Chapter 10

Mr. Wang looked at Sheng with a surprised expression. Beginners can hardly control even one finger, and although using two fingers can increase speed, not everyone can manage to divide their attention.

"Whack-a-mole, whack-a-mole, see which mole pops up first!" Sheng looked at the nine runes, his mental power already infused into the tips of his index fingers, his eyes gleaming with excitement, treating this sacred task as if it were a whack-a-mole game.

With a swish! The rune in the center suddenly glowed with a silver light. Sheng's left index finger unhesitantly tapped it, then quickly withdrew, and mental power was infused again. Almost simultaneously, a rune at the upper right corner lit up, and Sheng's right index finger almost immediately tapped it, sealing the rune's saturated power within, then withdrew, and mental power was infused again for backup.

The rune on the left side in the middle lit up, and Sheng seemed to be enjoying himself, thinking to himself, "These moles are too low-level and slow; they're just asking for a beating in front of me!" As he spoke, Sheng's hands were not idle, and his left index finger tapped it.

Thus, under the astonished gazes of Mr. Wang and Lin Wan'er, Sheng completed the task as if it were a game, perfectly sealing the power of the nine runes and successfully refining the first rune.

Lin Wan'er couldn't tell if it was successful, but Mr. Wang was speechless, his eyes wide open, and he couldn't utter a word for a long time. Sheng smiled happily, never expecting that the whack-a-mole game he often played on Earth would be useful here.

"Kid, you must have already joined some sect, taken elixirs, and been able to refine runes for a long time, right? Are you just here to mock me? Otherwise, how could a beginner have such quick reflexes?" Mr. Wang finally came to his senses and asked with a mix of surprise and suspicion.

Sheng sighed inwardly. Beginner? Ha, on Earth, he had been playing whack-a-mole games on his tablet or phone for at least four or five years, and he often won championships in online matches. How could he be a beginner?

However, when he first started playing, he couldn't keep up with the rhythm, just like his first attempt at refining a rune, which was a mess. It was only after playing various difficulties and speeds that Sheng honed his skills.

Of course, he couldn't say these things, so he had to come up with another lie.

"Cough, Mr. Wang, how could I mock you? I don't know what happened, but after my near-death experience, I feel my body and mind have changed, reacting much faster than before, and even my cultivation speed has increased!" Sheng said solemnly.

After a long silence, Mr. Wang frowned. "Alright, you two go back for now, and come to me again tomorrow!"

"Okay, see you tomorrow, Mr. Wang!" Sheng greeted and pulled Lin Wan'er out of the room, leaving Mr. Wang alone, his eyes gleaming with thought.

"Strange, this kid hasn't taken any elixirs, yet he can project his mental power outside his body. And he successfully refined a rune on his second try, which is unheard of. How can a beginner have such quick reflexes?" Mr. Wang said, puzzled.

"This kid is worth cultivating, but I can't refine an elixir for him to open his mental power, to avoid unnecessary trouble. However, from his state, it seems he can cultivate without elixirs, truly remarkable!" Mr. Wang's eyes gleamed as he fell into deep thought.

...

"Sheng, I've known Mr. Wang for so long, and I've never seen him so surprised. He used to seem indifferent to everything. You were amazing today!" Back at home, after lunch, Lin Wan'er said happily.

"Hehe, just average!" Sheng kept a straight face but was inwardly laughing, thinking this was a good opportunity to make money.

"Sheng, you've really kept it from me. You secretly cultivated mental power for so many years without telling me. Humph, you must think I'm an outsider!" Lin Wan'er seemed genuinely upset, as the old Sheng never had secrets from her.

Seeing this, Sheng felt helpless but couldn't tell the truth. Finally, he sighed, "Sister Wan'er, actually, I'm not sure if I succeeded. I didn't dare to say it, just in case I embarrassed myself. I wanted to surprise you, but Bai Ming forced me into a corner, so I had to reveal it early. It's all Bai Ming's fault that you didn't get your surprise!" Sheng said with a fierce expression.

"Really?" Lin Wan'er was secretly pleased but then pouted, "Who believes your smooth talk? Humph! I'm not talking to you." She rolled her eyes and ran back to her room.

"Ha, ancient women are so easy to fool!" Sheng smiled, thought for a moment, and then took out the small copper ring on a fine thread. After closing the doors and windows, he began to cultivate.

Sheng pulled the ring off the thread and placed it on his palm, then focused his eyes, using his mental power to lift the ring.

After many failures, Sheng finally mastered the technique, making the ring fly off his palm. He became excited and controlled the ring to fly slowly around the room, then spin rapidly. In less than an hour, his mental power was exhausted, and the ring fell to the ground with a thud.

Sheng didn't get discouraged and began to meditate. He found that his mental power was becoming more abundant, subtly combining with his consciousness. Once combined, it became willpower, which could be instantly activated. A thought would immediately make the ring move according to his will.

After meditating for an hour, Sheng focused on the ring on the ground. Soon, the copper ring rose from the ground and began to fly around the room.

Thus, Sheng repeatedly exhausted his mental power and then meditated to recover it, finally achieving the combination of consciousness and mental power, allowing him to instantly activate it. With this willpower, according to the old charlatan on Earth, he now possessed special abilities!

Looking at the ring on the ground, Sheng moved it with his will, and it flew into his hand. He couldn't help but smile, then tried to control a three-foot-long stick on the ground, but it only trembled slightly and then stopped.

"Ah, it seems too heavy objects still don't work. My willpower isn't strong enough yet, and I need to practice regularly to accumulate it! I wonder where I can get an elixir to open my mental power!" Sheng pondered for a moment and continued practicing with the small ring.

By evening, Lin Wan'er served the meal, and after a hearty meal and some idle chat, she went back to her room to rest, while Sheng continued to cultivate.

This time, he didn't use the ring but cut a stick on the ground into two pieces. Sheng could barely control half a stick to rise and spin in the room, becoming more proficient.

However, due to the stick's weight, Sheng quickly felt his mental power was exhausted. He hurriedly meditated to recover it. After this recovery, it was already late at night, but Sheng clearly felt that the mental power he used to control external objects had increased significantly, and he couldn't help but smile.

"Huh? What's that sound?" Sheng's hearing and vision were extremely sharp. He noticed footsteps outside the yard, paused for a moment, and then took a sewing needle from Lin Wan'er, quietly leaving the room.

...

It was now deep into the night, with a few clouds covering the moon, making the ground hazy and dark. The wind howled.

Outside the Lin family's yard, two figures were sneaking around, seemingly two young boys, climbing the low wall of the Lin family's yard, each holding a few stones.

"Hu Zi, Bai Ming said to only target Sheng's room!" A slightly fatter boy said.

The other, a thinner boy, touched the stone in his hand and laughed, "Hehe, I know, fatty. You're stronger, so you go first. As soon as someone comes out, we run. If they don't see us, we're safe!"

On the side of the thatched house, Sheng hid in the dark, his eyes narrowing as he recognized the two boys who had been whispering with Bai Ming at Aunt Wu's house earlier.

"At the time, I didn't know what they were plotting, but it turns out they were up to this. They don't have the courage to commit murder or arson, but they dare to cause trouble in the middle of the night." Sheng smiled.

Although the light was dim, it hardly affected Sheng. He picked up a stone from the ground and, with a thought, it disappeared from his palm.

The fat boy nodded, "Alright, I'll go first, then you follow. I... Ouch, why did you hit me?"

Just as the fat boy was about to throw the stone, he felt a stone hit his leg and glared at Hu Zi, who was also angry.

"Fatty, you hit me twice before, and I didn't say anything. Now you dare to accuse me first?" Hu Zi was clearly unhappy.

"Who hit you? You're just imagining things. Are you going to hit me for revenge? Do you want me to slap you to death?" The two seemed to forget their mission and started arguing on the wall. However, neither noticed a stone the size of a fist floating behind them, which then fell to the ground.

At almost the same time, a sewing needle quietly flew to the two and stabbed the fat boy's face, making him scream and fall to the ground. Hu Zi, about to celebrate, suddenly felt a needle in his forehead, and blood immediately flowed out.

"There's a ghost, run!" One of them shouted, and they both ran away, occasionally getting stabbed by the sewing needle, stumbling and falling several times.

Not far from the Lin family, under a large locust tree, Bai Ming was getting impatient, "Two good-for-nothings, they've been gone for so long!" But it was too dark to see anything. Soon, he saw two figures running over and felt a surge of joy.

"Good-for-nothings, you took so long to come back!" As he spoke, Bai Ming walked forward, but suddenly noticed that the two were covered in mud, unrecognizable, with pale, bloodied faces, and twisted, painful expressions. Bai Ming turned pale, screamed "There's a ghost!" and ran away. (End of chapter)

(PS: Don't forget to collect and vote, or be careful of the sewing needle, hahaha!!!)