Chapter 53: The Origin of Skills

The only thing that could make Ye Chen pull such a constipated expression, aside from discovering empty pockets while shopping, was this room full of books. For an adult who had never touched a book before, suddenly having a stack placed in front of him and being forced to chew through them was enough to break anyone. Of course, a few rare souls might grit their teeth and make up for lost knowledge, but Ye Chen, wild by nature, was not among them—at least not yet.

Yuanzi saw his reaction and immediately understood what was going on. With a sigh, she said helplessly, “The Chief said that nowadays, many people don’t like to study. The children in the inner city are better off—their parents force them into classrooms, and without graduating from an advanced academy, they can't shoulder important family responsibilities. But those who grew up in the outer city, I’ve seen their expressions, identical to yours. Truly, it’s a tragedy!”

Ye Chen frowned as he looked at Yuanzi, who was bemoaning the state of the world… How did her outlook suddenly become so grand?

Yuanzi casually pulled a few books from the shelves, not insisting Ye Chen read them, but muttered to herself, “Many of these books were painstakingly recovered and restored piece by piece from ancient human ruins by the Transcendent Bureau. They are symbols of a civilization. So, the Bureau’s efforts to promote what little knowledge remains are truly painstaking.”

Ye Chen could hear the heaviness in her tone. To save face for her, he didn’t immediately leave the area, but instead looked up at the book classification tags dangling from the ceiling.

Well then, I’ll reluctantly take a stroll through the adult section.

With this thought, Ye Chen wandered over to a bookshelf, and his eyes immediately lit up… Wow, the woman on the cover is dressed so scantily!

Suddenly, he felt he might actually have a talent for learning.

Just to be safe, he glanced around, a guilty conscience making him instinctively check Yuanzi’s position. Behind him, the baby-faced young woman was pursing her lips, giving him a sidelong glance and murmuring softly, “Men are only well-behaved when they're hanging on the wall.”

Ye Chen coughed lightly, withdrew his hand as if nothing had happened, and continued walking forward.

On the shelves, some books lay flat, others stood upright. His fingers brushed past the titles, stopping at one called “Compendium of Mutant Beasts.”

This is good—suits me, practical!

But as he pulled the book halfway out, his hand froze, and his gaze was drawn irresistibly to a horizontally placed volume beside it.

“Classic of Mountains and Seas?” he whispered.

What truly captivated him wasn’t the title, but the illustrations of exotic beasts on the cover. These creatures were vastly different from the mutant beasts of the wilderness, yet bore a mysterious resemblance to the carvings around the task board.

Could it be that the abilities I gained are related to the beasts in the Classic of Mountains and Seas, including Breath Arts and the Keen Eye on the Back?

For a moment, he was both terrified and exhilarated, unable to suppress the excitement of possibly discovering the source of his powers.

Pages rustled as Ye Chen flipped through the book, matching the annotated illustrations to the bizarre creatures inside: demon beasts, fierce beasts, auspicious beasts, spirit beasts, sacred beasts, divine beasts.

In the demon beast section, he found an entry for a creature named Bo Yi, described as having nine tails, four ears, and eyes on its back. Wearing its skin would grant one fearlessness.

Keen Eye on the Back!

Ye Chen’s heart tightened; his suspicion was confirmed.

At the demon beast level of Breath Arts, I must have acquired its ability!

Yuanzi had been silently observing him for some time, watching as his demeanor shifted—from casual indifference to sudden alertness, then to shock.

The next moment, Ye Chen turned to her, breathing heavily. “I’ll take this book. Oh, and this one too,” he added, referring to the half-pulled “Compendium of Mutant Beasts.” He threw in, “Before joining the Patrol Bureau, I was a wild hunter.”

Yuanzi raised her eyebrows, but didn’t comment, finding his reaction quite reasonable after all.

…

They continued to the next area, Yuanzi chattering away with explanations, while Ye Chen’s mind was filled with the contents of the book—wondering if he could find an excuse to end this tour.

Just then, Yuanzi’s cheerful voice rang out ahead, “The next thing, you’re sure to be interested in—or rather, all Awakened ones crave it.”

“Huh? What is it…?” Ye Chen asked absentmindedly.

“It’s something that can increase the Inner Essence value for Awakened.”

“What?!”

Ye Chen’s heart tightened again, pupils contracting. He’d just heard something that overturned his understanding.

On this continent, weren’t Awakened supposed to have no way to upgrade? How could the Transcendent Bureau have such a thing?

His mood was now beyond stormy—one shock followed another.

He was convinced this would be the grand finale of his visit.

Yuanzi turned and saw Ye Chen rooted in place, urging him, “Come on, hurry up! What are you standing there for?”

Ye Chen quickly followed her into another room.

This room’s door was much heavier than the previous glass sliding doors, which looked like they could be smashed with a punch. Its weight underscored its importance.

Inside were display platforms covered with semi-spherical glass domes.

Ye Chen believed that, with his current strength, he couldn’t break these glass covers.

On the platforms lay stones of various sizes—some as big as a head, some smaller than a pearl—all radiating dazzling halos.

Ye Chen looked at Yuanzi in confusion.

Yuanzi seemed to relish the satisfaction of enlightening others, cleared her throat, and said, “These stones are among the greatest discoveries of the Transcendent Bureau. They’re called Inner Essence Raw Stones, found accidentally while mining other minerals. Each contains a mysterious energy. After much experimentation, the Bureau found a way to extract this energy and inject it into Awakened, raising their Inner Essence value. They’re not associated minerals, so they can appear in any mine, though the odds are extremely low.”

“Now, whenever one is found, it can be sent directly to the Bureau. We evaluate and quote a price, though some are consigned here. But the catch is, you never know how much energy is inside until it’s extracted. All you can do is judge by the radiance on the surface—it could be a lot, or just a trace.”

Yuanzi smiled helplessly.

“In fact, this troubles the Bureau as well. We still can’t accurately measure the content of a raw stone with current technology.”

Ye Chen asked, “So why not simply sell the extracted energy?”

His logic was sound—since no one knows the exact content, selling the product would please everyone.

“Sigh!” Yuanzi spread her hands and said wistfully, “You think we don’t want to? We’ve been trying. But it’s really strange—no matter what container is used, the extracted energy dissipates completely within three days. After three days, it’s gone, as if the world absorbs it somehow. So after extraction, it has to be injected quickly.”

“See that one with the strong glow?” Yuanzi pointed to a stone radiating a brilliant light. It was about the size of a fist, with a thumb-wide, dazzling seam in the middle.

Ye Chen nodded, eyes fixed.

“That bright spot has already been sliced very thin. According to the elders, a slight poke could cause all the energy to leak out. So the rest of the stone hasn’t been cut, for fear that vibrations might break the front section as well. They wait till a buyer is ready for extraction.”

“Also, these Inner Essence Raw Stones aren’t traded here, but auctioned publicly. You get what I mean now.”

Listening to Yuanzi’s explanation, Ye Chen’s expression grew heavier.

He quickly realized the truth: it wasn’t that people couldn’t resell these stones quickly, but that they enjoyed the thrill of extraction.

In reality, they were gambling.