Having dispatched Radiant Sky, Aiden once more made his way back to the hallowed precincts of the Heaven and Earth Bank.
The memory of the look in Radiant Sky's eyes as he took his leave, a gaze that seemed to regard Aiden as a simpleton, brought a wry smile to Aiden's lips. Truly, a frog confined to the bottom of a well can never fathom the boundless expanse of the world unless it dares to leap out and embrace the unknown.
Allowing Radiant Sky to return and strive for a breakthrough had been Aiden's intention from the outset. Should he possess the wisdom to do so, he would surely hasten back without delay once he had achieved that longed-for advancement.
Upon his return to the Heaven and Earth Bank, Aiden's eyes sought out Seraphina.
"Has no other soul deigned to grace our threshold?" Aiden inquired, his curiosity piqued.
"Not as yet," Seraphina replied, shaking her head gently. "Of the ten pocket watches dispatched this time, a mere two have found their rightful owners. The remaining eight still wander the world, seeking those who are worthy and in need of their summons."
"That is of no great concern," Aiden mused. "We ourselves are rather lacking in resources at present. With only a few hundred thousand divine sources to our name and the immortal weapon already entrusted to Tyrone Zhou, it is only natural that luring others to trade through the pocket watches proves a trifle difficult."
The pocket watches were no indiscriminate summons. Instead, they were attuned to the offerings within the Heaven and Earth Bank, seeking out those who yearned for precisely that which the bank held in its arcane vaults.
Many were the souls who lacked divine sources, yet few were those who could meet the exacting standards of the Heaven and Earth Bank, thus accounting for the delay in finding suitable candidates.
Aiden, however, was in no rush. His thoughts were firmly fixed upon the newly acquired talent.
The talent of a prophet!
Seraphina had extolled it as a talent of rarest kind, a gem so precious that it was scarcely found in this mortal realm.
And talent was precisely what Aiden lacked most sorely.
Eighteen years of age had he reached this year, yet to this day, he had yet to even cross the threshold of the Initial Cultivation Realm, that first step upon the arduous path of cultivation.
How mortifying!
In days gone by, Aiden had been but a lowly servant, bereft of resources and cultivation techniques alike, with no means to embark upon the journey of cultivation. That had been one hindrance.
And in the three months since his transmigration to this world, though he had stealthily sought to learn martial arts and now boasted a modicum of resources, still he remained outside the gates of the Initial Cultivation Realm. It was clear that the root of his struggle lay in his meager talent.
"What manner of talent do I possess?" Aiden queried of Seraphina.
"Would you have me speak the unvarnished truth?" A faint blush of embarrassment tinged Seraphina's fair cheeks.
Aiden nodded firmly. "I seek naught but the truth."
"Even the lowliest beggar upon the street might lay claim to a talent superior to yours, master," Seraphina confessed with candor.
Aiden was struck dumb, a sense of suffocation welling within him.
The truth, indeed, cut to the quick!
"Exchange it must be! I cannot abide by this lack of talent," Aiden declared resolutely. To persist with his current talent would consign him to a life of mediocrity.
Even were he to build the Heaven and Earth Bank into a mighty institution, he himself would remain a figure of derision. Such a fate was more than Aiden could bear.
Seraphina smiled knowingly and asked, "Master, do you know why I urged you to exchange for the other's talent?"
"Why, pray tell?" Aiden's curiosity was roused anew.
"Because I possess the means to assist you in this exchange of talents. Nay, more than that, I can even rouse the latent potential within the talent of a prophet, awakening it to its full glory," Seraphina explained, her smile as gentle as a spring breeze.
Aiden's eyes widened in pleasant surprise. "You can activate talents as well?"
For those blessed with remarkable talents, should they fail to manifest their gifts in the early days of their lives, those talents often lie dormant, awaiting the spark that will bring them to life.
Yet among the teeming multitudes of this world, countless souls pass through life without ever fully awakening their latent gifts.
Birth and death, the ceaseless cycle of life; worldly desires that cloud the mind; love and hatred that bind the heart – such are the trials and tribulations that beset mankind.
Amidst these tempests, people struggle and are all too often lost, their minds clouded, forgetting to nurture the seeds of their own talents.
Thus, many reach the end of their days unaware that with just a little more effort, they could have risen to become paragons of excellence.
Only a select few, in the maelstrom of life's chaos, can cling steadfastly to their true selves, emerging as the prodigies they were meant to be.
Such are the ones hailed as prodigies.
Geniuses abound, generation after generation, as plentiful as the fish that swim the river's currents.
Yet those who ascend to the lofty status of prodigies are as rare as stars in the firmament.
It was no wonder, then, that Aiden was so astonished to learn that Seraphina possessed the power to activate talents.
"I am the spirit of the Heaven and Earth Bank, yet I am also a being of flesh and blood, with emotions and abilities all my own. Save for my inability to leave the confines of the Heaven and Earth Bank, I am no different from any other mortal. So, master, would you have me aid you in fusing these talents?" Seraphina asked, her eyes alight with a hopeful smile.
Aiden's gaze lingered upon Seraphina's breathtaking beauty before he nodded his assent, a gentle motion of his head.
"Pray, be seated," Seraphina directed, her voice soft yet commanding.
"Close your eyes," she instructed.
Aiden complied without hesitation, surrendering himself to her guidance.
"Empty your mind of all thoughts," came the next command.
Aiden dutifully cleared his mind, banishing all distractions.
"Forget the world and all its trappings," Seraphina urged softly.
Slowly, Aiden let go of all worldly concerns, slipping into a state of serene oblivion.
With deft hands, Seraphina retrieved Tyrone Zhou's talent from the jade box. Gently, she then extracted Aiden's own talent and, with utmost care, inserted Tyrone Zhou's talent in its stead.
This, however, was but the first step upon a perilous path.
The second step, the crucial fusion, held the key to success or failure.
For even if the talent were inserted, should it rebel against its new vessel, the consequences would be dire indeed, perhaps even fatal.
Thus, Seraphina proceeded with the utmost caution, her every movement gentle and precise as she began the delicate process of fusing the talents within Aiden.
Time seemed to slip away unnoticed as the fusion progressed.
In the blink of an eye, three days had passed.
Throughout these three days, Aiden remained secluded within the Heaven and Earth Bank, oblivious to the tumultuous events unfolding in the outside world.
Yet the world beyond was in a state of upheaval.
The Sacred Land of Spiritual Void had been forcibly disbanded, a once-mighty institution brought low. The loss of the immortal weapon, the Emperor's Pen, was a grievous blow, compounded by the deaths of Luo Shui, a figure of Saint Lord caliber, and Feng Luo, a powerful Sect Leader. The news had sent shockwaves throughout the land.
The entirety of the Sacred Land of Spiritual Void now lay in the hands of an ordinary mortal bereft of cultivation.
The remnants of the Sacred Land of Spiritual Void had fragmented into numerous small sects. Bereft of their former territory, they were now forced to vie for land with their neighbors, sparking conflict and strife. A venerable sacred land had crumbled, and in its wake, countless small sects sprang up like weeds.
Not a soul dared to speak of seeking vengeance upon Aiden.
The might of the Emperor's Pen was such that it struck terror into the hearts of all who beheld it. None among the elders or deacons of the Sacred Land of Spiritual Void possessed the courage to challenge its wielder.
Long years of peace and comfort had dulled the once-fiery spirit of the Sacred Land of Spiritual Void.
And in these past few days, the Heavenly Dao Sect had not been spared the turmoil.
A young man of the Asking Dao Realm, brandishing an immortal weapon, had stormed the mountain gate of the Heavenly Dao Sect, his voice ringing out with a vow to slay Ming Tu, the son of the current Sect Leader.
This audacious act had roused the ire of the Heavenly Dao Sect, and Ming Kun, the current Sect Leader, had stepped forward to deal with this brazen challenge.
In White Emperor City, White Emperor Radiant Sky was engaged in a desperate struggle for a breakthrough. Three days had passed since his return, and he had burned through five hundred thousand divine sources in his quest to shatter the barriers of his current cultivation realm. With this power, Radiant Sky made a breakthrough in one fell swoop.
"The Celestial Yuan Realm, finally reached." Radiant Sky's body underwent changes. His white hair disappeared, replaced by black hair. His slack skin became firm, and he gained a thousand years of lifespan. He was now at his absolute peak.
"The cultivation realm starts from the Initial Cultivation Realm, then goes through the Transcendent Mortal Realm, the Life Wheel Realm, the Asking Dao Realm, enters the Nirvana Void Realm, the Empty Nether Realm, and then reaches the Earthly Branches Realm and the Celestial Yuan Realm." Radiant Sky moved his wrists, feeling that he had endless energy ready to be unleashed at any time.
When the cultivation realm reaches the Earthly Branches Realm, it is generally regarded as the Sect Leader level in the Great Departure Land.
Many sect leaders in the Great Departure Land are at this realm.
Previously, Radiant Sky was also at this realm. Coupled with the dominance of his cultivation technique, he could fight ten opponents alone, which was why he was known as the White Emperor.
But even such a powerful Radiant Sky couldn't compete with a powerful being at the Celestial Yuan Realm.
The Celestial Yuan Realm is also known as the combat power level of the Saint Lord.
It was the realm that Luo Shui was at before.
Now that Radiant Sky had reached this realm, his dream had come true.
Boom!
Just when Radiant Sky was happy, a huge momentum burst out from the mountain gate of the Heavenly Dao Sect in the distance, attracting Radiant Sky's attention at once.
"This is... the power of an immortal weapon!" Radiant Sky's expression changed. He hadn't expected Tyrone Zhou to go to the Heavenly Dao Sect so quickly.
"Let's go and have a look. I also want to see the power of an immortal weapon." Radiant Sky pondered for a moment and immediately rushed towards the mountain gate of the Heavenly Dao Sect.