Supreme Electromagnetic Tyrant
Chapter 340 - 246: Touching the Bottleneck

Chapter 340: Chapter 246: Touching the Bottleneck

It wasn’t until after midnight that Xia Qingyu and Misha staggered back, hearing noises from the Cultivation Room. Upon entering, they saw Ji Xinghuo sweating profusely.

"You haven’t been cultivating since morning, have you?"

Xia Qingyu asked incredulously.

While doing bench presses, Ji Xinghuo didn’t get up but turned his head to look at him, which served as an answer.

"Holy shit! Awesome!"

Xia Qingyu looked at Ji Xinghuo as if he were a monster. A Star Realm Day lasted 49.6 hours. He had been out since the morning and had returned past midnight, nearly 40 hours later, and Ji Xinghuo had spent the entire time in the Cultivation Room, still looking energetic as if he would never tire.

Every Mutant knew how monotonous Star Power cultivation could be.

To manage over ten hours a day was already considered extremely diligent, yet Ji Xinghuo could cultivate for forty hours a day!

Moreover, not all Mutants’ bodies could withstand such long-duration, high-intensity training.

Xia Qingyu suddenly understood.

Why Ji Xinghuo, having been a Mutant for only two years, possessed such formidable strength wasn’t solely due to his exceptional talent. His non-human self-discipline and willpower meant that even with average talent, his future achievements would not be far behind.

Thinking of his own laziness, Xia Qingyu felt ashamed and said, "I also need to work harder, starting tomorrow!"

Misha mocked, "Why not now?"

"Because I’m going to sleep," Xia Qingyu shrugged his shoulders and pulled her upstairs, soon loud noises followed.

In the Cultivation Room, Ji Xinghuo frowned briefly but quickly ignored it.

Another training cycle completed, his Star Power was depleted.

Ji Xinghuo opened the Wanxiang Star Pupil interface, "Star Power: 0/1055". After a whole day’s cultivation, his Star Power had increased by 11 points!

He felt a sense of accomplishment.

The reason he could endure forty hours of cultivation in a day was also due to this tangible sense of progress that continuously motivated him.

Each training cycle increased his Star Power by one point.

Effort equaled reward.

This quick cultivation pace and strong positive feedback kept him immersed, brimming with motivation, and simply unable to stop.

It was even addictive!

Ji Xinghuo watched as his Star Power quickly recovered. After feeling his body, which was hardly fatigued due to the dual recovery from the Titanium Cobalt Dragon Blood and the Rotating Magnetic Field, he knew he could train for another ten days or half a month without problems, but he still needed to balance work and rest to let his body recuperate.

"I’ll continue tomorrow."

After washing up, Ji Xinghuo returned to his bedroom and soon fell asleep.

He woke up at dawn, had breakfast on the street outside, and went straight back to the Cultivation Room to continue today’s training.

That day he increased by 12 points of Star Power.

The third day was also 12 points.

On the fourth day, while training at noon, a Snow Ape Giant guard came to visit, informing him that Chie Han Qiu had invited him to the tribe.

"The Magnetic Spirit Star Core must have arrived!"

Ji Xinghuo’s spirits lifted; changing into clean clothes, he went to meet Chie Han Qiu. As he entered the tribe’s great hall, he saw Chie Han Qiu sitting on a massive stone chair. In front of him on the table, there was a metallic box, rectangular and only the size of a palm, with no discernible features.

However, Ji Xinghuo’s electromagnetic induction immediately reacted. In his mind, inside the box was an exceptionally strong magnetic source!

Compared to everything around it, its magnetic field strength was like a beacon in the darkness, impossible to ignore.

"Chie Han Qiu,"

Ji Xinghuo greeted the Snow Ape Giant but could not help but look at the metallic box on the table.

"Our distinguished guest has arrived." Chie Han Qiu revealed a friendly smile, pointed to the tabletop, and said, "This is something Lord entrusted me to give to our guest, please take good care of it."

He did not know the details of Ji Xinghuo’s deal with the Void Spirit Guest, only responsible for passing messages and transferring items.

"Thank you."

Ji Xinghuo stepped forward and picked up the box, opening it lightly without avoiding Chie Han Qiu.

Inside the box was a completely transparent gel. Inside the gel, there was a small black crystal, very tiny with a diameter of only about 5mm. If thrown on the ground, mixed in the dirt, it would look almost like a small rock, hardly noticeable with the naked eye.

But to Ji Xinghuo, this tiny crystal was too unique!

Its surface seemed rugged, but upon closer observation, one could see it was composed of hundreds of tiny facets. The color was dark and deep, yet it could reflect light, faintly displaying a myriad of colors, extremely dazzling.

"Iridescent black?"

A thought flashed through Ji Xinghuo’s mind.

In electromagnetic induction, this tiny black crystal’s magnetic field was tremendously strong, exponentially increasing towards the interior of the crystal.

At its core lay what seemed to be a singularity-like blind spot.

A blank space.

There were no magnetic or electric field reactions, akin to the event horizon of a black hole, from which electromagnetic induction could not glean any information.

"So this is the Magnetic Spirit Star Core, truly amazing!" Ji Xinghuo inwardly exclaimed.

He looked up to see Chie Han Qiu also curiously watching the contents of the box; clearly, Chie Han Qiu was also seeing the Magnetic Spirit Star Core for the first time and did not recognize it.

"Excuse me."

Ji Xinghuo closed the box and pocketed it.

"Ahem..." Chie Han Qiu looked a bit embarrassed, picked up a roll of beastskin paper next to him, and handed it to Ji Xinghuo, saying, "Here is the latest transaction list, please review it."

Ji Xinghuo took the beastskin paper to examine it.

This new transaction list was mostly similar to the previous ones.

He added a few new items, mostly weapon equipment, some of which were Apocalypse Level treasures, but all were prohibitively expensive, far beyond his reach; additionally, the range of items he acquired broadened, most of which he had never even heard of.

"I’ve noted it down," Ji Xinghuo returned the parchment to Han Qiu, "If there’s anything I wish to trade, I will certainly come to seek an audience with the chief."

Han Qiu smiled and nodded, then escorted him out of the hall.

Back home, Ji Xinghuo admired the Magnetic Spirit Star Core by himself for a while, which the Void Spirit Guest had explained before, unlike common Star Gland implantation methods.

The majority of Star Glands were surgically implanted into the body.

Depending on the characteristics of the Star Gland and the physical structure of different races, the implantation sites varied.

On Earth, there were companies specifically serving Mutants, assisting in advancing to Super Mutants with full guidance on selecting, analyzing, and implanting Star Glands, collecting data, conducting preliminary rejection tests, matching with Professional Templates, and so on; it was quite complex.

To ensure successful implantation, a whole promotion team had to serve for two or three months, or even longer.

In short, it was very troublesome.

But the Magnetic Spirit Star Core was different—it required no one’s help and no surgical implantation.

According to the Void Spirit Guest, as long as a Mutant matched the Magnetic Spirit Star Core and met the conditions related to controlling electricity and magnetism, it would naturally integrate into the body and be effective.

If the integration with the Magnetic Spirit Star Core was unsuccessful, then it was not applicable.

"I hope it works."

Ji Xinghuo was quite confident but still a bit nervous—anything could happen.

The Magnetic Spirit Star Core had cost him a great deal to acquire. If the Void Spirit Guest had not exaggerated, it was one of the most elite Star Glands in the Galaxy and Star Realm, more potential than any Artificial Star Gland, and it was almost impossible to find something better. If the implantation failed, it would be a pity.

"I must quickly cultivate my Star Power to the bottleneck of a senior Mutant, and then advance."

He put away the Magnetic Spirit Star Core and continued cultivating.

Time passed day by day.

Ji Xinghuo seemed never to know fatigue; he went into the Cultivation Room upon waking up, spending over 40 hours each day cultivating, apart from eating and sleeping.

With the combinatory effects of Ether Resonance and "Refine Ether Solvent," his cultivation efficiency reached new heights.

Fast and stable.

With an average daily increase of 12 points in Star Power.

The weather in the Star Realm grew colder day by day. After "Fog Moon" came "Cool Moon," lasting 37 days during which Ji Xinghuo cultivated on Sky Falling Cliff without stepping outside Xia Qingyu’s home except for meals, then entered "Fog Moon."

The night lengthened, and the Star Night shortened.

During Fog Moon, the Bloody Plateau was mostly cold and wet; the grasslands and forests changed color, decreasing in greenery, the land enveloped in desolation.

Frost and snow covered countless mountain peaks, the snowline descending from the middle to the base of the mountains.

Atop Sky Falling Cliff.

Inside Xia Qingyu’s home cultivation room, Ji Xinghuo completed a training cycle, wiped off his sweat, put on a coat, and looked at the interface in his view.

His Star Power was rapidly recovering.

[Star Power: 1/1549]

Ji Xinghuo patiently waited for nearly 80 minutes, his Star Power peaked back at 1549 points, showing no increase. That morning, his Star Power had stopped increasing. To ensure it wasn’t an anomaly, he continued to cultivate for several more hours, yet there was no change.

Over the past forty or so Star Realm Days of cultivation, every training cycle ended with an increase in Star Power.

Now that it had stalled, it indicated he had reached a bottleneck!

"Finally..."

Joy appeared on Ji Xinghuo’s face.

For Mutants, the first three evolutions occur automatically when Star Power surpasses a critical point, advancing to the next rank without any bottleneck. However, for advanced Mutants, once Star Power reaches a certain level, it stops growing and external intervention is required to continue evolving.

This was the first real bottleneck Mutants encountered on the path of Evolution.

"Phew..."

Ji Xinghuo took a few deep breaths to calm his emotions.

Xia Qingyu and Misha were not at home; this month, they had been living freely, spending half their time partying in bars and the other half selling two pieces of Red Emperor Blood Crystal for better Weapon Equipment, looking for suitable Alien Species, and occasionally cultivating, though not for long.

Ji Xinghuo realized why, despite his talent, Xia Qingyu had remained a Super Mutant over the years. If he had spent the time he used for leisure and women on cultivation, he could have advanced to a Legendary Mutant long ago.

But he had no control or desire to interfere in others’ affairs.

Once he advanced to a Super Mutant, he would leave Sky Falling Cliff and continue to harvest Spiritual Origin Ability.

"They’re not around, which is perfect as they won’t disturb my advancement," Ji Xinghuo took out the box containing the Magnetic Spirit Star Core from the Dimension Stomach.

Opening the box, the black crystal embedded in the gel hadn’t changed at all.

As stated by the Void Spirit Guest.

Ji Xinghuo took off his shirt, a spark of faint lightning emitted from his fingertips, slicing through the gel. The lightning, like a wire, latched onto the black crystal inside, pulling it out and suspending it above his fingertip. As more lightning infused into it, the black crystal gradually activated, emitting light.

In the Electromagnetic Induction, the magnetic field of the Magnetic Spirit Star Core grew stronger and even had a "dazzling" effect!

Hiss hiss hiss...

Suddenly, a sound of electric current emerged, and the black crystal was fully activated.

Before Ji Xinghuo could react, the Magnetic Spirit Star Core transformed into a stream of electric light, shooting into his chest. Followed by a slight tingling paralysis that spread throughout his body.

Boom!

A loud sound erupted in his mind, his internal Star Power instantly boiled.

Ji Xinghuo’s body uncontrollably floated up, suspended mid-air, radiating dazzling electric light all around, and his evolution began!