1: The Age of Superpowers

“The era of abilities, what a dazzling era it is.”

Lin Ye looked at the bustling traffic and towering buildings outside the window, and couldn't help but sigh.

He had transmigrated three days ago, into this body with the same name and surname, and even an extremely similar appearance. The original owner had died suddenly from over-exercising, while he himself had fallen into an eternal sleep after working himself to exhaustion.

This was a planet, Blue Star, with a culture and history very similar to his previous life, but what made it unique was the advent of the era of abilities after 2050.

Brilliant Star Power from the distant Galaxy shone upon Blue Star, and Star Gates opened, ushering humanity into an era of intercommunication with various races of the Galaxy. The Star Realms beyond the Star Gates brought cultivation methods and abilities to humanity.

Everyone could cultivate, and after advancing, they could absorb abilities. Each advancement increased the number of absorption slots.

Abilities originated from the exotic beasts of the Star Realms. Exotic beasts were born with abilities, and after their Death, there was a certain chance they would drop ability seeds.

“Tomorrow is the test, and ability quotas will be allocated based on the test results.”

Lin Ye had a bit of a headache.

The original owner was currently studying at Ye Hai City No. 1 Middle School. Those who could get into No. 1 Middle School generally had good grades. Although the original owner was only of average talent within No. 1 Middle School, from the perspective of the entire Ye Hai City, he still had excellent grades.

What gave Lin Ye a headache was certainly not whether he would get an ability quota. Ninety-five percent of the students at No. 1 Middle School received quotas every year, and with his above-average grades, he was sure to get one. The headache was deciding what ability to get.

The era of abilities already had a history of three hundred years. It was now 2350, and the ability cultivation system was extremely mature.

Everyone could absorb multiple abilities, but mutually complementary abilities were undoubtedly the best choice. This led to the emergence of many well-known optimal combinations, referred to as professional templates.

Following the optimal combination was undoubtedly the best choice. The power unleashed by the same ability with other ability assistance versus without any ability assistance was vastly different. Except for a very few super-rich individuals who chose multiple super abilities to become unassigned ability users (pay-to-win warriors), other ability users would choose professional templates to facilitate their growth.

Lin Ye's original owner favored the Shield Warrior. He was 1.8 meters tall and very muscular. The original owner had constantly trained hard to be able to get into Ye Hai No. 1 Middle School as an orphan. One must know that Ye Hai City had a population of six million, with about 100,000 students each year, and Ye Hai No. 1 Middle School only admitted one thousand students per year.

For his strong physique, Shield Warrior was an excellent choice. Shield Warrior abilities were not rare, and the core Steel Body ability had an extremely high yield. Moreover, Shield Warriors were indispensable roles in every team. Professions that could replace Shield Warriors, such as Paladins, Protectors, and Colossus, were all very rare.

And not many people wanted to be Shield Warriors, so there was a large professional gap, meaning Lin Ye wouldn't have to worry about employment.

However, cultivating as a Shield Warrior was not without its drawbacks. The extremely high defensive capabilities and aggro-pulling abilities came at the cost of extremely low output and speed. Which young man would be willing to be a dedicated support role in a team? Only Lin Ye's original owner, for the sake of a good future, would be willing.

But Lin Ye, having transmigrated, had no intention of cultivating as a Shield Warrior. If he had no other assistance, he would certainly still choose Shield Warrior, but now, his cheat had arrived.

Host: Lin Ye

Level: Tier 1 (43%)

Abilities: None

Cultivation Methods: Ninth Set of National Middle School Student Body Tempering Method (Minor Accomplishment 68.5%) Third Set of National Middle School Student Star Power Breathing Method (Proficient 13.5%)

Skill Points: 13

After three days of exploration, Lin Ye had grasped the ability of his golden finger: it could convert his efforts into skill points. Currently, Lin Ye's normal daily training generated about five points. Skill points could be added to cultivation methods, with one skill point increasing the proficiency of a proficient-level cultivation method by one point of proficiency.

The two cultivation methods Lin Ye practiced were the Tier 1 Body Tempering Method and Star Power Cultivation Method, both practiced by all middle school students nationwide. They were the most suitable methods for beginners, refined over nearly a century by Xia Nation and revised multiple times.

Cultivation methods were divided into five levels: Beginner, Proficient, Minor Accomplishment, Major Accomplishment, and Pinnacle. For ordinary people, reaching the proficient level was already considered an example of diligent study. And Lin Ye's original owner, possessing the Minor Accomplishment level in the Body Tempering Method, was truly a model of hard work, which also required a certain degree of talent.

“With a cheat, I definitely can't choose Shield Warrior. Ordinary professions like Ranger, Assassin, and Berserker are also out. Although they are widely popular cost-effective choices, they won't fully utilize the golden finger's ability,” Lin Ye thought.

When in doubt, he decided to check how his post asking for advice on the forum was doing.

He opened his optical computer, one of the products of humanity's intercommunication with aliens. By wearing a bracelet-like signal device, one could easily experience virtual technology.

A light screen appeared before Lin Ye's eyes. This light screen was only visible to him. With a slight thought, he had already navigated to the ability user forum and found his own post.

Brightest Star in the Night Sky: Asking all the old-timers on the forum, for an orphan with no resources but good cultivation talent, especially excellent comprehension, what professional template is better to choose? Hoping for a profession with strong potential. Below, he also attached Lin Ye's body data after concealing personal information.

After filtering the useful forum replies:

Dragon's Sky: Hahahaha, caught a newbie! Your physical fitness is good, you can pursue physical professions. Among high-potential physical professions, Dragonman, Shattering Star Fist, and Glutton are pay-to-win and not suitable. So, for someone who needs good comprehension but doesn't pay much, Martial Artist, Weapon Master, and Fighter are good choices for you.

Court Jade Liquid Wine: Martial Artist, I'd say. The core ability of a Martial Artist, Star Force, is one of the most comprehension-demanding abilities. Practicing various Martial Artist skills also requires a lot of talent.

Freeloader: The old-timers above are very right. Your outstanding physical fitness makes you very suitable for cultivating as a Martial Artist. Weapon Master claims not to be pay-to-win, but a suitable weapon isn't cheap. Fighter is very strong in the early stages, decent in the mid-stages, but very weak in the late stages. Martial Artist is average in the early stages, starts to gain power in the mid-stages, and becomes a BOSS in the late stages. (But you don't know if you'll make it to the late stages)

After reading the most valuable comments, Lin Ye roughly understood what he should choose. He tipped the three old-timers, thanking them for their suggestions. Although it made his already meager circumstances worse, gaining a suitable choice was undoubtedly a huge gain.

Lin Ye's original owner didn't know much about Martial Artists. There were now hundreds of professions, and due to his limited background, the original owner only knew about the dozen or so most common and cost-effective professions.

This was also the main content they studied in high school.

But the internet was omnipotent, and soon, Lin Ye found information about Martial Artists.