NOVEL WEB Ch. 4
Chapter 4: The Transcendent Path of the Word-Spirit Talent Holder
May 19th, 8:00 a.m.
Zhongzhou First Senior High School, Teacher’s Office.
「Burn」
With a peculiar rhythm, the voice rang out. The white sheet of paper received the decree of its king, and so it ignited on its own—though it had already turned into a heap of ashes, it still remained ablaze, until the next command was heard.
「Extinguish」
The voice sounded again. The flames were dismissed and vanished into nothingness.
Only a charred mark remained on the desk.
“S-rank talent, Word-Spirit, it really is true!” Wei Sheng’s eyes bulged so wide they were about to pop out of his glasses.
He lifted his head and looked at the frail young man before him, struck speechless.
Just moments ago, when Jiang He had said he had awakened the talent 【Word-Spirit】, Wei Sheng thought he was joking—a failing student who had never managed to awaken any talent suddenly claiming he was a super genius, even dreams wouldn’t go that far.
But when Jiang He displayed his ability and laid the facts before him, he was stunned to realize—
It was real!
The talent 【Word-Spirit】 granted words Transcendent power, forcing the world itself to obey the will of the transcendent… In ancient times, there was a phrase most fitting for this talent.
When words were spoken, laws followed.
Even though he had just awakened, and could not possibly reach such a level, it could still display power far richer than other talents.
Including but not limited to commanding and controlling worldly elements, imposing restrictions or enhancements on others through speech, strengthening or elevating oneself with words…
It was nothing short of omnipotent!
What Jiang He had just demonstrated was exactly that omnipotence.
“Teacher, should I continue?”
Jiang He rubbed his brow.
Unlike the naturally awakened 【Ferryman of Time】, he could not command the 【Word-Spirit】 talent as freely as an arm.
In order to handle today’s talent registration, he had practiced with White Crane for a long while last night. The little bit of Transcendent energy he had just birthed was squeezed dry, leaving him utterly exhausted.
Now, having used the power of Word-Spirit multiple times in a row, he was reaching his limit.
“That’s enough, enough!” Wei Sheng came back to his senses, his face flushed with excitement.
Even Du Lingwei, the student most admired in the school, only possessed an A-rank talent…
Yet, in his own class, an S-rank talent had been born!
He shot to his feet, reaching toward Jiang He, then realized his movement was too rough, stopped midway, and instead forced out a “gentle” smile: “Jiang He, after using your talent so many times, you must be tired. Come, sit.”
Wei Sheng was normally stern before his students, often dragging lessons past their time, and was deeply feared by them—he had even earned the nickname “Sacred Beast.”
Jiang He had never seen the “Sacred Beast” show such an expression or attitude. Goosebumps ran across his skin as he reluctantly sat down.
Wei Sheng spoke kindly: “You possess a top-tier talent, only awakened a little late… I need to go discuss with the principal. You rest here first.”
Jiang He nodded. “Alright.”
“What an obedient child.” Wei Sheng sighed, then pushed the door open and left the office.
When the office door closed, after a pause of several seconds, wild laughter suddenly erupted outside, gradually fading away.
Jiang He couldn’t help muttering, “That’s too exaggerated…”
“It’s not exaggerated.” Another voice sounded.
Jiang He turned his head. The white-haired youth White Crane was standing by the office window, gazing outside at something unseen.
As a heroic spirit, White Crane was currently in his invisible spiritual form, his voice transmitted directly into Jiang He’s mind.
He explained: “Wei Sheng holds the 【Teacher】 profession. Every time he nurtures an outstanding student, he gains growth.”
“An S-rank talent holder, once officially graduated, would absolutely allow him to advance by two or three levels at once… Considering your talent exceeds even S-rank, the growth he gains could be even greater.”
“His luck isn’t bad at all.”
So that was why.
Jiang He suddenly understood.
No wonder he had heard that when Du Lingwei enrolled two years ago, the teachers nearly fought their brains out over who would get to be homeroom teacher of the top class…
Back then, Wei Sheng must have lost the struggle, his face several shades darker than usual, terrifying the more rebellious students into silence.
In cultivation novels, this would be described as seizing the chance for enlightenment!
Speaking of which—
In the system of the Transcendent world, 【Professions】 were just as important as 【Talents】.
Every transcendent had the chance to take on multiple different professions, and they would always possess one basic profession.
When Jiang He awakened his talent last night, he also obtained the basic profession fitting his identity.
【Student】
With a thought, large amounts of information turned into a text panel, floating before his eyes.
……
Name: Jiang He
Attributes: Body 0.8, Spirit 1.1, Energy 1.0
Talents: Ferryman of Time, Word-Spirit (temporary)
Profession: Student Lv11
Specialty: Focus — Enter a focused state, increasing thought speed, continuously consuming spirit.
Skills: To be learned
Comprehensive Power Level: 5.2 (G-rank)
……
Profession: Student
Level: 11 (Automatically increases 1 level per school year, additional levels possible for outstanding performance, each level grants 1 skill point)
Profession Skills: To be learned
Profession Specialty: Focus
Remaining Skill Points: 11
Rating: E
……
Transcendents had the ability to change professions. Even if those professions appeared mundane to common eyes—student, teacher, farmer, merchant, craftsman—they could all bestow Transcendent power.
However, the skill trees unlocked by these professions did not overlap; each was independent.
For example, skill points gained by leveling 【Student】 could only be used to acquire student skills, and not for 【Teacher】.
Last night, when Jiang He awakened as a transcendent, his many years of study had directly elevated the student profession to level 11, granting him 11 student skill points.
He could use them to acquire skills from the student skill tree such as 【Rapid Calculation】, 【Strengthened Body】, 【Eye Exercises】, 【Memory Palace】, and more.
It was only after understanding the profession skill tree that Jiang He finally realized why, despite studying so hard, his grades never caught up with those Transcendent classmates who only studied casually.
Even though they were all 【Students】, they were also 【Transcendent】.
Fortunately, now he had finally crossed that boundary and stepped into the Transcendent domain.
At this moment, Jiang He, with a thought, transmitted his intention to White Crane through their connection.
“How should I allocate points for the student profession?”
White Crane, being an S-rank transcendent, surely knew what distribution was best.
“The student skill tree has three paths: Culture, Arts, and Sports. Each path’s skills can further be divided into growth and ability types.”
“For us, awakening so late, we no longer need the growth skills of a student… You’ll soon be able to change into a true advanced Transcendent profession, with growth far surpassing that of a student.”
“Now, just take the abilities—after so many years of study, it’s time you reaped some benefits.”
White Crane first explained the reasoning, then turned to Jiang He.
“Specifically, for tomorrow’s battle, I recommend 【Power Burst Lv3】【Strong Body Lv3】【Athletic Cells Lv3】【Abundant Stamina Lv2】.”
“All in Sports, none in Culture or Arts?”
Jiang He was puzzled. The Word-Spirit talent corresponded to Spirit and Energy.
In the Culture and Arts paths, he had clearly seen some skills that boosted Spirit.
“In battles between lower-level transcendents, physical strength is far more valuable than spirit or energy… I’ve seen too many transcendents who relied on flashy abilities, only to be punched to death by physically enhanced ones.”
White Crane understood Jiang He’s doubt—after all, it had once been his own.
He explained patiently.
“Besides, the Transcendent profession I’ve prepared for you, 【Rumor Bearer】, is a spiritual profession that will provide stronger enhancements.”
Last night, after discussing with White Crane, they had soon touched upon the talent registration the next day.
White Crane had advised him not to reveal the 【Ferryman of Time】 talent, but to register Word-Spirit instead. This created a problem—
The Word-Spirit talent came from the heroic spirit White Crane, making it 【temporary】, not 【permanent】.
If White Crane’s duration ended, and Jiang He failed to draw the Word-Spirit talent he possessed…
Then until the cooldown ended and White Crane was summoned again, Jiang He would be unable to use the Word-Spirit’s power.
Registering as a Word-Spirit talent holder, but being unable to use it—wouldn’t that ruin the entire persona?
To this, White Crane provided a solution.
The Transcendent profession 【Rumor Bearer】.
This was a profession White Crane created in the future. After taking it, as long as certain Word-Spirit words were recorded, one could use those words even without the Word-Spirit talent.
It could help Jiang He maintain the identity and power of a Word-Spirit talent holder during the cooldown period of his heroic spirit.
Furthermore, this profession could advance further, from 【Rumor Bearer】 to 【Word Keeper】… and eventually to the S-rank profession 【Sacred Speaker】, the supreme path exclusive to Word-Spirit talent holders.
It was precisely after learning of this profession that Jiang He felt assured enough to register Word-Spirit.
Now, following White Crane’s advice, he allocated his student profession points.
【Power Burst Lv3 — Squeeze out potential, forcibly unleash strength, temporarily gaining +3.0 Body, followed by weakness.】
【Strong Body Lv3 — Gain +1.5 Body】
【Athletic Cells Lv3 — Greatly enhanced athletic ability】
【Abundant Stamina Lv2 — Increased stamina cap, faster stamina recovery】
The student skill points were all spent, instantly transforming Jiang He from an ordinary student into a Transcendent sports student—sliding into a tiger would be no problem.
As he reveled in the surging power coursing through his body, urgent footsteps sounded outside the office.
The office door swung open, and Wei Sheng entered with a red-haired woman.
“Principal, this is Jiang He.”