Mental Power

"Xiao Qing, come take a look at your gear." Xu Xin opened the cases one by one.

The combat suit, bow, God-Splitting Silk, a copy of the Guidance Technique, and things like the communicator and backpack were all there.

"Here, put on the combat suit and see how it fits," Xu Xin said.

Xu Qing put on the combat suit.

It was grayish white and fit him snugly. Xu Xin thought he was a little too thin, and the suit made him look even more like a girl.

"You look dashing. It suits you," Xu Xin said, looking him over and nodding with satisfaction.

"Let's try the bow first and see how it feels," Xu Xin said.

Xu Qing nodded, then picked up the A-grade longbow. It was as tall as a person, with a brown bow and a cold metallic sheen.

When he touched it, the bow felt cool. He lifted it up.

The bow weighed nearly three hundred kilograms—extremely heavy—but it seemed light in Xu Qing's hands.

"This bow must weigh three hundred kilograms. Xiao Qing, you picked it up so easily. You really are a High-level Fighter," Xu Xin praised him as she read the description on the list.

An ordinary person couldn't lift a hundred kilograms, let alone three hundred.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Xu Qing fired a few arrows to get a feel for it. It worked pretty well. At five hundred meters, he even shot through the Kro Alloy wall.

If he'd been shooting at a general-level monster, the arrows would have nearly pierced it clean through.

"A good bow clearly gives your combat strength a big boost, Xiao Qing," Xu Xin said, very pleased.

After a pause, she added, "Next, show me how you use the God-Splitting Silk."

"Okay." Xu Qing walked over to the weapon. The entire set of God-Splitting Silk was stored in a bracer. All he had to do was put it on to use it.

The bracer held a thousand meters of God-Splitting Silk, so it had some weight to it—several dozen kilograms.

To use the God-Splitting Silk, he also had to wear special gloves. Otherwise, given how tough the threads were, he could slice his own hand off if he pulled too hard.

Xu Qing equipped the God-Splitting Silk, put on the special gloves, and stood in the middle of the training ground.

The next moment, Xu Xin saw a long, fine thread fly from Xu Qing's hand. The light caught it, and she could just make out how the threads had spread like a spiderweb through every inch of the space around him.

"How... did you do that?" Xu Xin exclaimed. A single straight thread had woven itself into a cage, just like a spiderweb.

But Xu Qing wasn't a spider, and the threads weren't sticky. How could he make them crisscross in such a complicated pattern?

Inside the cage of woven threads, Xu Qing leaped up and landed on one of them, light as a feather.

Then he sprang off the thread, darting around the cage in every direction. His movements were so quick that they dazzled the eye.

To Xu Xin, Xu Qing looked like a butterfly dancing inside a cage, his movements graceful and light.

At last, Xu Qing landed gently back where he'd started.

Xu Xin couldn't help applauding. It was beautiful. Xu Qing looked as if he were giving an artistic performance.

Just then, Xu Qing focused his thoughts and swept both hands through the air. All the threads spread out, then intertwined into thicker strands, sharp as blades, and lashed toward the Kro Alloy wall in the distance.

Screee!

The sharp threads sliced across the Kro Alloy wall like keen blades, cutting right through it.

Chunks of wall came crashing down, their cut edges perfectly smooth.

Xu Xin stared in shock. Was the God-Splitting Silk really this powerful? It could slice straight through a half-meter-thick Kro Alloy wall.

If he used it against a monster, even a general-level one would probably be torn to pieces.

Xu Qing gathered up all the God-Splitting Silk and walked over to Xu Xin with a cute smile. "Sister Xin, see? I told you it was easy."

Xu Qing was pleased with how powerful the God-Splitting Silk was, and it felt easy to use.

"Xiao Qing, you're amazing!" Xu Xin hugged him, beaming.

Her adorable little brother wasn't just a top student—he was also a genius Warrior. He was an absolute treasure.

"Hehe," Xu Qing chuckled, looking a little bashful.

Xu Xin let go and looked at him. "Xiao Qing, how did you do that just now? Make it into a cage, I mean."

"It's simple. I just used my mental power to control the threads," Xu Qing answered.

"Mental power? Do you mean Spiritual Force?" Xu Xin paused, then realized what he might be talking about.

Xu Qing blinked. He didn't know much about this. "I guess so."

"Then does that mean you're a Spirit Controller?!" Xu Xin stared at him in astonishment.

A Spirit Controller!

They were the most powerful of all Warriors. Once their abilities awakened, they became far stronger than ordinary Warriors.

But Spirit Controllers were extremely rare. They awakened suddenly, and nobody could tell who might be one before it happened.

"Sister Xin, what is a Spirit Controller?"

Xu Qing scratched his head. He didn't know what a Spirit Controller was. He'd only just started learning about Warriors, too.

Looking at Xu Qing's wide-eyed, innocent expression, Xu Xin didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He didn't even know what a Spirit Controller was.

She had to take some of the blame. Xu Xin had never let him get involved with those things, so he had no idea what was happening to him.

"Xiao Qing, do you know when you awakened this power?" Xu Xin asked.

Xu Qing shook his head. "I'm not sure."

"I see." Xu Xin remembered that Xu Qing had always seemed a little absent-minded, almost silly, ever since he was a child.

She wondered if that had been part of the awakening process. She'd heard that awakening as a Spirit Controller could be dangerous. If it went wrong, the person might become an idiot or a vegetable—or even die.

From her perspective, Xu Qing's condition might have been part of his awakening. It had just seemed to take a long time.

Besides, Xu Qing had never seemed to be in pain as he grew up.

Perhaps his awakening had been a gentle one.

After thinking it over, Xu Xin took out her tablet and searched the Alliance's internal network for information about Spirit Controllers.

"Spirit Controllers are born with powerful Spiritual Force. When they are young, it usually lies dormant in their Sea of Consciousness. As their physical fitness improves, their Spiritual Force begins to manifest."

"The strength of their Spiritual Force is two levels higher than their physical fitness..."

"A Spirit Controller's potential depends on how much Spiritual Force lies dormant in their Sea of Consciousness. For some, it exists as a liquid; for others, it is a mixture of solid and liquid; and for still others, it is entirely solid."

"Without a doubt, solid Spiritual Force in the Sea of Consciousness represents the greatest potential. As their physical fitness continues to improve, the solid Spiritual Force is gradually released, rapidly increasing their strength."

"This rapid growth period only ends once all the solid Spiritual Force has completely broken down."