The Nani Fashion Issue By:Kinoshita Nakui 4.8/5 Ratings 2.3 K Reads 3.6 M Words Tags Synopsis: Chapter 375: The Astonishing Changes Brought by the Breakthrough
The message sent by Shi Jingyi was short, but its content was shocking:
"When the Mind Power Upper Limit breaks through one thousand, the Mind work will activate on its own."
So that's how it is!
Guan Tong was first shocked that Shi Jingyi had already broken through the one thousand point Mind Power Upper Limit barrier, and second, shocked that the condition for the Mind work to reopen was actually related to the Mind Power Upper Limit.
Ever since humanity learned from the Nano Swarm that one way to identify parasitized forms was through the Mind work, they had been trying various methods to get it to reopen.
But no matter what they tried, the result was always failure... Who would have thought the key was here all along—its reactivation required reaching the hard threshold of a one thousand Mind Power Upper Limit.
No wonder humanity hadn't discovered it before; the threshold was simply too high!
Although various nations treated the median Mind Power Upper Limit of their Ascendants as classified data and never published it, according to some online polls and speculation, the current Mind Power Upper Limit for most ordinary Ascendants was still between 100 and 200.
Those who used the "World Number One" rule to farm a large number of Mind Power Upper Limit rewards might reach several hundred, but they were still quite a distance from one thousand.
Take Guan Tong himself as an example. In the nearly two years since becoming an Ascendant, he had maintained diligent cultivation, encountered several fortuitous opportunities along the way, and obtained chances for additional Mind Power Upper Limit boosts... Yet he was still over a dozen points short of one thousand.
For Shi Jingyi to be faster than him, even though she mastered Mind Power Flow early on, which significantly accelerated the natural growth rate of Mind Power, she must have also had her own fortuitous encounters to grow so rapidly.
After the initial shock, Guan Tong now understood why Shi Jingyi didn't convey this information over text or phone calls.
Both of them held important identities; their messages and calls could be monitored. If the monitors were on humanity's side, knowing this news wouldn't be a big deal... But if the Fire Thief Worship Cult or parasitized forms had infiltrated any monitoring departments and could quickly obtain the surveillance information, that would be troublesome.
Once the parasitized forms learned that Ascendants who broke through the one thousand point Mind Power Upper Limit could reactivate the Mind work and successfully identify them, they would undoubtedly spare no effort to eliminate any Ascendant who met the condition!
For the sake of her and Guan Tong's personal safety, Shi Jingyi had to act cautiously.
After a few seconds of shock and rapid contemplation, Guan Tong replied: "You might be the first Ascendant in the world to break through a one thousand Mind Power Upper Limit. It's best not to tell others for now."
Shi Jingyi: "I know. But telling you is fine. If I'm not mistaken, you're almost there too, right?"
Guan Tong: "Yeah, I'm still over a dozen points short. I should reach it by March. I didn't expect you to be so fast."
Shi Jingyi: "I recently developed a new cultivation method that stimulates accelerated Mind Power growth. It's been a big help."
Guan Tong: "Teach me!"
Shi Jingyi: "Okay. When are you coming?"
Guan Tong: "I'll return to Beixing after finishing things here in the Xisiya Empire. I'll hurry. By the way, besides the Mind work, are there any other changes after breaking through one thousand?"
He had been wondering for a long time if there would be new changes after the Mind Power Upper Limit broke through one thousand.
Now that Shi Jingyi was a step ahead, he didn't mind getting a spoiler in this regard. It was better to know in advance and be prepared.
Shi Jingyi: "Besides the Mind work, the natural growth speed of Mind Power has increased again. Also, I can feel my body has undergone a leap in comprehensive improvement. The magnitude is huge; saying it feels like being reborn isn't an exaggeration."
Guan Tong: "As expected... I suspected this kind of effect before. Even someone like you, a martial arts expert who has trained since childhood, feels reborn. The feeling for others who break through must be even more intense!"
Shi Jingyi: "It seems you're getting a bit impatient."
Guan Tong: "Of course."
Shi Jingyi: "Oh, right. After breaking through one thousand, the Overall Biometric Rating on the Terminal panel will also change. From 'Outstanding' to 'Perfect'."
Perfect?
Seeing this word, Guan Tong felt a slight shock in his heart.
For humans, "perfect" was almost the highest possible evaluation.
Did achieving this rating level mean a human had reached their limit? Was this also why Shi Jingyi felt a "reborn" sensation?
Guan Tong: "Just reading your message, I still can't comprehend what that feeling is like. It seems I'll have to wait until I break through myself to truly understand."
Shi Jingyi: "Mm. Guan Tong, I have a question for you."
Guan Tong: "What is it?"
Shi Jingyi: "I don't know if I'm the first Ascendant to break through one thousand points. Even if I'm not, those who have completed the breakthrough must be extremely few. Do you think I should contact the Countermeasures Research Office these days and try to use the Mind work to help identify parasitized forms? I want your opinion."
Seeing Shi Jingyi's message, Guan Tong fell silent for a moment.
Logically, she should do it, but he always felt the risk was too high.
The Countermeasures Research Office wasn't an imperable fortress; incidents had happened before, so there was no guarantee information wouldn't leak. If many Ascendants had broken through, it might not matter, but currently, Shi Jingyi was the only known one...
If her information leaked, she would undoubtedly become a thorn in the side of all parasitized forms and groups hostile to humanity. These entities would frantically target her, trying to kill her.
By then, no matter how strong her individual combat power was, facing enemies numbering hundreds or thousands of times her own, both overt and covert, she would be overwhelmed.
Perhaps the Countermeasures Research Office would provide her protection and have her live inside a base. But in that case, she could no longer enjoy her relatively free life of teaching at the academy during scheduled classes and cultivating on her own during free time...
Perhaps driven by selfishness, Guan Tong hesitated for a moment before replying: "Don't do it for now. I know you want to help, but your strength alone is limited, and you're too easy to target... Wait until I complete my breakthrough and return to Beixing. Then we can discuss what to do."
Compared to his slight hesitation, Shi Jingyi was much more straightforward, quickly replying: "Okay, that's settled then."
Shi Jingyi: "Because the breakthrough happened not long ago, there might be other changes that haven't manifested yet. If I discover anything new in the coming days, I'll contact you again."
Shi Jingyi: "One more thing. The academy distributed last year's full-year teaching rewards to the lecturers this month. It's quite a lot. Let me return the Ascension Coins I owe you."
Guan Tong: "...Save it. The value of the intelligence you've told me is at least ten times more than what I lent you. I should be paying you coins instead."
He wasn't just being polite. Just the single piece of information about the Mind work's reactivation condition, if Shi Jingyi chose to sell it, could easily fetch a price in the millions.
Shi Jingyi: "Haha, alright then. I'm off to cultivate."
Guan Tong: "Mm."
After learning the key information from Shi Jingyi, it had to be said that Guan Tong's desire to break through was now surging.
He wanted to experience whether the reactivated Mind work was different from the one during the previous rules. He wanted even more to experience what the "reborn" comprehensive physical enhancement felt like.
But he knew impatience was useless. No matter how eager he was, he still had to improve step by step.
"Hah..."
He took a deep breath and exhaled, suppressing the restless stirrings in his heart and pulling his attention back to the matters at hand.
...
Inside a private room at the Night Ankang club, Valeri was gathered with several others.
These individuals were the key figures he mentioned who controlled the three major domains of "military, politics, and finance" in Xisiya. Combined with him, the Director of the Security Bureau, representing "intelligence," they formed a powerful and complex interest group.
At the moment, the men held glasses filled with champagne, intoxicated by the anticipation of imminent success.
"Once Sigaochin dies, those who still think Yelanka can hold her position will no longer waver and will only side with us. That way, with no one left under her command, she'll have no choice but to obediently become a mascot. The real power will be firmly in our hands."
After Valeri finished speaking, the others laughed heartily. Only one person brought up a point: "Others aren't a concern, but I'm worried Guttmann might make a move."
"Guttmann? Hmph, he lost all his influence after stepping down as Administrator. Besides, after that waste Lijeka died, he stopped appearing in public altogether. He's a spent force, nothing to worry about."
"Exactly. Now we just wait for the news."
"Valeri, after the job is done, are you really planning to let 'Shadow,' a foreigner, join us?"
"Of course not." Valeri shook his head. "Have you ever seen anyone hang a dirty mop used to clean the floor on a rack? Once he finishes the dirty work, we just kick him aside."
"Kick him aside? What if he holds a grudge..."
"By then, I'll handle him. You all just relax and enjoy yourselves."
While they were talking, the pervasive Shadow had already infiltrated the club.
Remotely controlling it, Guan Tong discovered that a few rooms in the club were protected by Mind Power barriers. He estimated these were places where important figures like Valeri often stayed. These insatiably greedy individuals were naturally much more afraid of death than ordinary people.
But their lucky break was that Guan Tong wasn't here to kill them today. Otherwise, even several more layers of barriers wouldn't stop him.
Shadow didn't raise any alarm. It exhaustively searched all rooms in the club except those protected by barriers and finally found the surveillance room on the underground second floor.
An entire large wall here was covered with monitoring screens, clearly showing every room in the club. Some of the footage was downright indecent.
The several surveillance personnel stationed here seemed long accustomed to it, barely glancing at the screens as they attended to their own tasks.
Guan Tong didn't waste time either. Just like when he infiltrated the Qingmei Society's Yongzhou base, he manipulated several hair-thin shadow lines to silently climb onto the bodies of the surveillance personnel, then suddenly tightened around their necks.
"Ghk!!!"
The men instantly couldn't breathe. One of them raised a hand to slap the alarm button on the desk, but before his palm could land, it was entangled by shadow lines and immobilized.
Soon, the men lost consciousness from suffocation. Guan Tong used Body Swap to enter, then accessed the data stored on several computer drives.
He didn't just want the footage from the day Valeri spoke with him; he wanted other saved recordings as well. The subjects in these recordings included a large number of influential individuals within Xisiya.
Undoubtedly, these recordings were one of the methods Valeri's group used to control the many people connected to the military, political, financial, and intelligence domains.
First, they established this exclusive, invitation-only club. Then, they used its debauchery to corrupt their targets. Finally, they combined it with the recorded footage to exert both carrot-and-stick control over the targets, making them obediently follow orders.
If someone refused, Valeri, using his position as Security Bureau Director, would collaborate with the fabricated evidence of crimes to attack the target both overtly and covertly, forcing them to comply.
However, these recordings, which served as weapons in the hands of Valeri and his group, could equally serve as weapons in Yelanka's hands. Not only could they be used offensively, but they could also provide a reasonable explanation and justification to the people of Xisiya.
Author's Note
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