Career Choice

A low Star Pattern rank but rapidly increasing star power—there were only two possibilities. One was that he was also a Star Weaver.

A Star Weaver's star patterns could grow, with limitless potential.

But that did not make sense. He had graduated so many years ago and held a certain position in the military. If he were a Star Weaver, it would have been impossible for everyone to remain unaware.

At his position, there was no need to hide his identity. What was more, he often went to the battlefield, and the mechs he used drew plenty of attention. Whether their mech star patterns had been made by himself or commissioned from a Star Weaver could not possibly be kept secret.

That left only one possibility.

Zhou Yi narrowed his eyes.

An Yixing had discovered the secret behind Huadun's extraordinarily powerful energy perception.

Extraordinary energy perception allowed one to cultivate twice as effectively with half the effort, causing star power to rise at astonishing speed.

If he had merely been able to sense it, no one placed within such an enormous energy chamber would have been willing to leave so quickly.

He must have discovered the secret of extraordinary energy perception before leaving Huadun.

A strange feeling rose in Zhou Yi's heart, as though he was walking a path that someone else had already walked.

Read every book in the library, find the secret of energy perception, and make himself stronger.

He felt an inexplicable surge of passion toward this senior he had never met, as though he regarded him as both an opponent and someone he greatly admired.

They had entered Huadun at different points in time, yet they were walking the same path, as though a contest had begun between them across parallel time and space.

Only, in this contest, Zhou Yi was the only participant.

"I won't lose to you."

Zhou Yi touched the star pattern at the back of his neck, the light in his eyes growing brighter and brighter.

For the moment, Zhou Yi set An Yixing's matter aside. He sat in his chair without rushing to cultivate.

His brain was racing at that moment like a processor, filtering through all the knowledge he had absorbed that day.

He retained and integrated what was useful, while directly deleting the redundant and repetitive parts without allowing them to take up even a bit of mental memory.

He had read far too many books today. If he did not properly absorb and reflect on them, there was no way they could become his own knowledge.

As for cultivation, there was no need to hurry at this moment. Right now, Zhou Yi was clearly more curious about the unknown knowledge he had never encountered before.

Most of the books on the second floor were reference books, divided into three categories.

One introduced the Alliance's current mech situation, one concerned Mech Infantry studies, and the last naturally concerned Mech Masters.

The study materials ranged from basic to advanced, from introductory material to in-depth instruction, and were exceptionally comprehensive.

Before seeing the line written behind the bookshelf, Zhou Yi had already made up his mind.

He would study both Mech Mastery and Mech Infantry.

He knew this would not be easy and would require immense effort.

But he had to do it.

Star Weavers awakened star patterns in mechs. When many Mech Masters awakened a mech's star pattern, they would also modify the mech, upgrading and adjusting it as needed to match their own star patterns so it could unleash greater power.

It could be said that every single Star Weaver was a Mech Master.

But the examples of Zhou Yi's predecessors were still vivid in his mind. Without the protection of a family and with their talent exposed too early, they had almost no ability to protect themselves. Thus, within this cosmic sea of stars, they became prey that gave off an enticing scent, pursued by countless forces before ultimately falling.

Zhou Yi knew clearly what being a Star Weaver meant. Without strength to match it, possessing such a treasure was a crime, and he would die even faster.

He still wanted to live a few more days.

Relying on others was inferior to relying on himself. Being stronger himself was better than anything else.

The knowledge that had been filtered and deemed useful to Zhou Yi was firmly memorized in his mind, like documents saved away that he could retrieve and review at any time.

Zhou Yi once again went over the material about Mech Infantry and Mech Masters separately.

Mech Infantry possessed formidable combat strength and required a large amount of star power for support. The stronger their star power, the greater the combat power they could unleash.

Mech Masters, due to the restrictions of their special profession, did not have high requirements for star power, but they demanded extremely high intelligence and comprehension.

In other words, becoming a Mech Master required talent. Ordinary people could not learn it even if they tried, and merely learning the surface of it was useless.

As Zhou Yi looked through the material, he discovered that Mech Masters leaned more toward theoretical knowledge, as well as one's individual thinking and understanding.

Mech Infantry, however, were different. Knowledge from books was far from enough. One had to undergo extensive practical training and constantly fight using mechs to improve.

"So that's how it is."

Zhou Yi finally opened his eyes.

"Then I'll study Mech Infantry."

With barely any hesitation, Zhou Yi decided on the subject he would study after school began.

As for Mech Mastery, he would rely on self-study. He could study it together with the Star Weaver Manual Vol. 1 left behind by his ancestor, making it convenient to integrate the two.

Zhou Yi went to bed early that night. The next day, he rose at dawn and went to the library again.

Now that he had chosen his future direction of study, his reading became much more targeted.

Since Mech Infantry focused more on practice and was what he would study after school began anyway, there was no rush to read about it. He would first finish the Mech Master material.

To improve his efficiency, Zhou Yi first gathered all the books concerning Mech Masters together.

Fortunately, there were not many books about Mech Masters on the entire second floor, accounting for only one-fifth of the total.

Even so, Zhou Yi sorted out four large bookshelves' worth.

He arranged them in order from basic to advanced.

Strictly speaking, organizing the shelves was rather unnecessary given Zhou Yi's reading speed, but he had his own selfish reasons.

He always felt that he would frequently return to consult these books in the future. Since no one else came to move them around, he might as well arrange them according to his own preferences for easier access.

Although the knowledge was stored in his mind, physical books always inspired a special feeling, and the act of turning their pages could spark particular inspiration.

To become a good Mech Master, inspiration and creativity were extremely important.

Though the books filled four shelves, there was a great deal of repeated content. After all, there were only so many knowledge points; what mattered was an individual's understanding of them.

But Zhou Yi was not picky now. He sat down on the floor and began reading them one by one.

Sometimes, repetition was not necessarily a bad thing.

The aunt at the entrance was indeed dependable. She had said she would repair the lights, and they came to fix them the next day.

Replacing an energy battery was not difficult. Qi Lan could handle it alone.

The battery could be replaced on the first floor. After entering, Qi Lan did not see the young girl who had come in that morning for quite some time, and could not help feeling curious.

After replacing the battery and searching around, she found that figure on the second floor, seated on the floor with a stack of books piled beside him.

Zhou Yi was reading with utmost concentration and did not notice anyone had arrived.

As Qi Lan watched the child's thirst for knowledge, something different appeared in her calm eyes. In that instant, her entire bearing seemed to change.

"Huadun should have another miracle by now."