Chapter 113: Innate Skill Upgrade

"My innate skills can be upgraded!" Sikong Xu was genuinely startled by Ye Fei's words.

He knew that according to the records of the Dimensional Academy, the highest rank for an innate skill was S-rank. His own skills clearly exceeded this, otherwise the school would have assigned them a grade during his evaluation. In fact, while "Dimensional Summoning" and "Contract Summoning" appeared in his personal information, there was no corresponding rank assigned to them. This had puzzled him for quite some time.

"My innate skills... they aren't exactly S-rank, are they?" Sikong Xu asked.

"How could trashy S-rank skills compare to yours?" Ye Fei said with disdain. "To tell you the truth, besides yours, there have only been three such talents that have ever appeared."

"Is the other one your 'Traveler' talent?"

"It belongs to you now," Ye Fei smiled slightly. "And there will never be a fourth of its kind in this world."

"Why?"

"That involves the laws of the world; you will understand in time." Ye Fei seemed reluctant to elaborate and quickly changed the subject. "Let me explain the 'upgrading' process. To begin with, your two innate skills, including 'Traveler,' are currently in their initial state, or what we call lv0."

Ye Fei continued, "Each upgrade significantly enhances the base effect of the skill, up to a maximum of lv3."

As soon as Ye Fei finished, Sikong Xu asked, "How do I upgrade them?"

"I'll tell you later, but don't worry. I brought you here today to help you upgrade your talents. With my current energy, I have enough to bring all three of your skills to lv1."

Hearing this, Sikong Xu was overjoyed. "Then let's get started right away!"

Seeing Sikong Xu's impatience, Ye Fei wasted no more time. He extended his right index finger and tapped it firmly against Sikong Xu's forehead.

And then... nothing happened.

The atmosphere suddenly turned silent. After a long pause, Sikong Xu asked, "Is... is that it?"

"What were you expecting?" Ye Fei rolled his eyes.

"Aren't there supposed to be celestial phenomena, divine manifestations, or something?" Sikong Xu couldn't believe it was over so simply. "At the very least, give me some pain or something! This feels so unreal!"

"Regrettably, this is the truth. If you don't believe me, just check for yourself."

Since Ye Fei was so certain, Sikong Xu didn't press further. He closed his eyes and sank his consciousness into the depths of his soul. There, three mysterious and profound patterns floated silently. Two of them were familiar—the symbols for "Dimensional Summoning" and "Contract Summoning." The third was the symbol for "Traveler."

The next moment, Sikong Xu controlled his spirit and slowly made contact with the three patterns.

Whoosh!

Sikong Xu snapped his eyes open. Through his mental control, he realized his three innate skills had indeed changed.

First was "Dimensional Summoning." Now at lv1, its summoning process had been greatly improved. Although it still required a sacrifice, he could now, to a certain extent, dictate the type of item he wanted. For example, if he desired weapons or equipment, he had a high probability of obtaining them. If he wanted to extract an ability, the chances of doing so would increase. Of course, it wasn't a hundred percent guarantee, so there was still a chance of getting something he didn't want.

"Contract Summoning" at lv1 had also changed significantly. Aside from summoning his contracted partners, it now allowed for "reverse summoning." In layman's terms, Sikong Xu could summon himself to Mikasa's side, ensuring he would never lose track of her again. Furthermore, it could maximize the potential of his contracted partners; even a talentless individual would become a peerless genius the moment they signed a contract with him.

The changes to these two skills were massive. By comparison, the changes to "Traveler" were smaller. At lv0, it required Ye Fei's assistance to function, but at lv1, Sikong Xu could use the skill independently.

"Well? Is the change significant?" Ye Fei asked, seeing the look of delight on Sikong Xu's face.

Sikong Xu nodded. Ye Fei was right; the skill upgrade was a pleasant surprise. Now, there was one more thing left to do.

He wanted to use "Dimensional Summoning" again.

"Ye Fei, you should have suitable sacrifices here, right?" Sikong Xu asked. "You know the cooldown for my 'Dimensional Summoning' is up, and I want to try it out here."

"I knew what you were plotting. You just want to wheedle some sacrifice materials out of me, don't you? No need for that trouble; just use my energy as a sacrifice," Ye Fei said.

"But your energy..." From their previous conversations, it was clear to Sikong Xu that Ye Fei's energy was precious to him.

"Oh, it’s fine. My energy recovers constantly every day, just a bit slowly. It’s more than enough to serve as your sacrifice."

Ye Fei waved his hand nonchalantly, and several strands of silvery-white mist gathered in his palm. Sikong Xu was no stranger to this—it was Source Energy. Under Ye Fei's control, the strands condensed into a single silvery-white crystal.

Taking the crystal, Sikong Xu didn't rush to summon. Since his skill was now lv1, he could exert some control over the results, so he wanted to consider what he needed most.

Equipment? No, his current sword, *Elucidator*, was sufficient for now.

Bloodline? Ability? Both remained to be seen, though he leaned toward the former. After all, bloodlines could drastically increase his strength in a short amount of time, and strength was exactly what he needed.

Despite his preference, he decided to consult Ye Fei first.

"What? You want to summon a bloodline?" Ye Fei scoffed at the idea. "Honestly, summoning a piece of equipment would be better than a bloodline."

"Why? Shouldn't a bloodline provide a massive boost to my strength in a short time?"

"Heh," Ye Fei looked at him with disdain. "With your three heaven-defying innate skills, your potential is already infinite. Unless you summon a top-tier bloodline like a Saiyan or a True Ancestor, any other bloodline will only hinder your future growth."

Ye Fei's words broke Sikong Xu out in a cold sweat. He was right. With his three incredible skills, his potential was already limitless; why would he want to restrict himself with a bloodline? Bloodlines weren't like skills; one could generally only hold one. Having more would lead to conflict, resulting in anything from losing the bloodline entirely to death.

Having realized this, Sikong Xu sighed. It seemed he would be better off focusing on increasing his odds of summoning abilities.