Chapter 50 - Talent—Malice Detection

Translator: Atlas Studios  Editor: Atlas Studios

By the end of the evening, Lin Yao was able to unleash his vital energy and slash a flying ice bird in the air. On the other hand, Yan Yan was also feeling quite satisfied. The pressure from another martial artist had forced her to become more focused. Overall, both parties had improved their skills.

Phew…

The sky gradually darkened and the school bell rang, signaling that it was dismissal time. Lin Yao stopped practicing and said, “It’s time. I have to go home.”

“Okay.”

After nodding, the two parted ways.

Lin Yao was surprised that he did not encounter any troublemakers on his way home. He felt somewhat disappointed about not getting a chance to use the Clear Mirror Sword-Drawing Technique for some heroic deeds.

Although Lin Yao had been beaten to a pulp by Yan Yan, that did not mean that he was weak. Yan Yan was very powerful. She was one of the top geniuses in No. 4 High School in the city. Lin Yao had topped the class but not the cohort. Furthermore, the top student in the cohort would only be eligible to join the top class, and Yan Yan was already one of the powerhouses in the top class. Therefore, it was not surprising that he had been defeated by Yan Yan. Nevertheless, troublemakers were not necessarily geniuses and might not beat him in a fight.

He was not afraid of other geniuses either. When it came to unlawful brawls, the initiator would always end up in jail, regardless of who the victor was.

In addition, the political background checks in this era were quite strict. Those who bullied the weak without a reason would not be allowed to join many colleges and companies. They might even face restrictions when applying for techniques.

‘I’ve not given it enough thought. It is only during chaotic times when martial artists are in power that people will start a fight mindlessly. In a stable society, one will be messing with their future seriously if they randomly pick a fight.’

Shaking his head, Lin Yao took a turn and headed directly to the Abnormal Ability Department. His second combat skill had arrived.

‘Deafening Thunder Roar. After learning this, I’ll really become unbecoming.’

There were no hiccups in the handover process. The powerhouse who guarded the Heavenly Mirror was only aware that Lin Yao had applied for a combat skill again but did not know the specifics. Naturally, he could not offer Lin Yao any words of advice.

As the mirror reflection appeared, all the information on Deafening Thunder Roar was mapped into Lin Yao’s mind.

‘The Deafening Thunder Roar has the power to terrify… Di Qiang, this duel will be interesting. If you close your eyes and focus on using your hearing when I draw the sword, you will get a surprise.’

The training of Deafening Thunder Roar required the thunderous vital energy seed. Lin Yao didn’t have that, so he naturally could not cultivate it. In addition, the Leaf of Heaven Punishment that he had applied for would not arrive until tomorrow. Therefore, Lin Yao had some time to spare and headed to the orphanage again.

The children in the orphanage were already on the right track studying-wise. Lin Yao merely assisted by clarifying their doubts and bringing some rewards to motivate them. Therefore, he was not that busy.

While the children were learning and playing, Lin Yao could even find time to practice his martial arts. Of course, he practiced the Sword-Drawing Technique.

In the end, Lin Yao also invented a new game: He got the children to throw balls at him. He would remain in the circle he had drawn on the ground and would either dodge or slash at the small balls flying toward him on the spot.

“Form groups of three. You’ll get a reward if you hit me.”

“Okay, Big Brother.”

…

He’d had mutual training with his best friend, Zhang Heng, as well as with Yan Yan, and a group of children in the orphanage. Lin Yao had been practicing the Sword-Drawing Technique for the entire day, and his efforts were not in vain.

[First move of the Clear Mirror Swordsmanship (Gold) (Proficiency 23%)]

Lin Yao had increased his proficiency by 13% in just one day. He believed he could achieve real success in the long run. When that time came, he would be able to have a showdown with others even without using the flashing Sword-Drawing Technique. And if he were to realize the profound meaning, the Sword-Drawing Technique would become Lin Yao’s most powerful offensive ability.

‘In order to succeed, besides having opportunities, a martial artist also needs to strive hard.’

Lin Yao got home, feeling fatigued. He briefly washed up and then went to rest. He followed the same schedule the next day.

He trained and cultivated without rest the entire day.

In the evening, Lin Yao was deep in thought while he headed home after school.

‘The competition of the cohort will be held the day after tomorrow. Fortunately, I’m getting the Leaf of Heaven Punishment today.

‘Furthermore, in addition to the Leaf of Heaven Punishment, my Tree of Light is going to advance soon.’

With this thought in mind, Lin Yao glanced at the progress bar of the Tree of Light.

[Tree of Light (Seedling 900/1,000)]

‘Tomorrow morning, the seedling of the Tree of Light will become a sapling. I’m also not sure what kind of abilities it will bring me.’

Feeling hopeful, Lin Yao arrived at the Abnormal Ability Department. This was a gold item, so it could not possibly be delivered to Lin Yao’s house directly.

What surprised Lin Yao was that the person guarding this precious resource in the Technique Chamber was still the same middle-aged man.

After handing the box to Lin Yao, the man left. Lin Yao held the box in his hand and sighed.

‘Leaf of Heaven Punishment, whether I place first or last in this competition will depend on you.’

Feeling emotional, Lin Yao did not return home. Instead, he found a remote place, opened the box, and took out the meticulously-stored leaf.

In this place , without the slightest hesitation, Lin Yao transmitted the green energy accumulated in his mind to the leaf through his arm, activating the characteristics of the Leaf of Heaven Punishment. When the leaf was completely activated, Lin Yao absorbed all the essence and genes the leaf contained.

He closed his eyes and looked inside himself, only to discover that the essence of the Leaf of Heaven Punishment had already been integrated into the second cartoon sapling in his mind and the green energy had transformed into a fusing agent to accelerate the integration process.

The speed of integration was very fast. After a few breaths, opposite the pure, white Tree of Light, a seedling with purple lines appeared in Lin Yao’s mind.

As soon as this sapling emerged, his system interface was updated.

[Ding. The host has consumed 100 grams of energy to plant the Tree of Heaven Punishment.]

Besides the system prompt, a new talent appeared in Lin Yao’s mind soon.

[Ding. Congratulations, you have planted a sapling of the Tree of Heaven Punishment and gained the ability to detect malice.]

[Malice Detection LV1: The Tree of Heaven Punishment is a manifestation of heaven and its tribulation. It has a set of rules for punishing enemies and villains. First and foremost, it will distinguish between good and evil and determine whether a person is your enemy. As the Tree of Heaven Punishment possesses the ability to detect malice, you will be able to detect anyone who harbors malicious intent toward you as soon as they are within a certain physical distance.]

“Uh…”

Upon seeing this ability, Lin Yao did not know what to make of it. He had wanted to obtain a thunderous ability and then unlock the gene lock with the country’s technology. The ability to detect malice did not seem that useful.

Of course, after the example of sunlight absorption, Lin Yao was not silly enough to think that this was a very weak ability.

Lin Yao believed that this ability was fairly good.

An open foe may prove to be a curse but a fake friend was even worse. There were numerous precedents of heroes who had died after being secretly sabotaged. This was a lesson for Lin Yao. The human mind was mysterious, and it was hard to distinguish between good and evil.

Malice Detection would save Lin Yao this worry. In the future, he would be able to detect the malice in the hearts of the ill-intentioned people who approached him. This ability was very useful.

Nevertheless, the thunderous ability was also very useful.

Fortunately, he didn’t have to worry.

‘I accumulated 4,300 points of green energy last week. Besides the 100 points of integration, I have another 4,200 points, which is sufficient for the Tree of Heaven Punishment to be upgraded.’

Ever since he had found out that he could attain energy points from the outside world, Lin Yao had been accumulating green energy points in preparation for using them during a breakthrough.

However, Lin Yao was not powerful enough and could not attain the capital needed to upgrade the seedling. Therefore, although he felt the pinch, he had to extract a huge amount of energy points and integrate them into the seedling of the Tree of Heaven Punishment.

Extracting green energy was better than extracting the spar because the Avedha-vasa green energy was of very high quality and could be directly absorbed by the Tree of Heaven Punishment after the infusion.

Upon getting the energy supply, the seedling of the Tree of Heaven Punishment grew at a speed visible to the naked eye. Of course, the green energy ball above the young sapling was also visibly shrinking.

4,200 grams, 4,000 grams, 3,600 grams, 3,000 grams, 2,000 grams… 1,200 grams.

By the time there were 1,200 grams of energy left, the small sapling of the Tree of Heaven Punishment had already grown to its limit. A purple, glowing cocoon enveloped the sapling as the latter began to level up.

‘From 4,200 grams to 1,200 grams. It has been reduced by 3,000 grams. That’s a lot.’