Chapter 52

Chapter 052: A Single Grasp, Instant Refinement

But...

"The scope of Omniscience is also too broad."

Yan Cang reconsidered and dismissed this overly grand, somewhat wasteful notion.

Simply adding a [Personal Attribute Panel] function to the Fate Net didn't require a power level like "Omniscience."

Even adding a [Identify All Things] module wouldn't come close to needing it.

That was merely reading and organizing existing information.

"So, settling for the next best... granting it a Fate Power capable of [observing all things and instantly comprehending their basic and deep-seated information] should be sufficient."

He pondered, "This trait doesn't involve the future, only focusing on observing and understanding the information already presented in the present. Perhaps it can be called [Comprehension]."

Once decided, Yan Cang hesitated no longer.

Within the foreseen thread of fate, he locked onto the image of the Myriad Treasures Origin-Returning Art scroll, confirming this future.

Then.

The golden chest in reality shimmered with light, its lid opening silently.

A scroll, neither metal nor jade, radiating a mysterious aura, lay quietly inside.

Yan Cang took it out. It felt slightly warm to the touch, as if a gentle life force flowed within the scroll.

He didn't delay. He directly gripped it with both hands.

"Crack."

The scroll shattered upon contact, transforming into countless tiny runes shimmering with a chaotic luster.

They instantly vanished into his brow.

[Ding! You have learned the skill "Myriad Treasures Origin-Returning Art (First Glimpse)".]

As the notification sounded, a flood of information and profound insights surged into Yan Cang's consciousness.

He quickly understood that the Myriad Treasures Origin-Returning Art was, in essence, an extremely profound and mysterious method of refinement and nurturing.

Unlike ordinary blood-bonding or spiritual imprinting, it directly used one's own "origin power" as a furnace.

Using this to smelt, assimilate, and empower external objects.

Ultimately, it turned external objects into an extension of one's own origin, achieving the state of "objects outside the body are like my own body."

"Origin..."

Yan Cang sensed the vast, boundless yet formless and intangible Fate Power.

The essence of this power was too lofty. Even when activating the "Great Fate Art" on normal days, he only drew upon a fraction of its might, finding it difficult to perceive its specific form.

Perhaps fate itself was formless and intangible.

"But this time, there's no need to invoke the full and complete authority of fate."

"Just need to differentiate a power imbued with [Comprehension], so it should manifest in a form corresponding to that trait..."

As these thoughts flashed through his mind, his actions never ceased.

To ensure absolute certainty and avoid wasting excess energy, achieving the most efficient refinement...

He directly activated the "Great Fate Art," deducing a future thread where he had "cultivated the Myriad Treasures Origin-Returning Art to great accomplishment."

Then, he anchored it, loading the cultivation experience and insights from that thread into himself.

In an instant, countless details and realizations about how to circulate the technique and guide the refinement flooded his mind.

In his skill list, the proficiency of the Myriad Treasures Origin-Returning Art instantly jumped to [Peak Mastery].

"Now, I don't have to worry about wasting too much energy during the refinement."

"Now, begin!"

Yan Cang took a deep breath, releasing a wisp of Sword Qi from within his body.

His mind commanded this strand of Sword Qi,

turning it into an invisible arm...

that firmly grasped the [Myriad Manifestation Mirror] lying quietly on the bed, still sifting through the starry sea.

He drew it before him, suspending it in midair.

His hands rose as if to hold the mirror, positioned on either side of its surface.

Deep in his eyes, the formless Fate Power began to flow.

"The Fate that comprehends all things by observing them..."

As his intent clarified, the intangible Fate Power began to split and separate.

Gradually, a strange radiance emerged from his palms.

It was a light woven from blazing gold and pure white, intertwined and coiled together.

The gold was like molten solar gold, radiating a majestic power that saw through everything and discerned the finest details;

the white was like the purest crystal light, containing a clarity that reflected truth and reached the essence of things.

The two colors were not static but alive, as if possessing life and emotion.

At times, they transformed into a roaring blaze of gold-white flames; at others, they became a flowing stream of molten gold and searing white jade.

The mere ripples they emitted caused the surrounding air to warp slightly, and even light seemed to be "analyzed," dispersing into subtle spectra.

"This power of [Comprehension] is merely a tiny fragment of Fate..."

"Yet it appears so mysterious, so sublime!"

Yan Cang thought to himself as he gazed at the gold-white stream above his palms.

The stray thought vanished in an instant.

Without further hesitation, he guided the stream with his hands.

The seething gold-white light, as if receiving a command, lunged fiercely at the [Myriad Manifestation Mirror] suspended before him.

"Buzz—!"

The moment they touched, the mirror trembled violently.

The originally pitch-black surface erupted with blinding light upon contact with the gold-white stream.

It was as if a red-hot branding iron had been plunged into a still deep pool.

Sizzle...

An indescribable sound arose—like metal being smelted by high heat, or information being forcibly written.

Now, it was clearly visible: the gold-white power of [Comprehension] was like the most domineering flame, madly surging into, scouring, and eroding every structure of the mirror.

The ancient material of the mirror itself began to take on a faint gold-white hue.

The once fluid and mysterious cloud patterns on the frame came to life, as if infused with vitality.

Within the patterns, tiny gold-white particles lit up like stars being kindled.

As the light stream flowed and spread slowly,

the ancient carvings gained a layer of sacred and wise brilliance.

At the same time,

Yan Cang could feel his connection with the mirror rapidly solidifying.

It was no longer mere possession; a sense of control akin to an extension of his own limbs had emerged.

The mirror's nearly stagnant sifting process, the internal space housing the Fate Star Sea, and even every minute change in its material composition...

all began to gradually come within his perception.

And as the refining deepened, this sensation grew ever clearer.

The essence of the noble [Comprehension] power, under the near-unrelenting support of the Energy Pool...

The entire process of refining and transforming the mirror was compressed to its utmost limit.

In an instant, it took on a new, sacred form:

The ancient frame was completely dyed in an eternal, holy gold-white hue.

The gold-white cloud patterns on it pulsed slowly, as if flowing in a regular rhythm.

Except for the vast phantom of the Fate Star Sea still reflected and swirling deep within the mirror's surface.

From the inside out, the entire mirror emanated an extraordinary aura of comprehending all phenomena.

Compared to before, it was like the difference between clouds and mud.

Thus, this mirror, refined through the method of the [Myriad Treasures Origin-Returning Art] and empowered by [Comprehension], had truly become an extension of the origin power system.

It was connected to his mind, as if one with him.

At this moment, Yan Cang could sense every inch of space within the mirror, see the vast spectacle of billions of Fate Stars, and even vaguely perceive the general status of the individuals those stars represented.

Such a situation naturally meant the refinement was complete.

However, he also understood...

The [Comprehension] power just infused was far from enough to achieve true, unimpeded comprehension of all things.

Theoretically, as long as there was enough energy, Yan Cang could continue to pour in and deepen this trait.

But he decisively stopped.

No other reason—the energy consumption was too great!

Just completing the refinement of the entire mirror and granting this basic version of the [Comprehension] trait

had already slashed the total amount of the Energy Pool by more than half!

If he continued to deepen it, the energy accumulated over several days would be completely exhausted.

By then, if he didn't even have the energy to maintain the basic operation of the Fate Net, he'd be in trouble.

"This level of [Comprehension] is more than enough for now."

Yan Cang became rational due to his poverty.

Then, he gazed at the transformed, sacred, and extraordinary gold-white mirror floating before him.

Seconds later, its appraisal information naturally emerged in his mind:

[??? : The Mirror World stores the fate manifestations (Fate Stars) of over a billion living beings, possessing the ability of "Comprehension" to perceive related information.]

The Trial Ground's built-in appraisal function could even discern the "Great Fate Art," so naturally, it couldn't fail to appraise the foundation of a mirror.

The question marks appeared only because its essence had changed after being refined by the power of Comprehension.

Now, it needed to be redefined.

Yan Cang understood instantly.

"The original name, Myriad Manifestation Mirror, no longer quite fits..."

He pondered, chin in hand, "Omniscient Mirror?"

"No! That's too straightforward, and it completely fails to reflect that it also contains the entire Fate Star Sea within."

But balancing both functions to come up with a name that was both fitting and striking was indeed very difficult.

Yan Cang's gaze fixed on the deep, slowly swirling star sea on the mirror's surface.

Inspiration struck him: "The mirror's surface is like a wheel, reflecting Fate Stars, comprehending all phenomena..."

"Why not call it the [Fate Wheel Mirror]!"

As this naming intention settled, the Trial Ground's appraisal information changed accordingly:

[Fate Wheel Mirror (Mysterious Artifact): A mirror that stores the Fate Star Sea and can rotate to display Comprehension. Connected to the owner's origin, it can inspect basic and deep information of all things, and reflect the trajectories of Fate Stars.]

"Not bad."

Yan Cang didn't care much about it.

"Little Fate," he casually gave the mirror a nickname, "use my Fate Star to pull up the attribute panel."

The moment this thought surfaced.

The mirror, which had been slow to respond to this command before, now flashed with light.

Deep within the mirror's surface, the vast Fate Star Sea seemed to be stirred by an invisible force.

Countless starlight streams flowed and leaped past at an unimaginable speed.

Almost without any delay—

A familiar and concise attribute interface clearly appeared on the smooth mirror surface:

[Name: Yan Cang]

[Age: 16]

[Status: 99.9% (Energetic, high metabolism, puberty)]

[Essence: 0.91] (+0.01)

[Qi: 3.13] (+0.83)

[Spirit: 1.98] (+0.28)

[Talent: As You Wish Body]

[Skills: Mental Space (Peak Mastery), Sword Nurturing Art (Peak Mastery - Active), Myriad Treasures Origin-Returning Art (Peak Mastery)]

...

"The efficiency is indeed much better!"

Yan Cang was very satisfied with the response speed of the [Fate Wheel Mirror].

This was how it should be.

As for the "Great Fate Art" still nowhere to be seen...

No matter, if the mirror couldn't see it, that was fine. He knew it in his heart.

Yan Cang had already adapted and happily ignored this point.

Next, he tested a more critical function: directly integrating and displaying this attribute panel within the Fate Net interface.

Logically, this shouldn't be difficult.

After all, the entire Fate Star Sea was now stored within the mirror's internal space.

The [Fate Wheel Mirror] itself was connected to his origin, possessing the same authority.

To complete this operation, he only needed to send the [Comprehension] information to his own Fate Net.

However, the test result surprised him a bit.

The [Fate Wheel Mirror] didn't "embed" the attribute interface directly into the Fate Net as expected.

Instead, the entire mirror surface switched, displaying a complete, interactive Fate Net operation interface.

Forum, chat, Trading House, Personal Space... all functions were available, almost identical to what he saw when directly accessing the Fate Net with his consciousness.

Only slightly different due to the physical mirror display.

"Huh?"

Yan Cang was momentarily stunned, then quickly understood.

During the test just now, he hadn't sunk his consciousness into the Fate Net and had directly given the [Fate Wheel Mirror] the command to "display the attribute panel on the Fate Net."

The mirror understood the command, but the way it achieved this was by directly "reflecting" the Fate Net interface.

"Well, well... has it directly become a physical terminal for the Fate Net?"

"A big tablet!"

Since he had fully refined this mirror and could command it as easily as his own arm, even a single thought could make it fly to him on its own.

So, this wouldn't be more troublesome than directly manipulating the Fate Net with his consciousness.

Instead, it seemed to have become more interesting!

Yan Cang had a faint premonition, so he first opened his personal interface.

Then, in the corresponding spot that he had imagined would be blank, he saw that concise attribute panel.

"As expected!"

But this wasn't the end.

He directly exited the Fate Net and switched the mirror surface back to the "home page."

His attention focused on the slowly rotating phantom of the Fate Star Sea deep within the mirror.

With a slight shift of his mind, Yan Cang casually selected one of the Fate Stars and opened it.

In an instant, the phantom of that Fate Star enlarged in the center of the mirror.

At the same time, the corresponding Fate Net interface emerged.

Forum, chat, Trading House... all functions were present, but the username displayed was a stranger's name.

He had actually logged into the other person's Fate Net account!

However, as the Master of the Fate Net, pulling off such an operation was not surprising, nor was it anything praiseworthy.

In fact, Yan Cang could easily do this on his own.

But he had no particular hobby of impersonating others or snooping through chat logs.

So he had never done it before.

Now, without any ripple of emotion, he had the [Fate Wheel Mirror] pull up this person's attribute panel:

[Name: Li Weiguo]

[Age: 42]

[Status: 72% (lightly injured, tired, excited)]

[Essence: 1.1]

[Qi: 0]

[Spirit: 0.9]

[Talent: None]

[Skills: None]

[Region: Forest]

[Real-time Status: Not long ago, while patrolling the outskirts of the temporary camp with three teammates, he single-handedly hunted a starving wolf that had risked an ambush. He is now heading back...]

...

"Real-time Status?"

Yan Cang curiously expanded this entry.

The starlight in the mirror rippled slightly, and a clear, dynamic image appeared:

[A man holding a spear was walking toward the camp, a wolf carcass slung over his shoulder.]

"This..." Yan Cang was genuinely surprised.

Could the [Fate Wheel Mirror] actually achieve this level?

But then he thought about it, [Comprehension] itself contained the authority of observation.

Being able to do this was not surprising.

If he actively activated the "Great Fate Art," he could even see more.

After a moment's thought, Yan Cang calmed down.

But as he looked at the real-time image still displayed on the mirror, he felt something was still off.

He just couldn't put his finger on it.

So he kept thinking hard.

After staring blankly for a while, he finally realized.

"That requires me to consume energy!"

"The [Fate Wheel Mirror] doesn't need extra energy..."

Yan Cang belatedly realized how remarkable this was.

Theoretically, if he withdrew the power of [Comprehension] that he had already split off and granted away.

He himself should be able to do the same thing without consuming extra energy.

In fact, Yan Cang could indeed do it at any time.

After all, this [Comprehension] was already part of his original power, just currently manifested and housed in the mirror.

And this also implied a chillingly terrifying possibility:

He only needed to continuously repeat this process... constantly splitting off various specific authorities from his own origin of fate.

Then, step by step, these differentiated aspects and qualities representing the nearly infinite facets of Fate...

Are to be reabsorbed into oneself?

Ultimately, to achieve true Omnipotence?

...