Chapter 477: Evolution

So across the entire battlefield, almost no Wushi below Level 6 from Plane Nuolun Workshop could be seen.

Because all mid- and low-level Wushi had retreated inside the fortress, rotating as power sources for the cannons.

And Gao Jie Ming…

"Fire."

The instant the cannon was fully charged, he gave the order.

Tower Three shuddered.

A pure white beam, five meters in diameter, tore through the air, crossing over a thousand kilometers at nearly light speed, striking precisely at the center of the beetle swarm.

The white light exploded into a purification field three kilometers in diameter.

Within the field, three thousand Level 4 beetles, along with the several Level 5 Wushi commanding them, vaporized instantly.

Only a smooth-edged lava crater remained on the ground.

Almost at the same moment the beam left the barrel, Gao Jie Ming grunted, his face turning pale in an instant.

A needle-like pain stabbed his brain; his consciousness began to scatter, all strength in his body drained away as if snatched in an instant.

This was the feeling of spiritual exhaustion.

A normal Wushi, after one such burst, needed at least one to two minutes to regain mobility.

Hence, many Wushi on surrounding towers were dragged off their consoles by waiting comrades immediately after firing, moved to rest zones behind them.

But Gao Jie Ming did not.

His left hand, already prepared, snatched up a crystal vial of potion beside the console, his thumb popped the stopper, and he swallowed the thick, deep-blue liquid in one gulp.

【Sacred Soul Echo Elixir】, Level 6 potion, restores a Level 5 Wushi 's full spiritual power within thirty seconds, market price three thousand low-tier military merits per vial.

Side effect: consecutive use causes soul fatigue and mental dullness; typically no more than three vials per battle.

The instant the potion entered his throat, Gao Jie Ming's 【Body Forging Art】 activated automatically.

His digestive system broke down the potion's potency with efficiency far beyond normal, absorbing and converting its internal energy.

Pure potion energy surged into his brain, nourishing his parched spiritual sea.

Simultaneously, 【Qi Refining Art】 stirred quietly into motion.

Essence, Qi, and Spirit—the Three Treasures—interconnected.

The body's "essence" transformed into nourishing "Qi," which then transformed into restoring "Spirit."

Three seconds.

Only three seconds, Gao Jie Ming opened his eyes.

The fatigue deep within his pupils vanished, replaced by renewed, sharp radiance.

Without hesitation, he unleashed his power again, spiritual sense extending like tentacles to reconnect with Tower Three.

Five seconds later, fully charged.

"Fire."

A second beam blasted toward another gathering group of enemy cannon fodder.

This time, Gao Jie Ming sensed something different.

The cycle of spiritual exhaustion and recovery felt like a "forging" of his spiritual sea.

Previously, full recovery took three seconds; now, it took only 2.8 seconds.

Moreover, the total amount of recovered spiritual power seemed… slightly increased.

The adaptive evolution of 【Body Forging Art】 was at work.

It not only strengthened his body, but also his soul, and even enhanced Gao Jie Ming's adaptability to the process of "consumption and recovery," as well as resistance to potion side effects.

A flash of light passed through Gao Jie Ming's eyes.

He did not pause, continuing to reconnect with the tower.

Fire.

Exhaustion.

Drink.

Recover.

Reconnect.

Fire.

The entire process flowed like water, with not a single hesitation.

At first, he needed an eight-second interval between each shot.

Five seconds were for the tower's charging; three seconds were his own recovery and switching time.

But with each cycle, this interval shortened.

Seven seconds.

Six point five seconds.

Six seconds.

By the fifteenth shot, the interval had compressed to 5.2 seconds—nearly matching the tower's own charging time.

This meant that, provided energy supply kept up, Gao Jie Ming alone could sustain a super-heavy elemental decomposition cannon firing at nearly its theoretical maximum rate.

Inside the control room, other Wushi rotating to operate the towers gradually noticed the anomaly at Station 09.

At first, they merely thought Station 09 fired slightly more frequently than others.

But soon, they realized it wasn't "slightly faster."

It was absurdly fast.

"Hey… how many shots has Station 09 fired?"

"Twenty-first. And look at the timing record… only 5.1 seconds between the last and this one."

"5.1 seconds?! How is that possible?! Charging takes five seconds—does he not need to recover his spiritual power?!"

"He's drinking potions—I see a row of empty 【Sacred Soul Echo】 bottles on his table… but even with potions, absorption takes time! A normal Level 5 Wushi needs at least ten seconds to regain mobility after one 【Sacred Soul Echo】, and thirty seconds for full spiritual recovery!"

"And have you noticed… Station 09's spiritual power fluctuation is growing stronger."

Whispered murmurs spread through the control room.

Every Wushi, regardless of rank, couldn't help stealing glances at Station 09.

They saw the gray-robed Wushi sitting before the console, eyes closed, expression calm, sweat beading on his brow and instantly evaporating.

They saw Gao Jie Ming, after each shot, briefly weaken—his face paled, his breath hitched.

But the next second, he grabbed a potion, swallowed it, and almost without pause reconnected to the next tower.

The entire process moved so fast it looked like magic.

"Monster…"

A Level 4 Wushi, just finished firing with a companion and now slumped in his chair, pale and gasping, muttered involuntarily.

His companion, a Level 5 peak elder Wushi, shook his head with a bitter smile.

"Not a monster. A true genius… no, a monster among geniuses. Did you notice his potion-drinking speed? 【Sacred Soul Echo】 is viscous—it normally takes at least two seconds to swallow. But he gulped it down like it vanished the moment it touched his lips—his body has been modified, his digestion and absorption astonishingly fast."

"But my body's been modified too…"

One Wushi muttered unconsciously, then lowered his head under the stares of others as if he'd spoken like an idiot.

Of course—everyone here had modified their body.

Energy absorption rate was always a top priority; no one could afford to ignore it.

Yet this monster—or genius—still far surpassed everyone else in absorption speed!

"And have you sensed his spiritual power… hasn't it increased since the beginning?"

At the elder's reminder, the other Wushi carefully probed.

Then, every face changed.

It was true.

The spiritual power radiating from Station 09 was visibly strengthening.

According to standard spiritual power benchmarks, it had risen from initial Level 5 low-tier to solidly Level 5 mid-tier, and continued climbing slowly but steadily.

"Is he using this… to cultivate?"

"Cultivating while fighting?! What nonsense!"

Shock, envy, disbelief—emotions intertwined in the control room.

But Gao Jie Ming noticed none of it.

Or rather, he noticed—but didn't care.

His entire focus was immersed in a peculiar "rhythm."

Fire. Exhaustion. Recover. Fire again.

Each cycle expanded his spiritual sea slightly, refined his control over spiritual power a fraction, deepened his understanding of the tower system one layer further.

By the thirtieth shot, he found he could afford to "divert" a little attention.

While operating the tower's charging, aiming, and firing, he could spare a sliver of awareness to observe the battlefield's overall situation.

This allowed him to "see" the current battlefield status.

Overall, Plane Nuolun Workshop… was slightly gaining the upper hand?

Above, in the high-level battlefield, though Clarke's instructor had added over a million Level 7 shadow creatures and ten thousand Level 8 shadow lords, the Chaos Cult and Tower of Annihilation's extra hundred-plus Level 7 Wushi and two thousand Level 6 Wushi were no pushovers.

The high-level cannon fodder they unleashed outnumbered and slightly surpassed Clarke's shadow legion in both quantity and average rank.

The high-grade cannon fodder creatures they unleashed were slightly higher in both number and average level than Clark's Shadow Legion.

But Clark's shadow cannon fodder were of exceptionally high quality.

At the same seventh-rank level, shadow drakes possessed far greater tactical flexibility and survivability than their opponents, with combat power at least one and a half times that of each individual enemy.

And those tens of thousands of eighth-rank shadow lords became the "anchors of the battlefield."

Though facing the same high-rank units, wherever they went, vast swathes of enemy cannon fodder were mowed down like wheat.

As a result, the Chaos Cult and the Tower of Oblivion were forced to continuously deploy other high-rank cannon fodder to concentrate forces and contain and suppress those shadow lords—this in turn greatly relieved pressure on the other cannon fodder legions of the Plane Nuolun Workshop.

And what held Gao Jie Ming's gaze most tightly was the higher battlefield, the domain of the "High-Rank Wizards."

About one hundred kilometers above the ground.

The combat here was utterly different from the cannon fodder war below.

Because the medium for sound transmission was nearly nonexistent, there was no deafening roar as below.

Only silent elemental collisions—and one-sided suppression.

Clark hovered in the void.

Still clad in a simple black robe, his hands hung naturally at his sides, his face expressionless.

He hadn't even drawn his staff.

Around him, in every direction, were over one hundred and thirty seventh-rank wizards and over two thousand sixth-rank wizards.

They surrounded Clark like a swarm, each radiating terrifying energy fluctuations, their magical artifacts at minimum seventh-rank, some even emitting the unique law-glow of eighth-rank creations.

In fact, many among them were elite units specially detached from the Chaos Cult and Tower of Oblivion alliance, assigned to "decapitate" one of Plane Nuolun Workshop's top combatants.

Their mission was simple: at all costs, kill or cripple Clark.

After all, they had gathered complete intelligence on Plane Nuolun Workshop's new generation of geniuses—there was no way they'd overlook a glaring "genius" like Clark.

(Bonus chapter—still one more to come.)

(End of chapter)