Jiang He stared at the text before him, momentarily stunned.
What were those images just now? An awakening phenomenon?
But according to what he'd heard, awakening a transcendent talent was always "over in a flash," with no mention of any "phenomena" or "visions."
Was it because of his talent?
Jiang He's thoughts stirred, and the text before him shifted—
Just as divine beings of old were said to be born with knowledge, Transcendent individuals, after awakening their talents, would automatically comprehend relevant information and could at any time understand their own condition. This was all part of being a Transcendent.
The text before him was merely a manifestation.
[Talent Name: Time Ferry]
[Description: With the "Moment of Awakening" as the temporal nexus, your future branches into an infinite number of possibilities. As the "Source" of these possibilities, you have gained the power to ferry the future, transforming "possibility" into "reality."]
[Effect: Each week, you can randomly reveal a future where you have awakened a different talent, and summon your future self as an Eidolon to the present.]
While the Eidolon exists, you gain its talents; when the Eidolon vanishes, you extract one of its abilities.
Summoned Eidolons persist for one week. After vanishing and a cooldown period, they can be summoned again.
Revealing the future, summoning Eidolons?
Jiang He racked his brains, but couldn't find any similar talents in the "Talent Encyclopedia" from his memories.
He could only try to interpret the meaning of this talent himself—
"If time is a colossal tree, branching out at certain stages based on different possibilities..."
"Then the moment I 'come of age and awaken my talent' is the 'critical node' where these branches emerge."
"At this moment, I might awaken the weakest talent, or the strongest, or even a talent like Du Lingwei's [Flame Spirit's Protection]...and from there, develop into different futures..."
"The [Time Ferry] talent can summon these future versions of myself, from decades hence, to the present, allowing me to acquire their abilities..."
"It's like a child with insatiable greed, wanting every kind of future, unwilling to let go of any possibility."
Jiang He's thoughts clarified, and his breathing grew rapid.
This was absolutely an ultimate talent, transcending all talents currently recorded by humanity, impossible to assess with grades or rarity, an unknown tier of power!
What it represented was nothing less than [Possibility]!
Considering the talent alone, he had one chance to reveal a future each week, totaling fifty-two times a year.
Even with bad luck, he might draw a future with a rare talent, and with slightly better luck, a future with a god-tier talent!
Not to mention, summoning future Eidolons inherently meant [Future Sight]; he could use this to understand what would happen in the future, to know critical event points in time...
"Dad, Mom, your son has made it big!!"
Jiang He trembled with excitement, then vigorously kowtowed several times to his parents' photos.
To awaken a talent of this caliber, he wondered how much karmic merit they must have accumulated for him.
He would absolutely not let down his parents' hopes.
Activating Talent: Reveal Future!
Light and shadow shifted before his eyes, transforming the text into a golden card.
The golden glow on the card's surface dimmed, and golden flakes drifted away, revealing an image—
Against a dark background, a pale-haired young man sat in a chair. A healed scar marked his neck. He wore a solemn black suit, his fingers intertwined, his eyes downcast.
Text appeared below.
[Time: Sixty Years Later]
[Talent: Word Spirit]
[Description: Words are law, commanding all spirits.]
[Effect: Infuse transcendent power into spoken words, granting them supernatural effects.]
With billions of talents recorded by humanity, Jiang He had already prepared himself for the first few draws to be useless, placing his primary hopes on the future sight aspect.
He hadn't expected, however, that the very first reveal of the future would unveil an extremely rare and powerful talent!
Jiang He recalled that this talent, named Word Spirit, was recorded in the "Talent Encyclopedia," first discovered in 1992. Its user had easily defeated a powerful Transcendent, earning it an S-rank rating!
One must remember, Du Lingwei's [Flame Spirit's Protection] talent was only rated A-rank in the encyclopedia!
"A version of me from sixty years in the future, possessing an S-rank talent..."
Jiang He took several deep breaths, barely managing to control his surging excitement.
Then, he raised a finger and tapped the card before him.
Time Ferry, Eidolon Summon!
In that instant, the card shattered with a pop, dissolving into countless motes of light that swirled and converged in the mourning hall, forming a pale-haired young man in a suit.
The young man opened his vacant eyes, his pupils focusing.
"This is... the past?" The white-haired youth scanned his surroundings, his gaze falling upon the two photographs in the mourning hall. His eyes flickered, then lowered slightly. "2029."
"You summoned me." He looked at the visibly excited Jiang He beside him, a smile playing on his lips. "Interesting."
Just as Jiang He was about to speak, he watched the white-haired youth ignore him, pull open the mourning hall door, and walk out.
The white-haired youth confidently made his way to the kitchen, opened the refrigerator, took out a bottle of iced milk, and drank it nonchalantly, as if he had returned to his own home.
Wait, he *had* returned to his own home.
After finishing the milk, the white-haired youth picked up a torn bag of biscuits, stuffing them into his mouth as he turned to look at Jiang He.
"So, tell me, what's your talent?"
"..."
My future self is so rude.
No, wait, do I need to be polite to myself?
Jiang He watched the white-haired youth gorging himself, feeling a strange sensation of his left and right brain fighting. His excitement cooled slightly.
Facing the question, he honestly replied.
"My talent is Time Ferry..."
As Jiang He finished speaking, the white-haired youth also finished his biscuits.
He wiped his mouth, unable to help but muse, "Truly sly, as expected of me."
Seeing that he had understood the current situation, a flicker of anticipation rose in Jiang He, and he eagerly asked, "You're the sixty-years-later me who awakened the [Word Spirit] talent... What is the future like? What's your current strength? Have you become an S-rank Transcendent...?"
"Stop, stop, stop." The white-haired youth interrupted Jiang He.
"We can talk about all that later. First, let me ask you... are you a pig?"
Jiang He froze. "Huh?"
The white-haired youth almost had the words "I can't believe I used to be such an idiot" written across his face. He sighed. "Have you ever considered that the future you is not *you*?"
"Take me for example. I've lived sixty more years than you. These experiences have shaped me, giving me a completely different way of thinking from you..."
"What if I lived an extremely failed life, became a cynical, antisocial personality, even resenting my past idiot self... In that situation, I'm summoned by you, and I see you possess such a sly talent, destined to live a better life than me..."
"What do you think would happen?"
Jiang He felt as if a basin of cold water had been thrown over him. His excitement had long since vanished, replaced by a chill down his spine.
He spoke with difficulty. "You would..."
"I would kill you without hesitation, even if it meant my own disappearance," the white-haired youth said indifferently.
"..."
Jiang He's Adam's apple bobbed.
Had he really just walked through the gates of hell?
Seeing Jiang He's expression, the white-haired youth offered a satisfied smile and patted his shoulder.
"But, you can relax now."
Jiang He asked, "...Are you a good person?"
"Of course." The white-haired youth smiled and nodded, then walked to the sofa and sat down. "I tested it for you. As an Eidolon you've summoned, my power cannot affect you in any way... and furthermore, if I were to have any subjective intention to harm you, I would be unable to control my own body... To put it simply, it wouldn't work."
"However, you still need to be very careful in the future—the inability to subjectively cause harm doesn't mean there are absolutely no issues."
"As long as I harbor ill will toward you, there will always be ways to bypass the 'subjective harm' logic and threaten you through indirect, roundabout methods."
Hearing the white-haired youth's warning.
Jiang He nodded earnestly. "Thank you."
"No need for thanks. This is your first lesson from me—maintain vigilance, even toward yourself."
The white-haired youth said calmly, "As a 78-year-old man, I still have many things I can teach you... including what you want to know about future events, as well as the skills I've mastered, Transcendent professions, and everything else that can enhance your power."
"But you should already understand that I am not you, so none of this will be free."
"You must pay the price."
Jiang He gazed at the white-haired youth's familiar face, momentarily falling silent.
So this was his future self.
Mature, meticulous... yet unfamiliar.
Despite having a face so similar to his own, he felt so utterly foreign.
Was this what growth entailed?
Jiang He took a deep breath. "I understand. So, what's the price?"
"Money."
The white-haired youth suddenly grinned, a flicker of genuine longing in his eyes. "At this point in time, Uncle Cui's Cold Noodles is still open, right? Give me your phone; I'm going to buy a bowl of cold noodles!"
"Haven't eaten it in decades; I'm practically starving for it!"
"And also Spirit Ox Fresh Milk, Crispy Biscuits, Yishengxuan Fried Chicken, Wafish Vermicelli, Cao's Pork Hock Rice... It's not easy to come back sixty years, I have to eat all of these at least once!"
The white-haired youth rattled off a long list of foods, as if reading from a menu.
Jiang He recalled the scene of him being summoned and immediately ransacking the refrigerator, and a sudden realization dawned on him.
Damn it, my future self is a foodie!
He had been chattering on and on for ages, all just to get money for food!
"Oh, right," the white-haired youth said, taking the phone from Jiang He's hand and standing up.
"You'll be summoning many different versions of us in the future, so you'll definitely need separate ways to address us."
"I'll claim a name first—"
The white-haired youth looked at his reflection in the television screen, then touched his hair.
"White-haired Jiang He... From now on, I'll be called Bai He."