’Unlike the Insect-men, it seems people like us all awaken a Spiritual Power Talent after breaking through to Tier One.’
’Lin Tianhe has Absorption Spirit, Teacher Xiuning has Instant Movement... and I have Spiritual Surge. Each one grants a different strange ability.’
A girl with a tear-streaked face and a ponytail wiped her eyes and said in a choked voice, "I heard him talk about it. It’s a weird Talent, I think. He named it ’Divine Strike’ himself."
"What was that?" Han Ning thought he had misheard the folksy-sounding term.
"Divine Strike! He said it uses the unique properties of Spiritual Power to invite strange Soul Spirits to possess him and help him do things," the ponytail girl explained.
"Okay, I see."
Han Ning nodded. The explanation cleared things up quite a bit.
’After being in this world for so long, I’m certain that things like the ’souls’ from Xia Country legends really do exist here.’
’Isn’t Hom’s Spiritual Power basically just a fragmented soul?’
’And Fei Lin is a special soul body, too.’
’Since souls exist, it’s understandable that Luo Chen could use his Spiritual Power to attract them for help. It’s not that outlandish.’
Naturally, Han Ning concluded that Luo Chen’s current state was caused by an unknown soul possessing him and affecting his temperament.
He extended his Spiritual Power again, sending out an inquisitive fluctuation: "Who are you?"
As soon as the Spiritual Fluctuation was sent, Luo Chen, who had been roaring incessantly, whipped his head around. He stared straight at Han Ning, his wide, furious eyes showing a bizarrely arrogant expression.
"I am the Star Lord of the Pleiades!"
"Star Lord of the Pleiades?" Han Ning’s frown deepened.
’Isn’t that a constellation incarnation from Xia Country’s myths and legends? What’s it doing here?’
While Han Ning was still bewildered, a flushed Luo Chen leaped onto the bed with a SWOOSH, striking a "golden rooster stands on one leg" pose.
A surging wave of heat radiated from his body, and the surrounding air grew scorching. Even his skin turned as red as blood.
Large, pea-sized beads of blood seeped from his skin, streaming onto the snow-white sheets like a faucet left running.
A vast amount of strange Energy fluctuations, which even Han Ning couldn’t identify, filled the air and were absorbed into Luo Chen’s body.
In just a few seconds, his Spiritual Fluctuation had grown a tier stronger, almost more powerful than a Tier One at their peak.
’Setting aside whether Luo Chen has lost his mind and is spouting words like "Star Lord of the Sun," I only know that if this continues, this student’s body won’t be able to take it. All these anomalies are coming at the cost of his life.’
"You are not the Star Lord of the Sun. You are Luo Chen."
He sent out his Spiritual Power, channeling it into Luo Chen’s mind. At the same time, he sent out his All-Encompassing Spiritual Silkworm to burrow into Luo Chen’s body and stabilize his condition.
SHOO~
The All-Encompassing Spiritual Silkworm’s chubby body transformed into a streak of purple light and burrowed inside.
In that instant, through the All-Encompassing Spiritual Silkworm, Han Ning sensed two completely different Spiritual Powers inside Luo Chen’s body, influencing one another.
"Correct... I am not the Star Lord of the Sun. I am the Scorching Sun Bishop, Akenelis!!"
The expression of Luo Chen, who was standing on one leg on the bed, changed. It went from exaggerated and comical to extremely serious, and he began to radiate an imposing aura.
"Who am I? What is this place?" Luo Chen’s demeanor was majestic, like a proud Monarch looking down upon his subjects.
Before anyone could answer, the expression on Luo Chen’s face began to change again, and he roared, "No, no, I’m Luo Chen! I’m Luo Chen!"
Seeing this, Han Ning infused his voice with some Spiritual Power and bellowed, "That’s right, you are Luo Chen! Luo Chen of Xia Country Forestry University!"
At these words, Luo Chen’s expression twisted wildly, like a performer in a face-changing opera.
The scorching aura radiating from his body would sometimes vanish, then become Vigorous again.
Han Ning had no other way to help him. He could only have the All-Encompassing Spiritual Silkworm repair any potential damage inside his body while continuously using his voice, laced with Spiritual Power, to loudly help Luo Chen confirm his identity.
HUFF... HUFF... HUFF...
Gradually, the expression on Luo Chen’s face returned to normal.
The blood-red color of his skin faded, returning to its normal hue.
However, the strange redness didn’t recede completely. Instead, it gathered between his eyebrows, forming a magnificent mark that resembled a burning Flame.
A flicker of Spiritual Light appeared in his crazed and vacant eyes.
Luo Chen let out a long sigh and fell backward.
Han Ning saw this and quickly caught him.
The current Luo Chen was terrifyingly pale, covered in beads of cold sweat, and panting heavily. With a look of lingering fear, he said, "Han Ning, thanks to you... I was so close to dying."
"Don’t be scared. Deep breaths. Just focus on breathing steadily for now." Han Ning picked up a nearby cup and gave Luo Chen a sip of water.
The girl with the ponytail placed her palm on Luo Chen’s chest, stroking it gently.
Once Luo Chen’s breathing had calmed slightly, he slowly began to speak. "I... during the fight, I used my Talent and summoned a terrifying monster."
At this, Luo Chen couldn’t help but swallow hard.
"He called himself the Scorching Sun Bishop, Akenelis, and made a verbal agreement with me."
"What kind of agreement?"
"He would help me solve my immediate problem, and in return, I would have to set aside some time every day to lend him my body," Luo Chen explained.
"And you agreed?"
"Yes. The situation was critical, so I agreed without any hesitation." Luo Chen nodded with a grave expression. "Turns out, the guy was all talk. He wasn’t invincible like he claimed... But he did have some real power. He forcibly raised my Soul Beasts’ strength by four tiers..."
"Four tiers..." Han Ning looked shocked.
"Yeah! A Soul Beast that had just reached the Extraordinary tier suddenly erupted with the might of a War General or higher. For a while, my Soul Beasts were the ones helping to hold off that Flame Fire Vermilion Centipede Nia was fighting."
"But... I never imagined that this method would come at the cost of burning away their Life." Tears welled up in Luo Chen’s eyes.
A tear slid down his cheek and dripped onto his pale palm.
Han Ning fell silent, listening to Luo Chen’s sobs.
"After that monster took over my Spiritual World, he didn’t leave. Instead, he tried to become the master of my body. Of course I didn’t want to be used by him, so I kept fighting back, but his Spiritual Power was stronger than mine. I had no other choice. In a desperate, nothing-to-lose gamble, I used my ’Divine Strike’ Talent again, hoping that some other powerful being could come and defeat him."
"But then... something unforgettable happened. I felt my Spiritual Power soar infinitely, like I had entered a boundless, starry sky. A star cluster shaped like a white tiger sent a surging Power into me. It caused my Spiritual Power to increase dramatically in a short time, allowing me to suppress Akenelis."
"After that, my consciousness became a blur. It was like I had a high fever—I was completely dazed and had no idea what was happening. It wasn’t until I heard your voice that I realized what had transpired and started trying to save myself."
As he spoke, Luo Chen’s mouth fell slightly open, and he said with a dazed expression,
"Wait, Akenelis’s Spiritual Power hasn’t disappeared. I can still feel his presence. He’s hiding in my Spiritual World."
"I can see it, too." Han Ning reached out and tapped the flame-shaped mark between Luo Chen’s eyebrows.
"It seems the danger hasn’t passed. But I think I’ve thought of a way to fight him," Han Ning said thoughtfully.
Luo Chen’s brain was practically fried at this point. He asked mechanically, "What way?"
"It’s simple. You just have to strengthen your own Spiritual Power," Han Ning said with a blink.
"Ah... I guess that’s true," Luo Chen sighed.
Han Ning then asked the question he was most curious about. "One more thing. Can you remember how you communicated with the Star and borrowed the Power of Stars?"
’If they could freely master the method of absorbing Star Power, wouldn’t that be a key to strengthening one’s Spiritual Power?!’