Zhang Xiaoman left the scene, first drove Tang Yuan home, then activated the Starry Stone to return to Rebirth Island.
In the hall of Inheritance Land, Brother Hero was pacing back and forth anxiously. Upon seeing Zhang Xiaoman return, he immediately went up to greet him.
"Brother Man, how did it go? Is Tang Yuan okay?"
Zhang Xiaoman smiled and reassured him, "Don’t worry, she’s as lively and bouncy as ever, in great shape."
Upon hearing this, Brother Hero finally breathed a sigh of relief, his worrying heart finally at ease.
"Okay, the car should arrive in about 20 minutes, you can go home first then, and think about how to explain the situation to Tang Yuan on the way."
Scratching his head, Brother Hero then said somewhat troubled, "Ah, I ended up getting her involved in the end. Xiaoman, do you think I should tell her the truth?"
Zhang Xiaoman let out a sigh, looked at him, and said earnestly,
"The world is changing, and all this will have to be faced sooner or later. You’ve seen the effectiveness of shared beliefs. I don’t mind helping Tang Yuan become an Awakener, but the risks and responsibilities that come with it afterward will also be inevitable. You need to think it through carefully."
Brother Hero struggled for quite a while before he finally clenched his teeth.
"Since we’ll eventually have to face it, I might as well tell her sooner. After all, sticking with me, the ’third wheel,’ won’t make her any safer. Better for her to become an Awakener like me. The two of us, husband and wife, will fight monsters together with our combined strength!"
Zhang Xiaoman nodded. Since Brother Hero had made his decision, he naturally would support him.
Next, while waiting for the Anti-gravity Car, Zhang Xiaoman checked Brother Hero’s control over Dark Energy during this period.
From the results, Brother Hero had successfully communicated the three types of Dark Energy needed to cast the Spirit Detection Technique, but so far, had not managed to use it successfully.
Zhang Xiaoman proceeded to give some pointers on casting techniques. With Brother Hero’s current limit of 103 Dark Energy points, he could only attempt it two or three times, each attempt ending in failure.
They say comparison is the thief of joy, which reminded him of Lin Sisi’s frightening talent. In comparison, Brother Hero seemed a bit too slow.
"Hero, you have to remember, when engraving a Magic Technique, you need to maintain a steady pace; don’t suddenly speed up or slow down. Just now, you switched frequencies too quickly, which led to chaos when inserting into sequence 207, resulting in a complete collapse."
"Moreover, it’s not enough to just arrange Dark Energy Particles; you still need to spend energy to maintain their stability to prevent them from dissipating early or affecting other particles..."
Looking at Brother Hero’s dejected expression, typical of someone struggling to learn, Zhang Xiaoman gently patted his shoulder.
"All right, the car’s here. Your control over Dark Energy isn’t sufficient yet. You need to practice more when you get back, and that will also help increase your Dark Energy limit. When you reach a limit of 110 points, you can learn Constitution Enhancement. Then, won’t you be able to deal with Corpse Demons like the one we encountered today however you please?"
After thinking it over, Brother Hero asked, "So, Xiaoman, after I’ve learned the Spirit Detection Technique, what should I learn next?"
"Hmm... the Burst Spirit Skill would be good. It’s very similar to the Spirit Detection Technique, and there’s not much difference in the arrangement structure. If you’ve learned the Spirit Detection Technique, you should pick up the Burst Spirit Skill quickly... Right, you should also master the Teleportation Technique sooner, so later you can enter and exit Rebirth Island on your own."
Brother Hero happily agreed and then said goodbye to Zhang Xiaoman, taking the Anti-gravity Car home to find Tang Yuan.
Having sent Brother Hero off, Zhang Xiaoman finally had some free time. Only then could he organize the spoils of his day.
Three Corpse Demons yielded six and seven points respectively, while the last awarded twenty-nine points, adding to his previously accumulated thirty-nine, Zhang Xiaoman now had a total of eighty-one points.
He suppressed the urge to immediately spend the points and decided to wait. Once he drew the final portion of Star Dust needed to purchase the Star Network Host, he could convert his points into Star Dust.
According to the introduction in the Gang Store, one of the functionalities of the Star Network Host was the conversion of points to Star Dust.
"I just don’t know what the exchange rate is; I hope it’s not too outrageous..."
As he spoke, his thoughts drifted back to his recent battle with the Big Corpse Demon, the strong red light in the palm of its hand left a deep impression on him.
"Logically, the Shield of an Anti-gravity Car shouldn’t be so fragile, especially against non-solid projectile impacts like lasers; it should be more resistant..."
Zhang Xiaoman stepped outside the hall, with Dark Energy Technique forming in his hand, a Burst Spirit Skill already appeared at his fingertips.
With a light press toward the distance, a purple glow shot out, instantly penetrating through several walls of the ruins and then disappeared from view.
Looking at the attack he had just caused, he flipped his palm, and another Burst Spirit Skill was shot out. This time, however, he didn’t aim at a specific target but fired into the sky instead.
The purple stream of the Burst Spirit Skill flew straight into the night sky, growing more distant until it vanished completely.
Witnessing this, Zhang Xiaoman’s heart skipped a beat; his eyes widened as if he had discovered something.
"The attack of the Burst Spirit Skill looks similar to the monster’s red light but compared to the laser of the Anti-gravity Car, it feels a bit different..."
"But what exactly is the difference...?"
Zhang Xiaoman pondered deeply for a moment, then suddenly snapped back to reality and blurted out:
"Speed! The speed is different!"
He remembered, whether the Burst Spirit Skill or the monster’s red light, once cast, both appeared as beam-like projections with considerable speed. However, if there was enough distance, one could still trace their paths.
Just like how he could clearly see the trajectory of the Burst Spirit Skill when he fired it into the sky just now.
But when the Anti-gravity Car executed a laser attack, the beam of light appeared in the sky instantly, and the naked eye couldn’t catch its trajectory.
"So does that mean that my Burst Spirit Skill and the red light from the monster are not lasers but a special kind of energy attack?"
He walked over to the wall he had just penetrated, examined the small hole left by the Burst Spirit Skill, then compared it to the marks left by a Laser Cannon, and he had his answer.
"Indeed, the speed of the Burst Spirit Skill can’t reach the speed of light, which is why I can see its flying trajectory. Also, there’s no extensive high-temperature mark around this hole, unlike the ones made by a Laser Cannon; it’s more like the effect of my Cold Flame..."
"After all, a laser still falls under the category of physical attacks, but the Burst Spirit Skill is different—it’s formed by the accumulation of Dark Energy, causing Dark Energy erosion damage, which is what I understand by an energy attack."
With this realization, he had figured out the difference between the two. At the same time, he had a hypothesis about why the Big Corpse Demon could shatter the shield with a single strike today.
"That means the monsters are likely also in possession of energy attack techniques, and these attacks can easily penetrate Shields and Armor..."
PS: Thanks to "Jiujun" for the 100 points reward.