"Elder, you're back."
The others greeted Elder Gu one by one. Only Yuanchu, who was sitting by the bedside, remained seated.
"Mm, I'm back."
Elder Gu's gaze fell on Yuanchu's injured arm, but he didn't show much surprise.
"Elder Gu, hurry up and put the medicine on Yuanchu." Han Xinnian gently tugged at Elder Gu's sleeve, trying to pull him over to Yuanchu's side.
"I see it, I see it. They're just minor injuries; I'll just blow on them later and they'll be fine."
Yuanchu nodded. Ever since Elder Gu had explained to him that magic existed in this world, whenever he got hurt while cooking, he would just blow on the wound with his breath, and it would heal instantly.
"Xiaofeng, Moran, you two go back first. I have something to discuss with Yuanchu."
Gu Feng and Moran exchanged glances and nodded. As they left, they said to Yuanchu, "Take good care of your injuries."
Han Xinnian waited anxiously at the side, her face full of anticipation.
"You go on ahead too. This matter isn't very convenient for you to hear."
"Oh."
Han Xinnian drooped her face, waved at Yuanchu, and left.
Once everyone had gone, Elder Gu slowly peeled away the blood-soaked fabric from Yuanchu's injury. The cloth was like a sponge filled with water, and fresh blood dripped rapidly from its edge.
Elder Gu touched Yuanchu's arm with an index finger glowing with green light, and the blood seemed to freeze, stopping its flow instantly.
"It looks like you didn't stay still at all while you were unconscious."
Elder Gu tossed the fabric into a nearby trash can, then casually wiped the bloodstains from his hands.
"I'm curious, what are you going to ask me?" Yuanchu stared at Elder Gu and asked.
"What do you think?"
Elder Gu turned to look back at Yuanchu. Their eyes met, and neither spoke for a moment.
Finally, Elder Gu broke the silence.
"Do you have anything you want to ask?"
Yuanchu thought for a moment, shook his head, but then nodded again.
"What is my awakened ability?"
Seeing that Elder Gu remained silent, Yuanchu added, "Moran and Gu Feng's abilities seem to manifest physically, but when I was changing clothes, I didn't notice any changes on my body."
"Besides, I feel like my physical fitness is just the same as before... In other words, I feel exactly the same as I did before awakening."
Elder Gu listened in silence. After a long while, he spoke:
"Don't doubt it, you have indeed awakened. It's just that you're different from ordinary people—your changes only appear when you activate your ability."
Yuanchu nodded upon hearing this, and the two lapsed into silence once more.
"Is there anything else you want to tell me?"
Yuanchu thought it over and finally told him every detail about biting himself in his dream.
Elder Gu looked at Yuanchu for a long time, and finally reached a conclusion:
"I don't know either."
Yuanchu: "......"
See? Telling him was completely useless.
Elder Gu seemed to sense what Yuanchu was thinking and gave a light cough.
"Although I don't know, it at least proves that wasn't a dream."
Right, a completely useless piece of nonsense.
"Anyway, rest assured. Since the other party is not hostile toward you, just play a game of chess with him."
"Forget it, you should just get out."
Yuanchu issued an eviction notice. Elder Gu said with a grief-stricken and indignant expression, "This house is at least partly mine..."
Before he could finish his sentence, with a loud "thud," Elder Gu was firmly locked out.
"Just you wait for tomorrow's special training!"
Did an exasperated voice seem to come from Elder Gu?
Whatever, forget him.
Yuanchu sat on the edge of the bed, feeling the gentleness of the breeze. He wasn't quite sure what his mood was right now; outside, the sky was half bright and half gloomy...
……
Elder Gu leaned against the door, quietly watching the fallen leaves on the ground, as if waiting for something.
Confirming that Yuanchu wouldn't come out, the corners of his mouth curved upward involuntarily.
"At least for this stage, you are right."
His words dissolved into the air, drifting with the wind onto a distant falling maple leaf. Summer was coming to an end.
……
"All right, friends, today is our first class."
In the center of the quiet forest, an abrupt voice pierced the sky, startling a few timid birds into flight.
Four people sat separately on a huge stone slab, listening to their very first class as Awakened.
"I get the logic, but... why did you come here too?" Yuanchu pointed at Han Xinnian, who was holding a pen and taking notes earnestly, and asked Elder Gu in puzzlement.
"No choice, Elder Han requested that she sit in on the class too." Elder Gu shrugged.
"But studying it won't do her any good."
"Do you really want me gone that badly?" Han Xinnian glared at Yuanchu with wide eyes.
"N—no."
The other two people sitting on the stone slab looked earnestly at Yuanchu, almost as if they were holding watermelons to watch the show.
Elder Gu smiled inwardly, but maintained a serious expression as he said to Yuanchu:
"Elder Han is afraid his little girl lacks self-preservation skills. After all, my barrier isn't omnipotent. When the mutation truly arrives, we can't just let Xinnian die like most people."
Yuanchu felt there was something strange about this statement, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
Before Yuanchu could figure it out, he heard Elder Gu continue:
"As Awakened, you must understand: never stop cultivating, no matter what."
Elder Gu raised his hand and flashed a peace sign.
"Second point, every Awakened person's ability manifests from the start. For example, Moran's ability seems related to fire, Gu Feng's ability is related to plants... and you, Yuanchu, are related to water."
Gu Feng and Moran exchanged glances, a trace of excitement flickering in their eyes.
Yuanchu pondered for a moment and asked Elder Gu:
"Then o—Elder, what about your ability?"
Elder Gu fell silent for a brief moment. "My ability isn't one of those; it's an ability of change."
"What do you mean by change?" Gu Feng raised his hand to signal a question.
"It's similar to being able to learn anything, but not mastering any of it to perfection." Elder Gu shook his head.
Seeing that no one else had questions, Elder Gu went on:
"Third point is the Origin I just mentioned. The abilities you awakened are your Origins, which can unleash much greater power than other abilities... Of course, what I mean is, you can also learn other powers. For example, Gu Feng, who has a plant attribute, can also learn Moran's fire attribute, but the power of that fire won't match Moran's. After all, Moran's Origin is fire, while Gu Feng's Origin is plants."
"Moreover, generally speaking, fire restrains the plant attribute, so it is very difficult for a plant-attribute Awakened to learn an attribute that restrains their own ability. Unless..."
Elder Gu paused. "Unless someone transfers their fire-attribute Origin to someone else, but that person would have to endure the agony of incompatibility between the fire Origin and the plant Origin. During that process, they would likely be devoured by the fire Origin and turned into a fire Awakened."
"Of course, most Awakened who lose their Origin will die of exhaustion."
"If someone gives their Origin to an ordinary person without any power, that ordinary person might awaken, but more often they will lose their life... After all, this power does not belong to them."
"Husband and wife returning home together?" Han Xinnian stuck out her tongue and continued taking notes.
"Right, as for Xinnian, I will give you the walking stick I used. This walking stick can record some basic abilities. You can input the powers of Yuanchu and the others into it to save your life in a critical moment."
"Oh... and there are other powers that exist in this world, but they are all derived from the three foundational powers of fire, water, and plants."
"Then which one is stronger?" Gu Feng raised his hand and asked weakly.
"Awakened abilities are not divided into high or low; what matters are power and skill. Although water restrains fire, you must know that if fire is strong enough, it can naturally evaporate water." Elder Gu glanced sideways at Yuanchu, who was lowering his head.
Elder Gu seemed to remember something:
"The last point: as long as the Origin remains, the person lives. If the Origin is gone, that person truly dies."
"As for the rest... I'll tell you when I think of it."
Elder Gu waved his hand, signaling the end of today's talk.