Holding the black stone, Shen Xingyan didn't dwell on the reasons for its unusual blackness but focused all his attention on its properties.
Concentrating mentally, he saw the description of the Innate Talent Growth Stone appear before his eyes:
Item: Innate Talent Growth Stone (Initial)
Category: Special Item
Rarity: Rare
Quantity: 1
Property: Innate Talent Synchronous Growth +1
Description: Formed from special fragments of stone from the Star Source's creation period. It acquired some special abilities during the growth and evolution of the Star Source world.
When the Talent Stone's description appeared, Shen Xingyan's gaze immediately fixed on its property, and a flurry of questions raced through his mind: "Innate Talent Synchronous Growth +1? What does that mean?"
Looking at such a concise property description, he felt his initial excitement wane slightly. Such a brief description was unexpected—he had assumed he would see some specific numerical indicators. What exactly did "Growth +1" signify?
Not entirely understanding, Shen Xingyan began to make guesses, pondering what result the use of this property would bring, trying at least to prepare himself. During his schooling, he had only heard of the existence of such items but didn't know their specific effects. Without any reference points, he could only guess and vaguely anticipate what to expect.
After some thought, Shen Xingyan only hesitated briefly, then decided not to dwell on it—the truth would be revealed after using the Stone.
Coming to this conclusion, he carefully examined the remaining properties. Seeing parameters like Category, Rarity, and Description, he felt some surprise—in all the time since his Awakening, this was the first time he had seen such characteristics. All these signs pointed to the unusual nature of this Talent Stone.
"Judging by the name, this is only an Initial Stone. The notification didn't mention that. Perhaps the Star Source is downplaying its value? Or is it related to the fact that I broke the record specifically with wheat?"
Noticing the prefix "Initial" in the Stone's name, Shen Xingyan pondered: "If there's an Initial Talent Stone, does that mean there could be Medium or Supreme ones in the future? Let's first see what effect the Initial Stone has."
He turned the stone in his hand for a moment, carefully examining its feel. After memorizing the sensation, he mentally sighed: "A Talent Stone is such a valuable thing, but if I can't figure out its effect, it's better to just use it and see the result."
After these reflections, he no longer hesitated and mentally commanded the Innate Talent Growth Stone to be used.
As soon as the command was given, the black Talent Stone in Shen Xingyan's hand began to slowly disappear. He felt his whole body suddenly shudder, his vision went dark, and his consciousness seemed to shut off for an instant.
Not expecting such a strong reaction, Shen Xingyan was startled. When his consciousness returned and he opened his eyes again, he saw the familiar ceiling—he had been thrown back into the real world.
"Was I kicked out of the Star Source world? What happened? Does using the Talent Stone cause such a strong reaction?"
Waking up in reality and realizing what had occurred, Shen Xingyan flinched. He instantly sat up in bed, extremely surprised by this unexpected turn of events.
Composing himself, he hastily retrieved his Star Map and immediately logged back into the Star Source world, not even checking his own attribute changes.
Fortunately, this time, the entry into the Star Source world was without incident. Safely finding himself in his cultivation space, he gradually calmed down, thinking: "It's good that I could log in normally. I was starting to worry that using the black stone had blocked my access."
Calmed, Shen Xingyan surveyed his cultivation space. The small skeletons that had just been helping him harvest the wheat had already dispersed to other plots on the field. Judging by their movements, they had been working for some time, which indicated that his loss of consciousness lasted longer than just a moment.
Although he realized this fact, Shen Xingyan didn't dwell on it. Instead, he immediately opened his attribute panel and directed his gaze toward his Innate Talent:
Talent: Skeleton Summoning (Growth +1) — Summons 2 monster skeletons with all attributes equal to 2 for combat (Cooldown: 24 hours).
Seeing the new description of his Skeleton Summoning skill, Shen Xingyan involuntarily let his mouth hang slightly open, and his gaze became vacant. The strange incident after using the Talent Stone instantly flew out of his head, his thoughts darting between the two figures of "2."
"Double improvement! This Talent Stone is simply incredible!" Shen Xingyan first murmured quietly. But as he grasped the reality of what had happened, his voice grew louder, and the look of astonishment on his face gave way to an uncontrollable smile.
As the excitement mounted, Shen Xingyan felt a growing urge to share his joy, but he couldn't tell anyone, which gave him the feeling as if he was about to suffocate from overwhelming emotion.
Looking around, Shen Xingyan's eyes landed on his faithful aide. He swiftly approached the diligently working Wangcai, and without a word, lifted him high into the air and began joyfully spinning, loudly exclaiming:
"Wangcai, now we can truly rise to the top! In the future, you'll have more and more subordinates, and you'll become not just a captain, but at least a platoon or even a regiment commander!"
During Shen Xingyan's ecstatic shouts, Wangcai seemed to sense his master's mood and didn't resist. It even spread its small, bony arms, as if enjoying the sensation of spinning so quickly.
Lost in his state of euphoria, Shen Xingyan failed to notice this reaction. He only realized that his long-held dream of fighting outside the base, now fueled by the Talent Stone, was becoming increasingly real.
"If an Initial Talent Stone possesses such power, what will happen when I start cultivating high-level crops and break the Star Source records then? Maybe I can get Medium and Supreme Talent Stones!"
With this thought, Shen Xingyan's gaze seemed to pierce time and space, carrying him to the battlefield outside the base a few years from now. There, with a wave of his hand, he summoned an army of high-stat skeletons that, at his command, crushed all enemies, knowing no defeat!