I'm not just human!

Chapter 521 The Dark, Burning Day (Part 5)

Countless books fluttered and turned in the air, making a "rustling" sound.

On each television set, scenes from the past across the universe were played continuously: budding mutants or superhumans venturing into secret realms or eerie domains, ordinary families enjoying a simple and happy dinner, and even the battles between enemies or the separation of lovers.

In this secluded and tranquil Promised Land, only the figure opposite stands silently, absorbing the boundless "omniscient" authority.

Xia Fa stared intently at that figure, which was a part of his own spirit, his curiosity reaching its peak.

He couldn't help it; he desperately wanted to know how he acquired his first "trained body," which was also the origin of many of his special abilities.

Suddenly, the "self" opposite them smiled and spoke.

"First, tell me, what is your understanding of 'talent'?"

What is my understanding of talent?

Xia Fa was taken aback at first, and just as he was about to respond, countless related images suddenly flashed through his mind.

First, there was the extreme discomposure and surprise Dick Tudor showed when he directly asked him for the "Gate of the Stars," a supreme-level secret contract, during his second meeting with Dick Tudor.

When I signed the "Silver Throne," I thought it was just good luck, that my spiritual intuition had guided me to a supreme-level secret contract.

But when his spiritual intuition guided him to the third overlord-level secret contract, he vaguely realized that he should still have some "talent" on the path to transcendence.

Then the memories that surfaced were from when he went to the sea. It was shortly after the Golden Fighting Grand Prix, and he had passed on the complete method of "critical loss of control" to his younger brother Alexander, his cousin Wanxing's father, his cousin Locke, and even the Shark Princess.

I learned how to achieve critical loss of control quite easily, but my younger brother Alexander seems to still not have mastered it.

Both of my older and younger cousins ​​are considered extremely talented, but one can only control the critical loss of control to cover a small part of his body, while the other can't control it at all.

As for Princess Shark, although she is a spatial split of the [Silver Universe], she does not seem to be exactly the same as the [Silver Universe], especially in terms of her talent, which is completely different. Otherwise, she would not just be a ruler. Therefore, she was unable to control the critical loss of control.

That was the first time I truly realized that in this extraordinary world, there really is a difference in "talent" between people.

Then, he signed the third, fourth, and even fifth hegemon-level secret contracts in succession, and within seconds he absorbed the [Eternal Critical Strike], becoming a god and completing the absorption path that others would take at least tens or hundreds of years to complete.

Then, he advanced at a crazy speed, never encountering any bottlenecks or obstacles, whether it was understanding the secret code or absorbing the proof of eternity.

Not to mention, since his first "time travel", every time he has awakened, he has awakened the most top-level god-level mutations, and he has directly awakened fifteen of them.

According to the Moon Goddess, in the billions of years of mutant humans, the most that have awakened to god-level mutations is only twelve, and there is only one such person.

He was an extraordinary genius beyond compare, but after becoming a true god, he chose to retreat into the mortal world and did not participate in the conflicts among the mutated true gods. Later, he seemed to have disappeared in that great event 30,000 years ago, and it is unknown whether he is still alive.

Therefore, even for her, this was the first time she had ever seen someone awaken fifteen god-level mutations at the same time.

"Talent—Talent—"

Xia Fa murmured to himself, feeling as if he understood something, yet also as if he understood nothing at all.

The young man opposite him, who looked exactly like him, laughed and said, "It seems you've already realized it. That's right, whether it was the era of mutants, the era of magicians, or our current era of superhumans, talent has always been one of the most important qualities a person possesses."

After a pause, the young man continued, "Even in the world of ordinary people, talent is extremely important. Talent determines a person's upper limit, while effort determines a person's lower limit. I'm sure you already understand this principle."

"You need talent to become a basketball star, and you need talent to become a top player in video games, not to mention the arts, which have always valued talent the most, whether it's music, painting, or literature —"

"Of course, in any field, talent alone is not enough; hard work is also required. Geniuses and masters are people who are more talented than others and often work even harder."

"The higher one's talent, the easier it is to do things and the easier it is to succeed."

"If you have enough talent, you can become the person you want to be in the field you love."

Suddenly, the young man changed the subject: "And this is the first effect of [Eternal Talent], which will elevate your talent to an extremely high level—a level you would never expect."

Xia Fa was stunned and couldn't help but ask, "What level?"

The young man held up one finger: "It's very simple, it's just—it allows you to become stronger in the way you imagine."

With a deafening boom, as if lightning pierced the deep darkness and illuminated the endless fog, Xia Fa suddenly understood: "You mean—"

The young man smiled and nodded: "That's right. A single talent can only make you the person you want to be in a certain field. For example, if you are tall enough and have very strong athletic ability, like 2.5 meters tall, then you can become a basketball superstar with just a little training."

"However, in this situation, if you don't have other talents, it will be very difficult to become a pianist."

"But what if you also possess perfect pitch, extremely dexterous fingers, the ability to memorize sheet music at a glance, and even a high level of musical appreciation and unique insights into art cultivated from a young age?"

"In this situation, you could become both a basketball superstar and a renowned pianist."

"By the same token, if you possess exceptional talent in fields such as sports, games, music, painting, design, mathematics, chemistry, medicine, finance, and social skills, then you can indeed become anyone you want to be."

"And this is the effect that the [Eternal Talent] bestows upon you."

As Xia Fa listened, he fell into deep thought, muttering, "In other words, because I was in a coma for over 30,000 years, when I woke up I thought I was a modern person who had transmigrated to a supernatural world, so—"

The young man smiled and nodded: "That's right. Before you understand any extraordinary systems, especially when you're still physically weak, you'll definitely choose to become stronger by 'training your body,' using a modern mindset. Therefore, the [Eternal Talent] helps you make 'training your body' your first way to become stronger."

Xia Fa let out a long sigh: "No wonder, no wonder—"

No wonder I always see such a significant improvement after exercising.

No wonder, whether he became a powerful superhuman or a god, it was still so difficult for him to train his body.

The former is naturally the "eternal talent" that turns physical training into a way to become stronger, while the latter is the "price" that needs to be paid to achieve such a goal, namely, extreme hardship and effort.

After all, the "Eternal Talent" still has to follow the rules of this universe. It would be unreasonable to allow oneself to easily train the body and become stronger.

Unexpectedly, the young man then changed the subject again: "However, the first effect of [Eternal Talent] is not enough; it must be combined with the second effect."

He stopped being coy and immediately said, "The second effect of the [Eternal Talent] is actually quite obvious: it automatically activates your talent, helping you become stronger in unexpected ways."

Xia Fa was taken aback: "What do you mean?"

The young man laughed and said, "Let me give you an inappropriate example. Anyway, you are me and I am you. There's no question of me indirectly insulting you, because that would be the same as insulting myself."

He paused, then continued, "For example, if a dog is walking down the street and someone suddenly drops a piece of fried chicken from a packaging bag a hundred meters away, do you think it can smell it?"

Before Xia Fa could answer, the young man smiled and said, "It definitely can, but here's the question: does it actively want to smell it, or is it because it's a canine and possesses a sense of smell superior to other species, allowing it to 'passively' smell it?"

Xia Fa suddenly understood: "You mean—"

The young man smiled and nodded: "That's right. Although the development of talent mostly depends on your own initiative, there are also times when it is passive. Just as a dog can smell meat a hundred meters away and a shark can smell blood in the sea hundreds of meters away, even if you don't want to activate your talent, it will act automatically."

"This is the second effect of the [Eternal Talent]. When you strengthen yourself in the way you imagine, that is, by training your body," the [Eternal Talent], by leveraging the characteristics of the Sun God King's heart and stomach, actively searches the entire universe for things that are suitable for you and can further help you become stronger.

"For example, when you first trained your body, the [Eternal Talent] found a once very prosperous planet that was later devoid of any living beings. It extracted the essence accumulated over tens of thousands of years, which not only greatly improved your own status but also directly activated the third effect of the [Eternal Talent]."

"For example, during your second body forging, the [Eternal Talent] helped you shatter and devour a large chunk of space, enough to contain a super-large star, directly granting you a portion of 'space' authority and activating the ability of 'teleportation'."

"Combined with [Eternal Loss of Control], you now possess the unique skill of 'randomly freeloading meals,' and you've even disguised yourself as a physical glutton."

"Oh right, randomly getting free meals is actually equivalent to the second way you want to become stronger."

Xia Fa listened with increasing astonishment, pondering as he said, "So, when I realized I needed to consume substances containing extraordinary power to become stronger, the [Eternal Talent] combined its first and second effects, which is why I directly gained the ability to 'randomly freeload meals'?"

The young man smiled slightly and explained in detail: "Yes, and then, the [Eternal Talent] also worked in conjunction with [Eternal Loss of Control] to disguise you as someone who is close to being out of control, that is, your whole body is blurry as if it is wrapped in a mosaic, which helps to keep your identity a secret."

"Because this is the collaboration of two primordial authorities, even the slightest fluctuation emanating from you will be very similar to the fluctuations of the rules emanating from a physical entity. Combined with your unique behavior and elusive presence, this leads people to mistake you for a physical entity."

A look of relief appeared in Xia Fa's eyes, and he murmured, "So that's how it is, so that's how it is—"

The young man chuckled and continued, "As for later, every time you trained your body, you either mastered divine combat techniques or absorbed black holes or something like that. It was essentially the first and second effects of the [Eternal Talent] working simultaneously. Until you became a god, absorbing celestial bodies in the real world no longer provided much improvement. The [Eternal Talent] even helped you find that Promised Land that looked like a movie theater, allowing you to begin awakening your mutation system."

After a slight pause, he smiled and said, "Actually, the reason you were able to awaken the mutation system is because the [Eternal Talent] and [Eternal Loss of Control] worked together. [Eternal Loss of Control] directly suppressed the conflict between the mutation system and the extraordinary system in your body. Otherwise, you would have already lost control on the spot when you swallowed the first top-tier mutation crystal source."

Xia Fa asked curiously, "So, the fact that I can push the critical loss of control to the tenth time, consume secret contracts, and cultivate supreme killing techniques is actually due to the simultaneous effects of [Eternal Talent] and [Eternal Loss of Control]?"

The young man nodded slightly: "That's right. You are different from the Moon Mother Goddess. The Moon Mother Goddess actually dares not sign a secret pact. She only uses the cosmic authority she holds through her nine divine mutations to contain the eternal certificates she can contain. Therefore, you are still the only person in the world who possesses both a transcendent system and a mutation system at the same time."

Xia Fa nodded thoughtfully, then suddenly grinned, revealing his teeth: "So, the third effect of [Eternal Talent] is actually that burning feeling, right?"

The young man opposite him, who looked exactly like him, smiled and nodded: "Yes, to be precise, this shouldn't be called a burning feeling, but rather the manifestation of talent. Some talents are visible and tangible, like basketball players who are often very tall, or world weightlifting record holders who are generally much stronger than the average person. But the vast majority of talents are invisible and intangible, such as talents in the fields of art and science."

"And the third effect of [Eternal Talent] is to materialize what is considered ethereal in some areas as 'talent,' transforming it into a transparent substance within your heart that feels like it's always burning."

"Of course, since you, or rather we, are the first holders of the [Eternal Talent], and most likely the holders forever, naming it 'The Feeling of Burning' is also acceptable."

Xia Faming understood: "Therefore, every time I encounter a crisis, the burning sensation erupts—this is the manifestation of the talent of 'combat.' I can use the burning sensation to temper my body—this is the manifestation of the talent of 'becoming stronger.' I can use the burning sensation to quickly absorb and contain the proof of eternity—this is the manifestation of the talent of 'breakthrough.'"

The young man smiled slightly: "Yes, that's right. However, the burning sensation is mostly used in combat. As one of the seven primordial-level Eternal Tokens, the [Eternal Talent] is still very strong in combat, precisely because of the burning sensation."

Having communicated with "himself" to this point, Xia Fa had almost figured it out.

He was about to ask again why there were Chinese characters in the secret contract, and who the poem in the Chinese characters described, and whether it was the mysterious and enormous being who opened the entire extraordinary era with that kick.

Oh right, since it will take at least three more days to absorb the omniscient authority from the [Ancient Secrets], I can ask about the origins of other entities when I get bored.

And there's another question that's been bothering me: since I, as a human, absorbed the heart and stomach of the Sun God King in my physical form, as well as the two fundamental proofs of eternity, the [Eternal Talent] and the [Eternal Loss of Control], then who was "Shafa de Augustus," who lived in Rum City for over twenty years before my memories returned?

Suddenly, the young man laughed and said, "Xia Fa, do you know why it had to be you of all people?"

Xia Fa paused, then asked, "What do you mean?"

The young man added, "Do you know why, of all people, you're the one who can directly merge with [Eternal Talent] and [Eternal Loss of Control]?"

Xia Fa hissed: "You mean—"

The young man smiled faintly: "Actually, as you probably noticed, anyone who can merge with a certain eternal token before birth must have a very good compatibility with that eternal token."

"Take Norton Dragon for example. Because he was contaminated by the blood of an extreme fire dragon before he was born, even without [Eternal Fury], he can unleash combat power far exceeding that of ordinary people when he is enraged, which is why he is able to attract [Eternal Fury]."

"Take Ai Luo Tong for example. Her Secret Eye's innate eye technique is [Shadow of Evasion]. Therefore, the chance of encountering [Eternal Evasion] is much greater than others."

Taking a deep breath, the young man said, word by word, "So, in fact, you back then, that is, you 30,000 years ago, were the most talented person in the entire universe, which is why you were able to attract the [Eternal Talent] to merge with you."

"And you, as a human, did not completely lose control after absorbing the heart and stomach of the Sun God King. This is unique in the universe, which is why you attracted the [Eternal Loss of Control]."

"In a sense, you and these two fundamental eternal credentials are actually mutually selecting and mutually achieving. If you weren't so talented, the three effects of the [Eternal Talent] wouldn't have been able to reach this level."