Enhancement of Talent Ability

"Ah! Murder!"

The moment Luo Tianji clutched his chest and collapsed, everyone in the school revealed horrified expressions.

Then, accompanied by a scream, everyone finally came back to their senses.

"Quick, emergency treatment!"

Zhang He, the Dean of Discipline, was completely stunned as well. He had originally wanted to lend Luo Tianji a hand and determine who would receive the Awakening Stone.

After all, whether it was the time Luo Tianji had taken to break through to Eighth Grade, his cultivation technique, martial arts, or even his Breathing Technique, which of those was inferior to Jiang Li's?

But how could he have imagined that the gap in this battle would be so vast, so utterly lopsided?

A large crowd rushed toward Luo Tianji, while Jiang Li calmly walked against the flow of people.

"Jiang Li, you're in trouble now."

Yun Fei's expression was deeply conflicted. After all, he had personally killed someone in broad daylight. Even with a Life and Death Contract, this would still be highly unfavorable for Jiang Li.

"Trouble? If I didn't kill him, was I supposed to wait for him to kill me?"

Jiang Li said blandly, "I never show mercy to my enemies. Those who wish to kill me, I will surely kill!"

Those words made Yun Fei's heart turn cold.

She sensed a Killing Intent from Jiang Li. This definitely was not the first time he had killed someone.

In this world, Life and Death Contracts carried legal force. Yet even so, Jiang Li would inevitably face plenty of trouble.

Even more pitiful was Zhang He, the Dean of Discipline. He had approved this match and even the signing of the Life and Death Contract. He could not evade responsibility for this.

"I'll try to think of a solution for you. The martial arts entrance exam is just around the corner—I hope this won't affect you."

Yun Fei looked at Jiang Li and shook her head.

"Thank you, Senior."

Jiang Li smiled faintly, then left with leisurely steps.

As for everyone else's stares, he had never cared about them.

Within Beihe City, Zhang Wanke and Lin Jinwei stood inside a luxurious mansion.

At that moment, the entire mansion was in disarray. There were seven shriveled corpses in total.

From an elderly man of seventy down to a twelve-year-old child, every member of the family had been killed here.

"Two Eighth Grade bodyguards, killed in a single strike!"

Lin Jinwei frowned slightly, a chill flashing through his eyes.

"The police have already provided the files. The entire family was here, and all of their blood vitality was refined and drained away. Judging by the method, it was the Seventh Grade martial art Crimson Blood Hand, cultivated to the major mastery realm."

Zhang Wanke handed the documents in his hand to Lin Jinwei and slowly said, "This method of killing should belong to that B-Class Fugitive, Night Demon."

'Night Demon, real name Lu Dajun, thirty-nine years old, a high-level Seventh Grade martial artist. Cultivation technique suspected to be the S-Class forbidden art Heaven-Stealing Divine Art.'

'Method of killing: leaves no traces after every attack; possesses extremely strong counter-surveillance methods.'

'Whenever he kills, he chooses to strike when the target's direct bloodline is gathered together. Regardless of gender or age, the corpses have their blood vitality drained after death, turning them into withered corpses.'

Lin Jinwei's brows drew tightly together. "In a tiny place like Beihe City, there is not only a monster whose strength lies between Seventh and Sixth Grade, but also a B-Class fugitive."

Zhang Wanke was about to say something more when Lin Jinwei's phone rang, and he fell silent.

"Yun girl... What? She really doesn't let anyone rest easy." After hanging up, Lin Jinwei's frown deepened.

"Elder Lin, what happened?" Zhang Wanke asked.

"Luo Tianji is dead." Lin Jinwei sighed.

"What?" Zhang Wanke's expression changed slightly. "Wasn't Luo Tianji in the city? How did he die?"

"At school. He and Jiang Li had a one-on-one match, intending to use it to determine ownership of the Awakening Stone." Lin Jinwei said, "The outcome had already been decided, but Luo Tianji was unwilling to accept defeat and launched a sneak attack from behind. Jiang Li ran a blade through his heart. They've just confirmed that he can't be saved."

Zhang Wanke frowned tightly and slowly said, "This Jiang Li really is far from ordinary. He's ruthless enough."

Lin Jinwei glanced sideways at him, catching the implication behind his words.

"Elder Lin, don't tell me you think Jiang Li killed Luo Tianji by accident? He could bring himself to strike ruthlessly even against a classmate. Someone like that may well become another Lu Dajun in the future." Zhang Wanke sneered.

Jiang Li's grades were there for all to see, and Zhang Wanke had originally planned to recruit him. But now, he chose to give up.

Such a vicious and merciless student would absolutely be a scourge even at Qingbei.

"You can't put it that way either. Luo Tianji was the one who ambushed him first." Lin Jinwei shook his head. "I'll go put in a word for that kid. You gather the clues."

At Seventeenth High School, Jiang Li cooperated with the police investigation and gave his statement.

Because the Life and Death Contract carried legal force, and because it had happened in full view of everyone, the police would not take excessive measures against Jiang Li.

When martial artists fought, it was often a matter of death or injury. Still, such an incident occurring at a school was rare.

"Although the police won't trouble you, Luo Tianji's family definitely will." Yun Fei reminded him from the side. "Luo Tianji's father is an Eighth Grade Peak martial artist, and he may very well hire high-level martial artists to retaliate against you."

"My suggestion is that you should stop participating in the Heavenly River Martial Arts Hall's hunting team."

"At least within the city, Luo Tianji's father won't dare to act too openly."

Jiang Li smiled faintly. "Don't worry, Senior. If I were afraid of this, I wouldn't have killed Luo Tianji."

"Come on. The weather's so nice today—I'll treat you to a meal."

With that, he headed toward Qingbei Medicinal Cuisine House.

Yun Fei watched Jiang Li's retreating back and could only shake her head helplessly.

Inside the medicinal cuisine house, Jiang Li ordered a table packed full of medicinal dishes. After finishing them, the qi and blood within his body turned pleasantly warm.

"By the way, Senior, when can I get the Awakening Stone?" Jiang Li asked.

"Soon, probably. Zhang He has been taken away to be held accountable, and he'll likely lose his position. Principal Ma is rushing back now. I'll help you fight for it," Yun Fei replied as she drank the Golden Crown Black Chicken Soup in her bowl.

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Senior." Jiang Li smiled.

After finishing the last sip, Yun Fei wiped her rosy lips and said thoughtfully, "Actually, getting the Awakening Stone may not necessarily be a good thing. If you awaken a Talent Ability above B-Class, it will naturally be a bonus in the martial arts entrance exam. But if it's below B-Class, it may instead affect your score."

Jiang Li's brows twitched at that. His memories did not contain a particularly clear description of Talent Abilities.

"Can't Talent Abilities be improved too?" Jiang Li asked.

"They can. Improving a Talent Ability is divided into two aspects. One is mastery over the Talent Ability—how you use it. That part requires Demon Marrow to improve."

"Some special Talents may also require other scarce treasures. The lower the Talent grade, the fewer resources it requires, and the easier it is to master."

"The other aspect is raising the Talent itself. For example, raising a D-Class Talent to C-Class... or an SS-Class Talent to SSS-Class. Compared to mastering a Talent, raising its grade is the hardest thing of all—harder than martial arts, Breathing Techniques, and so on."

Yun Fei explained in detail, "If you awaken a D-Class Talent, then you will probably find it difficult to raise it to C-Class for the rest of your life. According to Nanfang University's historical records, in the thousand years since exotic beasts appeared, there have only been thirty-seven martial artists who raised a D-Class Talent to C-Class. Even the one who took the shortest amount of time still spent one hundred and twenty years—and that person was a Fifth-grade Grandmaster."

"On the other hand, SS-Class Talent Abilities have a greater chance of being raised to SSS-Class. There have been a total of one hundred and one such cases in history."

A smile appeared on Jiang Li's face after hearing that.

"As long as it can be improved, that's a good thing."

Yun Fei rolled her eyes. "Even for a Fifth-grade Grandmaster, living to two hundred isn't easy. If you really awaken a low-grade Talent Ability, you might as well give up cultivating it. It would be better to focus wholeheartedly on cultivating techniques and martial arts."

"Although your upper limit would be lower than those awakened ones, if the difference in rank is too great, awakened ones still won't be your match."

Instead, Jiang Li's smile grew even broader.

Seeing how unconcerned Jiang Li was, Yun Fei stopped trying to persuade him.

Just as Lin Jinwei had said, she was not cut out to be a teacher. She had already made the stakes clear to Jiang Li; as for what he chose to do, she would not interfere too much.

Outside the medicinal cuisine house, Jiang Li and Yun Fei went their separate ways.

"You're not going back to school?" Yun Fei asked in confusion.

"No. Senior, it'd be best if you could get me the Awakening Stone before I leave the city. Thanks. I'll treat you to a meal next time." Jiang Li waved, then hailed a taxi. "Golden Foot Celestial Phenomenon."

Yun Fei froze for a moment, then found herself caught between laughter and tears.

How many favors had she done Jiang Li, one after another? Yet this brat was still making demands of her?