[Insight]
Talent Quality: Purple
Description: An inexplicable connection exists between people and all things. Events interfere with one another. This talent allows you to perceive the connections between yourself and the world around you.
Effects:
1: You can perceive presences that are threatening or benevolent toward you.
2: You can sense danger before an interference results in a negative outcome.
Loading the [Insight] talent took an hour and a half. During the process, Yu Fei felt as if he were in a dream. He saw a bizarre, kaleidoscopic world filled with all sorts of lines, densely interwoven to form indescribable patterns.
When he woke up, he found the scenes from the dream rapidly fading from his mind.
Soon, all he could remember was that he had loaded the talent, and then the process was complete.
'How strange! I'm getting a little hungry. Time to eat.'
Yu Fei called his big sister!
"Hello? Sis, are you there?"
"Nope, I'm dead!"
"Wanna get some food? I'm sick of the hotel buffet after these past two days. Let's go get some hot pot chicken downstairs!"
"Not going. I need to sleep!"
"My treat!"
"Let's go!"
The Insight talent was very special. Yu Fei felt as if he had grown a new organ.
First was the ability to sense danger. If a person or object could potentially harm him, the source of danger would emit a radiation-like sensation similar to pain in his perception, a radiation that apparently only he could detect.
For example, a live power strip on the wall, a car speeding down the road, a knife, and so on.
It was as if the world had gained a new color that represented danger, and he just so happened to be able to perceive it.
If he was about to be harmed by that source of danger, then as it drew nearer, the spot on his body that was about to be injured would feel a prickling sensation. The greater the potential harm and the closer the moment of impact, the more intense the prickling became.
Finally, there was benevolence and malice.
When someone with good intentions approached him, he felt a warmth like sunlight. For instance, his sister, who was walking toward him now, felt like an electric space heater that had come to life.
Malice, on the other hand, felt like a cold, damp, chilling wind.
This talent was incredibly strong. Insight could ensure he wouldn't die from an accident or a sneak attack.
'No wonder that guy on the stage today had such absurdly high evasion. So he could sense any attack I was about to launch!'
"A great talent, and now it's mine. Nice!"
Yu Fei cheered to himself.
The main appeal of this hot pot chicken place was that you could cook vegetables in the broth after finishing the chicken, and crucially, the vegetables were free.
Yu Miao was full after just a short while, but Yu Fei had to call the waiter for three broth refills!
After their meal, it was still early. Yu Miao wanted to go back for her beauty sleep, while Yu Fei wandered around downstairs to walk off his food.
Thanks to the ongoing youth martial arts exchange tournament, the area around the Xinghuo Martial Arts Dojo was bustling with people. All sorts of small vendors crowded both sides of the street.
The air was thick with the lively spirit of everyday life, as bustling as a holiday festival!
「At two in the afternoon, Yu Fei and Yu Miao were waiting in the rest area right on time.」
Based on his observations over the past few days, most of the third-year high school seniors had reached the introductory level in five forms of the Six Harmonies Killing Fist. Many had even achieved Minor Accomplishment in one or two forms, and quite a few had reached Major Accomplishment. He still had no idea what level the nine seeded contestants were at.
Although the [Super Speed Reaction] talent, which came from the calico cat, was only Blue quality, its effect was incredibly powerful.
In particular, this talent massively boosted the effect of his [Superb Comprehension], giving Yu Fei enough time to grasp moments of inspiration during his training. This was the key to the rapid progress of his Cultivation Technique.
Jiang Yifan also possessed [Superb Comprehension], but the boost he received was less than a tenth of what Yu Fei got.
Wang Jiale won his match in the morning. Apparently, the kid was so excited he cried. In the afternoon, Wang Jiale's match was before Yu Fei's, so Yu Fei watched from below the stage.
Once Wang Jiale let go of his fixation on winning and losing, he found it easier to claim victory, and his tactics became much more flexible.
After winning another match, Wang Jiale was so excited he jumped up and down on the ring, and even his coach couldn't stop him.
Yu Fei gave him a thumbs-up.
Finally, it was Yu Fei's turn. This was his fourth match. His opponent was tall and powerfully built, visually estimated to be around two meters tall.
Usually, by the time people start learning martial arts, their physical development has mostly stopped. To be two meters tall at this age was a sign of extraordinary natural gifts.
Yu Fei activated the marking vision of the Defying Fate Pearl. A nondescript green gem appeared above his opponent's head—not worth copying at all.
Through the danger sense provided by [Insight], Yu Fei could detect a dangerous aura, but it wasn't intense.
At the referee's signal to start, Yu Fei cautiously stood on guard.
He had won his first three matches because he had avoided taking any damage. After all, his realm was lower than the other contestants; he couldn't afford to take a direct hit from anyone.
Kong Gang had a record of two losses and one win after three matches. He no longer expected to reach the finals and just wanted to gain more combat experience.
He had watched Yu Fei's second match. Although this opponent's martial arts realm was low, his practical combat skills were formidable. To be honest, Kong Gang wasn't confident he could win.
Kong Gang believed Yu Fei was especially good at exploiting openings during an opponent's attack to land a decisive blow, so he decided to adopt a defensive stance.
Seeing the big guy take up a defensive posture, Yu Fei moved forward to probe his defenses.
Kong Gang was very cautious, only defending and not attacking. He planned to rely on his far superior Qi Blood to wear his opponent down.
After a few exchanges, Yu Fei understood his opponent's plan.
'Have to admit, the guy had a good idea,' Yu Fei thought. 'A little too good, unfortunately.'
Kong Gang hadn't seen Yu Fei's match against Zuo Qiuming. Yu Fei's offensive power was actually immense; even Zuo Qiuming, a purple talent holder, hadn't been able to defend against it.
Seeing this, Yu Fei stopped probing. He activated Yin Stream Shattered Jade and a One-Character Pierce and charged in for the attack.
Just as expected, in no more than a few moves, Kong Gang was on the ground, tapping out with a "GG."
The big guy was having an existential crisis, replaying the beatdown in his mind.
'Was that five rotations in one strike, or six?
Defend my ass!'
He'd been completely bewildered by the movements.
「That evening, Yan Sea led them in a review of the day's battles.」
So far, only Yu Fei and Jian Dalong had perfect win records; everyone else had at least one loss. However, their "Valiant General" was looking a bit rough.
Jian Dalong was shirtless, with numerous medicated patches stuck to his face and body.
According to the coach, his opponent in the afternoon had been a girl. She practiced a rare claw technique, and her constant pulling and scratching had driven their "Valiant General" into a frenzy. He ended up ignoring the damage to beat the girl until she cried. The result was that he was covered in more wounds, his handsome face was marred, and he looked pretty pathetic.
The final match was tomorrow morning, after which the selection round would be over.
So far, there were 21 contestants from the Cyan Dragon Hall with four straight wins, and the Vermilion Bird Hall had a similar number.
One more win, and Yu Fei would secure the guaranteed prize of ten Vitality Elixirs. With those resources, he estimated he could pass the "Flesh Gate" by March of next year. If he did that, he might even be able to break into the second realm of martial arts before the college entrance exams, which would make getting into one of the "Seven Greats" a sure thing.
The Defying Fate Pearl's ability required opponents or enemies with outstanding talents. In the current martial arts world, enemies aside, the most talented individuals were certain to be found in the Seven Greats.
Yu Fei wanted to get into one of the Seven Greats. He needed a bigger stage.