Chapter 434 - 389: Sublimation Second Stage

Chapter 434: Chapter 389: Sublimation Second Stage

「March 1st, 6:00 a.m.」

Inside the shelter, Guan Tong sat on the floor. Shi Jingyi stood behind him, her palm pressed against his right shoulder.

Her Psychic Power flowed over the surface of Guan Tong’s skin, acting as a guide for his own.

With her help, Guan Tong managed to externally stimulate his Psychic Power, causing it to burn like a flame.

This refining technique, known as "Condensation," required the pinnacle of control over one’s Psychic Power to use.

Guan Tong wasn’t capable of this yet, so he had to rely on Shi Jingyi’s external assistance to guide him through the Condensation process.

It was the only way he could break through the shackle of his one-thousand-point Psychic Power limit before the new rules were announced.

He hadn’t been this desperate at first, but the events of the past few days had taught him that he could only press forward. He couldn’t afford to relax, let alone stop.

At Suzuki’s memorial service, Shangyuan Zi had told him to get used to losing the people around him. But he didn’t want to get used to it. The only alternative was to become stronger, so he would never again face a situation where he was helpless due to his own lack of power.

"Focus," Shi Jingyi’s voice cut in. "Your Psychic Power is fluctuating. Don’t get distracted."

Guan Tong snapped his focus back, pushing all other thoughts aside and concentrating on condensing the vast amount of Psychic Power.

Silver Fox had previously given him five items that served as containers for Psychic Power, with a combined storage capacity of twenty thousand.

He was willing to spend an extra 20,000 Sublimation Coins a day to buy Psychic Power at a one-to-one ratio, but the problem was that Black Star couldn’t handle that volume.

Previously, Black Star had been using his network of contacts to acquire 12,000 Psychic Power for Guan Tong each day, which he could manage with ease.

But with an additional demand for 20,000, acquiring 32,000 a day proved difficult.

Guan Tong had no choice but to switch from two collections a day to just one, bringing his total daily acquisition to 26,000 Psychic Power.

At a ten-to-one conversion ratio, that 26,000 became 2,600 in his Psychic Power reserves each day.

All of this collected Psychic Power was now being rapidly consumed by the Condensation process.

This was Guan Tong’s own choice. In order to break through as quickly as possible, he was willing to sacrifice some of his reserves.

Today was March 1st. In three hours, the new rules would be announced.

After several days of Shi Jingyi’s external assistance, Guan Tong’s Psychic Power limit had reached 999. He was only one point away from his breakthrough, and he had to achieve it within those three hours.

FWOOM!

Just then, the Psychic Power undergoing Condensation flared violently. Shi Jingyi’s pupils contracted, and she snatched her hand back from Guan Tong’s shoulder.

She could feel his Psychic Power rejecting her guidance. It was as if it knew its master was at a critical juncture and could not tolerate any external interference.

"Your breakthrough seems... unique. It looks like you’re on your own from here."

With that, she walked out of the shelter.

Guan Tong didn’t hear her words.

A moment ago, his consciousness had been completely submerged in a swirling vortex.

’What... is that?’

In this instant, he seemed to possess both a first-person and a third-person perspective at the same time.

He could observe the vortexes from the outside as a whole, yet also see himself trapped inside one, unable to break free.

Looking closer, he saw that the vortexes were made of individual points of light. They were brilliant, yet they also inspired a soul-stirring sense of awe—the kind of feeling a person gets only when faced with something truly immense.

’What are these vortexes? And why am I seeing them?’

Guan Tong couldn’t make sense of it. He had no idea what was happening to him. He wanted to regain his senses, to open his eyes and see the real world, but he couldn’t.

His consciousness was simultaneously trapped deep within and observing from far outside the vortexes of light. This fractured sensation was indescribable; he even worried his consciousness might split into two separate, independent entities.

Then, his external consciousness suddenly saw his internal one. The latter was being stretched continuously within the vortex, like an infinitely long noodle.

’Time... time?’

A single thought suddenly sparked in both of his minds at once.

He immediately realized it: the vortexes of light were galaxies! And his two split consciousnesses were in different points in time!

The moment he had this realization, his two minds merged back into one.

His eyes snapped open. The Wordless Book had somehow appeared on its own, floating before him and twinkling with starlike points of light.

"What in the world..."

Guan Tong stared at it with a complex expression. He knew the vision he had just witnessed had to be related to the Wordless Book.

He reached out, and as if sensing his touch, the book fell into his hand.

At the same time, the voice of the Fire Thief echoed in his mind.

[Your Psychic Power limit has reached one thousand. Sublimation has entered the second stage.]

’The second stage of Sublimation...’

As the Fire Thief’s voice faded, Guan Tong felt his body undergoing rapid changes.

It was somewhat similar to how he felt after taking the Genetic Optimization Base Liquid, but the changes this time were far more significant.

The air itself seemed to press in on him, compressing his body and making it more refined.

His mind became exceptionally clear, all emotion stripped away, leaving only a detached, observing consciousness.

The sensation didn’t last long. It vanished without a trace after about ten seconds, and his emotions slowly seeped back in.

A peculiar new sense blossomed within him.

He knew what it was; he had felt it once before. It was the Mind Network.

Shi Jingyi had told him that once his Psychic Power broke through one thousand, the previously closed Mind Network would open to him again.

Guan Tong mentally opened his Terminal Panel.

[Name: Guan Tong]

[Nickname: Shadow]

[Title: Civilization Observer]

[Psychic Power: 1000 (1000) (6251)]

[Sublimation Coins: 7,010,280]

[Overall Biological Evaluation: Perfect]

"The evaluation changed to ’Perfect,’ just as Jingyi said..."

Seeing that evaluation and recalling the sensation from moments ago, Guan Tong truly felt as if he’d been reborn, just as Shi Jingyi had described.

The feeling itself couldn’t be quantified on the panel, but the improvement to his physical attributes was reflected in the most direct way imaginable.

He threw a punch. Its speed and power were several times greater than before. This was a quantum leap in improvement, incomparable to what any item or ability could provide.

Moreover, his nervous system seemed to have undergone a qualitative change—an evolution. His thoughts were faster, and his perception of subtle emotions had become exceptionally keen.

Perhaps the reactivation of the Mind Network was a direct result of this nervous system evolution, allowing an Ascender’s brain to access a higher-dimensional system of information exchange.

Besides these physical enhancements, he was certain—though he hadn’t tested it yet—that the natural growth and recovery rates for his Psychic Power limit had also received a massive boost.

But more than any of that, Guan Tong was preoccupied with the vision that had appeared in his mind during the breakthrough.

’The swirling galaxies... time being stretched and pulled... the Wordless Book twinkling with starlight... What did it all mean?’

’This Wordless Book... is it some kind of medium? Or an unknown key? If it’s a key, what door could it possibly open?’

’And what the Fire Thief said about "Sublimation has entered the second stage"... In other words, while "Perfect" might be the highest evaluation for a human, it’s not the end for the Fire Thief.’

’Perhaps there’s a more transcendent level beyond "Perfect."’

’Would that level of transcendence begin to turn a human into something... non-human?’

The vast number of unknowns left Guan Tong feeling a bit lost.

But the feeling quickly vanished.

He knew that as long as he kept moving forward, he would find the answers to all his questions eventually.