"Well, would you believe me if I said I don't know either?"
Jiang Hou, with a somewhat 'bewildered' expression, said in response to Zong Zheng Nan Mo's puzzled gaze: "After I 'awakened' a couple of days ago, I noticed that my physique gets stronger by a bit every day."
"At first, my arm strength was just about double that of a normal person, and then the next day, I suddenly found myself much stronger, with my strength doubling again."
"Then this morning, I felt like I got a bit stronger once more..."
Even though Jiang Ruochan mentioned yesterday that every evolved Awakened is a genius, a child of fortune, with secrets that pale in comparison to the paths of inheritance.
But for Jiang Hou, some secrets are better kept to oneself.
In this situation, there was no explanation for his physique increasing daily, so he could only play dumb, after all, he was just a freshly awakened 'Xiaobai' of Extraordinary Power.
"Gosh, I wish I had something like that," Zong Zheng Nan Mo said enviously.
Yesterday, when he heard Jiang Hou's level was only Mid-tier One, a small level lower than his, he felt a bit sorry for him.
But now there's nothing to be sorry about, only envy.
Having awakened the ability to control wind for a few days, besides getting a bit more familiar with it, he hadn't seen any improvement or changes in his strength.
Including the inexplicably appearing incomplete cultivation 'Cultivation Technique' in his mind—after practicing it for half a day without any response, it made him wonder if he was haunted or hallucinating.
At this point, Jiang Ruochan pondered and spoke slowly: "Jiang Hou's situation is quite rare."
"Our world doesn't have transcendent energy like Spiritual Power or Elemental Power, hence no foundation for Transcendent evolution."
"Even if one awakens to become a Transcendent and gains some heritage from the Ancient Era, they can't cultivate; to improve strength, they must rely on corresponding resources."
"For example, Energy Crystals corresponding to the Divine Era, Demon Power Crystals useful only for Celestial Demon Era Awakeneds, all sourced from ruin relics."
"And these are only low-level resources; when breaking from Tier Three to Tier Four, one needs corresponding heritage items, and advancement beyond Tier Four becomes even more complicated."
"However, compared to these two era heritages, the Awakeneds of the Witch Rune Era are more unfortunate as they need Earthly Evil Energy to enhance their strength."
"Such things can only be extracted from some prohibited zones in the depths of ruins, or by killing powerful ancient fierce beasts."
"Therefore, normally after Transcendents awaken, without corresponding resources, their strength won't change anymore, like Zong Zheng Nan Mo."
"Of course, nothing is absolute; a few people after awakening might still have energy remaining from the contamination source within them that hasn't been fully released, causing their strength to increase rapidly for a while."
"Additionally, there are some bizarre awakening abilities that can temporarily enhance strength by consuming human flesh and blood..."
Saying this, Jiang Ruochan glanced at Jiang Hou, pondering: "Currently, it's unknown if your daily enhancement is temporary or sustained, and it needs observation."
"Moreover, there's no trace of energy routes inside you, nor have you awakened any talents or abilities, which is rather peculiar, and I can't figure it out at the moment."
Jiang Hou nodded, keeping a calm exterior.
But internally, he was already thinking about what excuse he should use to cover up the daily enhancement of his physique.
"Hold on, President,"
At this moment, Zong Zheng Nan Mo realized: "In our world, without a bit of transcendent energy, how do we recover when energy is depleted fighting the contamination monsters?"
"Do we have to fight while consuming 'Elixir Pills' like in video games, or recharge with a piece of Energy Crystal?"
Jiang Ruochan nodded: "Initially, it was indeed like that, but after over three decades of ruin erosion, our world's air already contains faint energy."
"It's just that this energy is too sparse to be perceived; it can only be absorbed slowly on instinct by the depleted body."
"For a Tier Three Awakened, it takes roughly a day to fully recover depleted energy, and the higher the strength, the longer it takes."
"Why then, if the body can instinctively absorb energy from the air, can't it be cultivated?" Jiang Hou asked, feeling puzzled.
Jiang Ruochan shook her head: "This problem has been researched long ago; the reason is that these energies lack the power traits corresponding to the various Era Systems."
"It's like drinking water: it quenches thirst but offers no nutrition to aid growth."
"Another hypothesis, now verified, is that the laws of ancient eras lose effect in today's environment, ruin leftovers included."
"In energy-rich ruins, utilizing a Cultivation Technique only aids faster recovery but doesn't enhance one's cultivation level."
"This is why so many Transcendents, including the powerhouses in the Celestial Punishment Department, take risks to explore relics in the ruins."
"Alright, let's end the topic here; understanding all at once is impossible for you right now."
"Observe Jiang Hou's situation for a few more days; if your enhanced speed diminishes, it indicates the unknown contamination source within you is nearing depletion of its energy."
"But if your physique's strength still grows rapidly..."
At this point, Jiang Ruochan paused, then waved her hand, signaling the two, still eager to ask questions, to step aside.
But indeed, she had spoken quite a lot today; Jiang Hou and Zong Zheng Nan Mo would have had nowhere to access this information if not for meeting Jiang Ruochan.
Each Awakened receives incomplete heritages and, when reaching Tier Three, faces a dead end; one must venture into ruins to find corresponding heritage resources to break through.
Yet Jiang Hou differed from them, for he already possessed a complete enhancement path.
His passive talent, devour evolution, allows his behemoth form to constantly evolve by consuming powerful beast flesh, at least until facing the Divine Demon, without needing to seek targeted resources.
Besides this, there's no other difference between Jiang Hou and other Awakeneds, considering the fierce beasts he consumes can only be found in that zone.
Collecting his thoughts on this information, Jiang Hou redirected his attention to his smart watch.
Their initial goal today was to request permission from Jiang Ruochan to log into the power level rankings and check the data of other Transcendents to see where they stood.
Curious, Jiang Hou tapped open the power level ranking software, immediately bringing up a leaderboard-like screen.
[Yidu City Celestial Punishment Branch Reserve Rankings, total number on the list: 18]
[Rank 1, Jiang Wanshan, mixed category, comprehensive level Tier Three Peak, physique strength 67, energy value 1321, combat power 18375]
[Rank 2, Fu Hongyu, energy category, comprehensive level Tier Three Peak, physique 6, energy value 1254, combat power 13850...]
As Jiang Hou scrolled through the list, Zong Zheng Nan Mo exclaimed in shock: "Wow, first place has combat power over 18,000, and I only have 490—such a large gap?"
"Jiang Hou, I suddenly realize how weak the two of us are."
"Indeed, we're quite weak," Jiang Hou nodded, his gaze fixed on his own name.
[Rank 18, Jiang Hou, physical category, comprehensive level Late-tier One, combat power 485...]
Though he didn't know the standard for these combat power ratings, Jiang Hou wasn't surprised to find himself at the bottom.
Among the eighteen reserves in the Yidu City Celestial Punishment Branch, except for him and Zong Zheng Nan Mo, everyone else was at Tier Three.
Moreover, among the only two in Tier One, he hadn't awakened any abilities—just a few times stronger than average in terms of physical strength.
It left him wondering, how much combat power did he possess in his behemoth form?