The next morning, following the address in his hand, Bai Mo arrived in front of a building.
It was easy to notice that the density of Ability Users in the vicinity was significantly higher than in other areas, and from time to time, young people with impressive auras could be seen entering and exiting the main entrance.
The two characters "Dao Academy" outside the building were quite extraordinary; even carved in relief, he could still discern the profound depth of each stroke.
"Hello, Mr. Bai. My name is Huang Yi. General Zhang Jin Qu sent me to meet you. Please follow me." Just as Bai Mo was looking around, a middle-aged man in his thirties walked up to him.
Seeing this, Bai Mo nodded and followed behind the middle-aged man.
After passing through several layers of security checkpoints, they arrived at their destination on the eighteenth floor.
After entering the room, Bai Mo saw several people already engrossed in filling out forms at a table. He naturally picked up one as well, then found a seat nearby and sat down to leisurely examine the form's contents.
The first part of the form requested simple personal information, followed by a section for describing one's abilities. It seemed the organizers, anticipating that a few individuals might already be developing secondary abilities, had left a particularly large space for this section.
"Mr. Bai, these forms are only for peripheral personnel. You were introduced by General Zhang Jin Qu, so there's no need for such trouble," Huang Yi quietly reminded Bai Mo. "You just need to briefly state the condition of your abilities."
Bai Mo silently calculated in his mind: if he were to list every ability manifested by each organ that had undergone Spirit-Energy transformation, treating each as a distinct superpower, then he estimated a lot of trouble would follow.
To avoid revealing too much, he ultimately decided to only list his physical prowess, which far surpassed that of other Ability Users, and his eyes, which could perceive Spirit Energy, as one offensive and one auxiliary ability, respectively.
As for his telekinetic power, which could kill without a trace, he decided to temporarily conceal it.
In his view, listing two useful abilities would at least mean he wouldn't be looked down upon and constantly encounter face-slapping scenarios. However, these relatively practical abilities wouldn't be too heaven-defying or too taboo, thus avoiding excessive attention.
At the same time, his formidable physical prowess and his eyes that could perceive the flow of Spirit Energy were both abilities Bai Mo had previously displayed publicly, which he could conveniently 'legitimize' here.
After finishing writing, Bai Mo handed the completed form to Huang Yi and watched him pass the documents to a secretary-like person behind a door.
He looked around. Aside from the office the secretary had entered, all the other rooms had numbers posted on their doors, ranging from one to five.
"What are these rooms numbered one to five for?" Having nothing to do, Bai Mo quietly asked Huang Yi, who was beside him.
"The five rooms, numbered one to five, each represent a different type of test room. Number one is for strength testing, number two is for..."
"May I go take a look?" Bai Mo pressed further.
"No problem." Thinking that the other party was someone introduced by a higher-up, Huang Yi didn't give it much thought.
After entering Room One, Bai Mo found it filled with various types of fitness equipment, with burly men testing themselves in groups of three to five. Slender figures like himself, showing no obvious muscle, were only a handful, perhaps two or three.
Bai Mo's arrival attracted some attention; many noticed this young man whose appearance differed from the majority, but they soon returned to their own affairs. He wasn't a beautiful woman, so there was no need for a closer look.
Just as he entered the room, a young man with a delicate face and slender build in the striking power test area immediately caught Bai Mo's attention.
After habitually scanning his body structure with his divine sense, he was surprised to find that the degree of Spirit-Energy transformation in the other's body was remarkably uniform, unlike an Ability User whose motor systems were primarily enhanced.
"Something's off about him."
Upon realizing something was amiss, he simply stood to the side and waited for the subject to perform the test.
"What's going on?"
When it was the young man's turn to step forward and test, Bai Mo could feel that earth-shattering changes were occurring within every one of his cells!
When he attempted to focus his divine sense on one of the young man's cells, he finally discovered that the source of the anomaly was his cell nucleus. Unfortunately, limited by the precision of his divine sense, Bai Mo couldn't ascertain exactly what was happening within his cell nucleus.
After transforming, his entire body revealed various non-human characteristics, with parts of his skin becoming scaly and horny layers growing at his joints for protection. He looked as if he were encased in an extremely form-fitting, yet patchy, suit of armor.
The people around were greatly startled by his transformation; if they hadn't just watched him transform, they might have thought he had zombified. Even so, their clenched fists and slightly bent-kneed defensive stances betrayed their current tension.
The transformed young man unleashed a powerful punch on the force meter, causing the needle of the specialized force meter, with a 5-ton limit, to surge wildly. The final reading showed that the punch's power reached 4.8 tons.
The young man, having completed his test, retracted his transformation without saying a word, and casually strode away, leaving a delicate figure behind him, leaving behind a crowd of stunned onlookers.
The burly men nearby were all inwardly celebrating that they hadn't provoked that kid based solely on their visual judgment. Otherwise, in front of someone with at least three to four times their strength, they would have been an easy meal.
"The anomaly comes from within the cell nucleus... The cell nucleus has chromosomes, and on the chromosomes are genes! Coupled with the atavistic phenomena displayed by this guy when using his ability—partial scaliness of the epidermis, and keratinized layers at the joints—could Spirit Qi actually cause ancient genes to resurface?"
"This world is getting more and more interesting." Strength itself didn't particularly interest Bai Mo, but the effect of Spirit Qi on genes was what truly captured his attention.
...
"Are you going or not? If not, move aside." A burly man in a white tank top from behind said, looking at Bai Mo, who was lost in thought ahead of him.
Bai Mo snapped back to reality and glanced over, then, like a phantom, instantly swapped places with the man and continued his thoughts.
"Creepy." The burly man only felt a gust of wind, and found himself unconsciously standing in front of the force meter.
The reason for this phenomenon was that telekinetic power had silently acted directly upon the soles of his feet, lifting the burly man slightly off the ground. No matter how strong human muscle power is, it requires one precondition—being grounded. Without being grounded, there's nowhere to exert force, leaving only the gravity inherent in one's own weight.
The people around, however, showed no particular reaction. After all, it was just a moment of distraction, easily missed if one wasn't paying attention. Only the still-shaken burly man cast a wary glance at Bai Mo, who had already moved to the side.
"We meet again." A few minutes after this minor incident, Zhang Jin Qu entered Room One with a young man.