Star Forge Titan

He has always believed that he has some talent in learning, which he relies on constant thinking and reflection.

The idea that just came to him suddenly made him feel as if he had grasped some inspiration when he thought about it now.

The simple action of clapping can be transformed into the power to control the walking of an unconscious person. Obviously, the secret of Lan Dou Shengquan - the control of force strings has extremely amazing potential worth exploring. It is far beyond the description of such simple and crude words as "hitting people through the air".

Moreover, even if it were only used as a secret technique to strike someone from a distance, it would still be powerful enough. After all, to others, it was a completely invisible and transparent force, and its transmission speed was astonishingly fast. Even if the transmission path of power could be blocked, it would still require others to at least be able to detect it.

I think that when one cannot see or feel anything, a conscious person may not be able to resist much more than a drunk Gripi, and would not even know how to block it.

The question Ivan was currently pondering was actually related to this point. If the force generated by clapping could be converted into the power to lift a heavy object, then what about a continuous output of force? Could it be transmitted continuously? Could he continuously output force to an object from a distance?

If I could really do this, then in the future I wouldn't even need to swing my fists. Instead, with just the simple action of clenching my fists, I would be able to cause great damage to the enemy out of thin air.

Boxing is really interesting!

With a childlike pure smile on his face, Alvin realized that his biggest gain from this journey to the silent desert that started by accident was the introduction to boxing.

The improvement of his boxing skills far exceeded imagination. Even if we leave aside the Lan Dou Sheng Fist, the other boxing skills also have their merits.

For example, the Flowing Stone Fist he first learned, while its outward appearance was simply to harden the skin like ore, thereby increasing the defense of a certain area, was, in essence, an ability to temporarily alter the user's anatomy. This inspired him to conceive of skill fusion.

Although from the last attempt, it seems that the simple Flowing Stone Fist has limitations and cannot accommodate the various talents and abilities that he currently possesses.

What about the Dou Qi Steel Armor? If one uses the Dou Qi Steel Armor, the ultimate secret that theoretically increases the power of one's fists infinitely, to advance the core configuration of the Flowing Stone Fist, would it then allow it to fully incorporate all the defensive abilities and talents one possesses?

Even further, innate abilities that enhance physical fitness, such as Divine Wrath, may also be integrated into it. After all, the basis for the enhancement of innate abilities is also the user's body.

In this way, something that combines defense and strengthening...

Isn't that an exoskeleton powered armor!?!

The stranger from another world suddenly hammered his palm.

Considering that directly changing the body structure is closer to a cyborg, is this really a fake Zero Knight transformation?! And it's in the Showa Big Brother style, which doesn't make sense for a villain!

【Desert Swear】It’s on fire!!!

What boy could refuse the chance to become a Zero-Faced Knight? I don't have the ability!!!

The black-haired boy stood up and paced back and forth in the room excitedly. Finally, he couldn't help but jump up and wave his fist like an excited child.

Then, he was caught by the female wizard Heidi who pushed the door open.

The atmosphere in the room froze.

“…” Alvin froze in place.

"Do you want me to go back out and knock on the door again?" Heidi raised her beautiful curved eyebrows with an undisguised smile on her face. She had knocked on the door just now.

Where's the memory eraser? I don't need the high-tech stuff that works with a flash of light, but a solid, old-fashioned wooden memory eraser (physical) will do!

"Ahem, I was so engrossed in my thoughts that I didn't hear the knock on the door." Alvin coughed lightly, pretending to be calm.

"Please sit down." Pointing to the wooden sofa next to the fireplace, the black-haired boy looked as if nothing had happened.

Heidi sat on the sofa with ease, one leg raised, one hand resting on her leg to support her chin, and she looked at Ivan with an undisguised smile in her eyes.

What are you looking at?

Although I wanted to roar like this in my heart, as long as I am not embarrassed, others will be embarrassed. After repeating this sentence several times, Ivan pretended to be calm and sat on the other sofa opposite.

Because the desert experiences extreme temperature swings between day and night, sofas here are usually made of wood. Their unique hollow structure keeps people from feeling too hot when sitting on them. On cold desert nights, servants would place cushions and covers over the wooden structure, turning the originally cool wooden sofas into something as soft and warm as regular fabric sofas.

No, now is not the time to be thinking about the sofa.

Think of a topic quickly, a topic that can divert the other person's attention!

"Looking at the situation, it seems that you don't need to keep those other disguises anymore?" Heidi spoke first while she was thinking about it.

Ivan was stunned for a moment, then realized that the other party wanted to talk about serious matters, so he quickly adjusted his attitude.

"Well, as things stand now, my status with the Free Fists is enough for me to participate in the fight for the Witch King's secrets. It seems like my identity as a bard can be shelved like my identity as a sandworm hunter."

"What a pity." Heidi blinked.

"I quite like you like that."

"Ugh!" The straight ball from the beautiful older sister made the black-haired boy pause.

"Although it's funny that a bard can't sing, a bard still has to be handsome, um, or cute, is fine?"

You're always joking, aren't you?

The black-haired boy roared in his heart with an expressionless face.

"Well, in that case, I will arrange for the handsome and charming Mr. Apollonius to disappear naturally." Heidi ended the one-sided (probably) enjoyable little game just in time and started talking about another thing.

Alvin has already broken into the upper echelons of the Freedom Fist. As a partner, she naturally has to demonstrate her own value. Otherwise, she has no reason and no qualifications to participate in the distribution of such huge benefits as the Witch King's Secret Technique.

"According to the intelligence gathered by the Chamber of Commerce, the number of extraordinary people in the city of Ismailia is increasing, and many of them have secret connections. I suspect they may be subordinates sent by other witch kings." Although the subject of the conversation was clearly those high-ranking desert rulers, the female mage's expression remained calm.

Next, Heidi began to detail the information about those individuals, her words precise and her manner calm, as if she were discussing an ordinary lab report. "Should I say she's worthy of being a legitimate mage from the City of a Thousand Towers?" Ivan silently commented.

"Except for the slain Seinede, the other three wizard kings have all sent their men. The men of the third wizard king, the Desert Fox Hunimanda, are mainly active among the nobles, and no armed personnel have been spotted yet."

"The fifth sorcerer king, the bloodthirsty Hopt, has dispatched some whippers and slave gladiators. The former are his part-time intelligence officers responsible for the slave trade, while the latter are professional fighters controlled by the former. They are hiding in the slums of the lower city and are currently operating as a new violent group."

"As for the most powerful First Wizard King, his subordinates are extremely secretive in their actions. I only know that they have entered the city, and I haven't obtained any other information yet."

"..." Alvin pondered the information he received, and after Heidi finished speaking, he began to supplement the missing parts of the intelligence.

"The First Witch King sent out the Hound Troops. The general who commanded the entire troop, Hunter Harville, directly participated in the King Selection Tournament as a boxer. Of course, the name he used might be a pseudonym."

"Hound Corps? Are you sure? The First Wizard King actually takes this matter so seriously." Heidi suddenly became serious.

"Well, I have had direct contact with them. But how can you tell that they take it seriously?" Alvin nodded, and at the same time felt a little surprised why the other party's reaction was so obvious.

Seeing the confusion on his face, Heidi gradually showed an expression of sudden enlightenment.

"You must have come from Lind or Elrond before?" The female mage suddenly said something that surprised and alerted Alvin.

"Don't be nervous, young fellow. I haven't investigated your past or true identity. I just learned something from some small details." Heidi sat on the sofa with a smile, completely ignoring Ivan's vigilant eyes.

"Although most of the members of the Hound Corps are low-level transcendents or elite soldiers armed with magical items like magic swords, don't forget that this is the Silent Desert, the backward and barbaric eastern desert of the continent."

Hearing this, Alvin seemed to understand something, and then he heard Heidi continue to say:

"Unlike a technologically advanced and prosperous nation like Lind or Elrond."

"In terms of the number of extraordinary people, this place is also a desert." The female mage smiled slightly.

"Now, you should understand why I said that the First Wizard King attaches great importance to this matter."

Chapter 88: Extraordinary Rise and Fall

What does it take to become an extraordinary person?

It is systematic training, a qualified ceremony, or enough money.

In fact, the answer is all of the above, which are all necessary prerequisites to become a transcendent.

Whether it's systematic training or the safety rituals that have been passed down for many years, they all cost a lot of money. At least for most people, the cost is very, very high, so high that even ordinary families can't afford it even if they grit their teeth and tighten their belts.

Therefore, for a long time in the past, the training of most extraordinary people was more like that of medieval craftsmen and apprentices, considering that what extraordinary people sell is not handicrafts, but extraordinary abilities, or more accurately, what they sell most of the time is force.

Therefore, the relationship between the new extraordinary people and the older generation of extraordinary people is more like that between knights and knights' squires in the Middle Ages.

Without long-term service, a 'squire' would not be able to acquire sufficient knowledge and relevant rituals to become a true 'knight'. Without a noble birth, ordinary people could not even become such a 'squire'.

It can be said that any knowledge related to the extraordinary is basically controlled by the traditional aristocracy composed of the old extraordinary people. For the sake of interests or habits, they instinctively reduce the circulation of relevant information and strive to keep all promotion paths firmly in the hands of themselves and their families.

In that era, a first-level transcendent was as powerful as the alpha wolf in an animal herd. A second-level transcendent was, in many places, a regional lord. Those who reached the third level, embarking on the path of the Fire Sword and experiencing soul awakening, were immediately treated as honored guests throughout the kingdom, enjoying all the perks accorded to high-ranking nobles.

A crown wearer who reaches the fourth level is already the guardian of an entire kingdom, an indispensable and unshakable existence like the foundation of a house. This refers to both the power of a fourth-level crown wearer and his indispensable strength to the kingdom.

As for the fifth-order perfectors, they were an unknown secret in that era, and their existence itself was completely unverifiable. They were basically characters in myths and legends, like the Messiah or Christianity.

"Then why has the world become what it is now?" Heidi buried her body in the sofa and blinked her long eyelashes at Ivan.

Her eyeliner is also very long, and when she squints her eyes, people are inexplicably reminded of cats. And not the cute domestic cats that people often see, but wild feline predators that are larger and more dangerous, such as tigresses, snow leopards, or caracals and lynxes.

Yes, the woman in front of him exuded a dangerous charm, the dangerous charm of a carnivorous predator.

"The City of a Thousand Towers." Alvin didn't care about Heidi's expression, but just said the name of a city in a very natural tone.

The City of a Thousand Towers is a free city-state that enjoys a permanent neutral status among the countries on the continent. The origin of this special status is related to its history.

In the past, transcendents relied on bloodlines and loyalty to pass on relevant knowledge. But as we all know, this is not necessarily the most efficient way of inheritance, let alone the most efficient way of development.

After all, the development of a technology requires not only exceptional talent but also numerous ordinary researchers with sufficient relevant knowledge to complete the more tedious aspects of the research. Of course, this assumes that some individuals outside the standard are not counted.

In short, when most extraordinary people are accustomed to letting later generations exchange loyalty and long-term service for the inheritance of relevant knowledge.

A group of people stepped forward. They were originally ordinary scholars studying ancient studies, but the extraordinary knowledge unearthed from the ruins did not require loyalty or long-term service. Even if their own strength was not enough to preserve all the excavation gains, information could be copied and transcribed.

Therefore, these scholars accumulated some extraordinary knowledge quietly from generation to generation.

However, much of this knowledge was fragmented and incomplete; each person possessed perhaps only a small part of the whole. Recognizing this, the original Tower City was established. Using the remains of a tower as a landmark, scholars regularly exchanged knowledge.

Gradually, regular gatherings turned into settlements, and the scattered knowledge in the hands of scholars was finally pieced together into a complete part.

Gradually, they transformed from ordinary scholars into scholars with extraordinary powers.

So, scholars began to call themselves - Masters.

Thus, the old-era combat superhumans, who knew only how to apply their abilities but not the underlying principles, lost their unique position. Research superhumans, focused on exploring the true nature of superhuman power, or rather, seeking the "truth," gradually increased in number. New civilizations, reborn from the ruins of ancient empires, began to forge their own paths in magical technology.

Later, the mages organized their own research groups called "universities" or "colleges" and recruited large numbers of students in order to accelerate the study of the nature of supernatural powers.

Anyone who has a little knowledge of the history of civilization should know that there is a huge efficiency advantage between school education and the ancient apprenticeship system.

The concept of "volume" can appear at any time. Once it appears, it will involve all people and forces.

The academy trains extraordinary people much faster than the ancient apprenticeship system, and the more enlightened and efficient inheritance method brings about faster development.

Later, those old nobles who originally possessed secret extraordinary knowledge even sent their own children to the academy. Although they had to pay a lot of money and materials, after receiving systematic education, the more outstanding heirs were something that no force could refuse.

The academy expanded rapidly, with new towers being built one after another. The ancient tower ruins in the city's center were surrounded by thousands of far taller "younger ones," even its towering peaks were completely obscured by the surrounding towers.

The City of a Thousand Towers was thus established, and a sacred place for mages with a permanently neutral status came into being.

"The City of a Thousand Towers, once a city of thousands of towers, achieved a transcendent status through a more advanced and efficient method of inheritance, while also driving a major leap forward in the technology of the entire era."

"The two nations of Elrond, undergoing a technological revolution, and Lind, undergoing a magical revolution, are the City of a Thousand Towers of today. The emerging education model driven by national power will inevitably be more efficient than the isolated city-state of the City of a Thousand Towers."

Although she herself was born in the City of a Thousand Towers, Heidi said these words without hesitation.

"That's why Elrond and Lind were the first in modern times to establish an elite legion composed entirely of transcendents. This was an exaggerated feat that was previously unimaginable in other regions."

"Hundreds of years ago, only when the City of Thousand Towers faced an invasion would they ring the bronze bell of the Ruins Tower to summon all the transcendents who had trained there to form a temporary legion like that."

"In other words, the extraordinary people in other parts of the continent are far inferior to those two countries in terms of both number and level of development."

"Is it the same even for the City of a Thousand Towers?" Ivan asked with a smile:

"Do you think the City of a Thousand Towers is still the city of knowledge that advocated freedom, respected knowledge, and encouraged sharing and communication when it was first established hundreds of years ago?" Heidi's tone revealed undisguised mockery.

"It's true that mages are not nobles, they are scholars. However, some mages in the City of Thousand Towers are not only imitating the nobles' pretentious etiquette, but also want to pass on their status from generation to generation like the nobles."

"Knowledge has become the gold in their vaults, sealed tightly in heavy safes, rather than being freely exchanged and passed on as it was a hundred years ago. The new knowledge that should have been generated in this process has naturally ceased to emerge."

"Ha! They even consider new students part of their property, tightly controlling their progress in acquiring knowledge. They must pay sufficient money, sharing, or services in exchange for further knowledge. How is this any different from those stingy nobles who controlled knowledge a thousand years ago?!" the female mage shouted angrily.

At this moment, Alvin noticed that she had a glass in her hand that could hold at least one liter of liquid, and it was filled with wine as clear as water.

Realizing that she had lost her composure, Heidi took a deep breath, raised her hand to support her forehead, and covered half of her face.

"Those damned academic cliques are a betrayal of the spirit of the City of Thousand Towers!"

"So, that's why you showed up in such a desolate borderland like the Silent Desert?" Ivan asked affirmatively.

"What else can I do? Haha, a northern girl from a barbarian tribe, unwilling to be the lover of a withered old wizard, nor willing to marry a pot-bellied wealthy businessman, can only let herself become ambitious and greedy."

After taking a big gulp of the pungent wine in the cup, the female mage showed an exceptionally bright smile on her face, but it made people inexplicably feel a chill on their backs.

"Shouldn't mages stay away from alcoholic beverages?" Ivan said casually:

"To a northerner, isn't this just water?" Heidi asked confidently, shaking her hair.

Her black hair, the same color as Ivan's, flowed back, revealing a long, white neck that was reminiscent of snow.

"...Just pretend I didn't say anything." Faced with such remarks, the real time traveler who changed his career halfway and the fake northerner had no choice but to raise their hands in surrender.

Having said that, he also fully understood why Heidi felt that the First Wizard King attached great importance to this matter.

Look at the people sent by other wizard kings, political brokers and slave traders. These people may be considered talents in their respective areas of expertise, but they are just ordinary people after all. At most, they have one or two low-level extraordinary people as trump cards to act secretly.