Chapter 1: Incompetent Fang Chen
Chapter 1: Chapter 1: Incompetent Fang Chen
"The Superpower you awakened is... Time Stop!"
"Subject E20369T, congratulations on successfully awakening a Superpower."
Inside a secret room at the Jinchuan City Talent Evaluation Center, Fang Chen lay on the testing equipment, his body connected to tubes and cables. He stared at the words [Time Stop] on the screen ahead. His heart pounded wildly, and his fists trembled slightly from excitement.
Time Stop!
He recalled all the concepts regarding Time Stop from his past life on Earth; without exception, they were practically invincible abilities. No matter how heaven-defying one’s abilities might be, within the Time Stop Domain, they would be entirely at his mercy.
In stark contrast to Fang Chen’s excitement was the tranquil, unwavering voice of the Spirit Awakener standing nearby.
"Subject E20369T, don’t celebrate just yet. A Superpower’s side effect is the true key to determining its value." The Spirit Awakener adjusted his glasses and offered an example. "Many years ago, a young man awakened ’No Illness or Calamity,’ which was meant to be a rare luck-type ability. But its side effect was..." His tone carried a hint of helplessness as he added, "...that it only took effect after he died."
Intelligence regarding Superpowers had to be kept strictly confidential. The Spirit Awakener couldn’t say much more; he could only use this old example as a warning.
Hearing this, Fang Chen indeed calmed down quite a bit.
In this world, anyone who cultivated True Qi and stepped into the True Martial Realm by the age of eighteen would earn a single Spirit Awakening opportunity, granting them a chance to awaken a Superpower. However, the evaluation didn’t solely depend on the Superpower’s strength. Every ability was accompanied by a side effect. If the limitations of the side effect were too severe, even the strongest ability would be practically useless.
Evaluations ranged from the highest Tier Five to Tier One. However, the common folk had their own names for them: Superpower, High Energy, Low Ability, Incompetent, and Negative Energy!
Fang Chen adjusted his breathing, followed the instructions to circulate his True Qi, and fully stimulated the Spirit-Awakening Stone inside his body.
A minute later, the progress bar on the screen completed.
Both of their eyes locked onto the newly emerged text at the same time:
[Side Effect: When Time Stop ends, World Revert!]
"A revert?"
The Spirit Awakener frowned. "Your ’Time Stop’ has extremely high potential, but the ’World Revert’ side effect is an unsolvable problem.
"Once, a Superpower User awakened the ability [Seeing the Future], and its effect was also a revert.
"The nation’s higher-ups tried to use him as a medium to learn about the future, but countless attempts yielded no results. They later concluded that his memories had been reset as well.
"Therefore, any Superpower tied to a revert is incapable of achieving anything. I will contact an appraiser immediately to evaluate you. Please wait a moment."
He sequentially dialed five random internal numbers. This was part of the confidentiality protocol. The appraisers were unaware of each other’s identities and conducted remote deliberations based solely on descriptions, preventing any leaks of Superpower intelligence.
While waiting, Fang Chen’s thoughts raced.
He thought, "My ability is Time Stop, but the side effect is a World Revert when it ends.
"This means that everything done during the Time Stop will reset once it finishes. The dead will resurrect, all things will be restored... I won’t even be able to retain my memories?
"Doesn’t that mean it’s equivalent to not having a Superpower at all?"
Fang Chen felt heavy-hearted.
At this time, the Spirit Awakener had ended his communications. He turned around and announced the evaluation result: "Based on a comprehensive evaluation, your ability rating is—Tier Two."
Sure enough, it was Tier Two! The common folk called it Incompetent! The Superpower and its side effect almost entirely canceled each other out, resulting in an ability that provided no practical help!
The Spirit Awakener took out a pill-sized, round Crystal Stone glowing with white light and said, "Next, we will load your ’Spirit Core’ for you.
"Swallow this, and then follow the Guiding Technique I taught you. Use your Cultivation to refine it. You will then be able to see your specific information, as well as the Spirit Seal generated on your wrist."
Fang Chen took the Crystal Stone and swallowed it as instructed. He immediately closed his eyes to regulate his breathing, circulating his True Qi. About five minutes later, he successfully refined the Crystal Stone and clearly sensed the additional Spirit Core inside his body.
As his heart spirit sank into it, he could "see" a set of clear information emerge in his consciousness, like an extension of Introspection. Previously, he could also feel the state of his cultivation by circulating his Qi, but it was only a rough estimate, lacking accuracy. Now, the progress of all his cultivation and Cultivation Techniques was presented in precise numbers.
This reminded him of the "systems" commonly found in the novels of his past life. However, it didn’t come with any other functions; it was more like a simple status panel. Moreover, every successful Spirit Awakening recipient was equipped with one, so it wasn’t anything special.
"Rest assured, the Spirit Core can only be perceived by you. Outsiders have no way to pry into it, and we can’t look it up either," the Spirit Awakener explained. "Keep in mind, your Superpower itself must be kept strictly confidential. You must never speak of it to outsiders."
The Spirit Awakener removed all the tubes and equipment. "The Spirit Awakening is complete, you may leave now. On your way out, please call the next person in."
"Alright."
Fang Chen looked down at his wrists. A green tiger-shaped pattern had already emerged, looking like a natural tattoo. This Spirit Seal declared his identity. It grew from within and couldn’t be washed or scraped off. The tiger was the totem of the Great Zhao Kingdom, and green represented a Tier Two Superpower Master.
Fang Chen left the Talent Evaluation Center. He sank his consciousness into his body and activated the Spirit Core he had just loaded, which served as his own status panel.
[Age: 18]
[Qi and Blood Value: 78/78]
[Physical Strength Value: 47/47]
[True Qi Value: 25/25]
[Mana Value: 3/3]
[Physical Attack Power: 8]
[Physical Defense: 6]
[Magic Attack Power: 0]
[Magic Defense: 1]
[Current Cultivation Base: Mid-Stage True Martial Realm]
[Cultivation Technique: Righteous Qi Technique: Progress 53%]
[Fist Technique: Rock-Breaking Fist, Minor Achievement Progress: 92%]
[Swordsmanship: Lingxi Swordsmanship, Minor Achievement Progress: 85%]
[Body Technique: Gale Step Technique, Minor Achievement Progress: 69%]
Fang Chen searched carefully within the panel’s interface for a long time. After confirming that no other tabs like "Quests" had appeared, he closed the interface with a touch of disappointment.
The panel’s function seemed to simply provide a clearer understanding of his own status through numbers, while standardizing the names of various abilities. For example, "Lingxi Swordsmanship" was called the "Spirit Snake Sword" by some, while others referred to it as "Misty Swordsmanship," but this panel unified the naming convention. Aside from this, it currently didn’t seem to have any further use.
After studying his attributes, Fang Chen shifted his focus to his Superpower. Through the panel, he found the entry regarding his Time Stop Superpower. It displayed: [Uses: 1]. Next to it, there was a countdown timer reading [23:51:38].
Fang Chen thought to himself, "Can it only be used once a day? I just don’t know if this usage count can be accumulated."
Without realizing it, Fang Chen had arrived at school—Jinchuan Third University, Junior Year, Class Two. The moment he stepped into the classroom, a wave of noise washed over him.
"Yo, the class monitor is back!"
This week, Spirit Awakeners had come to Jinchuan City to conduct unified Spirit Awakenings for all Martial Artists who had stepped into the True Martial Realm at or before the age of eighteen within the past three years. Even though Fang Chen had entered this realm at the age of sixteen, he still had to undergo the process alongside his classmates who had just turned eighteen.
"Monitor, what tier of Superpower did you awaken?"
His best friend, Yuan Xiao, walked over with a cheerful grin. He had just turned eighteen this year and had barely stepped into the True Martial Realm, nearly missing the chance for a Spirit Awakening. He smugly flashed the inside of his wrist—there was a blue Spirit Seal there.
"It’s actually blue? That’s a Tier Three Superpower! Not bad at all, you punk."
A Tier Three Superpower was commonly known as Low Ability among the populace. This meant possessing a Superpower, but with substantial side effects, numerous limitations, or a lack of controllability.
"Hehe." Yuan Xiao leaned in and lowered his voice. "Old Fang, do you know what my Superpower is? Mine is—"
Fang Chen raised a hand to interrupt him. "Didn’t the Spirit Awakener tell you to keep it a secret?"
"Ah, come on, there are no secrets between us." Yuan Xiao brushed it off and instead leaned in closer to Fang Chen’s ear. "My Superpower is ’Teleportation.’"
Fang Chen looked at Yuan Xiao. "Teleportation? Not bad. Used properly, it’s incredibly practical for both initiating attacks and retreating."
However, looking at the blue seal, he knew the side effects had to be quite severe, so he didn’t plan on probing further.
But Yuan Xiao couldn’t hold it in and whispered, "Unfortunately, the side effect is that I can’t choose the direction I teleport in..."
Fang Chen looked at his disheveled and dirt-covered appearance and realized, "So, you’ve already used it?"
Yuan Xiao scratched his head awkwardly.
"I used it once... Damn it, I got stuck in the ground. Luckily, it wasn’t straight down, but at about a five-degree angle diagonally backward, so only my lower half was buried. I had to dig frantically for ages to get out.
"If I had been buried deep underground, you probably wouldn’t be seeing me again," he added with lingering fear.
Fang Chen looked at him helplessly, as if looking at a fool. "Dumbass, don’t be so impulsive from now on."
"Hehe. Oh, right, Old Fang, what’s your rating?"
Fang Chen rotated his wrist, revealing the inside.
Although it was just a conversation between the two of them, many eyes in the classroom were fixed on them. As he rotated his wrist, the green seal became clearly visible.
"HAHAHAHA!"
A burst of loud laughter immediately erupted in the classroom.
Fang Chen looked toward the source of the noise. It was Huo Ming.
This person had always harbored ill intentions. Relying on his martial arts training, he frequently bullied the weak, for which Fang Chen had disciplined him several times. As the gap in their cultivation realms widened, he had become increasingly afraid to cause trouble. Yet, his extraordinary arrogance today suggested he had awakened a decent ability.
Huo Ming also rotated his wrist, showing off a blue Spirit Seal. He stood up and strode over aggressively.
"Fang Chen, the tables have turned!
"You piece of trash! A Tier Two Superpower, the Incompetent Fang Chen! Your days of acting high and mighty are over!
"What bullshit ’Number One Martial Artist of The Three Greats’? I spit on it!"