The most important thing for an awakener to cultivate was talent and resources.
Apart from the types of abilities, the most important thing for an awakener to cultivate was talent. Talent was divided into six levels, from E to S. The better one's talent was, the stronger one's adaptability to abilities was, and the faster one would fuse with abilities.
Resources referred to spiritual crystals.
Spiritual crystals contained energy that could be absorbed by others. They could speed up an awakener's cultivation and shorten the painful process of cultivation.
Every powerful awakener could not do without the help of spiritual crystals. In the new era, spiritual crystals were the most important strategic resources.
Therefore, an A-level spiritual crystal would attract the attention of many forces.
According to the introduction in the book given by Hao Meng, low-level spiritual crystals would emit a unique light and could be easily recognized. However, high-level spiritual crystals had the attribute of concealing godly items, so it was not easy to sense them in one's hand as high-level spiritual crystals appeared to be like ordinary stones.
Seeing this, Ning Shi had an idea. He went to find his Aunt Gong Li.
"Aunt, what's the appearance of the gemstone you bought?"
His aunt recalled for a moment and said, "It's a top-grade glass type jade. The color is light green and it has a rich luster. It's pure and transparent. It's very beautiful. I liked it at first sight."
According to Aunt's description, the jade she bought did not match the characteristics of an A-level spiritual crystal.
Why were all the factions so sure that Aunt had bought the A-grade spiritual crystal?
"When you bought the jewelry, did you encounter anything special?"
Aunt thought for a moment and shook her head. "No. I often go to Zhou Liufu Jewellery store on Saturdays. I'm very familiar with the store owner. When I bought the jewelry, it was very normal. There were no twists and turns."
"Xiao Shi, do you think there's something wrong with these people? I'm just buying some jewelry. Why do they accuse me of having spiritual crystals here? I'm just an ordinary person. What do I need crystals for?"
Aunt was also full of resentment after suffering an unexpected disaster. Ning Shi comforted her, "Don't worry. With me here, you'll be fine. Aunt, you'd better advise Uncle not to invite guests to the apprenticeship ceremony. It'll be simple. Also, do you still have the jewelry box?"
"Yes, I'll give it to you."
Aunt went back to her room and took out an exquisite mahogany box. She handed it to Ning Shi and said, "Xiao Shi, your uncle's temper is getting more and more stubborn. Don't argue with him. Aunt believes in your judgment and will try to persuade him again."
Ning Shi nodded. He took the box and returned to his room.
As expected of a box for high-end jewelry. It was made entirely of mahogany and the outside was carved with exquisite images of exotic beasts. Just this package alone would cost over ten thousand yuan.
Ning Shi opened the cover of the box and found a layer of golden silk inside, spread on a soft sponge.
The strange thing was that there were two grooves in the middle of the box.
In other words, Aunt bought two pieces of jade. Otherwise, why would there be two grooves in the box?
Could Aunt have been lying to me?
Ning Shi shook his head. This was impossible. Right now, Aunt wished that she really had the spiritual crystal, and then quickly sent the crystal away.
"Aunt, did you buy two pieces of jade back then?" Ning Shi came to his aunt's room again and asked directly.
"No, I only bought one because I was a black card member in the shop. The shop assistant gave me another gemstone, but that gemstone was pitch black and didn't look very good, so I didn't pay attention to it."
"A few days ago at the party, Elder Sister said that it was her company's vice president's birthday. I didn't know what to give her, so I gave this gemstone to Elder Sister."
Aunt also reacted, "Xiao Shi, are you saying that the inconspicuous black stone is an A-level spiritual crystal?"
Ning Shi nodded, "There's a high possibility that it is. Everything is just my speculation. Aunt, don't make a fuss first. Let's go look for my mother first."
The Elder Sister that his aunt mentioned was Ning Shi's mother, Wang Yan. After going around in circles, it turned out that the A-level spiritual crystal was in his mother's hands. He hoped that she hadn't given it away or else there would be more twists and turns.
"Are you talking about that black stone? That stone is really ugly. I couldn't give it away. In the end, I bought a watch and gave it to President Hu. Where is the stone? I think I left it at home. I don't remember the exact location. I have to go back and look for it."
Hearing his mother's words, Ning Shi was speechless. His aunt also held her forehead.
"I think I should go back and look for it. You all don't have the ability to differentiate. Keep this a secret first. Don't tell anyone. Don't go to the apprenticeship banquet tomorrow. The Pantheon of Gods will definitely think that Uncle is going to give the spiritual crystal to the White Cloud Temple. They will come and snatch it. There will be danger at the place."
"I'll try my best to take care of Cousin and Uncle."
Seeing his mother and aunt nod, Ning Shi drove back to his house.
The house was a mess. Ning Shi was already used to it. His parents did not like to tidy up.
He rummaged through the house and searched for half an hour. Finally, he found a black stone in his mother's black bag.
This stone was up. The color was very black, but it was not pure black. There were some grey impurities in the black. It was indeed very ordinary. No wonder his mother said that she couldn't give it away.
The reason why Zhou Liufu Jewelry gave this to their VIP was very simple. It was mined from the same mineral as the glass species, and it was also a gemstone.
It was this ordinary black stone that caused many forces to fight over it.
[A-level spiritual crystal found. Is it used for game system update? Yes / No]
After searching for it for a long time, Ning Shi found the A-level spiritual crystal that the big forces had been searching for!
He had to thank Hao Meng's book. If it hadn't recorded the characteristics of A-level spiritual crystals, Ning Shi might not have found it.
"Yes!"
Ning Shi clicked on the screen of his phone and the crystal in his hand immediately disappeared.
[Absorbed one A-level spiritual crystal. The game system is updating. This update will take 24 hours. Please wait patiently.]
Ning Shi was very satisfied with the game system update after receiving the spiritual crystal.
He had used the spiritual crystal and his uncle's family couldn't defend themselves anymore. They were still in danger and he had to solve this hidden danger.
Ning Shi thought for a moment. Perhaps the apprenticeship banquet was also a good thing.
Let all the disputes end at the apprenticeship banquet!
July 22nd, the weather was clear and cloudless.
At 9:30 a.m., The Peony Hall of the Pearl Restaurant was already full of guests.
Wang Zhiguo was wearing a decent suit, which accentuated his tall and straight figure. At this moment, his face was ruddy and full of pride. He stood at the door and welcomed the guests together with his son, Wang Yuwei.
"Chief Wang, congratulations! This is Yuwei, right? He's grown up so much. He's a talented person. An awakener with A-level talent. His future is limitless! That brat in my house only has a C-level talent."
"Chief Lin, your son is good enough. My son is a strength-type awakener. He's miserable. Chief Wang's genes are the best. His son has an A-level talent and lightning-type special ability. He's too awesome!"
"That's right. In the future, our families need to move around more. My son will follow Yuwei from now on."
The guests kept on complimenting him. Some of them were true friends and sincerely congratulated him. Most of them were business partners and deliberately flattered him.
For a moment, the faces of Uncle Wang Zhiguo and his cousin Wang Yuwei were all beaming.
Wang Yuwei's academic results were not good in the past. Every time Wang Zhiguo mentioned his son, he would feel very sullen.
Now that his son was gifted and had a bright future, Wang Zhiguo would flaunt it to his heart's content.
This was also one of the reasons why he held an apprenticeship ceremony.
Ning Shi looked at his uncle coldly. How happy he was now, how miserable he would be in the next moment.
Under his advice, his aunt was resting at home today. Grandma and Grandpa did not come, and his parents and aunty's family did not come.
This made his uncle very angry. Seeing that his family supported Ning Shi instead of himself, Wang Zhiguo felt very aggrieved. Even his cousin, Wang Yuwei, had a problem with Ning Shi.
"Cousin, you're just jealous of my talent!"
Ning Shi smiled and didn't bother with this short-sighted silly child.
Since his closest relatives weren't present, Ning Shi was much less restrained.
At 9:50 a.m., all the guests arrived. In the Peony Hall, more than 30 tables had been set up, and more than 300 guests had gathered.
On the stage in the hall, there was already an antique long table. In the middle of the table, there was a three-legged bronze table stove, and the stove was burning with expensive sandalwood incense.
On both sides of the table, there were big yellow rosewood chairs.
On both sides of the stage, there were two huge couplets hung with red cloth.
"Once a disciple, he will be a chicken dancing in the wind. He will be a father for life. He will repay the sect with only the jade pot and ice heart."
It had to be said that in regards to the sense of ceremony, his uncle had already done his best.
Today, Qin Lingyun was wearing a white Taoist robe. There was a white jade hairpin on his hair bun. His face was meticulously decorated. It was obvious that he had meticulously dressed up.
Looking at the arrangements, Qin Lingyun nodded repeatedly. He said to the person beside him, "Senior Brother Qingyun, my disciple's family is quite considerate. What do you think of this arrangement? Is there anything missing?"
Qingyun was a black-faced man with a long beard. He had a bandit's aura and wore a Taoist robe that made him look out of place. He held a large saber in both hands and nodded.
"Let's keep things simple. It's already very good that it could be done this way. After all, it's not in the temple."
It was rare to hear his senior brother's praise. Qin Lingyun laughed out loud and was extremely pleased with himself.
The auspicious time was approaching and Wang Zhiguo went on stage to give a speech first.
"Distinguished guests, family and friends, thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedules to attend my son, Wang Yuwei's apprenticeship banquet..."
While Wang Zhiguo was boasting on stage, a waiter of the hotel pushed a dining cart into the hall. He was wearing the hotel uniform. His face was young, but his hair was white. He was Steel Needle from the Pantheon of Gods.
Steel Needle was mumbling as if he was sending a message to someone.
Outside the hotel, Zhu Daniu from the Investigation Department said to Wang Yunlin, "Captain Wang, all the other guests in the hotel have been evacuated. We only detected the whereabouts of Steel Needle from the Pantheon of Gods. We haven't found anyone else for the time being."
Captain Wang touched the scar on his face. His eyes were extremely sharp. He picked up the walkie-talkie.
"All of you. Today's operation. The first target is the A-level spiritual crystal. The second target is to reduce the casualties among the people. Do you understand?"
"Understood!"