Chapter 41: Chapter 39 Innate talents

‘Damn it!’ Raul looked down bitterly while expelling the broken runes from his arm. ‘Zero to six’ He noted down another loss in frustration.

He really thought today would be the day, especially when resonance activated. He improved rapidly this month, and he rarely lost to the same sparring partner twice now, but Matthew proved to be the exception.

 “Good job Matthew, really brought one in for the team.” Ellen gave him a thumbs up even while patting Raul’s back consolingly.

“…” Raul’s mouth twitched unhappily. Ellen’s reluctance to bet against him vanished after she ate Marina’s food.

She noticed his sour look and coughed awkwardly. “Cheer up, that was a pretty good match. Have some breadsticks, it’ll tide you over till lunch.” She placated him.

Raul threw her a dirty look, but still took the bribe. They weren’t filling, but they were tasty.

“Here, this should keep you upright until you get to a real doctor.” Ellen pointed at Matthew and his shadow wobbled before fading into a lighter color. Shadowy skin crawled over Matthews big wounds, stopping the bleeding.

Matthew freaked out a little when the skin first came up, but now he just looked at it in fascination.

“That’s new.” Raul commented with widened eyes. 

“Hmph, you two aren’t the only ones improving.” Ellen rubbed her nose proudly.

“Congratulations, you broke through to the eighth meridian.” Marina congratulated Matthew with a nod of appreciation and passed him lunchbox.

She’d started making these as a prize for those who beat Raul. Though Matthew was Raul’s most frequent sparing partner, he was far from the only one.

Motivation became necessary as there were many who were too overcautious about hurting Raul and the fallout from it, despite Ellen and Marina’s guarantees.

While the food was guaranteed, she also occasionally gave advice or altered cultivation techniques for those who ‘impressed her’. Since that news spread, all the soldiers attacked Raul with the ferocity of starving wolves.

Restraint? An improvement in cultivation method was equivalent to a second shot at the sky! No one was willing to endanger their chances by acting conscientious.

Raul really felt like everyone was trying to kill him, triggering his desperate growth.

“Again!? You break through too damn fast. No wonder that move snapped my arm still, you're totally cheating.” Raul complained sourly. It’d only been a little over a month and this guy seriously materialized three meridians, what kind of speed is that?

Matthew twitched as he was rendered speechless. ‘If you complain about cheating then what should I complain about? You haven’t broken through at all, yet I still feel you catching up to me!’ He thought bitterly while feeling the throbbing from his cut arm and side.

Their first fight Raul couldn’t threaten him at all, yet now he had to play small tricks to guarantee the win.

Matthew shook those pointless thoughts out of his head and bowed to Marina before saying, “Who knows how long it would’ve taken me to reach this step if it wasn’t for your meals and assistance.” With heartfelt gratitude.

As a body cultivator, immortal cooking was much more beneficial for him than qi cultivators. The changes she made to his Body Cultivation Method also greatly improved his efficiency.

Marina shook her head. “No, your talent and hard work were already there, you just lacked resources.” She said calmly. It was the truth.

Asides from resources, body cultivation needed a lot of hard work. Just a few meals from Marina couldn’t have had such drastic effects if Matthew hadn’t already put in an immense amount of effort.

Ellen flinched guiltily at that. Marina’s words weren’t wrong, with Matthew’s talent he should’ve reached the Spirit Ascension realm by now. The only reason he didn’t was because the Vault Family couldn’t fully support him.

Body cultivation was the household’s weakest branch of cultivation. Their focus on seals made them more fitted to qi and mental cultivation. And body cultivation already inherently suffered from being the most expensive of the three cultivation styles, making it very difficult for those with a talent for it to grow in their household.

“You really haven’t had it easy.” Raul sighed remorsefully. Raul thought again about sponsoring Matthew. He may be broke in terms of cultivation resources, but he could just ask Tai to lend him some cash.

“It’s fine, I knew the struggles when I chose body cultivation.” Matthew lied. Rather than saying he chose, it’d be more accurate to say he wasn’t suited for any other kind of cultivation.

“You know, for a guy with such an honest face you really bs a lot.” Raul sighed. “I hope you don’t lie like that to Claudia, she’ll beat your ass. Speaking of which, how’d your date go? Did you give her that gift I suggested?”

Ellen had other responsibilities and couldn’t always be here for Raul’s practice. Raul’s training couldn’t be paused, so there were two substitute referees for those times and Claudia was one of them.

Raul noticed the way Matthew stared at her during their sparing sessions and helped set them up for a date and the two hit it off.

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Matthew’s stony expression didn’t change, but his face flushed as he said, “Of course not.”

“Ahh, see, told you it’d go well. I’m proud of you man. Come on, you gotta tell me all the details.” Raul started patting him on the back with his unbroken arm while hounding him for answers.

The big man was surprisingly shy and weak to teasing, it didn’t help that Ellen got in on the action and started asking questions as well.

Marina heavily sympathized with Matthew’s desperate expression as he failed to hide anything from Raul’s onslaught. This bastard simply saw through everything after a point.

After watching him fight and interact with so many people, Marina finished analyzing one of Raul’s irregularities. He had an Innate Talent, perception.

Innate Talents were rather literal, they were something a person was innately good at. A good sense of balance, one arm being noticeably stronger, strong hearing, etc. Strictly speaking, everyone had these, but they only got categorized as innate talents when they’re abnormal to the verge of being supernatural.

A person good at balancing on a ball may not qualify, but a person who could balance on a needle definitely does. These talents weren’t based on cultivation and were simply inborn. The reason cultivators created a term for them is that they could grow and become truly supernatural when a person cultivates.

In Raul’s case, he could read people once he interacted with them for a time. It sounded mundane, but it belayed how truly terrifying it was.

All humans do it instinctively, but in Raul’s case, he could catch lies and minor tells within minutes of meeting someone. Worst yet, after a short time he could even decipher expressions and reactions he hasn’t seen as if he’d known a person their entire life.

From her observations, it was entirely subconscious. He knew he understood people well, but he simply thought it was to the extent everyone did, and he didn’t consciously or deliberately look for indicators.

This made it a lot harder for Marina to figure out how to avoid it. Innate Talents weren’t supernatural so there was definitely a line of reason to it, but so far, all her attempts to better mask herself failed. It was frustrating.

Matthew managed to escape Raul’s clutches and quickly left the cottage after thanking Marina one more time. Raul happily waved him off, feeling refreshed after venting some of his frustration.

“You’re in a cheery mood considering you almost lost your head.” Marina commented behind him.

“Geh.” Raul’s hand froze.

“How many times have I told you not to get swept up in the wind’s rhythm? Do you want to get hit, is that it? Why else would you follow a predictable pattern?” She questioned severely.

‘It’s hard, alright!’ He complained. Resonance was a huge boost whenever it showed up, but it wasn’t simple. The primordial winds were like an heiress with thousands of desperate suiters. If he went against her wishes she’d dislike him and leave, yet if he was a doormat then he became predictable. a perfect balance had to be struck in the middle of a high-speed battle, yet Marina made it sound like it was as simple as washing dishes.

“You’re right, I’m sorry.” He wisely kept his complaints to himself.

“It’s good that you understand, but have it show in your performance please.” Marina sighed while motioning for his broken arm.

They both trembled slightly after she touched him, causing Ellen to look at them weirdly for the umpteenth time.

Marina found out that using the Divine Pairing Hearts caused Raul’s body to not reject her strings, making all her support abilities easier to use on him.

Raul felt there was simply no getting used to the Divine Pairing Hearts. They used it frequently whenever she treated his injuries or refilled his qi, but the sensation felt uniquely heavenly every time.

“Thanks Marina.” Raul moved around his arm in awe still. He had multiple fractures all over his body, yet he could still fight no problem thanks to Marina and his improving qi control.

“Do you want me to bring anyone else?” Ellen asked Marina.

“No, we won’t be needing anymore sparring partners.” Marina shook her head.

“I see.” Ellen nodded in understanding, causing Raul to look at her in surprise. 

He’d only fought Matthew so far, and he usually fought four to six people a day. ‘Are we going to spar all day?’ An uneasy premonition came over Raul.

Marina still sparred with him occasionally when she wanted to drill something specific into him, those were always the least fun fights.

“Remember to arrange the workroom I need please. Oh, and take him with you when you’re going.” Marina pushed Raul over to Ellen.

“Eh?” This time Raul couldn’t keep it in.

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