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Chapter 48: Restrictions
🕑 Added 2025-06-11 15:10:22 +0000 UTCLily’s expression was stern, her playful demeanor gone. "Not that serious? Ethan, do you truly understand what their development ideology is?"
Ethan raised his head and answered, his voice low, "Of course I know. Humans are inherently flawed, low-level creatures, and monstrous beasts are what humans should evolve into. They are dedicated to completely transforming themselves into monsters, and then… umm~~" As he spoke, Ethan seemed to think of something, and he sharply sucked in a breath of cold air, a look of dawning horror on his face.
He suddenly realized it. Wasn't he just like that now? A complete transformation from the genetic level, turning oneself into another creature entirely—wasn't this the ultimate ideology, the fanatical goal, of the Evolution Cult?
Lily nodded grimly. "Now you know? So, once those lunatics find out about you, they will absolutely stop at nothing to capture you. At that time, maybe you'll become research material for them, dissected on a table. Or, if you're lucky," she added with a dark smirk, "maybe that group of fanatics will worship you as a living god."
"I personally am more inclined towards the first possibility," Ethan said, a shiver running down his spine.
"So," Lily’s voice was firm, "the true nature of your ability must absolutely not be leaked to a third person. Is there anyone else who knows?"
Ethan hesitated. "……”
Seeing him silent, Lily also realized something and sighed. "Alright, those two, Marcus and Seraphina, they can be trusted. But absolutely no fifth person can know! Understood?"
"Not even my parents?" Ethan asked.
Lily just looked at him. "Do you remember how fast you used to pee your pants when you were nine and got scared?"
Ethan’s face went pale. "Kill me, I won't say a single word!" His eyes were incomparably firm, a look he had never had before, as if he were about to take a sacred vow of silence.
Lily patted Ethan on the shoulder, her expression softening slightly. "Relax. As long as you are a little more careful, there probably won't be too much of a problem. However, you should also pay close attention to your own safety. When you're outside, try not to transform into too many different forms in front of strangers. Otherwise, it will definitely attract the attention of those kinds of people and cause you a lot of unnecessary trouble."
Ethan nodded, indicating that he understood.
"Alright," Lily said, changing the subject, "let's get back to the main topic. You just had Sylph touch your watch, and as a result, her DNA was also recorded. This is another fundamental application of your ability. That's right," she confirmed, "it can absorb the DNA of some intelligent lifeforms, and then after a period of internal scanning and processing, you can transform into them. However, the prerequisite is that the creature must have its own, similar to a social system or complex societal structure. A stray dog on the side of the road won't work. It must be a species like an Elemental Spirit, or a race from the Rift Worlds—something that also has its own language system. These are the basic conditions. If they are not met, the Omnitrix cannot record its DNA."
So, Ethan thought, it might not be possible to absorb those common mutated creatures, or even most of the less intelligent monsters. But… every sentient race in the Rift Worlds has its own social system. If I succeed in absorbing their DNA, I could not only gain their racial abilities but also perfectly infiltrate their societies. Just for self-preservation and intelligence gathering alone, this point already maxes out the ability's potential.
"That makes sense," Ethan said aloud. "But then my guess is that this scanning should not be unlimited. I can't just absorb as many different DNA samples as I want. There must be some other restrictions I don't know about."
Lily nodded. "My guess is that it might be related to the watershed breakthroughs of each of your ranks. Every psionicist can absorb four psionic skills from Aura Cores within one major rank. Every time you break through a watershed, you can unlock a new 'slot' for a skill. So, if recording DNA this way can be converted into the same condition as absorbing psionic skills, then it means that within one major rank, you can at most record four new sets of DNA through this ability."
Ethan nodded, feeling that this made a lot of sense. "Hearing you say it like that, it does seem to be the case. But there's no way to verify it now."
"Who said there's no way?" Lily smirked.
Ethan leaned forward. "Time to get a new knowledge point."
Lily continued, "The reason psionicists can absorb psionic skills from Aura Cores is because when we absorb Aura and break through ranks, it's equivalent to our bodies being developed, evolved to a higher level. At the same time, our bodies will also have many empty slots, similar to card slots in a deck. So…"
"So, training is like opening up new holes in the body?" Ethan interrupted.
"What nonsense are you talking!" she said, flicking his forehead. "It's like pouring water into a cup. If you then put an iron ball in, the water level will rise. At that time, if you want to let the water level go down again, you'll have to add more water to fill the new volume. The human body is similar. Those empty psionic slots are there. The psionic pioneers of old researched this method to use the skills from Aura Cores to fill these excess gaps in our psionic structure. Thus, this method came to be. After a long period of research, they finally concluded that at each major watershed, a new empty slot will appear. This is why we can absorb new psionic skills from Aura Cores at those specific points."
"So that's how it is," Ethan said, fascinated. "Then how do I know if this new 'slot' of mine from the Wind Spirit scan has been occupied?"
"It's both simple and difficult," Lily said. "You definitely can't do it with your current ability. But with my help, you can. Ever heard of 'internal vision'?"
"I've vaguely heard of it," Ethan replied. "It seems to be a very profound, high-level technique."
"That's right," Lily confirmed. "Through this method, we can literally see the psionic gaps in our own bodies and tell whether they've been filled. You can't do it yet because it involves a high degree of control over one's own mental power, but I can assist you externally with my mental power."
Ethan looked nervous. "Won't that be… dangerous?"
"Relax," Lily said with a grin. "You won't die."
That's even less reassuring!
"Stop messing around," she said, her tone becoming serious again. "I'll first tell you how to confirm if the psionic skill slot is occupied." Lily then explained the detailed method to him.
Ethan knew that this matter was very important to him. He took a deep breath and, following what Lily had said, began to try. He closed his eyes, adjusted his breathing, and calmed his mind. As time passed, he gradually entered a state of deep meditation.
In this state, Ethan felt as if he were floating in a dark, empty space, but his surroundings were filled with a strange, humming wave of energy. He tried to concentrate his attention to feel the changes and flows in these energy waves. Suddenly, he felt a warm, guiding force coming from the outside world; that was Lily's mental power. It was like a bright ray of light, piercing through the inner darkness, illuminating a certain corner deep in his heart, in his very soul.
Ethan followed this ray of light and slowly, cautiously, began to explore the inside of his own body. He discovered that his psionic structure was filled with many tiny gaps and crevices. These were all spaces that had been expanded after his rank had increased. The ambient Aura here couldn't flow through these empty spaces naturally; it was all wasted potential. He saw countless streams of pure white Aura flowing along his Aura Channels like rivers of water. No matter where the Aura was, it all had only one focal point, which was the location in his lower abdomen. There, there was a dense, swirling fog of energy, and all the Aura he channeled continuously converged towards that thick fog – his Aura Reservoir.
