2: Chapter 2 Skill Mutation, [Purple Qi Comes from the East]!

The night in the old city area was always exceptionally heavy.

The cicadas outside the window had chirped all day; now, they were finally exhausted and silent, leaving only the occasional dull tire noise from the distant overpass.

Su Yun sank into the sofa, his fingertips unconsciously tapping the hard cover of a book.

The "I am number one in the world" chuunibyou-like hot-bloodedness from a few minutes ago gradually cooled, and a sense of prudence reclaimed the high ground.

Thinking about it calmly, such a powerful talent was like handing a nuclear button to a high school graduate.

9.6 million square kilometers.

This concept was too vast.

So vast that if his hand slipped and he misclicked a skill now—for instance, the crowd-control [Fear Totem], even with just the lowest-level fear effect—what would happen after it covered the entire territory?

A driver speeding on the highway suddenly trembling and jerking the steering wheel all the way?

A lead surgeon performing a craniotomy having his hand twitch?

Or a pure-hearted young man confessing to his girlfriend suddenly being dominated by fear and wetting his pants on the spot?

If that happened, things would truly get out of hand.

Even worse, if he dropped a [Berserk Totem] on the border, would those already high-strung border soldiers go into a blood-frenzy and rush into the Myriad Races' occupied zone with knives in hand?

By then, forget about special recruitment by the Military Department; special agents from the National Security Bureau would likely break down his door within five minutes and invite him for tea that he could never finish drinking in this lifetime.

"Sometimes, having a talent that's too strong is also a kind of trouble."

Su Yun rubbed his temples, feeling a bit of a headache.

This was the downside of having a high IQ—thinking too much. If it were some hot-blooded idiot, they'd probably be standing on the rooftop laughing wildly at the moon by now, and that would be the end of the book.

However, he still intended to see if he could test it out, just to have some peace of mind.

"System, open the skill tree."

He thought silently.

A pale blue light screen unfolded before his eyes again.

As a Level 1 newbie who had just changed classes, the Shaman skill tree looked a bit pathetic, with large areas of gray icons and only a few F-Rank basic skills lit up at the bottom.

Su Yun stared at several skills, analyzing the feasibility of each one.

[Flame Totem (LV1)]: Summons flames, dealing 5 points of burning damage to enemies within range every 3 seconds.

Pass. If he released this, tomorrow's headline would be "Mysterious Person Sets the Whole Country Ablaze, Firefighting System Collapses Entirely."

[Mud Swamp Totem (LV1)]: Summons a swamp, reducing the movement speed of enemies within range by 10%.

Pass. The national traffic would be completely paralyzed; the delivery guys would cry.

[Healing Totem (LV1)]: Releases life essence, restoring 3 points of health per second to allies within range.

Pending. Although it sounded wonderful, the commotion would be too great. With over a billion people in all of China, everyone with a bump or scratch would be healed instantly? Terminally ill patients in hospitals suddenly having a surge of vitality? This would inevitably cause social panic and be hard to clean up.

Finally, Su Yun's gaze settled on a somewhat inconspicuous icon.

It was a green icon depicting a few wisps of breeze.

[Breeze Totem (LV1)]

[Quality: F (Common Item)]

[Effect: Summons a Wind Totem to provide a cool breeze for allies within range. Restores 1 point of Mana per second and extremely slightly alleviates mental fatigue.]

[Note: Besides saving a bit on air conditioning in the summer, does anyone actually use this skill?]

"You're the one."

Su Yun snapped his fingers.

Restoring 1 point of Mana. For high-level professionals, this amount of mana regeneration wasn't even enough to fill the gaps between teeth; it was like pouring a bottle of mineral water into the dried-up Yangtze River.

And "extremely slightly alleviating fatigue" was probably just making someone feel a bit more comfortable when yawning.

Moistening things silently.

Even if it covered the entire country, most people would only think the wind was quite loud tonight, or that they slept better, and would never associate it with some peerless cheater firing a map-wide shot from home.

Su Yun stood up and stretched his somewhat stiff neck.

Then he kicked off his sneakers and put on a pair of blue plastic slippers. He went to the kitchen to get a glass of plain boiled water, gulped down half of it, and then walked back to the center of the living room.

This was probably the least serious strategic-level weapon experiment site in history.

The experimenter wore a school uniform shirt and slippers, with a background of an old wall adorned with "Family Harmony Brings Prosperity" cross-stitch.

"Phew..."

Su Yun adjusted his breathing, letting his heart rate slow down.

Although logic told him this was just an F-Rank mana regen skill, the "Unique" talent description of [Territory is Domain] made him not dare to be careless.

It was like holding a water gun filled with liquid hydrogen; if it encountered a single spark, no one knew what kind of explosion it would cause.

"But since I'm already here."

Su Yun raised his right hand and pressed down with his palm.

The System console deep in his consciousness lit up.

[Please specify the totem release location.]

A holographic map spread out in his mind.

With the enhancement of the talent [Territory is Domain], the restriction representing "a 5-meter radius around oneself" was as easily punctured as a paper window.

Su Yun's consciousness soared instantly.

In an instant.

His vision pierced through the concrete slabs of the tenement building, through the neon night sky of the capital, and went all the way up into the firmament.

He "saw" the earth beneath his feet.

It was the Great Wall winding like a giant Dragon, the Yellow River and Yangtze River surging into the sea, the crashing waves on the shores of the East China Sea, and the pristine snow atop the Kunlun Mountains.

Countless mountains, rivers, cities, and villages were now shining in his Sea of Consciousness, forming the rooster-shaped territory named "Dragon Summer."

The System prompt sounded again:

[Talent intervention detected... Please confirm the skill coverage area.]

If it were an ordinary person, they would probably be dazed by this grand perspective. But Su Yun just calmly gazed at this land, like a god looking at his own backyard.

"Range lock..."

He thought silently, his consciousness like an invisible giant hand, pulling from Mohe at the northernmost end of the map all the way to James Shoal at the southernmost end.

"The entire territory."

Boom—!

In the real world, Su Yun's palm suddenly pressed down.

There was no world-shaking explosion, nor were there any colorful light effects.

Su Yun only felt the Mana in his body being drained by half in an instant, like a dam opening its gates.

A translucent, finger-long mini totem pole quietly appeared on the living room floor tiles.

It looked too ordinary, even a bit like those glow sticks sold in two-yuan shops, emitting a faint cyan light.

"That's it?"

Su Yun looked down at this little thing at his feet, his mouth twitching.

What happened to 'Territory is Domain'? What happened to 'Under the whole heaven, every spot is the King's land'?

Just this?

He crouched down and reached out a finger, wanting to poke this unremarkable little totem.

However, the moment his fingertip touched the totem's light and shadow—

A sudden change occurred.

The originally faintly glowing totem pole suddenly began to tremble violently.

That wasn't a physical vibration, but a collapse on a conceptual level.

It seemed unable to withstand the injection of the vast concept of "9.6 million square kilometers"; its originally simple runic structure began to crazily reorganize, collapse, and reorganize again.

The System panel text for [Breeze Totem] on Su Yun's retina began to twist and blur, like gold liquid melted by high heat.

[Warning: Skill range exceeds conventional logic limits!]

[Warning: Skill energy level is undergoing a qualitative change!]

[Retrieving current civilization's historical heritage... Matching cultural concepts...]

Su Yun pulled back his hand as if struck by lightning and fell back onto the sofa.

He saw the mini totem pole on the ground emit a clear, high-pitched hum.

In the next second, Su Yun felt the air in the living room change.

The originally hot, dusty air was instantly replaced by an indescribable coolness. It wasn't the cold wind from an air conditioner, but a sense of transparency, as if being in an ancient mountain temple at dawn when the first ray of sunlight pierces through the mist.

Beside the coffee table, the originally ordinary wooden totem now faintly took on a warm, jade-like texture.

A wisp of purple, extremely faint and light, like a stroke accidentally smudged in an ink wash painting, rose gracefully from the top of the totem.

It ignored the ceiling's blockage and the reinforced concrete's confinement, rising straight up and then spreading in all directions toward the infinite distance.

Su Yun subconsciously looked at the System panel, which had been completely refreshed.

[Purple Qi Coming From the East (LV1)]

[Description: The wind rises from the tip of the green duckweed; the Qi flows through the Divine Land.]

[Effect 1: For all identified allies within Longxia Country, Mana/Stamina recovery speed is increased by 500% (Base Value) + 100% per second (Extra Value).]

[Effect 2: Dispels negative statuses, improves Comprehension Ability, and calms the mind.]

[Current Consumption: 10 Mana (Deducted). Subsequent Maintenance Consumption: 0 (Due to the 'Under the whole heaven, every spot is the King's land' trait, consumption is compensated by free energy from heaven and earth).]

Su Yun stared at that "500%" data and the ridiculous extra 100% per second, falling into a long silence.

Was this right?

Was this reasonable?

He reached out and picked up the plain boiled water next to the coffee table.

The water's surface was calm, but if one looked closely, they would find that the water quality had become exceptionally clear, and even the water droplets condensed on the cup's wall seemed to possess a sense of vitality.

Su Yun took a sip.

Sweet and refreshing. As it went down his throat, the migraine left behind by the consumption of a large number of brain cells instantly vanished.

"This skill is a bit outrageous..."

Su Yun put down the cup, walked to the window, and pushed it open.

In the old residential area, the streetlights were dim. The stray cats downstairs, which had been fighting over half a ham sausage by the trash can, now all stopped and lay on the ground, squinting their eyes and letting out comfortable purrs, as if they had collectively inhaled top-grade catnip.

Even the half-dead old locust tree seemed to unfold its leaves a bit more, rustling in the night breeze with an exceptionally pleasant sound.

This change was very faint, moistening things silently.

If it were a careless ordinary person, they would at most think the night was beautiful and the air was good.

But this change was also very strong.

Because Su Yun saw clearly that the blue bar in the upper right corner of his vision, which was originally half-depleted, was refilling at lightning speed.

And it wasn't just mana regeneration; his Mental Energy seemed to be washed by a gentle and grand power with every breath.

"So... compared to expectations, is this commotion a bit too big?"

...

At the same time.

Inside a building in the First Ring Road of the capital that looked like a giant crystal prism. This was Longxia Country's highest-level magic monitoring center, also known as the "Heavenly Eye."

It was connected to Leyline Induction Towers buried all over the country; even if a wild Commander-level Demonic Beast farted at the border, a fluctuation would appear on the screens here.

It was 7:30 PM.

The monitoring hall was brightly lit, and dozens of data analysts in uniform were staring at their screens out of boredom. Most of their time was spent in this kind of monotony.

"Hey, Old Zhang, this damn weather is too hot. Even with the Constant Temperature Formation on, it still feels dry."

In a corner, a young monitor loosened his collar and slid his swivel chair to the next table. "Do you think they've started fighting on the front lines again? I saw the energy index of the Eastern Theater Command was a bit unstable yesterday."

The middle-aged man called Old Zhang was holding a thermos, carefully blowing on the goji berries floating on top.

"Don't worry blindly. If a fight really broke out, the alarm would have deafened you by now." Old Zhang took a sip of tea and said slowly, "In our line of work, no news is good news. As long as that red line doesn't jump..."

Before he could finish his sentence.

Beep—

A very faint but high-frequency electronic sound abruptly rang out in the hall.

The thermos in Old Zhang's hand shook, and a few drops of scalding tea splashed onto the back of his hand.

"Where is that sound coming from?"

"I... I don't know!" The young monitor's face suddenly turned pale as he pointed at the main screen. "Zhang... Brother Zhang, look at this!"

Old Zhang looked up.

On the giant holographic map covering the entire territory of Longxia Country, the green energy curve that originally represented stability was now like a snake on stimulants, crazily raising its head.

"The energy index is soaring! 10%... 50%... 100%!"

"Holy crap! What the hell is this? It's broken 200%! It's still rising!"

The entire hall instantly exploded into chaos, with the sound of dozens of chairs flipping over mixing together.

"Locate the energy source! Quickly locate the energy source!"

"Has an Abyss Lord forcibly torn through space to descend?"

"That's not right, boss! This isn't destructive energy!" a girl wearing glasses shouted, her voice filled with confusion. "The data sent back from the induction towers everywhere... the data shows this is 'High-Purity Active Mana'!"

"What do you mean?" The director on duty strode over, sweating profusely. "Speak plainly!"

"It's... the mana in the environment suddenly increased, and it's become particularly... gentle?" The girl with glasses stuttered as she looked at the data stream that simply defied common sense. "It's as if someone injected a super nutrient into the air of the entire Longxia Country."

The director froze.

He had been in monitoring for thirty years and had seen Demonic Beast tides, Forbidden Spells clashing, and even the energy collapse of an Over-S-rank expert's fall.

But he had never seen a sight like this.

No explosions, no earthquakes, no spatial tears.

It was like suddenly connecting a water channel to parched land; the mana environment of the entire Longxia Country was raised to a new level in an instant and was still racing forward at an extremely fast speed.

"What about the range?" The director stared at the screen. "Where is the source of such a level of mana recovery? Has some ancient ruin opened?"

"Unable to locate the source!"

The young monitor's hands were a blur on the keyboard, his face looking like he'd seen a ghost. "This energy... it erupted simultaneously across the entire region! From the outpost in Mobei to the islands in the South China Sea, and even inside the First Ring Road of the capital... at the same time, in the same second, the values are all rising!"

"That's impossible!" The director slammed his hand on the table. "Even for the Forbidden Spell 'Heaven's Descent,' its core technique radiates from a point! How could it take effect simultaneously across the entire map? This violates the basic laws of mana conduction! Such an amount of mana infusion... is some supreme deity trying to bless the entire Longxia Country?!"

There was a dead silence in the hall.

Everyone looked at the flashing map, a feeling of absolute absurdity rising in their hearts.

An instantaneous buff covering 9.6 million square kilometers?

What kind of level must this skill be?

If it were man-made, how much Mana would that person need? Even if they drained everyone in this room and burned them as firewood, they probably wouldn't even produce the spare change of that amount.

Just then, Old Zhang suddenly pointed to a split screen on the side.

"Director, look at this... this is the local monitoring data from the area near the Jingda Affiliated High School."

The director leaned in to look.

It was an extremely microscopic energy cloud map. Although the entire capital was glowing, in that part of the old city area—where Su Yun's home was located—that mysterious purple energy seemed... slightly denser by a billionth.

But because the surrounding data was all skyrocketing, this subtle difference was like an extra drop of water in the ocean, almost undetectable.

"What's wrong with this area?" The director frowned.

"It seems... the fluctuation was 0.01 seconds earlier than elsewhere." Old Zhang wasn't too sure either; after all, this was within the margin of error.

"Investigate!"

The director made a prompt decision. "Whether it's a god passing by or a leyline shift, such a big matter must be reported to the Military Department! Also, send two teams to check this coordinate point, and bring the highest-precision mana detectors!"

He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and looked at the still-calm night sky outside the window.

For some reason, he felt that the moon tonight seemed even brighter than usual.

...