Global Crossing: Empire of Stars

"What's wrong with that?" Lin Zhichen asked.

"Nothing's wrong with it. Compared to taking risks, command-type heroes are much rarer. Generally speaking, the commanders of large fleets are all this kind of hero." Liu Manyun smiled.

"You're also proficient in Warp assaults. If you combine the two fields, you can use them as a trump card at a critical moment. Heroes of the same tier would find that extremely troublesome."

"There's actually so much to it." Lin Zhichen listened in amazement. He realized that his past experiences had still influenced his way of thinking. Families with even a little standing in the Federation probably trained their children in this knowledge from an early age to keep them from taking the wrong path. That was the difference in their respective foundations.

"Although you've passed the basic verification, how you perform from here on will affect your future prospects. Please take this seriously!" Liu Manyun's tone shifted. Her smile faded, and her expression turned stern as well.

"Now, pay close attention to what you feel!"

She extended one hand. Powerful Psionics surged, and the air, calm just moments ago, seemed to catch fire, twisting and rippling.

Affected by the Psionics spilling outward, everyone in the building felt a suffocating pressure bearing down on them, making it hard to breathe.

Lin Zhichen's mind stirred. His powerful Psionics spread instantly, blocking the faint pressure coming from across the room. The Natural Persons throughout the building felt as if a weight had been lifted from their shoulders. They gulped in air, exchanging glances, unable to hide their fear.

"That's Psionics. A Psionicist has arrived."

Those who had been curious about the visitor and had quietly watched from the shadows felt a chill in their hearts.

There were many legends about Psionicists online, but only now did they truly feel how real they were.

After awakening their Psionics, their former divine sense and magical power had vanished, replaced by Psionics. With a mere thought from Lin Zhichen, his Psionic Power naturally became a gentle, soundless wave, completely covering the distorted air.

A glimmer of surprise flashed in Liu Manyun's eyes. Although her perception had already told her that this young man's talent was exceptional and that he had advanced to Warrior just after awakening, his deft control of Psionics still astonished her.

Adults could control their strength with a reasonable degree of precision because they had practiced thousands of times as infants. Newly awakened Psionicists often couldn't control their own power,

and ended up harming the things around them—or even themselves. That was one of the main reasons the Federal Psionic Association sent veteran Psionicists to assess newcomers: they had to make sure the other party wouldn't act recklessly and cause irreparable damage.

"Whoosh~" A flame danced in Liu Manyun's hand, changing shape with her will. Heat radiated from it, yet it couldn't harm the delicate, jade-like hand so close to it.

"Psionics makes the air vibrate, generating high temperatures!" Almost as soon as the flame ignited, Lin Zhichen understood what she was doing. She was teaching him how to control his power and testing his command of Psionics at the same time.

He barely needed to think. The air in front of him twisted rapidly, and in an instant, a flame burst into existence, constrained by Psionics and formed into a fireball.

"Good!" Liu Manyun gave him a long look. His level of control was such that, if she hadn't known for certain that he had only just awakened, she would have taken him for a veteran Apprentice.

Don't assume the trick was simple. To accomplish it, orthodox Psionic Apprentices had to control several metal spheres and make them move along planetary orbits.

Only when they could simultaneously control hundreds of metal spheres, moving them precisely along different paths at different speeds, could they try to ignite a flame. That usually took more than half a year of practice.

Being able to do this meant Lin Zhichen didn't need to attend the Federal Psionic Association's training academy to receive basic instruction.

The flame quickly vanished, turning into a howling gust that condensed into a miniature tornado and spun in Liu Manyun's palm.

This was even easier; it was just air in motion. Before long, an identical tornado howled above Lin Zhichen's hand.

"Crack!"

As if she had known from the start that a tornado wouldn't challenge him, Liu Manyun dispelled it and casually swept her hand. A dazzling bolt of lightning formed. With a flick of her wrist, she lashed it out like a chain. The ground struck by the lightning went "Boom!" and kicked up a small cloud of dust.

Lin Zhichen's gaze sharpened. For the first time, he felt a hint of a challenge. Condensing lightning looked simple, but it actually involved using Psionics to alter the distribution of electrical charges in the air, then gathering the scattered charges together and releasing them all at once.

That meant that, to release lightning, his Psionics had to be able to sense and affect things in the air on an even finer scale.

But even that wasn't beyond him. He focused slightly, and a lightning serpent quickly took shape, leaping through the air.

This time, even the intellectual beauty, who had seemed rather detached until now, couldn't help giving him a serious look. For a newly awakened Awakened One to reach this level already put him ahead of more than ninety percent of the Apprentices who had graduated from Psionic training academies.

"Congratulations. You've graduated from the Psionic training academy!" Liu Manyun lowered her hand, a smile returning to her face.

Lin Zhichen's performance had just been uploaded directly via holographic recording for review. Almost immediately, a graduation certificate was sent to his Psionic wristband.

The Milky Way universe valued efficiency. Every unnecessary procedure had been simplified or even eliminated. Once someone proved their ability, the training that beginners would normally have to undergo could naturally be waived. That was good for both society and the individual.

"Your performance has already been reported to the Federal Psionic Association. It'll greatly benefit your future development. Remember, the Federation never turns away a genius!" Liu Manyun spoke gently, a striking contrast to her resolute appearance that made her even more charming.

"You're the most outstanding Awakened One I've ever met. You've saved me quite a bit of time. In return, I can teach you one of the most commonly used Psionic techniques. I'll demonstrate it just once. Whether you can learn it is up to you."

"Okay!" Lin Zhichen exhaled and steadied his emotions. Once again, he extended his Psionic perception, sensing her movements.

"Watch closely!"

Liu Manyun held out her hand, cupped as if around an invisible ball. The air in it surged and rippled. The sudden burst of Psionic power made even Lin Zhichen look on in surprise.

The intensely surging Psionics were confined to a tiny space. The air twisted and vibrated. Under the extreme heat and pressure, microscopic particles in the air suddenly accelerated, yet were held in place by Psionics and directed along a predetermined path.

"Zzz~"

It seemed to take a long time, yet also only an instant. The air seemed to catch fire, and dazzling light rapidly appeared out of nowhere, becoming tangible. With a forceful pull of her delicate hand, it formed a gleaming Lightsaber.

A Psionic Lightsaber!

It was made of high-temperature plasma contained by Psionics. Its extreme heat and rapid vibrations made it practically indestructible.

Put simply, it was hand-made Nuclear Fusion, using the fusion energy as a weapon!

Psionic Power alone wasn't much different from telekinesis. But combined with science and the Industrial Civilization of Intelligent Life, it could work miracles.

"No wonder Psionics is called the greatest miracle in the universe. A Psionic Warrior alone can do this. It's hard to imagine how powerful Advanced Tier Psionicists must be."

He exhaled, calming his shaken emotions. No wonder even the governments of powerful Interstellar Civilizations didn't dare oppress Psionicists when they could hand-make Nuclear Fusion.

If the Lightsaber in Liu Manyun's hand lost its containment and exploded, it could destroy an entire building and kill or injure hundreds, even thousands.

In ancient societies, a Psionicist of this caliber could have conquered an entire nation single-handedly.

He extended a hand. Powerful Psionics gathered at a single point, drawing in even the free-floating dust in the surrounding air. Under the pressure of his Psionics, it condensed to its limit.

The air surged around him, visibly distorting. It was clear that Lin Zhichen was directing his Psionics to apply ever-increasing pressure to one spot.

Li Murong, standing to one side, instinctively took a step back. Cold sweat trickled down her forehead, but she didn't even notice.

As a scientist, Li Murong could tell from the distorted air alone how dangerous it was. If that mass of air went out of control, it would explode like a miniature nuclear bomb, easily destroying everything within a mile.

Fortunately, her fears were unfounded. Psionics came from the Psionic Realm, and as long as a Psionicist hadn't exhausted their energy, their power was limitless. Under Lin Zhichen's control, the distorted mass of air rapidly shrank, while its internal temperature and pressure soared in tandem.

"Boom~"

Suddenly, a tiny flame ignited inside the mass of air. The light of a star appeared and quickly spread until the entire mass of air had become a fireball.

Without the slightest hesitation, Lin Zhichen reached out and grabbed the fireball. A high-temperature ion sword gleaming with the light of fusion rapidly took shape.

He raised his hand and looked at the Lightsaber before him, the weapon most commonly used in close combat by Psionicists. Its brilliant light nearly made everyone present hold their breath.

Earth's humanity had spent more than two centuries building its Industrial System and had only just touched the fringes of Nuclear Fusion. No one knew how long it would take to ignite this technology on their own, yet this flaming sword before them contained the most advanced technology of all.

It was more than a meter long, and the air vibrated with its hum. The space around the Lightsaber distorted. Even the tiniest mote of dust that fell into it would become fuel and burn.

The Lightsaber's temperature reached a hundred million degrees Celsius. Almost no material or metal could withstand its thrust.

Yet to the two Federation beauties across from him, this scene conveyed something entirely different. The scientist Li Murong, who looked somewhat delicate, covered her mouth and stared at Lin Zhichen in astonishment.

The principle behind Nuclear Fusion was very simple, but if it were truly easy to achieve, Earth's industry wouldn't have spent more than two hundred years without mastering it.

Psionics could achieve the same result without complex industrial equipment, but manipulating Psionics to apply ever-greater pressure and heat was still geometrically more difficult.

Generally speaking, even a powerful Psionic Warrior needed months or even years of specialized training to condense a Lightsaber. Apprentices capable of doing it were exceedingly rare in the entire history of the Federation.

"Good! I knew I was right about you!" A flush of excitement crossed Liu Manyun's face. "Come with me!"

She leaped into the air outside the villa and turned into a Meteor, shooting across the sky in an instant to an empty lot in the courtyard of the corps headquarters. It had once been a place to park flying cars. Now it was a wide stretch of concrete, with only a handful of cars there. She used Psionics to lift them and set them far away.

Lin Zhichen frowned as he descended from the sky. Before he could speak, he felt a murderous intent. It was as if he were standing in a forest of blades and spears, and a chill ran through his whole body.

Before Lin Zhichen could say a word, Liu Manyun flashed forward and thrust her Lightsaber at him. Though they were several yards apart, she was already striking at him!

Unlike industrial laser swords, a Psionic Warrior's power belonged entirely to herself. As she thrust, the blade, barely a meter long at first, suddenly extended and shot toward Lin Zhichen at the speed of light.

This speed was completely beyond what ordinary people defined as martial arts. Even instinct couldn't react in time. A moment before Liu Manyun launched her attack, Lin Zhichen's keen Psionic intuition had already snapped him out of his thoughts about the Lightsaber. Almost instinctively, he drew a circle with the blade in his hand. Surging Psionics followed, forming a vortex of Psionic Power.

The incoming Lightsaber blade was immediately caught in the vortex's force field and torn apart, exploding on the spot. The fusion flames ignited in an instant, but the Psionic vortex surrounded and contained them, and a swirling wall of fire seemed to spring up between the two of them.

With a casual push, he sent the fiery vortex spinning toward her.

"Whoosh, whoosh~"

In the blink of an eye, Liu Manyun thrust thirteen times, each strike hitting a different node. The Psionic vortex, which could have ground even Alloy Steel spheres into fragments, trembled slightly, then suddenly burst apart with a roar, erupting into a sea of flames.

Figures flickered in the surrounding buildings. They were the workers who had been startled by the commotion and were peering out at this rare battle between Psionicists. Liu Manyun suddenly lowered her stance, her red military uniform turning into a streak of fire as she charged through the flames and thrust straight at Lin Zhichen.

"Zzz~"

The two Lightsabers clashed for the first time. The Psionics containing high-energy particles collided violently with each other, and the vibrations immediately affected the Lightsabers' stability.

The contained high-energy particles burst free, scattering like a tree of fiery blossoms. Though it was the middle of the day, the surroundings suddenly dimmed. Several larger clumps of fusion matter turned into miniature suns in the sky, then vanished in a flash.

Lin Zhichen frowned slightly. Their clash had looked evenly matched, but in truth he had lost ground. The Psionic force field structure he used to control Nuclear Fusion was inferior to hers, and his Lightsaber was much less stable overall. It wasn't apparent from the outside, but the moment their blades collided, it had nearly fallen apart on the spot.

He corrected his mistake as soon as he noticed it. After attaining Yang God and undergoing the baptism of Psionics, he seemed to have undergone some kind of ascension. His ability to control Psionics and learn Psionic techniques had far surpassed the level of an Apprentice.

Just like now: with a mere thought, the Psionic force field on the verge of collapse had already recovered. Its configuration shifted rapidly, and the Lightsaber's strength soared.

It sounded like a long time, but all of this happened in an instant. Liu Manyun's second strike had already come slashing in at an angle.

"Zzz~"

At the second collision, a flicker of shock flashed through Liu Manyun's eyes. Unlike the first clash, when his blade had nearly crumbled at a touch, the Lightsaber's performance this time made her look at him in a new light.

Clearly, in the brief span between their exchanges, Lin Zhichen had already optimized the arrangement of his Psionic force field. The improvement was remarkable.

With a spring of her feet, she soared like a phoenix, leaping several yards into the air. As she twisted and turned, her Lightsaber became hundreds and thousands of streaks of light, all striking at Lin Zhichen at once.