CLANG!

A noise even louder than when Rowan had tested his physical punch strength echoed through the room.

On the strength testing machine, a new number flashed up.

18,327 kg.

"About eighteen thousand kilos of impact force?"

Rowan frowned at the result. This was only within the range of a mid-level Warlord-tier psychic.

He had hoped his psychic force would already be at high-level Warlord-tier.

"So my psychic energy really is completely maxed out…"

Even though he'd already suspected this, he still let out a sigh.

Maxed-out psychic energy meant that without a formal cultivation method for psychic warriors, his level would be almost impossible to improve further.

Mid-level Warlord-tier psychic power was fine for dealing with weak opponents, but against stronger fighters or beasts, it wasn't enough to truly compete.

"As far as I know, the only thing on Earth that can improve a psychic's level is The Fundamentals of Psychic Mastery in Hong's possession. Training with the Celestial Diagram within it allows a psychic to control more flying blades. If I ever get the chance, I could try to trade for it…"

He shook his head slightly.

Unfortunately, there were no treasures on Earth that could directly boost psychic levels.

His warrior level wasn't a problem he had jade marrow, dragon's blood, and the Spirit of Flora to accelerate that path.

But for psychic cultivation, there was nothing.

Even if he managed to acquire the Celestial Diagram, progress would still be slow and methodical.

Reaching God of War-tier psychic power might take ten years.

And in ten years… the world would already be in chaos.

The golden-horned beast would ravage Earth in just a few short years, and after that, humanity would be thrust into direct contact with the wider universe.

By the time his psychic strength reached God of War-tier, what use would it be?

"Do I really have to give up on the psychic path?"

Rowan frowned in thought.

Deep down, he still wanted to follow in Luo Feng's footsteps, mastering both martial and psychic disciplines.

But his natural psychic talent was nowhere near Luo Feng's.

"…Wait. In Swallowed Star, there's no shortcut for boosting psychic power but what about in the Marvel universe?"

A spark lit in his mind.

Images and knowledge from Marvel quickly surfaced in his thoughts.

First came the mystic arts of Kamar-Taj.

Second the Mind Stone.

"That's it. The Mind Stone!" Rowan's eyes widened.

The Infinity Stones possessed unimaginable power.

In the films, Baron Strucker of Hydra had only tapped a fraction of the Mind Stone's energy, yet it granted Pietro and Wanda incredible superhuman abilities.

In theory, the Mind Stone, like the other Stones, should have immense, reality-defining abilities.

Unfortunately, in the early timeline it was wasted in Vision's forehead, and later in Thanos' gauntlet it never truly shone.

"But could the Mind Stone increase my psychic power?"

The question sent a thrill through him.

The Mind Stone ruled over the domain of thought and spirit.

Psychic energy was part of that domain.

In theory, it should be able to enhance psychic strength just as the Power Stone amplified physical force, the Mind Stone should be able to amplify the mind.

"It should work."

The more he thought about it, the more excited he became.

And maybe it could do more than act as a 'battery.' It was, after all, one of the six primal Infinity Stones.

"Mind… spirit… will…?"

His eyes lit up as another idea struck him.

In the Swallowed Star universe, alongside mastery of the laws of the universe, a warrior's mental state and willpower were paramount.

Luo Feng, Hong, and Thunder God were all chosen by powerful factions partly because of their extraordinary willpower, shaped by the unique evolution of Earth's lifeforms after being altered by Sitting Mountain Guest.

If Sitting Mountain Guest's changes could grant Earthlings exceptional mental talent, could the Mind Stone do something similar?

It was a daring thought.

The Mind Stone, forged from one of six singularities that existed before the birth of the universe, commanded infinite authority in the realm of the mind.

Strengthening willpower should be child's play for it.

"Forget it when I get the Mind Stone, I'll try it and find out."

A small, confident smile tugged at his lips.

Now he was even more eager for Loki's arrival.

Two Infinity Stones delivered straight to him? That was like a cosmic gift basket.

After finishing the flying blade impact test, Rowan tested how many blades he could control at once.

Without weakening their individual strength, he could manage four blades simultaneously already impressive.

Luo Feng himself had started with just two.

"Seems my mental control is pretty good," he thought.

The stronger the mind, the more blades one could wield.

"With four blades at about eighteen thousand kilos each, I can unleash over seventy thousand kilos of combined impact about the same as a God of War-tier warrior's all-out strike."

The thought made his gaze sharpen.

"With this strength, Wakanda shouldn't be able to resist. Once I take the vibranium from Ulysses Klaue, I'll forge myself a full suit of armor and claim their mines."

The decision settled firmly in his mind.

Wearing vibranium armor and controlling four flying blades he doubted Wakanda could stop him.

Rowan then took out two pieces of jade marrow, locking the rest of the jade marrow, dragon's blood, and Spirit of Flora in a secure code-locked case.

It was the kind used by the upper ranks of the Extreme Martial Hall even senators couldn't break it. Safe enough for his villa.

Beep beep.

His phone buzzed.

A message from Steve Jiang, and an unread one from Rachel Zhao.

"Rowan, I've packed up all the materials you asked for and emailed them to you. Check your inbox."

He smiled at Steve's efficiency.

Rachel's message was similar.

Yesterday, he had asked them to help gather comprehensive warrior data every battle and training video available online, plus relevant theory.

With Steve from a powerful Jiangnan family and Rachel from a military lineage, pulling together such information was easy.

Opening his inbox, he found two new emails, each with a massive compressed file.

Inside over a thousand terabytes of material.

Thankfully, the laptops issued to elite training camp members had enormous storage capacity.

Setting the downloads to run in the background, Rowan returned to training his blade work and striking force.

He had almost fully mastered controlling seventy percent of his strength in each swing nearly every strike now carried precise power.

He had also reached the beginner's threshold for the reverse-draw slash his blade flowed smoothly from sheath to strike and back.

"In the moment I swing, I need my body to unleash a hidden surge of power…"

Dragon-patterned saber in hand, he slashed again and again, mind turning over the essence of the Ninefold Thunder Blade technique.

Truth be told, he was still groping in the dark.

The concept seemed to defy common sense.

"In the original story, Luo Feng only understood the first form when facing death from a sniper's bullet…"

"If I can master just that first form, the rest will be much easier."

His movements grew faster, his stance shifting constantly.

"But how exactly… do I get my body to unleash that hidden force?"

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