Chapter 16: Demonstrating Ability

It was Su Ninglong’s turn to enter the testing room. Xing Yuan gently pushed her inside the door. “I’ll be waiting for you outside.”

Hai Yu quickly crouched down to comfort Charlie. “Charlie, special abilities aren’t something you’re born with; everyone has to work hard to acquire them. Do you feel sad or disappointed just because Ninglong has a special ability and you don’t?”

Charlie’s curly hair flicked up, his expression blank but earnest. He said proudly, “Big sister has always been so amazing.” As Su Ninglong’s little fanboy, what he couldn’t do, she could, and that was perfectly natural.

His chubby face was filled with pride.

Hai Yu sighed with relief and said dryly, “Being carefree can be considered a kind of peace of mind, right?”

Xing Yuan couldn’t help but chuckle. “Exactly, exactly. Ninglong is sharp and brilliant. I’m more worried about losing my own position.”

Hai Yu looked at him with sympathy. “Don’t worry, you were personally chosen by Su Ninglong. Among all the guides, no one’s better looking than you.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Su Ninglong took an unusually long time inside the testing room, forcing the school to open another test room for those waiting behind her.

As soon as she entered, a voice inside the room instructed her to push open a specific door. After pushing open two doors in succession, a soldier in camouflage stood inside the room.

He had a square face and mechanical ears, exuding an air of stern resilience.

“Hello, Su Ninglong. My name is Yun Fei.” He got straight to the point, pointing at two tokens on the table. “I’ve watched your pre-admission test three times. I greatly admire your composure and approach during the third stage. I noticed you separated the two tokens after touching them. Could you demonstrate that again?”

“Is this a special ability too?”

“For us, yes. It’s a very useful special ability.”

Under Yun Fei’s watchful gaze, Su Ninglong picked up the two tokens.

To her, the tokens felt unchanged, and she casually pressed them together.

Instantly, a vortex of magnetic force erupted between the tokens, releasing a sinister aura. Su Ninglong’s bangs fluttered without wind.

A terrifying pressure radiated from the tokens, and the white LED lights flickered as if they had encountered a supernatural event.

It seemed as if something was stirring around the room, watching everything with malicious intent.

Yun Fei observed Su Ninglong’s expression closely and saw no sign of struggle or change—indeed, no change at all.

The two tokens exchanged ominous energies at a rapid pace.

Just as they were about to merge, Su Ninglong tried to separate them.

But the tokens clung to each other, and the strength of her small hands was insufficient to pry them apart.

Yun Fei smiled slightly. As long as she wasn’t affected by the tokens, this was a good result.

He reached out, intending to take over.

Su Ninglong raised her hand and slammed it hard onto the table. A crisp “pop” sounded.

The two tokens separated completely.

“I’m not good at being gentle; you have to use force sometimes. It’s annoying,” she said, perfectly echoing Zou Shuyi’s habitual phrase, even matching the tone.

She gently set the tokens down. “Is that good enough? Don’t worry, they’re not damaged.”

Su Ninglong was deeply worried about incurring debt, given her financial struggles.

“Of course,” Yun Fei said with a crooked smile. He wondered if he had imagined it—could the tokens really be separated by brute force?

Cutting machines couldn’t touch them, yet a child’s light tap made them yield.

He flipped the tokens over in his hands and, without much thought, put them away.

Then a small device rose from the table. “This is an ability detector. It tests whether you have a special ability. You can place your hand on it.”

Su Ninglong wasn’t sure if the spiritual energy within her body would trigger the detector.

Instead, she simply showed Yun Fei the spiritual flame.

“If this counts as a special ability, then I have one. No need for further testing.”

Yun Fei’s pupils contracted slightly as he suppressed his excitement. “When did it emerge? After killing the Hunger Bind?”

“Yes, seems like it was then.” Su Ninglong cleverly designated her cultivation skills as her special ability, paving a clear path for future training.

“Any other special abilities?”

“Is it better to have more special abilities?”

“We can allocate resources more focused on your abilities.”

Xing Yuan’s words were right—having special abilities meant special treatment.

Su Ninglong decided to showcase a little more strength in front of Yun Fei to bolster her chances of staying at the school.

“Do you have any small metal objects?”

A small knife was handed to her.

“Be careful,” Yun Fei said.

He gave her a dagger with a thick blade and sharp edge. Running a fingertip lightly along it, she could feel air currents flowing over the blade—a fine weapon.

Su Ninglong summoned her spiritual flame and placed the blade into the fire to reforge it.

The process was slow. She carefully controlled her spiritual power output. Gradually, layers of gray material peeled off the blade, as if trying to melt away.

Yun Fei felt a twinge of regret, worried his prized dagger might become ruined.

Su Ninglong panted, beads of sweat forming on her nose. She was still too weak. Back in the day, she could carve a thousand intricate array patterns in just two breaths.

Now, she couldn’t even finish this in half an hour.

But since she was here, she had to complete it.

The silver blade shimmered with red light, slowly forming a mysterious pattern.

The last flicker of spiritual flame was consumed, and the pattern faded into the blade’s surface, disappearing. The dagger had shrunk slightly in size.

Su Ninglong took a deep breath, steadying herself.

She held the blade by the handle and extended it toward him. “It’s loyal. It has recognized you as its master. Don’t betray it—use it often in battle, and it will surprise you.”

Even Yun Fei, with his extensive experience, couldn’t understand what she meant.

It was just a personal dagger—how could it be loyal?

He took the dagger. A chilling coldness seeped through his fingertips, as if he could hear the metal singing.

Anyone who knew weapons would recognize this as a rare cold weapon.

He had once come into contact with a similarly exquisite piece made by a master craftsman of the Dwellers—a non-sale item.

Holding it, he too had felt a thrill of excitement.

“What extra capabilities does it have?” Apart from being slightly smaller, it seemed unchanged.

“Sharper.”

Seeing Yun Fei didn’t grasp her meaning, Su Ninglong pointed to the white paper on the table. “Blade facing up, stack three sheets of paper and place them on the blade’s edge.”

Yun Fei complied.

A magical scene unfolded: before the paper touched the blade, it split in two, drifting gently to either side.

Yun Fei tried again, observing carefully.

The dagger seemed to have gained an invisible cutting edge.

Remarkable. In just a few minutes, she had created a weapon that would take a craftsman immense time and effort to forge.

He wasn’t saying industrial products couldn’t achieve this quality, but a cold weapon crafted with artisanal skill always carried a certain spirit, making it more fluid and comfortable in use than mass-produced items.

“If I gave you a piece of metal, could you make the same dagger?”

“I don’t know—I haven’t tried.” Her eyes shone like stars as she eagerly asked, “So, what resources can I get?”