Chapter 34: Leichi Battle Blade

Ren Mian threw over two pieces of equipment, a blade and a pair of shoes.

Ji Xinghuo caught the blade with his left hand and grabbed the edges of the shoes with his right, lifting them. He glanced at the blade in his hand and his eyes lit up.

“What a fine blade!”

He couldn’t help but exclaim.

This blade was a modern combat blade, cast as a single piece.

The design of the blade was inspired by the “Tang Horizontal Blade.” Originally straight, the blade now had a slight curve and was half as wide again. The spine was thicker, the geometric tip exuded sharpness, and the entire blade was about 85 centimeters long. It was heavy, definitely over 10 kilograms, and felt substantial when held with one hand.

These features were designed for the tremendous strength of extrahumans.

Wider, heavier, better for chopping, it could deliver more lethal blows!

Ji Xinghuo gripped the handle, bringing the blade close to his eyes.

The silvery blade had a faint bluish hue. His All-Seeing Star Pupils magnified it in his vision, showing the blade made of countless tiny metal crystals, shimmering with a bluish glow.

“Indium superconducting alloy?” Ji Xinghuo recognized.

It was a high-temperature superconductor from the Star Realm, blended with materials like magnesium boron chromium iron, resulting in a hard and highly resilient superconducting alloy with excellent efficiency in conducting stellular forces.

The indium superconducting alloy was extremely expensive, traded by the gram.

Just the material of the blade alone was worth millions!

Yet, what stood out most on the blade was near the spine; there were three lightning-shaped lines stretching from the guard to the tip, making it seem as if three bolts of lightning danced along the blade when it moved.

“These are three ‘Arc Ring Cut’ abilities,” Ren Mian explained.

“Three?”

Ji Xinghuo was astonished.

Arc Ring Cut was a top-notch ability, forming a semi-circular arc capable of cutting materials. However, its attack range was very short, so its potential wasn’t high.

Integrating even one extranormal into a weapon made it a super-weapon.

“Ren Jie, what level is this blade?” Ji Xinghuo couldn’t help asking.

“Supernatural two-star.”

“What?” Chi Zhonglin’s eyes widened. “Isn’t that better than my Lava Spear? A two-star supernatural weapon must be at least ten million Asian Yuan, right?”

Ren Mian casually mentioned, “This blade, called ‘Lightning Charge,’ sold for eighteen million.”

Now it was Ji Xinghuo’s turn to be shocked, feeling the handle burn his hands. Its value was a thousand times that of a regular blade!

“Ren Jie, isn’t this a bit too much?”

Ji Xinghuo didn’t know how to handle it.

A thought suddenly crossed his mind. Could Ren Jie have taken a liking to me? He immediately laughed at himself. What am I thinking!

“I couldn’t find any other weapon suitable for you, only ‘Lightning Charge.’ Although expensive, it’s not overpriced, so I bought it.”

A beautiful smile appeared on Ren Mian’s face. “Don’t overthink it; Lightning Charge is just a loan.”

“And these Gale Combat Boots cost me over three million.”

“For both items, I’ll just charge you twenty million. Remember to return them to me.” Clearly, she had already decided.

Ji Xinghuo felt touched yet helpless, and somewhat pressured.

He had joined the team just a day ago and was already in debt of twenty million. It felt like he had boarded a bandit ship.

But he knew Ren Mian meant well.

The total value of Lightning Charge and Gale Combat Boots exceeded twenty-one million, yet Ren Mian only charged twenty million and didn’t specify a return date, showing she didn’t really intend to take them back. This reasoning was to ease his mind and accept the equipment without guilt.

“Thank you, Ren Jie.” Ji Xinghuo didn’t make a fuss and deeply remembered this kindness.

If there was a chance in the future, he would definitely repay her properly.

“Don’t think too much about it. I’m doing this for the team. As your power increases, so does our team’s strength,” Ren Mian added.

Chi Zhonglin looked enviously. “Ren Jie, help me enhance too. It’ll make the team stronger!”

“Haven’t I helped you enough over the past three years?” Ren Mian retorted.

Chi Zhonglin scratched his head, “Err…”

Displeasure flashed in Ren Mian’s eyes as she scolded, “Chi, I don’t care about your private life, but you’ve been slacking these past months. Your strength has visibly slowed down. As your team leader, I must remind you not to die on a woman’s underbelly. I don’t want to be collecting your corpse.”

Chi Zhonglin looked guilty, murmuring, “Ren Jie, I know I was wrong. Starting tomorrow, I’ll train properly.”

“We’ll see,” Ren Mian said noncommittally.

She then turned to Ji Xinghuo. “Starfire, your task for the next few days is to get familiar with your equipment and train more with Chi and Cai Yi to improve team synergy.”

“Understood.”

Ji Xinghuo nodded, catching her meaning. They would probably go hunting soon.

Next, he put on the Gale Combat Boots.

He had heard of these one-star supernatural combat boots before. They were suitable for all extrahumans and were a common choice for speed-enhancing boots.

The camouflaged Gale Combat Boots were light and durable, equipped with two abilities, “Gale Step” and “Balance.” The former was a high-quality ability that generated wind underfoot to increase running speed and provided some cushioning during high falls to reduce impact.

“Balance” was a basic ability that helped maintain stability and not fall over, even in rugged and complex terrains.

The ranger’s professional template included “Balance.”

After trying on the Gale Combat Boots, Ji Xinghuo was delighted by their effectiveness.

Although “Balance” was a basic ability, its effects were outstanding. Whether in close combat or martial arts ranking, footwork was crucial, and it significantly enhanced his strength.

Ji Xinghuo estimated that with “Balance,” his martial arts rank could reach professional level seven!

As a ranger, out of the five abilities—Thousand Clever Hands, Flash Step, Intuitive Reflex, Precision, and Balance—he now mastered four, lacking only “Flash Step.”

He remembered seeing “Flash Step” at the exotic species store the day he bought the Life Seed.

His All-Seeing Star Pupils showed a 95% fusion success rate for “Flash Step” making it ranked first among the species he had contact with, indicating a very high compatibility with him.

“Should I fuse with Flash Step later?”

Ji Xinghuo hesitated.

The effect of Flash Step was instantaneous burst speed, quick like lightning, but the moving distance was very short, and it consumed a lot of physical and stellular energy.

Besides rangers, the professional templates of swordsmen, gravitists, and fliers also included Flash Step. Martial artists could replace a template ability with Flash Step.

This proved the impressive potential of Flash Step.

Although just a basic ability, Flash Step had the highest potential among basic abilities.

Many exotic species experts and extrahumans believed that, after several upgrades, Flash Step could rival superlimit abilities. Its effects became more exaggerated with each level.

If he were just an ordinary ranger, he would definitely fuse with Flash Step.

But now he was a Magnetic Field Maniac.

The Magnetic Field Maniac’s professional template did not include Flash Step. Extrahumans had very limited fusion chances, which were extremely precious. The Magnetic Field Maniac had seven abilities already, no need to waste them.

Unless he could obtain some other expansion oddity.

“Let’s think about it later.” Ji Xinghuo discarded these thoughts and focused on training.

Over the following days.

Ji Xinghuo spent almost all his time at the training ground, exercising physically, cultivating stellular power, sparring in martial arts, adapting to his equipment, and so on. His schedule was packed.

A day in the Star Realm had almost 50 hours, and he slept only eight hours a day.

He spent the rest of the time training.

The ether tea Ren Mian formulated worked well, helping Ji Xinghuo’s stellular power break through to 100. His rotating magnetic field level also increased by one point.

His martial arts rank saw the greatest improvement.

In just a few days, Ji Xinghuo’s martial arts skills improved dramatically. Even without the Gale Combat Boots, Jiangnan Caiyi, a professional level seven, was no longer his match, with a win rate around 70%.

Facing Chi Zhonglin, a professional level nine, Ji Xinghuo, wielding Lightning Charge and wearing the Gale Combat Boots, could fight toe to toe.

Of course, Chi Zhonglin wasn’t using his full strength.

Nevertheless, the speed of Ji Xinghuo’s martial improvement shocked Chi Zhonglin, who no longer dared to frequent bars and diligently trained every day as if he had changed into a different person.

Sometimes, Ren Mian also participated in the sparring.

Her weapon was a pair of knuckledusters.

Though it was clear Ren Mian wasn’t entirely focused on martial arts, treating it more like idle play, she claimed never to have participated in a rank evaluation, but her martial arts rank was solidly at master level, possibly even above!

Ji Xinghuo and Chi Zhonglin could still compete, but against Ren Mian, he had almost no chance to counterattack.

He was entirely on the receiving end, like a punching bag.

One evening after dinner.

At the dinner table, Ren Mian announced they would go hunting the next day, advising everyone not to train further that night but to conserve energy and recover.

So, unusually, Ji Xinghuo didn’t train and sat in the garden enjoying the night scenery.

It was a starry night with a reflection of the Milky Way covering the sky.

Having spent over a dozen “Daystar Nights” cycles in the Star Realm, equivalent to more than a month on Earth, every time Ji Xinghuo saw the Milky Way during a starry night, he was stunned by its dazzling brilliance, filled with longing and awe.

Footsteps approached from behind.

He didn’t need to turn around to know it was Chi Zhonglin, who casually sat down beside him.

But he didn’t speak.

Gazing at the Milky Way, starlight illuminating his face, Chi Zhonglin showed a contemplative expression, vastly different from his usual reckless demeanor, seemingly preoccupied with something.

After a while, Ji Xinghuo broke the silence.

“Have you been to other planets?”

The Star Realm was currently the only way to leave the solar system, and the same for other extraterrestrial species.

From the Star Realm, one could travel to any planet within the galaxy. Online rumors said many powerful extrahumans had passed through other star gates, reaching planets beyond Earth.

“No.”

Chi Zhonglin shook his head. “Under Tianyu Wangting’s rule, there are eight extraterrestrial species including us from Earth, but besides the ‘North Luo Master Clan,’ interactions with the other seven extraterrestrial species are rare. They generally do not allow outsiders easy access to their star gates.”

Ji Xinghuo nodded.

He had asked casually, not expecting an unexpected answer.

Tianyu Wangting, located in Olympia in the Star Realm, was established by a branch of the Celestial Clan and ruled the entire “Thousand Peak Abyssal Forest,” covering an area of over 200 million square kilometers—larger than Earth’s land surface.

The range of activity for Earth’s extrahumans rarely exceeded 2,000 kilometers from Olympia City.

Only a very few Earth extrahumans had ventured beyond the boundaries of the Thousand Peak Abyssal Forest.

This vast land was covered with endless primeval forests, crisscrossed on the ground by countless deep, abyss-like gorges, creating a complex and deep environment with varying climates, most notably marked by over a thousand huge “Suspended Mountains” floating above in the sky.

The Thousand Peak Abyssal Forest was named for this reason.

The Celestial Clan, naturally capable of flight, built cities on these Suspended Mountains, making them their homes and gradually developing into Tianyu Wangting.

Tianyu Wangting was the master of the Thousand Peak Abyssal Forest but didn’t pay much attention to the lands below the mountains, using them primarily as hunting grounds.

The land was inhabited by a vast number of Star Realm extraterrestrial species and countless powerful wild beasts, spirits, and monsters.

Human beings from Earth were in a struggle for territory with these extraterrestrial species.

However, Earth’s greatest enemy was not the Celestial Clan or other Star Realm extraterrestrial species, but the extraterrestrial species from the North Luo Master Clan!

North Luo Master Clan was 25 light-years from Earth, a distance unreachable within the Milky Way, but in the Star Realm, the star gates of both were only 548 kilometers apart!

This was almost right under their noses.

Unfortunately, the star gate of the North Luo Master Clan was opened a thousand years before Earth’s!

In 2033 when Earth opened its star gate, the North Luo Master Clan quickly discovered Earth and immediately launched a massive invasion.

In the first year of the invasion, over two billion people died. In the subsequent decades, most of Earth’s countries paid a heavy price to fight off the North Luo Master Clan.

Although Earth successfully repelled the North Luo Master Clan and, with the support of Tianyu Wangting, regained control of the star gate, a deep-seated hatred had been etched.

Over these two centuries, the North Luo Master Clan continued to attack humans and cities, causing countless deaths and injuries.

Disputes among Earth’s countries were incessant, with rampant infighting.

Yet, faced with the North Luo Master Clan, humans always managed to put aside their differences and join hands to fight against their primary enemy, who nearly caused human extinction!

Ji Xinghuo hadn’t yet seen a North Luo Master Clan member in person, but he knew he would eventually face these extraterrestrials.

He asked Chi Zhonglin for advice on how to deal with the North Luo Master Clan.

The two talked for a long time.

As the reflection of the Milky Way began to fade and the starry night was about to end, Ji Xinghuo suddenly lowered his voice and asked, “Do you know Ren Mian’s background?”

Chi Zhonglin gave him a strange look, “Why do you ask that?”

“Just curious.” Ji Xinghuo had his reasons ready. “Ren Mian is so strong and beautiful, she should have been famous long ago. But I’ve never heard of her before, and she’s not on the ‘Heavenly Ladder’; it’s incredible and mysterious.”

Chi Zhonglin chuckled, “Years ago, I asked the same, but Ren Mian didn’t tell, and I’ve never met her on Earth.”

“So you don’t know either.” Ji Xinghuo’s face showed realization. “Ren Mian” must be an alias.

“What does it matter if we know?”

Chi Zhonglin was nonchalant yet very serious as he said, “All I know is Ren Mian treats us well. Without her, I wouldn’t have the strength I have today. Sooner or later, she’ll tell us herself. Anyone who dares to harm her is our enemy!”

Ji Xinghuo nodded vigorously, agreeing, “You’re right.”

“Let’s rest; we leave tomorrow.” Chi Zhonglin stood up, patting Ji Xinghuo on the shoulder, “I’m looking forward to seeing your performance.”