Ye Yang couldn’t hide his feelings—whatever crossed his mind immediately showed on his face, which amused Yu Bei.
“Haha, don’t be nervous ^_^” Yu Bei even laughed out loud. “Recognizing every student’s talent is both my gift and my job.”
This was an innate ability of the Kunpeng, and it also allowed Yu Bei to teach students according to their aptitude: in the preparatory class, they learned various common knowledge about humans and non-humans. After that, students would be assigned to different mentors based on their talents. The allocation of students was also Yu Bei’s responsibility.
Ye Yang was dumbstruck. This was the YCG headquarters, and Yu Bei was the mentor teaching the highly valued younglings. Was his useless wariness really appearing at the most inappropriate time?
What nonsense—he had just been scaring himself.
Then, belatedly, he felt embarrassed. His entire translucent body turned an adorable soft pink, drawing another round of laughter from Teacher Yu.
After the laughter subsided, Yu Bei suddenly grew serious and asked, “Ye Yang, do you understand your abilities?”
Ye Yang paused. “…I think so.” He felt a bit guilty—his abilities had always been useless at the bottom of the sea, and he had rarely used them.
Yu Bei asked again, “Then do you know the limits of your abilities?”
This question completely stumped Ye Yang.
The talents of the Yao race were innate. Ye Yang naturally knew what he could do that others couldn’t, but without guidance, he had to figure out the specifics of using those abilities on his own.
Seeing Ye Yang’s blank expression, Yu Bei understood everything without further words. He shook his head and sighed. “Alright, let’s go to the training room.”
·
Every member of the Yao race has innate talents, mostly inherited from their families, with varying strengths. For example, Lan Bao and his entire clan excelled at wind manipulation.
Ye Yang’s talent was a unique support ability:
As long as he was exposed to sunlight—whether direct or reflected—a special energy would accumulate in his body. In other words, during the daytime, as long as he wasn’t in complete darkness, his body would continuously store this energy.
And when he was injured, this special energy could quickly replenish his stamina and heal his wounds. The principle behind it was activating his own potential.
—That was Ye Yang’s own understanding.
After some simple tests and development by Yu Bei, Ye Yang learned that his strengths went far beyond that.
They discovered that Ye Yang could also channel this energy into others, like a highly concentrated nutrient supplement that quickly replenishes a person’s stamina and energy.
Similarly, he could help injured people activate their potential, reducing the severity of fatal wounds. Although he couldn’t directly heal deadly injuries, he could keep the injured person alive until rescue and medical treatment arrived. Used properly, this could be an incredibly valuable skill in actual combat.
In addition, Ye Yang could soothe and stabilize others’ emotions. The “smell” and perception of his antennae allowed him to grasp a person’s emotions and thoughts, helping to calm them when their feelings were too intense.
Another thing—Ye Yang’s physical attack power was unexpectedly strong. He had immense strength.
“This doesn’t really make sense. It’s not something a Yao of your type should have… well, it’s not completely impossible. But it doesn’t matter—you can slowly explore this later.”
Yu Bei was briefly puzzled but didn’t dwell on it. Ye Yang was the only known Sea Hare Yao, with no other reference data. It was normal for him to have some unique traits.
Ye Yang didn’t say anything. He had his own suspicions about this, probably related to that drop of golden water.
After the testing, Yu Bei was very satisfied. “Your talent is extremely strong. With some time and practice, I believe you’ll achieve great things in the future.”
Ye Yang nodded repeatedly, but in his heart, he was thinking: He didn’t need any great achievements. He just wanted to repay a debt of gratitude.
…
After finishing the tests, it was already half past five. Yu Bei knew it was Ye Yang’s first day, so he made a point of walking him back to his dorm.
After watching Ye Yang go inside and close the door, Yu Bei stood outside for a while longer. His usually gentle, smiling face suddenly turned serious.
After thinking for a moment, he returned to his office and paced back and forth for a long time before finally opening Ye Yang’s student file and adding a special mark.
The Kunpeng’s gift wasn’t just seeing through Yao weaker than himself—it also allowed him to see the purity of one’s soul. Yu Bei hadn’t encountered a seedling with such a pure spiritual world as Ye Yang’s in a very long time.
But a clear, translucent spirit is a double-edged sword.
Cultivation is hard work for anyone, and it inevitably comes with many temptations and obstacles. Among these, the most terrible obstacle is called the inner demon.
Almost no one can guarantee that they won’t develop inner demons during cultivation. Inner demons are born from desire. Whether human or non-human, any being capable of thought has no shortage of desires.
Usually, inner demons go unnoticed. Many people and Yao aren’t even aware they have them. But at critical moments of cultivation, the inner demon will inevitably stir up trouble, causing all efforts to fail, or even making one’s cultivation regress.
Those with pure hearts are less likely to develop inner demons, making their cultivation faster and smoother. However, “less likely” doesn’t mean “impossible.” In fact, for Yao with overly pure hearts, once their cultivation reaches a certain level, the probability of an inner demon appearing becomes far higher than for others at the same stage.
And when that happens, it won’t be just a regression in cultivation—it could mean the destruction of both body and spirit.
For a low-level creature to gain intelligence is already an incredible thing, and to then cultivate into human form on its own is nothing short of a miracle. The only successful example Yu Bei knew of was Director Bai from the registration office.
Due to the limitations of Director Bai’s innate talent, the path of cultivation was clear and limited—there was no possibility of advancing further. But Ye Yang was different.
Not only did he have a pure soul that resisted inner demons, but he also possessed an exceptionally high level of spiritual essence within him. With proper cultivation, he could reach great heights—even the level of a divine beast wasn’t impossible.
Moreover, his innate talent was rare. He could harness the energy of sunlight to unlock potential. That sounded simple, but in practice, it held infinite possibilities—a talent truly worth developing.
Tu Manli had brought Ye Yang to YCG with the primary goal of nurturing talent for YCG, to deal with the increasingly frequent disturbances following the resurgence of spiritual energy.
If they weren’t careful, YCG might not cultivate a great Yao sage—instead, they might end up raising an exceptionally powerful demon.
After much deliberation, Yu Bei took out a sheet of silver-glowing stationery covered in a rippling watery sheen and began writing swiftly.
Once the letter was folded, it vanished directly from his fingertips. Only then did Yu Bei flash away, ignoring YCG headquarters’ restrictive barriers, and return directly to his own clan territory.
Given the size of the Kunpeng’s true form, YCG truly didn’t have space to accommodate him.
·
At the East Continent University Affiliated Institute of Marine Science, Shen Ming was intently observing a petri dish through a microscope.
His slightly bent posture made his tall figure less conspicuous, and his striking features were hidden behind a mask. But even so, the glimpse of his narrow, phoenix-like eyes alone was enough to convince anyone that he was an incredibly handsome man.
Strangely, despite those nearly bewitching eyes, they did nothing to diminish his dignified, commanding presence.
Just then, Shen Ming’s divine sense was triggered. The next moment, a thin sheet of paper silently appeared in his pocket.
Without changing his posture or even blinking, Shen Ming “saw” the letter’s contents.
Yu Bei? What does he want with me? Shen Ming felt a flicker of curiosity.
After reading the letter, his expression shifted slightly. This Ye Yang… couldn’t he be that little Yao he’d encountered while taking a walk a few days ago? What a coincidence.
For a moment, he paused in his work.
Shen Ming was the only Xuan Gui (Black Turtle) in the world. He also had a more widely known identity: Xuanwu, the God of the North. After being injured in the chaos of the upper realm, he awakened in the human realm. Upon waking, he discovered that a spiritual serpent had manifested within his spirit body—sharing his heart, his will, his origin, and his soul. From then on, he existed as a fusion of the Black Turtle and the spiritual serpent, in a mysterious and wondrous state.
Shen Ming’s human form was exceptionally striking in appearance and temperament. Disliking trouble, he usually kept to himself, leaving the house only for work or during times when no one else was around.
A few nights ago, he had gone for his usual walk in the park near his home. With no one around, the spiritual serpent materialized. Its thick body coiled around Shen Ming, the tip wrapping past his waist and abdomen, almost dragging on the ground, while its head rose high, reaching out from Shen Ming’s shoulder to survey the surroundings.
Compared to its main body, this spiritual serpent was much more lively, intolerant of restraint, and would emerge at every opportunity. The serpent’s eyesight wasn’t great, but its perception was exceptionally sharp—and it was the first to detect Ye Yang’s presence.
The sleeping Ye Yang exuded a natural, calm aura, not flamboyantly spilling out everywhere like when he was awake during the day. Yet Shen Ming felt a strange attraction, a peculiar sense of familiarity.
But when he followed the presence to Ye Yang’s side, the feeling completely dissipated, as if it had all been an illusion.
The summer night breeze carried a hint of coolness. Ye Yang lay curled up on the bench, looking rather pitiful. Shen Ming saw through Ye Yang’s true form at a glance but didn’t think much of it, nor was he interested in investigating the little Yao’s background. Driven by a feeling he himself didn’t understand, he followed the serpent’s inclination, left his coat behind, and departed.
He hadn’t given the matter much thought and soon forgot about it. Little did he expect that before long, he would receive such a letter. This little Yao turned out to be a rare, exceptional talent.
Yu Bei’s intention was for him to take on a disciple and properly guide this little Yao. After all, they were both aquatic creatures, but…
Just then, Shen Ming’s phone rang.
It was the alarm he had set—5:55 PM.
In five minutes, work would end. Shen Ming immediately tidied up the instruments and materials on the lab bench and, without saying a word to anyone, headed straight for the changing room.
The others in the lab were unfazed, long accustomed to his punctuality—arriving on time, leaving on time, never working overtime. They continued with their own tasks without even turning their heads.
The changing room door opened and closed. Five minutes later, a new assistant lab technician couldn’t hold back anymore and nudged a female colleague nearby: “Hey, who exactly is this mysterious figure? I’ve been here a week and haven’t heard him say a single word. And how does he get to leave on time every single day?”
He was just too curious. Who in the entire research institute didn’t work overtime? Not even the big boss was an exception. Only this tall, silent, handsome man was different from everyone else.
The colleague he asked was busy with her own work and didn’t even look up: “He’s a special consultant. Nine to five, with weekends off.”
The assistant lab technician couldn’t help but pout and muttered quietly: “That’s what they told us when we got hired too, but we’ve never left at five…”
The female colleague, who had been focused on her work, finally looked up and glanced at him in surprise: “Wait, you seriously don’t know who he is?! You’ve already got your PhD—there’s no way you haven’t heard of him. I remember your dissertation was also on…”
The assistant lab technician’s eyes gradually widened, and he nearly dropped his pipette: “Oh my god, hold on! He’s Shen Ming?! The Shen Ming who edited Ancient Marine Organisms and Evolutionary Systems???”
Ancient Marine Organisms and Evolutionary Systems was the latest edition of a textbook series. Many of its theories overturned doctrines that had stood for decades or even centuries. When first published, it caused an uproar in the industry, and even people outside the field knew something major had happened.
A young, inexperienced scholar had the audacity to claim he would overturn classical theories that had stood for centuries and dismantle the entire existing evolutionary system of marine organisms—anyone who heard that couldn’t help but scoff.
But as time passed, many of Shen Ming’s theories were validated, and many once-authoritative doctrines and schools were quickly phased out. Shen Ming’s standing in the field grew higher and higher.
Yet Shen Ming himself remained very low-profile, and little was heard from him afterward. Only a few knew that in recent years, thanks to his innovative theories and the recommendation of his mentor, Professor Cui Xipeng—Dean of the East Continent University School of Oceanography—Shen Ming had become an ordinary senior researcher at the East Continent University Research Institute.
Upon learning that this special consultant was actually Shen Ming—the once-in-a-millennium genius in the field of marine biology—the assistant lab technician did a complete 180, shedding his previous subtle resentment and growing somewhat excited:
“Tomorrow, I’m coming in early. I’m going to ask for his autograph and a photo!”
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