Meteor Fall Master in the 'Starry Abyss'
Chapter 233 - 054. New Awakening

Chapter 233: 054. New Awakening

After a whole night of arresting people, interrogation, and negotiation, Li Aozi once again experienced the excellent matching mechanism of the Frost Plated Region.

In the Grante Republic, with a population of less than fifty million, there were astonishingly 381 political parties, ranging from autonomous groups formed by a dozen or so neighbors to native religious organizations with tens of thousands of members. The Bemudes soldiers were kept busy for half a day, and still, a few people managed to flee the country, or took refuge in Frost Plated under the guise of political asylum.

These groups were basically supported by Third Rule Agents, with as many as four hundred deployed at the grassroots level in Grante. Among them were some unorthodox factions, such as the ’Meishuang Group,’ who believed that Grantians were born lowly and should encourage women to actively conceive children with Frost Plated People, instigate other countries to discriminate against Grante immigrants, and aim to exterminate all Grantians so that Frost Plated could take complete control over Grante.

Compared to them, the Colonist Party might as well be considered patriotic.

However, in reality, some groups were so small in number that they could neither flee nor hide. The moment Bemudes knocked on their door, they immediately cooperated obediently.

Their existence served no purpose other than to catch the public’s eye and provide fodder for jokes; they didn’t even count as an obstacle to Bemudes’ governance, and Li Aozi’s mission objectives were completed even before dealing with them.

However, before that, the effect of the Arcane Awakening Elixir finally kicked in, albeit at the speed of a snail in a sack race, activating new Arcane Energy.

[Integrated Gene Sequence]

[Release of Ineffective Gene Fragments]

[Replication Targeting Gene Fragments]

[New Arcane Energy Gene Constructed]

"When I get back, I’m going to get myself a doctoral degree in ’Pharmacodynamics.’ This is too exhausting," Li Aozi muttered while rubbing his neck. He immediately flew out to the wilderness and, staring at the stream of messages coming from the system below, began to filter through the newly awakened Arcane Energy.

[You have done exceptionally well, Child of the Primordial Abyss. Your progress has turned the heads of the entire cosmos.]

[Your will has begun to interfere with gene selection. From now on, your body will no longer just be a shell for your genes.]

[The independent soul will guide the future towards freedom, and the multitude of stars will offer the true Sovereign their crowns.]

[Please choose one of the following options as your Subordinate Arcane]:

A——[Mind Transmission]: Upsilon Level (Υ, the twentieth Greek letter) Arcane, dual benefits from [Will] and [Charm]. Your brain is incredibly powerful, capable of emitting strong brainwaves to project your will thousands of kilometers away.

Arcane Performance:

Active Activation——Expends Arcane Energy to transmit your will to distant lifeforms; when your [Will] is strong enough, you can impose mental control over the target.

Passive State——You have a very high probability of hearing thought fluctuations within a 10-meter radius spherical space;

"Shut up, let me listen to your thoughts."

B——[Touch of Corruption]: Zeta Level (ζ, the sixth Greek letter) Arcane, dual benefits from [Constitution] and [Charm]. You can impose a ’corruption’ status on any organic matter.

Active Activation——By touch, you can corrupt an object. If the target is a carbon-based lifeform, the corruption will highly likely transform into an ’infection’ and spread to multiple targets.

Passive State——The [Charm] attribute can be used in place of the [Constitution] attribute for appraisal.

C——[Physical Strengthening]: Kappa Level (κ, the tenth Greek letter) Arcane, dual benefits from [Constitution] and [Charm]. The strengthening of muscles and bones has reached unimaginable heights.

Active Activation——Muscle structures recombine, density greatly increases, bones simplify and strength improves; you will unleash monstrous strength (10 tons * your [Charm] attribute)

Passive State——Every time you advance a tier, [Constitution] gets an extra +50, permanent health points increase by +1,000;

"Titanium bone steel muscle, the Tyrant’s physique,"

D——[Eye of Truth]: Mu Grade (Μ, the twelfth Greek letter) Arcane, benefits only from [Charm]. Your insight ability can instantly see through an enemy’s intentions.

Active Activation——Immediately analyze to display information of every target in your field of vision.

Passive State——You can appraise items yourself, directly identifying item information; the higher your [Charm], the more detailed the information you can see.

——————————

What should he do?

Li Aozi was beginning to get a headache.

Not because the newly awakened Arcane Energy wasn’t good, but because it was too good, and each was very useful, leaving him somewhat at a loss.

[Eye of Truth] could directly counter Pseudo-Humans and Forged Society, and its passive effect was also very practical. After all, the cumulative cost of appraisals was not a small number.

Moreover, it was Mu Grade.

In fact, Li Aozi only needed a Beta Level [Eye of Truth], as the potential of this Arcane wasn’t very great even if deeply explored.

But he never imagined his luck would produce a Mu Grade [Eye of Truth].

At this level, the [Eye of Truth] became immensely practical; he didn’t need to attack the opponent to see all of their attributes. In Azure Star, this might not be evident, but in the cosmos, it was extremely important.

Li Aozi was well aware that the description of [Eye of Truth] was ’to display information of all targets within the field of vision.’ The true effect actually included ’using all visual observation tools’ within the field of vision.

What does this mean?

Using the most advanced telescope, he observed a fleet warping in from light years away, and with the "Eye of Truth," he could scrutinize them closely, seeing even the undergarments of each individual with perfect clarity.

Of course, theoretically speaking, by the time you can see your adversary with the naked eye, they would have already launched an attack on you years earlier.

Due to this trait, wielders of the "Eye of Truth" have always been highly sought after in the universe. Major civilizations don’t care much for this bit of information, but the small-time cosmic pirates and guerilla forces are desperate for it.

Yet, when he saw the other Arcane Energies, he hesitated again.

"Mind Transmission" is a powerful Arcane Energy, stemming from the Omega Arcane Energy, the primal "Thought" of Sequence 10, with endless potential. It is one of the main Arcane Energies developed by Torchbearers on the Pathway.

"Touch of Corruption," although only at Zeta Level, has an extremely terrifying destructive power. For carbon-based lifeforms like humans, who are highly social beings, "Touch of Corruption" can easily cause mass panic and chaos, throwing a normal society into disorder.

The source of this Arcane Energy must be from Sequence 44, "World of Filth," an extremely disgusting and horrifying Omega-level Arcane Energy, posing a typical specialized threat against civilizations and classified as highly dangerous.

In his past life, the individual who mastered Sequence 44, "World of Filth," was the version 14.0 boss, ’God of Pure Land’ Dexter, a level 340 virus monarch of horrifying strength, who effortlessly infected 120 star systems under the jurisdiction of the 8th narrative, transforming planets into massive infection bodies that eroded the universe persistently.

Before traversing time, Li Aozi was busy struggling against this foe’s ’Dustless’ legion.

However, version 14.0 is far off in the future, Li Aozi thinks it’s not a big problem, there is plenty of time to prepare, and it can be set aside for now.

As for "Physical Strengthening"... Li Aozi has already come across body-strengthening Arcane Energies thrice, and a Kappa Level "Physical Strengthening" would directly enhance his physical attributes to the level of a Gamma Phase "Martial Artist" or "Doctor."

But the potential of this Arcane Energy is not very promising.

It originates from Sequence 82, "Bloodline," which, within Omega-level Arcane Energies, is the only sequence that can be dominated even by non-sequence Arcane Energies.

Quite embarrassing indeed.

But, to say that the attributes provided by "Physical Strengthening" are useless? That certainly isn’t the case; everything needs to be viewed dialectically.

In fact, a solid 50 points in "Constitution" and a 1000-point increase in health limits are quite generous attributes.

"Constitution" is closely related to lifespan and physical endurance. Like Alicxia, with a high "Constitution" attribute, one could sleep for hundreds of years, wake up as if nothing happened, and overpower someone of an equal Beta Rank.

Humans can only survive for 13 seconds unprotected in space, but if the "Constitution" attribute exceeds the Gamma Phase standard (60 to 100 points), one could withstand the vacuum of space unprotected for three hours. Whether for spacecraft operations or combat, this is well enough.

In space, the most critical attribute is "Constitution." Lacking such a strong body, humanity can only continue to choose selectively, hence the immense value of astronauts—once one dies, who knows how long it will take to train another.

After much deliberation, Li Aozi finally gritted his teeth and chose the "Eye of Truth."

A Upsilon Level "Mind Transmission" is a crucial cornerstone for the Pathway of Torchbearers, but it’s not vital for a "Meteor Fall Master." His "Gravity" Arcane Energy’s later development also possesses the capability to transmit information.

"Physical Strengthening"—Li Aozi plans to directly replace it with "Mountain Armor." On one hand, he truly does not lack tankiness; the Mimic Health Bar provided by the "Biochemist" allows him to focus on stacking the "Charm" attribute, making his health continuously rise without concerning himself with anything else.

With "Gravity" at his command, there’s nothing in the world he cannot move, so naturally, the force of 1000 tons doesn’t interest him.

Be a Glass Cannon if he must, the powerful recovery granted by the "Blood of Eternity" allowed him to swiftly return to the fray at full health.

"It’s you, then."

[You have chosen the "Eye of Truth"]

[Gene Fragments have attached]

[Due to the influence of Arcane Energy, your genetic burden has increased]

Li Aozi felt his eyes burn as the originally gray irises slowly began to show numerous tiny black runes at their edges.

The "Eye of Truth" is a typical Magic Side Arcane Energy. Li Aozi felt his eyeballs start to absorb the Elemental Power from the outside world, storing it at the base of his eyes.

It didn’t much affect his vision, and the refresh rate was just so-so. But when he focused his gaze on an object, a string of information naturally surfaced in his mind.

The texture of a rock, the material of a bullet, the components of air, the decay stage of a corpse, the meaning behind a pedestrian’s micro-expression...

The whole world seemed to become rational yet ugly all at once. Every object had a disgustingly dirty aspect. The seemingly clean air was in fact filled with molecules of blood, feces, and sweat spreading all around. Even the intestines of attractive people contained rotting food,

But once Li Aozi got used to it, he found the world in front of him became even more interesting. He began to feel curiosity and enthusiasm for uncovering the true nature of things.

The world is not entirely beautiful, but exploring the world, analyzing the gathered information, and then transforming it in response, makes the process immensely joyful and satisfying.

"I now understand what Old Dmitry felt seeing the truth directly might shock and drive one to despair, but it seems there is nothing more terrifying anymore."

Li Aozi mused, but this wasn’t the reason he chose the "Eye of Truth."

What mattered most was—he couldn’t stand the existence of Pseudo-Humans in the world.

The very thought of Pseudo-Humans breathing the same air as him, usurping others’ trust, and many like Qiu Ran suffering at their hands—made Li Aozi feel disgusted.

He would not let the Forgery Society: Philolis and its Pseudo-Human citizens go—not a single one.