Phi-Fic Chapter 7: Innate Spiritual Power at Max Level
Chapter 7: Innate Spiritual Power at Max Level
Inside the talent testing hall, calls of "Next!" echoed continuously, and the waiting line outside gradually shortened. Finally, it was Chu Qiuchi's turn.
She quickly ran into the hall, where the same old man was still inside. He took out a black magic ball and handed it to Chu Qiuchi. "Come on, child, pour as much of your spiritual power into this magic ball as you can."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Chu Qiuchi responded and slowly channeled his spiritual power into it. The magic ball in the old man's hand began to tremble slightly, its interior gradually filling with spiritual power and turning white. Until the test ball was completely white, a seven-colored auspicious cloud pattern appeared inside, exactly the same as the pattern that appeared during the previous awakening ceremony.
"Good, good, good!" the old man praised excitedly, then asked kindly, "Child, what is your name? Do you know what this auspicious seven-colored cloud pattern means?"
Chu Qiuchi thought to herself: Could there be something special about my spiritual power? These auspicious seven-colored clouds looked like a New Year's celebration, so festive! Even His Holiness the Dharma King was as excited as if he'd won the lottery; this must be a good omen. Although her heart was pounding, a sweet smile bloomed on her face.
"Your Majesty, my name is Chu Qiuchi, and my father is the city lord of Xiyue City. Does this pattern foretell something good?"
"So you're from the Chu family. I've heard of your parents before; they're both exceptionally talented individuals." The old man's voice was filled with barely suppressed excitement, his eyes gleaming with anticipation. "This auspicious seven-colored cloud pattern doesn't appear out of nowhere; it symbolizes—full innate spiritual power!"
A look of disbelief flashed in Chu Qiuchi's eyes, and her heart pounded as if it would burst out of her chest.
Her voice trembled, filled with shock and joy, "Maximum innate spiritual power? Is this true? Does this mean I possess the same talent as Aurora, the Goddess of Dawn? The legendary one who can touch the realm of the Ultimate Emperor with maximum innate spiritual power?"
"That's right, it's the one with full innate spiritual power. When awakening and testing spiritual power, unusual phenomena will occur. The Goddess of Dawn appeared as a phoenix soaring into the sky, while you appeared as auspicious clouds of seven colors. I will secretly report this matter to His Majesty, and you also need to keep it a secret. Once the beastmen find out, your life may be in danger," the old man said earnestly.
"Also, I will be going to the City Lord's Mansion tonight to discuss the relevant matters with your parents in detail. Remember, this matter must not be leaked. Oh, and I also need to check your magic orb level and awakened skills."
He pointed to the smallest of the three magic circles on the ground next to him, "Child, enter that single-person magic circle and sit down."
Chu Qiuchi took a deep breath, trying to calm his excitement and joy. Following the old man's instructions, he walked into the center of the magic array and slowly sat down.
As her location was confirmed, the old man's staff once again emitted a dazzling light. He poured powerful magic into the magic circle, which then slowly activated, emitting gentle magical fluctuations.
The old man's voice echoed within the magic circle, "Close your eyes, use your mental power to sense the magical energy within the magic circle, and slowly guide it into your magic orb."
Chu Qiuchi followed the instructions, gently closed her eyes, and her mind gradually calmed down. She began to use her spiritual power to sense the magical energy flowing in the magic circle.
After an unknown amount of time, she sensed a warm and powerful force flowing around her, like a warm current in the ocean or a gentle breeze in the sky, soft and full of life. She guided this energy, letting it flow slowly into her magic orb like streams merging into a river.
Shortly after, Chu Qiuchi spoke up: "We've already brought them in, what's the next step?"
The old man's face lit up with joy: "As expected of someone with full innate spiritual power, you were able to sense magical energy and successfully introduce it so quickly. Now, use the magic power you introduced to operate the magic orb. Once the magic orb begins to operate, use your spiritual power to carefully sense the magic runes on it, and the information about the awakened skill will automatically appear in your mind."
As the lotus pattern gradually appeared on Chu Qiuchi's forehead, the old man's smile slowly froze. After a while, his voice rang out again.
"You can come out now. How could this be? You clearly have full innate spiritual power, so why did you awaken a Profound-grade Demon Pearl? Sigh, if only it were a Heaven-grade Demon Pearl! By the way, what is your awakened skill? I need to record it." His words carried a hint of confusion and regret.
"My awakened skill is called 'Raging Sniper,' which can lock onto three targets and launch a magical attack, while also granting a permanent 10% critical hit rate bonus."
She recalled the exciting moments of triggering skill critical hits in games she used to play, unsure if the critical hit rate here was the same as in the game.
So he asked the old man his questions: "Your Majesty, what exactly is the function of this critical hit rate? Also, does the initial spirit value affect the grade of the magic orb?"
The old man's gaze was focused on the file, and the quill pen in his hand danced rapidly as he took notes and answered Chu Qiuchi's question: "Critical hit rate refers to the chance of triggering a critical hit when you use a skill attack. The damage caused by such a critical hit is usually more than five times the damage of a normal attack."
"As for your second question, although there is no direct evidence to prove a necessary connection between initial mental strength and the grade of magic orbs, according to records over the years, magicians with high initial mental strength usually possess higher-grade magic orbs. Of course, this is not absolute; exceptions do exist, but they are relatively rare," the old man explained calmly.
Chu Qiuchi sighed softly, his tone tinged with self-deprecating frustration: "So, I'm one of those relatively rare exceptions?"
The old man smiled slightly, put down his recording tools, and looked at him with a hint of reassurance and encouragement: "Your situation is not just 'relatively rare,' but 'extremely rare.' There has never been a case like yours on the entire Magic Continent, where someone had full initial mental strength but awakened a low-grade magic orb. However, this does not mean that you will be greatly affected."
"While your situation is unique, it's not without its advantages. Although your awakened skill may be slightly inferior, your permanent bonus effect is somewhat lacking, and your attack power is not as good as that of a mage of the same level, your permanent attribute bonus is critical hit rate. Once your attack triggers a critical hit effect, these differences can be greatly made up for."
"Moreover, your initial maximum mental strength has a unique advantage—you are a natural alchemist. If you choose to focus on alchemy, then the lack of attack power will be insignificant."
He paused slightly. "Alright, your awakening information has been properly entered into the top-secret file. You can go home now; I still have tests to complete."
With each impact the old man mentioned, Chu Qiuchi felt as if a heavy hammer had struck her heart. Poor awakened skills, poor permanent bonuses, insufficient attack power... Her brows furrowed slightly, and a bitter feeling welled up in her heart.
This is considered a minor impact? It's an impact that couldn't be bigger! Her fists clenched unconsciously. After a moment of contemplation, she asked softly, her tone tinged with caution and resentment, "In my situation, is it still necessary to keep it a secret?"
Upon hearing this, the old man smiled gently, a profound meaning in his eyes: "Of course you need it. You may not understand yet what it means to have full mental power. It means that your mental power can break through to the God King realm, and your magic level also has a chance to reach the Ultimate Magic Emperor level."
"Indeed, your attack power may be slightly inferior among those of the same level, but your overall strength is still far superior to most mages! The difference between an Ultimate Archmage and a Supreme Archmage is like heaven and earth! Let alone a hundred, even a thousand Supreme Archmages combined could not shake even the weakest Ultimate Archmage. This kind of gap is enough to make everyone look up to you!"
Hearing this, Chu Qiuchi breathed a slight sigh of relief. Her clenched fists slowly relaxed, and the tension between her brows eased somewhat. She bowed solemnly to the old man, her tone filled with respect: "Understood, Your Majesty. Rest assured, I will keep quiet and not let anyone know."
Having said that, she raised her head and left the testing hall with light steps. Her mind raced: Although there were some twists and turns, the result was ultimately good. Indeed, even the weakest Archmage was enough to look down on mages of other levels. Thank goodness, it was a false alarm. As for alchemy, perhaps she could consider it; after all… it's always good to have more skills, and it might become another trump card for her.
Chu Qiuchi steadied herself, suppressing the growing excitement within her. Although she couldn't share this joy with others for the time being, a huge weight had finally been lifted from her heart.
Outside the testing hall, Chu Yichen and the others had been waiting for a long time. As soon as they saw Chu Qiuchi walk out of the hall, they immediately went to greet him.
"elder sister!"
Chu Yichen opened his mouth to ask a question, but was interrupted by Chu Qiuchi raising his hand. "Don't ask yet, let's go out first. Mom and Dad must be getting impatient. We can talk about it when we get home."
In the open space at the exit, the parents were already waiting anxiously. Among the crowd, Mr. and Mrs. Xu were the first to spot them and hurried over to greet them.
Upon seeing Xu Xiyang, the anxious expressions on their faces instantly turned into surprise and anticipation, and they couldn't wait to ask, "Xiyang, how is it? How is your awakened talent?"
Other parents also quickly stepped forward, enthusiastically inquiring about their children's awakening progress.
Chu Siyuan and Qiu Jingya immediately looked at Chu Qiuchi, their eyes filled with silent worry and concern. They hesitated whether to ask him a question.
At this moment, Xu Xiyang's excited voice broke the silence: "Mom and Dad! I've awakened! It's a Grade Earth Magic Pearl! My initial spirit value is 80! The awakened skill is called 'Extreme Sandstorm,' and it also has a permanent 20% attack bonus!"
As soon as the words were spoken, the expressions on Mr. and Mrs. Xu's faces lit up instantly. Mr. Xu suddenly picked up his son, while Mrs. Xu held Xu Xiyang's hand tightly and exclaimed repeatedly, "That's wonderful! That's wonderful! Xiyang, you've really made us proud!" Their joy was almost overflowing, and a series of praises and compliments flooded Xu Xiyang, completely forgetting that there were other people around.
Chu Qiuchi stepped forward and said to Xu Xiyang, "That's great, Xiyang, you will definitely become a great general in the future."
"Yes, I definitely will!" Xu Xiyang answered confidently, then turned to Chu Qiuchi and asked curiously, "Sister Qiuchi, how is your awakening going?"
Only then did the Xu couple realize their lapse in composure. They awkwardly tugged at their son's clothes and said to Chu Siyuan and his wife, "Lord City Lord, Madam, it's getting late. We'll take Xiyang back now." Before they finished speaking, they hurriedly left with the still excited Xu Xiyang.
As their footsteps faded into the distance, Xu Xiyang's protest still lingered in the air: "Hey, Mom and Dad, I haven't finished speaking yet, what's the rush?" And the Xu couple's whispers: "Oh dear, you silly boy, listen to us..."
Chu Qiuchi then turned around and saw three pairs of eyes filled with worry and concern in front of her. Helplessly, she said softly, "Mom and Dad, I'm really fine. It's just that the situation is a bit complicated. Let's go home and talk about it."
Chu Siyuan frowned but didn't press further. He simply nodded, patted his daughter's shoulder, and said softly, "Okay, let's go home first." Qiu Jingya gently took her daughter's hand and held it warmly, as if offering silent comfort.
Chu Yichen stood aside without saying much, but silently walked to her other side and guarded her closely like a little beast protecting her.
After saying goodbye to the remaining people, the family of four walked out of the exit. A gentle night breeze carried away some of their anxiety and heaviness. The bright moonlight shone on the way back, as if soothing everyone's slightly tense mood.