Ning Xuan digested the information she had just seen as she followed another staff member to the second floor. The spiritual power testing equipment needed to be calibrated before use. While she waited, the staff member handed her a booklet titled "The Awakening and Growth of Spiritual Power."
A nearby shelf was stocked with many copies of it, apparently a basic primer.
Ning Xuan quickly flipped through the booklet. She was discreetly gathering information about this world. She couldn't make any drastic moves; she needed to blend in peacefully.
The equipment was calibrated. Ning Xuan put on the spiritual power helmet connected to the device and felt a hidden stream of spiritual power probe her Sea of Consciousness. This spiritual power was very gentle and had no aggressive intent. It entered and exited her Sea of Consciousness lightly, the whole process taking less than a second.
"Congratulations, Miss. You have awakened your spiritual power and become a Spirit Controller. Your spiritual power has just awakened, with an initial Spiritual Power Value of 56 and a Level assessment of D-level." Ning Xuan had just read in the booklet that a Spiritual Power Value of 1-10 was F-level, 11-50 was E-level, 51-100 was D-level, and 101-1,000 was C-level.
Values any higher weren't recorded; they required testing at a higher-level facility.
"Since you've just awakened your spiritual power, your brain domain width cannot be measured at this time. Please go to your local information center in one month to have it tested. Your brain domain width is directly proportional to your future Potential Value, so please be sure to get it tested. After awakening your spiritual power, you will generally awaken a Companion Spirit within a year. During this time, please stay in a safe environment, maintain a nutritious diet, get plenty of sleep, and keep a positive mindset. We have detected that your information Light Computer is damaged. We have issued you a new one, and your personal information has been updated and saved. You can view it by tapping your left wrist," the staff member informed her with a professional smile.
Ning Xuan learned from the booklet that as long as one awakened their spiritual power, they could awaken a Companion Spirit and become a Spirit Controller. Among them, male Spirit Controllers excelled at combat, while females specialized in healing, spiritual guidance, and clearing negative statuses.
Spiritual Power Value increased with age after awakening. Generally, by the time a person's body was fully developed at age 18, their Spiritual Power Value would no longer increase automatically. Therefore, the age of awakening was crucial—the earlier one awakened, the higher their Potential Value. In addition, the initial value and brain domain width were key factors in determining one's final Spiritual Power Level.
Generally, children with potential would awaken their spiritual power before the age of fifteen. Anyone who hadn't awakened by then was considered to have no chance of ever doing so.
"Ms. Ning, our systems show you have not yet registered your genetic information. According to Federation law, anyone who awakens their spiritual power must register their genetic information in the gene bank to participate in genetic matching. During the initial registration, the main computer will screen for Contractors with a compatibility of 90% or higher for you. Don't worry, there usually aren't any. This is just to register your information and prepare for finding a Contractor in the future. A Contract can be formed with a compatibility of 60% or more, and a Contract is mandatory for compatibility of 90% or higher. Please cooperate!" A team of staff members in uniform found Ning Xuan as she was about to head downstairs.
Ning Xuan was taken to the fifth floor, where a vial of her blood was drawn and placed into a large glass container.
Ning Xuan had only wanted to check her personal information; she hadn't expected it to be so complicated. 'What's this genetic matching? And what are Contracts and Contractors? And Companion Spirits?' She was completely baffled, feeling like there was so much common knowledge she needed to learn. Annoyed at the thought, she headed for the first floor, walked up to Lin Mo, and clapped him on the shoulder. "Weren't you going to see me out? Let's go!"
Lin Mo was in the middle of doing something on his Light Computer. Her pat made him jump. He nervously clasped his hands behind his back, stared straight ahead, and stood ramrod straight with his chest puffed out.
"Why are you so nervous? And why is your face so red?" Ning Xuan frowned. He looked off, like someone who'd been caught doing something they shouldn't have.
Lin Mo thought about the message he had just received on his Light Computer, a complicated feeling welling up inside him. 'I just saved a random person, and it turns out I brought back a whole lot of trouble.' He secretly sized up the girl, who wasn't even an adult yet. She was 17, having just awakened her spiritual power with an initial D-level assessment. While not low, at her age, her spiritual power had no room for natural growth. Female Spirit Controllers weren't skilled in combat and couldn't increase their spiritual power through battle. To level up, she could only rely on Spiritual Power Potions. But even with a supply of top-tier Spiritual Power Potions, her growth would be incredibly slow. It was uncertain if she could even break through to B-level in the next twenty or thirty years.
"It's nothing. Let's go! I'll see you out, I'll take you back!" Lin Mo subconsciously bowed and gestured for her to go first.
Ning Xuan gave him a strange look. She felt that in the few minutes they'd been apart, Lin Mo's attitude had become much more polite, even respectful.
Just as Lin Mo led Ning Xuan onto the spaceship, her Light Computer chimed several times. DING! DING! DING! She tapped one of the messages open and saw it was from the main computer: *Congratulations! You have been matched with a Contractor with 97% compatibility. A mandatory Contract has been established for you. The other party's Spiritual Power Level is far higher than yours. They have opted to use High-Level protection, and their information cannot be disclosed to you at this time!*
"What does a mandatory Contract mean?" Ning Xuan asked him after reading the message.
Lin Mo's heart leaped into his throat. He certainly didn't think Ning Xuan was genuinely asking what a mandatory Contract meant; he thought she must have figured something out. As he broke out in a cold sweat, unsure how to respond, Ning Xuan seemed to notice his reluctance. "Never mind. I'll look it up myself!"
Ning Xuan opened the search bar on her Light Computer and began looking things up herself. She searched for everything from what a mandatory Contract was and the conditions for it, to whether there were ways to break a Contract, to why the other party would use High-level Spirit Controller protection to avoid revealing their information, and how long such protection could last. After reading through all the information, Ning Xuan fell silent. She opened the messages she had received. There were five in total, with compatibility ratings ranging from 92% to 97%. Four used High-Level protection, and one used special position protection. Without exception, all of them refused to disclose their information.
In other words, while they couldn't refuse the Contract, they could delay the time until it became official. The main computer had matched her with five Contractors with over 90% compatibility, but all five of them had collectively rejected her.
Thinking about the Federation's Contract system, Ning Xuan felt she could understand their decision.