot of starlight energy and put a significant strain on his brain. With his current amount of starlight energy, he could only maintain it for about 30 seconds.
As he continued to run, he kept glancing at the ring on his hand.
If he guessed correctly, the three abilities granted by the ring were "Flexible Steps," "Ether Sensitivity," and "High-Frequency Thinking." It was a perfect set for a Feibu user, enabling them to move faster, react quicker, and run for more extended periods.
Although each of the three abilities was only of superior quality, their combination was outstanding.
And it was a ring!
Among superpower equipment, these small and exquisite ornamental items were much more expensive than weapons or armor.
A two-star superpower ring could easily fetch a price of 30 to 40 million.
However, such precious superpower equipment rarely appeared on the market, as selling it for money would be a foolish decision.
Ji Xinghuo didn't know its original name, nor did he care. It was his now, and he decided to call it the "Acceleration Ring" from now on.
One hour later, Ji Xinghuo had left the hill far behind. He bypassed several Beiluosimen watchtowers and fortresses, passed through the buffer zone, and returned to the Earth's defense line.
"I should be safe now," he thought.
He hid in a dark passage not far from the buffer zone, took out some food and water to replenish his energy, and then looked at his left hand, admiring the two rings on his fingers—the stealth ring and the acceleration ring.
"Quite a luxurious set of equipment!" he thought, pleased. These two rings were not only valuable but also incredibly useful.
After admiring them for a while, he opened the interface and channeled the newly acquired spiritual source energy into the rotating magnetic field. Then, he picked up the Great Kun man's scimitar, which was similar in length to Lei Chi but with a larger blade curvature, resembling a yanlingdao from Earth. It was also lighter than Lei Chi.
"That's a fine weapon."
Ji Xinghuo thought for a moment. Although the scimitar wasn't as good as Lei Chi, it would make a decent backup.
Perhaps he could even try dual-wielding in the future.
After resting for an hour to restore his energy and starlight energy to their peak, Ji Xinghuo left the hidden passage. There were still a few hours until starlight night, and he could hunt during that time as well, so he didn't plan on returning to the midpoint fortress just yet. Instead, he sprinted southwest for over sixty kilometers, entering the defense zone of another fortress.
Once again, he crossed the buffer zone and infiltrated behind the Bei Lusimen tribe's defense line.
Ji Xinghuo hid beneath the shade of some trees, his gaze passing through the gaps in the foliage to spot several Fish Bat Dragons soaring in the distant sky.
The Fish Bat Dragons had a wingspan of about ten meters and resembled a combination of a pterodactyl and a bat. Their smooth skin was adorned with colorful stripes, giving them a vibrant appearance. They inhabited lakes and wetlands, feeding on fish, and could remain submerged for extended periods. They were also swift fliers, and their abdominal claws were extremely agile.
After entering the Starry Sky World, the Great Kun people had spent years mastering the method of taming and breeding Fish Bat Dragons on their planet, forming their own aerial cavalry.
However, Fish Bat Dragons were still quite rare, and only elite Great Kun warriors were qualified to obtain them as mounts.
They usually only came out for patrols during the day.
Ji Xinghuo had already hidden from several patrols that day. Each flying patrol typically consisted of five Fish Bat Dragons, with a Great Kun rider on each, accompanied by two lightweight Gouraucacs perched behind the riders.
While the Fish Bat Dragons had decent eyesight, it wasn't as exceptional as the Hawk Eye ability, so they relied on the Gouraucacs' auditory senses to compensate for their scouting capabilities.
"They're flying at an altitude of about 500 meters."
Ji Xinghuo watched the distant silhouettes of the Fish Bat Dragons as he made his calculations.
The flying patrols were cautious and rarely lowered their altitude during their missions, except when taking off and landing.
At an altitude of 500 meters or more, they were practically invisible to the naked eye.
It would be incredibly challenging to shoot them down.
Ji Xinghuo, in his stealth state, followed along, scouting the flying patrol's route and looking for an opportunity to strike. After two or three hours, six flying patrols had passed overhead without detecting him below.
He had figured out their pattern: a new patrol took off every half-hour, and they followed one of four random flight paths.
The base for these flying patrols was a fortress about a dozen kilometers ahead.
From a distance, Ji Xinghuo could see Fish Bat Dragons taking off and landing at the fortress, which seemed to be the assembly point for the flying patrols in the area, spanning several hundred square kilometers.
"An air force base?"
He didn't dare approach the obviously well-guarded base rashly.
The base was nestled in a dense forest, and all the trees and vegetation within a radius of several kilometers outside the high walls had been cleared, leaving a wide-open space with no cover.
Ji Xinghuo didn't even consider getting close; he could only guess that the air force base housed at least tens of thousands of people, most of whom were likely elite Great Kun troops.
There must also be Legends stationed there!
He made a mental note of the location and then retreated.
However, the direction he chose to leave in wasn't toward the human defense line; instead, he continued southwest, where the forest was exceptionally tall, with towering trees everywhere. As he walked among them, he could see some fallen trees on the ground, so massive that it would take more than a dozen people to encircle them with outstretched arms—a truly spectacular sight.
"Hmm?"
Ji Xinghuo immediately had an idea, and his magnetic field perception quickly located the tallest tree nearby. He swiftly climbed to the top, reaching a height of about 150 meters above the ground.
From there, he estimated that he was not directly underneath the flight path but had shortened the distance to the patrolling team in the sky.
Ji Xinghuo patiently waited.
As the golden glow of the setting sun gradually dipped below the horizon, starlight night was about to begin.
One by one, the flying patrols returned and landed at the air force base. Ji Xinghuo's eyes scanned the area, and his magnetic field perception swept the surroundings repeatedly. Just as he thought he wouldn't find a suitable target that day, five Fish Bat Dragons suddenly appeared in the distant sky, heading toward the air force base and passing right by the tree where Ji Xinghuo was hiding.
"Opportunity!"
Ji Xinghuo's heart leaped with joy, but he quickly calmed himself.
In his stealth state, he watched the flying patrol approach. They flew by a few hundred meters to his side, and perhaps because the sky was growing darker, the Great Kun riders seemed to relax their vigilance, slightly lowering their altitude without noticing the figure at the treetop.
Ji Xinghuo waited until all five Fish Bat Dragons had passed before his right eye flashed, activating the Wanxiang Senlu state.
At the same time, he also activated the high-frequency thinking mode of the acceleration ring!
With five silent arrows in hand, he nocked and fired them with blinding speed, sending all five arrows flying into the sky within three seconds.
(End of Chapter)
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