Chapter 163 - 142: Preparing to Seize the Initiative

Chapter 163: Chapter 142: Preparing to Seize the Initiative

In fact, Xia Yu Country had already detected a problem back in mid-May.

In Mao Lin Mountain, within Xia Yu Country, herb gatherers discovered abnormalities in the growth of the surrounding vegetation.

For the most part, their growth rate had accelerated, and many plants had mutated.

Then, the villagers of the nearby Zhu family Village experienced a significant increase in strength, and many of their chronic ailments vanished.

This reminded Zhang Ji of the changes brought about by Spiritual Qi leaking from spacetime rifts in the "Chrono-Disorder" version of events.

Spiritual Qi was a special energy from another world. It could be directly utilized by living beings to accelerate their evolution. It could also react with various substances to create new materials.

Moreover, these new materials could undergo further changes due to the Spiritual Qi.

Thus, the existence of Spiritual Qi allowed for an endless stream of incredible technologies to emerge.

And the world that possessed this Spiritual Qi was known as the Celestial Essence Realm.

Now, seeing this spacetime rift, Zhang Ji confirmed his suspicions.

’It feels a bit early, but by my calculations, this is exactly when the groundwork for the spacetime rift was laid.’

’However, it won’t be until the people from the Celestial Essence Realm repair their Starships and launch a formal exploratory invasion, and that’s still seven years away.’

Zhang Ji began to consider his strategy.

’Should I just stay put, prepare my defenses, and wait for them to attack?’

’I estimate it’ll be a few years before they arrive, but things in this world change so quickly. Who knows if something unexpected might happen?’

’More importantly, if I can seize the initiative and strike first, I stand to gain much more.’

’According to the backstory, several top-tier treasures are consumed during this period. If I can intercept them, they’ll be a huge help. My own growth will be much easier, and I can also stunt the enemy’s development and avoid a lot of trouble down the line.’

’With my current strength, the risk of exploring their world is manageable.’

’They have a few S-rank old geezers at the Divinity Transformation Stage over there.’

’But none of them dare to act rashly. In an environment with thin Spiritual Qi, every bit of Spiritual Power they use is a permanent loss. Overexertion even shortens their lifespan, and recovery is incredibly difficult. So under normal circumstances, their top-tier fighters won’t make a move themselves.’

’As long as their best fighters stay on the sidelines, I’m not in any danger.’

’Still, I can’t be a fool and bet everything on them not acting. I need a contingency plan. If I do run into one of them, I need to be able to escape, at the very least.’

Originally, Zhang Ji had planned to bolster his Spirit Attribute, but now he decided to change strategies and first acquire an Epic-level combat technique that boosted his speed.

’Of course, it can’t be a technique that *only* increases speed. Ideally, it should also align with my future advancement path and give my other attributes a boost.’

"The combat techniques of the Celestial Thunder Sect provide a relatively high speed bonus. Whether through elementalization or electromagnetic acceleration, the boost to movement speed is significant. Plus, that speed can be instantly converted to kinetic energy. Cyril’s Spiritual Intent Tunneling is also a good technique; it ignores physical inertia, allowing for Z-shaped movements, unlike simple elementalized flight where high speeds can easily lead to a loss of control... Break down the learning process into one thousand top-tier, yet ordinary, combat techniques related to the Celestial Thunder Sect and the Spiritual Intent Sect..."

Having summarized the data, Zhang Ji sent the request directly to Shen Xi.

The AI quickly began its calculations and analysis.

Countless data points in the database were aggregated and processed. The computational load seemed to be quite large this time; Zhang Ji waited for over ten minutes before a plan was generated.

One thousand combat techniques were sorted and categorized within the plan.

The process was broken down into stages, with each stage comprising ten ordinary combat techniques. It also included estimates for the initial synthesis and all subsequent deductive processes.

Although Zhang Ji had never mentioned having a cheat, from Shen Xi’s perspective, his request was quite transparent.

Zhang Ji clearly intended to use the methods it devised as a foundation for his own further deductions, aiming to achieve an even better outcome.

Therefore, it also provided detailed suggestions on how to best construct this "edifice."

Zhang Ji wasn’t afraid of his cheat being discovered.

’Worst-case scenario, I can just attribute it to my superpowers.’

’I’m already the strongest person in the world.’

’What’s wrong with having a few special talents?’

’Anyone who can make a name for themselves in this world has some kind of cheat-like talent or trait, don’t they?’

"Not bad, but this needs some modifications. Reduce the weight of the Spiritual Intent Sect components. I’ve already mastered Spiritualization, so I don’t need to enhance my Control Power to achieve it. Increase the weight for the Celestial Thunder Sect. You can also reduce the focus on fist-and-foot techniques and Thunder Element shaping. The main priority should be attribute enhancement—specifically, the strength of elementalization and the boon from my Spirit Attribute..."

He input the new requirements, made the modifications, and waited for the results.

After seven iterative versions, Zhang Ji felt there was nothing left to improve. He reviewed the new list of one thousand combat techniques and was thoroughly satisfied.

’If I had tried to do this myself, it might have taken me decades to achieve this result.’

’But with technology, it didn’t even take half a day.’

All that was left was to begin training.

Before he began, Zhang Ji first ordered Liu Hetong to arrange for the area to be sealed off. He also had numerous defensive measures constructed, establishing 24/7 real-time surveillance.

Although accidental crossings through the spacetime rift were rare, there was always a chance a few lucky individuals might avoid the void storms and arrive safely.

That’s right—crossing was a risky endeavor.

Even with a natural channel like a spacetime rift connecting two realms, the passage was fraught with peril.