Chapter 2: Mental Power Users Are Extremely Valuable
As long as those two secretly got together behind his back and willingly ended up in bed together...
Then once he became a High-Tier Mental Power User in the future, not only would he be able to break off the engagement, he would also stand firmly on the moral high ground.
Hmph!
Nan Yu thought back to what he had been like at fifteen years old.
Gradually, his entire demeanor began to change.
He became youthful and energetic again, a bright smile hanging permanently on his face.
He still liked Bai Zhouyun very much, so...
"You got here so early? I wasn't even finished getting ready yet!"
Nan Yun said, "The hovercraft has already been prepared for you two. Go and come back quickly, and remember to stay safe."
Of course, just as Bai Zhouyun was about to leave with Nan Yu, Nan Yun stepped forward with a dark expression and fixed Bai Zhouyun with a cold stare.
"This trip is to Black Night Forest?"
Cold sweat instantly broke out on Bai Zhouyun's forehead.
"Y-Yes, Big Brother."
Nan Yun's face darkened immediately.
"Who the hell is your big brother?!"
"I'm just telling you this—if anything happens to our Xiao Yu, even the slightest thing, I'll hold you responsible. Got it, brat?"
Bai Zhouyun awkwardly scratched his head.
"I know, I know. Big Bro—ah, no, Brother Nan Yun. Don't worry. I'll definitely protect Xiao Yu properly."
Nan Yun snorted and said nothing further, but he still stood there watching as the two boarded the hovercraft and departed.
"Sigh... That kid certainly looks decent enough, but who knows whether he'll actually treat Xiao Yu well..."
"Oh, come on. Why are you worrying so much?" a teasing voice sounded from behind him. "Shouldn't you be heading to the academy? Isn't there an experimental project at the school this evening? Are you really prepared for it, Big Brother?"
Nan Zhen stood behind him with an amused expression.
Nan Yun twitched at the corners of his mouth.
"Do I need you to remind me? I'm leaving right now. When Xiao Yu gets back tonight, make sure you ask him carefully whether that brat tried anything inappropriate. If he did, tell me when I get back so I can beat him senseless."
Nan Zhen laughed.
"Don't worry, Big Brother. I'll keep a close eye on that brat Bai Zhouyun."
Only then did Nan Yun leave with peace of mind and drive his own hovercraft toward the academy.
After all, he couldn't miss a school-organized experiment.
Truthfully, neither of the brothers liked Bai Zhouyun very much.
Unfortunately, Bai Zhouyun and their adorable younger brother Nan Yu had been engaged since childhood.
And the engagement hadn't been arranged by their parents' generation—it dated back even further, to their grandfathers.
Back then, the Bai family and the Nan family had been extremely close, which was why such an agreement had been made.
But just because the Bai family's elders were good people didn't mean all of their descendants would be.
Especially Bai Zhouyun.
Nan Zhen had personally witnessed him exchanging flirtatious looks with other Mental Power Users at school on several occasions.
If he hadn't been able to tell that Bai Zhouyun was merely overly talkative rather than genuinely trying to pursue relationships with them, he would have beaten him so badly that even his parents wouldn't recognize him.
Even so, he had never given Bai Zhouyun a pleasant look.
After watching his older brother leave, Nan Zhen turned and headed back inside.
Once he entered his laboratory, he activated his artificial intelligence assistant.
"Xiao Hei, check where Xiao Yu's hovercraft is right now. Keep real-time monitoring on it."
What a joke.
Could the family really feel at ease letting Nan Yu go out alone with Bai Zhouyun?
Of course not.
That was why a tracking program had been installed in the hovercraft.
In fact, the hovercraft Nan Yun had prepared had long since been modified by Nan Zhen.
No matter where it went, he could monitor its location at any time.
And if Bai Zhouyun ever dared do anything beastly, Nan Zhen, as an older brother, would never let him succeed.
During combat classes at school, Bai Zhouyun wasn't exactly weak enough to lose instantly, but he certainly couldn't be considered strong either.
Although he was an Ability User, he was among the weaker members of that group.
He was already eighteen years old, yet his strength was only at the Mid-Tier Ability User level.
Moreover, he had only recently broken through to that level.
Nan Zhen clicked his tongue.
"What ridiculous luck..."
Although Nan Yun was currently only a Mid-Tier Mental Power User, the significance of a Mid-Tier Mental Power User was completely different from that of a Mid-Tier Ability User.
There were many Mental Power Users in the Empire, but ninety-nine percent of them were Low-Tier.
Only about one out of every hundred Mental Power Users would reach the Mid-Tier level.
As for High-Tier Mental Power Users, there were only around fifty in the entire Empire.
And every one of them was already somewhat advanced in age.
Young Mental Power Users breaking through to the High-Tier level were incredibly rare.
There had been a few in the distant past, but none for nearly thirty or forty years now.
The Empire was beginning to grow anxious.
Ability Users, on the other hand, were a different story.
The population distribution across their ranks was much healthier.
Low-Tier Ability Users still made up the majority, accounting for roughly seventy percent.
Around twenty percent were Mid-Tier Ability Users.
The remaining ten percent were High-Tier Ability Users.
On the Empire's Capital Star alone, one could see dozens of High-Tier Ability Users simply by going outside.
Any family capable of living on the Capital Star would almost certainly have at least one High-Tier Ability User among its members.
Even Nan Yun and Nan Zhen themselves were High-Tier Ability Users.
The advancement of Ability Users was deeply connected to Ability Beasts.
While Ability Users could cultivate on their own and gradually become stronger, the process was painfully slow.
Nowadays, the average human lifespan ranged between three hundred and five hundred years.
Ordinary people generally lived around three hundred years.
Mental Power Users and Ability Users lived longer, with five hundred years being the average. Some individuals with exceptional constitutions could even live seven or eight hundred years.
If an Ability User relied solely on personal cultivation, a Low-Tier Ability User might spend an entire lifetime training and only barely have a chance of reaching the Mid-Tier level.
That pace was simply too slow.
Ability Beast meat, however, could rapidly strengthen Ability Users, enhancing their powers and allowing them to become strong.
But every blessing came with a price.
The more powerful the Ability Beast, the more effective its meat was.
At the same time, Ability Beast meat contained a major hidden danger.
Every piece of it contained impurities that were one hundred percent impossible to remove.
These impurities were invisible.
Once an Ability User consumed Ability Beast meat, those impurities would invade their mind.
Everyone knew that Ability Users excelled at wielding their powers in combat.
What they were not good at was training or utilizing their mental strength.
As Mental Contamination accumulated, their tempers would become increasingly violent.
Eventually, they could go insane.
Some would even self-destruct.
That was why Mental Power Users were viewed as saviors by Ability Users who constantly sought strength through consuming Ability Beast meat.
Generally speaking, a newly advanced Low-Tier Mental Power User could cleanse Mental Contamination from the Mental Seas of Low-Tier Ability Users.
After spending years consolidating their abilities, experienced Low-Tier Mental Power Users could even help Mid-Tier Ability Users.
Mid-Tier Mental Power Users could cleanse the Mental Seas of Mid-Tier Ability Users, as well as a small number of High-Tier Ability Users whose contamination wasn't too severe.
As for High-Tier Mental Power Users...
There was virtually no Mental Contamination they couldn't deal with.
Unless an Ability User had already gone completely insane and their Mental Sea had collapsed beyond repair.
Only then would all hope truly be lost.