Chapter 160: [Leaf Medium]

The ability to fight on par with a level-ten powerhouse is not merely a matter of utilizing arcane arts in combat; arcane arts are simply one of the many facets of an Esper's capabilities. Beyond that, Espers possess a far wider array of abilities compared to ordinary Psionic Warriors.

For instance, the ability to see clearly in pitch darkness was demonstrated by Instructor Baruch when he instantly discerned the tiny name engraved on Luo Chen's school badge during the night. Rapidly calculating a crowd's headcount was another skill Baruch displayed in his very first class. Such abilities are far more than just everyday conveniences; in combat, being able to determine the exact number of opponents in the shortest possible time allows one to instantly assess the situation with confidence.

These special abilities unique to Espers are known as Esper Powers.

All in all, an Esper is a martial artist characterized by well-rounded development and special abilities. Their formidable nature is primarily manifested in two aspects: their comprehensiveness and their special abilities.

To give an example, suppose two martial artists possess roughly the same level of psionic power, but one is a Psionic Warrior while the other is an Esper. Without the aid of magic pets or divine weapons, the Psionic Warrior can only fight by the book, whereas the Esper can unleash headache-inducing Esper powers. The advantage is naturally much more obvious. Even when fighting opponents of a higher rank, an Esper equipped with special powers can act with total impunity.

Psionic Warriors and Espers do not exist in a sequential relationship where a Psionic Warrior reaching a certain stage automatically ascends to become an Esper. If a martial artist with immensely powerful psionic energy consistently fails to train their spiritual force, or if their innate talent is simply too poor, no matter how much their psionic power increases, they will remain merely an ordinary Psionic Warrior.

There is a distinction between an Esper's psionic power and their Esper powers. The two respectively represent the strength tiers of pure physical energy and special abilities. For instance, a one-star Esper might possess a psionic power level of eight or perhaps nine.

As for psionic power reaching the ninth level, continued cultivation and subsequent breakthroughs lead to specific titles. Martial artists whose psionic power reaches the tenth level are commonly known as Psionic Disciples, while those at the eleventh level are known as Psionic Adepts.

Beyond the tenth level of psionic power, warriors who purely cultivate psionic energy are collectively referred to as Fighters. Their titles are categorized into thirteen tiers: Psionic Disciple, Psionic Adept, Psionic Veteran, Psionic General, Psionic Master, Psionic Berserker, Psionic Overlord, Psionic Sovereign, Psionic Monarch, Psionic Emperor, Psionic Saint, and Psionic God. Each title is further divided into four stages: Initial, Intermediate, Advanced, and Critical.

If a Fighter represents someone who purely cultivates martial arts, an Esper is someone who practices both martial and arcane arts. Because Esper powers are immensely useful, an Esper's progression is generally faster than that of someone purely cultivating martial arts. Consequently, the path of the Esper is considered a more expedited route along the martial dao. People yearn to become Espers and flock to it; anyone with the requisite talent rarely gives it up. Only when driven by absolute necessity would someone choose to specialize purely as a Fighter.

However, during the Esper training class, Instructor Baruch issued a stern warning: "Do not become conceited just because you possess the talent to be an Esper. An Esper whose psionic level is only that of a Psionic Adept, even if their Esper powers reach six stars, will still undoubtedly lose in a battle against a powerhouse at the Psionic Sovereign level. The combat instructor for both elite classes, Pisatire, is a powerhouse at the Psionic Emperor level, and even people like us might not be his match! The strength of an Esper is relative, not absolute. Do you all understand?"

Everyone shouted in unison, "Understood, Instructor!"

Only then did Baruch nod in satisfaction. He certainly did not want these students to grow arrogant and complacent upon entering the Esper class. The foundation of a martial artist's strength has always been psionic power; Esper powers merely serve an auxiliary role.

"Very well. Now, we are going to learn some basic Esper powers. You might not be able to master these abilities just yet, but familiarizing yourselves with the techniques early on is beneficial! The subject of today's lesson is—Psionic Infusion!"

Baruch paused for a moment before continuing, "Actually, you all started learning psionic infusion long ago. The basic combat technique known as Qi Blade is a manifestation of psionic infusion. However, the technique we are learning today is more advanced. It involves infusing psionic energy not just into metals with good conductivity, but into materials with terrible conductivity, or even substances that are completely insulated from psionic energy!"

Hearing this, everyone understood. The technique the instructor was going to teach today was how Espers infuse psionic energy into non-metallic substances.

Baruch kept a watchful eye on everyone's expressions and smiled upon seeing their reactions. "It seems everyone has already heard a thing or two about this ability. Aside from metal, many objects can actually be infused with psionic energy. However, you must combine it with your spiritual force, causing the nature of your psionic energy to undergo a shift so that it suits the structure of the target substance. Some people are naturally endowed with this ability, and quite fortunately, your class happens to have such a lucky person."

At these words, the gazes of the students in Class Two instinctively converged on a single person—Lin Jia, who ranked second on the campus beauty leaderboard. During their practical mission, Lin Jia had demonstrated a similar technique, frequently using stones as hidden projectiles to vanquish enemies, drawing the envy of everyone in her group. Baruch said to her, "Haha, Lin Jia, come up and give a demonstration."

"Yes, Instructor!" Lin Jia stepped forward, feeling rather proud. She had not expected the instructor to notice as well.

Special innate talents for hidden weapons are extremely rare, yet they occasionally appear. Without needing to study them, certain people can use a specific insulator as a medium, and such individuals are natural prodigies with hidden weapons.

Looking at the envious gazes of the crowd below, a smile touched the corner of Lin Jia's lips. She relished the superiority of being viewed as a genius, standing high above the rest and head and shoulders above her peers.

Baruch produced a large boulder, then curled his fingers into claws, his battle qi erupting. This was the Eagle Claw, a third-rank combat skill, with which he forcefully gouged a small pebble from the boulder. "As you can all see, this small pebble is made of the exact same substance as the boulder!"

He then handed the pebble to Lin Jia and placed the large boulder some distance away. "Classmate Lin Jia, please try using this to strike that large boulder!"

"Understood!" Lin Jia took the pebble, silently circulated her inner technique, and flicked her wrist. The pebble shot forth like a meteor, striking the boulder dead-center and embedding itself entirely within it.

Baruch turned to the rest of the class. "Did you all see that? The pebble and the boulder are made of the same material. If you strike with ordinary force, either the pebble will bounce off or it will shatter. Yet Classmate Lin Jia's pebble was able to embed itself straight into the massive rock. This demonstrates that she infused psionic energy into the pebble, making it sturdy enough to embed itself into the boulder without breaking! In battles against fierce beasts, to say nothing of a tiny pebble, even metal struggles to inflict damage on ferocious beasts if it relies solely on its natural hardness. The outcome is completely different if you can infuse psionic energy into it. Once you master this Esper power, you will no longer have to feel the heartache and financial burden of purchasing hidden weapons every single time!"

Baruch's words brought a chuckle from the crowd. At that moment, a student raised a question: "Instructor Baruch, we are already level-six Psionic Warriors and can project combat skills like the Wave-Fostering Fist through the air. Why do we still need to rely on hidden weapons?"

"An excellent question!" Baruch nodded in approval and explained, "Your combat skill instructors must have told you that no matter what combat skill you use, releasing it requires first establishing a structural framework, upon which psionic energy is loaded before it can be formed. That framework consumes a considerable amount of psionic energy. However, when you infuse psionic energy directly into an object, the object itself serves as the framework. Consequently, the consumption of psionic energy is drastically reduced."

The student nodded. "Ah, I see. Instructor, I understand now!"

"This technique of psionic infusion not only saves money, but it also conserves psionic energy. Once cultivated to a high level, you can even transmit force across a barrier—just like this!"

As Baruch spoke, a loud bang echoed through the air. The large boulder suddenly bounced into the air of its own accord. Naturally, this was just a trick performed by Baruch.

"Haha, did you all see that? Once you master the ability to transmit force across barriers, you can launch silent sneak attacks against your enemies. Of course, the difficulty of transmitting force across barriers is far greater than mere psionic infusion!"

Luo Chen watched in profound wonder. Weren's Baruch's technique of vibrating the boulder away practically identical to the Dragon Subjugation move from the Divine Dragon Six Forms? Baruch had described it as an advanced and difficult Esper technique, yet the Dragon Emperor was capable of unleashing it. It seemed the Divine Dragon Six Forms were truly profound combat skills indeed!

"Very well, Classmate Lin Jia, you may return to formation!"

Once Lin Jia had rejoined the ranks, Baruch swept his gaze across the crowd once more. From experience, everyone knew this was the precursor to the instructor selecting someone else for a demonstration.

Finally, Baruch's gaze landed on Luo Chen. "Classmate Luo Chen, please step forward."

"Yes, Instructor!" Even though he had no idea what Baruch wanted him to do, Luo Chen stepped out of formation all the same.

"Classmate Luo Chen, please try the psionic infusion technique as well! There are many materials here; you may choose any of them at random!"

Baruch retrieved a small box containing fragments of stone, wood, rubber, hard paper, and cloth strips—none of which were conventional media for psionic conduction.

In truth, Baruch had already assumed that Luo Chen had not yet mastered the Esper power of infusing psionic energy into unconventional media. After all, not everyone was a lucky prodigy like Lin Jia.

His purpose in calling upon Luo Chen for a demonstration was because Luo Chen's spiritual force reading had shocked many of the students that day. He wanted to use this opportunity to impart a lesson: someone with high spiritual force does not necessarily master techniques any easier; the key still lay in personal comprehension.

Luo Chen rummaged through the box, shook his head, and said, "Instructor, I don't know how to infuse psionic energy into these substances!"

Just as expected. A faint smile touched Baruch's lips. Just as he was about to use this as a teaching moment, Luo Chen spoke again: "May I try using something else?"

Baruch asked in astonishment, "Something else? What?"

Luo Chen bounded over to a Chinese honey locust tree planted beside the public training grounds, and by the time he returned, he had already plucked a leaf from it. "I'll use this!"

Using a tree leaf as a medium for psionic conduction?

Baruch felt a momentary dizziness. This student truly had no idea how high the heavens were or how thick the earth was! That was an extremely difficult psionic infusion technique—one that many Meteor-tier Espers were still incapable of performing!