Chapter 120: [Sensory Ability]

“Ultra-psychic waves?” Luo Chen exclaimed in surprise. “What exactly is that?”

“Master, you must have heard of bats before,” Nicole replied.

She didn’t explain directly, as she often preferred illustrating new concepts through examples, making them easier for Luo Chen to grasp. “Bats are extraordinary creatures. Even when flying at high speed in pitch-dark, cramped spaces filled with numerous obstacles, they never collide with anything. Sometimes, hundreds of bats gather within a single cave, and yet there are no ‘traffic accidents’ among them!”

Luo Chen chuckled. “Traffic accidents? That’s quite amusing. But you’re right—bats really are amazing.”

Nicole continued, “Exactly. The reason bats have such incredible abilities is that they continuously emit high-frequency ultrasonic waves. This is a form of echolocation. Using this system, bats can fly and hunt in total darkness. Despite heavy interference, they send out ultrasonic signals.”

“If they encounter an obstacle or a flying insect, these ultrasonic waves bounce back to them, providing precise feedback. Their ultrasonic detection is extremely sensitive and discerning, allowing them not only to determine direction and navigate their flight path but also to distinguish between different insects or obstacles, enabling effective avoidance or pursuit. Ultra-psychic waves are similar to ultrasonic waves. If you can emit ultra-psychic waves and receive feedback, you can acquire information with bat-like precision!”

Bat-like abilities? Luo Chen’s curiosity was piqued. He eagerly asked, “Then how do I emit ultra-psychic waves?”

“The method to generate ultra-psychic waves is called a ‘Mental Burst.’ First, you compress your spiritual energy into a single, highly concentrated ultra-psychic seed. Then, you detonate this seed, converting all your spiritual energy into ultra-psychic waves—a form of invisible signal that can be released externally. This greatly amplifies your sensing range, feedback accuracy, and resistance to interference by several dozen times.”

Nicole paused before adding, “However, the Mental Burst process is irreversible. Once started, it cannot be stopped until your spiritual energy is nearly depleted! Therefore, after using a Mental Burst, you will feel extremely exhausted. Even if you sleep fully, it may take six hours to fully recover, and you won’t be able to train on that day.”

“Uh, so I can’t use it often?”

“Yes. That’s why it’s an emergency tactic. With your current spiritual power, you can maintain it for about ten minutes when in good condition, or five to six minutes when fatigued. During this time, you must escape your opponent, or you’ll be in trouble!”

Five to ten minutes? That wasn’t bad. If he encountered that hunched old man again, lasting a few minutes could buy him enough time for reinforcements.

Nicole added, “However, Master, the hunched old man’s method of spiritual sensing can be used and stopped at will. He only uses ordinary psychic waves, not ultra-psychic waves. Though less sensitive and effective, once your spiritual power grows strong enough, this conventional method will prove very useful in battle. That’s what you should focus on mastering first.”

That evening, Luo Chen entered a virtual illusion realm. His main course tonight was spiritual sensing.

His opponent was once again a simulated Joanna. Since Joanna’s Scorching Flame Fist combined with footwork, it would be easier for Luo Chen to understand.

Joanna appeared a short distance ahead of Luo Chen and stopped. Nicole flew down beside him and said, “Master, it might be difficult to catch your opponent’s movements at first. Let’s start with simple exercises to train. Also, I suggest you close your eyes and shut down your visual senses to sharpen your perception.”

Luo Chen nodded. “Alright, I’ll do as you say.”

He closed his eyes. Nicole continued, “Now, I will have Joanna move in a certain direction. You only need to focus your spiritual energy near your body without spreading it too far, then judge the direction she moves. Let’s begin in three, two, one!”

After a second, Nicole asked, “Master, please judge Joanna’s direction of movement.”

Luo Chen hesitated briefly, then said, “Backward!”

He had no concrete basis for this guess, but he just felt Joanna was indeed moving backward—perhaps this was the sixth sense Nicole mentioned.

Opening his eyes, he saw Joanna had indeed retreated about half a meter.

Luo Chen was thrilled. He hadn’t expected to “guess” so accurately. “Nicole, let’s try a few more times!”

“Left!”

“Right!”

“Right!”

“Forward!”

...

After more than ten consecutive guesses, not one was wrong. This greatly boosted Luo Chen’s confidence and gave him a deeper appreciation for the subtlety of spiritual energy.

“Excellent, Master. It seems within three meters your sensing is very accurate. Now, let’s increase the distance and try again.”

Joanna stepped back several paces, about five meters, then the second round began. This time Luo Chen’s guesses were less accurate—he made a mistake about once every six or seven attempts. Then Joanna moved forward two steps, about four meters away, and Luo Chen’s accuracy returned to 100%.

Finally, Nicole concluded, “Master, it appears that around four meters is your optimal sensing range. Beyond four meters, your accuracy declines.”

“Only four meters?” Luo Chen frowned. “That won’t be very useful in actual combat.”

A Level Five psychic warrior could unleash mid-range combat techniques, and their attack range would certainly exceed four meters. As for foes below Level Five, Luo Chen was confident he wouldn’t even need sensory ability to defeat them. His purpose in learning footwork was to increase his chances of escape when facing much stronger opponents, who would wield wide-ranging attacks—so a sensing range of four meters was insufficient.

Nicole smiled. “Master, that’s just your current level. As your spiritual power grows and your sensing becomes more practiced, your range will extend. Take it step by step.”

“Alright!” Luo Chen thought of the hunched old man’s uncanny tracking ability and felt motivated. If he could master this skill, his strength would surely rise significantly. But before that, he still had ultra-psychic waves as an emergency measure. He wondered what it would feel like to activate them—he should find a chance to try it out soon!