As for the origin of the [Ravenwing], it was a blessing from his upgrade; Lu Xing had directly fished it out of the gacha system.
Because he had "inherited" [Frost's Lament] from the Knight Captain, Lu Xing decided to use the somewhat neglected gacha function again after a long time—after all, it was the greatest contributor to establishing his "bond" with Little Purple, so he figured he should dust it off occasionally.
And then, the system, showing considerable "face," presented the scantily clad Lu Xing with a cloak.
On a side note.
Lu Xing's Form Transformation Function takes anywhere from 15 to 30 seconds (depending on the degree of mental concentration) and consumes about 30% of his Honkai energy.
It's very useful for traveling but cannot be used in emergencies.
Moreover, after transforming into the Ranger-class form, Lu Xing loses the 50% attribute bonus provided by the "Leader Absolute Zero Knight Captain" Knight-class affix. Apart from speed, all his other abilities are significantly weakened.
Regarding skills.
The transformation into a humanoid form also brought considerable changes to how he executed them.
First was the iconic [Dash].
Having lost his prized six wings, Lu Xing could no longer use "jet propulsion" to enhance his dash in this humanoid form.
In fact, the speed of his dash didn't increase; it decreased.
The dash, with its energy fluctuations now completely internalized, greatly reduced Lu Xing's consumption when using this move. However, because his body structure was no longer as streamlined as the Ranger-class, he couldn't break the sound barrier when dashing.
Changing direction mid-air without leveraging something was now out of the question.
These were all unforeseen drawbacks.
After all, a skill becoming weaker after an upgrade would definitely draw complaints in a game—especially if you couldn't customize the skills yourself.
In fact.
The advantages of the new version of [Dash] far outweighed its disadvantages.
Because... the cooldown for [Dash] was gone.
In previous battles, although Lu Xing had used [Dash] consecutively, there was actually a cooldown of two to three seconds between each use. Moreover, a dash enhanced by "jet propulsion" had an exorbitant energy cost.
Now, this [Dash], with its vastly reduced consumption, paired with the no-cooldown feature, produced a terrifying new trait:
Permanent Uptime!
[Dash], as a charging skill, now offered its effects of "accelerating self-movement" and "reducing impact damage" as a constantly active state—with Lu Xing's current Honkai energy reserves, he could maintain the "Dash State" for up to 30 seconds without affecting the use of his other abilities.
How drastically this signature ability had changed Lu Xing…
Perhaps its full potential would only gradually be revealed in a truly evenly matched battle.
Next was the simple and practical [Power Strike].
Lu Xing hadn't figured out any fancy uses for this skill.
The only discovery was that the enhancing effect of [Power Strike] wasn't limited to this body; it could be channeled and transferred to his weapon.
In other words.
When using [Frost's Lament], Lu Xing could also apply the effect of [Power Strike].
No...
That probably wasn't the only discovery.
While using [Power Strike], Lu Xing also mastered other little tricks:
[Frost's Lament] was a single-edged straight sword. When imbued with the effect of [Power Strike], using the sharp edge for "slashes, cuts, cleaves, and hacks" could fully unleash the 50% damage bonus of [Power Strike]. However, using the back of the blade for a "blade-back strike" had a higher chance of triggering [Power Strike]'s stun effect.
This was probably what one would call experiential knowledge.
In his already somewhat long skill list, the two ranged skills remained unchanged. [Ballista] and [Honkai Lance Projection] were used the same way as before, though their condensation speed and the number that could be generated at once had significantly improved.
The crucial part was the remaining few skills.
For example, the final move of Lu Xing's prized "three signature moves": [Spinning Slash].
Although [Spinning Slash] was still on his skill list.
In his Knight-class form, using this move was a completely absurd... 1080-degree high-speed spin.
Honkai energy was indeed consumed.
But there was absolutely no damaging effect.
That was until Lu Xing started dual-wielding—a longsword in his left hand, a lance in his right.
In this configuration, Lu Xing finally managed to use the long-unseen [Spinning Slash]... No, perhaps it was more appropriate to call this move "Whirlwind Strike."
Through high-speed rotation of his body.
Not only could he cut nearby targets with his weapons, but the Honkai energy consumed in the process would also be released in the form of "energy blades" as a mid-range attack.
The damage radius did not exceed 20 meters.
But a body of flesh and blood absolutely could not withstand such power—during his skill experiments, Lu Xing easily leveled a sand dune.
One must know.
Even the Chariot-class's [Heavy Strike] had only managed to collapse half a dune.
As for the brand-new version of his three-signature-moves combo...
Regrettably, Lu Xing couldn't execute it yet.
It wasn't for any other reason than the spinning speed during [Spinning Slash] was too fast, making him "just a tad" dizzy... so dizzy that even after finishing the move, he needed two to three seconds to recover, let alone trying to incorporate other moves while using [Spinning Slash].
However.
Lu Xing believed that dizziness, much like pain, was something one could probably get used to after a few more tries.
These were the general changes.
Not much time had passed in the two weeks since he defeated the Knight Captain, but Lu Xing had already undergone a heaven-and-earth-shattering transformation.
"..."
Apologies.
It seems I omitted the two flashiest moves in Lu Xing's current arsenal.
There wasn't much to say about [Hold Shield]. Lu Xing, possessing neither a shield nor wings, also needed to resort to dual-wielding to use this move—by crossing the straight sword and knight lance in front of him, he could achieve the defensive effect of [Hold Shield].
[Shield Bash], on the other hand, had transformed into a "Cross Light Blade" launched by both weapons simultaneously after a successful block—a cross formed by a vertical lance and horizontal sword, flying through the air. In terms of special effects, it was probably the most magnificent among all of Lu Xing's moves.
This was important, yet not that important.
Next.
Was what Lu Xing had painstakingly researched.
The combo of [Crystal Wall] and [Strike], which he had finally mastered to its flashy peak!
The damage of [Strike] was negligible, its additional impact damage better than nothing, serving only as a supplement when [Power Strike] was on cooldown.
The defense of [Crystal Wall] was similarly underwhelming. The crystal barrier generated in front of him was even less durable than his own body, at best an aid to "maintain elegance."
But.
When these two skills, neither particularly powerful and with negligible consumption, were combined...
Absolute omni-directional mobility in the air!
The flexibility issues caused by the disappearance of his jet propulsion were completely compensated for!
Using the [Crystal Wall] generated beneath his feet as a stepping stone, he would use [Strike] to shatter the crystal, gaining reverse acceleration from the impact.
This was a brand-new move, combining both style and practicality—
Shunpo, care to learn about it?