As Bai Mo increasingly utilized his divine sense, his method of identifying people gradually shifted from relying on external appearances to internal bodily structures. In other words, he was less and less dependent on how someone looked on the outside, and more on discerning each individual by the unique features of their internal anatomy.
In the blink of an eye, a week passed. During this time, aside from occasionally attending discussions at the Martial Arts Association, his routine primarily consisted of a straight line between his dorm and the experimental lab.
When holed up in his dorm, he would pore over textbooks and literature, expanding his knowledge reserves, while the experimental lab served as his proving ground for various theories.
After a period of dedicated effort, his heart was finally completely spirit-energized.
Under the observation of his divine sense, the spirit-energized heart pulsed rhythmically. With each contraction, he could feel the external Spirit Qi being compressed into his body by an immense, inward-pulling force. Then, upon expansion, it was pushed to every corner of his body, as if his heart had transformed into a central organ for breathing in Spirit Qi.
Coupled with the compression force field he maintained outside his body, this two-pronged approach further increased his rate of Spirit Qi absorption.
After his heart completed its spirit-energization, he discovered a control force field emerging within his body. This force field was completely different in nature from the one generated by his previous psychic power; it seemed to exist solely for the purpose of protecting his physical form.
Its effective range only covered the surface of his body, but its advantage lay in consuming almost no energy while being constantly present.
When testing the force field's function, he was astonished to find that it could actually block his own divine sense. Only when he consciously dispersed the force field could his divine sense rescan his body; otherwise, he could only observe its surface.
This discovery left him with mixed feelings.
His joy stemmed from his body gaining an additional layer of security, and from the slight increase in his control and perception abilities over his body after the force field's appearance.
His worry, however, was that if he could evolve such a barrier, others would eventually be able to as well, which would greatly weaken the effectiveness of his divine sense when observing other ability users.
To accumulate more data on the physical structures of ability users, Bai Mo decided to modify a portion of his plans. Where possible, he would join national ability user organizations to gather relevant bodily information.
After completing the tests on this new force field, he ultimately named it the Life Field, meaning "field of life"—a force field that protects life from external influences.
Chen Xi visited the laboratory almost daily to monitor Bai Mo's progress, and also, following Chen Jian Shan's secret orders, to probe for any secrets the other party might be hiding.
And with Bai Mo's subtle allowance, Chen Xi successfully discovered and copied photos of the ancient book, which she then handed over to Chen Jian Shan.
"Miss Chen, hello, I am Bai Mo. The preliminary results of the experiment have emerged faster than anticipated. A product capable of accelerating Spirit Qi absorption has already been developed. You can now organize the testing and acceptance."
"Mr. Bai, your efficiency is truly remarkable. The initial results have come in less than a month, whereas we originally anticipated two. Please wait a moment, I'm coming over now."
Half an hour later, Chen Xi arrived at the experimental lab with two subordinates.
"Mr. Bai, may I ask where the sample you mentioned is?" From their previous interactions, Chen Xi understood that Bai Mo was a man who didn't mince words, so her conversations with him were always straight to the point, without beating around the bush.
Bai Mo directly handed the box he was carrying to Chen Xi. "Do you want to test it here, or take it back for further research?"
"We'll take it back for testing, then. We wouldn't want to take up too much of Mr. Bai's time."
"Goodbye."
On the other side, after Chen Xi got into her car and left, she called Chen Jian Shan.
"Minister Chen, hello. The collaboration you assigned me with that person named Bai Mo a while ago has yielded preliminary results. I am now bringing the samples back to the military laboratory for testing."
"Xiao Xi, there's no need for such a cold and rigid tone. Just call me Grandpa, isn't 'Minister Chen' too formal?"
"Work is work, and life is life."
"Ever since you gained that ability, your voice mimicry has become more and more convincing."
"Grandpa, let's talk about business first. How should we handle Bai Mo? We've already obtained his secrets—those candles are likely what's described in the ancient book. However, that guy is extremely cautious; he has never taken out the original two ancient books, so I have no way to get my hands on them." Chen Xi switched from her dull, official tone to a relaxed one used for family.
"First, test the effects of the samples he provided. We've also secretly selected some soldiers with combat-oriented abilities to form an ability user squad within the army. Take this thing to them and let them try it out."
"We must get our hands on the original ancient book; that is key for our Chen family to ascend to the next level. As for the photos, I've already secretly organized relevant experts to decipher them. This kid still has value for now, and he's willing to continue cooperating, without making exorbitant demands. Let's not make a move on him for now; if word gets out, even I won't be able to protect such a thing."
"Alright, Grandpa, Xiao Xi will go now."
"Go."
Chen Xi's car traveled all the way to the military camp. The personnel there recognized her as Minister Chen's granddaughter, and after a brief inquiry, directed them to park the car. She then proceeded with the samples into the ability user squad's office.
"Captain Li, good afternoon."
"Assistant Chen, good afternoon. What wind has blown over the great beauty Chen today?"
"Nothing much. The institute has just developed something new; they say it can significantly enhance Spirit Qi absorption speed. I'm merely here on the old man's orders to deliver the first batch of products to you." Chen Xi returned to her tone as still as an ancient well.
"The institute is that efficient?" Captain Li was a bit dubious.
"I'm just running errands, doing odd jobs for the old man. I'm not clear on the specifics inside; just follow the instructions written there."
"Thank you, great beauty Chen, for personally delivering such an important item to us. Are you free to have a meal together sometime soon?"
"My apologies, the old man has been busy with matters at the Spirit Energy Research Institute recently, and as a result, I, his assistant, have also become busy. I'm afraid I won't have time lately." Chen Xi continued in her cold tone. "If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving now."
"Take care."
"That annoying Li Changfeng, relying on the Li family's influence in the military, is always making advances towards me. It's truly endless! And now he's even awakened such powerful abilities, becoming the captain of the newly established ability user squad, which just makes things more troublesome. What's worse, the work the old man is doing in this area requires frequent contact with him; I can't avoid him even if I want to," Chen Xi thought to herself after leaving the military camp.
After obtaining the samples, Li Changfeng gathered a few of his trusted subordinates from the ability user squad and opened the box.
"Even though that woman Chen Xi has issues with me, she wouldn't trick me on a matter like this." He looked at the few candles before him, and the confidence in his voice suddenly vanished.
He had originally expected some high-tech product inside the coded box, but all that lay before him were five ordinary candles. Li Changfeng and his subordinates couldn't help but feel a flicker of doubt.
Nevertheless, they still lit the candles according to the instructions provided.
"Spirit Qi!" Once they had a taste of it, they immediately understood. The candles could actually release Spirit Qi!
"The people at the research institute are truly amazing! They managed to figure out a way so quickly to compress relatively high-concentration Spirit Qi into candles and then release it in a relatively gentle manner through burning them."
"Moreover, the Spirit Qi released this way is more easily absorbed by the body than the Spirit Qi in the air. The higher-ups should be very happy to know about this, considering they couldn't enter the Spirit River themselves due to their physical conditions."