Chapter 461 - 410: Ability Demonstration

Chapter 461: Chapter 410: Ability Demonstration

The Strategy Research Room’s main base had always been prime real estate. Being able to set aside an entire floor as a training ground showed just how much importance the officials placed on the combat training of Ascenders.

Li Meng led the group to the end of the hall, where they found a vast, open room of over a hundred square meters.

When he swiped his card for verification, the sealed metal doors slid open. The interior was a completely enclosed space. The floor and walls were a peculiar silver-gray color, and the bright, built-in lights reflecting off them created a cold-toned ambiance.

Li Meng explained, "This training room is called ’Maximum Power.’ As the name suggests, Ascenders can come here and unleash their most powerful attacks and destructive force without any reservations."

Silver Fox tapped the floor with the tip of her boot, hearing a low metallic THUD. A nostalgic look crossed her face. "This is the first time I’ve been back here since the Dragon Soul Team was reformed."

The corners of her mouth drooped, her tone laced with a hint of sorrow. She must have been thinking of her three teammates from the original Dragon Soul Team who had died. But she composed herself quickly, and in just a few seconds, she was back to the Silver Fox who always wore a roguish smile.

"Can we really go all out?" Yang Ran asked, touching the wall. "If I use my full power, my strongest flame attack can reach over a thousand degrees! Can this room really take it?"

Silver Fox chuckled. "Relax. This training room is made of a special composite metal with a melting point of several thousand degrees. If you’re only hitting a little over a thousand, you won’t be able to damage it."

"A melting point of several thousand degrees? Then I can really have some fun!"

Yang Ran looked thrilled, rubbing his hands together, eager to get started.

"You guys have no idea. I normally don’t get a chance to go all out. I’m always afraid I’ll accidentally start a huge fire."

Li Meng clapped his hands. "Alright, time is precious, let’s stop the idle chatter. From now on, I need each of you to use your abilities. I will be recording and observing with the assistance of the cameras. Afterward, Dr. Zhang Minglu and I will study the footage to research specific ways for you to fight cooperatively."

"Okay, let me go first!"

Yang Ran couldn’t wait to show off. He stepped forward and turned his head. "Everyone, stay back! The flames I create don’t distinguish between friend and foe!"

After speaking, he saw that everyone had retreated to a safe distance, so he rubbed his hands together, opened his mouth, and shouted, "Blazing Flame Line!"

WHOOSH—!

A jet of bright golden fire shot from his mouth, blasting straight ahead for an effective range of thirty to forty meters. The flame was incredibly hot; the moment it appeared, the temperature in the room soared. Even from a distance, the others could clearly feel a scorching heat.

"Let me show you another move! Star Flame Fall!"

Yang Ran raised his hands high and channeled his Psychic Power. A few seconds later, massive fireballs materialized in the air before him and began to fall.

In just a moment, a large patch of the ground ahead was engulfed in flames, as if it had transformed into a fiery swamp.

"How was that? Impressive, right?"

Yang Ran turned to look at the others. Everyone except Bai Xuewu obligingly gave him a round of applause.

Li Meng asked, "Yang Ran, what’s your strongest move?"

"My strongest move... I can’t just use that willy-nilly." Yang Ran shook his head. "It triggers a massive fire explosion with me at the center. The blast radius is up to a hundred meters, so you’d all be caught in it."

"The range is that big? Alright, then you can use it by yourself in the room once everyone’s finished. I’ll watch it on the recording."

The destructive power of his flames was indeed immense. Witnessing Yang Ran use his abilities, Guan Tong felt that the man’s self-proclaimed title of "Fire God" wasn’t entirely baseless.

’But if I had to point out a weakness, it’s that he’s too specialized. His attack power is strong, but other aspects seem to be lacking.’

’He also noticed that Yang Ran’s abilities weren’t instantaneous. He took about two seconds to prepare the first move, and the second move took a good four or five seconds to activate.’

’A few seconds might not seem long, but in a battle between experts, an enemy probably wouldn’t give you the chance for that ’casting time.’ If Guan Tong were his enemy, Shadow would have already torn him to pieces before he could even use his ability.’

’Therefore, what Yang Ran needed most were high-level defensive items, or to master Psychic Power Flow so he could maintain a Psychic Power Shield at all times.’

After Yang Ran, the others also demonstrated their abilities one by one.

When Bai Xuewu’s Snow White Traceless appeared, Guan Tong noticed it was very different from how it was on Holy Grail Island.

Back then, the Mecha’s weaponry consisted of little more than two Power Swords. But looking at it now, there were several Hive Barrels added to the left and right sides of its back, capable of firing High-Explosive Missiles.

A Rotating Axis Machine Cannon had also been added under each arm, capable of suppressive rapid-fire.

Several other auxiliary functions like shields and scanners had been added as well. It was clear that Bai Xuewu had never stopped her in-depth development of the Mecha.

Guan Tong was quite familiar with Chen Na’s ability.

The changes from before were simply that her perception range was wider, she could pick up more detail, and she could judge a person’s relative strength based on the Psychic Power she sensed.

But a unique ability she had developed herself was very special. Bai Xuewu had mentioned it before; it was called "Marking." As long as she had sensed a person’s Psychic Power once, she could apply a unique mark to it. Afterward, if she sensed it again, she could immediately identify the person.

This ability could both assist teammates and identify enemies, giving her a very unique role.

In particular, it was impossible to disguise one’s identity from her senses—appearances and voices could be faked, but every person’s Psychic Power was unique. It was an Ascender’s "personal fingerprint," and no two were the same in the entire world.

This meant that if Guan Tong were to use the transformation item he had once bought, the Bystander Transformation Device—which he later gave to Yelena as a farewell gift—he would still be recognized by Chen Na, because she had already marked his Psychic Power.

When it came to Silver Fox, Guan Tong was also rather curious.

He had known Silver Fox for a long time but had never found out what her ability or exclusive item was.

He guessed it was related to speed, because he had seen her in action a few times and she always displayed incredible quickness. The first time they fought in front of the Fog Gate during the Mist, he hadn’t even had time to react before Silver Fox circled behind him and launched a kick.

Among the Ascenders he knew, her movement speed was second only to a winged Lucifer and Shi Jingyi using her Mind Martial Technique.

"My ability is simple," Silver Fox said, taking out her two daggers. "It’s speed stacking."

As she spoke, she crouched and started running. She was clearly just running in circles inside the room, but she quickly moved so fast that the others started to feel dizzy, their eyes unable to keep up with her.

"After I use my ability, the more I move, the faster I get. If I reach my limit..."

"You’ll find."

"I can be in front of you and behind you at the same time."

"Appearing to your left and right."

Silver Fox’s voice seemed to come from the front, back, left, and right almost simultaneously, as four identical versions of her stood surrounding them.

Yang Ran’s face was a mask of horror. "My god! So fast you can create four afterimages?!"

"Wouldn’t that make me your natural enemy?" The next moment, the four afterimages merged into one, and Silver Fox’s daggers were pressed against Yang Ran’s chest and back. "Your flames seem to burn so slowly. If I were your enemy, I’d be pretty hard to deal with, right?"

Just like Guan Tong, Silver Fox had also seen that the weakness in Yang Ran’s fire manipulation was its speed.

Yang Ran swallowed hard and nodded vigorously. "Y-Yeah, definitely... If I had to fight you, S-Silver Fox, you’d kill me before I could even activate my ability..."

"Heh heh." Silver Fox sheathed her daggers and patted Yang Ran’s shoulder with a smile. "Relax. I’m your teammate. I’ll protect you."

"Yang Ran certainly does need protection," Li Meng said. "I’ll discuss it with Dr. Zhang and prepare some more defensive items for him."

After speaking, Li Meng looked at Guan Tong. Among everyone here, he was most looking forward to seeing Guan Tong’s ability.

Guan Tong stepped forward. As he walked, copious amounts of shadows began to pour out from his sleeves and from under his feet.

"My ability is the manipulation of shadows. I believe everyone is already aware of this."

’Even though he trusted them, he would not reveal the existence of the Wordless Book. It was a matter of utmost importance, and he had decided not to tell anyone about it until he had studied it thoroughly.’

"Shadows can become intangible or tangible. They can change shape and also split apart."

As Guan Tong explained, the shadows around him changed with his words. One moment they were intangible, the next they were solid. Then they split into tens, even hundreds of sharp spikes, or morphed into the silhouettes of Li Meng, Silver Fox, and the others.

It had to be said, even though they all had some understanding of the "Shadow" ability, witnessing these dazzling transformations with their own eyes was still an incredibly magical experience.

As he watched, Li Meng asked, "Guan Tong, according to the intelligence the Strategy Research Room has gathered on you, it seems your shadows can also be used for infiltration and information gathering?"

"Yes. The shadows can activate their five senses and share the information they gather directly with me."

As Guan Tong finished speaking, dozens of Shadow Lines instantly transformed into dozens of eyes that stared at the group.

A shiver ran down everyone’s spine.

"They have all five senses... I see. No wonder we received that intel... It all makes sense now," Li Meng said thoughtfully.

The Strategy Research Room had actually suspected this before but couldn’t confirm it. Now that Guan Tong had admitted it and given a demonstration, it was considered proven.

"It’s terrifying that these shadows have all five senses..." Yang Ran said, shuddering several times as the shadow-eyes stared at him. "Captain, your ability makes me feel really unsafe... You wouldn’t secretly sneak into my room and watch me, would you?"

"Heh heh, even if he were to do that, he wouldn’t sneak into your room," Silver Fox teased. "You’re a man. Are you better looking than a pretty girl?"

Bai Xuewu said, "...I suddenly feel a little disgusted."

Guan Tong said, "Don’t worry, I’m not that bored."

Li Meng asked, "Your shadows should have other transformations, right? According to our intelligence, you also seem to have an ability called the ’Shadow Realm’."

’Shadow Realm...’

’Guan Tong remembered that Lucifer was the one who came up with that name, and it had somehow spread.’

"Yes. I usually just call it the ’Shadow Domain.’"

Shadows rapidly surged out in all directions, enveloping the entire room from the inside within a few breaths.

Everything went pitch black before everyone’s eyes.

"I remember this Shadow Domain," Silver Fox’s voice rang out. "You used this ability during your fight with Lucifer in that one operation."

She was referring to the Luoying Operation. Silver Fox had been present back then. After Lucifer cut off her arm while she was protecting Chen Na, she hadn’t retreated immediately and had witnessed the battle between Dragon Soul, Guan Tong, and Lucifer.

"That’s right," Guan Tong’s voice sounded in the darkness.

"Huh?" Bai Xuewu spoke up. "My Psychic Power is decreasing... Does this Shadow Domain also absorb our Psychic Power?"

Now that she mentioned it, the others noticed it too. A glance at their Terminal Panels confirmed it.

Li Meng said in astonishment, "It’s that powerful? If it can absorb Psychic Power, it makes you practically invincible. No wonder so many experts are no match for you!"