Transcendent Calendar Year 2029, May 18th, 17:00 PM.
Zhongzhou City, First High School.
The dismissal bell had already rung, but the teacher seemed not to hear it, looking towards a male student in the back row of the classroom.
"Jiang He, what was the key historical event that divided ancient history from Transcendent history?"
"The Peninsula Sinking," Jiang He said, standing up after his name was called. "In late 1968, several A-level Transcendent fought on the Cape Peninsula, completely destroying the entire peninsula, causing 200,000 civilian casualties, and forming what is now the Abyssal Strait."
"From then on, old-era warfare completely ended, and the world entered the Transcendent Era."
Teacher: "And the key event that laid the foundation for the Transcendent Era?"
"The Millennium Blessing," Jiang He said without hesitation. "In early 2000, the first Super A-level Transcendent, the Prophet, was born, triggering a Transcendent blessing. From that day forward, all newborns would inevitably awaken Transcendent talents—at the latest, on their eighteenth birthday."
"Very good." The teacher pushed up his glasses and suddenly asked, "Jiang He, today is your birthday, isn't it?"
"Yes." Jiang He involuntarily tightened his grip on the textbook in his hand.
As a teenager living in the Transcendent Era, he was a rare case, one who had never awakened his talent.
However, he was about to turn eighteen, and according to the basic law, he would inevitably awaken a unique talent today, officially joining the ranks of Transcendent.
"Happy birthday. When you come to school tomorrow, remember to register your talent information with me." The teacher didn't ask any more questions, picked up the lesson plan from the podium, and said, "Class dismissed."
Upon hearing this, the classroom erupted in noise.
The dismissal bell had rung eight minutes ago, and the students, already impatient, rushed out of the classroom.
Jiang He also stuffed his books back into his desk, packing his things to leave.
Just then, a crumpled ball of white paper was thrown from the front, hitting him on the head.
Jiang He looked up to see two boys looking at him, their faces full of mockery.
"Bottom-feeder, are you finally going to make it today?" "It took you eighteen years to awaken your talent, what kind of big move are you saving up?"
"Don't bully him!" A girl stopped the two, looking at Jiang He: "Maybe he's holding back, planning to be the first person after the Millennium who can't awaken a talent, thus making history."
The two boys burst into laughter, and a few classmates who hadn't left yet couldn't help but chuckle.
Jiang He ignored their words, picked up his backpack, and walked straight out of the classroom.
In the Transcendent Era, talent determined everyone's future and was the object of comparison for all children... In this environment, even awakening a weak talent would be ridiculed, let alone being a "disabled person" who had never awakened a talent.
Jiang He had long grown accustomed to such taunts, just as he had grown accustomed to going to school, eating, and living alone—
However, today would be different.
He would awaken his unique talent and officially join the ranks of Transcendent!
Thinking of this, his steps became much lighter.
It wasn't until he walked out of the teaching building and passed by the school playground that he stopped.
17:13 PM.
Jiang He stood by the playground, looking at the fiery red figure in the distance.
It was a red-haired girl. She stood in the center of a special training ground, locked onto by machines around the area... These machines fired a dense barrage of high-speed spheres, but she controlled flames to block each one, incinerating them into ash.
Her name was Du Lingwei, a student in the advanced class of the second year of high school. She had awakened a rare talent called Flame Spirit Guardian at a young age, and her hair had also been affected by Transcendent energy, turning fiery red—later, she was even noticed by an A-level Transcendent and transferred to the A-level profession of Sun Scorcher.
Not to mention in First High School, but throughout Zhongzhou City, she was the most dazzling new star.
At this moment, Jiang He looked at Ling Wei's training figure, his eyes filled with envy.
If he could also awaken such a powerful and rare talent...
"Sigh."
Jiang He withdrew his gaze, sighed, and walked out of the school, head down.
Talent awakening was like a low-probability gamble, where everyone bet their lives, and ninety-nine percent of people ended up as losers.
He entered too late, already half-lost, how could he become a winner?
As long as the talent he awakened wasn't too bad, as long as it didn't make him lose completely, he would be satisfied.
With this pessimistic thought, Jiang He left school and arrived at a noodle shop.
Cui's Cold Noodles, this was the snack shop downstairs from Jiang He's home, and also the one he frequented the most. He didn't even need to greet anyone; as soon as he sat down at the table, a large bowl was placed in front of him.
Jiang He looked at the large bowl of cold noodles, drenched in sesame sauce and broth, topped with cucumber shreds, gluten, and minced garlic, and swallowed.
"Uncle Cui, isn't this portion too much today?"
"It's your birthday today, my treat, eat more." The middle-aged fat man wearing an apron chuckled: "Only when you're full can you awaken a good talent!"
"Alright, go back to work, don't put pressure on the child!" The proprietress tugged at Boss Cui and smiled at Jiang He: "Go, Jiang He, happy birthday, Auntie believes in you!"
"..."
Jiang He felt a warmth in his heart: "Thank you."
"Why are you being so polite, child..."
Jiang He poured vinegar over his cold noodles, added two spoonfuls of chili, and looked up at the time.
17:37 PM.
"Slurp!"
Uncle Cui's special birthday edition cold noodles were much larger than the usual big bowl.
Especially the specially made gluten, which was piled high.
By the time Jiang He had eaten until he felt it was almost at his throat, he went home and rested for a while before finally recovering.
"Uncle Cui must be trying to assassinate me..."
Jiang He grumbled, feeling that it was almost time. He got up, took a shower in the bathroom, and changed into new clothes.
Then, he pushed open the study door and turned on the light.
As the light came on, two hung black-and-white photos and a table with an incense burner came into view.
In the black-and-white photos, a man and a woman looked forward, smiling brightly.
Jiang He came to the table, lit three sticks of incense, inserted them into the incense burner, and respectfully kowtowed.
"Dad, Mom, good evening."
"In a little while, I'll be eighteen years old and awakening my Transcendent talent. You must bless me to awaken a good talent..."
Jiang He babbled on.
The Transcendent Era was much more dangerous than ancient times.
Even if order was usually maintained, once a Transcendent caused trouble, it would lead to large-scale casualties.
Especially people like his parents, born before the Millennium, ordinary people who failed to awaken talents, if they encountered a Transcendent riot, they would have no ability to resist and could only become a light number on the casualty list.
Finally, they left behind Jiang He, their only son, to live a difficult life alone.
Fortunately, these difficult days were finally coming to an end.
Jiang He glanced at the time.
19:36 PM.
There were two minutes left until Jiang He's recorded birth time at the hospital.
These last two minutes felt almost as long as two years.
He counted second by second, and in the last dozen seconds, he couldn't help but hold his breath.
Although he had thought that as long as he could awaken a talent, even a slightly inferior one would be fine.
But at the last moment, an innate longing inevitably arose within him.
"I want to possess a powerful talent..."
"I... want to become stronger!"
19:38 PM.
Jiang He's heart felt as if it had been clutched by a hand, tightening suddenly.
The next instant, his consciousness seemed to be forcibly pulled from his body, crossing the boundaries of space and time, and he saw many scenes—
On a ruined land, countless figures knelt, bowing forward, an indistinguishable figure stood at the end of the crowd.
Deep within the boundless stars, countless monsters swarmed, a sturdy back punched forward, and all the monsters seemed to be affected simultaneously, instantly exploding.
In the dark abyss, surrounded by countless demons, a figure sat on a throne, scarlet eyes gazing from afar.
Orderly cities, shattered planets, endless battlefields, mechanical mega-structures...
One fantastical scene after another flashed before his eyes, transforming into pillars of light, converging together, finally forming a giant tree made of light.
Jiang He stood at the single trunk, looking up at the countless branches.
The next moment, the scene shattered, turning into text floating before his eyes.
Awakened Talent: Time Transference