Chapter Forty-Two: Counterintuitive Thinking

“Master, you don’t believe me? Hehe, all right then, let me prove it to you now. Master, please pick a leaf!”

Luo Chen sprang up immediately and plucked a leaf from a tree by the roadside. The leaf was so soft, bent low by the sea breeze, that Luo Chen simply could not believe Nicole could turn it into something as lethal as a throwing knife.

“Master, in a moment I’ll stimulate your brain. The instant it happens, channel your spiritual energy into the leaf—remember, you must be quick!”

“All right!”

“Get ready now. Three, two, one!” After the countdown, Luo Chen suddenly felt a surge of information crash into his mind, and his expression changed.

Helplessness, terror, overwhelming anguish—these familiar emotions instantly conjured a scene Luo Chen could never forget. It was a small village littered with corpses. People were fleeing in panic, screams and cries filled the air, and the roars of savage beasts rang out on every side. In one corner, a frail woman shielded a child, her own body blocking the single horn of a monster, while behind her, a terrified child trembled uncontrollably.

Elsewhere, a hunter blinded the raging beast with his spear, only to be struck by a massive paw and flung over ten meters away, killed instantly.

“Chen’er, run, run far away!” Those were the last words his mother ever spoke to him. Luo Chen had watched as the monsters tore through his home, as his parents died protecting him. His heart had been filled with the same anguish and terror then. He had run for his life, fleeing the village, escaping into the wilds—until, by chance, a passing mercenary band rescued him, saving him from being devoured.

Unconsciously, Luo Chen clenched his fist, and spiritual energy instinctively surged through his right hand into the leaf he was gripping. And then, something strange happened.

That soft leaf, caressed by the sea breeze, suddenly straightened, standing tall and rigid.

The mental stimulus vanished as quickly as it had come, and Luo Chen’s mood calmed a little. Turning his attention to the leaf, he touched it in astonishment—it was hard, like a piece of iron!

Nicole’s wild idea had actually worked. It was incredible, beyond belief!

Luo Chen stared in amazement for a long while before exclaiming, “Nicole, how did you do this?”

“I’m sorry to have made you recall such painful memories, Master, but without a strong mental stimulus to evoke those emotions, your psychic frequency could never drop beyond its usual limits to a range the leaf could accept.”

“Psychic frequency?” Luo Chen asked curiously. “What’s that?”

“Let me give you an analogy, Master. Perhaps it’ll be easier to understand. You’ve heard of cell phones, haven’t you?”

“Yes, I have!” Ancient literature records that cell phones were a type of mobile communication tool in the old civilization. Their invention allowed people to communicate across distances—no matter how far apart, they could talk by voice and even see each other through a screen.

But that great invention has long since vanished. The loss of technology is one reason, but another is that monsters are especially sensitive to electromagnetic waves, and all the towers, cables, and equipment were destroyed by them long ago. Convenient instant communication is now but history.

“If you imagine metal and similar materials as terminal receivers, then psychic energy is the signal. The signal’s frequency must match the receiver’s range to be successfully accepted. Metal’s range happens to fall within the frequency of brainwaves humans typically produce, and spiritual energy is usually in sync with these brainwaves, so almost everyone can channel energy into metal.”

Nicole’s tone shifted: “But stone and other materials are different. The frequency required may be very high, or extremely low—always beyond the normal range of brainwave frequencies. That’s why ordinary people can’t channel energy into them. The so-called superpowered warriors must have mastered ways to forcibly alter their psychic frequency, while those prodigies with hidden weapons are simply born with unusual brainwave frequencies, making them exceptions.”

Nicole’s analogy was vivid, and though some terms were unfamiliar, Luo Chen managed to grasp the gist: the key lay in psychic frequency. Change it to suit a medium, and one could channel energy into it.

“So, what about your method just now? How is it different from the superpowered warriors and hidden weapon prodigies?”

“Emotion,” Nicole replied. “Emotion can influence a person’s brainwave frequency. Extreme emotions can push it to levels impossible in ordinary circumstances—especially at the moment they arise, when the limits are widest. Just now, in that instant, your frequency was extraordinarily low, within the leaf’s range, so you succeeded in channeling energy.”

Luo Chen nodded. “I see. Nicole, if I ever need to use rocks or leaves as weapons, just stimulate me directly.”

“Master, that’s not a good idea. While I can help you alter your psychic frequency, you’ll only grow stronger in the future, and face fiercer battles. In those moments, if you ask me to adjust your frequency, I’ll need time to respond—even half a second’s delay could be fatal. So, I suggest you learn to control your emotions and change your brainwaves yourself.”

Luo Chen admitted the sense in her words. “All right, Nicole, but how do I control my emotions?”

“The usual way is to routinely think of things and scenes that make you very happy, very sad, very pained, very joyful, or very angry. For example, when you returned to school and learned from Director Henry that Kevin had falsely accused you, your brainwave frequency instantly broke past its normal upper limit.”

“And the special method?” Luo Chen asked.

“The special method is reverse thinking. Master, I want you to deliberately generate opposite emotions in situations that would normally evoke a certain extreme feeling. For instance, in a simulated illusion I might recreate the scene of your parents’ deaths, but you must focus on the ecstasy you felt when you received your special recruitment notice from Weston Academy. Or, while training under the Thunderfall, imagine the joy of just having collected your wages from the dock supervisor. Even when fighting Joanna, you could pretend you’re just having a midnight snack with your friend Shifeng.”

Luo Chen pulled a face. “That sounds... paradoxical.”

“Hehe, yes, it’s very difficult at first. But if you can overcome the huge psychological gulf, you’ll gain much better control over your emotions. With long practice, you’ll eventually be able to break through brainwave limits at will and shift your psychic frequency! This reverse thinking method will also greatly benefit your mental strength!”

“All right, I’ll give it a try. By the way, Nicole, was this method also invented by Dr. Gates?”

“No, I devised it myself based on psychology, though it’s not fully perfected yet,” Nicole said, sounding proud, like a child showing off a favorite creation. “While you’re learning, Master, I’m learning too, always searching for better ways to help you.”

“Excellent,” Luo Chen smiled. “Nicole, let’s work hard together!”

“Yes, Master!”

At this point, Luo Chen did not yet realize that the emotional control he was about to learn was, in fact, the essential meditation required of every warrior on the path to becoming a superpowered fighter. Meditation was taught only in advanced martial academies, and Nicole’s improved reverse thinking method was far more effective than any traditional technique, laying a solid foundation for Luo Chen’s future.

But it was tough on him. The scenarios Nicole conjured in her virtual illusions were unbearably vivid, and overcoming his psychological barriers to generate the opposite emotions was almost like splitting his personality. It was an arduous process, one that couldn’t be mastered overnight. Nevertheless, Luo Chen seized every opportunity to practice: under the waterfall, in the dormitory, in class...