Free Web NovelChapter 416: Chapter 403: Ghost Attachment Attack
"I hear you’ve been tinkering with Qi Refining Evolution recently?"
At the company’s weekly check-in, Teacher Tang turned and asked Gu Ming.
He was at the company today to clock in for work and for his routine check-up of Ah Ji’s condition with Teacher Tang.
"Yes, Teacher. I’ve already done some theoretical research, and I feel there’s great potential."
"Please don’t try to stop me, Teacher."
Teacher Tang shook his head and said to Gu Ming,
"I’m not trying to stop you."
"The paths trodden by our predecessors were paved by others; ultimately, they can’t be considered your own complete innovation."
"If you can forge a path that is uniquely your own, then on that path, you will be the absolute pioneer. Those who come after can only follow in your footsteps, finding it difficult to surpass you."
"This is what a Beastmaster aiming to push the limits of humanity should be doing."
"Heh, as for whether you’re qualified, I can’t say for sure. But I admire your courage to innovate."
Now, back to the main topic.
Teacher Tang paused for a moment.
His thoughts weren’t actually on Qi Refining Evolution. In the short term, he couldn’t see the limits of this Evolution method or its market prospects.
Only after Gu Ming truly succeeded would he be able to judge its value.
At this moment, Teacher Tang was more concerned with the training progress of his own Ghost Kitten, as well as reminding Gu Ming not to forget his actual job.
"Do you remember how much of your assigned work you’ve completed?"
Gu Ming froze for a second upon hearing this.
He had indeed forgotten a little, but as a Beastmaster, his memory was generally good.
It was just that he had been too busy lately, and the trip to the Yichuan Ruins had been a huge mental strain, so he hadn’t made much progress on the tasks the company had assigned him.
Gu Ming couldn’t help but look embarrassed.
"Teacher, I haven’t finished yet..."
Teacher Tang shook his head, pointing a finger at him.
"You haven’t even started, have you?"
"No, no, no," Gu Ming quickly waved his hands.
"For Mo Ying’s ’Shadow Assault’ Skill, I’ve already had Ah Ji research and learn it in conjunction with the Dynamic Array. Its Shadow Assault Skill Level is on a whole new level now."
"If we start having Ah Ji and the Ghost Kitten practice Shadow Assault together today, I should be able to help it develop a new set of Combat Techniques."
"I’m confident about this."
This was mainly thanks to some fragmented hints from the future that appeared in the system’s bullet comments.
In the eyes of the Eight-star Beastmaster Tang Tianyi, although Gu Ming’s guidance during the two kittens’ joint practice of the Shadow Assault Skill was occasionally flawed, his questions always hit upon the key difficulties in their Cultivation.
Knowing where the difficulties lay made overcoming them much easier.
It should be noted that the most difficult part of developing new Cultivation Techniques and Combat Skills is often the initial research and trial-and-error phase.
If one could find the right direction and charge forward, more than half of the research time could be saved.
And if one knew in advance which detours to avoid, nearly another forty percent of the time could be saved.
The final ten percent was just developing it step-by-step along the established path.
Teacher Tang nodded, his expression calm. He had the Ghost Kitten and Ah Ji begin sparring with the "Shadow Assault" Skill in an open area of the research lab.
The Profound Celestial Beast Ghost Soul hovered high in the air, observing quietly. It watched as Ah Ji transformed into a shadow, darting left and right across the lab, its figure almost invisible.
The shadow rapidly dispersed across the ground, as if every piece of it had turned into wispy fragments, making it impossible to grasp.
The Ghost Kitten also had the potential for "Decentralization." Seeing Ah Ji execute this new technique, it began to mimic it.
However, truly mastering this Skill still took a great deal of effort.
After all, Ah Ji directly launched Shadow Assault through the Dynamic Array in its mind. It was simple, fast, and powerful, not reliant on exceptional Talent. The only real requirements were strong enough Perception and learning ability.
After watching the two Pet Beasts practice for an hour, Gu Ming took their training data and reported to Teacher Tang:
"Teacher Tang, look. After learning my Ah Ji’s Shadow Assault Skill, the Ghost Kitten’s soul-splitting speed has clearly increased."
"And have you noticed?"
"During this splitting process, I believe there’s a potential pathway to integrate its Array and its own Cultivation Technique."
As Gu Ming casually analyzed the situation, Teacher Tang also began to observe seriously.
’Are these data useful?’
There were some changes compared to its previous practice sessions.
But had it mastered the Skill? Definitely not.
He shook his head and said,
"This is completely inadequate."
"What about the Cultivation Technique?"
"Are you actually developing it?"
"I’m not trying to rush you, but work at the company has always been about efficiency. In other words, there need to be visible, periodic results. Otherwise, you’ll be judged for slacking off."
"And in that case, this period’s salary will be significantly docked."
"I assume you don’t want your pay docked, do you?"
Gu Ming paused for a moment upon hearing this.
’Pay docked?’
Speaking of which, he had already exchanged all the various resources he had scrounged from the Yichuan Ruins with those big shots. The wealth he now possessed was enough to support three Pet Beasts in high-intensity consumption for four years.
The company’s so-called salary deduction was rather insignificant to him.
However, he still hoped to convert this money into Spirit Stones.
It’s worth explaining that although he had traded for so-called "Future Medicinal Materials" by bartering with the big shots, the actual reserve of Spirit Stones he received wasn’t that large.
The system still seemed to have strict limits on Spirit Stone exchange. Currently, his Spirit Stone reserve was only enough for five Pet Beasts to engage in high-intensity Cultivation for two months before it would be depleted.
He had no leads on where his next batch of Spirit Stones would come from, so he still had to find a way to earn them elsewhere.
Relying solely on the monthly Spirit Stone allowance from the Sect was ultimately limited. Gu Ming still had to rack his brain to win a large bonus.
As he thought about this, he said,
"I don’t really care if my salary gets docked or not. What I want to know is, is there a way to get a large bonus within the company?"
"For example, what kind of reward would I get for developing this ’Ghost Attachment Attack’ for ’Mo Ying’?"
"You don’t need to worry about the bonus. There will definitely be one."
"As for how much, that will depend on what Level your newly developed Skill is certified as by the Hall of the Great Dao."
"If it’s Tri-Colored or Four-Colored, the bonus will be in the tens of millions."
"If it’s Five-Colored, then that’s even more incredible—the bonus would be at least a hundred million, and you’d also be given a choice of anywhere from a few to over a dozen special resource allocations."
Gu Ming thought to himself, ’That’s it?’
In reality, this still didn’t quite satisfy his appetite, but the thought of being able to convert it into Spirit Stones made it acceptable.
Gu Ming crouched down slightly. A faint, ethereal glow appeared on his fingertip as he gently tapped the Ghost Kitten’s forehead.
"Where the shadow falls, it is neither illusion nor reality."
"Just now, when you split, your fixation was too strong, which made you sluggish."
The tip of the kitten’s ear twitched. The ethereal glow drifting around its body stagnated slightly, as if in confusion.
Gu Ming guided its paw, pressing it onto a patch of shadow on the ground. "Watch how Ah Ji dissipates its form."
"It doesn’t ’split,’ it ’releases’."
Not far away, Ah Ji’s body moved like flowing ink. It suddenly dispersed into the entire shadow, then instantly reformed behind the kitten, the tip of its tail sweeping lightly over the back of its head.
"Remember this feeling of flow."
"Your soul-body is inherently an impermanent thing. Why force it to hold a shape?"
The kitten seemed to only partially understand, but it subconsciously began to imitate Ah Ji’s rhythm.
After a few failures, it suddenly exploded into a cloud of gray mist. When it reformed, three illusory images appeared simultaneously. Although they only lasted for a breath before dissipating, it was enough to make Teacher Tang raise an eyebrow.
