CHAPTER 338: CHAPTER 292 MYELIN SHEATH

SWISH—

At the moment the ink ball made contact with the Red-eyed Purple Lady Bee, it immediately disintegrated and reverted to its filamentous form, wrapping around the body of the Alien Bee.

The Red-eyed Purple Lady Bee instinctively struggled, rapidly flapping its membrane wings and emitting a loud buzzing sound.

A few moments later, the struggle ceased. The Alien Bee regained calmness, quietly lying in the palm of the Ink Silk Clone, its color now inky black.

A clone? No, not entirely.

Li Ang used Thought to try to sense the Red-eyed Purple Lady Bee. The instant his Heart Thought was emitted, the Alien Bee unfolded its wings and, as he had anticipated, raised its front two legs.

The Ink Silk not only covered the Alien Bee’s exterior but also had several strands penetrating its body, directly connecting to the internal nervous ganglia.

Skull-interrupted Sword!

Li Ang immediately thought of his own condition; the Ink Silk hosted inside his body was also highly bound to his brain and spinal nervous system. Back at the pivotal moment in the Exam Palace, it had filled the deficiencies in his Spirit Vein.

The difference was that the Ink Silk’s neural connection with the Red-eyed Purple Lady Bee was parallel, and the degree of symbiosis was far less profound than his own.

Li Ang tried sending commands to the Alien Bee. As long as it was within its capabilities, the Alien Bee executed them flawlessly.

It could fly a kilometer into the sky to perform reconnaissance from above, or it could suddenly accelerate to sting someone.

Whether it was speed, agility, or attack power, all were far superior to the original Red-eyed Purple Lady Bee.

It was simply a biological weapon, enhanced by Ink Silk.

Li Ang’s thoughts raced. He directly controlled the main body of the Ink Silk Clone, moving towards the corner of the cave.

There, tied up, were animals like bats, field mice, and weasels that served as feed for the Alien Bees.

The Ink Silk Clone cast ink balls onto them, and the result was unexpected.

All the animals were parasitized by the Ink Silk. While their color changed to black, they absolutely obeyed Li Ang’s commands. They could walk, run, jump, and fly. Li Ang even controlled a field mouse, making it hold a stick and perform a dance resembling a cane dance.

How is this possible?!

Li Ang’s astonishment only grew. The basic unit of nerve centers in vertebrates is the neuron. Neurons are divided into a cell body and protrusions. Countless neurons connect through these protrusions to form the nerve center, thus enabling reflexes, responses, memory, and even consciousness and intelligence.

The Ink Silk could control not only insects, which have simple nervous ganglia, but also vertebrates with highly complex nerve centers, usurping control of their bodies. This included fish, bats, field mice, and even larger creatures.

Li Ang immediately thought of science fiction and horror works from Otherworld memories. Amidst his astonishment and uncertainty, he focused intently on analysis and finally discerned some clues.

A strand of Ink Silk extended many minute tendrils, permeating, or rather directly growing into, the brains of vertebrates and attaching to the myelin sheaths of the neurons.

(The myelin sheath is an insulating layer of fat around the axons of nerve cells in vertebrates, which prevents interference between neurons and also speeds up the transmission of action potentials through the "Jump Conduction" mechanism.)

The myelin sheath is akin to the highway of the nervous system, enabling vertebrates to react and think quickly.

Did the Ink Silk drape over the myelin sheath, taking over the signal transmission of the neurons and sending specific information to the nerve center? Or did it act as a new neuron itself, essentially adding an ’External Brain’ to the organism?

Lacking experimental equipment, Li Ang was unable to precisely analyze the principles behind the Fifth Stage of the Ink Silk’s transformation, but one thing was for certain: it was definitely not as simple as a common Mutated Object.

All previous conjectures had been completely overturned. Li Ang gravely looked at the Ink Silk within his body, as if he was meeting it for the first time.

He would take things one step at a time.

He sighed inwardly. The capabilities of the Ink Silk in its Fifth Stage went beyond this. Through experimentation, he found the upper limit of controlled organisms was about thirty, largely dependent on how much Heart Thought Li Ang could distribute.

Moreover, when he stopped controlling, he could retract the Ink Silk into the parasitized organism, allowing the parasitized organism to function normally. The most important point, however, was that Li Ang’s own thinking speed had also increased, enabling him to enter a state of rapid contemplation, or what could be called "visualization."

This was likely due to the Ink Silk’s new traits.

Without considering Extraordinary Power, thought is fundamentally the confluence of countless tiny electric currents in the central nervous system. This is achieved through information transmission within neurons and between neurons—a process involving both electrical and chemical signals.

This means that thinking inherently has physiological limits. The rate of axonal electrical pulses, neurotransmitter release, and cellular activation—each step can affect the speed of thought.

The average single neuron fires at a speed of about 180 kilometers per hour.

The Ink Silk interfered with the myelin sheath, replacing part of the electrical and chemical signal transmission, effectively accelerating Li Ang’s thinking speed and making the external world seem like slow motion.

Bullet Time, indeed.

This new ability significantly enhanced his strength. If used in the ring, Li Ang wouldn’t even need to use new Telekinesis techniques. With just his Triangular Spear, he could deflect all daggers and conclude the match early.

CLANG—

The sound of the Academic Palace’s Haotian Bell pulled Li Ang’s thoughts back to reality.

The arena match had ended. The audience left the venue satisfied yet regretful, walking along the pathways. Disciples from various countries voluntarily stayed behind, cleaning the trash using Telekinesis and Dust Removal Talismans.

"All contestants from today’s matches, please do not leave. Come over here to the arena."

A sound, magnified by a talisman, came from the judges’ seats below.

Li Ang waved his hand, not letting Chai Chai push his wheelchair over. He stood up and quickly walked down from the spectator stands.

Many contestants had already gathered around the arena. Mountain Masters, Faith Cultivation Cardinals, and other representatives from various academies were also there. Li Ang also saw a Daoist with an ethereal, sage-like bearing—judging by the deer-head emblem on his attire, this was clearly Lu Qingya, the Mountain Master of Lu Li Academy.

Academic Palace Sacrificial Officer Chen Danqiu looked around and said indifferently, "The performance by all students today truly distinguished them, giving the audience a glimpse into the future of the Cultivation World.

It is now early May. In half a month, we will hold the final event at the ruins of the Jialan Sect on Mountain of Mind and Heart, 300 miles from Chang’an, to determine the top ten of this academic exchange.

The winners will go on to Taihao Mountain Zhanquan to advance their studies.

The top twenty will also receive prizes provided by the various academies.

It is important to note that the Jialan Sect ruins have not been completely cleared; Prohibitions and Aliens lurk, posing a danger.

It is up to each of you to decide whether to participate.

If the list of forty participants is not filled, students who have performed outstandingly in this academic exchange will be chosen to fill the remaining spots."