I reign supreme in the Western fantasy world for eternity.

The next morning, Ji Tian, ​​still feeling the effects of the mushroom, was woken up by a knock on the door.

He opened the door, and the old butler, Gregor, stood in the doorway, holding a tray.

On the tray were a bowl of hot porridge, two eggs, a piece of bread, and a crystal ball the size of a fist.

The crystal ball rested on a copper base with an extremely smooth surface that shimmered faintly in the morning light.

"Miss asked me to assess your talent." The old butler placed the tray on the table and put the crystal ball next to it. "Eat first, then we'll do the assessment."

Ji Tian sat on the edge of the bed, picked up the porridge and took a sip; the temperature was just right.

The old butler stood to the side, his hands behind his back, quietly watching him eat.

Those aged eyes held a scrutinizing quality, but it wasn't entirely scrutiny; it was somewhat like the awakened martial spirit in online novels.

After the meal, the old butler placed the crystal ball on the table and gestured for Ji Tian to put his hand on it.

He explained the testing process: "Place your hands on the crystal ball, close your eyes, and don't think about anything. Just let the magic flow naturally within your body, and the crystal ball will automatically display your talent level."

Ji Tian placed his hand on it.

The crystal ball was icy cold, and its smooth texture felt like a stone that had been washed by water for a long time.

He closed his eyes, cleared his mind, and let the magic flow slowly along the most basic cyclical path.

a circle.

Two laps.

Three laps.

The room was extremely quiet.

He could hear the old butler's breathing, the sounds of soldiers moving equipment on the training field outside the window, and the birdsong in the distant woods.

He heard the old butler gasp.

Ji Tian opened his eyes and looked down at the crystal ball.

A storm is brewing inside the crystal ball.

A burst of light erupted from the center of the sphere, as if something inside had exploded.

White, gold, blue, red... all kinds of light intertwined, spinning, colliding, and surging wildly inside the crystal ball.

The entire sphere was glowing, so bright it was almost blinding.

Light burst forth from inside the sphere, as if something wanted to burst out.

The surface of the crystal ball began to heat up, and the copper base emitted a faint humming sound, as if it were under some kind of enormous pressure.

The old butler's voice was a little strained, "That's enough, that's enough."

Ji Tiansong let go.

The light slowly faded, and the crystal ball returned to its original state.

But the old butler's expression changed.

He stood by the table, looking at the crystal ball, and remained silent for a long time.

The wrinkles on her face seemed deeper than before, and her fingers unconsciously rubbed the edge of her sleeve.

"My lord?" Ji Tian called out to him.

The old butler snapped out of his daze, glanced at him, and his gaze was completely different from before; it was something... Ji Tian couldn't quite put his finger on it.

It was as if there was a thick barrier separating them.

The old butler turned and walked out, saying, "Come with me."

They walked through the corridor, passed through the garden, and finally stopped in front of a door on the east side of the manor.

The old butler knocked on the door.

Elena's voice came from inside the house, "Come in."

Pushing open the door, I saw Elena sitting at her desk, a half-read book in front of her.

She saw Ji Tian come in with the old butler, and then she noticed the old butler's expression and raised an eyebrow.

"What's wrong? Is he really that untalented?"

The old butler didn't speak, but walked up to Elena, leaned down and whispered a few words in her ear. Ji Tian only heard the words "crystal ball," "all attributes," and "overload."

Elena's expression changed.

His usual "disillusioned with the world" expression turned somewhat solemn.

Ji Tian thought to himself, 'Is everyone in a Western fantasy world a riddle teller?'

She looked up at the old butler to confirm, "Are you sure?"

The old butler's voice was low, "I'm sure, the crystal ball has never reacted like that before, never."

Elena remained silent for a long time.

She then stood up and paced back and forth, as if considering something.

Finally, she lowered her voice and said, "Gregor, you go out first. I have something to say to him."

The old butler glanced at Ji Tian, ​​bowed, and turned to leave the room.

The door closed gently behind him.

Only the two of them remained in the room.

Elena stood by the window, the sunlight shining on her and making her light blue dress gleam.

She didn't speak, and neither did Ji Tian; they just stood there, waiting quietly.

Having built up the atmosphere sufficiently, Elena finally spoke:

Do you know why I'm teaching you magic?

"have no idea."

"Because... I need someone."

Ji Tian remained silent, waiting for the other person to continue telling the story.

"I have a great talent for magic. The headmaster of the magic academy in the capital came to my father personally and said he was willing to take me as his last disciple. A cardinal of the church saw me casting a spell at a banquet and said on the spot, 'This child is a genius sent by God.'"

She sat back down in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest.

"It's no exaggeration to say that I'm currently among the most talented people outside of the hero's party who obtained the Holy Sword. Do you know what that means?"

Ji Tian thought for a moment:

"It means you're valuable."

That's how it's written in cultivation novels: geniuses whose strength hasn't yet been fully realized have many uses. They can be used as alchemy talents, as marriage partners for powerful families, or even as targets for possession by powerful sect elders.

Elena nodded, a bitter smile playing on her lips.

"Yes, it's very valuable, so valuable that everyone would want it."

She looked down at her fingers.

"The cardinal of the church wants me to marry his nephew; the nobles of the capital want me to marry their sons; even the king is planning to send someone to propose marriage, saying he wants his second prince to marry me."

Her voice grew softer and softer.

"My father is just a viscount who works in the capital. He can't afford to offend anyone. But no matter who I marry, everyone else will be unhappy, and those who are unhappy will try to make him even more unhappy."

Ji Tian listened quietly.

Elena looked up and continued, "So he sent me here mainly to hide me."

She stared blankly at the sky outside the window.

"This fiefdom is very remote. There are no magic towers, no monster lairs, and even the church priests don't want to come here. I'll stay here for a few years, wait for the storm to pass, and wait for those people to find new geniuses and new targets. Maybe no one will remember me anymore."

She paused, and seeing that Ji Tianyou was listening attentively, she continued:

"But I know this is just stalling for time."

She turned her head and looked at Ji Tian.

The sunlight shone on her face, making her eyes appear exceptionally bright.

"Sooner or later, those people will come knocking. Maybe next year, maybe the year after, maybe the day my father can't hold on any longer. When that time comes, I will still get married. Marry someone I don't even know, go to a place I don't want to go, and live a life I never want to live."

She took a deep breath.

"So I need someone."

She looked at Ji Tian, ​​her voice becoming very soft.

"An ordinary person. Someone with no background, no power, and nobody pays attention to them. Someone who can be used as a shield."

The room was extremely quiet.

Ji Tian stood there, looking at her.

"You taught me magic because of..."

"Because I need you to live," Elena interrupted him. "A weak shield dies too quickly. So I'm going to teach you magic to make you stronger. Strong enough to survive until I realize my potential."

She paused.

"But now—"

She looked at Ji Tian with a complicated expression.

"Things are different now."

She didn't say "what's different," she just stood there, looking at Ji Tian.

"Ji Tian, ​​do you know what having all attributes means?"

Ji Tian did not answer immediately.

His brain was working at high speed.

"All attributes? Affinity to all seven attributes?"

"In the cultivation world where spiritual energy is abundant, this is called a 'chaotic body'; in places where it is scarce, it might be called a 'mixed spiritual root'."

"All methods lead to oneness, and all techniques are interconnected. The five elements generate each other, and yin and yang complement each other. There are no bottlenecks in cultivation, and no limitations in techniques."

"In the online novels of my past life, this kind of physique was extremely rare, and once it appeared, it was destined by fate."

"In my previous life, I cultivated diligently for ten years, but I couldn't even sense any spiritual energy. In this life, I was reborn in another world, and I thought I was just an ordinary person."

"And you give me a chaotic entity instead?"

He tried his best to suppress the corners of his mouth.

"Is Heaven... compensating me?"

"That means you can learn any kind of magic. You have an affinity for all seven elements: fire, water, wind, earth, light, darkness, and lightning. In the thousands of years of magical history across the entire continent, the number of recorded all-elemental magicians can be counted on one hand." She didn't respond to Ji Tian's guess, speaking as if in a dream or talking to herself.

"And Gregor said the crystal ball is overloaded. Not 'full,' not 'off the charts,' but—overloaded. That crystal ball is specifically used to test talent, with a limit of legendary level. Even a Grand Magister wouldn't overload it."

She looked at him.

Do you understand what this means?

Ji Tian spoke without thinking:

"It means I'm very valuable."

Elena smiled again.

This time she really smiled, her eyes crinkling into crescents.

"Yes, you're worth much more than me."

She stood up, walked over, and stood very close to Ji Tian. So close that he could see his own reflection in her eyes.

"So," she took a deep breath, "I'm telling you this now because you're no longer an ordinary person. Once your talent becomes known, all the powers across the continent will come after you: the Church, the capital, the magic academy, the various noble families… they will all want you. Some want to win you over, some want to control you, and some—"

Her voice lowered.

"Some people might want to kill you. Because an all-elemental mage who doesn't belong to any faction is a threat to everyone."

She took a step back and looked at him.

"So you now have three choices."

She held up one finger.

"First, stay here. I'll help you conceal your talent, and you can slowly grow stronger until no one can touch you. But this path is dangerous. Once exposed, you'll be facing the most powerful force on the entire continent."

"Second, actively seeking refuge with a major power, although there is a possibility of being assassinated by other forces, the mortality rate is only 80%."

She held up her third finger.

"Third, leave here. Go back to your village, continue being a tenant farmer, and pretend nothing happened. Nobody will notice a rural tenant farmer. You can live a peaceful life."

She lowered her hand and looked at him.

Choose.

Ji Tian looked at her.

No hesitation.

I won't choose any of them.

Elena was taken aback: "Huh?"

"Or rather, choose both."

He took half a step forward, his gaze calm and resolute.

"First, I won't leave. I need a place to start and gradually grow stronger."

"Secondly, I will not pledge allegiance to any power. To live under someone else's roof and depend on them for one's own gain is not the path a seeker of the Way should take."

"Third, I won't go back to the village. What would I do there? Farm? Fight? Wait to die?"

He paused.

"What I want to do is create my own power."

Elena frowned her beautiful brows. "You're all alone—"

Ji Tian interrupted her, "You're not alone. You're never alone on the path; there will always be others to follow. As long as the path is right, there will always be people to follow."

He looked into Elena's eyes.

"You just said you needed a shield. An ordinary person, someone with no connections."

"But now, I'm not an ordinary person anymore."

"So," Elena's voice tightened, "you're leaving?"

"No."

Ji Tian shook his head.

"I said, I'll choose both."

He thought for a moment, then rephrased it in a way she could understand:

There's an old saying in my hometown: "Those who understand the times are heroes." But there's another saying: "When fortune smiles, heaven and earth lend their strength; when luck turns, even heroes are powerless."

"Now, my time has come."

Looking at Elena, his heroic spirit soared to the heavens:

"Your talent is 'very high,' while my talent is 'only countable on one hand in thousands of years.'"

You're being targeted by those people because you're a "fat piece of meat."

"But what if—"

He leaned forward slightly.

"What if there's a 'power' behind you that's bigger than anyone else?"

Elena paused, then asked, "What do you mean?"

"Literal meaning."

Ji Tianzhi stood up.

"I'll create a faction, and you'll be its 'Chief Mage,' or 'Vice Sect Master,' 'Grand Elder'... whatever you want to call you."

"Those people will have to ask me first if they want to mess with you again."

Elena looked at him, somewhat incredulous. "Are you crazy? You just learned fireball magic..."

"An 'all-attribute chaotic body' that has just learned the fireball spell," Ji Tian corrected her.

Elena opened her mouth, then closed it again.

She couldn't refute this claim.

Ji Tian added, "Moreover, I don't just know fireballs. I know many other things too."

"What is it?"

Ji Tian thought for a moment, "For example, how to cultivate the most magicians with the fewest resources, how to break through the limitations of talent using the most rudimentary method, and how to turn an ordinary person into a monster capable of fighting against the strong within ten years."

He paused.

"But I have now begun my journey into the path of cultivation. What you cannot teach me, I can teach you."

Elena stared at him for a long time, clearly having been fooled.

In those grey-blue eyes, there was doubt, confusion, shock, and... a faint, almost invisible glimmer of hope, suppressed deep within.