Chapter 134: Unlock
The narrator, unusually, was grumbling and cursing.
Seeing this, Xu Zhi didn’t dare loudly question why the narrator was cursing her—because she had a vague idea.
So this time, Xu Zhi was the one to change the subject.
She took out the black fruit that Little One handed her and asked, “This fruit came from the Little Aberrant—is it the same as the ones we ate before?”
[More or less. The difference is that this fruit carries the aura of both you and it. Unless someone has your permission, if anyone else touches it, it will rot.]
That was pretty nice—no need to worry about someone secretly picking it.
“Can eating this extract traits from the aberration?”
She had already extracted most of her retinue’s traits from previous fruits, but not all of them. If the Little Aberrant’s fruit could do the same, she could likely complete the set soon.
[No. It’s not pure enough.]
A pity.
[Anything else you want to ask?]
Xu Zhi frowned and thought for a moment. “Maybe, but I can’t think of anything right now.”
[Makes sense. Your brain’s mostly occupied at the moment, not running at full capacity. Take your time.]
Since the narrator had gone quiet, Xu Zhi tucked the console into her pocket.
Rather than racking her brain for questions, she was more eager to check what had changed in herself.
She walked over to one of the Little Aberrant’s branches and casually sat down. Strangely enough, Xu Zhi still didn’t understand how she was able to “walk on air.” It felt perfectly natural—like walking on the ground or climbing stairs. But if you asked her to teleport or fly, she couldn’t do it.
Her speed hadn’t changed much either. It was as if the only point of this power was to allow her to walk freely through the air as a demonstration of her second stage—so the ability simply existed.
“What kind of bizarre logic is that?”
No one answered her. She gave up pondering it and turned her attention to the supernatural abilities she already had.
[Eye of Secrets] didn’t need much explaining. As her life level rose, it let her see more. And thanks to the amount of supernatural power she now held, she could keep it activated indefinitely. In fact, she doubted there was much left that could escape her gaze.
Even the Little Aberrant—she could now read vast, detailed information about it at a glance.
Though she already knew it well, this still proved that even high-level archbishops couldn’t hide from her now.
Even when the ability wasn’t activated, if she saw someone with a lower life level, basic information about them would instantly appear—like their attribute and approximate supernatural level.
It was a clear sign of overwhelming superiority.
She only needed to activate Eye of Secrets for more precise or detailed information.
Her Moth Swarm ability had also improved—greater range, faster activation. Xu Zhi could now release hundreds of moths at once, and as long as the target’s life level was lower than hers, they couldn’t resist the moths’ mental and spiritual erosion.
Even better, this erosion no longer caused attribute conflicts, meaning she could safely use the moths in residential areas without damaging anyone.
Based on what the narrator had said earlier, Xu Zhi guessed Cloud City’s entrance was about to open. The timing of her upgrades was perfect.
On top of that, her strength, agility, regeneration, alertness—all had improved significantly.
She even felt that unless she just stood there doing nothing, most supernatural attackers couldn’t do her any serious harm—especially when it came to mental and spiritual attacks.
It seemed that after being acknowledged by the shard, her spiritual power had received a huge boost.
Beyond all that, Xu Zhi discovered she had acquired a new supernatural ability.
Except—Even she had no idea what it was.
It felt like facing a vast and complex arcane math problem, and she simply lacked the knowledge to solve it. She couldn’t even understand the question.
A strange sensation.
She could tell she had gained a powerful ability—but she had no clue what it actually was, let alone how to use it.
From the “unlock” progress bar in her mind, she estimated it would take another half a month before she could finally find out what her new power was.
“Pretty mysterious.”
Truly fitting for mysticism!
Still, Xu Zhi had a feeling this ability would be very special—and powerful.
Having sorted through her changes, she didn’t plan to return to the residential district just yet.
She wanted to wait until the new supernatural ability fully unlocked.
After all, she’d already seen through the dog’s vision that nothing major was happening in the residential district. People only seemed to have noticed something strange in the city center—occasionally glancing in that direction.
Xu Zhi looked at the Little Aberrant beside her and more or less understood why.
Even with black mist enshrouding Cloud City, the Little Aberrant was just too conspicuous. Anyone entering the city, as long as they could see even a little, would find it hard to miss.
It had practically become a symbol.
Especially since it wasn’t purely black—faint golden patterns glowed on its body.
Plus, the city center’s black mist wasn’t as thick as before. It no longer shrouded everything in complete darkness. Visibility had improved, making it more like the rest of the city.
Xu Zhi wasn’t in a rush to choose a new retinue. In fact, even just sitting quietly on the aberration’s branch, she felt busy.
Her body and soul were constantly undergoing small changes. Her mind raced day and night, trying to digest all the new knowledge.
Even spacing out didn’t feel boring.
Soon, half a month passed.
During that time, Xu Zhi had the Little Aberrant drive away the other aberrations lingering in the city center. They could go anywhere in Cloud City except the residential district—she didn’t care if they fought mutated beasts to the death.
Meanwhile, as she continued understanding this knowledge, her insight into the supernatural deepened. Whenever she fully immersed herself in studying the knowledge in her mind, she felt like she was walking down a wide, unobstructed path.
Unlike the struggle in past dreams, this path felt ready-made. All she had to do was keep moving forward.
Although the path hadn’t taken her to the end of the forest—just a small section of it—it was enough. When she reached the end of that smooth road, she once again saw the candle flame flickering in the sky…
…and the vast swarms of moths flying toward it.
But this time, something changed.
The moment she appeared, hundreds and thousands of moths that had been flying toward the flame abruptly turned around and flew to her instead.
As if—She, too, was emitting a light that attracted them.
