Chapter 18: Spiritual Source Energy
by xennovel“Spiritual Source Energy.”
Ji Xinghuo has never fully understood how spiritual source energy is derived but he guesses from its name that it must relate to willpower or thought.
He opens his interface of Wanxiang Star Pupils and observes closely.
The information bar on the left of the interface showed numbers only with no changes; but on the right, the human form that resembled him displayed neural networks inside the arms representing “Thousand Clever Hands,” flickering prominently.
His gaze falls on them and they immediately display: Thousand Clever Hands Level 1, upgrade available.
There’s now an “upgrade available” option than before.
“Upgrade?”
Ji Xinghuo is so startled he nearly loses control, “Can the upgrade mean enhancing the superpower directly?”
He steadies his emotions and concentrates on “Upgrade.”
Instantly, the neural network in the human form’s Thousand Clever Hands arms brightens and pulses as energy moves swiftly along it.
Simultaneously, Ji Xinghuo feels changes in his body.
A slight heat runs from the network of nerves in his neck down to his arms, palms, and fingertips. It feels like something crawling inside—tickly, tingly, slightly painful, but all within bearable limits.
Numbers on the left side of the interface also fluctuate.
Previously it showed [Superpower: Thousand Clever Hands (Level 1 10/47)], where the first number in brackets indicated current progress level, now rapidly increasing!
He had toiled for three weeks to progress from 1 to 10.
Now, it’s rising by the second!
In the interrogation room, under the camera, Ji Xinghuo seems motionless, maintaining calm but inside he’s a storm of emotions.
Simultaneously, the [Spiritual Source Energy: 137] entry’s numbers rapidly decrease.
Ji Xinghuo observes carefully, pausing the test once, to confirm that each increase in superpower progress consumes a point of spiritual source energy, matching each other one-to-one.
Half a minute later.
The progress of Thousand Clever Hands reaches 47/47, and the upgrade automatically stops.
Ji Xinghuo meticulously experiences his own changes; his hands hidden under the table are vibrating at a high frequency, subtly, and soon return to normal after a few seconds.
His hands feel more agile now, capable of movements he couldn’t perform previously.
His reaction speed and stability have also improved!
In the interface, the Thousand Clever Hands data updates to show (Level 2 1/227), still indicating it’s upgradable.
“Level 2 Thousand Clever Hands!”
Ji Xinghuo lets out a breath of relief.
He’s well-aware of the challenges in upgrading superpowers.
Most rangers spend their lives at level one, and only a few mid-level or higher manage to upgrade after years of training.
Yet, he took just three weeks.
He checks the spiritual source energy, exactly 100 points left.
“The progress for Level 2 Thousand Clever Hands needs 227 points, almost five times more,” Ji Xinghuo calculates. The remaining spiritual source energy won’t suffice for upgrading.
Before being sure how to obtain more spiritual source energy, it seems wise to keep it in reserve.
“Spiritual Source Energy….”
Ji Xinghuo muses to himself, this kind of energy that can directly upgrade superpowers—what is it exactly? It seems like experience points in games, yet he’s confirmed it doesn’t increase star power or evolve life itself.
He’s baffled but deeply shocked.
“If I could acquire more spiritual source energy…”
As Ji Xinghuo studies the uses of spiritual source energy, Min Chongwu walks into an office near the interrogation room followed by Yan Xiao.
“Director Zhou!”
“Director Zhou.”
The two men call out one after the other but receive no response.
A middle-aged man sits behind the desk, looking very ordinary in his forties, with a medium build and no signs of any workout; he’d hardly attract attention on the street.
Min Chongwu and Yan Xiao had toned down their demeanor, even their steps were lighter as they entered.
They glance at the man behind the desk, surprised.
Zhou Yi, one of the three deputy directors of the Sword Bureau and ranked first, right after the director in authority, was focused on the screen, seemingly oblivious to the duo’s arrival.
“Director Zhou, what has you so engrossed?” Min Chongwu asks curiously.
Zhou Yi finally looks up, “Take a look for yourselves.”
He lightly taps the desk, projecting the screen’s image into mid-air, enlarged. Min Chongwu recognizes immediately it’s the scene right below the building where Ji Zongbang was killed.
It’s a surveillance video.
It shows multiple angles; even though it’s night, the clarity is excellent.
At first, Yan Xiao didn’t understand, but once he sees a shadow under a bridge being processed to reveal a vague human figure, he immediately grasps that it’s where Ji Zongbang was hiding.
What comes next is totally unexpected.
In the video, Ji Xinghuo returns home like any other pedestrian, swiftly gliding on power shoes, cautious but uneventful, until he reaches the building’s main entrance and glances towards where Ji Zongbang was.
Min Chongwu and Yan Xiao find this peculiar.
Yan Xiao, even more so, cannot understand.
He had personally fought Ji Zongbang, a superb Shadow Blade, whose “Shadow Escape” was highly refined; capable of obscuring his tracks particularly in the shadows, even he had trouble pinpointing Ji Zongbang.
It’s this technique that had allowed wounded Ji Zongbang to escape.
But he was noticed by a novice ranger?
Then the battle erupted suddenly.
Ji Xinghuo enters as usual; senses danger suddenly and pulls out his composite hunting bow, launching an attack immediately.
Almost simultaneously, Ji Zongbang realizes he’s been exposed and bursts from the shadows.
The two seemed to have rehearsed this many times.
Ji Xinghuo fires three arrows, each more bizarre than the last.
The first pins a billboard, the second ricochets off the building wall to hit Ji Zongbang’s knee, and the third, aimed low as if targeting the chest, fits exactly into the eye due to Ji Zongbang’s staggered drop—impeccably precise.
“Hiss…”
Min Chongwu is stunned, as if electrified, his body hair—if present—would be standing on end.
Yan Xiao’s pupils shrink drastically.
“How is this possible?”
His first reaction is it’s fake, artificial intelligence rendering, but Director Zhou watching this long would’ve considered that.
The fight is brief, under five seconds.
They watch the looping video over a dozen times, growing more baffled each repeat.
Zhou Yi pauses the video, contemplative before abruptly asking, “Which of his three arrows do you think is the cleverest?”
Min Chongwu almost immediately thinks of the second.
“The first,” Yan Xiao answers without hesitation.
“Oh?” Zhou Yi is taken by surprise.
“The second arrow allows the arrow to change direction upon impact, which is a great skill, but many super rangers and hunters can achieve it,” Yan Xiao hisses through his teeth unclearly, “The third is about anticipation, a bit simpler than the second.”
“The truly clever one is the first.”
Yan Xiao points to the exploded billboard on the screen, explaining, “The design of these billboards is very robust, almost eliminating all safety hazards; under most circumstances, even if damaged, they wouldn’t explode or even face a short circuit.”
“Yet his arrow caused an explosion; I can’t figure out if it was luck or he knew something was wrong with this billboard.”
“The explosion of this billboard posed no real threat to Ji Zongbang.”
“His purpose was to force Ji Zongbang to avoid the electrified water and move close to the building’s wall, thereof creating favorable conditions for the deflective second arrow.”
“These three arrows sequentially set a trap, all intricately linked.”
“Any error in one would have failed to kill Ji Zongbang…”
Yan Xiao still filled with wonder, even after watching the footage multiple times, he can’t believe this was achieved by a junior ranger.
But the reality is before him.
Min Chongwu takes a look at Yan Xiao, sometimes he must admit, this viper has a more agile mind, able to discern more details.
“But he succeeded!”
Zhou Yi exclaims in amazement, then shakes his head, “But I don’t understand.”
He works on the screen, pulling up Ji Xinghuo’s civic profile.
Yan Xiao had scanned it quickly before, while for Min Chongwu it’s the first time, and he reads carefully.
“This man is a public child with a clean background; everything from his childhood to present has been traceable. Recorded speeches, internet browsing history, and big data analysis show the likelihood of him being a spy or hostile entity at just a thousandth of a percent.”
Zhou Yi speaks softly, “His family, friends, classmates, people he’s been in contact with over the past five years, a few are on the first-level monitoring list but it’s not a significant concern, not linked to him.”
“Artificial intelligence estimates of his political coordinates and ideological spectrum show a materialist tendency of 93%, a supportive tendency towards Asia-Community of 87%, and a global unitary trend of 68%.”
“Ji Xinghuo is a standard outstanding citizen!”
Zhou Yi finishes reading the data.
Ji Xinghuo’s profile is impeccable just like many others within the Asia-Pacific Community.
Over ninety percent of the citizen profiles accessed by Sword Bureau are similar.
“So, Ji Zongbang just happened to encounter Ji Xinghuo and was then shot by him?” Yan Xiao asks.
Zhou Yi nods, “Yes.”
“But how do you explain a junior ranger killing a super-evolved being?” Yan Xiao still isn’t satisfied.
“Because he’s a genius!” Min Chongwu exclaims loudly, “A global top-notch, exceptional genius with a combat talent unmatched by us!”