Awakening, the Die Is Cast

Beihe City, Luo Family Real Estate.

As Beihe City's largest secondhand property trading company, Luo Family Real Estate had long surpassed a market value of one hundred million.

Inside the chairman's office of Luo Family Real Estate, Luo Tianji's father, Luo Wenhao, wore a ferocious expression. His scarlet eyes resembled those of a savage beast poised to devour someone.

"Son, Dad will avenge you no matter what!"

His grief-stricken roar shattered every window in the office in an instant.

"Extend the session!"

"Extend the session!"

"Extend the session!"

Inside Golden Foot Celestial Phenomenon, Jiang Li lay prone on the bed, his voice as emotionless as a machine.

Even Boss Bai's fair skin was now covered in fine beads of sweat.

"Jiang Li, how about we take a break?"

Boss Bai could not help but beg for mercy. Even as a demon, she felt completely drained.

This time, Jiang Li had come like a madman, demanding one treatment after another without giving her the slightest chance to rest.

Most importantly, this had already gone on for a full twelve hours.

Only she could have endured it. Any other masseuse likely would not have lasted even half that long.

Jiang Li raised his head slightly and frowned as he looked at Boss Bai, whose cheeks were flushed and whose fragrant sweat streamed down her body.

"Fine. Then let's take a break."

After all, this massage technique for stimulating the blood and opening the sinews and bones was itself a martial art. He could not push her too hard.

He stretched his body, feeling an unprecedented sense of comfort throughout it.

Although he had spent nearly another hundred thousand, he felt it was well worth it.

He would soon be leaving the city to hunt demon beasts, and Luo Tianji's family probably would not let him off either. While he had the time, he naturally needed to stimulate the blood and vitality within his body to their utmost peak.

"With Beihe City's level of martial strength, Luo Tianji's father can at most hire a Seventh Grade martial artist to deal with me."

"With the third level of Crimson Blood Transformation combined with the Fire Spirit Breathing Technique, I might not necessarily lose even against a Seventh Grade martial artist."

Jiang Li drank premium tea and gazed thoughtfully at the map of Beihe City on the screen.

Outside the room, Boss Bai wiped the sweat from her forehead as she headed toward her own room.

Along the way, quite a few masseuses in the establishment looked at Boss Bai with unusual expressions in their eyes.

If it had been anyone else, they would already have gossiped themselves mad.

Even with Boss Bai, they had long been whispering about it in private.

"Twelve hours. As expected of Boss Bai."

"I think that Jiang Li is the truly impressive one. Twelve hours—just thinking about it terrifies me."

"Shh, are you crazy? If Boss Bai finds out, won't she fire you?"

Boss Bai did not care much about their discussions. After returning to her office, she prepared hot water, intending to take a good bath and rest.

She truly was exhausted, as though she had once again fought a powerful mutant beast over territory.

Even such a great battle had never lasted twelve hours.

But just as she lay naked in the bathtub, ready to have a proper rest, there came another knock at the door.

"Boss Bai, that Jiang Li has continued again. Would you like to go personally, or should I arrange someone else?"

Outside the door, Golden Foot Celestial Phenomenon's manager asked cautiously.

Boss Bai's expression stiffened slightly, and she immediately replied, "Arrange someone else."

With that, she submerged half her head beneath the bathwater, feeling afraid for the first time.

Yet only half an hour later, just as Boss Bai had changed into a qipao, another knock sounded outside her door.

"Boss Bai, Jiang Li specifically requested you."

When Boss Bai heard this, her elegant smile froze, and her legs could not help but go weak.

Feeling the familiar pressure on his body, Jiang Li could not help voicing his approval.

"It's still you. The others never quite get it right."

He did not see Boss Bai biting her lower lip, the faint cold glint of her little fangs showing.

"It is my honor," Boss Bai said through gritted teeth.

After nearly another eight grueling hours of massage, Jiang Li finally got up the next day because of a call from Yun Fei.

When he settled the bill downstairs, it came to more than one hundred eighty thousand. Jiang Li did not hesitate in the slightest.

"Eighteen hundred thousand?"

Some of the nearby customers were stunned when they heard it.

One of them quietly asked the receptionist beside him.

"Isn't Golden Foot Celestial Phenomenon purely wholesome?"

"Esteemed guest, we do provide legitimate massages. There absolutely cannot be any illegal activities."

"Then why did he spend eighteen hundred thousand?"

"He... is somewhat special..."

Jiang Li left with an easy swagger, while inside the massage room, Boss Bai only emerged after a long while, dark circles under her eyes as she nearly had to support herself against the wall.

"M-Monster!"

Her weak, feeble voice drifted through the corridor like a ghost.

Seventeenth High School. Jiang Li returned to school.

After spending eighteen hundred thousand, he felt that his Blood Qi Value had surely risen enough. He was refreshed and invigorated.

"Jiang Li!"

When Yun Fei saw Jiang Li, she frowned slightly, simply because the scent of sandalwood and women's fragrance on him was a little too strong.

She rolled her eyes. She knew where Jiang Li had gone.

Fortunately, she knew that Golden Foot Celestial Phenomenon was renowned for being wholesome and healthy, so she did not stop him much.

Standing beside Yun Fei was Principal Ma, Ma Changyou. He looked at Jiang Li and slowly opened a wooden box before him.

Inside the wooden box lay a rhombus-shaped crystal in utter stillness.

An Awakening Stone!

"Jiang Li, Seventeenth High School's only Awakening Stone is being entrusted to you. I hope you can awaken a good Talent Ability."

Ma Changyou took a deep breath and spoke with a trace of heartfelt blessing.

He had seen Jiang Li's results. If he could awaken an A-Class Talent Ability as well, then Seventeenth High School would surely shine brilliantly in this martial examination and make its name known throughout Jiang Province.

"I'll borrow Principal Ma's auspicious words."

Jiang Li smiled and raised his hand, placing the Awakening Stone in his palm.

Then, he abruptly activated his cultivation technique. He only felt an indescribable, cool power within the Awakening Stone flow in through his palm.

Very quickly, that power spread throughout his body. In the end, it even filled his heart and brain.

Bang!

With a muffled sound, the Awakening Stone in Jiang Li's hand turned into powder and scattered away.

At the same time, a mysterious power enveloped Jiang Li.

When Jiang Li suddenly opened his eyes, the mysterious power around him had already dispersed. Yet what entered his sight were Ma Changyou and Yun Fei's extremely ugly expressions.

Jiang Li froze. Raising his eyes, he saw a palm-sized command flag quietly floating before him.

Gray light coiled around the command flag.

As he looked at it, he understood its wondrous uses as clearly as if he were looking at his own palm.

'Command flag. Amplification range: three meters. Can increase one's own Blood Qi Value by one percent.'

"It's over!"

Yun Fei could not help sighing helplessly. "A D-Class martial Talent Ability, Jiang Li... you should give up on cultivating your Talent Ability and focus on cultivation techniques, martial arts, and Breathing Techniques instead."

"What a pity!"

If Jiang Li had awakened a high-level Talent Ability, he would have soared into the sky in a single leap.

But now, a D-Class ability had, in a sense, already determined Jiang Li's future.

Below the Grandmaster realm, it was still manageable; the gap between ability users in their mastery of Talents could not yet be widened too far.

But above the Grandmaster realm, almost all were ability users who had awakened Talents. As a D-Class Talent awakener, Jiang Li was equivalent to being left several streets behind.

Ma Changyou's expression was even uglier. A D-Class ability—give the Awakening Stone to anyone at random, and they could have awakened a D-Class ability.

Originally, he had placed great hopes on Jiang Li, but the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment.

"If I'd known, I never should have given the Awakening Stone to Jiang Li."

"Zhang He, you stupid pig!"

He clenched his fists in fury. If Zhang He had not acted on his own initiative, Luo Tianji would not have died, and he would not have given the Awakening Stone to Jiang Li.

Jiang Li, on the other hand, did not care about this result at all.

"Don't worry, Senior Sister. I know what I'm doing."

He looked at the command flag before him with great interest, a faint smile appearing on his face.