Chapter 12: Flowing Petals

“Jiang Jian!”

Ji Ming sighed again, “Such a beautiful junior, and you just ignore her…”

Jiang Jian bought a bowl of spicy braised pork knuckle rice, sat down, and ate quietly.

Ji Ming kept rambling, “That junior just now was incredible—such a figure, such a face, what a waste!”

At that moment.

A pleasant fragrance drifted into his nose.

Ji Ming immediately fell silent.

The girl sat down opposite Jiang Jian, carrying the same bowl of spicy braised pork knuckle rice, and smiled, “Senior Jiang Jian, hello, I’m Nie Zheng.”

“Hello, Classmate Nie Zheng.”

Jiang Jian offered a polite smile, then immediately returned to his meal.

Ji Ming stared wide-eyed and said, “Nie Zheng—that name sounds like a boy’s.”

Nie Zheng set down her tray, her fluffy twin tails falling aside as she smiled sweetly, “Can’t a girl have that name?”

Her friend sat beside her, glanced at Ji Ming, and said, “Commenting on someone’s name like that is very rude.”

Ji Ming stayed silent, embarrassed.

Nie Zheng looked at Jiang Jian and said, “Senior Jiang Jian, I have some cultivation materials that might be useful to you.”

She lifted her slender white wrist, holding it before Jiang Jian; her translucent identity device glowed faintly.

Jiang Jian’s chopsticks paused. He looked up at the girl across from him.

Two seconds later.

Nie Zheng lowered her eyes slightly, avoiding his gaze, and whispered, “It’s about the Divine Bestowal Ceremony, and the essential cultivation knowledge after the ceremony.”

Jiang Jian put down his chopsticks and said, “Classmate Nie Zheng, you’re…”

Nie Zheng said seriously, “Your annotated notes helped me a great deal, so I’d like to exchange them for these materials.”

Her hand remained outstretched.

“Fine.”

Jiang Jian raised his identity device and swiped forward.

Nie Zheng turned her wrist, her fingers brushing against his.

Her scented fingertips brushed past, cool and soft to the touch.

A mechanical voice chimed: “Sent successfully!”

Jiang Jian pulled his hand back, opened the screen, and scanned the document.

Nie Zheng blushed inwardly, gently biting her lip, recalling that fleeting moment.

Jiang Jian’s mind was elsewhere—he finished eating and stood up immediately: “Goodbye, classmate.”

Even on the way back to the dormitory,

Jiang Jian was thinking about the cultivation materials just received.

The document Nie Zheng sent contained a great deal of information.

It was even more detailed than the materials Zhou Chi had sent.

“So as long as you have enough Alliance Coins,”

“you can buy a Divine Bestowal stripped from someone else, and use it as a second talent for your own cultivation…”

Until now,

Jiang Jian had never encountered such vital cultivation knowledge.

The Divine Bestowal Ceremony opens the Shen Que point.

It enables one to cultivate.

This is the “Divine Bestowal Realm.”

Every adult is in the Divine Bestowal Realm.

Although only the recipient can use their Divine Bestowal talent,

if the recipient goes to the Prayer Temple in their provincial region and undergoes the Stripping Ceremony,

they can relinquish their Divine Bestowal talent, turning it into a glowing orb.

That orb is the Divine Bestowal that can be traded.

Afterward, the recipient becomes utterly useless, unable to cultivate ever again.

The Stripping Ceremony resembles the Divine Bestowal Ceremony.

It requires the recipient’s voluntary consent to proceed.

Thus, many ordinary people who received excellent talents but failed to enter a Divine Bestowal university, and lacked resources for cultivation,

chose to sell their talents for Alliance Coins.

These are traded freely on the provincial official platform.

Countless traded Divine Bestowals circulate among them.

A Level 1 “Art” talent can sell for a staggering 100,000 Alliance Coins!

Even a Level 1 “Martial” talent fetches around 80,000 Alliance Coins.

The Shen Que point can hold only one Divine Bestowal talent.

But it does not exclude the recipient’s original talent.

In other words,

each person can possess at most two talents.

The first talent is the innate talent, which does not occupy the point.

The second talent is a purchased talent orb, placed into the Shen Que point for cultivation.

These,

are all basic cultivation knowledge.

But Guangling City is too remote.

Most people, after the Divine Bestowal Ceremony, return to ordinary life.

They have no experience in active cultivation.

Thus, to Jiang Jian, this cultivation knowledge was entirely new.

“I have an unknown innate Divine Bestowal weapon—a wooden sword—considered a ‘Weapon’ talent.”

“After the Divine Bestowal Ceremony, one can still retain one innate talent.”

“Once the Shen Que point opens, one can purchase another talent orb and place it in the point for cultivation.”

“Therefore,”

“I can use three talents.”

“One more than others.”

Jiang Jian returned to his dormitory and carefully reviewed the materials Nie Zheng had given him.

“The materials say,”

“choosing the second Divine Bestowal is crucial.”

“Most people pair their second talent based on their innate talent.”

“If the innate talent is ‘Art,’ the second talent can be a powerful ‘Martial’—this is the most expensive combination.”

“If the innate talent is ‘Martial,’ the second talent can be a suitable ‘Intent’—this is also a good combination.”

…

Jiang Jian turned to the sample data attached to the materials.

The second Divine Bestowal,

after all, is merely placed in the point for cultivation.

Its importance pales in comparison to the innate talent.

The growth ceiling of the second talent is also limited.

“Even Divine Bestowal university students, unless they’re extremely wealthy, cannot afford good talent orbs.”

“The materials show,”

“ordinary Divine Bestowal university students can only afford low-quality ‘Body’ or ‘Mind’ talents to place in the Shen Que point—barely better than nothing.”

“Any talent orb, regardless of type,”

“if it has even slight utility, is astronomically expensive.”

“Even a Level 2 ‘Body’ talent, if functional, can sell for 100,000 Alliance Coins!”

As he flipped through the materials, Jiang Jian grew increasingly stunned.

“The importance of the innate talent is undeniable.”

“Obtaining a strong innate talent not only lays a solid foundation,”

“but also saves enormous Alliance Coins!”

“Each person can use only two talents.”

“If the innate talent is weak,”

“even with deep connections and money to buy an excellent talent orb,”

“place it in the Shen Que point as the second talent for cultivation,”

“it will still never feel as natural or effective as the innate talent.”

Jiang Jian closed the data, his eyes filled with thought.

Native talent is far too important.

If your native talent is Level One “Art” or Level One “Martial.”

After opening the Shenque acupoint.

As long as it’s paired with even slightly stronger second talent, its combat power will surge!

“Precisely because of this.”

“Only those with strong native talent are valued so highly.”

Many things that had once puzzled him now became clear as clouds parting from the sky.

“Unfortunately, I can’t connect to Anhezhou’s official platform right now—I can’t join any trades.”

Jiang Jian opened his identity device and looked at the screen.

The button to access Anhezhou’s official platform was grayed out.

“My identity device is only for a commoner in the Shadows District of Guangling City.”

“I lack the authority.”

“If I were a resident of Guangling City’s Shenzhao District, or a student at Shenci University.”

“I’d probably have the qualification.”

(End of Chapter)