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Chapter 40: Wind Spirit
🕑 Added 2025-06-11 10:34:54 +0000 UTCThe giant wind blade that Sylph had transformed into suddenly began to shrink, compressing its form until it gradually turned into a small bird with shimmering, translucent green feathers and a surprisingly fluffy appearance. That little bird flew up into the air, and with a powerful flap of its swift wings, it unleashed a gale of unimaginable force.
Ethan, still in his Upgrade form, could only do his best to resist, but he was still unable to withstand this concentrated gust of wind. He was thrown to the ground, his semi-liquid hands clutching at the floor, his whole body like a tattered rag being dragged back and forth on the spot. Ethan tried hard to stabilize his body, but the fierce wind was like a wild beast, ruthlessly pouncing on him, seemingly wanting to tear him to shreds. He felt as if he had become a helpless fallen leaf, adrift and powerless in a hurricane.
No, I can't let this continue, or I'll definitely be blown away and smashed against a wall! His heart was burning with anxiety. His mind raced, searching for an alien hero that could help him break through this overwhelming situation. And he really did think of one!
"Hey, Sylph! Do you know why people are so enthusiastic about afforestation and planting trees?" he yelled, his voice synthesized.
Hearing these strange words, Sylph tilted her little head, a little confused, but she didn't stop flapping her wings. The fierce wind continued to howl.
Ethan managed to free a hand, then quickly pressed the Omnitrix symbol on his chest, completing his form's transformation. In an instant, his fluid, technological body was replaced by a verdant, plant-like one, emitting a green glow.
"Wild! Vine! Hah!!!"
With a loud roar, he quickly controlled the five thick vine-legs under his feet, plunging them deep into the reinforced floor of the training hall. These vines were like living steel rebars, gripping the earth tightly, stabilizing his body. Although the fierce wind was still raging around him, he no longer swayed back and forth but stood firmly on the spot. At this moment, he was like a great, ancient tree rooted deep in the earth; even in the face of a fierce hurricane, he remained completely unmoved.
"Now taste this!" Ethan plunged his two powerful arms into the ground as well. In an instant, countless thick, thorny vines grew rapidly from the floor. They intertwined with each other at incredible speed, turning into a dense forest of trees as tall as a person. These living trees firmly blocked the gust of wind on the other side. Then, around Sylph, more trees as tall as a person rose up from the ground, forming a tight, inescapable cage that trapped her inside.
Seeing that she was trapped, Sylph was also a bit anxious. She flapped her wings furiously, releasing sharp wind blades that cut through the vine cage in front of her. However, as soon as one vine was cut, another grew in its place, and after just a short while, the newly cut vines had already grown back again, stronger than before.
Seeing that this method was useless, she wrapped herself in her own wings again, then began to spin at high speed. Countless scattered wind blades, with her at the center, shot out in every direction. However, the power of these scattered wind blades was not as great as her previous, focused attack. Each one could only leave a shallow mark on the thick vines, and the vines would quickly recover from the damage.
This state of frantic attack lasted for five full minutes, after which she collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. Just now, she had consumed too much psionic energy. Now, completely exhausted, she no longer had the strength to continue attacking. At the same time, the Omnitrix symbol on Ethan's chest also began to flash red. This represented that his own psionic energy was now less than one-tenth of his total capacity. Just now, he had used so many different alien heroes and fought for so long. And that final move, his self-named "All-Encompassing Forest," had nearly drained him completely.
The vines were retracted. Sylph, back in her tiny bird form, flew weakly to Lily's shoulder, rubbing her face against her cheek and cooing pitifully. Her little eyes were watery.
Ethan, reverted to his human form and panting, asked, "Is this… did I actually make her cry?"
Hearing this, that little bird cried even more fiercely, its voice filled with grievance and sorrow. Lily shot him a fierce glare, then gently extended a finger and lightly stroked Sylph's body, as if comforting a small child. "Alright, alright, Sylph, stop crying~ Wait a bit, and I'll help you teach this mean guy a lesson, let him know that bullying us is not right!"
Following Lily's comfort and gentle stroking, the little bird named Sylph slowly stopped crying, and the tears in its eyes also gradually disappeared. Then, Sylph glanced at Ethan with her two small, indignant eyes, then slowly dissipated into the air, returning to her master.
This all happened so quickly, leaving Ethan dumbfounded. "Sis Lily, what on earth is that thing? How is it so magical?"
Lily explained, "This is an Elemental Spirit, and an incredibly rare one at that. Ordinary people wouldn't even see one in their entire lifetime. They are very difficult to tame or form a bond with. Only when they willingly choose to follow someone will they become that person's partner, their familiar. So, to be able to gain the recognition of an Elemental Spirit is an extremely lucky, almost miraculous thing!" As she said these words, Lily crossed her arms, proudly raised her head, her face filled with a smug, self-satisfied smile. That look… it was as if she were the powerful female protagonist from some popular fantasy game, a master summoner showing off her prize companion.
On the other side of the gym, Marcus and Seraphina had also recovered by now. After the battle had ended, they had walked over and had naturally also heard Lily's explanation. Seraphina said with some admiration, "Lily, so that thing just now was a real Wind Spirit?"
Lily nodded. "That's right. I went to great lengths to get this little one in the Rift Worlds!"
"The Rift Worlds!" Marcus exclaimed. "That place is incredibly dangerous!"
Lily shrugged. "I didn't say it wasn't. We went in through a small-scale, unstable spatial gate. That gate was still very volatile, so I suffered a small injury getting through. But," she looked at the spot where Sylph had disappeared, a fond smile on her face, "it was worth it." The Rift Worlds, as they knew, was the collective term for the worlds on the other side of the spatial rifts; that is the home turf of those monstrous beasts.
Ethan looked a little worried. "Sis Lily, what kind of injury did you say you have? It won't leave any lingering health problems, will it?" After all, although he hadn't been transmigrated for long, he had seen more than once from online information just how incredibly dangerous the Rift Worlds were. It could be said that for an ordinary person, even a low-ranked psionicist, to go in, it was a path to certain death. He was very worried that his aunt would have suffered some irreversible injury there.
Lily waved his concern away. "Relax. Do you think I don't know how dangerous it is inside? I definitely had to make thorough preparations before going in. Besides, don't you worry about this kind of thing too much. When you get to university, you'll have to go in there too. This is a required course."
The three of them stared at her, horrified. "Ah!!!"
Lily rolled her eyes. "What are you 'ah'-ing about? Have you all forgotten the school's core education? Our purpose as psionicists is to train to become strong people, to protect our homes and our country, to eventually reclaim our lost lands from the monsters."
"Then why do we still have to go to the Rift Worlds, their home turf?" Ethan asked, confused.
Lily looked at him as if he were an idiot. "Because of resources, you idiot. My Wind Spirit, Sylph, was obtained from the Rift Worlds. The Aura on our Earth hasn't even been resurged for 500 years; its concentration and quality are no match for the ancient, saturated Aura of the Rift Worlds. Many truly precious, high-grade resources can only be obtained there. This is also why the monstrous beasts that come through the rifts are always one step ahead of us in terms of raw power and evolution."
Seraphina’s eyes lit up with understanding. "So that's why you all go to the Rift Worlds – to obtain those precious, high-grade resources so that you can improve your strength at a much faster rate."
Lily nodded. "That's right. When you get to university, in order to obtain those powerful resources necessary to keep up with the top talents, you will also go over there to rapidly increase your own strength. It's the only way to truly compete."
