After finishing the meal, Xia Ling noticed Xia Yu's distraction and knew that she was the only one in the family without an ability, unable to gain Xiong Ge's attention.
Although he pretended not to care on the surface, he still felt deeply upset and troubled whenever he was alone.
"Brother Yu, I need to talk to you. Could you come over for a second?" she said, waving at Xia Yu.
"Sure." He then came into my room.
Xia Yu asked, "Younger Sister, is something wrong?"
Xia Ling asked, "Brother Yu, are you unhappy?"
"Younger Sister, I also want to get attention from Xiong Ge and the others. Why does Xiong Ge only care about Xian Tian and Xia Mei? Just because I don't have an ability?" Xia Yu felt deeply distressed.
He thought to himself: Why am I the only one without an ability? I want to have an ability too, so I can protect you, protect everyone, and become an older brother you can depend on.
"Brother Yu, my ability has already broken through thirty thousand points. Can we try to see if we can awaken your ability?" Xia Ling said.
Xia Yu replied with a desolate expression, "Younger Sister, you are amazing, but my ability hasn't been awakened for over a decade. It's even more impossible now, right?"
Xia Ling said, "Brother Yu, when I broke through the thirty-thousand-point barrier, I sensed that you actually do have an ability, but it's very faint and hard to detect."
"Do you remember the wish card I wrote for you when we were kids? Now I want to help you make your wish come true, even though success isn't guaranteed. Are you willing to give it a try?"
Xia Yu grabbed Xia Ling's hand in excitement and said, "Younger Sister, of course I remember. I want to try. No matter whether my ability is awakened or not, I won't regret it. At least I am willing to try."
"Mm. I checked the Jingdian before. When an ability breaks through+, you can try to help someone else awaken theirs. The success rate is only fifty percent, but the process can be very painful."
With a firm look in his eyes, Xia Yu said, "I can handle it."
"Alright, give me your hand, let's try."
"Get ready, we're starting."
Xia Ling grasped Xia Yu's hand, circulated her ability, and sent it roaming through Xia Yu's body until she finally located the seal. Xia Ling first carefully probed and examined it, then she realized that the seal required a massive surge of ability to break. She immediately began gently inputting her ability, chipping away at the sealing force to ensure that Xia Yu's body would not suffer any accidents.
After about half an hour, both Xia Ling and Xia Yu were covered in sweat. Seeing that the seal was about to open a small gap, Xia Ling unleashed a full-strength strike. Fortunately, a gap was torn in the seal, meaning Xia Yu could finally start cultivating his ability in the future. With that, she stopped.
Seeing Younger Sister stop, Xia Yu hurriedly asked, "Younger Sister, how was it?"
Xia Ling withdrew her hand, a surge of a metallic, bloody taste rising in her throat. She spat out a mouthful of fresh blood and was too weak to even stand up. Panicked, Xia Yu quickly carried Xia Ling back to her room and laid her down.
Xia Ling said, "Brother Yu, I'm fine, just exhausted from expending my ability. A few days of rest and I'll be right as rain."
"I discovered a seal inside your body. Although it wasn't completely undone, I've opened a gap in it. Now you can cultivate your ability."
"Really?" Xia Yu gripped Xia Ling's hand excitedly.
Xia Ling said, "Mm, it's real. Brother Yu, I can sense that your body can cultivate abilities now. From now on, you can cultivate too."
Xia Yu was thrilled. After being a Muggle for more than a decade, he could finally cultivate abilities. That was wonderful!
Watching him look so happy, Xia Ling felt happy herself. But then she suddenly worried whether helping Xia Yu cultivate early might disrupt the plot. After thinking it over, she still gave him a cautioning reminder:
"Brother Yu, keep the fact that you can cultivate abilities a secret for now. Wait until the right time comes before telling them. Focus on your cultivation first, and if there's anything you don't understand, you can ask me anytime."
"Alright, you get some rest. I'll go cook something for you to eat when you wake up hungry." Xia Yu smiled happily, thinking to himself: Younger Sister, I will definitely cultivate hard to protect you and protect everyone.
"Okay, go ahead." With that, she closed her eyes to rest.
Xia Yu went to the kitchen to cook some food, then returned to the room.
Xia Ling reflected to herself: The plot should be starting soon now! But at least she now had the ability to protect herself, and Xia Yu could start cultivating early. Hopefully, he wouldn't turn to the dark side like in the original story. Even though she knew the general plot, she still needed to prepare contingency plans; otherwise, she would end up completely passive.