ABRIWMTHM Chapter 37

The moment the light was turned on, Shi Xing’s mental power erupted once again.

From close proximity, the sensation was not aggressive at all; instead, it was very gentle. It was… the mental power released by a Blue Star human.

Suddenly realizing something, Chi Yao commanded, “Fu Qing, establish a barrier! Don’t let his mental power disperse anymore!”

With that shout, even the Major General who had been following was jolted back to reality.

A separating barrier instantly formed, enclosing the entire main cabin.

Shi Xing’s mental power crashed against Fu Qing’s barrier in wave after wave. Xu Jin asked, “How is it? Is it chaotic? Or is there something else wrong?”

Fu Qing replied honestly, “Neither.”

In fact, it was quite comfortable. The mental power striking against his barrier brought him a gentle and relaxing sensation.

Xu Jin paused for a moment. His understanding of Blue Star humans came mostly from the Nest, much of it through studying due to the long passage of time. Right now, he was utterly puzzled by Shi Xing’s condition.

“What happened, Shi Xing…?”

Walking closer to Shi Xing, Chi Yao found himself at a loss on whether to touch him.

“Where does it hurt?”

All the thoughts and concerns condensed into these four heavy words.

“It’s so hot; I feel like I’m going to melt.”

Shi Xing spoke with a thick nasal tone. Chi Yao was taken aback and turned to look at Shi Xing’s face, but the beads of sweat streaming down made it hard for him to distinguish whether it was sweat or tears.

Xu Jin called for medical assistance, and Yan Changyue observed for a moment before fetching water and a towel to wipe Shi Xing’s face.

Fu Qing contacted Qin Jue, explaining the situation about Shi Xing’s mental power dispersing, and instructed everyone to line up outside the main ship to guard against potential beast attacks.

Logically, they shouldn’t encounter beasts at the edge of the city.

However, Shi Xing’s mental power level was too high. It was impossible to predict how far it would disperse before disappearing. For safety’s sake, they decided to prepare for the worst.

Yan Changyue brought over water and a towel, wringing the towel before handing it to Chi Yao. Chi Yao said, “Shi Xing, can you turn around? I’ll wipe your face.”

As soon as Shi Xing made a move, he lost his balance and collapsed uncontrollably. Chi Yao quickly caught him around the waist, and even with the pajamas in between, the temperature he felt shocked him.

As he pulled Shi Xing closer, Shi Xing seemed boneless, reaching out to grab Chi Yao’s clothes for support. However, the satin fabric was too slippery; after a few tries without finding a point of leverage, he ended up being caught by Chi Yao’s hand instead.

“Don’t move; just lean against me. You won’t get hurt.”

Chi Yao’s voice came at the right moment. Shi Xing reacted and finally realized that he was leaning against Chi Yao’s side.

The light stung Shi Xing’s closed eyes, and noticing this, Chi Yao instructed Yan Changyue, “Turn off one of the lights here.”

The lighting softened, and Chi Yao gently wiped the sweat off Shi Xing’s face.

The motions were delicate and careful. Holding Shi Xing for a while, Chi Yao felt as though a fire ignited where their bodies touched.

For a moment, Chi Yao considered checking Shi Xing’s mental sea, but seeing Shi Xing’s pained expression, he dismissed the thought.

The doctor arrived quickly, measuring Shi Xing’s temperature, which had already reached a high value that a Blue Star human could bear. A blood sample was taken for some basic tests, all under Chi Yao’s guidance. More complex tests requiring Shi Xing to get up couldn’t be conducted for the time being.

Fu Qing discovered something and called out, “Your Highness.”

“Shi Xing’s mental power seems to be… increasing?”

After finishing, he added, “It’s very faint. I’m not sure.”

Both the doctor and Chi Yao were momentarily stunned. Chi Yao patted Shi Xing’s face and softly asked, “Is your mental sea still expanding?”

Shi Xing’s cheek was pressed against Chi Yao’s collarbone, and he continued sweating. The sweat soaked into Chi Yao’s pajama collar, wrinkling it up, and it looked a mess. Chi Yao glanced at it but didn’t linger on it.

After asking again, Shi Xing finally reacted.

His voice, coated in hot, humid air, sprayed against Chi Yao’s neck, making him feel as though he was getting burned.

“I… I’m not sure if it’s the mental sea.”

“It’s kind of… different.”

“Your Highness, the outer layer is expanding, but… I don’t know.”

“I’m sorry, I can’t…”

Shi Xing’s words were filled with urgency, and he was unsure how to describe it.

Chi Yao immediately interrupted him: “Alright.”

He gently patted Shi Xing’s back and reassured him, “It’s fine, it’s okay. Don’t worry about not knowing; no one is forcing you. Don’t rush.”

Shi Xing slowly nodded, making very minimal movement. If he hadn’t been leaning on Chi Yao, it would have been nearly impossible to see.

After pondering, Chi Yao said, “Let me do it.”

With that, he opened up a small barrier within Fu Qing’s barrier and pulled Shi Xing into it.

Before long, Chi Yao confirmed, “Yes, it’s increasing.”

The doctor was puzzled; he had never seen this kind of situation before.

While they hadn’t yet devised a response, Chi Yao’s expression suddenly changed. Shi Xing also contorted in pain, his brow tightly knit, pulling up his body as if trying to diminish his presence, as if that would lessen the discomfort.

Everyone felt a strange fluctuation of mental power.

Chi Yao’s grip on Shi Xing tightened without letting go and said, “He’s absorbing my mental power.”

Moreover, the sensation was different from usual; the absorption was rapid. Shi Xing seemed to be pulled by his mental power, constantly rubbing his cheek against Chi Yao’s neck, attempting to increase the skin contact area to absorb more.

Everyone’s expressions turned serious.

Xu Jin immediately said, “I’ll go get crystals and beast cores.”

Chi Yao calmed down considerably, “Get the instruments; document his condition after absorbing the mental power.”

The medical staff followed his orders, providing data every five minutes. After the sixth set of readings, the doctor commented, “It seems there’s no issue; at least his absorption of mental power is not worsening his condition.”

The results from the previous examinations also came back with no problems.

Chi Yao looked at the doctor.

The doctor wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, “We can first rule out mental sea depletion in Blue Star humans.”

Mental sea depletion is a condition recognized in academia that can lead to the death of Blue Star humans.

Chi Yao fell silent for a moment.

Well then, it’s a silver lining amidst misfortune.

Chi Yao said, “Bring the crystals over.”

Chi Yao gathered Shi Xing’s hand to absorb the crystals, and literally as soon as his hand touched Shi Xing’s, the crystal immediately shattered into powder.

Xu Jin’s eyes widened, “Your Highness, do you really want to…”

If absorbing crystals is so potent, then absorbing mental power would…

Chi Yao waved his hand, “No need for that.”

He took several crystals, placing them one by one into Shi Xing’s palm. “If I start to feel unwell, I’ll let him go. For now, let’s do this and keep recording the data.”

One crystal after another shattered, and as the quantity increased, Chi Yao keenly noticed that Shi Xing was absorbing the crystals faster, as if some process had been activated.

Meanwhile, Shi Xing struggled to control the energy absorption and seemed to be in discomfort.

Chi Yao dared not give him beast cores; the energy from the cores was immense and hard to control. Conversely, each crystal held only a specific amount of energy, making one more or less negligible.

After another six groups of data, the doctor said, “It also seems there’s no issue; his body seems to need this energy very much.”

Chi Yao switched his tone, pointing out, “But his temperature still hasn’t gone down.”

The nurse quickly took a thermometer. The readings were still the same as when they first arrived.

The doctor was at a loss, knowing this was the first time he encountered such a situation. Chi Yao decisively stated, “Only Xu Shu and Yan Changyue stay in the room. Everyone else, step outside and wait. I’ll let Shi Xing absorb the crystals and see what happens.”

In the blink of an eye, the room became empty.

Once everyone left, as Chi Yao had anticipated, Shi Xing relaxed a bit, his posture easing considerably.

Yet he was still uncomfortable.

Perhaps even more so, as the accumulation of crystals made Shi Xing feel worse.

“Your Highness, I don’t want it anymore.”

“I don’t want it anymore.”

Chi Yao was taken aback, “Is it uncomfortable? Are there any side effects?”

Shi Xing’s eyelashes were damp. He buried his face into Chi Yao’s shoulder, muffled words escaping, “There are no side effects. It seems the mental sea really likes it, but it feels so uncomfortable. I feel really uncomfortable.”

Chi Yao fell silent for a moment but still grasped Shi Xing’s hand firmly and insisted, “Then let’s absorb a bit more…”

Since it’s not mental sea depletion, then this energy must surely be beneficial.

Although he didn’t know why Shi Xing felt uncomfortable, Shi Xing’s increasingly strong mental power fluctuations indicated that his body was actually improving.

Shi Xing buried his face deeper into Chi Yao’s shoulder.

After being quiet for a moment, he started to shake his head.

He said he was uncomfortable.

Chi Yao stayed close to Shi Xing, and sweat was forming on his own body. He understood that Shi Xing was burning and dazed. One hand continued to grab crystals while the other gently patted Shi Xing’s back, softly coaxing, “Didn’t you say you wanted to heal me?”

“If you can’t endure it, there won’t be any future.”

“Do you still want that now?”

Shi Xing took a moment to digest the question and finally stopped struggling.

After a while, Chi Yao felt the dampness on his shoulder, realizing at that moment that Shi Xing had started to cry. Chi Yao wanted to tilt Shi Xing’s face to check, but when his hand went to Shi Xing’s neck, he hesitated and instead continued to gently pat Shi Xing’s shoulder, trying to provide some comfort.

Shi Xing took a long time to finally speak, his voice laced with cries, “I want it.”

The three words made Chi Yao’s movements pause momentarily, and he found himself at a loss for words about his feelings.

In silence, he shifted from patting to soothing, his palm rising and falling repeatedly to calm Shi Xing’s emotions.

Amidst the painful daze, Shi Xing felt an extra unfamiliar area in his mental sea. Tears streamed down unconstrained. In a moment of near-dizzying pain, he finally remembered.

He remembered why this scene felt familiar.

He… had experienced it before.

At the moment of realization, his demand for energy finally began to decrease, but as Shi Xing touched the crystal, his hand started to tremble. Even a small amount of energy became almost unbearable for him; he needed a continuous flow of minute energy.

He conveyed his feelings to Chi Yao.

In the next moment, a hand rested on Shi Xing’s cheek, asking him, “Is it a lot?”

Chi Yao was releasing his mental power to Shi Xing.

Shi Xing choked out, “Your Highness, I’m not sure how much more I need.”

Chi Yao, however, didn’t care about that. He held Shi Xing close and placed his hand on Shi Xing’s face. When Shi Xing tried to struggle, Chi Yao firmly said, “Don’t move.”

Shi Xing froze.

Chi Yao then softened his voice, “Be good; it’ll be over soon.”

“Is that okay?”

Shi Xing nodded.

Embracing one another, it seemed peaceful and beautiful, but in reality, every second was a torment for both. Chi Yao held Shi Xing all night, and the accumulated exhaustion and mental power consumption had reached a terrifying level;

And Shi Xing, having absorbed so much energy, was nearing his limits; for several moments, he even felt as if he would be shredded and obliterated by the vast energy.

But in the end, that did not happen.

With Chi Yao’s pallor increasing, the dampness of Shi Xing’s tears soaked more fabric.

At some point, they reached a critical point.

All fluctuations ceased in an instant.

Shi Xing’s skin stopped absorbing any mental power, and his mental power’s dispersion completely stopped.

Pain faded away; Shi Xing’s tense muscles and bones suddenly relaxed and he completely collapsed against Chi Yao.

Once Chi Yao confirmed this, Xu Jin immediately called for the doctor. The mental power barrier was lifted, and the thermometer was pressed against Shi Xing’s skin, with the nurse exclaiming, “It went down! The temperature has decreased!”

The tension in Chi Yao’s mind finally began to ease.

The doctor scanned Shi Xing with the instruments. “The fluctuations of mental power are also retreating.”

The doctor was puzzled, “What on earth happened?”

To everyone’s surprise, Shi Xing, with his face buried in Chi Yao’s body and only a bit of strength remaining, said in a breathy voice, “I think I know.”

Chi Yao responded, “?”

Speaking slowly, “It might be… a talent awakening.”

This left not just Chi Yao, but everyone stunned.

Fu Qing exclaimed in disbelief, “But you’re not…”

Before he could finish, Chi Yao understood, “So that’s why he said it’s possible.”

A heavy silence fell over the room.

Chi Yao said, “I recall that when someone from the Empire awakens their innate talent, they release a kind of energy wave that can be captured.”

The doctor immediately reported the scientific name of the wave.

Fu Qing recalled, “We have equipment in the training room that detects all frequency bands of energy.”

Eager to understand, the doctor hurriedly followed Fu Qing to retrieve equipment from the training room.

Once they adjusted the parameters in the corridor and entered the room, the instrument emitted beeping sounds.

The doctor stared in shock as he looked at the instrument. “It’s… detected.”

Xu Jin said, “But Shi Xing has already awakened his talent, hasn’t he?”

This was indeed the most puzzling aspect for everyone.

Chi Yao pointed out the crux, “But there’s no research or record indicating that a person can only awaken one talent.”

Realizing what that implied, the room fell into a silence so profound that one could hear a pin drop.

Looking at the person in his arms, who was uncertain between consciousness and unconsciousness, Chi Yao said, “Shi Xing may have awakened a second talent.”