Spirit Talent Detection

Ever since Chen Mochuan had broken through to Great Completion in both Root-Solidifying Stance and Foundation Building Fist, Han Zhen had begun paying closer attention to him.

As the homeroom teacher of the elite class, Han Zhen had spent more than two years with his students day in and day out. He knew every one of them very well, especially the progress they had made in their martial arts training.

During fist technique class, he noticed that Chen Mochuan had continued to improve at an astonishing pace even after his breakthrough. The first few days, it was not obvious, but as time went on, Han Zhen began to notice something was up.

This rate of progress far exceeded what Chen Mochuan had consistently shown over the previous two years. Clearly, it could not be explained by having triggered Wisdom Heart twice recently.

For a time, he had suspected Chen Mochuan of being impatient for quick results and taking some banned drug. But such drugs usually came with obvious side effects, and he had observed no signs of anything unusual in Chen Mochuan.

There was another unusual matter that had caught Han Zhen's attention, too. Whenever Chen Mochuan practiced Foundation Building Fist with particular focus, his bearing and movements would somehow remind Han Zhen of his son, Han Hao.

If Han Hao did not often come home to visit, and if father and son did not video-call every day, Han Zhen would almost have suspected that something had happened to his son and that his spirit had attached itself to Chen Mochuan.

Chen Mochuan must have exceptional comprehension and gleaned some of Hao'er's insights into Foundation Building Fist from that notebook, Han Zhen had speculated.

Drawing on his many years of teaching experience, he had also noticed that whenever Chen Mochuan entered this special state, his mastery of Foundation Building Fist visibly improved.

Martial arts cultivation was a gradual process in which small changes accumulated until they brought about a qualitative transformation. Unless someone triggered Wisdom Heart, ordinary training rarely produced such immediate results.

Chen Mochuan's state was not as effective as Wisdom Heart, but it was strikingly similar in form.

Most importantly, this phenomenon occurred almost every day. Compared with the elusive, once-in-a-blue-moon Wisdom Heart, its frequency was astonishing.

Han Zhen had also learned from Lin Hong, the Stance Training teacher, that Chen Mochuan was progressing rapidly in Root-Solidifying Stance as well. He had not only mastered the fifteenth form completely, but had begun focusing on the sixteenth just yesterday, putting him far ahead of his peers.

Taking into account Chen Mochuan's abnormal rise in Blood-Qi Value, which had persisted for nearly a year, Han Zhen had begun to form a faint suspicion.

So today, he had called Chen Mochuan to his office and directly voiced his doubts.

The quiet office held only the two of them.

If someone else had asked, Chen Mochuan might have held something back. But facing a homeroom teacher who had sincerely cared for him, he admitted it openly. "Yes, teacher. I awakened my Spirit Talent two weeks ago."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner? The school has special support policies for students who awaken Spirit Talents."

"I wanted to let things settle a little longer and prove myself with my midterm results. That way, I can put all the doubts to rest."

Han Zhen fell silent for a moment. He understood that Chen Mochuan had endured plenty of criticism at school over the past year or so, and it made sense that he had made this choice.

"I respect your decision. I'll keep it confidential for now... However, I still need to report it to the school for the records, so you can receive the appropriate special financial aid as soon as possible."

Seeing Chen Mochuan hesitate, he added, "Don't worry. The school only needs to confirm that you've awakened. It won't investigate your Spirit Talent's specific abilities. That's how we handled Jiang Hao's awakening, too."

Chen Mochuan remembered how Jiang Hao, whose grades had been average in a regular class during his first year of high school, had suddenly risen to prominence. Before the end of the semester, when the elite class was due to expand, he had been brought directly into it. After that, his progress had been explosive, and he had risen to the top of the grade.

But the specific abilities of his Spirit Talent had remained a mystery. At most, people could only guess that it was the type that enhanced the body.

Understanding the situation and no longer having any reservations, Chen Mochuan immediately nodded. "All right, teacher. I'll follow your arrangements."

Han Zhen was pleased, but then he suddenly remembered something extremely important. "Since you've awakened your Spirit Talent, then your Blood-Qi Value..."

He let the words trail off, not wanting to touch on something that might be sensitive for his student.

"Don't worry, teacher. My Blood-Qi Value has returned to normal growth. I should have no trouble breaking 4 this month." The midterm exams next month would include a Blood-Qi Value test, so Chen Mochuan felt there was no need to keep hiding it now.

Seeing how certain Chen Mochuan sounded, Han Zhen was secretly astonished.

Based on the student's rapid progress in martial arts techniques, he had originally guessed that his Spirit Talent enhanced comprehension.

But Chen Mochuan's Blood-Qi Value had been only 2.92 during the monthly exam at the start of the month. If he broke 4 within the month, that meant an increase of more than 1 in a single month—a clear sign of a Spirit Talent that directly promoted Blood-Qi growth.

Could it be a composite Spirit Talent, or some even rarer, more unusual kind? he wondered.

But remembering Chen Mochuan's earlier physical abnormalities and the Spirit Talent's transformation period that had lasted a full year, he immediately suppressed his curiosity.

Some things did not need to be investigated to the bottom. As a teacher, all he needed to do was quietly support his student's growth.

After putting his thoughts aside, Han Zhen took Chen Mochuan to the school infirmary for Spirit Talent detection.

It was still early, and the staff had not yet arrived for work. The infirmary was completely empty.

However, Han Zhen had applied for the relevant access permissions in advance. Once the verification was complete, he brought Chen Mochuan to a device resembling a Virtual Pod.

"This is the Apocalypse Type-III Spirit Talent Detector. It's introduced in the Martial Arts General Knowledge textbook. You should know about it, right?"

Chen Mochuan nodded. His Martial Arts General Knowledge grade was nearly perfect, and he was quite familiar with the device.

With Han Zhen's help, he entered the Apocalypse Type-III without hesitation, not at all worried that the specific abilities of Spirit Devourer would be exposed.

That was because, after a person fully awakened a Spirit Talent, their body would secrete a special biologically active marker unique to the awakened: the Spirit Molting Factor.

The Apocalypse series of detectors worked by detecting the presence of the Spirit Molting Factor to determine whether someone had awakened a Spirit Talent.

However, the structure of the Spirit Molting Factor was extremely subtle and unstable. With current technology, it was only possible to confirm its presence; its deeper information could not be analyzed, so neither could the specific abilities of a Spirit Talent be determined from it.

In fact, no one anywhere on Blue Star had yet developed an instrument capable of accurately deciphering the information contained in the Spirit Molting Factor.

That was why, as long as Chen Mochuan did not reveal it himself, no one could know the specific abilities of his Spirit Talent.

A few minutes later, the Apocalypse Type-III stopped running.

Besides displaying the most important result—[The examinee's body contains "Spirit Molting Factor"; Spirit Talent awakened]—the external screen also showed some of Chen Mochuan's other physical data. [Blood-Qi Value: 3.66] was prominently listed.

Han Zhen's slight nervousness eased.

"Good. I'll report your awakening to the Academic Affairs Office shortly. The relevant notice should be issued as soon as today."