Chapter 86: Optical String Player

“To upgrade the Level 3 Thunderbolt Hand again costs only 743 spiritual essence points!” Ji Xinghuo raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised.

But considering the Thunderbolt Hand was merely a high-quality ability, it made sense.

He raised his hand, with sparks of electricity blooming at his fingertips.

Snap!

A silver-white lightning strike shot out, reaching ten meters before the sound of thunder echoed in the training ground.

“Only this far?” Ji Xinghuo noted after comparing that the Level 3 Thunderbolt Hand’s lightning could only reach about ten meters, only five meters more than the Level 1, and beyond that, the force plummeted, with the lightning nearly dissipating without much destructive power.

The power of the lightning itself, however, was clearly much greater from the diameter and brightness of the lightning!

Now, releasing a bolt of lightning required at least 1 star power point, but he could invest up to 30 points to triple the force, albeit needing nearly two seconds to charge.

“The difference between Level 1 and Level 3 isn’t just in the increased destructive power.”

Ji Xinghuo studied carefully.

He repeatedly released the Thunderbolt Hand and quickly noticed the differences; he seemed to slightly control the direction of the electricity with his hand movements!

“I think I understand now.”

Ji Xinghuo’s eyes brightened as he looked at his palm.

He then focused intently, a buzz of electric current lasted about a second then with a forward stretch, a thick bolt of lightning surged out, twisting and turning over five or six meters before suddenly veering a meter to the left.

“It truly works!”

Ji Xinghuo was very pleased; previously, the lightning would strike wherever he pointed, and once the direction was chosen, it couldn’t be altered.

Although the path of the lightning was unpredictable, twisting here and there, it would eventually hit the intended target.

But now, he could actually make the lightning turn.

Apart from needing more concentration, the key seemed to be in his hand gestures, particularly the movements of his fingers.

The lightning was like a thread, pulled and directed by the movements of his hands.

This was difficult!

It had to be done in an instant, and he needed to think fast.

However, Ji Xinghuo soon mastered it preliminarily because he possessed the Level 3 Art of Thousand Hands.

“Unexpectedly, the Art of Thousand Hands and the Thunderbolt Hand have a synergistic effect; combining two Level 3 abilities resulted in an unexpected outcome!”

Ji Xinghuo kept experimenting.

With each lightning strike, he gradually mastered controlling the direction changes, though he could only alter it at the end of its path, with a maximum deviation of two meters being the limit.

Also, the accuracy dropped after the lightning changed direction.

But he was already satisfied.

After releasing dozens of lightning bolts, Ji Xinghuo suddenly felt a numbness and slight pain in his wrist and immediately stopped.

The Thunderbolt Hand couldn’t be used too frequently, or it might overload the tendons, potentially injuring his arm.

Most of his star power had also been used up.

Ji Xinghuo activated a magnetic field, and the pain in his wrist subsided instantly. He raised his hand again, currents of electricity gathered at his fingertips, brilliant and blinding, with a loud bang and ultimately unleashed a bolt of lightning thicker than his arm across the training ground, striking the opposite wall.

Boom!

The entire training ground quavered.

A patch of the cement wall was charred, creating a half-meter deep crater, with debris scattering over ten meters around, a complete mess.

“Uh…”

Even Ji Xinghuo was stunned by the power.

“What happened there, Xinghuo?” Ren Mian appeared at the entrance of the training ground, followed closely by Chi Zhonglin and Jiangnan Caiyi.

Ji Xinghuo looked at his three teammates with an embarrassed expression, “I was trying out my new ability. I didn’t mean to go so far.”

Ren Mian walked in, looking at the wall, amazed, “Thunderbolt Hand?”

Ji Xinghuo nodded.

Chi Zhonglin touched the edge of the crater, feeling its intense heat, incredulously asking, “Can the Thunderbolt Hand strike this far and with such power?”

He had seen the Thunderbolt Hand used many times and thought he understood its capabilities, but Ji Xinghuo’s Thunderbolt Hand seemed a bit excessive.

That strike could have seriously injured someone if it had hit them.

“I have a spinning magnetic field that enhances the Thunderbolt Hand,” Ji Xinghuo could only explain this way.

He was shocked himself.

The Level 2 spinning magnetic field had a much stronger amplification effect on the Level 3 Thunderbolt Hand than it did on Level 1, nearly tripling the attack distance to about thirty meters, and the destructive power increased more than five times. This bolt of lightning used up about 80 of his star power points.

However, the preparation time to release the lightning was much longer than three seconds, and it couldn’t be directed in-flight.

Clearly, it couldn’t be used often.

Hearing Ji Xinghuo’s explanation made Chi Zhonglin believe and enviously said, “No wonder you’re the top professional in magnetic fields. Anyone who fights you up close is truly unlucky. They would surely be devastated by the electricity!”

“Fighting Xinghuo at a distance is even worse,” Jiangnan Caiyi added quietly.

Chi Zhonglin recalled Ji Xinghuo’s archery skills and was at a loss for words for a long while before sighing, “I’m glad you’re on my team.”

Amazement filled Ren Mian’s eyes.

She kept looking at the mark on the wall, seemingly still having doubts but eventually did not pursue further.

Ji Xinghuo changed the subject, asking, “Sister Ren, did you succeed in integrating your spiritual power?”

“Of course.”

Ren Mian smiled slightly, a faint white light glowed from her fingertip giving off a pure and flawless impression. The light stableialized into a small orb, like a little bulb. As the three observed curiously, she slightly tapped the orb and its brightness surged instantly turning into a beam that shot straight at the wall.

The light flashed and disappeared.

Whoosh!

The concrete wall now had a new hole, much smaller than the one created by Ji Xinghuo’s lightning strike, only about two or three centimeters in diameter without any explosion or loud noise.

However, Ji Xinghuo was staring wide-eyed.

“Wow!”

The nearby Chi Zhonglin leapt back in surprise; he was standing next to the wall, just two or three meters away from where Ren Mian’s light beam hit, quickly dodging to the side.

He then moved forward curiously to examine it and couldn’t help but gasp.

The one-meter-thick cement wall was directly penetrated by the light beam!

The training ground was built underground, and behind the wall was soil. The edge of the small hole left by the light beam was vitrified, looking as if it had been scorched by terrifying high temperatures, directly exposing the soil behind the wall.

“Optical String Player!”

“Sister Ren, you’re an Optical String Player now?”

Ji Xinghuo looked at Ren Mian as if he was assessing a rare treasure.

There are many branches of spiritual string players, the most important core being “spiritual power,” which requires a “string tuning ability” to decide the form of energy controlled.

For example, a thermal string player’s tuning ability might be “burning” or “freezing,” combined with spiritual power to master the branch of thermodynamics and its applications.

A sonic string player’s tuning ability is related to vibration, controlling mechanical wave energy, usually manifesting as sound effects.

But an Optical String Player controls light energy!

This is a very rare branch of spiritual power because the tuning ability for light is extremely scarce. Ji Xinghuo didn’t know which ability Ren Mian used with her spiritual power to master light but could foresee that her strength would surge to astonishing levels.

The energy contained in light is beyond what most can imagine.

Light beams, light waves, changes in brightness, focusing to increase temperature, light explosions, spectral changes, flickering, optical invisibility, and more can be developed through spiritual power, offering both lethal and functional capabilities!

The greatest advantage of an Optical String Player lies in the attack range and precision in targeting. As the spiritual power increases, it is akin to a human-shaped laser cannon, striking fear in opponents.

Ren Mian smiled slightly, her stunningly beautiful face maintaining a measure of modesty.

“Congratulations, sister!”

Jiangnan Caiyi cheered joyfully, more excited to see Ren Mian’s power increase than her own.

Chi Zhonglin also looked envious.

“One of you is a magnetic field maniac, and the other an Optical String Player!” he shook his head, suddenly feeling a sense of urgency, “If I don’t work harder, I’ll be left behind and become somewhat redundant…”

“I need to work harder too!” Jiangnan Caiyi clenched her fists.

“Go for it!”

Ren Mian encouraged them, then said, “Next, I’ll prepare to advance to a superhuman. I won’t be going hunting for a while. You also need to seize the time to evolve into superhumans. If you need anything, let me know.”

“I’m going to integrate ‘Bloody Rage’ tomorrow,” Chi Zhonglin said, “then return to Earth to practice and accumulate star power while selecting a matching star gland.”

Jiangnan Caiyi said, “I need to practice more diligently too.”

“Good,” Ren Mian nodded, “I’ll stay here for a Star Realm month to fully assist you. After a month, I will leave. I’ll return in about a year at the earliest and no later than two years. During this time, you can practice or do whatever you like according to your individual plans.”

Jiangnan Caiyi’s eyes filled with reluctance, “Sister, will you be away that long?”

“Leaving is for a better reunion,” Ren Mian spoke softly, “Caiyi, you are no longer the eighteen-year-old girl. You need to have your own opinions. You can’t follow me forever. One day, you’ll need to learn to leave me and forge your own path.”

“I’m willing to follow Sister for a lifetime,” Jiangnan Caiyi first shook her head, then nodded firmly, “If that’s what Sister expects of me, then I will definitely do it.”

Ren Mian smiled contentedly.

She looked back at Ji Xinghuo and walked out of the training ground.

The next over thirty days were the quietest but also the most fulfilling time Ji Xinghuo spent in the Star Realm, immersing himself in his practice with steady growth in strength.

The Class B blood marrow solution he bought last time wasn’t used up. Ji Xinghuo went to Dragon Lookout Pavilion to buy more from Selina, ensuring he had enough for a Star Realm month, drinking one bottle a day to enhance his practice.

After upgrading the Thunderbolt Hand, he still had 311 spiritual essence points left.

After consideration, Ji Xinghuo invested all these spiritual essence points into Ether Affinity, reaching (Level 3, 508/1439). Combined with the Class B blood marrow solution, the practice effect was outstanding, almost increasing his star power by one point every day.

A bottle of Class B blood marrow solution costs fifty thousand Asian Yuan.

In this Star Realm month, Ji Xinghuo spent over one hundred and eighty million, gaining 37 star power points, bringing his total to 431 points!

Meanwhile, Chi Zhonglin successfully integrated “Bloody Rage,” and after practicing together for over half a month, he returned to Earth.

Jiangnan Caiyi wasn’t so lucky; no one had yet sold a Demon’s Soul.

On Ren Mian’s suggestion, she integrated “Demonization,” which also significantly boosted her power.

One day, after Ji Xinghuo completed a live combat training session at Extreme Martial Hall and just returned to the villa, Ren Mian suddenly said, “Xinghuo, come to my room.”