Divinity Skill

Divinity Skill

"Hm?"

Xue Jing stared blankly for a moment. He first suspected he had misheard, then looked around and found no one nearby. So it did not seem like someone was playing a prank by pretending to be a cat. He checked the cat over as well, but found no device that could make sounds.

Xue Jing pondered for a while and calmed down, suppressing his leaping curiosity.

A talking cat might not have been an unusual trope in fantasy stories, but encountering one in reality was rather eerie. It was best not to get involved.

He quickly pulled several sausages from the supermarket bag, tore off all their wrappers, and placed them on the ground. Then he immediately stood, ready to leave.

But just as he rose, the unconscious Maomao's tail twitched unconsciously, causing the platinum tail ring around it to brush against his fingers.

Divinity Substance detected. Extracting Divinity...

Contact severed. Divinity extraction failed.

The translucent Skill Panel suddenly popped up on its own, displaying two lines of text that had never appeared before.

Xue Jing froze and stopped himself from leaving.

"Well... now I have no choice. The panel is the foundation of my survival. To investigate this anomaly, I can only take it home."

He sighed. For some reason, though, he felt inexplicably excited.

Xue Jing bent down without minding the dirt and gathered the black Maomao with four white paws into his arms. The Platinum Tail Ring on its tail came into contact with his body as well.

Divinity Substance detected. Extracting Divinity...

On the panel, wisps of golden light emerged from the originally pale blue, transparent interface and continuously gathered toward its bottom. Vaguely, it seemed as though a new skill was slowly taking shape.

"Divinity... that sounds pretty damn impressive."

Xue Jing looked forward to it. Holding Maomao, he was about to head home when he remembered something and turned back toward the supermarket.

After entering the supermarket, he bought a bag of cat food from the pet section and asked the cashier for a large bag. He packed his groceries and the cat food together, then left the supermarket with Maomao cradled in one arm and the large bag in the other, walking back home.

As soon as he entered, he set the plastic bag containing the ingredients and cat food on the table, then carried Maomao to the sofa in the living room.

Because of the panel's earlier prompt, he could not let his contact with Maomao's tail ring break for the time being, lest the Divinity extraction fail.

Though he had no idea what would happen once this so-called Divinity extraction succeeded, according to the usual pattern, it probably would not be a bad thing.

The golden motes on the interface were still gathering. Xue Jing held Maomao with one hand while gently stroking it with the other.

Its fur was dirty and messy, with patches missing here and there. But on closer inspection, the cat was actually of exceptional quality.

Its coat was not mottled. The four white paws were clearly delineated from its body, its whiskers were neat, and both outer corners of its eyes had white fur like eyeliner—long and refined, giving it the appearance of a beautiful cat with delicate features.

"This little thing is pretty good-looking."

Xue Jing stroked Maomao, anticipation stirring in his heart.

He did not know exactly what he was anticipating. Was it the changes that would happen to the panel after extracting Divinity, or the excitement that this talking Maomao might bring some kind of change to his life?

"..."

Xue Jing suddenly smiled.

"I really am Xue Jing after all..."

After bringing a talking cat home, what arose in his heart was not anxiety over unknown risks, but excitement at the thought that his life was about to change.

That was the temperament of a youth, not the mindset of a middle-aged man seeking stability.

Having resolved a doubt deep in his heart, Xue Jing settled down. While waiting for the Divinity extraction to finish, he picked up the remote beside him, turned on the television, and switched to the news channel.

"...The preliminary rounds for the thirty-seventh U19 Unlimited Elite Fighting Competition are about to begin. Young star competitors from major clubs are eagerly gearing up and can hardly wait... Today, let us interview the seeded competitors of this tournament..."

"...At 2 p.m. on October 8, a brief World Tremor measuring 4.1 occurred on Huai River Road in Sunny City's East District. Under the command of Governing Councilman Chu Minyi, residents carried out emergency evacuation procedures in an orderly manner. There were no casualties..."

"...Kangde Security Company recently announced that it has officially dismantled the large criminal organization known as the Dragon Cult. Guan Yingzhi, the head of Kangde, declared that the Dragon Cult was an illegal criminal gang disguised as a religion and had plagued society for more than sixty years. To safeguard social stability and ensure citizens' safety, Kangde Security will never allow any lawbreakers..."

"Recently, a group of smuggling rings from the Intersection Zone, carrying a large quantity of illegal goods, have crossed the Edge City Defense Line and are heading inland. All Sunny City residents are advised to take safety precautions..."

Who knew how much time passed.

Divinity extraction complete.

As a line of text appeared on the panel, the golden motes floating across the interface scattered away.

At the bottom of the panel's skill list, a new skill had appeared. Unlike the black text of ordinary skills, its lettering was gold and gleamed with light.

Twin Life (Inactive): Divinity Skill. Divinity required for activation: 525/500

Requirements met. Activate?

Yes/No

A Divinity Skill? Xue Jing's gaze sharpened.

Just from the name, he could tell it was clearly on a completely different level from ordinary skills.

Xue Jing immediately tapped "Yes."

Activation successful.

Twin Life Lv1 (Divinity required for upgrade: 25/100)

Effect:
Passive: Possess two lives. After death, freely choose a resurrection time within seven days. Cooldown: three months.

Active: Locked (Divinity required to unlock: 25/500)

Divinity Avatar: Locked (Unlock requirements: Reach Lv10, Divinity 25/2000)

"!?"

He was stunned.

Though he had mentally prepared himself and knew that a Divinity Skill would definitely differ from an ordinary skill, Xue Jing truly had not expected it to be this outrageous.

"A Ban, you're finally showing your hand, huh? You don't plan on pretending to be an ordinary cheat anymore?"

Just moments ago, the Skill Panel had still been a fairly ordinary cheat within the realm of normal people. Its growth rate was a little fast, but still within reasonable limits.

But the moment Twin Life appeared, it kicked him straight through the gates of the supernatural world.

This was a skill that obeyed neither reason nor physics.

Two lives, with the ability to choose when to resurrect after death—this meant he would not have to fear being corpse-camped. He would not suffer the absurdity of reviving immediately after dying, only to be killed again.

What kind of god-tier life-saving skill was this? It was not even a one-time resurrection token. Once the cooldown ended, he could revive again.

The cooldown was a little long, but rounding it off, this was basically equivalent to infinite respawns.

And judging by what the panel said, this was only the passive effect of Twin Life.

"Why the hell?"

Xue Jing felt like ants were crawling all over him.

If the passive was already this insane, then the active ability had to be insane too.

But it required Divinity to unlock. Where was he supposed to get that?

And what effect did this Divinity Avatar have...

Countless thoughts churned in his mind, and Xue Jing's expression shifted constantly.

At that moment, Maomao's eyelids suddenly trembled, and it slowly opened its eyes.

It raised its head, its beautiful emerald-green vertical pupils looking up at Xue Jing, who was holding it in his arms.

Seeing this, Xue Jing temporarily pushed aside his thoughts and raised a hand to stroke Maomao's head.

Feeling somewhat guilty, he said, "You're awake?"

He had extracted Divinity without its permission. He had no idea what effects that might have on Maomao.

He had been too excited to notice it at the time, but thinking about it now, taking something without asking really was a bit...

Xue Jing considered his moral boundaries rather flexible. Even if he realized this, he would still secretly extract Divinity for the sake of the Skill Panel. But now that the victim had awakened right in front of him, he could not help feeling guilty.

Curled up in Xue Jing's arms, Maomao stared blankly at him for a while, seemingly not yet understanding its current situation.

Its gaze turned toward its surroundings, sweeping around the room before returning to Xue Jing's face.

A glint seemed to flash through its emerald vertical pupils.

Maomao spoke.

"Meow~~"

That voice.

It was so cloyingly sweet that goosebumps rose all over Xue Jing's body.