In the next few days, Ian was not eager to have in-depth technical exchanges with Xing's alchemists. Instead, he was like a sponge, greedily absorbing Xing's understanding of "qi".
How to sense Qi, how to use Qi to strengthen the body, how to hide Qi...
Combined with the body data previously analyzed from Homunculus and "Wrath", Ian quickly compiled a complete "physical limit breakthrough plan".
If this program can be promoted in the Arcane Empire, it will be enough for ordinary soldiers to upgrade their physical functions to an inhuman state without undergoing high-risk genetic modification.
But that's all.
Ian looked at the data model in his hand and frowned slightly.
"The cap is locked."
According to deductions, even if ordinary humans practice this plan to the extreme, their ceiling of strength is the level of "Wrath" - they can physically dodge tank fire, or use cold weapons to cut through Rocket bullets.
To a mortal, this is indeed Superman-like combat power, comparable to the second-generation genetically modified warrior Empire currently in service.
But for Ian, or for the group of wizards pursuing Truth, this is far from enough.
Because the wizard himself can use magic power to strengthen his body, simple "qi" does not bring about a qualitative leap.
"This limitation must be broken."
A bold idea came to Ian's mind:
If the magic power, which represents spiritual and natural energy, and the qi, which represents life energy, are fused, what will be born?
A brand new energy that has both the physical amplification properties of qi and the growth potential of magical power Infinity?
Dimensional Space, White Laboratory.
Ian holds two standard steel swords and stands quietly among Void.
He closed his eyes and looked inwardly.
While mobilizing the superb Nightcrawler power in Magic Core, it also guides the life energy flowing in the meridians and cells.
"Fusion."
Ian attempts to forcibly combine two energies with completely different properties.
Buzz--
The first attempt failed. The overbearing magic instantly swallowed up the weak Qi, just like a fire swallowing up flames, and no new compounds were produced.
"The proportions are wrong and the frequency is wrong."
Ian was not discouraged. He began to fine-tune the vibration frequency of the magic power, and at the same time changed the mixing ratio of the two, just like preparing a precise alchemical potion.
Once, twice, a thousand times...
In Dimensional Space, where the time flow rate has been adjusted, time seems to have lost its meaning.
I don't know how long it took.
When Ian swung his sword again, a strange resonance was generated in his body.
Magic power and energy reached a perfect balance at a certain frequency point. They no longer devoured each other, but instead engaged in a violent fusion reaction.
Boom!
An unprecedented white energy instantly filled his limbs and bones.
Ian opened his eyes suddenly and looked at his palm.
A faint, substance-like white halo was seen wrapping his skin. It was not just light, but a highly compressed energy entity.
Battle Aura.
Ian Mind Stone blessedly gave this energy a name.
Looking at the steel sword in his hand, he waved his palm subconsciously, without using any magic. He just covered the edge of his palm with the layer of white Battle Aura, and then slashed it gently.
Click!
There was a crisp sound.
The long sword made of fine steel was like a fragile biscuit, neatly cut off by the seemingly soft palm. The cut was as smooth as a mirror, and even turned slightly red due to the high temperature.
"Incredible..."
Ian looked at the broken sword, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.
In that blow just now, the physical strength he used was only equivalent to that of an ordinary adult male. The reason why it was able to cause such terrifying destructive power was entirely because "Battle Aura" greatly improved the transmission efficiency and destruction density of kinetic energy.
Immediately afterwards, Ian injected Battle Aura into both legs.
Bang!
The ground was slightly cracked. He jumped slightly, and instantly jumped more than five meters high without using Levitation Charm.
"Morgana."
"Yes, Master." The purple House-elf appeared out of thin air, holding a record board in his hand, obviously excited about this new energy.
"Create a new file and name it 'Battle Aura'. Now begin a comprehensive evaluation."
"As commanded."
After a series of intensive testing and data analysis, a detailed report was presented to Ian.
"What's the conclusion?" Ian wiped the sweat from his forehead and asked.
"Perfect, Master."
Morgana reported, "First of all, Battle Aura does not need to be stored in a specific core (such as the heart or brain) like magic power. It can be diffused in every cell and every inch of skin in the body. And so far, we have not found an upper limit on its capacity - as long as the body is strong enough, Infinity can accumulate Battle Aura through the conversion of magic power and energy."
"It's very interesting." Ian nodded, "In the future, we can test whether we can artificially construct the 'Source of Battle Aura'. Are there any other differences?"
"Yes. Battle Aura is essentially a weaponized variant of 'chi'."
Morgana pointed at the data chart and said, "Ordinary 'qi' is gentle and nourishing and can greatly extend life span. But Battle Aura is extremely overbearing. Although it can also strengthen the body, its effect in extending life is greatly reduced."
"That's enough."
Ian doesn't care about this, "My original intention in developing this system is to make up for the shortcomings of wizards in melee combat capabilities and to protect themselves when their magic power is exhausted. If we want to live forever, we have many other ways."
"Then, congratulations, master. You succeeded." Morgana smiled, "Once Battle Aura is generated, it can exist independently in the body and does not need to continuously consume magic power to maintain it. Only when the total amount needs to be expanded, it is necessary to absorb magic power and vitality for transformation."
Ian heard the hidden meaning and frowned slightly:
"There is still a threshold - the user must have magic power in his body. I want to know, can ordinary people who don't have Magic Sensing use Battle Aura?"
If this problem is not solved, this will still be just the icing on the cake for wizards, rather than the universal evolution that Ian wants.
"Let's do an experiment."
Ian waved his hand and took out two death row prisoners captured from outside the prison area.
The first place is Muggles without any Magic Sensing.
The second place is a special patient - suffering from Mana Rejection Syndrome (Mana Rejection Syndrome). This kind of person has a special constitution, and magic is like a poison to them. Once it enters the body, it will produce a violent rejection reaction.
The experiment begins.
Ian first carefully injected his own magic power into Muggles's body, and forcibly guided the life energy in his body to mix in a specific ratio.
Zi--
A faint white light lit up on the Muggles prisoner.
"Successful." Ian looked at the other party's frightened but powerful eyes, "As long as someone guides Muggles, Battle Aura can also be born."
Then came the second rejection patient.
The moment the magic power was injected, the prisoner twitched in pain. However, when the magic power and energy were quickly Fusion transformed into "Battle Aura" under the control of Ian, the pain disappeared.
Instead, there is a stable and powerful force.
"Great."
Ian breathed a sigh of relief. This was the result he wanted to see most. "This means that even those who are allergic to magic and are destined to be unable to become spell casters can master extraordinary power through this system."
"Yes, although they can't be magicians, they can become - Battle Aura Warrior." Morgana took the opportunity to name the profession.
"Battle Aura Warrior... nice name."
Ian looked at the two experimental subjects who were still adapting to the power, and their brains were running rapidly.
"But there's another problem: universality."
"That's right." Morgana pointed out the pain point, "Ordinary people cannot perceive external magic. If you want to practice Battle Aura, you must either rely on wizards to give them 'initiation', or Empire must build expensive magic infusion machines. This is not cost-effective in terms of economic costs."
"Then change your thinking."
Ian's eyes were cold, "If they can't absorb it actively, then let them evolve 'passively'."
He threw the two experimental subjects into the time flow laboratory.
Two days outside and half a year inside.
During the past six months, the two of them carried out physical training like Hell under the instructions of Ian, while taking in high nutrients.
"What was the result?"
"The total amount of Battle Aura has indeed increased." Morgana looked at the data and shook his head, "However, compared to directly absorbing magic power and transforming it, relying solely on physical training to increase Battle Aura's efficiency... is as slow as a snail."
Ian is not satisfied with this. Arcane Empire's goal is to eliminate class barriers. If Battle Aura's practice is still limited by magic talent, it will only exacerbate social conflicts.
"Since the internal causes cannot be solved, then change the external causes."
Ian made a decision, a trace of grand ambition flashed in his eyes.
"Start Plan B."
"At present, 'Magic Tree' should have begun to take root in various colonial planets of the Empire. What we need to do is to completely transform the environment."
"Transform the entire Solar System into a high Magic Rings state!"
"When the concentration of magic in the air reaches a certain level, even ordinary people with no talent will passively inhale magic between breaths. We need to create a technique that allows them to convert the passively inhaled magic into Battle Aura."
"This is the extraordinary foundation for all people."
"I will arrange the simulation calculation right away, Master." Morgana followed the order and left.
Just when Ian was about to continue his in-depth research, he was interrupted by an urgent message from the outside world.
It's from Hughes.
Ian once told him not to disturb his retreat unless the sky is falling or there is something extremely important.
He opened the message and there was only a short sentence on it:
"Xing Emperor wants to see you."
"Oh, you finally couldn't help it?"
Ian The corners of his mouth curved into a mocking arc.
It seemed that the emperor who was afraid of death had completely lost his patience.
He straightened his clothes, exited Dimensional Space, and returned to the real world.