Chapter 110 - 96: Introductions and Petty Tricks

Chapter 110: Chapter 96: Introductions and Petty Tricks

Chen Shang closed his eyes and sat cross-legged on the stone slab at the very edge of Nebula Plaza, activating the Force Touch Perception entry.

Instantly, countless invisible threads in the void were illuminated one by one. These threads shot out from different directions; some were thick, some were thin, some were like taut bowstrings, and others were like falling rain.

They passed through his body, intertwined around him, and extended into the unseen distance of the void.

This was a web woven of repulsive force and gravity.

These forces originated from different sources: distant stars, nearby floating stone slabs, the void above, and the deeper void beneath his feet.

Every object with mass generated its own force field, and each force field was constantly compounding with or weakening others.

However, Chen Shang faintly sensed that this was not chaotic; rather, there was a certain order to it that he simply couldn’t understand yet.

The completion rate of Force Touch Perception was slowly increasing, jumping from 72% to 74%. This time, the increase wasn’t due to collecting entries, but a true enhancement brought about by his own perception.

It was a wondrous feeling. It felt as though he had possessed this ability all along, but had simply never known how to unlock it until now.

The time of six hourglasses flashed by. Among the apprentices in Nebula Plaza, some had left, some had changed spots, and some hadn’t moved an inch from start to finish.

A Teleportation Gate rematerialized in the void. Silver-gray motes of light drifted back from afar, forming a doorframe that birthed a pitch-black door within.

Chen Shang stood up, stepped through it, and returned to Starfall Laboratory.

Upon returning to the laboratory, Chen Shang closed his eyes once more, spreading his Force Touch Perception outward.

This time, the sensation was completely different.

In Nebula Plaza, those force field lines had been incredibly clear and distinct, but here, they turned into a blurry, tangled mess.

The energy fluctuations of operating equipment, the luminous patterns of rune arrays, the spiritual power tremors radiating from the adjacent lab, and even the micro-vibrations from the footsteps of apprentices passing through the corridor... everything was interfering with his perception.

It wasn’t that his Force Touch Perception had weakened, but rather that the "noise" in this environment was simply too loud.

Chen Shang opened his eyes. Taking the Gravity Crystal out from his Space Book, he gripped it in his hand and closed his eyes once again.

The silver-gray crystal core felt slightly cool to the touch. This time, the force field lines were much clearer than before. Although it still couldn’t compare to Nebula Plaza, he could at least distinguish their primary directions.

It was about seventy percent as effective.

It was truly worthy of being a treasure gifted by the Dragon Emperor. Considering that Nebula Plaza was the handiwork of a Great Wizard of Starfall Laboratory, the fact that this Gravity Crystal could substitute a portion of its functions was already incredibly impressive.

Chen Shang put the Gravity Crystal away and checked off the Force Touch Perception task on his schedule.

The following day, Chen Shang went to the Ecological Garden as usual. After completing the data logging for the front sector and the prison sector, he handed the comprehensive report over to Hathaway.

Hathaway flipped through it and signed her name in satisfaction. Setting the crystal plate down, she leaned back in her chair, looked at Chen Shang, and asked casually, "Have you attempted the cultivation of the Repulsive and Attractive Dual Force Witchcraft? If you find it difficult and want to give up, you can take me as your master and learn the construction of the Energy Spring."

She still held Chen Shang in very high regard.

Chen Shang shook his head. "Master, I might have to disappoint you. I feel that my compatibility with the Repulsive and Attractive Dual Force is a very good match."

Hathaway laughed, finding it as amusing as hearing a junior making grand boasts. "You only recently completed a round of Dragon Blood Body Refinement, right? The scent hasn’t faded from you yet.

"This proves that you’ve only just met the requirements to cultivate the Repulsive and Attractive Dual Force. Have you even been to the Nebula yet? How can you judge that you have talent?"

Chen Shang didn’t speak, but his expression was entirely natural; it wasn’t a forced, feigned confidence.

Watching his expression, Hathaway’s smile slowly faded. She sat up straight, stared into Chen Shang’s eyes for a few seconds, and a sudden thought arose in her mind.

"You... couldn’t have actually made progress, could you? How long have you even been cultivating?"

"I have gained some insights," Chen Shang replied, his tone calm and exceedingly modest.

Hathaway couldn’t sit still anymore. Over their two years of interaction, she knew that Chen Shang was an incredibly conservative person. For him to say he had gained insights meant he had absolutely made tangible progress.

Thus, she stood up, walked around the desk, grabbed Chen Shang by the sleeve, and dragged him outside.

"Come on, follow me to the laboratory."

Chen Shang stumbled slightly as she dragged him along. Even with a constitution fortified by three rounds of body refinement, he had absolutely no room to resist against an Official Wizard.

He didn’t struggle, however. There was no need to worry about safety within Starfall Laboratory.

"Master, what are we going to do?"

The High Tower was located on the north side of the Ecological Garden. It was Hathaway’s private domain, and Chen Shang had never been inside before.

Hathaway swiped her card and pushed the door open, leading him up a spiral staircase before stopping at a small laboratory on the third floor.

The room wasn’t large. All four walls were lined with rune plates, and a stone slab table sat in the center. Hathaway walked over to a cabinet in the corner, rummaged through it for quite a while, and finally pulled something out from the very bottom shelf.

Chen Shang looked over. It was a piece of metal, smaller than a fingernail and so thin it was almost transparent. Its color was silver-gray, and its surface bore no runes whatsoever.

Hathaway placed it on the stone table and pushed it in front of Chen Shang.

"This is what I used back in the day to practice Micro-Repulsive Guidance and Micro-Attractor. Forged through special techniques, its responsiveness to repulsive force and gravity is much stronger than ordinary materials."

She paused, a trace of self-deprecation in her tone. "I didn’t have any talent for the Star Force Field back then, so I took the path of constructing an Energy Spring instead. But after becoming a wizard later on, I was unwilling to resign myself to that, so I attempted the cultivation of the Repulsive and Attractive Dual Force again.

"An Official Wizard has more methods at their disposal, so I was barely able to pull it off. But having no talent means exactly that—having no talent. The power it produced was nothing special. Keeping this thing here with me will only let it gather dust."