Chapter 190: High Academic Credentials Don

"Modern medicine?" Although Tina herself did have medical expertise, it was hard for her to truly connect modern medicine with supernatural abilities.

In response to Tina's confusion, Feng Xue offered no explanation; instead, he snapped his fingers lightly, and a cool breeze surged forth once more.

"Watch out!"

Although the three middle-aged men just healed still didn't fully understand the situation, they clearly sensed an ominous aura.

Before they could even activate their abilities, Feng Xue merely pointed a finger—and all three froze in place, as if they'd lost consciousness.

"Mr. Feng!" Tina's reaction was half a beat slower than the three frontline combatants; only when she realized what had happened did she rush to plead for them, but Feng Xue merely waved his hand and said:

"It's fine—just a minor illusion spell, no big deal. Let's focus on your ability first. If you're still uneasy, you can always ask your deity."

As he spoke, Feng Xue suddenly opened his palm—and only then did Tina notice a wriggling earthworm resting there, having appeared without her noticing.

Tina showed no trace of the typical girl's fear of insects; instead, she was deeply curious how Feng Xue had caught this worm.

"Just like before, when moving the patients—it's simply the Moon's authority!" The little bell's voice surfaced in her mind, yet Tina grew even more puzzled:

"Why can the Moon move objects remotely? And this illusion… really no problem?"

"The illusion is a dream-related power tied to the Moon. As for moving things? It's gravity, of course! Honestly, this is a divine authority that only emerged in modern times! You're a modern person—surely you know the Moon's gravitational pull affects Earth? Not just gravity—even the rabbit's ability to cause pregnancy by gazing at the Moon! Ever heard of 'licking the whiskers while gazing at the moon and conceiving'?"

"Huh?" Tina's heart jolted; she hastily adjusted her gaze, moving the Jade Rabbit statue out of her peripheral vision. Feng Xue, however, paid no mind to her thoughts—he continued embodying his role as a "Divine Path elder":

"Just run an experiment!"

With that, he pinched the earthworm into two halves. Seeing this, Tina immediately understood his intent and activated her ability, ready to envelop one half.

But Feng Xue stopped her—

"I didn't ask you to heal half. Try using your ability to turn the worm back into one whole worm."

"This…?" Tina had never tried this before. She could only press the two halves together to keep them still, then enveloped them with her ability—but each half grew a new segment independently, showing no sign of rejoining.

Seeing this, Tina frowned slightly; a spark of insight flickered in her mind, but she couldn't grasp it.

Feng Xue, using his spiritual sight, observed her casting motion. He pulled a paper box from a drawer, placed both worms inside, then cut another one in half.

This time, Feng Xue didn't hand the worm to Tina. Instead, he pulled out a suturing kit, ignored alignment entirely, and crudely stitched the two halves together like mending clothes. Then he said to Tina, whose eye twitched slightly:

"Try again."

"Alright…"

Tina activated her ability once more—but this time, something was different. Watching the worm rejoin, she felt her own ability, which she'd used for over a decade, suddenly feel alien.

In truth, this rejoining should've been normal—she'd performed limb-reattachment surgeries on organization members before. Yet the fact that the two halves had healed separately still unsettled her.

She wanted to ask Little Xiao Lingdang—but the goddess, who had always answered her questions since their connection formed, now remained silent. Feng Xue also said nothing; he simply pinched another worm in half and said:

"Try again."

"Will it change?" Tina didn't understand, but she obeyed. This time, the result utterly shocked her.

The two halves didn't heal or split into two worms—they twisted, grew grotesquely, and became a malformed, unsettling mass.

"Why is this happening?" Tina's voice trembled with fear; she'd healed countless comrades—what if…

"Don't overthink it. It's simply that your intent has become unclear." Little Xiao Lingdang's gentle voice dispelled her panic. Tina took a deep breath, steadied herself, and met Feng Xue's gaze again.

"It's simple—votive power… what you call faith—is precisely this 'manifesting wishes' ability."

Feng Xue spread his hands. With the cool breeze, the grotesque mass of worm vanished instantly, leaving only the crudely stitched one. This time, he didn't even pinch it—he simply pulled, and it split cleanly at the suture.

Watching the wriggling worm, Feng Xue said:

"Try again. But this time, think in your mind about sewing it together. Yes—not healing. Think sewing. Understand? You don't need to picture sewing a worm—think of suturing a rat's tail from med school. If you still can't, let your deity help you."

"What's the point of this?" Tina didn't understand Feng Xue's meaning, but Little Xiao Lingdang replied:

"I can't answer that question. I can tell you this: try what he says. If you can't, I'll help you."

"Like this?" Tina took two deep breaths of the air thick with worm odor, emptied her mind as much as possible, then recalled her memories of suturing practice in medical school. The hazy memory sharpened—before she even realized it, she saw the worm restored to one whole creature, imperfect but…

"So little cost!"

While healing a single worm wasn't taxing, she knew full well that this time she hadn't even concentrated her will.

But… why?

Seeing Tina, who had seemed quite intelligent, now wear the blank, naive expression of a college student, Feng Xue sighed:

"Your so-called faith-based ability is essentially the manifestation of desire and innate talent. In short: when you awakened, whatever you wished for or were naturally skilled at became your ability. When you developed this power, you had some level of modern medical knowledge—so naturally, your ability leaned toward your understanding of modern medicine. In other words, it shouldn't be a 'magic' where you just throw a bundle over a wound and let it heal itself. It must be actively guided: thinking through stopping bleeding, aligning, suturing, bandaging—each step must be consciously performed to activate it."

(End of Chapter)