Chapter 2: Ch 2- Copy Talent
’What is going on?’
Mo Yuan was completely confused.
At first, he thought he was tripping, but after staring at the screen for a while, he became certain that what he was seeing was real.
The information floating in front of his eyes wasn’t an illusion and he wasn’t tripping.
’My golden finger? No... this must be my hidden talent!’
Mo Yuan thought for a moment before reaching that conclusion.
Mo Ran was only thirteen years old and hadn’t reached the age to cultivate yet. However, Cultivation Talent existed from birth, so it was normal for her to already possess one.
As for her Ice Talent, it belonged to a different category of talents outside Cultivation Talent. They were extremely rare in Dong Hai base.
Once awakened, such talents could easily overwhelm opponents of the same realm and even fight enemies above their own levels.
’Ahh yes, Ice Talent. I never would have guessed this.’
’It is said that after reaching the Origin Vessel Realm, cultivators begin absorbing Primordial Qi, and hidden talents slowly awaken.’
’There are very few people with elemental talents.’
’But... is my talent really just seeing other people’s talents?’
Mo Yuan didn’t think it was that simple.
Soon, he began experimenting.
When he lightly touched Mo Ran’s arm, he noticed something new.
Behind her Cultivation Talent, a new option appeared.
Copy
’So I can copy it?’
Mo Yuan was surprised.
However, the Ice Talent still hadn’t awakened, so there was no Copy option behind it.
Apparently, unawakened talents couldn’t be copied.
Facing the choice, Mo Yuan immediately gave up.
Although Secondary Grade was better than his own Inferior Grade Talent, it was still trash talent.
Copying it now would be a waste.
After sending Mo Ran away, Mo Yuan returned to his room to study his own talent.
’If I can see other people’s talents, then I should be able to see my own.’
He focused his attention on himself.
Soon, another screen appeared.
Human: Mo Yuan
Copy and Paste Talent: Unique
Cultivation Talent: Inferior Grade
The information was simple.
Apart from his Inferior Grade Cultivation Talent and his Unique Copy and Paste Talent, he had no other hidden abilities.
By the standards of this era, he was still considered trash.
The only thing special about him was this mysterious talent.
’So the basic situation is clear.’
’The previous Mo Yuan awakened this Copy and Paste Talent, but his body couldn’t handle the power and exploded.’
’This talent lets me copy other people’s talents.’
’As for whether it replaces my own talent or merges with it, I’ll have to test that later.’
’Right now, it looks like copying requires physical contact.’
’That’s pretty inconvenient.’
’But maybe that limitation will disappear after I become stronger.’
After sorting out everything, Mo Yuan quickly came up with a plan.
He had to copy the Cultivation Talent of a genius.
Otherwise, with his own Inferior Grade Talent, he would never reach the Origin Vessel Realm in his entire life.
And if he couldn’t become a cultivator, surviving in this world would be difficult.
His parents had died a year ago while fighting Beasts outside Dong Hai Base.
Now, only he and his younger sister remained.
It wasn’t an unusual situation.
In this era, humanity was still struggling to survive.
People died every day, and countless families had already been destroyed.
Dong Hai Base was only a small low tier survival base with a population of around three hundred thousand.
Among them, only about one thousand people had reached the Origin Vessel Realm. Those cultivators enjoyed privileges that ordinary people could only dream of.
Mo Yuan’s parents had both been Origin Vessel cultivators.
Unfortunately, they died during a mission in the wilderness. Even after their deaths, the base continued providing financial support to their children.
Every orphan received a monthly subsidy until they turned fifteen.
After fifteen, the subsidy ended. Mo Yuan had already reached that age, so his support had stopped. Only Mo Ran still received a subsidy, but it was only enough to support one person.
Neither of them was old enough to earn much money.
To save expenses, both siblings had dropped out of school early. In Dong Hai Base, children entered school at the age of nine and studied until fifteen. The old education system from before the apocalypse no longer existed.
Students mainly learned language, mathematics, and knowledge about Beasts.
Since they had already learned the basics, dropping out wasn’t a huge loss.
’Dead parents.’
’A younger sister.’
’A modern Xianxia world.’
’And now a crazy ability.’
’I think I know where this is going.’
Mo Yuan knew, that no matter how absurd the situation looks, he doesn’t have much choices right now. All he can do is accept things and plan ahead for his future survival.
’My parents left behind a small inheritance.’
’It isn’t much, but it should be enough for me and Mo Ran to survive for a few years.’
’But what happens after that?’
’If I don’t become an Origin Vessel cultivator, the only way I’ll make money is by working ordinary jobs.’
’It’s not like I have any better options.’
’So I’ll just go with the flow.’
’With this talent... I should be fine.’
’First, let’s see what this world is really like.’
After making up his mind, Mo Yuan told his sister to stay home before heading outside alone.
The streets were crowded with people.
Most were ordinary citizens.
Some had reached the Origin Seed Realm. Only a handful were Origin Vessel cultivators. Those cultivators naturally gave off a powerful aura.
Even standing close to them made breathing feel difficult.
As Mo Yuan walked through the streets, talent information constantly appeared before his eyes.
Inferior Grade.
Secondary Grade.
Inferior Grade.
Secondary Grade.
Inferior Grade.
...
After walking around for quite a while, Mo Yuan realized that almost everyone possessed either Inferior Grade or Secondary Grade Cultivation Talent.
Standard Grade Talent was already uncommon.
He had only seen it on a few Origin Vessel cultivators.
"So Standard Grade is already considered pretty good in Dong Hai Base."
After thinking about it, it made sense.
Dong Hai Base was only a small base.
The strongest cultivator here was rumoured to have reached the Origin Sea Realm.
With Secondary Grade Talent, reaching the Origin Vessel Realm was already the absolute limit.
Standard Grade Talent guaranteed entry into the Origin Vessel Realm and gave a small chance of reaching the Origin Core Realm.
Superior Grade Talent guaranteed reaching the Origin Core Realm and gave a chance of advancing to the Origin Sea Realm.
As for Peak Grade...
Mo Yuan had never even heard of anyone in Dong Hai Base possessing it.
The old Origin Sea expert protecting the base was already very old.
Mo Yuan guessed that he probably had Superior Grade Talent.
"Superior Grade Talent."
"At the very least, that’s what I need."
"I can’t settle for anything lower."
"But I also can’t casually approach Origin Vessel cultivators."
"If I suddenly touch them, they might cook me on the spot."
"Even if killing an ordinary person violates the base’s rules, the punishment is usually just a fine."
"Someone like me has no background."
"No one would stand up for me."
"So taking that risk isn’t worth it."
He quickly came up with a better plan.
"My talent only works within 2 meters."
"If I check everyone one by one, it’ll take forever."
"The smarter approach is to find people known for cultivating quickly or young geniuses."
"Then I can check their talents."
"I refuse to believe there isn’t a single person with Superior Grade Talent in a base with three hundred thousand people."
Most genius cultivators gathered inside the major cultivation academies.
Dong Hai Base had six academies.
Anyone over fifteen could enroll.
Only the First Academy had entrance requirements.
Students either needed Standard Grade Talent or powerful connections.
The other five academies accepted anyone who could afford the tuition.
"My predecessor wanted to enter the First Academy because he hoped to have Standard Grade Talent."
"But even if I somehow copied Standard Grade Talent now, I still wouldn’t go there."
"The First Academy tests everyone’s talent during admission."
"If they record my talent today, then it suddenly becomes much stronger later..."
"I’ll probably end up locked in a laboratory."
Mo Yuan was very cautious regarding his ability, he can never tell anyone about it.
For now, attending one of the other academies was the safer choice.
Besides, he still needed an academy.
Without one, he had no way to learn a Body Tempering Method.
Origin Seed cultivators couldn’t absorb Primordial Qi.
They could only strengthen their bodies through Body Tempering Methods.
Once they reached one thousand jin of strength, they would finally break through and become an Origin Vessel cultivator.