"What is this situation?"
Ye Tian was somewhat at a loss. At first, he thought it might be an illusion, but soon he was absolutely certain that everything in front of him was real.
The data displayed on his retina was genuine, not a hallucination.
"A golden finger? No, this might be my hidden talent!"
Ye Tian thought for a moment and quickly concluded.
Ye Yu, his younger sister, was only 13 years old, not yet of the age to start cultivation. But the fact that she had Cultivation Talent from birth was completely normal. As for her Ice Talent, it was a rare, non-cultivation talent—extremely uncommon, one in a million. If she awakened it in the future, she would easily crush opponents of the same level, and might even be able to fight beyond her tier.
"I've heard that after becoming a warrior, you can absorb Primordial Energy, and hidden talents will gradually awaken. But those with other talents are so few… I didn't expect my sister to have the rare Ice Talent."
"But my talent… Is it simply to view others' talents?"
Ye Tian felt that his talent couldn't be that simple.
Soon, he began testing his abilities.
When he touched his sister, he noticed that the Cultivation Talent displayed on the virtual screen had an option to be copied.
In other words, Ye Tian could copy his sister's Lesser Cultivation Talent.
However, since her Ice Talent had already awakened, Ye Tian couldn't copy it.
"Copy?"
Faced with this choice, Ye Tian hesitated.
Although Lesser Cultivation Talent was stronger than his own Weak-Level Cultivation Talent, it was still practically useless. Even if he copied it, there wouldn't be much benefit.
After sending his sister away, Ye Tian stayed in his room to examine his talent further.
"If I can see my sister's talents, I should be able to see my own as well," Ye Tian thought.
He then focused his attention on himself.
Soon, the virtual screen displayed his talent status:
Human: Ye Tian
Cultivation Talent: Weak-Level
It was a simple talent status, indicating that Ye Tian had no hidden talents other than his Weak-Level Cultivation Talent. In the terms of this era, he was considered a waste, only marginally better than a person with no talent at all.
"Now I've got the basics figured out. My strange ability must be the mysterious talent that led to my body exploding and death. It came along with me when I transmigrated. This talent should be called Copy Talent, which allows me to copy other people's talents. As for whether it replaces my own talent or merges with it, I'll need to experiment. Moreover, copying someone's talent requires physical contact, which is a bit inconvenient. Perhaps it will change in the future."
With these thoughts in mind, Ye Tian formulated a plan: he would copy a genius's Cultivation Talent. Otherwise, with his weak-level talent, he would never be able to reach the level of a warrior.
Without becoming a warrior, life in this world would be extremely difficult.
Ye Tian's parents had died a year ago at the hands of the Beasts of Calamity. Now, only he and his sister Ye Yu remained. This was the reality for many families, as humanity still struggled to survive in this era. Every day, people were dying, and countless families had been torn apart.
Ye Tian currently lived in a small base called Linhai Base, with a population of around 300,000 people. Of that number, only about 1,000 were warriors, who had privileges that ordinary people couldn't enjoy.
Ye Tian's deceased parents had been warriors. Unfortunately, they died on a mission outside the base. Even though they were gone, the base provided some benefits for their family, such as subsidies before the age of 15 to ensure a basic livelihood.
However, once someone turned 15, those benefits were lost. Ye Tian, now 15, no longer received any support, leaving only Ye Yu to benefit from the subsidy.
"We can only support one person now," Ye Tian thought.
Both he and Ye Yu were too young to earn money. To save money, they had even withdrawn from school.
At Linhai Base, children could start school at age 9 and continue until 15. The curriculum covered languages, mathematics, and knowledge about the Beasts of Calamity. Ye Tian and Ye Yu had already learned most of it, so dropping out wasn't a big issue.
"My parents left a small inheritance. It's not much, but it's enough to support us for a few years. But after that, if I don't become a warrior, I'll have to work for others."
Work for others? That was impossible. He could never work for anyone.
Becoming a warrior was the only way out in this era.
"I'll go out for a walk!"
After making up his mind, Ye Tian told his sister to stay home and headed out alone.
On the streets, there was a lot of hustle and bustle, with most people being ordinary civilians, a few Martial Disciples, and only a handful of warriors.
These warriors emitted a powerful aura. If you got too close, you could feel your breath quicken.
Lesser Cultivation Talent!
Lesser Cultivation Talent!
Weak-Level Cultivation Talent!
Lesser Cultivation Talent!
After walking around, Ye Tian realized that most people had Weak-Level or Lesser Cultivation Talents, and only a few even had Basic Cultivation Talents. He had only seen some of them on the warriors.
"Looks like Basic Cultivation Talent is pretty rare in Linhai Base!" Ye Tian frowned.
However, thinking about it, it made sense. Linhai Base was just a small base, and the strongest person there was rumored to only be a Greater Martial Warrior. A Lesser Cultivation Talent would only get someone to the early stages of Martial Warrior, while Basic Cultivation Talent guaranteed they would become a Martial Warrior, with a chance to become an elite warrior. Intermediate Cultivation Talent was required to become an elite warrior, with a small chance of becoming a Greater Martial Warrior.
The only Greater Martial Warrior in Linhai Base was already quite old, probably with only Intermediate Cultivation Talent.
"Intermediate Cultivation Talent… At least I can copy that! I can't get close to those warriors. If I touch them, I might get killed. Even if they break the base rules by killing an ordinary person, they'll only get a fine—no real consequences, especially for someone like me with no background. I can't take that risk!"
"There are 300,000 people in Linhai Base. My Copy Talent only works within 3 meters, which is too small. If I try to copy people one by one, it'll take too long. The best approach is to find out which Martial Disciple has the fastest cultivation speed and then check their talent. If they have Intermediate or better talent, I'll copy it. I don't believe that in such a big base, there's not even one person with Intermediate Cultivation Talent!"
Martial Disciples usually attended the various academies in the base. Linhai Base had several academies. As long as someone was 15 or older, they could attend. The only exception was Linhai First Academy, which required at least Basic Cultivation Talent or connections. The other academies had no such requirements—money was enough to get in.
"The previous owner of this body wanted to get into the First Academy with Basic Cultivation Talent. But now, even if I had Basic Cultivation Talent, I wouldn't dare to go there. The academy tests your talent, and if others find out, I might get dissected for research if my talent improves in the future."
Ye Tian sighed in helplessness.
Thus, he would have to settle for attending one of the other academies.
In fact, he had to attend school to learn Body Refining Techniques. Martial Disciples couldn't absorb Primordial Energy, so they focused on training body refinement techniques to enhance their bodies and reach the strength required to become a Martial Warrior.