Back at the clan compound, Chu Daixi didn't rush Wangshu to talk about her talent. Instead, she told her to go change clothes. Though she had used a water-repelling talisman, there was still a time gap between falling into the water and forming the talisman. Wangshu wasn't completely soaked, but at least half her clothes were wet.
When she came back after changing, she saw her mother and the Grand Elder seated in the places of honor at the top of the hall. Chu Qinghe didn't dare sit; she stood obediently below, and when she spotted Wangshu, she flashed a little grin of white teeth.
Chu Daixi beckoned Wangshu over. She had kept her face blank, intending to feign anger, but Wangshu blinked at her, tugged lightly at her sleeve, and gave it a gentle shake — and her stern facade immediately crumbled.
"Go on, tell us. Wangshu, your talent?"
Even the Grand Elder had no time to scold Chu Qinghe, turning to look as well.
Wangshu's talent had kept the Chu family on tenterhooks. Ever since she awakened her spirit seed at the age of three, a strange mark had appeared on her forehead — one that might be connected to the essence of creation — and on top of that, she had a violet-grade spirit seed.
If the matter of the mark had just been the Chu family overthinking things, then when the dean of the Dao Palace Academy came down to inspect, Yao Xiru, an order master with a gold-grade spirit seed-level clairvoyance ability, also remarked that Wangshu's talent was tied to the essence of creation.
That got people's minds racing.
Anything involving the essence of creation was profoundly mysterious, rarer and more precious than even gold-grade spirit seeds. The possibility that Wangshu had awakened such a talent was enough to make the Chu family beside themselves with excitement.
The fact that the Grand Elder and Chu Daixi hadn't peppered Wangshu with questions the moment she arrived was a testament to their extraordinary cultivation and restraint.
In contrast, Chu Qinghe was beside herself with impatience: "Sis, hurry up and tell us!"
Wangshu's talent directly affected her own.
The more powerful a tiger Wangshu was, the more advantage this fox could borrow.
Wangshu thought back to the divine ability she had sensed, and a trace of oddity showed on her face.
"The talent I've awakened is called the Power of Genius."
"It seems I can sense something called Dao Resonance, the same way I sense spiritual energy." She slowed her speech, as if afraid she might say it wrong, or as if she were worried everyone wouldn't hear clearly.
"Whether someone is truly a genius, and how much of a genius they are, seems to be judged by how much Dao Resonance they have." But Wangshu felt this standard was a bit crude and simplistic!
I have my own way of thinking, and I'm not about to be led around by this.
She gave an "mm" and continued: "The more Dao Resonance a person has, the higher their level of creation. In practice, that shows up as a higher spirit seed grade, or a more powerful innate divine ability."
She paused mid-sentence, blinked, and sensed that the discussion hall had gone very quiet. Her mother and the Grand Elder were both sitting with solemn expressions, looking like they were about to go off to war.
None of you are saying anything, huh.
As for Chu Qinghe — ignorance is bliss. She tilted her head, confused, and said: "Dao Resonance? What's that? Something like spiritual energy?"
"Dao resonance is the rhythm of the Way — the most profound source of laws in heaven and earth. It is formless, traceless, and without substance. Only extremely rare celestial treasures can capture its presence; the thunder-struck stone used in the Dao Resonance Plate is one such material." The Grand Elder gave Wangshu a complicated look as she explained to Qinghe.
"So our Wangshu can sense it without thunder-struck stone. That means she's pretty amazing, right?" Chu Qinghe said.
Amazing didn't even begin to cover it.
The Grand Elder couldn't help but sigh inwardly. She didn't respond, though the slight clench of her fists on her knees revealed some of the emotion she was letting out.
You're not commenting, so I'll keep going. I'm not done yet.
Wangshu continued: "I can not only see this Dao Resonance, but I also seem to have a way to acquire it."
She casually dropped a bombshell.
"This seems to be the real origin of the Power of Genius — if someone has a higher cultivation or a higher level of creation than me, and I gain their praise or recognition, I can obtain a wisp of Dao Resonance."
"Mm... if I can defeat that person in battle, I'll gain even more Dao Resonance."
"All of that Dao Resonance can feed back into my own spirit seed, raising my level of creation. Mm... it seems to mean my spirit seed can be upgraded."
You're a genius, I'm a genius, I'm stronger than you, the Power of Genius activates, and I get stronger. That makes sense, right?
Through the silence around her, Wangshu received a clear message: I seem to be quite powerful. My talent seems pretty absurdly strong.
Wangshu remembered the order master's comment: "Your talent touches the essence of creation."
Being able to directly see creation, and improving it by gathering Dao Resonance — well, that was definitely touching the essence.
It couldn't be more essential.
A bit belatedly, Wangshu felt a swell of happiness. She looked for Chu Daixi, and after seeing her mother snap out of her daze, ran over, tugging at her sleeve and calling out softly: "Mother."
Chu Daixi looked up and saw Wangshu gazing at her with wide, glistening eyes — a picturesque face, with a touch of color between her brows, the perfect finishing stroke.
"What do you think of my talent? Is it impressive?"
She kind of wanted to be praised.
Chu Daixi scooped her up in her arms, pressing cheek to cheek. She could feel the beat of her daughter's heart, and her own echoed it. "So impressive that your mother can hardly believe she gave birth to a daughter like you."
She had never expected Wangshu to do anything for the Chu family. But Wangshu's arrival really was like a goddess riding the moon, bringing light and hope to the clan.
Her mother's scent was pleasant and warm. Wangshu's lips curved upward. "Then what can you do about it? You're my mother. Seems like you have to be a little more impressive than Wangshu after all."
While the mother and daughter were being all lovey-dovey, Chu Qinghe was still digesting what Wangshu had said.
"Grandma, did you hear that? From the sound of it, it's like Wangshu's spirit seed can be upgraded?"
Wasn't that thing fixed from birth? You either had it or you didn't.
The Grand Elder shot her a look full of mixed emotions. "Wangshu has merely found a way to gather Dao Resonance and feed it back to her spirit seed."
"It may be that upgrading the spirit seed requires an enormous amount of Dao Resonance, and it won't happen overnight."
"Well, doesn't that just mean it's possible?" Chu Qinghe knew how to get to the heart of it. "Whether the method is hard is a totally different thing from whether there is a method, right?"
Indeed. As an embodiment of heaven and earth's creation, the spirit seed was already a gift in itself. Yet Wangshu had found a way to steadily gather Dao Resonance and raise her level of creation.
The very existence of such a method was terrifying enough.
Moreover, Wangshu's talent was still in its initial form. If it evolved and upgraded later, the effects would be...
The Grand Elder was lost in some marvelous reverie when she saw Qinghe's eyes dart around and then suddenly turn smug.
Qinghe felt confident again.
"Grandma, what do you have to say about this? With a leg as strong as my little sister's, do you still think my talent's any shame?"
"Ha! You used to look down on it, but after this, out there in the world, who'd dare say I'm not a genius?"
The Grand Elder wordlessly pulled out her ruler. She was particular about cleanliness and never kept anything unrelated to cultivation in her storage bracelet — but ever since Qinghe started causing trouble, she'd taken to keeping a ruler in there at all times.
For maintaining her equilibrium, this ruler was absolutely essential.
The moment Qinghe caught sight of that silvery glint, her backside began to ache in remembrance. That was no ordinary ruler — once infused with spiritual energy, it could weigh a thousand jun.
She darted to the other side in a flash, pulling Wangshu in front of her like a shield, and looked at the Grand Elder warily. "No fighting now—I've got backup, you know!"
"Riding on someone else's coattails," the Grand Elder scoffed.
Hmph.
Chu Qinghe was now completely immune to that phrase. If the "coattails" she got to ride belonged to someone on Wangshu's level, then being a little dog wasn't so bad after all.
"But," Wangshu frowned, noticing a problem. "This talent is nice and all, but it doesn't seem to have any offensive power."
At least not for now.
The fastest way for her to gain Dao Essence was to defeat someone whose cultivation or Fortune Rank was higher than hers—so the question was, without any attack methods, how was she supposed to defeat someone who outclassed her in every way?
Wangshu realized this belatedly.
This seemed like a late-game talent... So how was she supposed to survive her rough early phase?
-
Another solemn clan meeting was convened, and this time there was only one topic of discussion: how exactly to nurture Wangshu's talent.
Before the formal discussion began, all the elders who had rushed over upon hearing the news studied Wangshu like she was some rare specimen, thoroughly examining her from head to toe.
Their eyes all said the same thing: "We knew you'd bring a surprise, but we didn't expect this big of one."
"Enough." Chu Daixi tapped the table as she watched the crowd completely swallow Wangshu from view.
Wangshu's talent had now become a clan secret of the Chu family. Only the highest-ranking elders were permitted to attend this meeting.
"The focus of our discussion today is to figure out exactly how Wangshu can gain Dao Essence. According to her, defeating someone with a higher cultivation level or Fortune Rank than hers works, and so does earning that person's sincere praise or recognition. But defeating them grants a higher tier of Dao Essence than mere recognition." Chu Daixi said.
The glamorous Second Elder, still dripping with jewels and finery, bent down to look at Wangshu, her fox-like eyes tilting upward. "Every single person in this room has a higher cultivation level than you. If each of us gave you a compliment, little one, would you gain Dao Essence?"
Only the person with the innate ability could truly understand it. Feeling everyone's gaze on her, Wangshu furrowed her little brow and shook her head.
"It doesn't seem to work. They're too close to me—my ability can't easily tell whether the recognition comes from affection, or because my actual strength truly impressed them."
Chu Zhiyuan said, "Then why can't it be both?"
"No." Wangshu shook her head.
Interesting. The Third Elder, Chu Jingyuan, said, "What if we all suppressed our cultivation down to the Ninth Grade or even the No-Grade realm, and you defeated us—would you gain Dao Essence then?"
"It has to be a genuine victory." Wangshu blinked.
"Then we should look to the younger generation," Chu Daixi said thoughtfully. "My dear child, do you think Qinghe meets the requirements?"
All the other elders turned their gazes toward her, and Chu Qinghe suddenly felt a wave of pressure, as if the hopes of the entire family rested squarely on her shoulders.
Chu Qinghe composed herself, cleared her throat, and said, "Yeah, little sis, think I can do it?"
Wangshu's dark, ink-like eyes gradually deepened until they became bottomless whirlpools, as if they could suck in a person's soul. The mark on her brow began to emit particles of golden light along its edges, like drifting dust.
Wangshu said, "Sister... your Fortune Rank isn't as high as mine, but your cultivation is. It seems like it could work."
So it seemed that Wangshu's first batch of "Dao Essence" would indeed have to come from Qinghe.
But there was only one Qinghe, and for Wangshu, that clearly wasn't nearly enough.
Chu Daixi concluded, "Wangshu's chance to rise lies in the Dao Palace."
If there was one place in the world where geniuses were so plentiful that they could serve as stepping stones for their Wangshu, so abundant that they were a sustainable resource, then there was clearly only one place.
The Dao Palace.
"But before that, the family needs to do everything in its power to boost your early-stage strength."
Otherwise, she'd just end up as cannon fodder for the enemy.
The elders rolled up their sleeves, already eager to show off their respective skills.
The Fifth Elder, Chu Mingyan, had been watching the proceedings for a while, and finally asked an off-topic question: "I'm curious—in Wangshu's eyes, how do our Fortune Ranks compare? Who's higher, who's lower?"
"Yeah, Wangshu, take a look at us too." The Fourth Elder rubbed his hands together. Fortune Rank was such a mysterious thing; it was the first time they'd ever heard of someone who could see it with their own eyes.
A strange sense of competitiveness had emerged.
Wangshu noticed that even her mother's eyes flickered with interest.
Fine, then. Since you're all so curious, I'll take a look. It's definitely not because I want to see myself.
Wangshu's eyes, glossy and dark as lacquered beads, swept across the crowd with distinct presence, a glimmer of gold flickering in their depths. She let out an "mm," and her pink lips curved slightly upward.
"I can see that Mother has the highest Fortune Rank, followed by the Grand Elder."
As for the rest, she didn't say.
When the Eye of Fortune was activated, the world in Wangshu's vision transformed into a congregation of glowing masses.
The base color was white, Dao Essence was a flowing spectrum of shifting colors, and Fortune Force was gold.
There were two places where the gold was most pronounced. One was at the center of the five organs, where the Spirit Seed resided; the other was the Spirit Court, where the soul and spiritual consciousness were housed.
Wangshu looked for a moment, then added, "However, your Spirit Seeds seem to be the same grade. The difference should lie in your innate abilities."
In other words, her mother's innate ability was what elevated her genius level.
Chu Daixi exchanged a glance with the Grand Elder, who let out a sigh—not surprised by this result.
The Grand Elder took the initiative to explain to Wangshu: "Your mother once made it into the top ten of the Hundred Seats."
"She was the only Purple-Grade Spirit Seed among the ten, and that was thanks entirely to her innate ability."
Beneath the lamplight, Chu Daixi's golden crown gleamed brightly. She wore a crimson robe, with long lashes and pitch-black pupils. Power had nourished her bearing—she possessed the Chu family's unique blend of dominance and flair.
Chu Daixi looked at Wangshu and smiled softly.
"Mother's ability is called the Eighteen Immortal Swords."
