Under Director Huang Weiguo's explanation, the reserve superpowered individuals present learned a great deal of important information.
This included the specific process of awakening superpowers, matters requiring attention, and things to know when using superpowers.
Everyone only committed the first two points to memory and did not take them too seriously.
What left them conflicted was Director Huang's mention of the Superpower Law—every gain comes with a loss!
In other words, using superpowers would inevitably result in losing something!
At present, if someone could squander their superpower recklessly while claiming to the outside world that they did not need to pay any price...
The first possibility was that the person's superpower was too weak and had no potential whatsoever.
Since they gained very little, they also lost very little—so little that it might even go unnoticed.
The second possibility was that what they lost had little impact on them and was difficult to notice—such as an abscessed appendix, decayed teeth, or body hair.
Such people were what one would usually call the lucky ones.
There was absolutely nothing wrong with calling them "the darlings of fate."
As for the third possibility...
The superpower itself had hidden dangers, including but not limited to losing control of the ability, emotional breakdowns, and changes in personality.
Having lived two lifetimes, Ma Ran had seen every superpowered individual pay a price.
When their mental state was poor, every superpowered individual would lose something each time they used their ability.
It might be blood, flesh, hair, taste, or touch.
It might also be something conceptual, such as intelligence, knowledge, or skills.
This phenomenon was known as Superpower Erosion!
At least for now...
After careful thought and rational analysis, Ma Ran reached a conclusion.
Of all the superpowers he had seen, only the acting and replication abilities could make an exception.
In other words...
Ma Ran would not suffer from Superpower Erosion!
With that thought, he spoke casually, opening his mouth and making it up on the spot. "Changing the established future through Limited Precognition will consume my lifespan."
"The external manifestation should be accelerated cellular aging."
Before his rebirth, Ma Ran had made many guesses, but he could not be one hundred percent certain.
Now, Ma Ran could assert that the acting ability would select the parts of the settings that benefited him personally.
Everyone listened attentively.
Even Liu Huadie and He Nanguang, who did not quite believe that Limited Precognition truly existed, took Ma Ran's opinion very seriously.
After all, among the supernaturally capable people in the country, Ma Ran was also considered one of the most outstanding figures in the top echelon.
"Director Huang has already explained everything that needed to be said."
"I'm using myself as an example because I want to tell everyone..."
"Do not hold on to any fluke mentality. You must take this extremely seriously!"
"Here, I'd like to add a little of my own humble opinion."
"Using your ability when you possess sufficient Mental Power should allow you to avoid most of the harm caused by Superpower Erosion."
Ma Ran's gaze swept across everyone present. "You'll have to judge the proper limits for yourselves."
"At least at this stage, no one can offer any help in this regard."
Walking beside Ma Ran, He Nanguang nodded thoughtfully. "Understood."
If they hid their abilities in everyday life, never trained them, and never used them, then when a crucial moment arrived, they would sadly discover that their superpowers, which they had regarded as trump cards, were actually useless.
But if they had to train their superpowers every day, they would also have to stay alert against their erosion and backlash.
This was far riskier than Inner Qi cultivation and placed a great deal of emphasis on patience and self-control.
A few words from Ma Ran had splashed ice water over the reserve superpowered individuals, chilling them to the bone.
Director Huang Weiguo hurriedly spoke up to smooth things over. "Everyone, there's no need to worry too much. Yingchuan Academy has already begun perfecting a systematic and scientific superpower development plan."
"Moreover, our country's artificial organ printing technology is already approaching maturity."
"Even if the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, or kidneys are damaged, they can be healed quickly."
"Our medical team is the finest in the world!"
As they spoke, the group finally reached their destination.
From a distance, all they could see was an octagonal ancient well bound with iron chains.
The area around it had been swept completely clean. Not a single fallen leaf could be seen, and there was nothing resembling a stone.
"The things inside this well are the Victory Encounter Stones that will help everyone awaken their superpowers."
From far away, Director Huang Weiguo pointed at the mysterious ancient well. "Everyone knows the precautions very well, so I won't go on about them."
Su Qiangwei, Liu Huadie, He Nanguang, and Ma Ran walked forward slowly and arrived beside the octagonal ancient well.
Gulunzhong was freezing cold, with icy winds howling.
Yet after approaching the ancient well, the four of them seemed to have entered an independent space.
The wind was calm there, and it was as warm as spring. They could not feel the slightest chill.
There was not a drop of water in the octagonal ancient well. Instead, it was filled with small stones of various shapes.
Before they came, Director Huang Weiguo had already told everyone that these things, known as Victory Encounter Stones, were the key items for awakening superpowers.
The four of them extended one hand toward the mouth of the well.
Buzz, buzz, buzz...
The pile of stones began to tremble slightly.
A moment later, four Victory Encounter Stones floated up and slowly drifted toward the palms of the four people...
The Victory Encounter Stone attracted to Ma Ran looked much like a six-pointed star. Seven-colored rays of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet flickered across its surface, making it exceptionally eye-catching.
This Victory Encounter Stone gave off a fragrant orchid-like scent, and it flew much faster than the other three.
In the blink of an eye, it arrived in front of Ma Ran.
However, the moment the six-pointed-star Victory Encounter Stone touched Ma Ran's palm, there was a muffled bang, and it was sent flying away!
Less than half a second after being knocked away, the six-pointed-star Victory Encounter Stone shattered completely and vanished without a trace.
Ma Ran's expression remained blank, and he appeared completely calm.
The suspicion in his heart... had finally been confirmed!
The situation was exactly the same as in his previous life, allowing Ma Ran to confirm that the acting ability and the superpower system of the Victory Encounter Stones were fundamentally two different things!
The acting ability was more overbearing! More tyrannical! Its exclusivity was extraordinarily strong!
Ma Ran was not worried that this scene would be seen by others and bring him trouble.
During the process of awakening a superpower through the Victory Encounter Stone, one would be bombarded by an enormous amount of information and lose all perception of the outside world.
That safeguard alone was already sufficient, but Ma Ran still added a second layer of protection—You Script Illusion.
Although he had only spent a short time studying You Script in this life and was still far from the master level, the experience he had accumulated in his previous life allowed him to improve extremely quickly. Creating ordinary illusions and deceiving the five senses of the people around him was not difficult.
Thus, in the eyes of the others, the Victory Encounter Stone Ma Ran had attracted merged into his palm in an instant.
Before long...
Victory Encounter Stones also merged into the palms of Su Qiangwei, Liu Huadie, and He Nanguang.
Dark-red reverse-vortex patterns appeared simultaneously on the palms of the three people.
The patterns appeared and vanished in an instant. In the blink of an eye, they disappeared without a trace, as if they had never existed.
--
Thanks to Little Hammerhead for the 100-point tip!
Thanks to Happened While Spacing Out for the 900-point tip!
Thanks to Little Dried Fish for the 100-point tip!
Thanks to Ink Rain Star Fate for the 100-point tip!
Thanks to I Won't Ramble, I'll Just Ask for the 100-point tip!
Thanks to Late-Autumn Sunset for the 100-point tip!
Thanks! (▽)!
The update is complete. I'm in a great mood! Please give me some recommendation votes!
Mm!
I noticed some readers asking about the update time, so I'll explain it here.
Under normal circumstances, The Birth of a Method Actor updates around 12:15 noon, usually with a margin of error of no more than five minutes.
Hehehe...
See you tomorrow!
Before you continue