Peace of Mind

Upon hearing Pei Zhizong's question.

As his junior, after pondering for a moment, the little girl nodded slowly and somewhat timidly.

"If he is willing, bring him into the family and find him a job."

After saying that.

She murmured softly.

"I'm mainly curious how he can be so at ease despite living such a miserable life..."

Hearing this, Pei Zhizong understood why his younger relative was so curious about that little beggar, yet could not help but smile wryly.

After thinking for a moment.

He voiced a speculative thought.

"Perhaps... because this is the only thing he can do."

"Finding joy amid hardship may be nothing more than self-consolation, but it is his only choice."

That said.

He understood very well that while finding joy amid hardship was easy to say, it was extremely difficult to put into practice.

After all.

If everyone could truly find joy amid hardship, no one would want to kill themselves or anything of the sort.

Having said that.

His gaze turned toward Ling Wuyuan, who was undergoing the baptism of the [Spirit Awakening Ritual].

There was, more or less, a measure of anticipation in his eyes.

The so-called [Spirit Awakening Ritual] was essentially nothing more than a method of tapping into a person's innate potential ahead of time through external means, while they were still young and their natural foundations had not yet fully taken shape.

Although those who could directly unearth special potential through it were only a tiny minority.

Just as true geniuses were generally few and far between.

Its effects in strengthening the body and improving health likewise varied greatly according to the user's aptitude.

After undergoing it, some children merely became somewhat healthier than before.

After undergoing it, other children saw their Physical Fitness gradually rise from that of an ordinary child to a level approaching that of an adult.

Just like the little girl beside him.

When she underwent the [Spirit Awakening Ritual] at the age of eight.

Not only had she awakened a precious special physique suited for cultivation, even her basic Physical Fitness had increased severalfold.

From that point onward.

Her status within the Pei Family had directly become that of the presumed next Patriarch.

Though she was still young, in this world where strength reigned supreme, there was ultimately no one in the entire family capable of competing with her.

Everyone regarded her as a rising star, as the continuation of the family's glory, and even as the possibility of taking it a step further.

At this moment.

Looking at Ling Wuyuan, who was still undergoing the [Spirit Awakening Ritual].

Pei Zhizong felt that as long as the other's cultivation aptitude could be considered decent.

Once he joined the Pei Family, Pei Zhizong could arrange some cultivation resources for him.

That would count as giving him some genuine opportunities...

At the same time.

The little girl beside him was also watching Ling Wuyuan's figure and thinking about certain things...

As the one being watched by Pei Zhizong and the little girl, Ling Wuyuan truly did not feel much about the situation at this moment.

His attention was mainly focused inside his own body.

Ever since his [Spirit Awakening Ritual] had officially begun, he could feel some kind of power continuously pouring into his body, making him close his eyes involuntarily and sense it carefully.

Though he did not understand the exact principles behind it.

He could tell that his Physical Fitness had noticeably improved in an extremely short time.

It was practically as though he had spent some time recuperating with good food and drink.

For someone like him, a beggar who had long gone hungry and suffered severe malnutrition, this was an exceedingly obvious change.

In a daze.

He realized that the damage to his foundation caused by long-term malnutrition had finally been remedied to a certain extent...

To him, this was truly precious beyond measure!

Moreover.

Vaguely, he could also sense that as the external power flowed in, some kind of power within him seemed to have been stimulated as well, slowly reviving and budding forth.

"?"

"What is this?"

"Could this be the special aptitude people speak of?"

Ling Wuyuan was not quite sure.

He could only sense that as the [Spirit Awakening Ritual] continued, some faint power within him was slowly growing and awakening.

Since his knowledge of cultivation could only be described as utterly nonexistent, Ling Wuyuan had no idea what exactly was happening to him. He could only clearly determine that the incomparably weak power was harmless to him, that it came entirely from some potential within himself. Its emergence made him feel neither panic nor fear—only reassurance, the reassurance of finally having something to rely on after struggling in this world for so long...

Furthermore, Ling Wuyuan could sense that this power was like his own limbs.

After a brief period of awkward adjustment.

He quickly succeeded in controlling it, gathering it back within himself...

Not long afterward.

Sensing that the [Spirit Awakening Ritual] had ended, he slowly opened his eyes.

At that moment, looking at the people on and below the stage, feeling the warmth of sunlight spilling down over him, a wondrous feeling surfaced in Ling Wuyuan's heart.

A feeling as though he had been reborn...

At the same time, the white-haired old man beside him, who was responsible for conducting the [Spirit Awakening Ritual], looked at Ling Wuyuan. Drawing upon years of work experience, his somewhat cloudy eyes easily saw through the grime on Ling Wuyuan's face and noticed that his complexion was far better than before, no longer as sallow and emaciated as it had been.

"A fairly obvious change..."

"The spiritual energy released by the [Spirit Awakening Ritual] should have been absorbed quite successfully..."

"It seems this little beggar's aptitude is actually quite good..."

As he silently pondered, the old man asked Ling Wuyuan in a very gentle tone, as a matter of routine.

"Little fellow, how do you feel?"

"Have there been any special changes within your body?"

This was a routine inquiry into whether the user had awakened any special powers.

In response.

Ling Wuyuan chose to answer with an extremely delighted expression.

"I only feel that I'm in better condition than ever before!!"

"Just healthier and stronger?"

Hearing that.

The old man was neither particularly surprised nor disappointed.

From the few instances in his career where he had helped someone activate a special aptitude, children who awakened special aptitudes would more or less display some quite conspicuous abnormality.

Even breathing fire on the spot would not have been unusual.

Therefore, when it came to someone like Ling Wuyuan, who showed no outwardly special signs, he had merely asked as a matter of routine.