Chapter 943: Talent and Luck
According to the agreement, Xu Huo brought Ren Man inside, and Ren Man successfully began his Super Evolution, manifesting fragments of his Spiritual Realm. This was already his limit; the subsequent flexible use of the Spiritual Realm or the creation of Materialized Objects was temporarily beyond his reach.
Ren Man had expended considerable energy, but his spirits were high. He excitedly returned to the training base, greeted Gao Xiaoyan first, then entered the training room to have the staff test his mental power data. He couldn't maintain his mental power for long, but it was enough to measure the basic values. The results were good, exceeding 13,000.
With that, the part of the transaction that required Xu Huo's involvement was complete. Gao Xiaoyan smiled, "I didn't expect it to go so smoothly. Thank you for your help, Mr. Xu. We've already prepared a meal. It's still early, so why not eat before you set off?"
After several days of continuous travel, they indeed needed rest. If it weren't for the rush to clear the Instance, they could have stayed here to rest today.
Gao Xiaoyan led him to the rest area of the training base. Shangguan Xi and the others, along with the Living Sample, were already inside. These people had already replenished their energy. Seeing Xu Huo arrive, they stood up. "Are we leaving?"
"We'll eat first before we go." Xu Huo glanced at the metal cage in the corner before adding, "I need to rest for a while."
"That's only right." Shangguan Xi nodded repeatedly.
Soon, someone brought the food. Gao Xiaoyan said politely, "Normally, I should accompany Mr. Xu for the meal, but I still have some trivial matters to attend to. To avoid delaying Mr. Xu's schedule, I'll need to step away for a bit."
Xu Huo didn't say much. The training base staff all left, leaving only Shangguan Xi and the others in the room.
"Did he really succeed in Super Evolution?" Pan Qiao asked impatiently, barely containing his emotions. "Is there really a shortcut to Super Evolution?"
Regarding Super Evolution, Advanced Players usually know a thing or two. Even if they don't know much, they understand that Super Evolution is extremely difficult. The methods provided by other players are basically life-or-death opportunities, and you have to be lucky enough to encounter them. But even those high-risk opportunities aren't easy to come by, which makes Super Evolution seem even more mysterious and desirable.
Xu Huo was only a C-grade player, yet he could guide a D-grade player to begin Super Evolution. Didn't this prove that the threshold for Super Evolution wasn't as high as players imagined, and that it only seemed so difficult because they didn't know the right method?
Everyone in the room, including Teacher Ai, who had already left the game, listened intently.
"Have you looked into Super Evolution?" Xu Huo asked.
"Of course we have," Shangguan Xi jumped in. "We dream of Super Evolution. How could we not look for methods? But the methods mentioned on the Bounty Platform are too difficult, practically impossible to complete... Brother Xu, do you really have a method?"
Xu Huo glanced at him but didn't reply, continuing to eat.
If they had looked into it, they should know that the difficulty of Super Evolution is a fact. Ren Man's ability to touch the threshold showed he had talent. The fact that he quickly began Super Evolution under the Spiritual Field confirmed this. Calling him a genius wouldn't be an exaggeration. How could they think the threshold had lowered just because his player level was low?
Understanding his unspoken meaning, Shangguan Xi and the others showed varying degrees of disappointment, with Pan Qiao being the most obvious. He stopped eating and kept pressing, "Is there really no technique at all?"
"You can guide a second person to get started. You must understand Super Evolution better than the average person. Is the trigger for evolution really that high-risk?"
Everyone present knew what he was really asking. If the opportunity for Super Evolution was like what the Bounty Platform described—having to encounter Super Player battles or face unpredictable temporal-spatial dangers—then given Xu Huo and Ren Man's player levels, they definitely wouldn't have survived. Since they successfully evolved, there must be a special opportunity different from those, and that opportunity must follow some pattern!
"Pan Qiao!" Kuang Wenjun snapped. "Don't ask what you shouldn't!"
Pan Qiao was agitated. "It's not just for myself. Super Evolution is the only way for us to survive longer in the game... I can't protect you anymore!"
Kuang Wenjun's face darkened. She wasn't moved by his words. Instead, she said, "If you think I'm holding you back, we can go our separate ways after this Instance ends."
"Do you think I entered the game just to live longer?"
Zhu Feiyun clicked his tongue beside them, shaking his head, his expression showing mockery toward Kuang Wenjun.
After hearing Kuang Wenjun's words, Pan Qiao didn't seem too upset. "You saved my life back then. I said that if you ever faced danger, I would risk my life to save you. I meant what I said. I won't leave."
Kuang Wenjun lowered her eyes and said no more.
"A low-level player being able to start Super Evolution—the only chance is talent," Xu Huo said at this point, not deliberately hiding anything as the others thought. "You've done so many Instances. You must have encountered one or two with Mental Interference, or special Space or Time restrictions. For someone with talent, that's the opportunity."
"That's impossible!" Zhu Feiyun was the first to object. "If you could really start Super Evolution in an Instance location, there should be many..."
He stopped mid-sentence, then took a deep breath. "Being able to comprehend evolution while doing an Instance—that truly is a genius among geniuses."
There are countless Instances with special powers in the game, yet very few players have achieved Super Evolution through such "ordinary" methods. That's why more Advanced Players believe that the high-risk, luck-based methods have a higher success rate—some have indeed succeeded. It's a case of insufficient strength relying on luck. Compared to the seemingly insurmountable chasm of talent, the ethereal hope of luck still offers a glimmer.
Once again recognizing and affirming their lack of talent, everyone present felt a brief moment of dejection.
No one comforted them. They would have to digest it themselves.
"Let's eat, let's eat." Shangguan Xi was the most optimistic. "I just reached C-grade, and like Brother Xu, I have talent. I'll run into this kind of opportunity sooner or later. Maybe I'll have a sudden epiphany in the next Instance!"
Zhu Feiyun glanced at him and said from the heart, "You really have no shame."
Shangguan Xi stuffed food into his mouth. "Aren't you eating? This place is short on supplies. The next meal might not be this good."
That was the truth. Everyone started eating in earnest.
Xu Huo, who had never stopped eating during the conversation, was already full. He wiped the corner of his mouth with a handkerchief, stood up from the table, and sat down on a soft chair nearby. Looking at the cage placed across from him, he leaned back slightly, folded his hands in front of him, and began to ponder a question:
Who was the one that killed the Living Sample?
(Chapter End)