Chapter 236 — Hearing History Once More

"Don't tell me there really is a protagonist's halo."

Shi Jin turned to stare straight at the stone mirror. At that moment, Shi Ying's viewpoint kept drawing closer, his gaze seeming to plunge into the world within the mirror.

Scenes of history emerged, blurred.

Through Shi Ying's viewpoint, he saw a child—probably no older than ten—with twin pigtails.

She held the stone mirror and aimed it willy-nilly at roadside rocks and trees, snapping away.

Under the stone mirror's illumination, an astonishing scene unfolded.

Everything the mirror shone upon began to transform.

Rocks evolved into elemental lifeforms, becoming fist-stones with fists floating in the air.

Trees opened their eyes and grew feet, becoming tree spirits and tree demons.

The scene was utterly bizarre.

At the sight, Shi Zhao Zhong blurted "Holy shit"—then the vision cut off abruptly, and Shi Ying's viewpoint was yanked back to reality.

At this moment, Shi Zhuo Wei was startled, staring gravely at the stone mirror.

Wait, hold on?!

This stone mirror...

This stone mirror can make ordinary objects and ordinary lifeforms evolve and awaken into extraordinary beings??!!

Something like the "Awakening Talent" ability???

The Awakening Talent—a rather monstrous beast-taming talent that can cause ordinary roadside stones, lakes, mountains, and rivers to evolve into extraordinary lifeforms, into living beings.

Though this talent possesses no formidable combat power, it can mass-produce pet beasts. From the Shidi Dynasty down to the modern age, every era's rulers have granted titles and lands to beast tamers with this talent. There is no other reason: as they develop the talent, they can steadily produce high-quality superior pet beasts.

Overlord-tier species may be difficult, but with a certain price paid, king-tier species are still achievable.

An undeveloped Awakening Talent might only awaken a stone into a low-tier extraordinary species, a Fist Stone, but a developed Awakening Talent can even awaken a mountain peak into a king-tier species, a Mountain Rock Giant.

They are the creators of pet beasts.

So long as the target of awakening meets the aptitude requirements, they can accelerate its evolution into an extraordinary lifeform and elevate its potential.

The stage at which this talent began to rise was the modern era.

A beast tamer from the Divine Wind Kingdom used the "Awakening Talent" to inaugurate the age of mechanical life. A beast tamer from the ancient nation of Donghuang followed close behind. The concept of the mechanical type spread rapidly across the world, and in the last Totem War, the mechanical type played a vital role.

From what Shi Che knew, Gao Xuan of the Imperial Capital University seemed to possess the Awakening Talent. His mechanical pet beasts had been created according to his own designs, relying on the Awakening Talent plus the help of the big shots of the Fourth Bureau.

And now, Shi Jin rubbed his eyes—what was he seeing?

This was... an object with the effects of the Awakening Talent?

By now, a new batch of people had gathered around the stall, but after one glance at the price tag, they simply shook their heads and walked away.

Behind the stall, the youth sitting on the wooden stool clutched at his trousers. His legs had gone numb from sitting, yet he still stared straight at the stone mirror.

He did not believe that the treasure passed down through his family for generations was merely an ordinary object. He need only wait... someone who knew its worth would surely appear.

"You..."

Just as the youth's mind was in utter turmoil, a dark figure appeared within his line of sight.

He looked up and saw a tall young man in a dark red trench coat and cloak, only a few years his senior.

"What's your name?" Shi Tang asked.

"An Chang," he said directly, facing Shi Ying's inquiry.

"Is what's written on the wooden board true?"

An Chang nodded emphatically.

"I'll buy this stone mirror," Shi Jin said directly, getting to the point.

At this moment, Shi Cen was nervous. Though he now knew the stone mirror had been a treasure in the past, what its present condition was remained uncertain.

If it was not a matter of failing to find the right method of use, but rather that it had lost its function, then Shi Jin would suffer a huge loss. Conversely, if he found the method of use, it would be a massive gain!