The feedback from the kick felt roughly like kicking over a sack of rice about as wide as a person and a ter and a half tall. If it were soone with a bit less Strength, even a full-force punch would probably only force Ai Shiping back a step or two.
When Ai Shiping flew backward and crashed into the coffee table... his back slamd solidly against one of its corners.
This impact was definitely much more severe than the kick Ming Po had landed on his stomach. After all, Ming Po didn't have spikes on his shoes, and he hadn't used his full strength.
If he had gone all out, a charged kick at this range would have ruptured Ai Shiping's liver and kidneys outright. Yet, the wooden corner of the table was sharply angled.
Ming Po was initially quite concerned and instinctively took two steps forward to help Ai Shiping up. However, when Ai Shiping stood up, he rely rubbed his stomach and completely ignored his back. This gave Ming Po a solid understanding of Ai Shiping's current tankiness.
With this level of defense... he probably wouldn't even be injured if he jumped from the third floor. If Ai Shiping charged at him at full speed, even a full-power kick from Ming Po likely wouldn't hurt him.
He was as fierce and unstoppable as a dump truck.
No wonder his Title was The Chariot.
Ming Po felt much more reassured.
"I've already tested it with Little Fan... The effect of King's Rook Castling is that I charge at him at high speed, and the mont I collide with him, he's instantly teleported to a position about one step behind . And because my speed is incredibly fast, my defense in that split second spikes imnsely. Because my defense is so high in that mont, I can even smash through certain obstacles without getting hurt. If I successfully block an attack, it's essentially a mont of invincibility."
"How do you know you can smash through obstacles?" Ming Po asked in confusion.
Ai Shiping didn't answer. His mouth twitched as he silently pointed behind him.
With a rough guess in mind, Ming Po hurried over in a few strides to take a look. Passing by the workroom, he noticed that the door to Gao Song's room was open, and the interior had already turned grayish-white.
This gave him a slight start, and for a fleeting mont, he thought of Ai Shiping.
He forced himself to calm down and continued walking forward.
He saw that the wall connecting Gao Fan's bedroom to the bathroom had completely collapsed. Right now, Gao Fan was cleaning up the ss, looking thoroughly exasperated.
The floor was covered in broken bricks and rubble, looking exactly as if soone had smashed the wall down with a hamr.
"No wonder I didn't see you when I ca in."
Ming Po squatted next to Gao Fan, looking sowhat apologetic. "Thanks for your hard work..."
It had been less than three full days since he brought Ai Shiping here, yet the guy had already started tearing the house apart.
"It's not my fault, bro."
Ai Shiping followed from behind.
Ai Shiping's flexible concept of hierarchy placed him firmly in the "brother" realm at this mont—clearly, he didn't believe this was his fault. Otherwise, Haji Ping would have consciously and automatically lowered his own seniority.
"I did ask if we should go downstairs to test it," Ai Shiping argued. "But Little Fan said that we might be seen if we went outside... and that it was safer inside the base."
Ming Po thought for a mont and slowly nodded.
That was indeed the truth.
Gao Fan was right. Once they stepped outside the base, they basically entered the surveillance zone of Heavenly Query. Although Ming Po had never explicitly stated his goals and desires to Gao Fan, Little Fan was keenly aware that Ming Po was clearly not entirely on the sa side as Divine Cody.
"I'm not angry."
Gao Fan looked up helplessly. "I'm just tidying up a bit... We can't just leave it like this, right?
"Testing abilities at ho is definitely much better than doing it outside. If soone sees us training, our intelligence will leak imdiately. A practical Title might be used for several years, so in a Confrontation scenario, whoever knows the opponent's ability intel essentially has a considerable advantage."
"...It would be great if we had a palace," Ming Po sighed.
He finally realized why Gao Fan's forr captain—that Ironblooded Leader—could only cower inside Gao Fan's Mind Anchor and didn't dare to expand their mbership.
Gao Fan's ho was large enough, so after it beca a base, accommodating three or four people wasn't a problem... but that was the absolute limit.
Without a Mind Palace, there was simply nowhere to train or test abilities.
Let alone setting up a production line, renovating, or making comfort improvents... As long as the owner of the Anchor Point entered the ga, this space would be reset. That was exactly why Gao Fan's Anchor Point had been snatched away; an average person's Anchor Point could never be as comfortable to live in as Gao Fan's ho.
If they didn't have a mber at or above the Zhou's Azure Lead rank to build their own Mind Palace, relying solely on a Mind Anchor would make it very difficult to house more than three people.
Thinking of this, Ming Po patted Gao Fan on the shoulder. "Why don't you guys start a ga together and reset the Anchor Point?"
"What about you?" Ai Shiping asked in return. "Didn't you say we would queue for a run together after I finished my Promotion?"
"I'll Promote myself first," Ming Po answered decisively. "I feel like we need a palace now... Little Fan, do you know the specific rules for a Mind Palace? Does it matter who opens it? Or... can any of us do it?"
"It's fine if you open it. A palace is quite different from an Anchor Point."
Gao Fan nodded, holding nothing back. "The location of an Anchor Point is fixed. It has an 'entrance' connected to the Material Realm. The position of this entrance cannot be moved unless it is completely destroyed.
"For example, if an Anchor Point is in a residential building, and that building is demolished for redevelopnt... then the Deceiver's identity will be temporarily confiscated. They would need to go through another Preliminary Match to receive a newly assigned Anchor Point.
"But a palace is different—it can be deployed anywhere. It's a 'demonic reality,' an erosion of the Material Realm by an individual's ntal imagery. You can choose any building and transform it into a palace. If a Deceiver enters without Manifestation, they will enter the palace; but if they enter after Manifestation, they will enter the corresponding building in the Material Realm. It can also be understood as an 'artificial Anchor Point.'
"However, maintaining a palace requires spending chips. A Zhou's Azure Lead-level palace costs about a week's worth of chips every week. So... I don't think it's necessary for us to open a palace right now."
Gao Fan was clearly used to living a hard life.
He was very reluctant to part with that kind of money. It was essentially the sa cost as constantly maintaining a Manifestation in the Material Realm.
"Listening to you," Ming Po asked, "doesn't that an we'll have to fight over palaces? After all, other Deceivers can also enter them."
"Correct."
Gao Fan nodded. "That's why most Deceiver organizations will only open a Zhou's Azure Lead-level palace.
"If a palace of too high a specification is opened... it will be seen as a 'provocation' by local organizations. Even if the actual cost is basically the sa."
In that instant, Ming Po thought of the resplendent and magnificent palace in his mories.
That one... should be a Ti Gold-level palace, right?
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