Honkai, Survive

However, if you cannot master that power, it will master you.

Compared to that, what is cybernetic psychosis? The terror of a Path deviant…

Fang Jie put it on with gusto. Stop the nonsense and hand it over! Don't you even see what's next to me?

But he cherished it more than anything. Most of these powers fell to the part that represented self-destruction.

Only a small portion… and he still had to continuously resist the power that was pulling Fang Jie towards the 'sun' in his Path.

Destruction protected him.

In comparison…

Fang Jie glanced at Rin, who was still rolling around, and had already guessed what the blade in his hand was.

—Jizo Mitama!

Upon touching it, Fang Jie truly felt the existence of a spirit, and could also feel the powerful presence of Rin, who had separated, or rather, abandoned this part of herself.

They shared the same origin, but she no longer needed a Herrscher Core to wield her authority.

Was this enhancement too outrageous? She seemed to have completely broken free from the shackles of the Herrscher identity, reaching ascension, no, reaching Welt's realm.

Before, they were evenly matched, a free-for-all in the hospital ward. Now, with no restraints, she easily reshaped Yae Sakura's body, forged Jizo Mitama, and even reformed her clothes.

And don't let her rolling around fool you; Fang Jie could see clearly that the steam was floating around her, defying gravity.

This is too outrageous that I can even understand it.

Thinking this, Fang Jie released Jizo Mitama. He resisted the temptation of its authority, even though it was within reach.

Although he didn't know why Rin became obedient after being glanced at by Destruction and regained her true self… Fang Jie really didn't want to fight if she wasn't attacking. Currently, the price of his every 'all-out effort' was too high.

Therefore, Fang Jie silently divided himself into two. He didn't consider how strong his all-out effort would be; he focused on the part he could control—

"First, the Path energy."

The burning Flame Fist had extinguished, returning to a normal, large pot-like fist, but it was slightly distorted. The skin on his fingers was clean and translucent, almost free of wrinkles, age spots, and acne. His pores were tiny, and debris, hair, dirt, and other impurities were automatically destroyed and detached from his body…

This was just the surface; the interior had undergone even more astonishing changes.

Just like in the world of Honkai 3, under the erosion of Honkai energy, various information was embedded into organelles. First, organelles capable of containing and utilizing Honkai energy were integrated. At this moment, Path energy flowed through Fang Jie's cells.

It filled his flesh, organs, and bones, permeating the gaps between cells throughout his body. It didn't alter the biological characteristics of his basic cells but did connect to another energy mechanism, adding Path energy alongside the chemical energy of biological molecular bonds!

In a sense, he had become a Herrscher, connecting to the Imaginary space of the Path and drawing energy from it.

"Now, let me see your limits."

Fang Jie spoke softly, and endless Imaginary energy surged within his body. By drawing upon this Path energy, he 'instinctively' erupted with power—

This raised his body temperature to hundreds of degrees, igniting the bone-chilling snowfield. A lava-like glow surged beneath his still fair skin, and his nerve reaction speed, regeneration ability, and physical strength increased geometrically.

'Winter' was not a trump card, but a dead end.

'Spring' was the future; let that life burn.

Thus, Fang Jie, who had absorbed a vast amount of Honkai and Path information, naturally activated the 'Imaginary Barrier' as if it were breathing or his heart beating.

A typical carbon-based lifeform, a human, contains approximately 40 to 60 trillion cells.

Unlike the 'humans' in Honkai 3 or the galaxy, whose genetic structures had been optimized and modified countless times, Fang Jie, who considered himself an 'ancient human,' had only this many cells.

At this moment, the energy from every cell was being summoned and unleashed:

Ten cells—a hundred cells—a thousand cells—ten thousand cells!

A million cells—ten million cells—a hundred million cells—a trillion cells!

—All of them!

Thus, a 'field' was born. No, it was strengthened to a point where it could be perceived more clearly, constructing a tangible, invisible force field around Fang Jie's body.

Cells and Path energy combined perfectly, and under instinctive control, formed a 'field,' a biological force field.

It was no different from an electromagnetic field or any other force field; it was a life substance form that existed in cosmic space with special extensibility, with a rigorous and complex structure. It was also a special result of the leakage of the inherent field characteristics of life matter under such special structural conditions, and it was a manifestation and form of life's temporal and spatial existence and action.

In the galaxy, even a low-level grunt could achieve this, but the difference between the lower and upper limits was enormous.

"Now, I probably won't slip."

The leg that had been missing was restored. Fang Jie stood firmly on the hot spring, his posture strong. Despite the boiling water, it didn't affect his stability on the steam.

Slipping? He could fly directly.

At this stage, let alone cannonballs, as long as his energy was sufficient and there were no other Path energies to neutralize his force field, he could withstand the destructive power of a planetary explosion and remain unharmed.

Of course, the power of a dying star was still too immense; he had to dodge if he encountered it.

Compared to the grunts of the Anti-Matter Legion who often self-destructed, he was undoubtedly quite eager to survive, although he could also self-destruct.

Besides self-destruction, there were also the talents imprinted within him from the 'residual information' of Honkai, Pseudo-Herrschers, and Herrschers of Corruption.

Destruction's glance not only bestowed new power but also stimulated your inherent talents, forging them into one.

In other words, besides gaining power by walking the Path of Destruction, Fang Jie could also develop Honkai energy himself. What was once limited to becoming a Death Trooper had now reached at least the level of a Pseudo-Herrscher, as true Herrschers needed to connect to Honkai's Imaginary space.

After briefly sensing the strength of his 'fully activated biological force field,' it could probably withstand his previous 'self-destruction' in his Path, which was comparable to a planetary explosion.

Fang Jie began to reduce energy consumption; the energy drain was too terrifying. Even with the continuous replenishment of Path energy afterward, it couldn't keep up with the consumption, so he could only activate it for five seconds.

It was enough, capable of withstanding a planetary explosion.

He reduced his power to 1%, maintaining a life-support field strength that could be sustained under normal conditions with Path energy replenishment. This would likely allow him to tank a nuclear strike without taking damage (or Himeko's single strike).

This was about the same level as Yae Sakura's previous state, no, it was stronger. She still had to avoid the high-temperature attacks in the narrow core area, but Fang Jie didn't need to. Even Himeko's desperate attacks felt like a gentle breeze against him; she could no longer harm him.

"Using Himeko as a stepping stone, really? Even if I fought her, I wouldn't have an endless supply of Path energy."

So, Himeko hadn't been devalued in Fang Jie's recent numerical inflation.

"Then my template can be summarized as: fire attribute, weak to ice, and a neutralizing force field for quantum attribute Path energy, dealing direct damage upon breakthrough. If I encounter those with penetration buffs, it will be calculated differently, and other buffs will also be calculated separately."

Of course, that was only the first stage, unremarkable and fearful of the galaxy's overpowered entities.

As for the second stage...

Before him, his eyes, though not dripping black blood, had turned from gray to dark green. They were still connected to the despairing power of Nihility, an undeniable link.

"It probably has no weaknesses."

It unilaterally restrained all Path forces, mercilessly consuming everything, even itself.

If possible, Fang Jie hoped he wouldn't have to resort to that state of continuously growing power and realm.

The power of Nihility was too insurmountable. Whether you submitted or resisted, you were still a part of Nihility.

What? You decided to just give up? My god, instant refinement!

This was a path of no return, where once embarked upon, one could only stray further down the path of Nihility, with their power gradually increasing.

But this power was also of Nihility.

He stopped thinking about it and continued to examine himself, discovering things gradually like flashes of inspiration.

Happily, under the integration of the bio-field, the residual information from Sato Yuno, [Cellular Reorganization], had become instinctual. It was only now, as they burned, that they could withstand the eruption of the Destruction Path.

There was also the power of [Corruption], though incomplete, only having the foundation of a cellular-level information network. This was essentially Rin's method of highly efficient communication and interaction through her virus-like body.

Otherwise, how could Fang Jie have spread his will to every cell and controlled them? This was clearly more efficient, and it could be said to be the strong support that allowed Fang Jie to easily adapt to new powers, explaining why he could instantly refine Jizo Mitama.

After all, the galaxy was sci-fi. Even thinking required support, especially requiring not just energy consumption, but also actual hardware and software support. The Path users each had their unique skills, and life forms were diverse, but Fang Jie could only borrow for now.

It was like Stigmata awakening, mastering the black technology of direct gene writing. Who the writer was wasn't important at first.

His defensive capabilities had a preliminary summary, but what about his offensive power?

Recalling the memory of self-detonating a 'moon' earlier, it wasn't that easy to do in reality. There were various Path forces interwoven for protection, including but not limited to [Equilibrium] which involved transforming into a galaxy. Even a powerful Lord of Ruin could only destroy mountains on the Xianzhou.

But it wasn't that difficult either. For an ordinary planet, you could blow it up by continuously piling up antimatter.

What Fang Jie was unsure of was his instantaneous burst power, his energy conversion rate, or more directly, his combat power.

How would he attack?

Self-detonation was ruled out first.

Ah, he had it. Like opening a shield, he could tear open the doors between the Imaginary and the real, unleashing the brewed Destruction...

Or vice versa, transferring the unstoppable attack to the Imaginary, then bringing it back.

He could do it; the galaxy was like that.

This was why Path walkers had so many unique skills. As long as they could skillfully use Path energy, this Imaginary energy, they could greatly shock the real world.

What seemed idealistic was actually very scientific.

"If I can't develop it, I can just copy the Herrscher of the Void."

His thoughts immediately became clear. Fang Jie could either follow the Path or exploit the Herrschers.

But before that, he needed to face a small difficulty.

It wasn't Rin. Although he didn't know why she hadn't made another move, Fang Jie wouldn't proactively start a fight.

It was something he could defeat!

Look, a Honkai beast!

The firebird flying across the sky in the distance, a creation of Flame Art, a terrifying Honkai beast with infinite growth potential, from killing people, arson, village destruction, to nation annihilation, star destruction, civilization destruction, sun engulfment...

It had forced him to play dead before, and it absolutely could not be left alive!

"You dare show your face to me again? Just you wait, I'll develop a new move and obliterate you soon."

With new and old grudges, Fang Jie looked around and abandoned the idea of going up to self-detonate and test his offensive power. Black Fox Rin could be so peaceful, only throwing tantrums; why should he be so violent?

He was already so violent that even standing still dispelled the cold wind, warming Yae Sakura's peaceful sleep, it was almost too hot.

Why are you sleeping so soundly?

Wake up quickly, everyone is working hard to level up, why are you sleeping! Grind...

Forget it, let her sleep. Rin was by her side, and she might not wake up.

Fang Jie didn't want to disturb her. He wasn't Kallen, and Yae Sakura might not be a teammate. He had to rely on himself!

He began to examine another power within his body, seizing the time.

—— Honkai energy, which is also Imaginary energy.

Compared to using 'fire attribute' against fire-element creatures, it was still better to use 'electricity', which is closest to creatures, cells, and life. Fang Jie felt that the bio-electricity he awakened after being eroded and strengthened by Honkai energy was more effective.

"Merely using the bio-electricity generated by cellular movement to passively enhance the body with special effects has already depreciated. Now, you should advance to a new realm."

This was Fang Jie's belief, as he had already stepped into a new realm, even if it wasn't a 'complete realm' and even if it was just a minor improvement.

He should find a more fitting metaphor for his power, as he felt that using 'freak' was unlucky.

On the scientific side… how about the Gene Lock? Compared to 'freaks', it could still anchor one's human identity and uphold beliefs.

Within the constantly active bio-force field, as he felt the gradual harmonization of various information interactions, Fang Jie easily found a system he could use as a reference for his newfound strength.

This was very scientific. Geniuses even studied magic. Fantasy was creativity.

"Phase one, I unlocked it long ago. My combat instincts and danger perception… are also beyond ordinary people."

"Phase two, I can control 90% of my body, unleashing 100% of my potential power. My muscles, blood, nerves, and senses are all greatly enhanced, and I can even manipulate some internal energy flow… skipping this, skipping this."

"Phase three, developing the brain. Besides a significant increase in basic memory, intelligence, and thinking speed, I can also awaken a sixth sense, simulate others, including using corresponding abilities, and even predict an opponent's next move… Uh, I'm probably at this stage, still need to develop it."

Actually, it was phase four. Although it was all instilled knowledge, Fang Jie could indeed achieve 'subtlety'. How was indiscriminate absorption not subtle? Not a single bit was wasted.

Things like tearing apart the sky, burning the earth, the principles of destroying civilizations…

As long as he willed it, he could.

Completely turning into black electrical light, it bloomed, flowed, and hummed around Fang Jie's body. His cells began to move, producing 'current' within the original bio-force field, which in turn propelled cellular movement and reorganization.

Now, Fang Jie's eyes could not only see Path energy and perceive light beyond the three primary colors, but also electromagnetic waves, and even spatial warping… As long as he was willing to continue developing, he would become the strongest hacker, warrior, and scientist, but the price would be a gradually collapsing body and increasingly shallow emotions.

Ultimately, everything would return to Nihility.

He should revoke his driver's license first. He had sealed himself.

Honkai energy was safer after all.

The electrical light began to spread. It was a freer state of Path energy, constrained by the medium of 'self' more than by the [Nihility], a power that could be maintained in a normal state.