Ability Awakening

Amid the vast, dreamlike Star Lake, the dark hull of the Star Origin stayed hidden in the universe's shadowy Subspace as it pressed deeper into the region.

Of course, he wasn't going anywhere near the core.

The Star Beasts above level six could drain a third of the Eternal Sun Wall's shield with a single attack. The higher their level, the less time they needed to charge their attacks. At 100 per second, the shield recovered...

Against foes of the same level or one level higher, it still offered an absolute advantage. Its effectiveness dropped drastically against stronger opponents, though he could always run.

What gave Feng Xiao the biggest headache was that the red shield's recovery rate started out very high, but could only be increased once every ten levels.

Higher-quality shield-type Star Weapons were the same: their initial recovery rates were high, but they were difficult to improve further.

Captain's quarters.

Feng Xiao gazed at the fruit in his hand, anticipation rising in his eyes.

"An ability..."

Without hesitation, he took a bite. In an instant, he felt one of his perceptive faculties surge!

Strange ribbons appeared and disappeared within Feng Xiao's perception. He tried to reach out to one with his mind, but his thoughts passed right through it every time.

"So these must be the rules of abilities. But this seems like it might be a little troublesome..."

Feng Xiao felt somewhat helpless.

[Heart of Dawn (Repair: 5%)

Probe: No target selected

Lock: No anchor selected

Analysis: Ability selection in progress (Expand)]

The panel that appeared in his consciousness made Feng Xiao freeze. Then he grinned.

Unexpected, but it made sense.

"Expand."

[Detected 362 abilities you have a chance of awakening—only Legendary abilities are displayed.]

[Divine Sense (Legendary) (Unique)

Level: lv0 (requires self-training)

Description: An advanced form of telekinesis

Evaluation: A mortal body, a mind that touches the divine

Ability: Advanced telekinesis. Divine Sense can influence and control most matter and energy. The degree of influence and control depends on the ability's level.

Effect: Permanently increases maximum mental strength and recovery speed by 10 times.

Passive: Your ability grants you immunity to all mental and parasitic damage.

Enhancement: The source of your Divine Sense's strength—your mental power—will continue to grow on its own at a certain rate. You don't need to train it yourself.

Note: Ensure your body is strong enough to withstand your Divine Sense. Otherwise, irreversible damage and consequences may occur.]

[Mechanist (Legendary) (Unique)

Level: lv0 (requires self-training)

Description: Ultimate mechanical spirit

Evaluation: Flesh is weak; ascend through machinery

Ability: Possesses the processing speed and memory capacity of a supercomputer. Provided your level is high enough, you can control any technological product except starships.

Effect: All mechanical units you control gain 200% to their data attributes!

Passive: When you first take control of a type of machine, your mechanical spirit can also transform into it. Its power depends on your level and energy strength.

Enhancement: Increases efficiency in manufacturing or developing machines by 10 times.

Note: Upgrading this ability and growing stronger require research and manufacturing. Ensure you have enough funds and resources to cover the costs.]

Feng Xiao's eyebrows rose. His expression gradually went blank.

They were both Legendary. Why did it feel like his Captain talent was the worst of all the Legendary ones?

He quickly recovered and stopped dwelling on the difference in quality, giving serious thought to the pros and cons of each ability.

"The first is an individual power, the second a group power. But when it comes to convenience and strength in one-on-one combat, Divine Sense should be better.

"The other one won't be much weaker in individual combat down the line, but it'll take time and money to build up."

The thought passed in an instant. Feng Xiao immediately confirmed his choice: Divine Sense.

[Confirmed—Divine Sense]

[Starship-linked personal panel activated]

[Captain: Feng Xiao

Talent: Immortal Ship (lv0)

Ability: Divine Sense

Level: lv0 (increasing automatically)]

"Self-training. Not bad... But if I need to improve my physical strength, an ordinary gene warrior's body probably won't be able to withstand Divine Sense."

Feng Xiao glanced at the Star Net store, feeling a little troubled. Then the rapidly scrolling page suddenly stopped!

"Ancient martial arts... That should work..."

After thinking it over, Feng Xiao decided to find an advanced ancient martial arts manual to improve his physical strength when he got the chance. He didn't need ancient martial arts to make him stronger in combat; he only needed it to strengthen his body.

For now, he didn't need to worry about it. His body had been enhanced by high-grade genetic optimization, so he wouldn't need to think about physical limitations until at least Divine Sense lv20.

Once he had it figured out, Feng Xiao stretched. A pale golden glow flashed in his eyes, and he suddenly rose into the air above the bed.

He managed to hold himself there for about twenty seconds before descending to the floor, looking a little tired.

His eyes shone with excitement. "As expected of a Legendary ability. It's not like Ilde's, which can amplify a starship, but it's still pretty good."

High-level abilities were rare, and abilities that could assist a starship were rarer still.

For example, even if he reached lv30, he probably couldn't beat Ilde, who could control the ship's cannons despite having awakened only 10% of his ability.

There was no helping it. Starships were simply too powerful.

Once an ability was bound to a starship, it was no longer measured on the standard lv0–lv120 ability scale. Instead, its level was calculated according to its percentage of integration with the starship.

Even after reaching 100%, its level advancements were converted differently from those of standard ability users.

He walked toward the control core and glanced at Ilde, who was using the ship's cannons to clear out the Star Beasts nearby. Then he silently opened the Star Net and began cramming for knowledge.

More detailed knowledge about starships had to be learned through the Star Net or at the Starship Academy. The best place was an academy with teachers to guide him.

But classes hadn't started yet, so Feng Xiao could only study online, and some of the material required payment.

Thanks to the influence of the Heart of Dawn, Feng Xiao's excellent learning aptitude let him absorb nearly every key detail at a glance.

Time passed quickly as they wandered through the region, with a few narrow escapes along the way.

The most dangerous encounter was with several elite level-four Star Beasts traveling together!

In the end, they killed two of the level-four elite Star Beasts at the cost of losing half their shield value and sustaining 4% armor damage. Several others escaped.

The encounter made Feng Xiao stop underestimating Star Beasts. In terms of overall combat strength, the Star Origin currently ranked among the very best elite starships.

Its attack power and other capabilities were slightly inferior to those of other elite starships, but its defenses and speed were exceptionally strong.

There was no denying that the Star Origin possessed the combat strength of a top-tier elite starship.

If a few level-four Star Beasts could already cause trouble, it was easy to imagine how dangerous level-five or even stronger Star Beasts would be, given the dozens of times difference in their strength.

Elite Star Beasts were rare, but this was the inner region of Qiansen Star Lake!

Perfect lifeforms might even appear.

Boom!

A brilliant cannon blast killed the last level-three elite Star Beast. Ilde relaxed slightly.

"There are more and more elite Star Beasts. I knew the gap between each level would grow as we went deeper, but this jump in combat strength is ridiculous."

Wang Hao reviewed the scan records. The biological energy level of a level-four elite Star Beast was twenty-five times that of a level-three one. He couldn't help feeling exasperated.

"Level-five and level-six Star Beasts might still be around ten thousand meters long, but level-seven and level-eight Star Beasts are measured in hundreds or even thousands of kilometers.

"According to legend, a level-nine Star Beast can be as large as a small planet. Now that's terrifying."

"And among Star Beasts of the same level, those with greater life potential tend to be larger and stronger," Ilde added.

Still learning the basics of interstellar life, Wang Hao nodded, already imagining a super lifeform the size of a planet.

"I..."

[Warning: Starship fluctuations detected]

[Starship fluctuations are steadily weakening. Severe damage predicted!]

[Unknown starship requests a communication link]

The sudden automated alarm and alert instantly quieted the ship.

What was going on?

"Accept the call."