Chapter 14: Fujimiya—You Can't Fool Me

I sometimes feel as though I were raised by a stepmother. Truly, he was comparing his own shortcomings to someone else’s strengths. As the Light of the Sky, speed naturally surpassed that of the Light of the Earth by a wide margin. For instance, the ability to deploy a colossal shield and the multitude of light-based skills—these were all things Qiao Zhe coveted. After all, who wouldn’t want to wield ready-made powers instead of painstakingly learning everything from scratch?

Inside the XIG Air Base, Analyst Chiba listened to Wumeng’s calculations and sighed in wonder. “It’s truly incredible. Ultraman—what kind of beings are they, really?”

“Save the data,” Ishimuro instructed Atsuko, then recalled the two members of the Lightning Squad. “Chief Di, recover the wreckage at the site and have the Lightning Squad return.”

With the orders given, Atsuko preserved the relevant data and sent a copy to the GEO Base on the ground. Peace One and Lightning One then descended toward the desert below, searching for Dahehara and Kitada.

Despite Apate’s destruction in the explosion, the remaining metallic fragments had to be sent to the GEO Base as well.

Dahehara and Kitada had been enduring the desert winds for some time. When they saw Peace One landing, Dahehara immediately waved and shouted, “Hey—over here—ugh, why does the sand keep hitting my face?”

“Kitada, you jerk, at least shout with me.”

“No need to shout. We’re carrying communicators—they come with their own locator.”

“Oh, right.” Dahehara looked awkward, reaching up to scratch his head, only to grab a handful of sand.

They were not alone in the desert. Beyond a distant rocky outcrop, where the stones blocked the blowing sand, Fujimiya gazed thoughtfully at the blue bracelet on his wrist.

“The brilliance of the sky... But why does this Ultraman give off an entirely opposite aura?”

Unlike Wumeng, who crafted his own transformation device, Fujimiya’s was made by Agul himself, endowed with many special functions—such as constantly tracking Gaia’s location.

Through the senses granted by his device, Fujimiya could feel that although the silver giant was suffused with the energy of light, there was something amiss.

“I don’t know why, but I’ve already seen through it. Your concealment can only fool that naïve fellow,” he muttered, a confident smirk curling his lips.

“I’ll uncover what it is you’re hiding.”

The blue bracelet flashed, and his figure was instantly transported away.

When Gaia first appeared, Fujimiya had already pulled up Wumeng’s records and confirmed his identity. He’d been surprised at the time, recalling that before leaving the Alchemy Star, Daniel had introduced him to Wumeng.

Back then, it was a mere acquaintance due to the development of the photonic quantum computer. He never imagined that, years later, Wumeng would gain the power of Ultraman.

And now, with a new giant emerging and something still hidden, Fujimiya was determined to get to the bottom of it.

But he was barking up the wrong tree. Qiao Zhe wasn’t hiding anything—his darkness was simply negligible, with the energy of light dominating. If Fujimiya continued his investigation, it might lead him down a strange path.

Meanwhile, after leaving a public restroom, Qiao Zhe assessed his own condition. His stamina was hardly depleted. Fighting on Earth, and transforming into the Light of the Sky, meant that in theory, there was no time limit—just whether the human vessel could withstand it.

Also, energy consumption and replenishment were disproportionate; hence Gaia and Agul had time limits on their transformations.

Qiao Zhe was no ordinary human. Since he’d learned to transform into light, he wasn’t even sure if he counted as human anymore. Though his status panel still listed him as one, he felt more akin to Ultraman. He no longer needed food to replenish his cells’ nutrients, drawing energy directly from sunlight.

It felt rather like photosynthesis.

Of course, he still ate—human food was so delicious that even Mebius praised it.

Glancing at the time on his phone, Qiao Zhe headed for a nearby hotel. Sleeping on the streets was utterly out of the question.

Meanwhile, in subspace, Noah was making preparations. He already had a preliminary plan for Qiao Zhe’s training. It wasn’t just flattery to say that the Light of the Sky suited Qiao Zhe.

From his observations, Noah believed Qiao Zhe possessed a special ability allowing his combat style to be self-sufficient. Ready-made light techniques could quickly bolster an Ultraman’s combat power, but one thing remained eternally true:

Those who merely imitate will perish; those who innovate will thrive.

If, during his studies, Qiao Zhe could develop his own innovations, his future achievements would soar even higher.

Unaware of Qiao Zhe’s “cheats,” Noah dedicated himself to raising his young ward.

When night fell and his arrangements were finally complete, he pulled Qiao Zhe’s conscious mind directly into subspace.

Monster hunting by day, training by night—the schedule was meticulously arranged.

As for sleep, even though it was late, Noah assumed Qiao Zhe wasn’t asleep yet, so Qiao Zhe remained awake.

“...?”

Naturally, his body was at rest; it was only his conscious mind undergoing training. It was much like lucid dreaming.

Within subspace, Noah—now in his Nexus form—looked down at the somewhat bewildered Qiao Zhe and explained:

“Jojo, your combat skills are still far too raw. I’ve prepared a special training ground for you.”

He gestured toward a nearby area. An immense energy dome shrouded the ground, obscuring whatever lay within. A portal led inside.

Qiao Zhe fell silent at the sight, then looked up at Noah, his forehead creased in exasperation.

“Wait, it’s nighttime—I’m supposed to be sleeping now!”

He protested firmly, “I’m still human, you know. This is blatant exploitation!”

Even when Ultraseven trained Hokuto, he let people sleep at night!

Damn it, this kind of inhuman training—I'd rather die...

“Didn’t you want beam techniques?” Noah’s voice interjected.

Qiao Zhe’s complaints halted. He looked up at the old mystic, his anger subsiding.

‘Let’s see what tricks you’re playing today,’ he thought, raising an eyebrow at Noah. “Well? What’s the plan?”

Noah explained everything in detail, assuring him that this kind of training would not physically exhaust him.

“It’s just like lucid dreaming,” Qiao Zhe muttered. If that was the case, training like this wasn’t so bad.

He’d always been persistent in his quest for strength—otherwise, his light factor wouldn’t have advanced so far.

Sweat more in peacetime, bleed less in war.

He looked toward the portal and strode over. Just before entering, he hesitated, turning back to Noah with a wary expression.

“What kind of training is in there? Is this a trap?”

“You’ll know once you’re inside,” Noah replied, offering no further explanation—a true riddle-master. “You’re sure to gain something from it.”