The little girl's question snapped the beautiful matron back to her senses.
She hurriedly wiped her tears, smearing her whole face. Seeing her cheeks turned into a muddled mix of dust and tears, Yue Yang felt his eyes grow warm. He took a deep breath, calmed himself, and reached out to wipe her face.
But the matron blocked his hand, forbidding him to wipe her tears, and hurried out.
Yue Yang watched her disappearing figure and stood there for a long time.
"Third Brother, why is Mommy crying too?" the little girl asked curiously. She didn't press the question, though; instead she raised the big red pinwheel in her hand. "Look, isn't my pinwheel pretty? I bought it in the street. They also had delicious candied hawthorns, but Mommy didn't buy them… Third Brother, I want to ride a horned horse. Pinwheels spin faster when you're up high!"
Yue Yang broke into a sweat. This little one was far too mischievous.
Ride a horned horse?
Did that unlucky would-be-suicide guy often coax her like this? He mustn't let this little thing spot any flaws.
Hoisting her onto his neck like a steed was out of the question—what if she fell?
But there was no need to refuse a loli's request outright. Just transform into a "fun uncle." Yue Yang picked her up, quickly lifted her high into the air, then set her down again. She laughed and giggled, and after four or five lifts, the little girl was limp with laughter in his arms.
Ha, if a funny uncle wants to handle a little loli, that's easy.
Outside the door, the beautiful matron returned, face still damp from hastily washing away tear-stains. Yue Yang quickly put the little girl down.
But the little girl wouldn't have it; she insisted on clinging to him. The matron bent to scoop the little one up, joy spreading across her face. "Third, quickly—let Fourth Madam see what your talent and life guardian beast are… Third, I've always said you would succeed. Ah, at last! After so many years, you finally made it—Third, you've finally come into your own! Quick, open the Summoning Codex and let Fourth Madam see. Let me share in the joy!"
Talent?
And a life guardian beast?
As soon as Yue Yang wondered, knowledge like lightning flashed into his mind.
First, he realized: he had transmigrated. This was not Earth, but another world entirely.
On a land called the Dragon Soar Continent lived countless strong ones—led by three imperial households, four great families, and four great sects. Besides the emperors of the three great nations, there were the Feng, Xue, Yue, and Yan families, from which strong ones endlessly emerged. And beyond that, there were the mysterious four great sects—gatherings of many who pursued the Way and rarely meddled in worldly affairs, coming down from the mountains only once every three years to recruit the most excellent disciples.
Among all the strong ones, aside from the imperial and four great family descendants, only a rare few geniuses could successfully contract a special treasure: the Summoning Codex.
The advantage of the Codex was this: any holder had the potential to grow into a peak-level powerhouse.
Without it, the chance of reaching the peak was vanishingly small.
Yue Yang discovered this Dragon Soar Continent was almost purely a world of summoners.
No magic, no battle-qi—only summoning.
Summoning encompassed everything here: elemental summons akin to magic, enhancement summons akin to battle-qi, and beast summons akin to familiars… In short, summoning was as common in this world as schooling is for Chinese students. There were academies everywhere dedicated to teaching summoning.
Though nearly everyone could use summoning, not everyone could possess a Summoning Codex. On the contrary, its holders were extremely rare.
It was like this: among millions of students, those who could get into Harvard or Cambridge.
Everyone longed for a Codex, but it was the patent of a select few geniuses.
Upon successfully contracting a Summoning Codex, each holder would automatically awaken some personal talent and also receive a life guardian beast most suitable for their growth.
"Ah—okay—but I don't know what my talent is!"
With knowledge flashing in his mind, Yue Yang was curious. What talent had the Codex awakened in him?
He prayed silently: Please don't let it be instant noodles—or anything too connected to a homebody—if the matron saw that, he'd be done for.
The transmigrator Yue Yang opened the Codex's first page. At the top was his portrait.
He actually looked kind of cool.
Below, his level: Level 1 Novice Apprentice, initial rank.
After the novice line was a brief rank evaluation.
Novice Apprentice: You are among the weakest beings in the world. Fortunately, as a Summoning Codex holder, you still have hope of becoming strong.
Yue Yang rolled his eyes… The weakest are ants, okay? Even if he was weak, he was stronger than ants. This hurt his self-respect. Skipping the rank evaluation, he scanned the lower half: everyone's talent. According to the Codex's transferred lore, most people had just one talent; while a few overlapped, the vast majority of talents were entirely different.
Perhaps because so few possessed a Summoning Codex.
One look at his talent—and Yue Yang froze.
It wasn't instant noodles, or downloading adult videos, or playing eroge—it was a talent that made him sweat buckets.
To be precise, it was strange, rare, magical, and envy-inducing: a Twin-Star Talent. Usually, under the portrait, a single talent icon appeared. Yue Yang's talent icon was two merged as one—left and right combined.
On the left, a mysterious back view—clearly his own silhouette.
On the right, a face hidden in darkness. Without the left silhouette as context, it would be hard to tell it was him. The face was indistinct save for eyes gleaming like a wolf's. Most of the image was darkness and blur; only two starlike eyes shone.
What made Yue Yang sweat and almost go crazy was the evaluation of this Twin-Star Talent.
Disguise Talent: You are as cunning as a fox, as sinister as a viper, and as adept at blending in as a chameleon. Your entire image is filled with falsehood; no one can see through your heart. Your talent will strengthen as your level rises. Current talent level: 1.
Insight Talent: You have the eyes of an eagle, the sense of a seer. You see through the souls of living beings like Death himself. You possess insight that pierces all illusions and falsehoods. Your talent will strengthen as your level rises. Current talent level: 1.
"Holy—" Yue Yang nearly toppled over. Was he really that cunning and sinister?
Sure, when watching certain cavalry-themed adult videos, he'd try to see through thin censors—but every wolf does that.
As for eyesight, Yue Yang felt his wasn't that great. Once the actresses put clothes back on, he could barely recognize anyone besides Pirate King Sister Wu and Aoi, Yoshizawa—the Four New Kings of the New World. Beyond them, he couldn't tell many apart.
How did that count as keen insight?
As for disguises, he was even worse. He couldn't do makeup or disguise; at best, he could lie and fool people!
And honestly, who hasn't lied? Even kids—if parents ask who watched "love-action movies," who's silly enough to confess?
Such a Twin-Star Talent…
Yue Yang felt awkward enough to squat in a corner and draw circles.
"Third, even if you didn't have a talent, it wouldn't matter. As long as you work hard, Fourth Madam believes you will become a strong one like your father!" The matron's eyes reddened; her voice was choked with emotion as she comforted Yue Yang.
"Huh?" Yue Yang was stunned. He clearly had a Twin-Star Talent—why was she saying he had none?
Could she not see his talents?
Was the Disguise Talent a passive skill—always active without being used? No way… Yue Yang jumped up, pointing at the Codex's icons. He swallowed nervously to steady his heartbeat and asked, "Y-you—you can't see this icon? You really can't see the words here?"