Banzhen City, inside the Wordless Book shelter.
Guan Tong sat cross-legged on the second-floor floor, the semi-solid, semi-illusory Shadow sitting across from him, while Coal Ball lay not far away napping.
After setting up the three channels, he hadn't run around anymore. Instead, he stayed alone in the shelter, improving himself while studying the prophecy paintings Moon Key had given him.
He'd been very busy recently, rushing around constantly, leaving him little time to calm down and cultivate in peace.
He felt that perhaps this was why his opportunities were greater than Shi Jingyi's, yet she had long matched him in Mind Power upper limit, or even edged him out. It was because he wasn't pure enough.
Take Shi Jingyi's secluded meditation to obtain Authority earlier, for instance. She only needed to sit cross-legged for a few seconds before entering a deep meditative trance. It was breathtaking to witness.
He couldn't do that himself. His mind held too many thoughts, and there was a constant accumulation of pressure.
Still, he didn't force himself to reach the same state of absolute detachment from external matters that Shi Jingyi achieved. Everyone had their own talents. Rather than envying others, it was better to develop his own strengths.
Guan Tong believed his strength lay in the control-and-defense combat system built around the Shadow as its core.
This system, combined with his vast reserve Mind Power, had carried him through nearly every situation unscathed.
But enemies wouldn't just sit and wait for death. They would develop targeted tactics against his abilities.
The Suroma squad he'd encountered earlier at Shi Jingyi's home had stayed on Guan Tong's mind ever since.
"The armor those three wore could resist Shadow's ethereal intrusion... If Bruce can mass-produce and equip them on modified bodies or war mechs, it'll be very troublesome for you."
Guan Tong thought to himself, those armors all looked identical, which proved that what defended against his Mind Power intrusion wasn't items produced by the Terminal, but technology independently developed by Suroma.
There was no essential difference between the seven of them.
Terminal-produced items had no reproducibility, and once an item was used up, it was gone.
But independently developed technology, as long as resources and time were sufficient, could be mass-produced endlessly.
"The enemy is upgrading their equipment. I can't afford to rest on my laurels either."
Guan Tong looked at the Shadow, thinking about how to further enhance its abilities.
He had already given up on trying to make the Shadow split into multiple independent entities, accepting the underlying logic that "the Shadow cannot be divided once formed."
His development direction now focused on enhancing the Shadow's flexibility.
Previously, with the Shadow's elasticity, he could achieve an alternative form of flight like "bounce-launching off the ground."
But that flight method made balance difficult to maintain in the air, and the movement was relatively crude.
It was fine for traveling, but if used in combat, it would lack agility and might fail at critical moments. So it could only serve as a transitional measure.
This time, he decided to borrow from a former opponent's flying method instead.
"Let's give it a try."
He stood up, and the Shadow opposite him immediately gathered onto his body, forming the Shadow Battle Suit.
But this battle suit was different from usual. With a "whoosh," eight pairs of wings formed from shadow spread out from his back.
These eight pairs of wings looked slender and lightweight, extending about one meter when fully spread. Visually, they weren't as exaggerated as Lucifer's Fallen Angel Wings.
But Guan Tong's goal wasn't visual effect; it was practicality. He could easily manipulate the Shadow to form wings several times his body length, but that would have no practical meaning.
"Rise."
With a thought from Guan Tong, the three pairs of wings he called "Shadow Wings" flapped rapidly in unison, the resulting airflow instantly lifting his feet off the ground as his body floated up weightlessly.
Shadow Wings had many differences from feathered wings, but the most important distinction was the speed difference brought by the difference in materials.
No matter how fast a bird's feathered wings flapped, they were ultimately composed of flesh, blood, and bone, which limited them by material constraints and created a speed ceiling.
Shadow Wings were different. If the Shadow's speed was pushed to the max, it could reach speeds the naked eye couldn't possibly track.
This meant that when the three pairs of Shadow Wings behind Guan Tong flapped at extreme speed, the airflow generated was absolutely terrifying.
Guan Tong had been manipulating the Shadow for nearly three years now. The Shadow was practically a part of his body, more obedient than his own hands and feet.
With a single thought, he could control the flapping speed of the Shadow Wings. Slightly accelerating, and his body shot forward rapidly. Decelerating, and his body hovered motionless in midair.
"I didn't expect to naturally achieve the effect I wanted... No, that's not right. It's because I entered the 'Awakened' stage that I can adapt to this state!"
Before "Awakening," Guan Tong couldn't fully control his own body, so when floating in the air, he couldn't maintain the same stability as when standing on solid ground.
This was humanity's underlying code for fear of heights. Never mind flying, even just standing at a high place would make the body feel distinctly off. There would be physiological effects caused by hormonal changes, like the urge to jump when looking down.
But after Awakening, when Ascendants could perfectly control their bodies, they could eliminate this weakness.
Only when achieving this could mastering the power of flight become natural and effortless.
Realizing this, Guan Tong focused his mind. The three pairs of Shadow Wings flapped at extreme speed, unleashing a massive burst of airflow behind him that propelled his body shooting out through the window!
"Whoosh—"
Within a single breath, he had flown a great distance, continuously adjusting his movements with his thoughts. Spinning, stopping midair, ascending, diving!
"So this is what free flight feels like. It's absolutely exhilarating!"
Guan Tong was overjoyed, feeling at this moment like a bird, utterly free.
Every human being yearned to fly. That was why, whether in the world he'd crossed over from or the world he was in now, fantasy creative works never lacked the element of flight.
Now that Guan Tong had realized this dream, he felt, for the first time, that the Fire Thief's arrival wasn't entirely a bad thing.
Faster, faster, even faster!
He concentrated, continuously accelerating.
If anyone had seen the Shadow Wings behind him at that moment, they would have been utterly astonished.
Because the Shadow Wings flapped so fast that unless one possessed extremely powerful dynamic vision, all they would see with the naked eye was afterimages.
What this translated to was Guan Tong shooting through the sky at high altitude like a fighter jet, producing a series of "boom boom boom" sonic boom shockwaves.
His speed had surpassed the speed of sound. At this velocity, the air itself became like a solid concrete wall.
If an ordinary person were unprotected at this speed, their skin would tear apart instantly, their eyeballs would be sucked out of their sockets, and the instantaneous G-force alone would rupture their internal organs.
But Guan Tong's body had been tempered numerous times, and combined with the Shadow Battle Suit covering his entire body, he could withstand the pressure at this speed.
"Hahaha, this is amazing!"
Guan Tong flew at supersonic speed through the clouds for a while, then hovered in midair, looking down at the earth below. A strange feeling welled up within him.
I've already surpassed humanity, haven't I?
As this thought surfaced, Guan Tong felt a slight shock inwardly.
This was the first time such a thought had crossed his mind.
In the past, even when others called him "World's Number One Ascendant," he never felt he was fundamentally different from other humans.
But now, having mastered the power of flight, he had naturally developed this sense of "surpassing humanity," which put him on alert.
He couldn't allow this kind of thinking to spread. Otherwise, it would cause huge problems in the future...
Guan Tong didn't think he was making a mountain out of a molehill, because he had seen too many people who believed themselves above ordinary mortals and subsequently committed a series of insane acts.
People like the Qingmei Society members back then, Lucifer, Bruce, Your Holiness Paul, Han Qiu... These people all undoubtedly considered themselves special, treating others as resources and pawns to be manipulated at will.
Guan Tong didn't want to become someone like that. And he was well aware that if he did become such a person, the destruction he could wreak on human society might very well be even worse than what they had done.
"If it's not necessary for combat or travel, I should try to use the Shadow Wings as little as possible in daily life. If I get used to flying and become too lazy to walk anymore, then..."
As Guan Tong thought this, he suddenly realized something and opened his panel to take a look.
Sure enough, this brief period of flight had consumed several thousand points of his Mind Power!
Normally, the Shadow's Mind Power consumption shouldn't be this high, but clearly, when part of it transformed into Shadow Wings and flapped at extreme speed, the consumption far exceeded normal activity.
He flew back to the shelter. As his feet touched the ground, the Shadow Wings automatically retracted and merged into the battle suit, then the suit phased back into the inner layer of his clothes before materializing again.
This was a new mode he'd recently started using. In its normal state, the Shadow Battle Suit was hidden within his clothing layer. During combat, it would cover his body externally.
This way, he could instantly enter combat mode whenever needed, which was more efficient than summoning it on the spot.
"What should I do next?"
Having mastered flight, Guan Tong was in a great mood. He even considered flying to Pinglu to find Shi Jingyi and take her on a flight around, letting her experience the feeling too.
But on second thought, he dropped the idea. Shi Jingyi had just become Dean not long ago. These past few days, she was busy familiarizing herself with the work duties of her new position. It was better not to disturb her.
Besides, the new Rule would be announced in three days. It would be more productive to make some preparations of his own.
Thinking this, Guan Tong sat down at the computer, opened Ascendant Home, and cleared up his messages.
"Hmm? This is..."
He saw a private message on Shadow's account. The sender's nickname was a string of randomly typed letters, and the content was related to Suroma.
"Shadow God, hello! I'm the leader of the Eastern Suroma Resistance. We've been pushed to the brink by that bastard Bruce and fled to the Manjia Mountains. We hope to get your help.
They say the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Since Bruce is our common enemy, that makes us friends, right? Friends in trouble should help each other out!
Our resistance force has over seven thousand people, including more than a thousand Ascendants. If you're willing to help us, we're willing to do things for you in return! Also, we captured one of Bruce's spies, which you might be interested in?
Anyway, if Shadow God you're not willing to help, we'll probably be wiped out by that bastard Bruce soon. Damn, I really don't want to say this, but we have no other choice. Everyone else is useless, so now we can only count on you!
If you're willing to help, reply to my private message, and I'll send you our exact location!"