While the scholars were rioting in Fenggao City, a carriage slowly entered through the east gate of the city.
"This Fenggao has truly become prosperous. I remember when Father left Taishan; the difference between then and now is enormous. This Chen Zichuan, though of similar age to me, possesses abilities I can only admire," remarked a young man dressed in white as he looked at his younger brother with a sense of awe.
"Let's head to the library. Regardless of anything else, I must see for myself this library of 100,000 volumes that Chen Zichuan spoke of," the younger boy said with a pale face, his eyes gleaming with a light that could leave others in awe. "Having met Uncle's expectations, I managed to delay our departure. But as Pang Shiyuan's junior, I refuse to be left behind."
"Sigh, Kongming, if you continue to push yourself like this, you will surely encounter trouble. Your talents are already extraordinary; why push yourself so hard? Pang Shiyuan is only two years older than you, yet he's still at a similar level. Why must you surpass him at all costs?" Zhuge Jin said with a bitter smile.
Zhuge Jin's younger brother was the most terrifying prodigy he had ever seen. The phrase "learning one thing and mastering ten" didn't even begin to describe his brother's abilities. Zhuge Jin had awakened his spiritual talent at eighteen and was already quite proud, while Pang Shiyuan had awakened his talent at fourteen, earning widespread acclaim. Yet now, his younger brother—sitting across from him—had awakened his talent at the age of twelve, and within a single day, had fully understood its nature. It was monstrous.
"He's too arrogant. I need to show him the reality of the world," Zhuge Liang said, opening his eyes, which gleamed with wisdom, causing Zhuge Jin to smile bitterly.
From a young age, Zhuge Liang was brilliant and congenial, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get along with Pang Tong.
For Pang Tong, standing before Zhuge Liang always seemed to dim his own light. No matter what he did, Zhuge Liang's brilliance overshadowed him. Whether it was music, chess, calligraphy, painting, appearance, or scholarship, Zhuge Liang excelled in all areas. It was as if he was a character in a game with cheat codes activated. Prodigies like Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong could never peacefully coexist.
To others, Pang Tong appeared modest and unassuming, but whenever he encountered Zhuge Liang, they would clash. If they didn't see eye to eye, they should've avoided each other, but Pang Tong loved to provoke Zhuge Liang. And similarly, the usually refined Zhuge Liang felt that overpowering Pang Tong was the right path.
Not long ago, Pang Tong had awakened his spiritual talent and came to flaunt it, which left Zhuge Liang feeling frustrated. On that same day, Zhuge Liang forced himself to awaken his spiritual talent prematurely, resulting in his current state. Clearly, Pang Tong had pushed Zhuge Liang too far, and his early awakening of his talent had left him struggling to cope with its immense power.
Zhuge Jin could only look on with envy at his brother's spiritual talent. Zhuge Liang's talent allowed him to assimilate all the abilities of his allies, whether passive or active, whether they were officials or generals. As long as they were comrades, Zhuge Liang's talent would raise everyone's capabilities. After seeing this talent, Zhuge Jin realized that perhaps heaven truly intended to create a genius—a jack-of-all-trades who could excel in everything.
Zhuge Jin was reminded of history, thinking of the time when Zhuge Liang commanded an elite force that included the Five Tiger Generals, Chen Dao, Wei Yan, Fa Zheng, and Jiang Wan. With such a formidable lineup, Zhuge Liang was nearly invincible. However, as his top talents dwindled and he had to rely on weaker generals like Liao Hua, Zhuge Liang's strength waned. This vast difference made Zhuge Jin marvel at Zhuge Liang's rise and fall.
However, while Zhuge Jin admired his brother's talent, Zhuge Liang himself found it burdensome. If given a choice, he would never have awakened his spiritual talent so early. But when Pang Tong had provoked him, Zhuge Liang had acted impulsively and forced his talent to awaken. Now, even though he had this spiritual power, it weighed heavily on him. Zhuge Liang couldn't understand why he had awakened such a burdensome talent.
To others, this spiritual talent seemed miraculous, but Zhuge Liang saw it as a flawed ability. To use it without any strain, he estimated that he wouldn't be able to do so until he was at least twenty-five or twenty-six years old. Furthermore, the more spiritual talents he accumulated, the more it would shorten his lifespan. Zhuge Liang could feel it—even though the toll wasn't significant, he knew that relying on this power would cost him years of his life.
With Pang Tong's spiritual talent, Zhuge Liang already felt at his limit. Any more, and it would start to chip away at his longevity. To Zhuge Liang, this was evidence that his awakening had failed. Every time he thought of this, he felt a string in his mind snap, cursing Pang Tong for pushing him to awaken such a defective talent.
"Kongming, are you still feeling unwell?" Zhuge Jin noticed Zhuge Liang's dazed expression and thought his younger brother might still be feeling the aftereffects of his premature awakening.
"I'm fine," Zhuge Liang said, shaking his head slightly. "As long as I don't use my spiritual talent for extended periods, I'll be okay. But I am curious—those vast amounts of spiritual energy flowing in the heavens, could they be from a spiritual talent? It's strange that I can't use it."
"That must be the spiritual talent of one of the officials in Fenggao. It's normal that you can't use it—we're not their allies, after all," Zhuge Jin replied with a smile. "You should use your power sparingly. You awakened too early, and your talent is very strong."
"No, it's different. I can't use it at all, not because of any restrictions," Zhuge Liang said, his gaze fixed on the ceiling of the carriage as if he could see the spiritual energy swirling in the sky.
"You mean it's completely unusable?" Zhuge Jin was taken aback. If he understood correctly, this meant that even if they were on the same side as the one with this spiritual talent, Zhuge Liang still wouldn't be able to use it.
"Yes, it's unusable. I'm curious to know whose spiritual talent this belongs to," Zhuge Liang said with a calm but curious expression. To him, encountering an unusual spiritual talent wasn't too surprising—after all, the world was full of extraordinary people.
"Let's not dwell on it. We'll find out eventually. We should focus on our own tasks. Although Uncle agreed to our request, it's already decided that we'll move to Jingzhou early next year. I suppose you'll be attending the Lumen Academy," Zhuge Jin said, setting aside his curiosity about other people's spiritual talents. He knew his own limits, and that was enough for him.
"Lumen Academy... I'm only interested in their library. But if the Taishan Library really has 100,000 volumes, I'll have a way to convince Uncle to let me stay," Zhuge Liang said calmly. He had little interest in studying at Lumen Academy—Pang Tong's turf wasn't where he wanted to be. Instead, he would make Pang Tong come to him.
If Chen Xi had known about Zhuge Liang's thoughts, he would have stayed up all night printing more books to ensure the library would have 100,000 volumes ready by the opening day. But unfortunately, he was unaware...