The Five Elements Sustain One Another / The Terrain Is Receptive; the Noble One Bears the World with Great Virtue

At that moment, a breeze stirred, and a cherry blossom petal slowly drifted down before Kevin's eyes.

"..."

He reached out and caught the petal. Kevin stared silently at its reflection in his palm for a long while before gently tilting his hand and letting it drift away.

"Phew..."

Meanwhile, in the hospital room, after confirming several times that the connection had been blocked, Gwen let out a huge sigh of relief—

Even if he figured the other party probably could not hurt him, speaking with Kevin, humanity's strongest, while possessing only A-rank strength and having exposed part of his secrets was still nerve-racking.

Moreover, being able to block that connection also put some of Gwen's concerns to rest—

Life at Destiny Headquarters was certainly fulfilling and pleasant, but having to stay cautious at every turn inevitably left Gwen mentally exhausted.

If he had another person to guard against mentally, Gwen felt that his state of mind would sooner or later develop problems.

Fortunately, things had not reached the worst possible point yet.

After relaxing for a moment, Gwen did not waste any more time and opened his status panel.

Although Gwen doubted his cheat was that pathetic, there was no system sprite around to tell him that only he could see it.

Gwen was worried that if this partially damaged system had become so useless that it merely projected information onto his retina, would Kevin, who shared his vision, be able to see it too?

Five Elements Mutual Generation

Perhaps in the future, once he possessed enough strength to ignore every threat, Gwen would voluntarily reveal some system-related information to bolster his allies' confidence.

But at least for now, he did not want outsiders knowing about the system.

Therefore, aside from glancing at it amid the rapidly shifting battlefield earlier and tapping an upgrade, Gwen had never opened his status panel again.

Only now, after blocking his connection with Kevin, could Gwen finally open the system without worry.

And at first glance, Gwen could not help but beam with delight—

Gwen—lv6

Strength—G278

Endurance—F311

Dexterity—G211

Spirit—F323

Energy—D503

Energy System: None

Development Abilities: Nourish Body with Soul, Nourish Soul with Soul, Ten Directions Bearing, Scorching Infinity

Available: Five Elements Mutual Generation

The battle with Ganesha had provided Gwen with more than a thousand attribute points after leveling up, equivalent to one or two months—or even longer—of training. Of course he was happy.

What made Gwen even happier was the flashing level beside his name, indicating that it could be raised—

Joining forces with You Lan Dai Er to defeat Ganesha had allowed Gwen to accumulate enough Great Achievement for another upgrade!

Furthermore, the newly available development ability also put to rest his worries about having no abilities to choose from—

"Five Elements Mutual Generation..."

As he turned over this new development ability in his mind, Gwen's gaze quietly moved upward and settled on Ten Directions Bearing and Scorching Infinity, abilities respectively developed from the Earth Shadow Stone and Fire Shadow Stone.

Even though Gwen knew very little about Five Elements theory, he knew that Mutual Generation included "fire generates earth."

But... he had obtained the Fire Shadow Stone back when he was lv3. Why had Five Elements Mutual Generation, which should have been derived from "fire generates earth," only appeared now?

As that doubt arose, several images suddenly flashed through Gwen's mind—

Beside him, the radiance of the two Light Shadow Stones echoed with one another. The fiery red gradually faded, while the earthy yellow grew increasingly dense. Even a faint yellow glow emerged from the broken sword in his hand.

Gwen recognized it at a glance. This was the scene from when he had charged up an attack to save You Lan Dai Er during the day.

Because all of Gwen's attention had been focused on attacking at the time, he had not noticed the changes in the Light Shadow Stones. Only his spirit had silently recorded the scene, allowing it to surface in his mind now.

Did I gain the Light Shadow Stones' recognition because I was desperate to save someone?

What kind of Ultraman selection method is this?

Though he mocked it inwardly, Gwen swiftly took out the two Light Shadow Stones and held one in each palm.

Sure enough, compared to before, when they had merely felt like crude stones carrying traces of heaviness and heat, the two Light Shadow Stones now felt completely different to Gwen.

The two energies—one heavy, one scorching—had clearly appeared within his senses. They seemed within reach if he raised a hand, rather than remaining inaccessible as though separated by a thick barrier.

And as the two Light Shadow Stones entered his hands, Gwen could also sense a slight disturbance in the energy within his body.

Then, without Gwen actively guiding them, the energy in his body automatically established contact with the energy inside the Light Shadow Stones, drawing the heavy and scorching energies into him.

!

Noticing this, Gwen's brow twitched. He immediately took careful control of the two energies, making them advance at a relatively slow pace while hurriedly selecting the system's available upgrade, Five Elements Mutual Generation.

Although he seemed to have already achieved fire generating earth during the day and could allow the two energies to coexist, this was inside his body. He could not afford to be careless.

A moment later, under Gwen's cautious control, the two streams of energy flowing in from his left and right hands finally came into contact.

In Gwen's perception, the two energies, whose natures were entirely different and even opposite to a certain extent, ignored their differences and touched as naturally as water flowing into a channel. No conflict occurred whatsoever.

Only then did Gwen finally breathe a sigh of relief. He gradually increased the output of both energies until he completely let go, allowing them to intermingle and circulate throughout his body—

Gwen still remembered Kevin saying that the energies inside the Light Shadow Stones affected him throughout his entire body, from flesh to soul.

And as the two energies merged, Gwen could clearly feel the heavy earth-attributed power strengthening bit by bit, while the scorching fire-attributed power weakened accordingly.

Clearly, under the "fire generates earth" effect of Five Elements Mutual Generation, part of the fire-attributed energy had transformed into earth-attributed energy.

Yet Gwen showed no joy at all—

If all five elements were present, then Five Elements Mutual Generation would naturally form a stable cycle.

But Gwen currently possessed only the Earth Shadow Stone and Fire Shadow Stone. Three of the five elements were missing, so it was likely impossible to form a cycle.

Fortunately, as Gwen carefully examined the situation with his spirit, he discovered several strands of energy within his body, which was almost entirely occupied by earth and fire. They differed from those two, differed from one another, yet were connected—and rapidly growing.

Is this... Five Elements Mutual Generation taking effect, using the existing fire and earth attributes to complete the other attributes and establish a cycle?

As he swiftly analyzed the situation, Gwen did not dare relax his spirit for even a moment. He carefully sensed the three energies and barely identified the attributes each belonged to.

However, in Gwen's perception, the metal attribute was growing the fastest, followed by the water attribute. As for the wood attribute, it could barely maintain its existence, progressing slowly.

"Looks like overly powerful earth and fire attributes are detrimental to establishing the cycle..."

Gwen frowned deeply as he analyzed the situation—

"Powerful earth attribute energy does accelerate the growth of the metal attribute, but the weak wood attribute cannot keep up with the fire attribute's demands at all. It is almost unable to survive..."

With that analysis in mind, Gwen quickly activated his spirit, attempting to use external force to adjust the cycle.

However, perhaps because his spirit was still not strong enough, or perhaps because the Five Elements cycle was too incomplete, Gwen could barely stop or slow the fire attribute's absorption of the wood attribute.

After several failed attempts, Gwen gritted his teeth and simply put the two Light Shadow Stones back into the system inventory, cutting off the already powerful fire and earth attributes' external support. At the same time, he continued concentrating his spirit and adjusted the energy within his body with all his strength, striving to promote the growth of the still-weak three attributes—

Gwen had a feeling that if he could establish a stable Five Elements cycle inside his body, it would bring him enormous benefits.

Moreover, he was also thinking about the ultimate power displayed after the five elements combined in the Light Shadow Stones' original world...

The Earth's Condition Is Receptive; Thus the Noble One Carries All Things with Great Virtue

It was night, and the time had already reached one in the morning.

Yet Gwen suddenly opened his eyes on the hospital bed. His gaze was full of exhaustion, but he was not sleepy in the slightest.

For several hours, Gwen had devoted all his energy to balancing the Five Elements cycle within his body.

However, after more than a year, Gwen once again experienced the feeling that effort did not necessarily bring rewards—

His spirit, which had almost recovered, had once again been nearly drained, yet he still had not managed to strengthen the weak wood attribute.

Although, after severing his connection with the two Light Shadow Stones, the Five Elements cycle inside Gwen's body had slowed considerably, finally allowing him to interfere with it to a certain degree—

Even though the cycle had slowed, the fire attribute's suppression of the wood attribute had not stopped, seemingly because too much had been converted earlier.

The moment the wood attribute showed even the slightest sign of growth, it would be harvested by the fire attribute like chives, seemingly with no future in sight.

Meanwhile, the nourished fire attribute continued generating earth-attributed energy without end, making the already most abundant earth attribute even denser.

"Phew..."

Gwen took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, then shook his head. His spirit was already extremely exhausted.

The current situation was that brute force could not solve the problem. He could only try to outthink it.

But the problem was that Gwen did not understand traditional Chinese Five Elements theory beyond the basics: wood generates fire, fire generates earth, earth generates metal, metal generates water, and water generates wood.

Even if he wanted to learn, Gwen was at Destiny Headquarters, where he might be under surveillance. If he did not want to draw attention by acting strangely, he would first need to find an excuse...

Gwen tried hard to calm his irritation and expanded his senses, comparing the current situation with that of several hours ago—

Although he could not display the strength of the five attributes as numerical data, cultivating the Spirit Awakening Scripture still allowed Gwen to easily retrieve his earlier sensory results and compare them.

And that reluctant comparison gave Gwen a new discovery—

Compared to before, the fire attribute's conversion rate had actually increased?

And the reason was... the earth attribute was still continuously generating metal-attributed energy. To support the establishment of the entire cycle, it required replenishment through "fire generates earth."

Suddenly, inspiration struck Gwen—

If I compare it to a chemical reaction, then within the Five Elements cycle, every attribute is both a reactant and a product.

And judging by the wood attribute's condition, this reaction can even be considered reversible.

In that case, as long as I increase the earth attribute's power, the fire attribute's conversion will slow down, thereby weakening its harvesting of the wood attribute to some extent...

And Ten Directions Bearing... perhaps it also contains the meaning of carrying all things with great virtue?

Let the earth attribute serve as the foundation bearing this cycle...

With that thought, Gwen did not hesitate. He took out the Earth Shadow Stone he had put away not long ago and began drawing in its earth-attributed energy once again.

It was worth mentioning that unlike before, when he could establish an energy connection but it appeared completely unresponsive, the Light Shadow Stone now emitted a faint glow as soon as it appeared in Gwen's hand.

To make the glow, which even his blanket could not conceal, less conspicuous, Gwen had already turned on the bedside lamp above him.

However, as Gwen's Honkai Energy continuously flowed into the Earth Shadow Stone and drew out the dense earth-attributed power within it, its radiance gradually grew brighter and brighter.

Anyone watching closely would be able to spot something unusual at a glance.

However, the person who might have watched Gwen closely had not yet returned to headquarters—

On the special plane heading back to headquarters, Otto, now dressed in clean and neat clothes, lightly tapped the armrest with his fingers, his gaze deep and unfathomable.

Although Raven, with only A-rank strength, had not caught Otto's attention, an A-rank combatant who did not belong to Destiny, was interested in an Emperor-class Honkai Beast like Ganesha, and even dared to make a move—

The things hidden behind such a person were worth Otto's attention.

After some simple consideration, Otto arrived at two possibilities—

"Was it done by an enforcer from Anti-Entropy's radicals?"

"Or... a remnant of the Previous Civilization?"

Although one reason North America Branch had rebelled and declared independence back then was its opposition to Otto using Valkyries, whose bodies carried Honkai Energy, as the main force—and expendable resources—in the fight against Honkai, advocating the use of machines represented by Titans instead, that was merely the current conservatives' view.

As for the so-called radicals who had joined in recent years, Otto considered them nothing more than a group of ambitious schemers and clowns.

Those people did not possess the principles and integrity of those straightforward, almost endearing old friends. It would not be surprising for them to produce an A-rank combatant through bottomless human experimentation.

However, compared to the insignificant radicals, Otto suspected the latter possibility more—

If Anti-Entropy's radicals had truly cultivated an A-rank combatant, the first thing those ambitious schemers would do would not be something like stealing samples from an Emperor-class Honkai Beast. They would test Destiny—or test the conservatives—in more sensitive places...

After all, Anti-Entropy's Alliance Leader had been missing for some time...

By comparison, if it was an organization founded by other pioneers of the Previous Civilization—a force Otto had been searching for all along but had never found any trace of—it would not be surprising for them to use an A-rank combatant for something like this.