If You Don't Want It, It's Mine

Yu Xian looked at the remaining two little ones and asked with a smile, "Who wants to awaken their ability next?" "Big Brother, it's my turn! I want to awaken my ability!" Little Nora raised its hand at once, looking at Yu Xian with eager anticipation. Truth be told, Yu Xian had originally hoped Little Nora and Little Huangquan would grow a bit older before awakening their abilities. But ever since discovering that his own ability could change, he had vaguely understood that the Power of True Self was not set in stone, but rather a reflection of one's inner heart. As long as Little Nora and Little Huangquan's minds and spirits continued to grow, their abilities would evolve accordingly. Therefore, it was hard to say whether awakening earlier or later was truly better or worse. After all, sometimes the simpler a person was, the purer their essence, and their Power of True Self might end up surprisingly formidable. Yu Xian glanced at Little Huangquan before pressing a finger to Little Nora's forehead. In an instant, Little Nora gave a whole-body shudder, followed by a burst of joyful laughter as it pulled food out of thin air and began wolfing it down in huge bites. "The ability you awakened... it couldn't just be conjuring food, could it?" Yu Xian asked somewhat uncertainly at the sight. Little Nora chirped cheerfully, "Big Brother, you guessed right! The name of my ability is 'If You Don't Want It, It's Mine.' Basically, it lets me conjure clean, untouched food that nobody wants!" "..." Everyone stared at Little Nora, completely speechless. Yet Little Nora was overjoyed, conjuring food nonstop to feast upon. One moment it was a steak, the next a drumstick, followed by pizza, then steamed buns, and even the roasted tail of some unknown beast. "Big Brother, do you want some?" Little Nora conjured an animal egg, and remembering that Yu Xian was watching, asked politely. Yu Xian gave a helpless, wry smile. "I'm not hungry. Eat it yourself." He had made peace with it, too; what kind of ability it was didn't really matter. The most important thing was that Little Nora liked it. After all, the ability belonged exclusively to Little Nora, so as long as Little Nora found it fitting, that was enough. "Little Nora, are you saying... this food isn't conjured from thin air, but is food discarded by others?" Niman caught onto the blind spot at this point and asked, looking at Little Nora. Gulping down a chicken leg in one bite, Little Nora nodded. "Mm, that's how it works!" The moment the Power of True Self awakened, the user would naturally grasp its fundamental function; as for its deeper nuances and applications, those would need to be unearthed over time. After all, the person one understood least was oneself, yet the one most in need of understanding was often also oneself. Only by knowing what one pursued could one comprehend how to move forward. Yu Xian didn't feel like racking his brain. Seeing that Niman seemed to have realized something, he asked, "Niman, is there something wrong with Little Nora's ability?" "If Little Nora's food truly comes from other creatures, that means this ability is actually spatial in nature. But right now we're in the Abyss—can you use your abilities?" Niman looked at Yu Xian and asked. Yu Xian was taken aback. His eyes widened as he watched Little Nora conjure another steamed bun and stuff it into its beak. Astonished, he said, "There are zero spatial ripples, and yet it can still be used in the Abyss!" Although Little Nora's ability could only conjure food, its rank was likely astonishingly high. Mighty One rank? Yu Xian found himself thinking of Zhenwo Changjing. After all, this Power of True Self was Zhenwo Changjing's parting gift. Didn't that mean the rank of everyone's Power of True Self might be far, far higher than he had estimated? "All right, don't dwell on it. Thinking any further won't give us answers anyway; we can test it slowly later," Niman said with a smile, seeing that Yu Xian had caught on. If the awakened Power of True Self was inherently at the level of a Mighty One, could her awakened ability possibly defend against the Abyss's erosion? She could hardly wait to test it. Yu Xian readily accepted her advice and let the thought drop. Just as Niman had said, he certainly wouldn't be able to fathom the power left behind by Zhenwo Changjing just by pondering it. It was better to focus on what he could do right now. Next, he turned his gaze to Little Huangquan. He could vaguely sense what kind of ability she might awaken, but he decided he couldn't treat them unequally. "Come here, Little Huangquan. Time to awaken your ability." Yu Xian reached out and touched the center of Little Huangquan's brow. In a flash of green light, Little Huangquan's Power of True Self awakened. Yu Xian had originally thought her ability would certainly have to do with cooking—perhaps pots, pans, dishes, or various kitchen utensils—yet Little Huangquan proceeded to conjure a flute. "A flute?" Yu Xian looked at the flute in Little Huangquan's hands with some surprise. Little Huangquan said happily, "This is the Huangquan Soul-Sending Flute! Playing it quickly dissolves spiritual bodies into spiritual light, sending them to reincarnate!" Evidently, having her body possessed by so many Yellow Springs water ghosts back then had not left her completely unaffected. She might not mind it now, but on the level of the 'True Self,' that lesson had been carved deep into her soul. "Little Huangquan's ability is quite good. At least whenever we encounter soul entities, spirits, fierce ghosts, and the like, Little Huangquan will be more than enough to handle them on her own," Niman smiled. Little Nora piped up indignantly, "My ability is great too! At least none of us will ever have to worry about going hungry again!" "Mhm, mhm!" Little Huangquan looked at Little Nora with admiration, nodding in agreement. She genuinely felt Little Nora's ability was better than hers. Her own ability only targeted spirits, whereas Little Nora's could fill everyone's bellies. "Now that everyone has awakened their Power of True Self, our goal for the next few days will be to adapt to our new abilities and uncover any hidden effects they might have," Yu Xian told the group with a smile. Conjuring food in endless succession, Little Nora was the first to endorse Yu Xian's suggestion. It loved its ability so much—from now on, it would never have to fear an empty stomach. However, as it continued to conjure food, an egg suddenly appeared in its grasp. In fact, it had already conjured quite a few eggs, but those had all been cooked. The one it produced this time, however, was raw. Moreover, barely a moment after appearing, it let out a sharp crack, the shell shattered, and a baby girl with dragon horns immediately burst into wails. Everyone present fell dead silent. A slice of pizza still dangling from Little Nora's mouth, it stared blankly at the baby girl from the egg, completely stunned. When it was a Garuda, it had indeed eaten dragons, but in reality, the dragons it preyed on were beasts devoid of self-awareness. It didn't actually eat dragons endowed with true consciousness and intellect. The difference between the two was roughly as vast as that between humans and chimpanzees. "Fascinating!" Looking at the baby girl, Niman caught on to some of the deeper intricacies of Little Nora's ability. Little Nora's ability actually had a constraint: 'food that others don't want.' Simply put, some creature had previously regarded this egg as food, only to subsequently abandon it, thereby allowing Little Nora to claim this 'food.' Looked at this way, however, the scope of what Little Nora's ability could conjure as 'food' was extraordinarily broad.