Chapter 188

"Memory..." Luo En muttered to himself, his eyes flashing with surprise.

This additional characteristic made the Flowing Barrier no longer a passive defensive tool, but a protection system capable of self-learning and evolution.

As the number of uses increases, the barrier will become increasingly difficult to break through, especially when facing repeated attacks of the same type.

"Dai'er, one more time!"

Luo En let the other party continue the attack: "Use the same attack as just now!"

Although the little Sea Sea Siren was somewhat puzzled, she still did as told.

When the second identical giant water spear struck the barrier, Luo En deliberately did not perform any extra reinforcement, only maintaining the basic mental power input.

To everyone's surprise, the barrier easily resisted the attack, and this time there was almost no energy fluctuation, as if it had been prepared long ago.

"You have already... mastered this advanced spell completely?"

Lilia looked at this scene in disbelief, her voice filled with admiration.

"Not only that." Luo En explained:

"Its defensive effect is even more powerful than I imagined; the intensity of Dai'er's attack just now is already comparable to the signature spells of high-level apprentices."

He began to think about more possibilities for this ability:

If the barrier were to come into contact with various different types of attacks—physical impact, fire burning, frost freezing...

Could it gradually form an all-around defensive system?

"Lilia, help me prepare some test devices." Luo En turned to the young girl, his eyes flashing with excitement:

"I need to test the limits of this memory ability."

In the days that followed, Luo En invested himself in the in-depth research of the Flowing Barrier.

He designed a series of tests, letting the barrier face various types of attacks—Dai'er's water-element attacks, the plant whipping controlled by Lady Lady Ailan, and even elemental impacts simulated using alchemy devices.

Every test confirmed the power of fluid memory—the barrier could indeed "learn" and adapt to various attack patterns, becoming increasingly difficult to break through.

Even more surprisingly, this memory ability seemed to have a certain degree of generalization.

For example, after "learning" how to deal with Dai'er's water arrows, the barrier also showed better resistance to other types of sharp projectiles, although not as perfect as against the specific attacks it had learned.

"This is almost like possessing some kind of primitive intelligence..."

Luo En silently felt its specific flow, watching the barrier automatically adjust its structure again to deal with a new round of attacks.

During the research process, Luo En also discovered another astonishing characteristic of the Flowing Barrier:

It could easily deform according to the user's intent, forming various complex geometric structures.

This shaping ability not only helped to enhance the defensive effect but also endowed the barrier with more tactical uses.

In a simulated battle, Luo En successfully used the Flowing Barrier to capture a fast-moving target—a cluster of vines controlled by Lady Lady Ailan.

The barrier deformed at an astonishing speed, rapidly changing from a flat shield into a closed spherical cage, completely wrapping the vines inside.

"In the Bloodline Altar, the value of this ability is immeasurable."

Luo En concluded, looking at the special composite powder in his hand:

His latest masterpiece, carefully formulated from various different materials, could form an extremely balanced multi-functional barrier.

"Not only can it defend against various physical and elemental attacks, but it can also resist a certain degree of mental interference."

Luo En muttered to himself: "If combined with the 'Sonic Oscillation Erosion State' I researched..."

A complete combat system gradually took shape in his mind:

The Flowing Barrier provides all-around protection, the Sonic Oscillation Erosion State is responsible for long-range attacks, and the Ring of Radiance serves as a means of both offense and defense for medium-to-close range.

The three spells cooperate with each other, forming a combination with almost no obvious weaknesses.

Coupled with his own knight strength and the powerful explosive power after boiling blood...

"Better practice more; after all, it's hard to say what I'll encounter when I go in."

………………

Luo En sat in the center of the laboratory, the soul steel in front of him flickering with a cold silver light under the magic crystal lamp.

He had attempted to "activate" the soul steel countless times, yet had always failed to break through the final bottleneck.

Every time his mental power penetrated deep into the metal, attempting to awaken some "life characteristic," the soul steel would always revert to its ordinary metal state before the critical point, as if missing some key catalyst.

"Another failure..."

Luo En rubbed his temples, his eyes dry and exhausted from long-term focus.

He picked up his notebook and flipped through the data from his recent experiments.

Every parameter adjustment, energy injection path, and vibration frequency of each attempt was recorded meticulously.

But no matter how he adjusted, the result was always similar—the soul steel could accept a mental imprint but could not truly become "active."

"Master, still worrying about that stubborn metal?"

Dai'er's silver-bell-like voice came from the doorway.

The little Sea Sea Siren leaned against the door frame, her large purple-blue eyes sparkling with a playful light.

Ever since her body had been growing and developing, she had shed the shyness she had when she first arrived, becoming increasingly lively and cheerful.

"I brought a cup of hot tea; Sister Lilia said you've been working for ten hours straight."

Only then did Luo En realize that the dawn sunlight had already shone into the laboratory through the window; he didn't know when, but an entire night had passed quietly.

"Thank you, Dai'er." Luo En took the teacup and took a light sip, feeling the warm liquid soothe the dryness in his throat:

"How was your training today?"

"Super smooth!"

Dai'er jumped up excitedly, her long silver hair fluttering gently with the movement: "I can already completely control the deformation of my body surface! Look!"

She raised her small hand, and the webbing between her fingers disappeared without a trace in the blink of an eye, her skin becoming indistinguishable from an ordinary human's.

Then, with a light thought, her fingers immediately recovered the semi-transparent webbing characteristic of a Sea Sea Siren.

"And this!"

Dai'er proudly raised her chin and waved her hand lightly; the water molecules in the air quickly condensed, forming an exquisite ice crystal short sword: "A new skill I mastered just yesterday!"

"Great progress."

Luo En praised with a smile, patting her head gently, "At this rate, maybe one day you'll be able to defeat me."

"That's not necessarily true!"

Dai'er pouted: "Master's spells are too weird; I was dizzy and confused by that Sonic Oscillation on the training ground last time."

Mentioning spells, Luo En couldn't help but frown.

His Sonic Oscillation Erosion State was indeed terrifyingly powerful, but it also had the problem of being difficult to control.

In the upcoming Bloodline Altar trial, how to balance power and control was a question that needed deep thought.

"By the way, Master, Mother Lady Lady Ailan has something to see you about."

Dai'er suddenly remembered something: "It seems to be about those newly planted herbs in the courtyard..."

"Oh?" Luo En put down the teacup: "What's the problem?"

"Not a problem, it seems those herbs..."

Dai'er scratched her head: "Mother Lady Lady Ailan said their growth state is very special and wants you to take a look."

Luo En followed Dai'er to the backyard.

Recently, the courtyard had been transformed by Lady Lady Ailan into a herb garden, where various rare medicinal materials were growing vigorously under her careful care.

Lady Lady Ailan stood by a patch of glowing grass, a rare excitement on her face.

"Master, you've come just in time."

The tree spirit turned around and said with a smile: "This batch of Sun-Day Grass has shown a very special mutation."

Luo En squatted down and observed the herbs carefully.

Their leaves presented an unusual golden-red luster, and the stems were much thicker than ordinary Sun-Day Grass.

"This is..." Luo En reached out to touch one of them and immediately felt a warm energy coming from his fingertips: "A mutant strain?"

"Not only that." Lady Lady Ailan gently stroked the grass stem, her voice carrying a hint of mystery:

"They seem to have a resonance reaction to your Erosion Movement. I discovered that every time Master practices that spell on the training ground, these grasses become more active."

Luo En raised an eyebrow; this discovery surprised him greatly.

As a terrifying pollution originating from the starry sky, the Erosion Movement should logically be harmful to plant life.

But these Sun-Day Grasses were doing the opposite, actually gaining some kind of enhancement from it?

"Perhaps... it's because Master's spell has a transformative characteristic, rather than being purely destructive?" Lady Lady Ailan tentatively offered a guess.

Luo En fell into deep thought.

Indeed, pollution is sometimes not just destruction, but a deeper level of "reorganization":

It does not simply destroy the physical structure of the target, but to a certain extent changes the target's "way of existence."

"I need to study this phenomenon."

Luo En said softly, carefully picking a few mutant Sun-Day Grasses: "This might be useful for my current research project."

Returning to the laboratory, Luo En immediately conducted a detailed analysis of these mutant plants.

Through his "Extraordinary Identification" ability, he discovered that the cell structure of these plants had undergone subtle changes, forming a more active energy circulation system.

"Interesting... these cells seem to have mutated to possess some kind of 'self-adaptability,' capable of absorbing and transforming external energy."

Luo En looked thoughtfully at the cell samples under the microscope, and a bold idea suddenly formed in his mind:

If plant cells could adapt to and utilize erosive energy, then were there other substances that also possessed this characteristic, perhaps to an even higher degree?

His thoughts raced, searching for all possible clues in his mind. Suddenly, a familiar term jumped into his mind—Deformation Resin.

The "Abyssal Creature Compendium" had mentioned that this special substance from the fourth layer of the Abyss possessed extremely high plasticity and adaptability, capable of fusing the characteristics of different organisms to form a new whole.

Wasn't this the key attribute needed for the "Crucible Concept"?

He fell into deep thought, having realized something.

Through his previous analysis of the substitute puppet using "Extraordinary Identification," the characteristic it possessed of being able to absorb and assimilate the characteristics of abyssal creatures was because the puppet contained deformation resin...

"Central Land... Crystal Spire..." Luo En's gaze became profound:

"There should be richer data and samples of abyssal substances there; after the Bloodline Altar, I must find a way to break through to Wizard as soon as possible and then head there."

"Those abyssal substances mentioned in the 'Abyssal Creature Compendium'... deformation resin is just one of them."

Luo En flipped through his notes, his eyes shining brightly:

"Blood crystals, black sand essence, time amber... each has unimaginable potential. If I could collect and master these substances..."

The idea of going to the Central Land, coming into contact with more abyssal knowledge, and acquiring various abyssal substances and secret treasures was no longer a distant plan, but an urgent need.

Every day of research proved that these abyssal substances had an irreplaceable value for transcending conventional limits and stepping into a higher realm.

"Teacher, lunch is ready!" Lilia's voice came from outside the door, interrupting Luo En's deep thought.

"Understood, coming right now." Luo En replied, carefully putting away the substitute puppet and the mutant Sun-Day Grass, and stood up to walk toward the dining room.

In the dining room, Dai'er was already sitting at the table, unable to wait, her small hands tapping restlessly on the table.

Lady Lady Ailan was helping Lilia set the table on the side; although she couldn't eat normally and only needed sunlight and water replenishment, she always accompanied everyone.

"What's the main course today?" Luo En pulled out a chair and sat down, shaking out his napkin.

"That silver-eyed fish Dai'er caught; I marinated it using the new type of herbs you researched a few days ago."

Lilia answered with a smile, placing a plate of fish that looked, smelled, and tasted delicious on the table:

"And soup stewed with the ecological vegetables Mother Lady Lady Ailan planted and the fungi she cultivated."

"I caught it myself!" Dai'er proudly announced: "It weighed a full four pounds!"

"Truly amazing." Luo En praised with a smile, gently stroking the little Sea Sea Siren's silver hair:

"It seems I don't have to worry about food problems in the future."

"Of course, Master can focus on researching those weird spells, and leave the rest to us!" Dai'er patted her chest confidently.

"Speaking of research..." Lilia asked cautiously: "Teacher, has there been any progress in your research?"

Luo En sighed lightly:

"Still missing the most critical step; I need some kind of 'active' factor to turn my creation into a semi-living being, and ordinary materials clearly cannot meet this requirement."

For a time, the dining table fell into silence; he had unknowingly become a conversation ender.

After eating hastily, Luo En hurried to prepare to throw himself back into endless experiments and research.

"Master, you need to rest."

Lady Lady Ailan suddenly stopped him and handed him a cup of herbal tea with concern: "You have been working for three days straight."

The vines under her dress lifted a bronze mirror, and the mirror reflected the heavy eye bags and haggard look of the young man.

Only then did Luo En feel the exhaustion sweeping over him, and he could only nod and say:

"You're right, it's indeed time to rest for a while."

(End of chapter)