His genes seemed to have absorbed a trace of the special energy contained in the Millennium Willow Heart. As a result, they had changed, and his cells' vitality was rapidly increasing.
About half an hour later, the energy released by the Millennium Willow Heart's initial burst was spent, and the changes in Guan Ning's body gradually stopped. However, he knew that the Millennium Willow Heart's core essence had not been completely used up. Some of it had not been directly absorbed by his body and remained inside him. It would continue to take effect when he trained, increasing the rate at which his physical fitness improved.
Guan Ning stood up and casually stretched. His expression suddenly changed, and he quickly sat cross-legged on the floor, circulating the Five-Heart-to-Heaven Cultivation Method. Threads of cosmic energy entered his body.
At the same time, surges of pure, gentle energy emerged throughout his muscles, bones, and cells. This was the energy from the Millennium Willow Heart that had remained hidden inside him.
One source was scarce but inexhaustible, while the other was vast but had no root. The two streams of energy gathered in his dantian and slowly began to compress.
Guan Ning immediately realized he was about to break through. After a moment's confusion, he understood why. To break through from the peak of the War God level—that is, Apprentice Rank Nine—to Planetary Level, there were two prerequisites.
First, one's physical fitness had to reach the peak of Apprentice Rank Nine.
Second, one's consciousness had to be powerful enough. The soul's outward manifestation was Spiritual Force, which filled the sea of consciousness and existed in tangible form. Consciousness, however, was ethereal and intangible. One could say that Spiritual Force was the soldiers, while consciousness was their commander.
Whether one was a martial artist or a Psychic Master, both had Spiritual Force in their sea of consciousness. Its quality was the same for both; only the quantity differed.
Once one's physical fitness reached the peak of Apprentice Rank Nine, there were three ways to break through to Planetary Level.
The first was to wait for an opportunity. Something might happen that stirred one's emotions and excited one's consciousness, triggering a breakthrough. Or one might fail to break through for three or five years.
The second was to keep strengthening one's consciousness. Once it was powerful enough, one could break through instantly.
The third was to use one of the special secret techniques found throughout the universe to help an Apprentice Rank Nine martial artist break through to Planetary Level.
Guan Ning's situation was the second kind. After months of nourishment, his soul had undergone a considerable transformation. His sea of consciousness still contained only a sparse few wisps of mist, but they had changed from pale blue to sky blue. Their quantity had not increased, but their quality had changed enormously.
Guan Ning guessed that his consciousness had already reached Planetary Level. He didn't know for certain, but that didn't stop him from breaking through.
By now, the energy in his dantian had reached its saturation point, and the compression process was accelerating. It expanded and contracted again and again. At last, with a sound like a BOOM, the energy inside his dantian vanished, replaced by a water-blue miniature planet.
The water-blue miniature planet radiated a hazy glow. Looking closely, one could see that it was made up of countless hexagonal crystals. It spun rapidly in his dantian, emitting strange fluctuations.
Seeing the miniature planet in his dantian, Guan Ning understood. After using the Millennium Willow Heart, he had successfully broken through and become a martial artist at Planetary Level One!
With a thought, the miniature planet emitted a faint magnetic force, lifting him into the air and counteracting Earth's gravity. He slowly came to a stop in midair inside the cockpit.
After flying around the fighter jet a few times and getting used to moving through the air, Guan Ning landed and sat cross-legged again. Breaking through to Planetary Level had been an unexpected delight, but he still had something important to do next. That was...
"Genetic Origin Energy!"
At Guan Ning's thought, a thread of blue Origin Energy flew out of his dantian and flowed into his body.
"Crack, crack, crack—"
"Snap, crackle!"
In an instant, every part of Guan Ning's body—his bones, marrow, skin, membranes, meridians, and organs—began changing rapidly. This transformation was even more astonishing than when he had taken Jade Marrow, Dragon Blood, Millennium Flat Peach, or Spirit of Vegetation.
"Impressive. Let's see what kind of special ability I awaken. I hope it doesn't disappoint." Guan Ning was eagerly anticipating the special abilities of Planetary Level martial artists.
Having read the original novel, he naturally knew that at Apprentice Rank, Psychic Masters had a tremendous advantage!
But once they reached Planetary Level, martial artists had their own methods too: special abilities. Different Planetary Level martial artists had different abilities. Some had the special ability of "fire," while others had "light rays"... With these special abilities, the gap between martial artists and Psychic Masters was no longer insurmountable.
In the universe, special abilities were generally classified into eight categories: metal, wood, water, fire, earth, wind, lightning, and light. Which ability a martial artist awakened depended on their soul and body. Different people awakened different abilities, and even when they awakened the same ability, its power could vary.
As far as Guan Ning knew, the category of one's awakened special ability generally matched the domain one comprehended and the law one studied. Of course, that didn't mean one couldn't comprehend other laws; they simply might not resonate as strongly with one's body and soul.
These thoughts flashed through Guan Ning's mind. His attention was now entirely focused on his body. Stimulated by the Genetic Origin Energy, his body was undergoing an intense transformation. A refreshing coolness suddenly spread through him, and even the pain of his body being reshaped vanished, replaced by a warm, soothing sensation, as if he were soaking in a hot spring.
At the same time, one blue point of light after another emerged from his muscles, bones, organs, and even his cells. Guan Ning's body seemed like a universe, with these blue points of light as its brilliant stars. He had no time to admire the breathtaking sight before the stars streamed toward his dantian like fledgling swallows returning to their nest.
No!
More precisely, they were heading for the miniature planet at the center of his dantian—Guan Ning's Origin Energy core.
The blue points of light were like drops of water, joining to form a stream, then a river, and finally a vast blue ocean that enveloped the entire miniature planet.
Guan Ning didn't rush to worry about this change. Although he knew little about the cultivation of Gene Warriors, neither the original novel nor the records of the Limit Martial Hall mentioned Planetary Level martial artists encountering danger while awakening a special ability. Besides, he had no idea what he could do, so all he could do was watch quietly.
Time passed. The azure ocean surrounding the miniature planet was gradually absorbed by it, and Guan Ning noticed the planet changing. It seemed to be nurturing something.
As the miniature planet absorbed the ocean, it shrank into a thin, pale-blue film through which its outline was faintly visible. When this film had been completely absorbed, the miniature planet, which had originally been water-blue, had turned blue-black and shrunk in size.
Through his connection with the miniature planet, Guan Ning could sense that it had nurtured something, but he would have to examine it closely to find out what. Just as he was directing his Spiritual Force toward it to investigate, the miniature planet changed.
The miniature planet was like a child who didn't know when it was full. Seeing food it liked, it stuffed it into its mouth without considering how much its little stomach could hold. As if it had overeaten, it swelled and contracted.
Ripples appeared across the miniature planet's hexagonal-crystal surface, one after another, like waves on the sea. Guan Ning's mind rose and fell along with them.
"I wonder what's going to happen?"
After nine such cycles, the miniature planet settled down. The nine ripples on its surface merged, forming a whirlpool. The blue-black vortex was bottomless, as if it led straight to the miniature planet's core.
"Is this my special ability? Why don't I feel any different? And there's clearly still something inside the planet."
Guan Ning checked, but couldn't detect anything unusual about his body. Whatever the planet had nurtured still hadn't emerged.
"Huh? What's that?"
Guan Ning immediately spotted a change in the vortex. A point of light appeared within it, growing larger and larger, as if something were about to come out.
Guan Ning waited patiently. At last, the thing inside the vortex emerged: a drop of pitch-black water, spinning rapidly in his dantian.
"What is this? A drop of water?" Guan Ning stared at the black droplet in the vortex, completely puzzled.
Before he could puzzle over it any further, the vortex on the miniature planet's surface gradually vanished. Once it had settled, the surface of hexagonal crystals was visible again. The miniature planet also returned to its original size, though its color remained deep blue.
That wasn't all. The black droplet circled the miniature planet once, as if it had discovered something. It let out a clear, delighted hum, then shot straight upward in a streak of black light.
Holy crap!
What's it doing?!
This is my body! It can't take being tossed around like this!
The black droplet's sudden move caught Guan Ning off guard, and for a moment, he couldn't react.
Just as he summoned his Spiritual Force to suppress the black droplet, the streak of black light ignored the flesh, bones, and organs in its path, as if they weren't there at all. Seeing this, Guan Ning breathed a sigh of relief.
The black droplet sped along without hindrance and soon appeared in Guan Ning's sea of consciousness. A few wisps of sky-blue mist formed from Spiritual Force floated there. Upon entering the sea of consciousness, the black droplet flashed brightly, then settled in one spot.
At the sight of this tiny yet dazzling black droplet, ripples spread across Guan Ning's sea of consciousness, and even space seemed to twist.
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