Master of the Stars

Chapter 299: Advantages and Disadvantages (Part 2/2)

Translator: Strivon

The Human-Faced Arachnid Luo Nan wielded wasn’t a native type. Its origins lay in the Faith Products developed by the Order of Justice. Luo Nan had personally made a high-imitation version of it later on. The one he had made and used back in Faith Product was quite convenient. Unfortunately, An Weng had destroyed it.

Luo Nan had forgotten about this matter with the passage of time. Before returning back to work, Fairchild actually had someone deliver a small bottle of raw materials to Luo Nan. Luo Nan didn’t know what Fairchild was thinking; he didn’t expect this at all. This bottle was the same metal bottle Luo Nan had thrown to the ground a moment ago. Of course, the practical application of infusing the substance in the bottle with some negative emotions was not hard at all for Luo Nan.

It wouldn’t be easy for Luo Nan to summon his first Human-Faced Arachnid, the Wraith Sign, for it was within the Bloodflame Order. The imitation Human-Faced Arachnid Luo Nan just made could serve as a substitute.

Earlier, the Human-Faced Arachnid followed along Luo Nan’s mental senses in locking on to all threat targets. The reason why it didn’t make a move was because of a shaky feeling Luo Nan had when observing via the Life Sketches. It was like the premonition an experienced hunter got right before they pulled the trigger.

As matters stood, no matter how bad Luo Nan’s premonition was, now was not the time for hesitation.

With a mere thought, the Human-Faced Arachnid spewed an invisible seismic wave. It went through the insects lacking the light of intelligence and penetrated the barrier that was the fleshly body to bombard against Black Beetle’s pressing soul.

The attack struck dead on. A spasm could be seen upon the beetles’ bodies, and the approaching man slowed a bit, but that was all. He became stunned for only a moment before his head tilted a bit to the side. The gaze behind those sunglasses seemed to be able to penetrate through the structure of the building and fall on Luo Nan’s body.

Alright, Zhang Yingying’s jinx had come true. Luo Nan’s long range attack wasn’t effective.

This wasn’t a rare occurrence. Luo Nan encountered many instances where the siege hammer attack was ineffective. The Human-Faced Arachnids wreaked havoc in Xia City for nearly a month, and effective means to counter them were gradually known. Various powers centered on the many functions that the Human-Faced Arachnids yielded. The Order of Justice was even able to produce Faith Products. It was very plausible that others had prepared similar mental defenses against the Human-Faced Arachnid.

Luo Nan was startled for only a moment. He didn’t get dismayed or flustered. At that moment, he already reached the 141st floor. He slightly hesitated in the stairwell before walking out of the fire escape.

No other people could be seen on this floor. The lit public areas of this building were mostly centered on the crystal pillar, emitting a dreamlike deep blue light. Luo Nan’s gaze glanced over. The water rippled with waves, not at all still, but the magnitude of the vibrations had lessened. No image of the devil ray could be found within Luo Nan’s field of vision.

Luo Nan’s thoughts spun in his head. His feet didn’t stop as he walked straight forward along the edge of the crystal pillar. He moved quickly toward the elevators of the central area. The series of movements consumed quite the amount of physical energy. His breathing became a bit unsteady.

Luo Nan just reached the middle area of the crystal pillar when two loud thuds sounded out in the stairwell behind him. The sliding doors opened up a mere two seconds later, and Black Beetle walked out with large strides, wearing a suit. He let out a sharp whistle in mockery.

Luo Nan immediately turned around to look at this man head on.

Black Beetle’s external appearance wasn’t a surprise to Luo Nan. Luo Nan had long since memorized this man’s facial details very clearly through the use of his mental senses. If Luo Nan had to say that something was different about this man, he would point out the flying group of beetles revolving around the man’s body, as well as the two paper men squeezed in his hand.

Clearly, it was hard to use the paper men effectively against an ability user like Black Beetle.

Black Beetle’s feet didn’t stop moving. The flesh of his face half-covered by sunglasses pulsated in movement. His lips split to reveal black teeth engraved with lines. Luo Nan was stupefied for a moment before understanding that this was Black Beetle’s smile. "We meet for the first time, kid. I did make an appointment with you before...."

"The curses and words of tasteless trash venting through the phone." Luo Nan was quite frank in telling Black Beetle his impression of him.

Having his self-introduction be interrupted, a green air sudden spawned upon Black Beetle’s face, and the patterns on his black teeth moved back and forth. At the same time, Black Beetle exerted force with his fingers, kneading the dying paper men. Soon, they lost their shapes as they were ground to dust, and the dust fell between Black Beetle’s fingers.

Luo Nan’s eyes twitched. Ten days of bitter effort, half-gone.

Black Beetle clapped his hands upon seeing what Luo Nan was looking at, flicking off the last scraps of paper. His gaze looked straight at Luo Nan from behind a pair of sunglasses. "You have quite the quick tongue. However... activation class? I heard that you have problems with your interference ability in hitting stagnation? The intelligence people are really quite a joke."

Luo Nan didn’t talk. Right then, his vision covered Black Beetle and the flying beetles surrounding him. The heart lantern of his eyes orifice and his mental senses functioned simultaneously. They were analyzing and predicting all this time.

While his mind focused on observation, Luo Nan moved back. He faced Black Beetle as he walked backward at a moderate pace. His actions would normally appear comical, but his movements looked fluid and easy. This was the result of bodily coordination.

Luo Nan certainly wouldn’t have been able to do such actions ten days ago.

The marvels of cultivating in the eyes orifice lay in here.

Cultivating in the eyes orifice wasn’t simply cultivating in the eyes; it cultivated the entire body. According to Gym Master Xiu, it was the beginning of whole body cultivation. Its application allowed the essentials to be brought out. Ten days of focused training, and though hard indicators like Luo Nan’s power, speed, and so on didn’t really increase, his levels in integration, coordination, control, and similar abilities produced clear increases.

Even Black Beetle raised his eyebrows when he saw Luo Nan’s ability. "That robotic woman really put in the time and energy to teach you, eh? Is it because you brought her to ecstasy with your tongue?"

The words digressed miles away from the topic, making Luo Nan’s eyelids twitch when he heard them. But Luo Nan’s observing and retreating rhythm remained calm and unbroken. He was only ten meters away from the side edge of the central crystal pillar. The elevator area was just a turn away from there.

Black Beetle twisted his neck. His feet seemed to slow, but in fact they quickened. He spoke as he strode, "What are you running for? Don’t you remember? I said that we will slowly play together! One must be a man of his word and be resolute in his work. This has always been my motto...."

Regardless of how Black Beetle goaded, provoked, and teased Luo Nan, Luo Nan made up his mind to not say a single word. He knew that the show had yet to begin. He was happy to encounter this situation, for Xue Lei had already broken through the entrance to the 130th floor. Only forty to fifty meters of straight line distance remained between them.

However, ascending stairs and running were different in difficulty. Plus, the disparity between Luo Nan’s and Black Beetle’s speeds was very apparent. With just a few steps, Black Beetle could close the distance by around thirty meters.

Luo Nan blinked and looked through half-lidded eyes. The scene in front of him blurred a bit.

The way Black Beetle advanced forward appeared normal, but it was in fact bizarre and paradoxical. A prelude could be seen in any micro-movement in the shoulder, hip, waist, and back. Then there was his vigorous aura of life and the self-formed layout of his Self-Logic. All these details have been concealed from the life sketch all this time. It gave Luo Nan quite a bit of trouble in judging analytically.

Luo Nan’s spider web became much more complicated due to Black Beetle’s existence. The energy consumption it required endlessly increased.

Black Beetle’s voice cut through in a timely manner. "Are you sure you want to keep running? Sure, sometimes the intelligence people are a joke, but sometimes they’re useful as well. I know. The range of your mental senses is outstanding. And you have good mental attacks. Now you also have activation class skills.... However, the information about your body and soul imbalance, about how your body is at its limits. This information should be correct, right? Kid. Do you feel your fingers becoming numb, a burning sensation all over your body, or aches in various places of your body?"

Luo Nan’s eyelids twitched once more, but this wasn’t merely due to Black Beetle’s words. It was also because the distance between him and Black Beetle had shrunk to a twenty-meter juncture. For an ability user, they were a mere jump away from each other!

Black Beetle spoke even more leisurely, while the pressure given off by his movements continued to rise. "You’re just like the classic story of Cheng Yaojin and his three axe strokes. You only have a few moves, and though you may gain the upper hand in the beginning, you have nothing else once those moves are exhausted. Everyone can see what those moves are. Have you calculated the factors that determine victory and defeat before? Calculating the causes of victory, and the causes of defeat. Calculating advantages and disadvantages. Actually, you don’t need to lick that robotic woman. I, Grandfather of Insects, can give you a hands on teaching.... Oh, the eyes. It’s your eyes, right? They’re going to burst a blood vessel!"

A vibrant scarlet red glistened within Luo Nan’s half-closed eyes. It was just as Black Beetle said; the veins surrounding Luo Nan’s eyes were about to rupture.

The heart lantern of the eyes orifice when used in conjunction with mental senses yielded great results.

The trajectories of movement on the material plane. The control source on the mental plane. Two interacting structures of energy and information. Homologous elements on different planes. All these interfered with and affected one another. Only by using a way to integrate them could the most comprehensive form be manifested. This was rather useful in increasing the cultivation progress of the eyes orifice and was shown when observing the fish in the party venue.

But this inseparably close relationship had quite the hidden danger for Luo Nan’s current cultivation situation. Luo Nan’s cultivation during these past few days was always filled with the sense of danger. He failed to take this into account during this critical juncture.

Now, after today’s events, the hidden danger began to reveal itself. The most direct was the most fatal. It was the limit to how much his body could bear.

Black Beetle believed that the crucial moment had come. A grotesque chuckle bubbled out of his throat. "We can continue to play, or we can simply get to the point. Why don’t you tell me what you saw in the Logic World?"

The question slashed through the air at Luo Nan. It made Luo Nan, whose eyes were deep at their limits of suffering, have his mind throb with a thought.

That was a very secret matter that only a few people knew about. How did information about it leak out?

It was during this moment of distraction that Black Beetle seized his chance.

He never expected Luo Nan to simply spit out the answer. Even if he had spoken and acted in an oppressive manner, it was all for seizing this opportunity for a single strike.

His figure suddenly blurred, and the swarm of beetles surrounding his body flashed. Even Zhang Yingying would want to praise this show of explosive power. In an instant, Black Beetle crossed a distance of nearly twenty meters to seize Luo Nan’s face with his hand.

Luo Nan saw that only an arm separated them, and an attack was unleashed on the mental plane.

"Using up the last of your limited abilities." Black Beetle had expected Luo Nan’s method of response. This baby kid could only do a few things time and time again, since the beginning.

He had long since prepared to take on Luo Nan’s attack. He had deliberately reinforced himself with a protective spell before mobilizing. He could withstand at least five similar attacks in total.

Black Beetle stared, focused at Luo Nan’s eyes. He hoped that the high pressure would cause Luo Nan’s veins to rupture in the moment of the kid’s fear and despair. He wanted to see the blood gush out!

He would use the HexaEar to capture the wonderful footage. Then he would send it to that robotic woman when he got back. He would send it to all those who sucked up to this kid, and to his old friends.

The attack on the mental plane made contact with the spell-formed protective net in the next instant. Black Beetle had his desires fulfilled. He saw the corner of Luo Nan’s eyes flow with blood.

His lips split open to greet this occurrence with a smile.

Oh, hold on!

The instinct and insight Black Beetle had tempered through hard work and time sensed something strange. The mental attack didn’t act as expected when it made contact with his protective spell. It didn’t intertwine with this cushion and transform into nothingness.... Instead, a strand of wind, even more intangible than a ray of light, flared inside him.

The wind passed through the gap, and light illuminated the earth below.

Penetratingly bright light shown for a time. Unblockable and unstoppable.