March 1st, 6:00 AM.

Inside the shelter, Guan Tong sat on the floor, with Shi Jingyi standing behind him, her palm pressed against his right shoulder.

Her Mind Power flowed across the surface of Guan Tong's skin, acting like guideposts directing his own Mind Power.

With her assistance, Guan Tong successfully used external stimulation to make his Mind Power burn in a manner similar to flames.

This refinement technique called "Condensation and Sublimation" required an extreme level of control over Mind Power to use.

Guan Tong couldn't achieve that yet, so he had to rely on Shi Jingyi's external help, letting her guide him and help him complete the Condensation and Sublimation.

Only this way could he break through the shackles of the one thousand point Mind Power upper limit before the new rules were announced.

He hadn't been this anxious originally, but the experiences of the past few days made him realize he could only keep moving forward, unable to relax or stop.

At Suzuki's farewell gathering, Uenoshi had told him to get used to losing people close to him. But he didn't want to get used to it. The only way was to make himself stronger, so he wouldn't have to face situations where he was powerless due to his own lack of strength.

"Focus," Shi Jingyi's voice sounded. "The flow of your Mind Power is a bit chaotic. Don't think about other things."

Guan Tong pulled back his attention, stopped overthinking, and focused on condensing and sublimating the massive amount of Mind Power.

The Mind Power container items Silver Fox had given him earlier totaled five pieces. Their combined storage capacity was twenty thousand Mind Power.

He was willing to spend an extra twenty thousand Ascension Coins daily to purchase Mind Power at a 1:1 ratio, but the problem was Black Star couldn't handle that much.

Previously, using his connections, Black Star could manage purchasing twelve thousand Mind Power daily for Guan Tong with relative ease.

But suddenly adding another twenty thousand in demand, buying thirty-two thousand daily became somewhat difficult.

Guan Tong could only change from collecting twice a day to once a day, making the total daily collection twenty-six thousand Mind Power.

Twenty-six thousand converted to reserve Mind Power at a 10:1 ratio meant twenty-six hundred daily.

This collected Mind Power was now rapidly consumed under the effect of Condensation and Sublimation.

This was Guan Tong's own choice. To break through as quickly as possible, he preferred to have less reserve Mind Power.

Today was March 1st. In three more hours, the new rules would be announced.

After several days of external assistance from Shi Jingyi, Guan Tong's Mind Power upper limit had now reached 999. He was only one point away from completing the breakthrough, and he needed to do it within three hours.

"Whoosh!"

At that moment, the Mind Power undergoing Condensation and Sublimation violently combusted. Shi Jingyi's pupils contracted, and she withdrew her hand from Guan Tong's shoulder.

She could feel that Guan Tong's Mind Power was rejecting her guidance. It was as if they knew their master was at a critical moment and should not be disturbed externally.

"Your breakthrough seems somewhat special... It looks like you'll have to rely on yourself from now on."

After saying this, she walked out of the shelter.

Guan Tong did not hear Shi Jingyi's words.

From that moment onward, his consciousness was completely trapped in a vortex. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

What was... that?

At this moment, he seemed to simultaneously possess both a first-person and a third-person perspective.

He could observe those vortices externally as a whole, yet also see himself trapped within them, unable to extricate himself.

Looking closely, he discovered those vortices were composed of individual bright spots, dazzling yet evoking an inexplicable sense of breathtaking awe, the kind of feeling humans get when facing something immensely grand.

What exactly were these vortices? And why was he seeing them?

Guan Tong couldn't figure it out. He didn't know what his current situation was. He wanted to regain clarity, to open his eyes and see reality, but he couldn't do it.

His consciousness was simultaneously deeply immersed internally yet distantly observing those vortices of bright spots externally. This split sensation was indescribable; he even wondered if his consciousness might split into two independent parts.

Then, his external consciousness suddenly saw his internal consciousness, the latter stretching endlessly within the vortex, like an infinitely long noodle.

Time... time?

A thought abruptly emerged simultaneously from both consciousnesses.

He immediately realized: these vortices composed of bright spots were galaxies! And his two split consciousnesses existed in different times!

The moment he realized this, the two consciousnesses instantly merged into one.

His eyes snapped open. His 【Wordless Book】 had somehow emerged on its own, floating before him, shimmering with starlight-like bright spots.

"What exactly are you..."

Guan Tong looked at it with a complex expression. He knew the images he had just seen must be related to this 【Wordless Book】.

He reached out his hand, and the book, as if sensing him, fell into his palm.

Simultaneously, the voice of the Fire Thief sounded in his mind.

【Your Mind Power upper limit has reached one thousand. Sublimation has entered the second stage.】

Sublimation second stage...

Accompanying the Fire Thief's voice, Guan Tong felt his body rapidly undergoing changes.

It felt somewhat similar to when he had taken the 【Gene Optimization Serum】 before, but the changes were much greater this time.

The surrounding air seemed to be compressing his body, making it more condensed and refined.

His brain also became exceptionally clear at this moment, stripping away all emotions, leaving only an observing consciousness.

This sensation didn't last long, disappearing after about ten seconds or so, and the stripped emotions slowly returned.

A special perception surfaced in his heart.

He knew what this was; he had felt it before—it was the Mind Network.

Shi Jingyi had previously told him that after breaking through one thousand Mind Power, the previously closed Mind Network would reopen.

Guan Tong silently recited opening the terminal panel.

【Name: Guan Tong】

【Nickname: Shadow】

【Title: Civilization Observer】

【Mind Power: 1000 (1000) (6251)】

【Ascension Coins: 7010280】

【Overall Biometric Rating: Perfect】

"The rating changed to 'Perfect,' just as Shi Jingyi said..."

Seeing that rating, combined with the feeling just now, he truly felt the sense of rebirth and transformation that Shi Jingyi had described.

This feeling wasn't reflected on the panel, but his physical constitution reflected it in the most direct way.

He threw a punch. Both speed and power surpassed his previous level by several times. This leapfrog improvement couldn't be compared to any item or ability.

Moreover, his brain neurons seemed to have undergone some qualitative change or evolution. His thinking speed was faster, and his perception of subtle emotions became extremely sensitive.

Perhaps the reactivation of the Mind Network was precisely due to the nervous system evolution brought by the breakthrough, allowing an Ascendant's brain to connect to a higher-dimensional information exchange system.

And besides these physical constitution improvements, although he hadn't tested it yet, the natural growth speed and recovery speed of his Mind Power upper limit must have also received leapfrog enhancements.

However, compared to these, what Guan Tong cared about more were the images that appeared in his consciousness during the breakthrough just now.

Vortex-like galaxies... time stretched differently... the Wordless Book shimmering with starlight... What did all these represent?

Was the 【Wordless Book】 item some kind of medium? Or an unknown key? If it was a key, what kind of door could it open?

And what the Fire Thief said about "Sublimation entering the second stage"... That meant the "Perfect" rating, the highest tier for humans, wasn't considered such by the Fire Thief.

Beyond "Perfect," perhaps there existed even more transcendent levels.

Would that transcendence begin to make humans become "non-human"?

Too many, too many unknowns left Guan Tong somewhat bewildered.

But this feeling quickly disappeared.

He knew that as long as he kept moving forward, he would eventually get answers to all these questions one day.