Unfilial disciple, do not ruin your master's dream of ascension and peaceful life.

Nothing unexpected happened for the rest of the day.

Ye Yinqiu is focused on learning Chinese. She learns characters very quickly. After all, if you don't have a good memory, you can't remember so many difficult techniques. She only makes mistakes in popular phrases and idioms, but she can get used to it gradually.

She didn't bother Qianjing at all. When Qianjing told her to solve the problem herself, she obediently complied, and even did a pretty good job. Qianjing had initially thought she might be ostracized by the girls, but surprisingly, they were all quite curious about her, and their relationship was alright.

Neither of them had classes that evening, so after they finished their dinners, they met up at Mixue Ice Cream near the school.

"Master, I have learned over five hundred Chinese characters, over thirty idioms, and over twenty proverbs today. I can now read and write simple characters from the upper realm!"

"Good, good, keep it up, study hard."

Qianjing rubbed her little head, and she hummed happily. What a human-shaped golden retriever!

"And what's more, we also asked them about the basic usage of this communication tool called a 'cellphone,' which is actually quite similar to the tokens our sect used to use!"

"Good job, you're very eager to learn. Here's a dessert for you."

Qianjing treated her to a Snow King Sundae that cost a few yuan each, which she ate with great relish; she was very easy to please.

"Master, shall we go home now?"

"Go find Xiao Zhi. She has a suitable training ground. Since I promised to take you to practice your superpowers tonight, I definitely won't go back on my word."

"Excellent!"

……

……

Lin Zhiyu has been away in the capital reporting and hasn't returned yet. Right now, the only person who can provide a suitable place for ascendants to train their special abilities is Ning Ruozhi.

Qianjing took her on the subway, got her a subway card (loaded with 100,000 yuan), and taught her how to go through security and how to read the platform map. She was a little flustered at first, but she quickly understood.

This was her first time taking public transportation, and she found it very novel. She looked around on the subway, and her outstanding looks attracted the attention of other passengers.

"By the way, Master, I've been curious before, in such a large district as Pujiang, are there only three of you ascended beings? Including me, there are only four?"

That's how it is right now.

"Is Sister Xiaozhi in category two, and Sister Lin in category one? Was Xiaozhi brought up by Sister Lin?"

"No, that's not it."

"Uh... so Sister Lin is a first-class ascendant, but she doesn't have any relatives in Pujiang? Sister Xiaozhi is a second-class ascendant, but her ancestor isn't here either?"

"They're all dead."

"…………ah?"

"Some things happened in the past that led to the deaths of Lin Zhiyu's family and Ning Ruozhi's ancestor. It was because of that incident that I got involved with them. I'll tell you about it another time... We've arrived."

……

……

The Four Triads managed some boxing rings and training grounds, which were usually used to hold competitive sports in the gray area. However, these things have become outdated in recent years, and Ning Ruozhi abolished them completely after taking over the gang (on the grounds that they were too violent). As a result, these places have become idle vacant lots.

Ning Ruozhi enthusiastically led them to a suitable location, an abandoned underground parking lot that was to be sold to a real estate developer in three months. Until then, they could use it freely, and she even provided them with a large number of sandbags and dummies.

Generally speaking, after an ascendant awakens, a vague outline of their superpower will appear in their mind, like a general summary, and the details of how to use it will need to be explored by themselves.

Ye Yinqiu changed into light sportswear, stood in the center of the field with a three-foot-long sword in hand, and a mannequin in front of him.

"My special ability is roughly... like this!"

She swung her sword and slashed at the ground with all her might. The ground was not damaged, but an invisible wave traveled at an extremely fast speed to the dummy ten meters away, instantly cutting it in half.

"Oh~"

Ning Ruozhi clapped her hands, just like a warm-hearted mother cheering for her child at a sports meet.

"You can make the impact force transmit through a solid medium like a sound wave?" Qian Jing saw through the essence at a glance.

"Yes, but it doesn't seem to be limited to solids."

She walked to another dummy and swung her sword at it. The tip of the sword grazed past its nose a few centimeters away, without making contact with its face, but a shallow cut was still left on its face.

"I see. Solid media conduct electricity better, while non-solid media like air attenuate rapidly?"

"It seems so."

"I see that the attacks you're transmitting all have a 'slashing' effect. Are there any other forms?"

"I've already tried it, only slashing attacks... like... hey!"

She distanced herself from the dummy, and this time, instead of using her sword, she slammed her palm into the ground, leaving another slash mark on the remaining half of the dummy's body, ten meters away.

"My attacks seem to only be delivered in the form of 'slashes,' leaving only slash wounds on the target."

"It's just like sword energy. I remember you used to be very talented in controlling sword energy, which is probably why you gained this superpower."

"Hehehe, thanks for the compliment."

"But the output ceiling doesn't seem high. It only depends on how hard you can cut with one sword. This isn't a physical enhancement type of ability, so the power you can unleash is limited."

"It seems I can 'store' a certain percentage of the attacks that hit me, and release them as 'slashes' when needed."

"Wow, awesome."

boom! ! !

In an instant, Qian Jing produced a gun and hit Ye Yinqiu in the stomach. The large-caliber bullet sent her flying three meters before she crashed heavily to the ground.

Ning Ruozhi was speechless.

This man just shot his own apprentice without saying a word!

"It hurts...it hurts so much...why is it my stomach again...qwq"

Ye Yinqiu staggered to her feet, revealing a flat abdomen beneath her clothes torn by the bullet, with a noticeable bruise, as if she had been punched hard.

However, that's all.

The large-caliber gunshot, which should have pierced the abdomen, only caused this little damage.

"I understand. You can absorb most of the external force you receive, and then... show me?"

"Yes, sir!"

She placed her hand on the ground, and with a thought, a slash appeared on the solid cement floor with a "crack".

"Wow, it can absorb most of the external force it receives as energy and release it as a slash when needed? It's like a passive skill that greatly reduces damage and charges energy, combining offense and defense. Not bad at all."

"Thank you for the praise, Master. Look, it can even assist in movement like this!"

She stomped her foot, releasing a powerful strike that slammed into the ground, and the reaction force propelled her three meters into the air.

"Oh, not bad, not bad, you're already making good use of it so quickly."

"Hehe, Master, isn't your disciple amazing?"

"What you should be doing now is not being smug, but figuring out the limits of damage reduction."

boom!!!!

Without warning, Qianjing threw a huge fireball at his foolish apprentice, blasting her away!

"Cough...cough cough...Wh-what's wrong? It's so hot!"

Ye Yinqiu rolled on the ground. The shockwave from the explosion caused minimal damage, but she was left with multiple burns.

"It seems your damage absorption is limited to physical attacks; fire and ice attacks don't work. Let's stop here for today. Remember my advice: figure out your limits first, then consider how to improve. With Xiaozhi as your healer, you don't need to worry about dying."

"Yes...cough...yes! Thank you for your guidance!"

Ning Ruozhi, who was watching from the sidelines, was already terrified.

(Was Qianjing really this strict as a teacher...?)

--------

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Meanwhile, on the other side of the earth—

Eastern Europe, Kyiv Oblast, Vyshgorodsky District, Chernobyl—

In this city that once experienced the worst nuclear leak in human history, within a restricted area where radiation levels are severely exceeded, stands a cozy little villa that stands out starkly against the surrounding wasteland landscape.

In the opulent bathroom, the villa's owner lay in a rusty, dilapidated bathtub, the bathwater mixed with an expensive bath salt that cost thousands of dollars. In his left hand, he held a bottle of cheap liquor made with industrial alcohol, and in his right hand, he held an Almas caviar sandwich with a Landes foie gras sandwich. He looked at the old CRT television hanging on the wall, quite content.

Suddenly, the villa owner seemed to be in a daze, as if he had a premonition. He looked up in the direction of the east, then quickly finished the exorbitantly priced sandwich. His free right hand reached into the water and foam of the bathtub and pulled out an exquisite jade box.

This is the jade mechanism box that Lin Zhiyu brought to the headquarters of the Ascended Mutual Aid Association and handed over.

The villa's owner held the jade box up to his eyes and examined it closely, muttering to himself:

"It really is this thing... It was damaged... But it recovered immediately? Its ability is... Repair? No, it's definitely not that simple. This is quite interesting."

As the owner spoke, he tucked the jade box back under the foam and fumbled around for a while—pulling out the microphone of an old-fashioned landline phone with a broken cord.

"Hey... can you hear me? Hmm... that's right, give the Pujiang District of Haijing City some 'special attention,' got it?"