294: Chapter 294 Communication Methods Across Space

Fang Cheng stood in place, his footsteps not moving in the slightest.

Yet his gaze was like an arrow released from the bowstring, piercing through the layers of surrounding mist.

Flitting scenes swept past his sides, leaving fleeting afterimages deep within his consciousness.

It was as if he were placed at the intersection of illusion and reality.

In the end, his gaze fell upon a hazy location, as if observing the world through a layer of frosted glass.

Gradually, that blurry scenery became clear.

When the last wisp of mist dissipated,

what came into view was no longer the dark and empty Memory Palace, but a bright classroom.

Sunlight slanted through the windows, casting warm yellow patches of light on the wooden desks.

The air was filled with the scent of chalk dust, and uncleared mathematical formulas still remained on the blackboard.

The teacher's gentle lecturing voice could be heard by his ears, along with the subtle sounds of classmates turning pages and writing...

Fang Cheng felt as if he had "possessed" some small body.

At this moment, he was sitting in front of a desk, holding a pen in his hand and earnestly taking class notes.

Through these unfamiliar yet familiar eyes, he could even see the neat handwriting on the homework notebook.

Although somewhat blurry, as if wearing high-degree nearsighted glasses, every single detail was so real.

Fang Cheng's heart suddenly cleared, and the corners of his mouth curled into a smile.

He had succeeded!

At the same time, inside a classroom at Yuying Primary School,

Wen Xin, who was intently listening to the teacher explain a difficult problem, suddenly tilted her little head, and her pen tip drew a long ink mark across her workbook.

She blankly blinked her eyes and blurted out:

"Brother?"

Although the voice was not loud, it appeared particularly abrupt in the quiet classroom.

The math teacher's lecturing voice came to an abrupt halt, and the gazes of the entire class uniformly turned toward this usually well-behaved girl.

Wen Xin's small face turned red, and she hurriedly lowered her head, covering her mouth with her small hand.

Yet out of the corner of her eye, she quietly glanced toward the classroom door, muttering inwardly:

Is it an illusion caused by missing my brother too much? I seemed to have heard his voice just now...

"Wen Xin, pay attention in class."

A familiar thought once again silently passed into her mind.

This time, Wen Xin was certain it wasn't an illusion!

She abruptly raised her head, looking around joyfully.

However, where was there any trace of Fang Cheng?

Gazing from afar across space, Fang Cheng did not continue to disturb Wen Xin's class.

After confirming that this "contact method" was successful, he actively interrupted the mental connection.

In an instant, his consciousness returned to his main body.

The scenery before his eyes once again turned into the dark and empty Memory Palace.

The golden sphere of light floated in the Void Realm, humming and ringing, ripples undulating across its surface.

Fang Cheng keenly perceived that the light emitted by the sphere was a bit dimmer than before.

Although the change was very subtle, it could not escape his eyes.

"As expected..."

Staring at the light sphere and confirming it once again, Fang Cheng thought to himself inwardly.

Previously, telepathy between himself and Wen Xin could only be achieved within a very close distance, and both parties were limited to transmitting simple thoughts and emotions.

But now, with the help of the golden sphere of light in the Memory Palace, Fang Cheng had actually successfully established a one-way mental connection spanning ultra-long distances.

The distant separation of at least ten kilometers between Jiuchang Street and the school was easily shattered at this moment!

What was even more exhilarating was that this connection not only achieved basic communication of "listening" and "speaking", but even further shared visual perception.

Although the connection state was not yet stable enough, and the perceived images were sometimes clear and sometimes blurry, this was already an unprecedented huge Breakthrough.

Amidst his excitement, Fang Cheng continued to try touching other hazy light patterns on the golden sphere of light.

He eagerly wanted to verify whether this magical mental connection could extend to other people's consciousness.

Especially those close to him, such as his mother, maternal grandfather, uncle, and Zhou Xiumei, etc.

However, the subsequent several attempts all ended in failure.

No matter how Fang Cheng concentrated his mind to sense them, those light patterns were as if restricted by invisible shackles, unable to produce a completely identical resonance frequency with himself.

Occasionally, a faint light flashed, disappearing in a flash.

Along with it came intermittent static noise, and blurry images were seen.

It was just like being separated by a thick layer of mist, unable to perceive clearly at all, let alone establish a stable mental connection.

"It seems that currently, only with Wen Xin can such long-distance connection be achieved..."

Fang Cheng withdrew his fingers, thoughtfully gazing at the unformed light patterns on the surface of the light sphere.

His thoughts could not help drifting back to the scene back then inside Lin Chuqiao's home.

When Wen Xin fell into a coma, how he entered the depths of her subconsciousness, used his own Flame of Spirituality to dispel the darkness, and guided the way for her lost self-awareness.

And ultimately successfully awakened her who had been sleeping for many days.

It could be said that it was an extremely profound mental fusion, a resonance that reached straight into the depths of the Soul.

"Could it be... wanting to establish such a solid mental connection with others also requires a similar process?"

Fang Cheng muttered to himself:

"It's like some degree of... mental synchronization or Soul branding?"

This thought made him frown.

This was by no means an easy matter, and the risks involved were hard to estimate; a slight carelessness could cause damage to the minds of both parties.

"Perhaps... I can consult Lin Chuqiao, or that mysteriously-identified professor?"

Fang Cheng remembered when they were at Miwu Mountain, they seemed to have grasped some kind of ability capable of establishing mental connections and sharing information among team members.

Although there were differences in their actual circumstances and the principles might differ, it might perhaps provide some ideas worth learning from.

Pulling back his flying thoughts, Fang Cheng carefully sorted out several key conclusions based on this verification process.

First, the stronger the mental attribute of the conscious contact target, the lower the difficulty of establishing a mental connection.

Taking Wen Xin as an example, she was born with a keen mental perceptive ability, so she encountered almost no obstacles when establishing the connection.

Second, every connection would consume one's own mental energy, which should be related to the length of time and distance.

This point could be intuitively felt from the slightly dimmed surface of the light sphere.

The most important prerequisite was that both parties must have established some kind of special mental connection beforehand.

Just like the unspeakable bond between himself and Wen Xin.

This connection did not necessarily need to be built upon a very intimate interpersonal relationship.

But both parties must achieve an exceptionally harmonious resonance state at the Soul level, forming a mental resonance frequency with specific patterns.

After pondering for a moment, Fang Cheng temporarily shelved this complex problem.

His consciousness withdrew from the Memory Palace like a receding tide, returning once again to the real world.

Outside the window, voices were noisy, and car horns rose and fell one after another.

The afternoon sunlight pierced through the gaps in the curtains, scattering mottled and bouncing spots of light on the wooden floor.

At this moment, his stomach once again issued a thunderous roar of strong protest.

Gurgle——

Fang Cheng let out a soft breath, only then realizing that he hadn't eaten for a long time.

Rubbing his forehead, he felt the churning hunger within his body.

From last night to early morning, and up until now, he had been completely immersed in Meditation practice and mental experiments.

Although he gained quite a bit, he had forgotten even the most important matter.

"It seems I should reward myself well..."

Fang Cheng no longer suppressed his appetite, muttering to himself as he stood up.

His long-sitting joints emitted a series of "crack, crack" violent sounds.

When he stretched his limbs, the sore and numb muscles made Fang Cheng frown, but thinking of the upcoming Gourmet, a look of anticipation once again surfaced in his eyes.

Since he missed breakfast and lunch was so late as well, he might as well combine three meals into one—and have a truly gluttonous feast!

Thinking of this, Fang Cheng rubbed his rumbling stomach, the corners of his mouth involuntarily rising:

"And it must be super sumptuous meat dishes!"

This thought made Fang Cheng's footsteps unconsciously lighten a bit; he quickly picked up his shoulder bag, preparing to go out to the supermarket for a massive grocery shopping spree.

...

The next day.

Jiangdong District Global Elite Combat Club.

Inside the training hall, dull and powerful striking sounds rang out from time to time, mixed with the shouts of students and the scent of sweat.

Fang Cheng had just finished a high-intensity sparring class, exchanged a few pleasantries with his employer, and slowly walked down the Boxing ring.

His fingers skillfully untied the wrapped bandages and took off the sweat-stained Boxing gloves.

Then he unscrewed a bottle of sports drink, tilted his head back, and gulped down a few mouthfuls, sweat sliding down his well-defined cheeks.

To others, it looked as if he had given his all and was panting.

In reality, it didn't consume much of his physical strength at all, at most being about the same as a usual warm-up exercise.

Even the sweat flowing from his body was merely a disguise deliberately forced out through True Qi.

Fang Cheng drank water, glancing at the two prompt messages appearing on the interface:

[ Sanda Experience + 1 ]

[ Muay Thai Experience + 2 ]

His calm gaze immediately swept across the venue.

His gaze swept past those ordinary students attending class, and then landed on the other side of the training ground.

The loud crashes of "Bang! Bang! Bang!" were exceptionally eye-catching.

Xu Hao was bare-chested, wildly outputting attacks against a heavy punching bag weighing several hundred kilograms, every punch looking as if it would blast the punching bag apart.

A large area was cleared around him, and the other students and coaches tacitly hid far away.

Evidently, this fellow was already a presence with a "notorious reputation far and wide" inside the club.

Even those sparring partners who charged by the hour would take a detour upon seeing him, fearing they would be dragged away to act as human punching bags.

No one wanted to end up covered in injuries just to earn a little money; that truly wouldn't be worth the loss.

Fang Cheng had long noticed Xu Hao's arrival, but did not make a fuss, simply drinking water silently and adjusting his breathing.

Nearby, several fighters who had just finished training gathered together, wiping sweat while whispering in discussion:

"Huo, why is this jinx Xu Hao here again? Aren't he afraid of being sorted out by Fang Cheng again?"

"Exactly, with Fang Cheng here, he really has the face to come to our club."

"Hehe, last time he came to challenge the gym, he was so arrogant, yet on the ring he was beaten by Fang Cheng to look like a pig's head..."

The speaker gestured, a gloating smile on their face.

"Yeah, yeah, I heard in the end he almost couldn't stand up, and was carried out by people..."

Listening to the intermittent discussions around him, Fang Cheng muttered inwardly:

"Is it that exaggerated? I remember last time I seemed to have tied with him, being very low-profile right?"

Shaking his head, these people's rumors always liked to add fuel to the fire.

At this time, Xu Hao seemed tired from hitting, stopped, and panted heavily.

He wiped the sweat on his face, his gaze habitually roaming around the venue, and quickly locked onto Fang Cheng's figure.

Then he grinned widely, just preparing to stride over and say "hello".

Yet he saw Fang Cheng unhurriedly raise his hand, and while wiping sweat with a towel, quietly gestured an obscure hand sign.

Xu Hao's eyes flashed, immediately understanding, he nodded slightly, abruptly stopping his steps.

Next, this guy picked up a buzzing fascia gun and began relaxing his muscles.

But he clearly wasn't a master who could stay well-behaved; while relaxing, he idly wandered around the training hall.

Seeing others practicing Boxing, he always had to crowd over and point fingers, his tone utterly arrogant:

"Hey, your hook punch force application is wrong, it's as soft and mushy as a sissy!"

"Your footwork is too stiff, others hitting you is just like hitting a wooden post..."

Most veteran students knew his nature, rolling their eyes and too lazy to pay attention to him.

Yet there happened to be a hot-headed rookie who didn't know him, got infuriated by what he said, stiffened his neck, and talked back a sentence.

Xu Hao instantly grew interested, his eyes shining, and threw the fascia gun aside:

"Heh, kid has guts! Unconvinced? You and I practice on the ring?"

Seeing that a fight was about to break out, veteran students nearby instantly and quickly grabbed the rookie, lowering their voices to popularize Xu Hao's glorious deeds.

Hearing this, the rookie turned pale with fright and sullenly shut his mouth.

Seeing no one accept the challenge, Xu Hao suddenly felt bored, yet had abundant energy with nowhere to vent it.

This caused quite a few professional fighters in the venue to frown; if not for some scruples, someone probably would have come up to teach him a lesson long ago.

Fortunately, his old man Xu Maocai appeared in time, earnestly nagging Xu Hao for a few sentences.

It finally made this guy quiet down temporarily, sullenly walking toward the direction of the locker room.

At twelve o'clock noon, inside the bathroom attached to the club, water sounds cascaded noisily.

At this time point, most people had already gone to eat or returned to the locker room for a noon break.

The bathroom appeared exceptionally quiet, the steam like misty smoke not yet dissipated.

Only in two shower stalls separated by frosted glass, the sound of flowing water continuously streamed out.

Through the hazy water vapor and glass, two muscular and robust backs could faintly be seen.

One had a bald appearance, with a well-proportioned and upright figure, perhaps due to height, his body shape slightly slender.

But under the scouring of hot water, the muscle lines of his back and shoulder blades were as clear and distinct as if carved by a knife.

Every single piece seemed to contain astonishing explosive power, filled with a smooth and masculine aesthetic.

The other kept medium-short hair, with a few strands of eye-catching yellow hair dyed in the middle.

His figure was likewise muscular and knotted, looking extremely robust.

But in comparison, the form of his muscles obviously lacked a bit of that ultimate refinement and coordination sense of the former.

Hot water gushed down from the showerhead, scouring the two bodies covered in sweat and training marks.

The scent of shower gel mixed with the rising water vapor, slowly pervading the enclosed space, as if forming a natural barrier.

Under the cover of the gurgling water sounds, a voice suddenly rang out:

"The matter I had you investigate last time, is there any progress?"

The two robust men amidst the swirling water mist were precisely Fang Cheng and Xu Hao.

The two of them tacitly chose this time and place to carry out a covert rendezvous.