Chapter 63: Ether Affinity

Don’t trouble others if they don’t trouble you.

Ji Xinghuo set this principle before entering the Star Realm.

Outside the City of Freedom, although this group had ill intentions, Ji Xinghuo ignored them since they hadn’t acted yet, preferring to avoid conflict.

But tonight, they not only stole prey but struck first. That was asking for their demise.

Ji Xinghuo had no remorse in killing them.

He scanned the surroundings for other extrahumans or monsters, confirming none were nearby, then approached the corpse of the Stone Scythe Giant confidently, touching it lightly.

[Monster: Stone Scythe Giant]

[Level: Superb]

[Species: Stone Scythe Claw, Giantization, Toughness, Basalt Body, Explosive Jumping]

Ji Xinghuo was pleasantly surprised as he looked at the information screen.

A monster of Superb level with five awakenings, all originating from itself, was displayed on the right side of the screen.

He quickly began harvesting.

The most valuable was the “Basalt Body,” a beyond-limits ability, resembling a tough stone internal organ.

Ji Xinghuo held the species, immediately reading its details.

[Species: Basalt Body]

[Grade: Beyond Limits]

[Fusion Success Rate: 82%]

[Upgradable: Yes]

“Seems not quite right for me,” Ji Xinghuo sighed, the Basalt Body made one nearly as hard as rock, greatly strong in defense with hardly any weaknesses, but it could slow him down.

Despite being an exceedingly rare ability, he wasn’t willing to fuse with it.

“Looks like it’s better to sell.”

Earth Walkers would best utilize the Basalt Body combined with their core skill, Earth Pulse Vibrations; that’s where its strength could truly shine.

However, Earth Walkers were a rare job, likely making it hard to sell.

Ji Xinghuo collected other species.

“Giantization,” a core ability of the Titans, it greatly increases size and strength, had a solid market value.

“Toughness” and “Explosive Jumping” could fetch a nice price too.

Only the “Stone Scythe Claw” was completely worthless. Ji Xinghuo decided to abandon that.

After harvesting the Stone Scythe Giant’s species, Ji Xinghuo began searching the extrahumans’ belongings, finding valuable items among the five bodies.

Initially, it was the cash.

Each had some amount of high-valued Western Alliance francs, totaling up to about 1.3 million Asian dollars.

Most major Earth currencies were usable in Olympia, easy to spend.

Next were around twenty species from this team’s hunt, top quality being only excellent, valued at about three million Asian dollars.

Then there were their weapons and gear.

Shadow Blade’s dagger, Ice Edge’s frost dual blades. White Knight’s full body armor and crosier greatsword, a steam rifle, composite hunting bow, with the frost blades being the most expensive, bought after saving for a long time.

The rest were high-quality and cumbersome to carry, especially the full body armor, taking much effort to strip from the corpses.

Ji Xinghuo left everything except a high-quality three-star dagger at the site.

“Oh, and these…”

He glanced at the two war pets of the pursuers, Terrifying Claw Drake and Chilled Wind Raven, both formerly monsters with their own species.

Soon, he harvested two valuable species, “Balance” and “Wind Shear.”

“Killing and looting truly is the quickest way to wealth,” Ji Xinghuo mused. His take from this team made nearly ten million, much faster than hunting, no wonder some chose this ruthless path.

He reminded himself to adhere to his principles, not to become a brute chasing power and wealth without moral boundaries.

After collecting the loot, Ji Xinghuo left immediately.

Not long after.

Ji Xinghuo returned to the site where he had hunted the Stone Scythe Giant, entering the deep canyon to harvest valuable species and retrieving arrows, many of which could be reused.

The starry night was still ten hours from true darkness.

Ji Xinghuo rested on a stone cliff, eating dried food and drinking water, watched curiously by a small green snake popping out from the gaps in his armor, its expression indecipherable.

It was his first time being so close to the little green snake.

In its miniature form, it measured less than ten centimeters, slender with smooth, emerald-green scales that reflected the light, endearingly cute with none of the fierceness typical of snakes, matched with tiny golden eyes, rather dopey looking.

“Do you want some?” he offered a piece of dried food. The snake sniffed it, licked once, and immediately shook its head in disdain.

“Hahaha…” Ji Xinghuo laughed joyfully.

After today’s battle, the little green snake seemed to warm up to him, not running away when he approached.

“It’s the starry night, not convenient to light a fire. I’ll make you some roasted meat tomorrow morning,” Ji Xinghuo teased the snake a bit more before opening the Wanxiang Star Pupils interface.

A significant mental energy harvest!

There were fifteen Stone Scythe Giants, including one elite and a superb leader, contributing 45 points of mental energy.

The hunting team, comprising two advanced and three intermediate extrahumans, contributed 23 points.

Without hesitation, Ji Xinghuo invested all 68 points into Ether Sensitivity, bringing its upgrade progress to (Level 3, 363/433).

“Only 70 points to go!”

“Once upgraded, I wonder how much mental energy will be needed to reach Level 5?” Ji Xinghuo pondered.

If the required mental energy wasn’t too outrageous, similar to Thousand Agile Hands or Spinning Magnetic Field, it might be worth prioritizing Ether Sensitivity.

This would help him cultivate faster and with permanent effect.

Star power and evolution are the most crucial foundations for extrahumans!

Higher ranks and more star power allow abilities to unleash greater power.

Among basic, intermediate, and advanced extrahumans, differences in star power aren’t stark before reaching super level, and disparities in strength can be compensated with abilities.

Beyond super level, star power becomes vital.

The Stone Scythe Giants exemplified this.

At superb level, comparable to a super extrahuman, possessing similar abilities to advanced extrahumans but greatly stronger, due to its higher rank and nearly indomitable life, its star power was also substantial.

Ji Xinghuo felt the urgency to advance beyond the initial three ranks, thus making Ether Sensitivity crucial.

Moreover, more star power meant prolonged maintenance of Wànxiàng Senluo!

He glanced at the interface.

[Star Power: 131/188]

Having neither cultivated nor hunted recently, spending most of his time taming the little green snake, his star power still increased by one point.

“It’s mid-January now. Ren and the others will be back soon.”

“I need to make good use of the time.”

Once his star power was restored, Ji Xinghuo promptly ended his rest and continued his hunt under the starry sky.

Before nightfall, he discovered another large group of Stone Scythe Giants, enjoying a stroke of luck with a harvest of 15 points of mental energy.

Over the next two days, Ji Xinghuo dedicated himself to hunting.

Each morning, he prepared enough food for the little green snake to last all day before setting off, only stopping to camp and rest at night.

Mental Energy +24

Mental Energy +27

The third day.

Ji Xinghuo, perched atop a towering tree and stealthily firing arrow after arrow.

A hundred plus meters away on a hillside, without pinpointing their foe, dozens of Stone Scythe Giants were gradually picked off and finally scattered.

Mental Energy +9

Glancing at his interface, Ji Xinghuo’s face lit up with joy.

“Finally enough for an upgrade.”

While camping the previous night, his Ether Sensitivity progress was Level 3, 429/433, just four points shy of upgrading. Unfortunately, luck seemed scarce until he stumbled upon the first group of Stone Scythe Giants near noon, prompting him to act swiftly and hunt them down.

Skillfully harvesting the species, he settled beneath a large tree.

“Keep an eye out for me.”

Ji Xinghuo took the small green snake from his belt pouch and placed it on a concealed branch, instructing it as it sniffed the air attentively.

After several days together, communication between Ji Xinghuo and the snake had improved.

At night while camping, the snake served as a guard. Its keen sense of smell had a broad range, alerting him instantly if monsters approached.

Ji Xinghuo accessed his interface and invested the four mental energy points into Ether Sensitivity.

433/433!

Immediately, Ji Xinghuo sensed something unusual.

The previous two upgrades of Ether Sensitivity had been quick, enhancing his perception of ether energy and speeding up star power recovery.

But this time, a human silhouette on the interface right side was flashing, the whole body shimmering.

Clearly, the situation was different!

Ji Xinghuo could see ether energy before him, sensing its distribution and flow even without focusing, as his brain and body underwent transformations to better align and merge with ether energy.

Meanwhile, the [Star Power] value on the interface also gradually increased.

188, 189, 190…

It soon broke through 200 and continued climbing.

“The star power limit has increased again.”

Ji Xinghuo was torn between happiness and resignation; a higher star power limit solidified his foundation but also meant he was further from life evolution.

Minutes later, star power growth ceased at 215 points, and the body’s transformation completed.

The interface updated its information.

[Ability: Ether Affinity (Level 3, 1/1439)]

Ji Xinghuo was stunned, now understanding what had occurred—an ability advancement!

Ether Sensitivity, previously capped at three levels, had advanced to Ether Affinity upon reaching another level. Although still at Level 3, the mental energy required for upgrades had tripled.

He recalled that Ether Affinity could advance further to “Ether Resonance,” a celestial ability!

Would it reach Level 5, 6, or even higher?

Filled with anticipation, Ji Xinghuo invested the remaining five mental energy points into Ether Affinity, then stood and beckoned the little green snake back into his pouch.

“Let’s go! We continue hunting!”