Three Talents

Li Yi drifted in and out of consciousness, sensing nothing but darkness around him.

He could only vaguely hear an aged voice outside saying, "Congratulations, Master Jiang. Your honored wife is with child."

"However, your honored wife is advanced in years. She must take good care of herself during this pregnancy."

"Sorry for the trouble, Doctor Liu."

Li Yi grew even sleepier and soon fell asleep again.

In the blink of an eye, several months passed.

Li Yi had already figured out his current situation.

He had actually become a fetus.

His mother was Madam Jiang Li, and his father, Jiang Dahai, was a businessman.

The couple had three children, but all of them were daughters.

Jiang Dahai desperately hoped this child would be a son.

Li Yi was awake only briefly each day and spent most of his time sleeping.

Who knew how long passed before Li Yi felt a force squeezing him downward.

He immediately understood.

It was most likely time for the birth.

Thus, Li Yi leaped downward with all his strength.

"Waaah..."

A loud cry rang out.

Li Yi was born.

The midwife hurried outside to announce the good news. "Congratulations, Master! Congratulations, Master! It's a little master with a handle!"

"Reward her! Reward her handsomely!"

Jiang Dahai was overjoyed when he heard this.

He had gained a son in his old age, and his excitement overflowed from his face.

Li Yi cried for a while, then felt tired as well and closed his eyes.

The moment he closed his eyes, Li Yi vaguely felt as though he had entered endless darkness.

Within that darkness, Li Yi could faintly see a Great Sun, a Blood Moon, and a Black Hole.

The three celestial bodies hung high in the sky.

At this moment, Li Yi stood at the center beneath the three celestial bodies.

He raised his head and looked upward.

Above him stood a magnificent, imposing palace, flickering in and out of sight as it rose through the void.

From afar, the three celestial bodies seemed to be guarding this palace.

The palace flickered in and out of sight, and Li Yi could vaguely see writing on its plaque.

But it was too blurry to make out.

"Where is this?"

Li Yi lowered his head and looked at himself.

He was no longer in the form of an infant. Instead, he was like a cloud of mist, floating through the void.

"Have I become an illusion?"

Li Yi tried drifting toward the palace.

It actually worked.

He slowly floated upward until he arrived outside the palace.

He saw the characters on the palace plaque.

Li Yi did not recognize those four characters.

Yet when he saw those unfamiliar words, understanding came to him in a flash, and he instantly knew their meaning.

"Martial Arts Divine Hall!"

Li Yi now knew the palace's name.

When Li Yi tried to enter the palace, however, he discovered that he could not even step onto the first layer of stairs outside it.

An invisible force seemed to be blocking him.

Li Yi had come back to his senses now. This was most likely his "golden finger."

Unfortunately, he could not enter the Martial Arts Divine Hall.

So Li Yi could only raise his head and look at the three celestial bodies in the void.

Those three celestial bodies were so unique that they were impossible to ignore.

He looked up at the Great Sun.

A message immediately surfaced in his mind.

"Visualizing the Great Sun increases Bone Quality."

Li Yi was filled with uncertainty. He then looked at the Blood Moon and the Black Hole.

"Visualizing the Blood Moon increases Comprehension."

"Visualizing the Black Hole increases Spirit."

Li Yi fell into thought.

Bone Quality, Comprehension, and Spirit were every person's innate talents.

And talents were fixed from birth, impossible to change.

Yet merely visualizing these three celestial bodies could increase those three talents.

Li Yi immediately understood what an enormous opportunity this was.

He promptly tried to visualize the Great Sun.

Li Yi stared fixedly at the Great Sun and began sketching its shape within his mind.

Right now, Li Yi could only see a relatively blurry Great Sun.

Even so, to completely visualize the Great Sun in his mind required a great deal of time.

One hour, two hours, three hours...

Who knew how long passed.

Li Yi finally visualized the Great Sun.

Boom.

The Great Sun took shape in his mind.

But in an instant, Li Yi felt as though he had been thrown into boundless flames.

"Pain..."

Li Yi felt endless agony.

It was the pain of being roasted alive.

However, it lasted only a short time.

In an instant, he "vanished into ashes and smoke."

Whoosh.

Li Yi opened his eyes.

His gaze was uncertain as he looked around.

He was still an infant, lying in a cradle, with a maid watching over him nearby.

From time to time, the maid even leaned against the cradle and dozed off.

"I'm all right?"

Li Yi breathed a sigh of relief.

Visualizing the Great Sun was agonizing.

Even thinking about it now filled Li Yi with terror, and a trace of fear had risen in the depths of his heart.

But Li Yi also knew that this was his greatest opportunity.

No matter how painful it was, he had to endure it.

Besides, visualizing the Great Sun only caused pain. It would not kill him.

With that thought, Li Yi gritted his teeth and closed his eyes once more.

Whoosh.

Sure enough, Li Yi returned to the Martial Arts Divine Hall's space.

He had already formed some guesses.

This Martial Arts Divine Hall space was most likely his consciousness space.

He could enter or leave it whenever he wished.

Li Yi looked at the Great Sun overhead. In the end, he still gritted his teeth and continued visualizing it.

"It still hurts..."

Li Yi still could not endure even a single second. In an instant, he left the consciousness space.

Yet Li Yi's will was firm. He returned to the consciousness space again and again, continuing to visualize the Great Sun.

Once, twice, three times...

Who knew how many times he tried.

"Bone Quality increased..."

A line of small text appeared before Li Yi's eyes.

At the same time, an illusory panel appeared before him.

Bone Quality: 1.1

Comprehension: 1.1

Spirit: 1.3

These were the values of his three talents.

The normal value was "1."

All three of his values exceeded "1," which meant that his talents had not been poor to begin with. They were somewhat better than those of ordinary people.

In particular, his Spirit was far better than that of ordinary people.

"Visualizing the Great Sun is so painful. Then what about visualizing the Blood Moon and the Black Hole?"

Li Yi still wanted to try.

Thus, he attempted to visualize the Blood Moon.

At once, Li Yi felt as though he had been cast into a world of ice and snow. A bone-chilling agony instantly struck his heart.

Just like when he visualized the Great Sun, Li Yi could not hold on for even one second before his consciousness collapsed and withdrew from the consciousness space.

Finally, he visualized the Black Hole.

This was even more terrifying.

Li Yi felt as though a horrifying force had ground him into powder, and in the end, he similarly collapsed and withdrew from the consciousness space.

"Bone Quality, Comprehension, and Spirit can all grow by visualizing the three celestial bodies."

"It's only that the exact amount of growth still needs to be tested."

Li Yi fell into thought.

In the blink of an eye, more than three months passed.

Today was Li Yi's hundred-day celebration.

Master Jiang did not hold back. He invited relatives and friends and even laid out a flowing feast, entertaining the entire city.

Even beggars could eat their fill as long as they said a few auspicious words.

"Congratulations, Master Jiang."

"The little master looks so sturdy."

"Prophet Li from the east of the city said the little master's fate was beyond measure."

Many people were teasing Li Yi.

Li Yi, wrapped in swaddling clothes, could not be bothered with them.

He had already received a new name. Prophet Li from the east of the city had given it to him: Hao. It was said that this character signified a fate beyond measure.

Master Jiang was naturally delighted and rewarded Prophet Li with a full ten taels of silver.

Li Yi was tired, so Madam Jiang Li carried him back into the room.

"Little Tiger, in truth, Mother would rather have named you Jiang Fan. A plain and ordinary life would be enough..."

Little Tiger was Li Yi's childhood name, meaning that he would be as strong and healthy as a tiger.

Li Yi shook his head even more when he heard that.

The name Jiang Fan was anything but ordinary.

Anyone who dared to bear that name was no ordinary person.

Compared to that, a name as overbearing as "Jiang Hao" did not seem like much at all.

After Jiang Hao had eaten and drunk his fill, he entered the consciousness space.

Bone Quality: 1.4

Comprehension: 1.1

Spirit: 1.3

Jiang Hao looked at the current values of his three talents. Neither his Comprehension nor Spirit had changed.

But his Bone Quality had risen from 1.1 to 1.4, an increase of 0.3.

It had increased by roughly 0.1 each month.

As for whether an increase of 0.1 was little or much, Jiang Hao did not know.

That was because he still could not feel any tremendous changes in his body.

The only thing he could feel was perhaps that his body was fairly healthy and sturdy.

For three months after his birth, Jiang Hao had never fallen ill.

Perhaps it had something to do with the increase in his Bone Quality.

After three months, Jiang Hao's testing had also come to an end.

He had also figured out the rate at which Visualizing celestial bodies increased the three aptitudes.

Now he had to make a choice.

In the future, should he increase all three aptitudes evenly, or pour all his strength into increasing a single aptitude?

This required careful thought.

Jiang Hao still did not fully understand what these three aptitudes represented.

Without understanding them, increasing them evenly was the safest course.

"Right now, I'm only three months old. I can't ask around about what these three aptitudes represent."

"Once I can speak, I'll probe around and find out what these three aptitudes are all about. Then I can redraw the growth plan for them."

Thus, Jiang Hao made his plan: every ten days, he would Visualize one celestial body.

His Bone Quality, Comprehension, and mental aptitude were all steadily increasing.

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