I Can Copy the Talents of All Creatures

"Ah, what terrifying Sword Qi! I surrender!"

Yu Fei was mortified. ’This old man is a master of faking it.’

But, seeing the complete lack of reaction from the bead, it seemed this method wouldn’t work.

"Teacher, it’s not working!"

Ye Shuping slowly rose to his feet, just like an ordinary old man.

"It’s not working? How do you usually do it? What’s the criteria for a ’defeat’?"

"Uh... I need to completely subdue them, making them lose the ability to resist. Or I have to hold a sword to their neck, so their life or death depends on my whim."

Ye Shuping’s brow furrowed. "This is going to be a problem! Come on, try using that technique of yours, the one where you gather Sword Qi. Use your most powerful version, aim the sword at my vitals, and I won’t resist. Let’s see what happens!"

The old master stood there, ready to be "captured." Yu Fei gathered the absolute limit of Sword Qi he could control, forming it into a colossal sword shadow that blotted out the sky. He pointed the tip at the old master’s head, but the bead still showed no reaction.

"Sigh!"

Ye Shuping let out a long sigh, and Yu Fei’s Sword Qi instantly crumbled to dust.

"It seems your ability can’t be faked in the slightest. Even with my cooperation, you still need to have the actual power to harm me!

You need more practice. I estimate you’ll only be able to do it once you’re a Grandmaster!"

Yu Fei was embarrassed. He couldn’t even imagine how powerful the old master was. A single sigh had dispelled his strongest attack. In other words, even if Ye Shuping willingly cooperated, Yu Fei couldn’t kill him.

’This is bad!’

’I’ve marked the old master, but I haven’t defeated him, so I can’t copy his talent. My ability isn’t going to get stuck on him, is it?!’

"What’s wrong?"

Ye Shuping could see that Yu Fei was in a daze.

"Teacher, my ability is currently targeted on you, but I can’t copy your talent. I’m worried it might be stuck!"

"What, have you never encountered this situation before?"

"I only do this when I’m in a fight I’m certain to win!"

Yu Fei wasn’t sure either. After all, he’d never tried it.

Ye Shuping flicked his long sleeve, and a boundless battle intent surged from him.

"Don’t worry. You wait here for me. Right here. Don’t move. I’ll be right back."

"Huh?"

’Why do the old master’s words sound so familiar? I feel like I’ve read them somewhere before.’

In an instant, Ye Shuping’s figure appeared high above the sea of lava. He clenched his right hand into a fist and struck down simply. Suddenly, it was as if the heavens were falling and the earth was rent asunder as a tidal wave of lava that blotted out the sky came crashing down.

Yu Fei frantically unleashed a ceaseless stream of Sword Qi, using it to propel himself higher into the sky.

In the face of such a terrifying, apocalyptic scene, how could he dare to stay put?

By using this method of what was essentially infinite teleportation, he gained a temporary ability to fly.

Faced with a disaster of this magnitude, if he didn’t run, he’d be toast.

Ye Shuping’s punch had actually pierced through the entire sea of lava, creating a void tens of kilometers in diameter, revealing what looked like a solid plate of rock below.

Deep beneath the surface of the Red Sun Realm, there didn’t seem to be a mantle like on his home planet. This was a dead continent.

In the center of the void, Yu Fei saw the familiar gleam of a golden gem. Below it was an enormous, extremely humanoid creature, a full hundred meters tall, with deep red wings.

With a single punch that parted the sea, Ye Shuping had actually heavily injured this terrifying fire spirit.

"ROAR!"

The Rank 9 fire spirit roared, but an even greater terror awaited it.

The old master reached out and grabbed. A giant claw formed from the condensed energy of the world seized the Rank 9 fire spirit by the neck and dragged it out.

Then, with a BANG, BANG, two more punches, the seemingly imposing and intimidating fire spirit was on its last breath, on the verge of death.

"Here, try and see if you can copy this thing’s talent!"

Ye Shuping carried the Rank 9 fire spirit over to Yu Fei. Only up close could he truly feel its powerful aura.

A Rank 9 fire spirit was equivalent to a Martial Saint, and its power was greater than that of a Grandmaster. However, because its methods were one-dimensional, it was much weaker than a human Martial Saint and no match for one.

But Ye Shuping had dealt with it far too easily. It was like he’d rolled up his sleeves, gone out to the garden to pull up a radish, and come back asking if you wanted some, fresh from the ground.

Yu Fei nodded and, with some trepidation, used his marking ability.

"Eh? It works, Teacher! I can still use my ability."

"That’s good. See what kind of talent this thing has. The fire spirits of the Red Sun Realm are usually only Rank 7. It’s rare to find one with the strength of a Rank 9; they’re basically all slumbering beneath the lava."

Without another word, Yu Fei summoned a colossal greatsword. It was his strongest technique.

The greatsword fell, struggling to pierce the Rank 9 fire spirit’s dark-red skin. It only managed to cut a foot-deep wound before its power was spent.

But the fire spirit’s head alone was seven or eight meters wide. Gritting his teeth, Yu Fei hacked at it again and again with his greatsword, like using a dull knife, slowly widening the wound.

He could even see the resentful, pleading look the Rank 9 fire spirit was giving Ye Shuping, as if it just wanted a quick death. Ye Shuping had no choice but to pretend he didn’t see it.

Because the fire spirit had been subdued by Ye Shuping and had extremely strong life force, it was difficult for Yu Fei’s attacks to cause a fatal wound. Thus, the condition of "defeating" it was very hard to meet.

After a full hour of hacking, the fire spirit finally got its wish and breathed its last. A golden light flashed, and Yu Fei successfully copied its Gold-tier talent.

Ye Shuping sighed.

"What a sin."

He then collected the energy core that remained after the Rank 9 fire spirit’s body dissipated.

The grade of this thing was extremely high; it would be useless in Yu Fei’s hands anyway.

[Master of Fire]

Quality: Gold

Description: The sovereign of flames.

Effect 1: Greatly increases affinity with fire.

Effect 2: Greatly increases the ability to control fire.

Effect 3: Devour Flame - can strengthen oneself by absorbing fire.

The Master of Fire talent was a bit stronger than Fire Control, but its power was still limited. For a Gold-tier talent, it was relatively underwhelming. Yu Fei could equip it, though. After all, the Devour Flame effect was quite compatible with his Great Sun Glaze Body. However, he didn’t do it right away.

Ye Shuping came forward and carefully examined Yu Fei’s aura. There seemed to be no change.

"Well? What level of talent is it, and what are its effects?"

It was as if a whole new world had been opened up to the old master, and he became extremely curious.

"Teacher, this fire spirit’s talent is also the highest, Rank 9. Its effects are to enhance the absorption of fire-elemental energy, grant a certain degree of fire control, and allow one to absorb flames for Body Refining!"

Ye Shuping looked a little disgusted.

"A talent that trashy is considered the highest rank?"

He didn’t know what a top-tier talent should look like, but at the very least, it shouldn’t be limited to the fire element. This was common knowledge in the world of martial arts.

Judging by the fire spirit’s strength, the old master knew that its ability to absorb flames for Body Refining was nothing special—it couldn’t even withstand two of his punches.

"Teacher, actually, a talent’s power isn’t directly related to its rank. Teacher, do you remember that spatial talent?"

"Of course I remember. That’s an unbelievably overpowered ability!"

"But Teacher, according to my ability’s ranking system, the spatial talent was only Rank 2 when I first got it!"

Ye Shuping frowned. "The rarity and power of a spatial ability are top-tier by any measure. How could its rank be so low?"

Yu Fei explained patiently, "I believe the talent ranks I perceive are just their level of development, not a representation of their rarity or inherent strength."

"I see. That does make sense!"

"Teacher, can you help me catch another Rank 9 fire spirit? Just one more will be enough."

Ye Shuping was a bit puzzled. "Didn’t you already get this fire spirit’s talent? Why do you need another one?"

"Teacher, talents I don’t need can be used to accelerate the development of my other talents. The higher the rank, the better the effect!"

Ye Shuping fell into deep thought. He suddenly had an idea.

"Yu Fei, have you considered raising a fire spirit? Your ability is special, and you need to use it every so often. Although I don’t know the specifics, people with special talents are always rare in this world. We could capture a fire spirit with a Rank 9 talent and keep it at the Profound Bright Palace. Whenever you need it, you can just go over and copy its talent."

It had to be said, this suggestion was very appealing to Yu Fei. If he had a stable resource point for Gold-tier talents, then the Stardust that had been troubling him would no longer be a problem.

But!

"But Teacher, can a Rank 9 fire spirit even be raised? Won’t that thing be too dangerous? And with a body that big..."

The body of a Rank 9 fire spirit was a hundred meters tall and had wings. The thing was a bona fide mobile natural disaster.

"Ah, Yu Fei, have you forgotten something? During the Red Sun Realm’s dormant period, an ordinary Rank 7 fire spirit weakens to Rank 3. So, what do you think a Rank 9 fire spirit will weaken to? This kind of creature is extremely dependent on its environment. If we were to bring it to our home planet, guess how much weaker it would become?"

"You just need to copy its talent. Its actual strength shouldn’t matter that much!"

Yu Fei had a sudden realization. ’That makes perfect sense!’

"Let’s go get you some little toys!"