Chapter 450 - 403: Reinforcing the Shadow and Silver Hunter Again

Chapter 450: Chapter 403: Reinforcing the Shadow and Silver Hunter Again

The Shadow stood quietly before Guan Tong.

Guan Tong looked at it. ’To strengthen myself, I definitely need to start with my most-used ability.’

Ever since he obtained the Wordless Book, he had been constantly strengthening the Shadow, gradually adding new functions to it.

It started as a simple, intangible phantom with no physical contact, then evolved to be able to shift between tangible and intangible states, change its shape, become more resilient, and share its senses with Guan Tong... Just like Guan Tong, it too was growing, step by step.

Now that Guan Tong had entered the second stage of Sublimation, it was time for the Shadow to grow along with him.

"How should I strengthen you?"

Guan Tong looked at the Shadow, contemplating the direction of its enhancement.

First were its most basic attributes, such as its strength and speed.

These were directly linked to his own body. Since he had been greatly enhanced after reaching the second stage of Sublimation, the Shadow would automatically undergo a corresponding enhancement.

Its resilience and defensive properties had been enhanced once before, but during Sisiya’s battle with Lucifer, the latter’s Fallen Angel’s Wings had still been able to cut the Shadow. Guan Tong knew this didn’t mean the Shadow wasn’t resilient enough; it just meant Lucifer had maxed out the offensive properties of his wings.

’If the basic attributes are set, could the tangible-intangible shifting be enhanced further?’

"Tangible and intangible... Before, I could only make it entirely intangible or entirely tangible at once. If I could achieve a Coexistence of Reality and Illusion, or if the Shadow could split into independent entities... that would be a major breakthrough."

Because the Shadow couldn’t split into multiple entities, any divided parts had to remain connected to the main body. This was a pain point, as it meant intangibility and tangibility couldn’t exist at the same time.

For example, if someone attacked Guan Tong at close range and he simultaneously used the Shadow to counterattack, a problem would arise if their attacks were synchronized: while using the tangible Shadow Armor to defend against the enemy’s attack, he couldn’t also have the Shadow turn intangible to enter the enemy’s body for an implosion attack.

It was either all tangible or all intangible. That was the Shadow’s current state.

After thinking it over, he didn’t pick up a pen to add words.

The concept of "reality and illusion" was already on the page. All he had to do was focus his concentration and let the Wordless Book fulfill his request.

Guan Tong first tried making a request: "Split into two independent entities."

The Shadow before him began to change, a fissure appearing down the middle of its body.

The fissure grew wider and wider until it tore apart, forming two separate, standing figures.

However, a thin Shadow Line still connected the two individual shadows.

Though the Shadow Line was as thin as a strand of hair and difficult to see with the naked eye, it still represented a failure to manifest his request. The Shadow couldn’t truly split from one into two independent entities.

’It seems the Shadow can only exist as a single entity... In that case, Coexistence of Reality and Illusion.’

The first request failed, but Guan Tong wasn’t discouraged. He moved on to the second one.

His Psychic Power depleted rapidly. His entire reserve of a thousand points of Flowing Psychic Power was gone in just a few breaths.

Just as he thought he had failed, he saw the body of the shadow standing on the right gradually become transparent.

Meanwhile, the shadow standing on the left remained firmly tangible.

Guan Tong’s eyes lit up. Success!

He looked at the translucent shadow on the right. Although it wasn’t completely intangible, this was only because his Flowing Psychic Power was insufficient.

As long as his maximum Psychic Power increased in the future, or if he used his reserve Psychic Power, the two tangible and intangible parts of the Shadow could coexist perfectly!

"Excellent."

Guan Tong was very pleased with this. Now he had another tricky method of attack to use against his enemies.

His ability to manipulate a Shadow that could switch between tangible and intangible states was already difficult for enemies to defend against. Now, the Coexistence of Reality and Illusion would make it even more unpredictable, enough to become their nightmare.

After obtaining the Coexistence of Reality and Illusion enhancement, Guan Tong didn’t turn the page. He wanted to develop the Shadow even further.

He quickly drew upon a thousand points of reserve Psychic Power, converting them into his Flowing Psychic Power.

Then, he focused his manifestation request on the "transformation" ability.

Previously, the Shadow’s transformation ability was mainly reflected in its form.

For instance, his most common use was to have the Shadow transform into hair-thin Shadow Lines to perform infiltration, binding, strangulation assassinations, eavesdropping, surveillance, and other actions.

Now, Guan Tong wanted to try giving it a "disguise" ability, allowing it to change its appearance.

He focused his attention, trying to have the Wordless Book manifest this request. After a moment, his thousand points of Flowing Psychic Power hadn’t diminished at all.

’...Looks like it’s completely impossible.’

The fact that his Psychic Power hadn’t decreased didn’t mean he lacked enough to fulfill the request, but that the request itself was simply impossible to realize.

This made Guan Tong understand that the Shadow could only exist in a "pure black" form. It might be able to mimic the silhouette of another person, but it couldn’t transform into their true appearance.

He wasn’t too disappointed. Gaining the new Coexistence of Reality and Illusion ability was already a significant enhancement for the Shadow.

He then turned to the third page of the book. This page held the ability: Silver Hunter.

This multi-functional shotgun had helped him through several crises early on. Without it, he would’ve been a goner long ago.

Later, as the powerful among the Ascenders continued to improve their physical conditioning and develop their abilities more deeply, the shotgun’s lethality against enemies had been greatly reduced.

No. 1 regular Scatter Shot, No. 2 slug, No. 3 High-Explosive Bomb... Of these, the only one Guan Tong still used occasionally was No. 3.

In contrast, functional rounds like the No. 4 Smoke Bomb and No. 5 Electromagnetic Pulse Bomb could still be useful in the future.

As for its other function, the "Hooked Claw," he hadn’t used it in a very long time.

It was no wonder. Nowadays, when he needed to move quickly, he would either use Body Shifting directly or have the Shadow transform into a large hand to carry him forward. There was simply no need for the Hooked Claw.

’So the question is, if I want to enhance it, what direction should I take?’

Between destructive power and functionality, Guan Tong was currently leaning toward the former.

His current methods of attack, besides the Shadow, were limited to the Small Space and the recently acquired Nanomites Swarm.

While the first two were powerful, they had a problem with information leaks.

His previous battles with Mizusawa Chun and Lucifer had made this clear.

Mizusawa Chun had analyzed that his Instant Teleportation had a time limit and that his Small Space attack had to be used at close range.

Lucifer had even prepared a specific counter: a Light Pearl item that could suppress the Shadow’s expansion.

All of this showed that his enemies wouldn’t just take a beating passively; they would also gather intelligence on him and develop specific countermeasures.

’A tall tree catches the wind... To maintain my advantage, I must constantly update my arsenal and master attack methods my enemies don’t know about.’

Too many people knew about the Shadow’s attack methods, and both the Small Space and the Nanomites Swarm had to be used at close range; they couldn’t be used from a distance.

Therefore, what Guan Tong needed now was a new, powerful, and long-range attack method.

He took the "Silver Hunter" from his storage ring. The metallic luster on its surface was gentle yet sharp.

’It’s time to add a new No. 6 round.’

Having decided to add a new ammunition type, the next step was to detail the requirements.

Guan Tong’s requirements were simple, only two: immense power and long-range guidance.

Immense power was easy to understand. It needed to have decisive, fight-ending capability. Specifically, a single shot would consume all of his Flowing Psychic Power to create. Just imagine, how powerful would a bullet that required 1,000 Psychic Power to create be?

Long-range guidance was equally important, especially the "guidance" part. Guan Tong had tried to write it into existence before but had failed. This time, after entering the second stage of Sublimation, he wanted to try again.

After specifying his request, he focused his attention and poured all of his Flowing Psychic Power into the page.

The page began to emit a glow, and gradually, the silver gun resting before him also started to change.

Seeing this, Guan Tong thought to himself, ’It’s working!’ When he had developed the "Hooked Claw" function for the Silver Hunter, the firearm’s external appearance had also changed.

Change was a sign of success.

He saw the gun’s body lengthen by a section. A rectangular rack appeared on top, and a bulky, oval-shaped shell resembling a torpedo materialized upon it.

At the same time, a new line of text appeared on the small electronic screen built into the gun’s body.

No. 6 Round x1

’It really was created!’

Guan Tong had known he was on the right track when he saw the firearm’s shape change, but he couldn’t be absolutely sure until the text appeared on the small screen displaying the ammo count.

He immediately checked the details. The name of this newly created No. 6 round was "Psychic-Guided Missile."

Creating one of these missiles required the maximum limit of his Psychic Power. At Guan Tong’s current level, that was 1,000 points per shot.

This missile wasn’t guided by radar, infrared, or lasers. Its guidance method was unique, requiring a "Psychic Power lock" on the target.

The prerequisite for this Psychic Power lock was to first make contact with the target’s Psychic Power. In other words, if Guan Tong wanted to use its guidance capability, he would need to first fight the target or make contact with their Psychic Power through some other means.

Of course, he could also fire it directly. The missile’s power would not be affected, but it would lose its guidance effect. A fast enough enemy would be able to dodge it.

’A missile that costs 1,000 Psychic Power per shot... its power must be astonishing.’

Guan Tong immediately picked up the gun and headed out, going deep into the valley.

This uninhabited area was the perfect place to test the weapon’s power. He raised the Silver Hunter, switched to the No. 6 round, and pulled the trigger, aiming at a distant cliff face.

"WHOOSH—!"

The black, torpedo-like missile on the rack shot out with a piercing shriek. Its initial velocity was extremely fast, and it continued to accelerate after launch, striking the cliff face hundreds of meters away in an instant.

"BOOM!!!"

A massive tremor shook the area. The surrounding forest seemed to shudder as rock and dust flew. A large, bowl-shaped crater appeared on the cliff face.

The bottom and edges of the crater glowed deep red from the intense heat. Guan Tong had the Shadow carry him over to inspect it, and as he drew near, he could feel a wave of scorching air wash over him.

’What terrifying power... It’s truly worthy of being a thousand-point missile...’

Looking up close at the massive crater, large enough for dozens of people to lie down in, Guan Tong deeply appreciated the missile’s immense power. It was dozens of times more destructive than the No. 3 High-Explosive Bomb.

Of course, the cost of this one shot was also enough to create dozens of No. 3 rounds.

’Looks like I need to stock up on a few more of these No. 6 missiles before I go to Fahe. Those Cultists from the Fire Worship Cult have surely studied my file extensively. An attack of this power, completely unknown to them, might just come in very handy.’