116: Chapter 116 [Heavenly Secrets] Unpredictable

The more Chu Xuan thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

The delay of his talent within the dream would very likely accumulate and stack the spirituality value cost, just like death did.

For instance, this time he spent 20 points of spirituality value to delay his talent.

Then, after waking up and entering the next dream, if he needed another delay, it might cost 30 points of spirituality value.

According to his previous hypothesis, perhaps their talents were originally extremely powerful and without so many restrictions.

However, due to the influence of The Gloom, they were restricted everywhere, requiring more spirituality value to unlock relevant functions.

[Remaining spirituality value: 190]

Chu Xuan checked his remaining spirituality value, considering whether he should spend it now to view his talent details and see exactly what functions and restrictions remained.

At that moment, he suddenly remembered something and immediately asked:

"In the talent details provided by the System, did it mention that background music can enhance your talent?"

"No." Tang Zheng paused for a moment as he spoke. "Wait, how did you know about that?"

"I'll tell you later..."

Chu Xuan lowered his eyelids slightly. It seemed that even the talent details viewed through the System were incomplete, covering only the basics.

Specific details still needed to be explored and developed through actual use, so there was no need for him to waste spirituality value right now.

Amidst his thoughts, the group returned to the temple, where official personnel were already busy at work.

Luo Xiaotian, wearing the standard trench coat of the Night Watchers, had been waiting there for a long time. Seeing Uncle Qiang approach, he hurried over, pulled him aside, and whispered:

"Brother Qiang..."

Whoosh—

A thick cloud of white Smoke blew into Luo Xiaotian's face, causing him to cough repeatedly and dodge away.

"How many times have I told you? You never learn. Call me Uncle Qiang!" Zhang Qiang said with a slight curl of his lip.

"Uncle Qiang!"

Luo Xiaotian coughed a few more times. "We found a Specter corpse here. Although it was dismembered by other Specters, leaving only some fragments, preliminary testing and analysis suggest it was very likely a Specter about to advance to A-Rank!"

The nonchalance on Zhang Qiang's face vanished instantly. "What did you say? You're not joking, are you? A Specter about to advance to A-Rank—who here could have killed it?"

"Do you think I'd dare joke with you?" Luo Xiaotian wore a helpless expression as he quickly led Zhang Qiang to the bushes near the Sangharama Hall, passing through several barriers set up by staff members.

A large white cloth was spread out here, with bones and chunks of meat placed upon it, barely forming a corpse. The massive skull, as large as a water vat, was particularly striking.

"This lingering eerie aura..." Zhang Qiang could no longer contain himself, a look of shock appearing on his face.

"According to the preliminary investigation, among the survivors here, besides the two you brought down, Uncle Qiang, we also caught a Bald Man. However, he seems to have suffered significant injuries and is somewhat delirious."

Luo Xiaotian pointed to the Bald Man not far away, who was being held at gunpoint by several armed personnel. His hands and feet were in heavy shackles, and his body was twitching and shivering.

"Facial recognition identifies him as Zhao Tiancheng, a Rank 4 Sequencer. His class is Berserker, with a Berserk level of 2. He's already listed as a C-Rank fugitive on the Transcendent forum and is very likely associated with the Resurrection Society we've been investigating lately. I just checked him with a detector; he's still human and hasn't been infested by a Specter: Parasite."

"A person like that couldn't kill a top-tier B-Rank Specter. So, who could it be..." Zhang Qiang mused.

Just then, Chu Xuan's calm voice rang out from beside them. "I killed it."

Seeing Zhang Qiang's expression of disbelief, Chu Xuan added:

"My talent is Heaven's Secret. I can sense things that threaten my life in the dark and receive vague guidance to turn danger into safety, or even find opportunities..."

"While I was sleeping tonight, I received a premonition that Tao Jiajia would send people to hunt me down. Following the vague guidance, I happened to board an eerie bus and ended up here. I followed the guidance to find the most suitable method and eventually killed the Great Buddha."

Chu Xuan gave his explanation without his face turning red or his heart skipping a beat.

Since he intended to join the Night Watchers and use official power to hunt Specters, he needed an explanation for his ability to seemingly know everything back in the dormitory.

The fact that he had awakened a talent could not be hidden.

Given the potential unstable elements within the Night Watchers, Chu Xuan could not reveal his true talent, let alone mention the matter of Future Tang Zheng.

In that case, he might as well fabricate a lie within this dream to see if it could pass official investigation methods.

The reason he called it 'Heaven's Secret' rather than 'Precognition' was naturally because 'Heaven's Secret is hard to fathom.' It was a passive talent skill.

He needed to demonstrate his value to gain an official background, support in terms of firepower and intelligence, and convenience in his operations.

However, there was no need to make his skill seem too abnormal, as if he could actively predict everything. That would only put him in the spotlight without providing much practical benefit.

As for the medicine, equipment, and strengthening potions Zhang Qiang had mentioned earlier—if it were yesterday, Chu Xuan might have been tempted and tried to find ways to take risks for heavy official support and cultivation.

But now, that was impossible.

Through communication with Future Tang Zheng and his own experiences, Chu Xuan had come to deeply understand one principle.

The key to increasing strength lay in spirituality value, and the source of spirituality value lay in Specters.

Other forms of support would always be secondary—the icing on the cake, minor details.

The fabricated [Heaven's Secret] was different. What Chu Xuan most wanted to convey was that this talent was 'uncontrollable.'

Its primary ability was to sense things that could threaten his life in the dark.

If he accidentally learned about things unrelated to his life or death, or other unexplainable matters, it was simple...

Heaven's Secret is hard to fathom!

It's a passive skill; I can't use it actively. As for the specifics, I'm not sure either.

Nevertheless, even so, when Chu Xuan mentioned the talent [Heaven's Secret], Zhang Qiang and Luo Xiaotian still wore expressions of utter disbelief, finding it quite incredible.

"You truly are someone who awakened a talent on your own. In some ways, your talent is not inferior to Tang Zheng's at all..."

Zhang Qiang marveled, then changed the subject. "However, we still have to follow standard procedure with testing and a polygraph. Chu Xuan, are you really ready? Are you sure you weren't lying to us just now? You still have a chance to change your story!"

"I'm not a man who lies. Let's get started, the sooner the better." Chu Xuan glanced at the time. With less than 20 minutes left, this dream was about to end.