The King of Black Fog

Is this where material determines consciousness?

Then, does visualization mean consciousness influences material?

He withdrew his thoughts and began to visualize.

Easily, a cluster of dark clouds converged in his mind, sparking wildly.

Boom!

Thunder struck from the sky, cleaving into his spine, and with the stimulation of the thunder, those dormant potentials swarmed out.

This power was stronger than before, so strong that even Li Changzhou himself was terrified, fearing his body couldn't withstand it.

But just as effortlessly, his body was like a tightened pressure cooker, allowing hot water to turn to steam, and the steam then condensed back into droplets.

The droplets fell, and Li Changzhou's body strengthened a bit more, then... it dropped back.

[Strength locked]

[Agility locked]

[Constitution locked]

No Perception popped up. Could he continue to enhance, or does the "Thunder Book" simply not train it at all?

Li Changzhou felt the power receding and had an epiphany: if he relied on adding points, even with points, the game wouldn't allow going beyond 10 after it was full.

The reason he could break the limit of 10 was firstly because it wasn't through adding points, which the game couldn't control (now it could);

secondly, the amount of Attributes increased too rapidly, like a dam storing water, ending up hit by a once-in-a-thousand-year flood, only to be overwhelmed;

thirdly, his body evolved to support the actions breaking the limits.

Now he couldn't enhance through the Thunder Skill, not just because of the system lock, but perhaps also because his body couldn't continue to support it.

He also didn't know if the third "Physical Enhancement" could break the rules further, turning into a rule-breaking Player 2 (akin to a Super Saiyan 2).

Li Changzhou carefully felt it: the third "Physical Enhancement" was far off, its shadow not even visible.

If he blindly invested time and energy, he might fall behind, since those players breaking the limits could use one day as three months.

Moreover, he couldn't possibly let his sister and Yang Qinglan return to the past.

Giving up on becoming a rule-breaking Player 2, he continued to visualize the Thunder Map, familiarizing with this training method, striving to achieve instant visualization in combat and to unleash 'Listening to Thunder in Silence'.

This strong power, not usable for training the body, but for striking others... the game notification was very clear, unmatched.

Li Changzhou meditated in the tree shade, Li Qianxia was getting acquainted with her new power in the depths of a large lake, and Yang Qinglan walked among plants and vegetables, feeling the operation of nature.

The sunlight in Honey Pot World was gentle and tender, yet ceaselessly vigorous.

◇

Outside "Honey Pot World", due to the game notification, a huge uproar had already been triggered.

Everyone was looking for information on 'The Host', whether they had had contact, or had seen any posts on platforms.

According to the game notification, 'The Host' is firstly a human, secondly a Black Card, recognized by the game as unmatched, definitely not a no-name, likely to have posted on platforms.

As long as there's a post, by following the clues, one could know all the players in the game, just one person who had seen 'The Host' could gradually lead to finding them.

But there was nothing.

Whether Xia Country, Russia, or the United States, no countries worldwide, mobilizing all official and unofficial players, had any news about 'The Host'.

Could it be that 'The Host's' rule-breaking behavior exploited a loophole in the game, enabling a sudden increase in strength, hence leaving no posts?

All countries and organizations, filled with endless speculation, were desperate to find 'The Host'; yet with every piece of intelligence returned without news, they could only retract their efforts and wait for 'The Host's' next instance.

◇

Compared to nations and organizations, geniuses set their sights on being "unrivaled."

For the sake of promoting national strength and for safety, these geniuses existed in a semi-transparent state—the outside world knew about them, knew a thing or two about them, but didn't know how strong they really were.

These geniuses also competed with each other from a distance.

The day before, he had announced yet another ability maxed out. That afternoon, she had acquired a rare and powerful skill, and by evening, the neighbor had learned the Visualization Method.

The next day, someone learned an even stronger Visualization Method;

That afternoon, someone else announced how many times they could perform Visualization in a day.

Although they didn't meet or know each other personally, they had already formed a circle, only having eyes for each other.

Not to mention the typical breakthrough players, even those with slight adventures like Master Huang were disregarded by them.

At this stage, the experts in the eyes of the general players were all classified by them as "old, weak, sick, and disabled," just ordinary people with maxed-out attributes.

In this environment of one-upmanship, suddenly an unknown player emerged, surpassing everyone and claiming to be unrivaled.

This was a game notification!

Not a smokescreen of information bombs between nations!

It was indisputable, legitimate, and undoubted—the absolute number one!

"Players on the same stage are advised to unite." Someone sneered, repeating the phrase from the game notification.

"Then let's unite! Little Martial Saint, join forces with me and see who can capture this rule-breaking player's slot." A woman spoke up.

"Fine, but I want to try on my own first, see if I can kill the master by myself!"

◇

Nations and organizations paid attention to the 'master's' rule-breaking; geniuses focused on the 'master's' unrivaled status; ordinary players watched as a spectacle, browsing forums; and a few people focused on the 'master's' name.

"Utterly arrogant! To dare use the name 'master'!"

"Hehe, don't get angry, 'master' doesn't care."

"Rule-breaking player... perhaps we should change our thinking, maybe 'master' is indeed the master, or an incarnation of the master. Only the master could do such a thing."

"Nun, do you realize what you're saying?"

"You summon the Bible·Knight on your own, give the Evangelical Book to someone without permission, and your crime has not yet been dealt with!"

"Everyone, calm down, whether the nun is right or not, whether this person means to blaspheme the master or not, we need to make contact with him."

"Mobilize everyone, find him! Kill him!"

The nun pursed her lips.

◇

Meanwhile, someone vaguely guessed the identity of the 'master'.

Italy, Naples.

Yafeiluna had just concluded a meeting. Even after gaining absolute power, she did not hide her deficiencies in governance; when issues arose, she held meetings and listened to her subordinates' opinions.

At that moment, as she observed the newly evolved, godlike statue of grey mist, she fell into contemplation.

For the first time in her life, Yafeiluna considered breaking a mistress's professional ethics, thinking—Is it really okay to not bear children, not share a bed, yet take so much?

She should take the initiative to contact Lord Black Mist, even if she did nothing but inquire about his well-being every day or offer some luxury goods.

She mustn't let Lollipop and the Polar Bear Woman get ahead!

Additionally, she could report her plan to conquer the Mafia to Lord Black Mist, at least letting him know that she wasn't just taking advantage without doing anything.