Chapter 158: Elemental Affinity

"Ouch! Brother Sixun, what are you doing?!" Gu Zhenwei asked angrily as he glared at Qiu Sixun.

Noticing that Qiu Sixun was staring thoughtfully at the red crystal core, Ye Xuan asked, "Sixun, what’s wrong?"

Tearing his gaze away from the red crystal core, Qiu Sixun looked at the others. "I see it."

"What did you see?" Ye Xuan pressed.

Pointing at the red crystal core, Qiu Sixun explained, "Whenever Zhenwei’s fingertips touch this red crystal core, I can see a strand of red mist emerge from it and seep into his finger."

The moment he said this, Ye Xuan and Ru Jianxiao turned to look at Gu Zhenwei at the same time.

Under their intense gazes, Gu Zhenwei subconsciously leaned back. "W-why are you guys looking at me like that?"

Hearing his question, Ye Xuan and Ru Jianxiao exchanged glances. Seeing the same realization in each other’s eyes, they turned back to Gu Zhenwei.

Sitting on the couch, Liu Yun silently watched everything unfold.

As she looked at Ye Xuan’s and Ru Jianxiao’s thoughtful expressions, she thought, ’System, I have a feeling that Gu Zhenwei might have the talent to awaken a fire-element ability.’

Two seconds later, the System’s mechanical voice rang in her mind. [Why do you say so, Player?]

’I’ve read a lot of fantasy novels, and most of them follow similar patterns when it comes to abilities. You said that the red crystal cores contain fire-element energy, and only Gu Zhenwei feels heat when touching one. Isn’t it obvious that he has the talent to awaken a fire-element ability?’

After listening to her analysis, the System responded, [Reading is indeed a good way to gather information.]

Liu Yun rolled her eyes at the System’s response before asking, ’System, since you know about these elemental crystal cores, you must also know how to use them, right?’

In response to her question, the System fell silent.

Just as Liu Yun thought it was going to pretend to be dead again, a transparent blue screen suddenly appeared before her eyes.

Ding!

[Purchasing Basic Ability Introduction Manual x1 for 10,000 Celestial Stones.]

[Confirm] [Cancel]

Seeing the notification, Liu Yun choked on her own saliva. "Cough! Cough! Cough!"

Her sudden coughing fit immediately attracted everyone’s attention.

Ye Xuan stood up and strode toward her. Sitting down beside Liu Yun, he gently patted her back.

"Are you all right? Why did you suddenly start coughing?" he asked worriedly.

"Cough! Cough!" Liu Yun shook her head but couldn’t speak just yet.

Growing more worried, Ye Xuan picked up the glass of water from the low table and handed it to her. "Drink some water first."

Liu Yun gave him a grateful look before quickly finishing the water. Afterward, she let out a sigh of relief and said, "Thank you, Elder Brother Ye."

Ye Xuan took the empty glass from her and asked, "Are you feeling better now?"

Liu Yun blushed slightly and nodded, feeling embarrassed. "I’m fine now."

Closing her eyes, she screamed inwardly, ’Ah! This is so embarrassing!’

Seeing that she had stopped coughing, Ye Xuan turned his attention back to the red crystal core.

Meanwhile, Liu Yun stared at the transparent blue screen floating before her with a dark expression.

’System, you are such a capitalist! How can you charge 10,000 Celestial Stones for a basic manual? That’s way too expensive!’

[Player, this is a limited-time offer. Are you sure you don’t want this manual? This is your only chance to purchase it.] The System asked emotionlessly.

Gritting her teeth, Liu Yun tried to suppress her annoyance. With no other choice, she finally relented. ’Fine! I’ll buy it!’

Using her mind, she pressed the [Confirm] button.

Ding!

[Congratulations, Player! You have obtained Basic Ability Introduction Manual x1.]

The moment the notification rang in her mind, a beam of light shot out from the transparent blue screen and plunged into the center of Liu Yun’s forehead. Before she could react, countless words flooded her mind.

Liu Yun closed her eyes and endured the headache as the contents of the Basic Ability Introduction Manual were forcibly transmitted into her brain. After a few seconds that felt like an eternity, the pain finally subsided, and she unclenched her tightly clenched fists.

Opening her eyes, she silently raised a middle finger at the System and cursed inwardly, ’System, you *%##@$^@$&!’

Just as she finished cursing, the System’s mechanical voice sounded again. [Player, please stop cursing and behave more civilly.]

’You—!#&(^%@%#(%’

Seeing that the System had censored her words again, Liu Yun decided to ignore it and focus on the contents of the Basic Ability Introduction Manual.

While Liu Yun read the manual in her mind, Ye Xuan and the others finished experimenting with the crystal cores.

Pointing at the red crystal core, Ye Xuan said, "So, we’ve confirmed that Zhenwei is the only one who can feel the heat from the red crystal cores."

The others nodded in response.

Qiu Sixun then pointed at the green crystal cores and added, "I can feel a gentle energy coming from these green crystal cores."

Turning to Lan Zuancheng, he continued, "As for Zuancheng, he can feel a sharp energy coming from the cyan crystal cores."

After listening to Qiu Sixun, Ye Xuan said, "I can’t feel anything from these crystal cores, but I can extract energy from the transparent ones. Based on what we’ve discovered so far, I think you three have the talent to awaken abilities."

"The red crystal cores should contain fire-element energy, while the green ones should contain wood-element energy. As for the cyan crystal cores, if my guess is correct, they contain the rare, mutated wind-element energy."

When Gu Zhenwei, Qiu Sixun, and Lan Zuancheng heard this, their eyes lit up.

Ever since they learned that Ye Xuan had awakened a spatial-element ability, the three of them had hoped that they might awaken abilities of their own one day. Now that they had heard Ye Xuan’s words, the hope and anticipation in their hearts grew stronger.

Clenching his fists, Gu Zhenwei looked at Ye Xuan with bright, eager eyes.