Chapter 164 - 126 Star Force

Chapter 164: Chapter 126 Star ForceJi Xinghuo immediately felt the effect of the Star Force; his own Star Power had changed! Before the implantation of the "Star Gland" to become a Super Mutant, a Mutant’s Star Power would wander freely within the body, evenly dispersed, and could only be slightly mobilized under the most concentrated conditions to flow to the desired location, but the efficiency was slow. Now, as soon as Ji Xinghuo had a thought, his Star Power immediately obeyed, operating according to his own will. Aggregation, dispersal; Acceleration, deceleration; Flowing, vibrating! He had complete control over each strand of Star Power, as easy to use as his own limbs, as if infusing Star Power with a whole new vitality. Although the energy density of the Star Power hadn’t changed, by manipulating the way it was conducted, many effects that were previously impossible to achieve could be reached. The most common application was the various "Forces." Ji Xinghuo entered the Martial Arts Arena and stood in the middle, accelerated the Star Power within his body, gathering it in his right arm, and threw a punch. Boom! The air was compressed and exploded with a dull thud from his punch. Ji Xinghuo threw another punch, this time without mobilizing Star Power to assist with the force, and the power was clearly less. "It really is different!" "This is still without me mastering the technique of exerting force, truly developing Star Force." "Let’s try Inch Force first." In the past, Ji Xinghuo had watched instructional videos on Star Force, and for most Martial Arts masters, the first lesson was to use Inch Force as a basic technique. Following the research approach, one must understand Star Force as a type of "wave." This wave has two most basic characteristics, frequency and wavelength. Different frequencies and different wavelengths combine to create different effects. Inch Force is a wave with a high frequency and a short wavelength. To adjust the Star Power in the body to the corresponding spectrum and then release it could form a force with a short range but extremely strong penetration. Easy to say, but very difficult to do! Generally speaking, after integrating Star Force, it would take at least half a year for a Martial Artist to get started and initially master Inch Force. But just getting started wasn’t enough. It required years of continuous practice, in conjunction with the Ability "Muscle Memory." For a Mutant with outstanding Martial Arts talent, practicing for three to five years would be about enough to master Star Force, using it effortlessly in combat like a conditioned reflex — mind to hand. And this was just one type of Star Force. Longitudinal waves, transverse waves, spherical waves; Frequency from low to high, wavelength from short to long; There were also wave shapes such as rectangular waves, sawtooth waves, pulse waves, sine waves, cosine waves, and so on; Resonance waves, linear waves, probability waves... Different forms of waves could simulate Star Power to deliver Inch Force, Cannon Force, Beng Force, Stabbing Force, Deflecting Force — powerful and versatile forces. Earth’s Martial Arts predecessors researched dozens of Star Forces and also learned many from the Alien Races of the Star Realm. Each type of Star Force had its unique effect. Different Star Forces were applied in different scenarios. Most were used for attack, or to increase speed and explosive power, but some could also enhance defense, achieving unimaginable effects. Star Force had endless applications and infinite potential. However, all these were very distant. Ji Xinghuo’s first lesson now was to learn Inch Force. "High frequency, low amplitude." He silently repeated these two characteristics, trying to mobilize the Star Power to his arm, vibrating it rapidly as it flowed, but keeping the range of the vibrations very small, and then threw a punch. Pop. The air around his fist burst slightly, but it wasn’t very noticeable. "Did I succeed?" Ji Xinghuo wasn’t quite sure himself; for others, achieving Inch Force on the first try would be nearly impossible. But he had Microscopic Perception! From the start of his punch, Ji Xinghuo felt the Star Power completely obeying his will, including the flow of bone, muscle, and blood, all the changes and movements of force occurring perfectly as he envisioned, analyzed in great detail, all under his control. "Let’s try again." He didn’t even need to concentrate much; it was almost like an instinct as he raised his hand and threw another punch. Pop. This time the air burst more crisply, and Ji Xinghuo distinctly saw a flash of white around his fist — a vacuum caused by the rapid compression of air. This was definitely the effect of Inch Force. "Seems it’s not that hard..." Ji Xinghuo felt a bit proud. He went ahead and threw dozens of punches consecutively, each releasing Inch Force, becoming increasingly adept until the Martial Arts Arena echoed like the sound of rain on banana leaves, a continuous burst of resounding noise, almost merging into a single sound. The booming suddenly stopped. Ji Xinghuo took a slight breath; implementing Star Force was not lightweight on the consumption of Star Power. These dozens of punches had used up more than a hundred points of Star Power. "Phew..." "Microscopic Perception has terrifyingly enhanced my Martial Arts talent." Ji Xinghuo was endlessly amazed; even though he had seen its effects on Linyan Yongfeng before, having personally experienced it now still shocked him. He had read research materials on Martial Artists. An average-talented Martial Artist would need about half a year of practice to master one type of Star Force, and three years of diligent practice to reach mastery. Ji Xinghuo considered his martial arts talent to be exceptional, far surpassing his gift for archery and ranking him among the very top of his peers, enough to place him in the top 1%. However, with such talent, even mastering the basics of a Star Force technique would still take at least a month of practice. Now, with the assistance of Microscopic Perception, it only took him one minute! How terrifying was such talent? Unprecedented and unparalleled, it defied the ages and astonished the world... no words could fully capture it. One minute to master the basics. To achieve mastery, Ji Xinghuo estimated it would at most take him one hour! Microscopic Perception alone was equivalent to having the abilities "Microscopic Insight," "Intuitive Reflex," "Muscle Memory," "Extreme Strength," "Balance," "Concentration," and other Mutant abilities all upgraded to the highest level and then perfectly combined. And this was just the enhancement to his martial arts talent; Microscopic Perception played an even greater role in combat! Ji Xinghuo had already envisioned his future combat style. Mastering dozens of Star Force techniques, switching between them at will, seamlessly connecting each attack and defense with a different Star Force, leaving opponents completely unable to predict his moves. Even if they did anticipate them, they would find them difficult to counter. Martial arts masters, Grandmasters, those titled Martial Saints, would all be beneath notice. There were only two ways to defeat him: one was absolute power overwhelming him in attack, defense, speed, and reaction, leaving no openings, the kind of six-sided Super Mutant who couldn’t be killed even if Ji Xinghuo hit them while they stood still; the other was to avoid close combat with him altogether, relying purely on long-range or preemptive control. Yet, there were ways to counter these two methods as well. For the first, simply becoming a six-sided Super Mutant himself, leaving no opportunity for the opponent to overpower him; for the second, to become more proficient in long-range attacks and secure the initiative. If he could achieve these two points, then he would truly be invincible! Thinking this, Ji Xinghuo couldn’t help but feel his blood boiling, but he quickly calmed down. "First, master the Star Force." Sёarch* The ηovelFire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. He cast aside his wild thoughts, his expression returning to one of calm, and began practicing Inch Force one punch after another, with continuous bursts of sound in the Martial Arts Arena. Pop pop pop pop... Among the series of urgent, crisp sounds, Ji Xinghuo’s fists swung, creating afterimages. Each punch contained Inch Force, smooth and natural, without any roughness, as if he had practiced hard for many years. Ji Xinghuo stopped and stood still, drenched in sweat. His Star Power was completely depleted, but he felt very satisfied. The effect of Microscopic Perception was better than he had imagined; he had mastered Inch Force in less than an hour. Beyond mastery lies "Extreme Intent." This required more training. Typically, a Martial Artist would need to practice for over a decade, or even most of their lifetime, to master just one Star Force technique to the Ultimate Intent Realm. Ji Xinghuo estimated that he would reach the Ultimate Intent in Inch Force within a week of practice. During his rest, he opened the interface of the Wanxiang Star Pupil and took a glance. "The progress has increased so fast?" Ji Xinghuo was quite surprised; in just tens of minutes, the Star Force technique he had just fused had progressed to (First Level 5/67). This was the fastest-evolving Ability he had that didn’t require an investment of Spiritual Origin Ability. At this rate, he would only need to practice Star Force for a day or two to advance it to the Second Level. He had over 400 points of Spiritual Origin Ability remaining, which was leftover from hunting members of the Beiluo Shimen Clan at the Sword Valley Fortress and upgrading the Thousand Spirit Skillful Hand and Ether Affinity abilities. After thinking for a moment, he decided to invest Spiritual Origin Ability and upgrade his Star Force to the Second Level. He mainly wanted to see what differences there would be at the Second Level of Star Force. Quickly, his Star Force changed to (Second Level 1/307). When his Star Power was mostly restored, Ji Xinghuo continued to practice Inch Force and immediately felt the difference; his Star Power activated faster, his control became more delicate, and the strength and power of his strikes also improved. He immediately invested the rest of his Spiritual Origin Ability, raising his Star Force to (Third Level 1/1567). At Third Level Star Force, the operation speed, efficiency, and power increased again, nearly double that of the First Level. Ji Xinghuo was completely immersed in the practice of Star Force. Every day, he spent half his time on cultivation and the other half on practicing Star Force, with his Star Power growing steadily and his Star Force improving rapidly. After several days, the most basic Inch Force reached the Ultimate Intent Realm! At this realm, not only could his fists produce Inch Force, but also his arms, legs, and back, and even a headbutt could unleash an Inch Force-infused blow. However, the Inch Force had a short range, which limited its application. It was most commonly used in unarmed combat; next, the Inch Force could be transferred to blunt weapons, like a warhammer or a long stick, to achieve the effect of Inch Force. But for bladed weapons like swords, Inch Force was almost useless. Ji Xinghuo then turned to practicing other Star Force techniques. Cannon Force for instantaneous explosive power, Iron Shirt Force for defensive impact, and Flying Swallow Force for increasing movement speed—these were relatively common Star Force techniques. There were also many sophisticated Star Force techniques that Ji Xinghuo had only heard of and did not know the methods to practice. Some Star Force techniques required an extremely robust Star Power. Others demanded a higher level of Star Force. For the moment, Ji Xinghuo did not meet these requirements, so he could only practice a few conventional Star Force techniques. Only after practicing nearly ten kinds of Star Force to the Ultimate Intent Realm did he leave to go to the Martial Arts Hall in Olympia, hoping to pay for lessons to learn some more advanced Star Force techniques. However, most Martial Artists refused, unwilling to pass on their knowledge. The Star Force techniques that were offered weren’t particularly advanced, their functions duplicative, and Ji Xinghuo mastered them within a day or two. Time passed without him realizing it; the Dying Moon ended, and Quiet Moon began. The weather in the Star Realm gradually cooled down. Ji Xinghuo was so engrossed in cultivation and Star Force that he seemed to forget the passage of time. Then one day, as his Star Power was restored to full after a single use, the number jumped to 541/541, and he felt a sensation within his body; he was about to trigger his third life evolution and ascend to being an Advanced Mutant!