Ganquan Town is located in the north of Tianqi Empire on the Ziyun Continent. It is named after the pure and sweet spring water. Although it is located in a remote area, it does not affect the prosperity of the town at all. The streets are full of people, and carts of fine wine can be seen leaving the town everywhere.
Due to the spring water, the fine wine produced here is highly favored by the rich and powerful, and it is also in short supply in the market. The spring water nourishes every person in the town.
In the courtyard of a mansion in the northeast corner of Ganquan Town, a teenage boy is sitting on a stone chair with a thick book in his hands. The gentle sunlight shines on his thin body. The thick book covers the boy's entire face, and his brownish-black long hair hangs down to his shoulders. Half an hour has passed, and the boy has not turned a page of the book in his hands.
The boy in front of us is Ryan, the young master of this mansion. Holding a book and sunbathing in the courtyard is one of his favorite things to do for so many years.
"Hey... Stop pretending. Mother asked us to go over for lunch." At this moment, a soft cry from a girl behind him reached Ryan's ears.
Hearing this, the boy loosened his hands, and the book in his hands fell on the stone table. He slowly opened his sleepy eyes, revealing a handsome face that was mostly covered by youth. His brown pupils looked at the girl behind him and argued, "Don't talk nonsense. Which eye of yours saw me pretending?"
The girl said disdainfully, "Tut... You have been reading this book for half a month. From morning till now, have you turned a single page? Can you be more serious about pretending? Little kid..." After saying that, the girl ignored Ryan and turned to leave!
Ryan also didn't bother to argue with her anymore. He stretched and slowly stood up, following the girl. He was already used to this sister who was three years older than him. Besides holding a book and sunbathing every day, arguing with his sister Han Liya was another thing he was willing to do. Since childhood, only his sister could accompany him to play for a while. In Ryan's eyes, his parents and servants were more or less boring.
For some reason, his parents seldom let him go out, and even less let him play with children of the same age. The long-term loneliness also made the boy in front of us look a little cold. Liya was the only one he could play with, and the two had a very good relationship.
The brother and sister walked into the dining room, and the servants stood aside respectfully, pulling out the chairs for them to sit down. The brother and sister sat opposite each other, ignoring each other.
At the hostess's seat at the dining table, a kind and beautiful woman looked at them with a smile in her eyes. "Your father won't be home for lunch today, so there's no need to wait for him. Let's eat first."
"Yes, Mother," the two replied simultaneously.
Ryan snorted at Liya and picked up his cutlery to wolf down his food.
Seeing them like this, the woman shook her head helplessly. Just as she was about to pick up the cutlery in her hand, she seemed to think of something and said, "Ryan, three days later, Noding College will recruit new students. Your father has signed you up. From now on, you will study in the same college as your sister."
"College? There are people at home to teach me. Why do I have to go to college? I don't want to study in the same place as her!" After saying that, he made a face at Liya.
The thought of studying with this sister who always liked to expose his shortcomings on weekdays was really headache-inducing.
Hearing Ryan's words, Liya explained with a bit of contempt, "What do you know? The teacher Father hired only teaches you to read and write. But the college will not only teach these things. Most importantly, it will teach element cultivation. Element masters play a vital role in this world."
"Element masters...?" This was the first time Ryan had heard of the term.
Liya smiled slightly and flipped her right hand gently. A clear drop of water was suspended on her slender palm. She looked at Ryan proudly.
"See? This is an element. I cultivate the water element. The college will help you detect your element attribute and perception ability, and then teach you how to condense and use elements. Do you understand?"
Liya looked at the drop of water in her hand, beaming with joy. In her eyes, it seemed that except for her own water element, other element attributes were not worth mentioning.
However, Ryan looked at the drop of water in Liya's hand dismissively and said lightly, "What can such a small drop of water do? Are you so proud of it?..."
"You..." Liya was so angry that she could hardly speak, and her face looked a little ugly.
Seeing his sister at a loss, Ryan laughed heartily. Finally, he got some revenge for the book-reading incident. While laughing, he picked up the soup bowl and put it to his mouth, still looking at Liya provocatively.
Liya's face turned red with anger as she glared at the mischievous Ryan. With a wave of her hand, the drop of water in her hand suddenly turned into a water line and flew towards the soup bowl in the boy's mouth. In an instant, the soup bowl in Ryan's hand exploded, and the egg flowers and vegetable leaves in the soup splashed all over his body, making him look very embarrassed.
Ryan had no idea that cultivating the water element could make the skin moist, shiny, and elastic. Especially girls attached great importance to this.
Even in the college, Liya was very popular. With a cute face, black hair, and a pair of dark and deep eyes, although her chest was only slightly raised and a little green, it did not affect the opposite sex's affection for her at all. The water element was really a boost to her beauty. No wonder the love-struck Liya was so proud.
All the girls were proud to be able to cultivate the water element. The water element was her greatest pride. How could she allow this little guy in front of her to look down on her talent?
That's why she had a brainwave and decided to teach this young and ignorant little guy a lesson.
Seeing a piece of vegetable leaf still hanging on Ryan's forehead, Liya couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"Now you know the power of my drop of water, right? See if you still dare to look down on my water element."
The woman saw this and quickly got up. While helping Ryan wipe his face, she scolded, "You are so reckless. What if you hurt your brother?"
"Don't worry, Mother. I controlled the power and temperature. It won't hurt him. I just want to show him my strength and see if he still dares to look down on me." She said while looking at Ryan with a smile.
The woman saw that Ryan was indeed not injured and then felt relieved. She then ordered, "Quickly take the young master to change his clothes and wash up."
The servants behind them replied in unison, "Yes," and then took Ryan out of the dining room.
At this time, Ryan was shocked by Liya's ability as an element master, and he became very interested in elements...
Seeing Ryan walking away gradually, Liya ordered the remaining servants to leave.
She asked softly, "Mother, have you and Father really decided to let Ryan go to the college?" Since the first day Liya went to the college, her parents had warned her not to show her power as an element master in front of Ryan. Obviously, her parents intended to hide something about elements from Ryan, so she asked this question.
The woman sighed, "Alas~ When Ryan was born, his whole body was burning hot, his breathing was weak, and he was on the verge of death. Your father and I invited many famous doctors, but none of them could do anything. They all said that there was something wrong with Ryan's bloodline and that he wouldn't live past the age of three.
Although we used many methods, it was only to prolong his life. Therefore, your father and I have always hesitated whether to let him touch the path of cultivation, for fear that his body wouldn't be able to bear it and something unexpected would happen."
Liya actually already knew what the woman said. The only one in the family who didn't know anything was Ryan. He was like a candle that had endured many hardships, and was carefully protected by everyone. Liya had never dared to mention this matter to Ryan. After all, Ryan now seemed no different from a normal person. She even sometimes doubted whether what her mother said was true.
Thinking of this, Liya continued to ask, "And then?"
She knew that something must have happened in between to allow this younger brother to survive safely until now.
She had asked this question a long time ago, but every time her parents would find various reasons to prevaricate.
Curious in her heart, she couldn't help but ask again. She wasn't sure if her mother would tell her the truth this time.
The woman looked at Liya and thought for a while before saying, "You are old enough now, and there are some things that shouldn't be hidden from you. When Ryan was two years old, your father accidentally saved a seriously injured person. He was so badly injured that it took him half a year to recover in our house.
In order to repay the kindness of saving his life, the man took out two pendants of the same style and gave them to you before leaving. He specifically instructed that as long as Ryan wore it with him, it could suppress the strange disease on his body, and then he could live like an ordinary person."
Liya lowered her head, took off the snowflake-shaped pendant around her neck, and carefully examined it in her palm, saying, "This thing is icy and cool. It doesn't look anything special!"
"At first, your father and I were also skeptical, but since Ryan wore the pendant, the strange disease really disappeared. After years of observation, it has been proven that the man didn't lie to us. Now that Ryan is older, it's time to let him see the outside world. We can't keep him in captivity forever~"
"Is mine also for treating diseases?" Liya asked curiously.
"Of course not. Although the two pendants look the same, they each have their own uses. The man only said that it would be beneficial and harmless to you.
The man seldom talked and didn't even want to leave his name.
Your father said that cultivating the water element talent requires cultivation and perception to be able to control and change its temperature. And you have mastered both the water element talent and temperature control at the same time. Maybe it has something to do with the pendant in your hand. Therefore, you can't take it off easily, and you can't mention this matter to outsiders. You should understand the principle that an innocent man may be suspected if he possesses something valuable!"
Seeing her mother's serious expression, Liya pouted indifferently and said, "You are too nervous. I can control the temperature of the water element because I'm smart. What does it have to do with it..."
The woman's face became a bit more solemn when she saw Liya's attitude, and she said in a low voice, "Don't talk nonsense. Although I don't understand cultivation, your father said that something that can recognize its owner by dripping blood is definitely not an ordinary treasure."
"Recognize its owner by dripping blood?" Liya stood up in shock.
As everyone knows, in the cultivation world, treasures that can recognize their owners by dripping blood are all spiritual and invaluable treasures. Even the extremely rare space ring only uses elemental energy to recognize its owner, and it is far from reaching the level of recognizing its owner by dripping blood. It can be seen how precious this pendant is.
Such a treasure, if known to outsiders, would definitely lead to endless trouble. No wonder Liya was so surprised!
"Of course! At that time, you were young and ignorant. Your father was afraid that you would talk nonsense everywhere. So when you were asleep, he secretly took a drop of blood from you to help you recognize the owner." The woman explained.
"Oh... No wonder I always feel a strange connection with it, but that feeling is a bit vague. Maybe I'm too weak to feel its use." Liya looked deeply at the pendant in her hand and put it back on her chest, covering it with her clothes.
Although she had doubts in her heart, after thinking about it carefully, she knew that her mother wouldn't make up such a lie to deceive her. Moreover, her parents had been telling her to protect this pendant for so many years.
"Then... According to Father's words, isn't Ryan's pendant even more powerful?" In Liya's eyes, Ryan's pendant could suppress strange diseases, so it was naturally stronger than the one in her hand.
"No! Ryan's pendant is only used to save his life. The man also said that Ryan won't achieve much in the path of cultivation and is destined to be an ordinary person. Your father and I don't expect much from Ryan. As long as he can live well..."
Although Liya was not very old, she could also tell from the cryptic words that her younger brother might not have any hope of becoming a strong person. She couldn't help but feel a little sorry for Ryan.