Chapter Eighty: Refining the Divine Consciousness

Chapter 80: Refining Divine Sense

After placing the handgun and bullets he had obtained from Valentin into his storage pouch, Xia Zhen felt the space inside becoming cramped. He considered when he might dispose of some of the cash, jewelry, and gold—after all, these items held little value for his cultivation.

The third round of the qualifiers would begin in a week. This time, with Xia Zhen's participation, the event attracted broad media attention. Among them, EmberNet, Xia Zhen’s own media outlet, had secured an in-depth partnership with the Professional League, granting access to more exclusive material on Xia Zhen than any other press, which only fueled the rising public interest.

However, Xia Zhen only made his daily training routines public; his true private cultivation remained a secret from the media.

At present, his main focus was on cultivating the “Initiation Chapter” of the Divine Path, supplementing it with suitable skills from both the Water Cloud Art and the Toxic Flame Technique. Avoiding the trap of overreaching, he selected one defensive skill from each of Wadsworth’s techniques.

He had no shortage of offensive methods, but his defensive skills were still lacking. Given that he might face powerful espers like Ryan in the tournament, he had to bolster his defenses.

From the Water Cloud Art, he chose the “Water Shield,” which harnessed the strong affinity and adaptability of the water element to form a shield around himself. This shield could withstand intense attacks and freely shift among gaseous, solid, and liquid states—a remarkable defensive skill.

From the Toxic Flame Technique, he chose “Flame Armor,” which utilized the power of the fire element, imbuing it with fire poison. It provided protection, and if an opponent attacked him in close range, they would be poisoned, even to the point of spontaneous combustion and death.

Information regarding Ryan Hoffman was being sent in succession by the Foundation, and his girlfriend, Nalan Sheng, was also gathering confidential intelligence for him through her family’s connections.

Ryan was a nature-type esper—indeed, a mutated nature type. If one had to sum him up in a single word, it would be “Mist.” His awakened mist ability granted him near-invincible defense, allowing him to instantly turn his body intangible, leaving his opponents helpless.

Moreover, his close-combat skills were formidable, and he was proficient in firearms, bows, and other long-range weapons. His equipment was top-notch, crafted with the last of the Delansol Consortium’s resources.

It was said his mentor was at least an S-class esper—profoundly powerful, mysterious, and of unknown identity—a figure veiled in enigma.

However, even Ryan had suffered defeat before, losing to Regina, the Westland Pontiff’s disciple—a mentalist.

Regina overcame Ryan by attacking his brain with mental force, dulling his responses and securing victory. This seemed, for now, the most effective method. Yet Xia Zhen disagreed—since Ryan was aware of his own weakness, he would surely compensate for it. If Xia Zhen relied solely on spiritual or psychic assaults to win, he would be naïve indeed.

“Weaknesses always exist, but they aren’t necessarily decisive. I still need to strengthen my spiritual power.” Xia Zhen finished reading through the printed and bound initiation chapter and the descriptions of the three skills, reviewed them in his mind, then began practicing them internally.

If he’d acquired this secret art at the very start, it might have taken him a long time to get started. But having already awakened his divine sense, all he needed was to continually refine and expand it, opening the sea of consciousness—a process of gradual accumulation.

He still had several hundred energy pills left. Chen Xiu had already begun researching the formula, but a substitute wouldn’t be available soon. Xia Zhen had no choice but to ration their use.

Refining and purifying spiritual power was a process that consumed both energy and stamina. Xia Zhen sat cross-legged in his training room, which he had now set to “Zen Realm”—a setting both ancient and solemn, with distant bells and chanting, helping him swiftly enter a state of emptiness.

Once more, his awareness plunged inward, reaching the depths of his brain. The awe-inspiring vision of his cerebral starfield unfolded before him.

Neuronal sparks danced across the surface of his brain, and behind them, a vast shadow ceaselessly released strands of spiritual power.

“In the universe, great celestial bodies often have companion dark stars. The shadow behind my brain is the companion dark brain—the source of my powers.” His consciousness, now in human form, hovered above the star-like brain, hands shifting through complex seals as described in the Divine Path.

Instantly, the cerebral star trembled, releasing streams of spiritual force like rivers of starlight surging toward him.

His hand seals transformed without pause, the river of stars swelling until it encircled him, tens of meters wide.

“Refine!” As Xia Zhen uttered the command, the luminous band began to merge. Each fusion shrank the river, reducing it from dozens of meters to barely over ten—now it reached its limit, unable to compress further.

He frowned. The issue wasn’t that his spiritual force couldn’t be fused, but that it was constrained by underlying laws—which defined the difference between spiritual force and divine sense.

To refine spiritual power into divine sense, he must break past this constraint.

“Condense!” He cast another seal, and the river, which had refused to merge further, began another agonizing evolution. This time, however, the transformation brought pain and torment.

The forced fusion and condensation of spiritual power inflicted searing agony on his brain—like a blade stirring his mind—his consciousness immediately wracked with suffering.

His astral form trembled but remained resolute. The Divine Path described this as a normal stage—the first refinement and condensation of spiritual power would bring a backlash of pain. Endure, and one is reborn as a dragon; fail, and one remains forever mediocre.

An hour passed—about a tenth of his spiritual force had evolved, the progress excruciatingly slow, only reaching 10%, but the pain mounted, gnawing at his mind until he was tempted to abandon the process.

But he thought of the consequences if he lost to Ryan—death would be inevitable, and his parents would be implicated. Without him, would the military, the Federation, or even Shen Tu Yue continue to support his family?

Perhaps Nalan Sheng would protect them for a while out of affection, but once married to another, would she still bother?

Most likely not. The dead hold no value; only the living are worth investing in.

This world was harsh and cold. If he didn’t fight with all he had, lacked sufficient strength, others would have the last laugh.

Bolstered by this mindset, Xia Zhen found a measure of peace.

“In truth, I have no choice. From the moment I awakened my powers, I was unwilling to live an ordinary life. Since that’s so, this pain is mine to bear. Come then—I have no regrets!” Having chosen the extraordinary path, he would accept its suffering. There could be no enjoyment without sacrifice.

With this realization, Xia Zhen felt as though his very soul ascended in that instant—the torment seemed to ease, and the fusion of spiritual power quickened.

When one-tenth of his total spiritual force had shrunk from dozens of meters to a mere centimeter, a qualitative change finally occurred.

The luminous band of spiritual force cracked open, and from within emerged a new, familiar power—divine sense!

But the pain of this birth surpassed even the agony of fusion and condensation. Without extraordinary willpower, Xia Zhen would have collapsed in an instant.

Outside the Level-5 training room, all the teams were on twenty-four-hour rotation, monitoring Xia Zhen’s physical indicators.

“Look! Mr. Xia’s power has evolved…” The medical team exclaimed, drawing others to the main screen, where they watched the data shift before their eyes.

After more than an hour of mental torment, Xia Zhen had refined his first strand of divine sense. His overall physical attributes had increased by roughly 10%—several times the effect of normal training.

“But his fatigue and cellular damage indices are rising—he’s already in an injured state,” another medic cautioned.

Chiyoko Endo, the team leader, replied, “No matter. It’s still within acceptable limits. Every human evolution brings side effects.”

Xuan Yuanjie, head of the Mental Intervention Team, added, “From what I know, a mentalist’s cultivation is very different from that of other espers—it’s all about mental power. There may be no visible signs on Mr. Xia’s body, but inside his brain, astonishing changes are underway. The cerebral indicators I’m detecting show his brain activity is several times greater than normal. If he weren’t an esper, a normal person would already be brain-dead.”

Emilia, head of the Nutrition Team, was witnessing Xia Zhen’s ferocious cultivation firsthand. She’d seen him train before, but nothing compared to the intensity she saw today.

“It looks like he’ll need a major supplement after this session,” she said, returning to her office to draft Xia Zhen’s latest nutritional plan. If the body’s losses weren’t replenished, it could leave lasting damage.

At that moment, Shen Tu Yue arrived at the Foundation for an inspection, accompanied by Shen Tu Wanhua. Witnessing the scene, he couldn’t help but remark, “There’s no empty reputation beneath great fame. This young man’s dedication eases my mind. I’ve seen many prodigies in these eleven years, but most of them fell to mediocrity after early success.”

“Indeed, Xia Zhen holds great potential. Our Shen Tu family’s investment in him is a wise choice,” Shen Tu Wanhua agreed.

Shen Tu Yue nodded. “Wanhua, I’m getting old. When I’m gone, the Shen Tu family will face upheaval. There are things I might wish to do but cannot. The head of a great house can’t have everything their own way—they can only support you as best they can. In the end, it’s up to you.”

Watching Shen Tu Yue’s departing figure, Shen Tu Wanhua fell into deep thought.