Light Barrier - Chapter 62: Mission

Countless  electric lights lights, electric arcs, the tremors of the train, and low hums were all fading away.

The darkness in front of him was slowly replaced by the soft  light of the room.

Gu Shen disconnected from the mental connection. He sat on the floor, recalling their final contact in a daze. Unlike what he had imagined, Chu Ling’s fingers were warm and delicate.

He thought that everything in the mental space was fictitious, cold.

Gu Shen lowered his head and stared at his palms until a meow interrupted his thoughts.

“Meow~”

He snapped back to his senses and saw the dispirited Orange lying in front of him like a resentful woman, wagging its tail with a face full of complaints.

There was no glimmer of intelligence in Orange’s eyes, and it only meowed softly to remind Gu Shen: You forgot to feed me!

Gu Shen stood up in a daze and opened the  cat food. The meow just now made him think that Chu Ling had connected again…

He lay on the  bed worriedly. He would undertake the first mission assigned by the Adjudication Bureau tomorrow, but he tossed and turned, unable to sleep tonight.

He just couldn’t fall asleep no matter what.

Upgrading Deep Sea… Chu Ling is not going to connect with me for a while to ensure her safety.

Someone has been investigating Chu Ling… Who are those people?

Gu Shen took a deep breath. He knew there were many secrets Chu Ling had not told him. But after the transcendental connection tonight, he began to feel that his encounter with the 000 train might not have been a coincidence.

He didn’t believe there was such a coincidence in this world.

Improving my strength… is the most important matter now. Gu Shen soon regained his composure. He lay on the  bed and looked at his hands. So what if I know more? I can’t do anything without strength…

The harvest from the Deep Sea connection was quite fruitful.

At least he saw what his ‘transcendental characteristics’ were…

These characteristics could not be considered a power yet because Gu Shen couldn’t summon even a weak strand of the Blazing Fire in real life.

Chu Ling said that his power had a very high upper limit and great potential for growth.

But if he wanted to grow stronger, he needed to find transcendental essence.

The so-called transcendental essence… should be the ‘source essence’ that gave people or objects transcendental power.

The mental connection this time had been very short, and Gu Shen hadn’t had time to ask Chu Ling for more details. But he had a vague premonition that by interacting with some transcendents and sealed objects, he should be able to figure out how to improve his ability.

During this period of time, while Chu Ling doesn’t connect, I can use the missions of the Adjudication Bureau to explore and develop my ability.

After Gu Shen made his plan, he felt much more at ease.

He glanced at the time. It was almost three in the morning. I can’t sleep. I might as well cultivate Jingzhe.

Gu Shen sat up, closed his eyes, and recalled the scene in the Jingzhe world.

He seemed to be sitting on a vast grassland.

The clouds were low.

The spring rain was coming.

His breathing became slow and deep.

The assessment team had yet to finalize their exact report on Gu Shen’s ability. They thought that he had the potential of an S-grade mental-type transcendent… And in fact, their intuition was very accurate.

Mental-type transcendents were often faster at comprehending breathing techniques.

And their energy would be relatively abundant as well.

During the mission to monitor Han Dang, Senior Sister Luo had not slept for a day and a night and was still full of energy. Of course, Luo Er was a top-tier mental-type transcendent, so it wasn’t difficult for her. Most mental-type transcendents could manage it.

Breathing techniques were the best method for adjusting people’s mental state.

And the concept of ‘perseverance pays off’ was the only knack on the path of mental-type transcendental cultivation. There were no shortcuts to this path. Each cycle of a breathing technique would increase people’s mental power by a wisp.

From exhaustion to fullness, from a small stream to a great river, it always required the process of painful and arduous tempering.

Every genius had to go through this process.

Of course… even cultivating the same breathing technique, the effects would vary from person to person.

Some would struggle to gain half a drop of mental power from one circulation of the breathing technique, while others could increase it by one drop with exceptional ease and comfort, achieving twice the results with half the effort.

No one saw that in a certain apartment late at night…

When the young man closed his eyes and breathed deeply, a slender vertical pupil slowly opened between his eyebrows, like a smoldering ember that could be extinguished at any time. With every breath, the flame faintly increased.

…

The next day.

Gu Shen’s cultivation of Jingzhe was interrupted by the ringing of his phone.

Unbeknownst to him, the moment he opened his eyes, the faint dark Blazing Fire between his eyebrows instantly vanished as though it had never appeared. What replaced it was a comfortable feeling all over his body.

After Jingzhe breathing became a habit, his state of mind was exceptionally calm. Despite not sleeping the entire night, he felt more refreshed than after a long sleep.

“Hello?” Gu Shen said softly.

“You sound in good spirits.” Mr. Tree’s laughter came from the other end of the phone. He informed Gu Shen of a location. “Cui Zhongcheng’s private helicopter has arrived. Your mission is in Dadu. Pack up and prepare to set off.”

Going to Dadu?

Perhaps due to cultivating Jingzhe, Gu Shen was very calm. He looked around the large apartment… Other than Orange, he didn’t seem to have anything else to bring.

After quickly washing up, he grabbed some clothes and went out with Orange in his arms.

The wind was a bit strong today.

When Gu Shen arrived at the helipad with the cat in his arms, he saw a ferocious-looking heavy-duty helicopter. The rotor blades howled as they cut through the strong winds. His teacher was still in the white suit from last night. Sitting by the window, he knocked on it and smiled at him.

Gu Shen entered the cabin.

Even though he was mentally prepared, he was still shocked.

He thought that this mission wouldn’t be too complicated. But he didn’t expect Grand Magistrate Tang of the assessment team to be present, let alone Mr. Cui to be also present.

Is this mission related to them?

“Hello.” Zhou Jiren smiled and waved at Gu Shen. “Don’t be nervous. Sit down.”

Gu Shen came to his teacher’s side. He watched as the helicopter closed the hatch and the rotor blades spun.

The helicopter slowly rose into the air.

The buildings around him faded from his view. In the end, even though he was leaning against the window and looking down, he couldn’t capture them anymore. Everything on the ground gradually turned into black dots and then was covered by thin clouds.

It was a very marvelous feeling.

Am I leaving my hometown of eighteen years? Gu Shen was in a daze.

“What’s wrong? Not feeling well?” Cui Zhongcheng closed his book. He was sitting opposite Gu Shen and noticed his expression.

“It’s my first time flying, so I’m a little airsick.” Gu Shen rubbed his cheeks and smiled. “It’s fine. I’ll be okay after a bit.”

He took a deep breath and switched to Jingzhe breathing. The discomfort immediately dissipated.

Sure enough.

This breathing technique was quite useful in many ways.

“Your progress in cultivating the breathing technique is pretty fast.” Mr. Tree narrowed his eyes and smiled. “You’ve almost replaced your original breathing habits… Well done!”

“It will take time to replace them completely,” Gu Shen replied modestly. He instinctively touched the space between his eyebrows. He had cultivated Jingzhe all night yesterday, and when he woke up, the space between his eyebrows felt warm. He turned his head to look at the helicopter’s window, but he didn’t find anything unusual.

Was it just my imagination?

“If there are no problems, shall we begin?” Cui Zhongcheng tapped on the table. “About… the mission.”