The Chosen One of the Lingtong Race

"So, many of our Lingtong Race powerhouses at the Stellar Level and above keep their eyes closed most of the time just to suppress the will within those innate abilities and to accumulate energy?"

Facing Jiang Yao's question, Elder Luo stroked his beard and smiled. "That's right, the reason is indeed as you say. However, this does not mean that you must close your eyes to suppress the will contained within an innate ability, nor that you must open them to release one.

Look at me; I keep my eyes open all the time in my daily life.

Opening and closing one's eyes is a conditioned reflex of the body. Since suppressing the ancient will hidden within an innate ability and releasing that ability are both difficult tasks, combining these two commands with physical reflex actions makes controlling the innate ability slightly easier."

The old man pointed to Prose, who was standing to the side. "Prose is currently keeping his eyes closed. This action helps him strengthen his conviction to suppress the ancient will. If he were to open his eyes, he could certainly continue to suppress it, but his conviction would waver slightly, making it easier to lose control over his bloodline ability.

Of course, if your will is strong enough and your conviction firm enough, you naturally don't have to be constrained by the action of opening or closing your eyes. You can suppress the ancient will whenever you want and release your ability whenever you wish.

It is precisely because of the unique nature of our bloodline abilities that many outsiders who do not have a deep understanding of them refer to our innate abilities as 'Eye Beasts.'

This description isn't exactly wrong, because every innate ability contains the will of the exotic beast species from which it originated. Therefore, the bloodline abilities of our Lingtong Race are more like living creatures than inanimate objects! Because every ability contains an ancient will, its external manifestation takes the form of various monsters and ferocious beasts."

Jiang Yao immediately recalled the will assessment from two years ago, when Kuman opened his eyes and, for a fleeting moment, he seemed to see a blurry figure that looked like a tiger and a leopard, with three tails.

That must have been the appearance of the poor original owner of the ability he was wielding.

As he spoke, Elder Luo used his spiritual force to shape one strange-looking beast after another in the air—some were birds, some were beasts, some looked cute, and others looked terrifying.

"Since our Lingtong Race left the secret realm and settled in this cosmic starry sky, over tens of thousands of epochs, through the searching of generation after generation, we have currently discovered 106 types of bloodline abilities at the source of our bloodline. These abilities come from 106 types of ferocious beasts or monsters.

These 106 abilities are also divided into three grades: high, middle, and low!

This is not determined by the strength of the ability, but by its potential.

The low grade consists of 64 types of abilities that can grow to the Universe Level; the middle grade consists of 34 types that can grow to the Domain Lord Level; and the high grade consists of only 8 types that can grow to the Sector Lord Level.

In other words, if you activate a high-grade ability, even if you cultivate to the Sector Lord Level, this ability can continue to assist you and become your reliance."

After Elder Luo finished his brief introduction, he dissipated the phantoms of the 98 middle and low-grade bloodline abilities, leaving only the 8 high-grade ones.

The old man looked at Jiang Yao. "With your talent, there is no need to consider those middle or low-grade bloodline abilities. I have said that the bloodline abilities of our Lingtong Race are not inanimate objects, so which ability you can activate is actually a result of mutual selection.

This depends on the power you display when destroying the bloodline barrier, which is the intensity of your spiritual force amplitude. The stronger the power displayed, the greater the attraction to the bloodline ability. If the power displayed is insufficient, it is impossible to activate a high-grade ability even if you want to.

And since you possess a domain, your spiritual force amplitude under the enhancement of that domain goes without saying; you naturally have the power to choose."

At this point, Elder Luo sighed and glanced at Prose. "Prose activated a middle-grade ability back then; it is indeed a bit of a pity.

However, Kuman activated a high-grade ability, and it is the only illusion-type among the 8 high-grade abilities, originating from the Phantom Spirit Beast. Its power is extremely formidable.

And since your origin energy is fire-attributed, there happens to be a fire-attributed ability among these 8 high-grade ones, originating from the Burning Hero Beast."

A beast that looked like a rhinoceros was magnified and displayed in front of Jiang Yao. The rhinoceros was covered in flames; it was exactly the Burning Hero Beast that Elder Luo spoke of, and it was also the external manifestation of this fire-attributed ability.

Elder Luo's gaze swept over Prose, who was looking at the 8 high-grade abilities with a hint of dejection, and then rested on Jiang Yao, his words filled with expectation. "This innate ability is called the 'Domain of Burning Hero.' Once unleashed, it can turn the surrounding area into a territory of fire, which can be called a weakened version of a domain!

With your domain superimposed with this 'Domain of Burning Hero,' it is enough to demonstrate combat power that transcends levels!

For example, if you are at the first level of a domain, plus this 'Domain of Burning Hero' ability, you can completely defeat a Stellar Level opponent at the second level of a domain. Once you reach the second level, you can rival opponents at the third level!"

The old man looked proud. "This is exactly the brilliance of our Lingtong Race's innate abilities; often, when an innate ability is paired with a domain, one can overcome the strong with the weak! That is why in past Peak Genius Battles, the results of our Jiuyuan Holy Land of the Lingtong Race are generally the most outstanding among the six great holy lands of the Kasolo Empire!

Of course, when I speak of overcoming the strong with the weak, I am referring to opponents with a life gene level similar to ours. If you encounter those with higher bloodlines who also possess innate secret techniques or other advantages, that is naturally a different matter.

You only need to let your consciousness ride the Boat of Guidance to the source of the bloodline and visualize the external manifestation of this 'Domain of Burning Hero.' Then, this ability will be attracted to you, and through bloodline inheritance, it will emerge from your eyes, which counts as activating the ability!"

It was easy to see Elder Luo's deep affection for Jiang Yao, as he had already chosen the optimal path for him, but Jiang Yao could only apologize and decline.

The pig-like envoy flapped its wings and said repeatedly, "Don't listen to this old man's preaching. Going through all that trouble to activate this Burning Hero Beast ability is a complete waste of time. Listen to me, visualize the image I gave you, and hurry up and find a quiet, deserted place to receive the inheritance!"

Ever since the Taihuan Token Envoy had him open up the Xu Yuan Opening secret technique within his eyes, Jiang Yao knew that it had a plan for his future cultivation path.

Choosing between the techniques of the Taihuan Token Envoy and the abilities of the Lingtong Race, he naturally had no hesitation in choosing to trust his golden finger.

If nothing else, the Xu Yuan Opening secret technique alone was absolutely more precious than the entire Lingtong Race.

Jiang Yao had already thought of an excuse. "Elder, I would like to go to the bloodline source first and try to see if I can find an ability that is more suitable for me."

Elder Luo was not the least bit displeased, though a hint of a smile appeared in his eyes, like an old man who had seen the vicissitudes of life watching a headstrong young man struggle in vain.

Because geniuses were all like this.

The 106 types of abilities were merely the number of abilities that generations of Lingtong Race geniuses had found and activated at the bloodline source. No one knew how many types of exotic beast innate abilities their ancestors, who lived in the secret realm in ancient times, had extracted and hidden in their bloodline over the long passage of time.

The bloodline source of the Lingtong Race would close completely once one passed the age of three hundred or after one had activated a bloodline ability.

Therefore, those who could search for and activate abilities at the bloodline source throughout the ages were basically all at the Stellar Level.

It was almost impossible for a Stellar Level powerhouse to explore the entire bloodline source, so there was a high probability that there were still bloodline abilities that had not been found or activated.

Of course, there wouldn't be many such abilities that could remain hidden at the bloodline source without being discovered, and nine times out of ten, they were high-grade abilities. The residual ancient will contained within these abilities was not only powerful but also extremely cunning, which was how they managed to remain hidden.

Many top geniuses either found that none of the eight high-grade abilities matched their attributes, or they were unwilling to inherit abilities that their predecessors had already unearthed and wanted to try their luck at the bloodline source themselves. Perhaps they could find and activate an even more powerful ability that had remained hidden?

Most geniuses had a bit of the arrogance or self-confidence of "I am the chosen one."

"That's fine. Many abilities are extracted from monsters. The will of monsters is much more cunning than that of ferocious beasts, so it is very likely that a powerful ability originating from a monster has remained hidden. The Burning Hero Beast is a type of monster, and the 'Domain of Burning Hero' was only found by a genius over two hundred epochs ago. With your talent, you might really be able to attract some powerful ability that has never been found before."

Elder Luo smiled and encouraged Jiang Yao, while glancing at Kuman, which made the blonde youth feel a little embarrassed.

Kuman had been the same back then, saying exactly the same things as Jiang Yao was now. Of course, the result was that he found nothing and obediently chose the Phantom Spirit Beast ability that the patriarch had already selected for him.

"I am the chosen one" was, in the vast majority of cases, just an illusion.

Jiang Yao did not know what Elder Luo was thinking. To him, the awakening of the Lingtong Race's innate ability was just a formality; the main event was the technique the Taihuan Token Envoy was going to teach him that could be cultivated at the Stellar Level.

Jiang Yao sank his consciousness into his sea of consciousness, but he did not go to the source of his bloodline to search for any unknown, powerful divine ability. Instead, through the Taihuan Token, he carefully observed the image of a strange beast manifested by the Messenger within the Xu Yuan Space.

It was a strange beast that resembled both a crane and an eagle, with red patterns, a cyan body, and a white beak. Its neck was slender, and at first glance, it appeared quite ethereal and immortal.

However, the moment Jiang Yao saw its image, he felt his thoughts and will freeze for an instant. A dry heat surged from his soul, and from the depths of his heart, he felt an urge to submit beneath its feet.

It was merely an image, yet a single glance had caused such a massive disturbance in his will!

After a long while, Jiang Yao finally regained his senses and asked in astonishment, "What is this?"

"Heh heh." The Messenger chuckled and said, "This is a type of Desolate Beast from my Tianhuang Ancient Continent. If translated into the universal language of your universe, its name could be called 'Bizhang'."

"Bizhang?"

"Don't waste time. I will tell you the specifics when you receive the inheritance technique. First, fool that old man. Use your will to depict the image of 'Bizhang', then use the power of the Xu Yuan Space to augment it, pretending it is a divine ability you found at the source of your bloodline that has never been activated before."

Jiang Yao did not hesitate. He had been so sick of carving Yan Script over a year ago that this was his specialty.

Yet, he did not expect to encounter immense difficulty when he truly attempted to visualize and trace the image of this so-called Desolate Beast called "Bizhang" within his soul.

His entire sea of consciousness trembled incessantly as Jiang Yao visualized the image of "Bizhang," with a greater commotion than when he had broken through to the Stellar Level.

Jiang Yao could feel that if his will and soul had not undergone an essential improvement and transformation due to practicing Xu Yuan Opening, he would never have been able to visualize "Bizhang" at all!

How terrifying! What kind of existence must it be for even visualizing its image to be so difficult?

After spending an unknown amount of time, Jiang Yao finally managed to visualize the image of "Bizhang." He then allowed his soul to enter the Xu Yuan Space, imbuing the visualized "Bizhang" with its power.

In an instant, Jiang Yao felt as if he could sense an extremely great existence through some mysterious connection, which even made his entire body tremble!

Setting aside his curiosity about this so-called Desolate Beast, Jiang Yao upheld the philosophy that a performance must be done thoroughly. He did not open his eyes but instead "woke up" while keeping them closed.

Through his telepathic senses, Elder Luo was looking at the fluctuating aura of Jiang Yao with a smile: "A day has passed. Did you have any gains at the source of your bloodline?"

Jiang Yao nodded honestly: "I did indeed find an innate divine ability at the source of my bloodline that does not seem to be among those 106 divine abilities."

Watching the young man before him, who had clearly woken up from his meditation but showed no signs of opening his eyes, the smile on Elder Luo's face gradually faded.

"You... you..." Elder Luo even stuttered. The last time the Lingtong Race, including the main sect, had activated a new bloodline divine ability that had never been discovered before, it dated back over two hundred epochs.

"You found a divine ability hidden deep within the source of your bloodline that has never been discovered before?!"

As Elder Luo spoke, he subconsciously glanced at Prose and Kuman on the side, as if confirming whether the two of them heard the same thing he did.

Kuman, once the number one genius of the Yanhe Lingtong Race, was now "staring" intently at Jiang Yao, wondering what he was thinking.

Prose, however, was much calmer. He shrugged, implying, Why look at me? How would I know what kind of trouble this little monster has stirred up again?

To Prose, even if this little monster said tomorrow that he had already broken through to the Universe Level, it wouldn't be something he couldn't accept.

His past worldview had long since collapsed after being struck time and time again.

Jiang Yao continued to speak with facts. Just like when he first saw Kuman open his eyes to release an illusion during the will assessment, he slowly opened his eyes.

Well, it must be said, this action was indeed quite pretentious.

Two years ago, when Kuman, that repressed guy, opened his eyes to release his innate divine ability to a group of little kids at the first stage of the Planetary Level, it was probably even more pretentious, right?

As Jiang Yao opened his eyes, it was as if a savage will that he had been sealing within his pupils had finally broken free. In each of his pupils appeared a golden bird with a crane's head, an eagle's beak, a long neck, and slender feet.

It spread its wings as if about to soar, appearing as if it would fly out from his pupils.

With just that one look, without raising a hand or taking a step, an extremely fierce will, carrying a momentum that seemed to want to pierce through the heavens and the earth, enveloped the entire island.

It made one feel a surge of dry heat from the bottom of their heart.

Never mind Prose, even Elder Luo felt his entire body stiffen for an instant upon seeing this golden bird, only regaining control of his body after his will recovered.

Jiang Yao put on a pained expression, "struggling" to close his eyes and suppressing the fierce bird back into his pupils.

After all, this so-called newly found "powerful divine ability" was essentially just the image of "Bizhang" visualized with the power of his Xu Yuan Space.

Doing too much leads to mistakes; half-hidden and half-revealed is best. In any case, he had just awakened the divine ability and would certainly need to nurture and get used to it before he could master it.

The moment Jiang Yao closed his eyes, the momentum that had just threatened to pierce the heavens and the earth dissipated like a hallucination.

But the three people present would certainly not forget the feeling they had just experienced.

Elder Luo was no longer dwelling on the fact that Jiang Yao had "discovered" a new, never-before-activated bloodline divine ability. Instead, his mind was filled with the thought: Was that big bird really a divine ability hidden within the bloodline of our Lingtong Race?

Logically, a divine ability that could be planted in one's own bloodline source and passed down to descendants could not have a life gene level much higher than the Lingtong Race itself, otherwise, it could not be inherited at all.

Moreover, for races with extremely high life gene levels, it was theoretically impossible to extract their innate divine abilities. Not to mention that such races or powerful life forms were numerous; thinking of targeting them would be sheer madness.

Although the divine ability Jiang Yao had just displayed did not contain much power—still at the Stellar Level—its essence was strong to an unimaginable degree.

It was as if it came from the very level of life genes, looking down and intimidating others.

Elder Luo highly doubted whether their Lingtong Race ancestors could have extracted the bloodline essence of such an existence to refine into a divine ability, let alone plant it in their own bloodline.

Even now, as he recalled the appearance of the big bird he had just seen, it was extremely blurry; he couldn't even describe its features. How high must the life essence of such a strange beast be? He even doubted whether the legendary Starry Sky Behemoths he had heard of possessed such a high life essence.

What virtue or ability did their Lingtong Race have!

To be able to extract the innate divine ability of such a life form and plant it in their own bloodline, how incredible must their ancestors have been! How did they end up like this now?

This kid Jiang Yao was simply the chosen one of their Lingtong Race. No, he would even believe it if someone said he was the reincarnation of one of their Lingtong Race ancestors.