NOVPUBWhen the scholars of Fenggao City erupted in rebellion, a horse-drawn carriage slowly entered through the East Fenggao Gate.
"Fenggao is indeed bustling. I remember when my father left his post at Mount Tai, the difference from now is enormous. Chen Zichuan is only about as old as I am, yet his capabilities make me envious beyond compare," a young man dressed in white robes remarked to his younger brother with deep emotion.
"Cough cough, let’s go to the Library Pavilion. No matter what, I must see for myself the Library Pavilion that Chen Zichuan claims holds a hundred thousand volumes," the younger brother replied, his face pale as he looked up at his elder sibling, the brilliance in his eyes nothing short of shocking, "I’ve met Uncle’s requirements at last. This delayed our departure time, and I definitely don’t want to be Pang Shiyuan’s junior."
"Alas, Kongming, if you keep pushing yourself like this, you’re bound to end up in trouble sooner or later. Your talent is already unparalleled; why crave for the moment? Pang Shiyuan is just two years older than you, yet hardly different from you in ability. Why do you insist on suppressing him?" Zhuge Jin said with a wry smile.
Zhuge Jin’s brother was, in his eyes, the most terrifying youngster he had ever seen. To say his brother learned by observing and inferring was an understatement of the terror that his brother held. Zhuge Jin himself had awoken a Spiritual Talent at eighteen and was incomparably proud of it. Pang Shiyuan had awoken his talent at fourteen and already sent tremors through people. Yet now, sitting in front of him was a freak who had awoken his talent at twelve and within a single day, understood what his talents were!
"He’s too arrogant. I need to make him realize what reality is like," Zhuge Liang opened his eyes, a transformative brilliance flowing within them, causing Zhuge Jin to wryly smile.
This brother of his, intelligent and amiable since childhood, somehow never managed to get along with Pang Tong.
One reason was Pang Tong always felt that standing in front of Zhuge Liang, all his own brilliance was overshadowed by Zhuge Liang. The other was that Zhuge Liang excelled in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting; he had looks and scholarship; he advanced in astronomy, geography, and military strategy, as if he was an existence with cheats activated, a genius whom other geniuses could never peacefully coexist with.
In truth, Pang Tong was quite modest in front of others, but whenever he faced Zhuge Liang, he just couldn’t see eye to eye. Well, if they couldn’t see eye to eye, they shouldn’t mix together, but Pang Tong liked to trouble Zhuge Liang, who, equally refined and elegant, felt a King’s Way kind of satisfaction in overpowering Pang Tong whenever he saw him.
Not long ago, Pang Tong had awakened his Spiritual Talent, and then came to show it off. After that, there wasn’t much to say, as Zhuge Liang became what he is now on that very day. Clearly, Zhuge Liang, provoked by Pang Tong, had awakened his Spiritual Talent too early, resulting in his current inability to withstand his god-like talent.
Zhuge Jin was beyond envious of his brother’s Spiritual Talent. As soon as it was activated, it automatically embraced all of his side’s talents, regardless of whether they were passive or active, civil official or military general. As long as they were comrades, Zhuge Liang’s talents would directly max out. After seeing this talent, Zhuge Jin had an epiphany: perhaps the heavens really intended to deliver an all-rounded, omnipotent genius.
Considering this talent, Zhuge Jin knew the sky was the limit for his brother’s future. The more powerful his teammates, the stronger Zhuge Liang would become. Just think of the historical figures, the Five Tigers, Chen Dao, Wei Yan at the front, Dragon and Phoenix Law and Jiang Wan following behind in that incredibly luxurious lineup. How fierce Zhuge Liang would become! And then consider how weak he ended up later in the Shu Region without any great generals, with Liao Hua as the vanguard—could this really be the same person?
Of course, it was the same person. However, in the early stages, the buffs he carried could practically slay gods. Later on, he had empty buffs, and his opponent was still the monster Sima Yi, who sealed talents and matched wits. The extent to which Zhuge Liang could fight under those conditions proved he was incredibly strong already.
As Zhuge Jin admired Zhuge Liang, Zhuge Liang himself was inwardly wryly smiling. If given a choice, he would definitely not have awakened his talent so early. But at that time, spurred by Pang Tong’s taunt, he impulsively forced the awakening of his talent, and although he now possessed a Spiritual Talent, the pressure on his spirit was too intense. Heaven only knew how he could have awakened such a burdensome pit of a talent!
Alright, the spiritual talent that seemed monstrous to others was nothing but a failed awakening trap to Zhuge Liang. First, in order for Zhuge Liang to use this spiritual talent effortlessly all day every day, he figured he’d have to be around twenty-five or twenty-six to possess the necessary spiritual capacity! Second, this spiritual talent comes with a heavy price; it shortens one’s lifespan, which others might not sense, but could the calculating Zhuge Liang not know?
Zhuge Liang estimated that bearing just one spiritual talent like Pang Tong’s was his limit; any more would start to reduce his lifespan. Although not by much, losing any lifespan at all is still troubling!
Realizing this made Zhuge Liang feel like a string had snapped in his head, as he couldn’t believe he had momentarily fallen for Pang Tong’s teasing.
At this thought, Zhuge Liang had the urge to strangle Pang Tong. A normal awakening would have meant sufficient spiritual capacity and no loss of lifespan—that would’ve been the perfect talent fitting his image. Now, this was clearly a flawed product! He was infuriated by Pang Tong!
"Is Kongming still feeling uncomfortable?" Zhuge Jin, seeing Zhuge Liang looking somewhat distracted, thought that his body had not yet recovered and thus asked.
"It’s nothing serious," Zhuge Liang shook his head slightly, "as long as I don’t activate my spiritual talent for extended periods, there will be no problems. However, I am quite curious whether the spiritual power circulating above the sky dome is too vast; it’s obviously a kind of spiritual talent, yet I can’t use it."
"It is likely the spiritual talent of some official from Fenggao. It’s normal that you can’t use theirs; we aren’t allies, nor are we on the same side," Zhuge Jin said with a smile, "Use a little less of your power. You awakened too early and it’s too strong."
"It’s different; I can’t use it at all, not that I can’t use it because of restrictions." Zhuge Liang looked up, focusing on the carriage roof above him, his eyes as if they could see the spiritual power circulating in the sky dome.
"You mean completely unusable?" Zhuge Jin was taken aback; if he wasn’t mistaken, that meant even if they were on the same side as the one with the activated spiritual talent, it wouldn’t be possible to use it, right…?
"Yeah, I can’t use it. I am quite curious whose spiritual talent it is," Zhuge Liang said with interest, though without much surprise. In his view, there were many remarkable and unique people in the world; it was quite normal to encounter one or two talents that he couldn’t use himself.
"Let’s not dwell on these matters anymore; we’ll find out in time. Let’s do what we need to do. My uncle has agreed to our request, but moving to Jingzhou by the beginning of next year is already decided. I suppose you will be attending Lumen Academy then," said Zhuge Jin, dropping the pursuit of others’ spiritual talents, believing knowing his own was sufficient.
"Lumen Academy, huh? I am only interested in their library. Of course, if the Book Pavilion of Mount Tai really holds a hundred thousand books, I have ways to persuade my uncle," Zhuge Liang calmly stated, having no real interest in attending Lumen Academy. He didn’t want to encroach on Pang Tong’s territory; he’d rather have Pang Tong come into his domain.
If Chen Xi knew of Zhuge Liang’s thoughts, he would definitely print out tens of thousands of books overnight and make a spectacle on the day the library was opened. Unfortunately, he was unaware… (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, I invite you to vote for it and cast your monthly votes at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)
