Chapter 5: Heatblast
After Su Ke returned home, Zhang Xu and Su Yuan immediately asked with concern, "Xiao Ke, how did your Supernatural Ability Awakening go?"
"It's alright," Su Ke replied.
"What do you mean by 'alright'?" Zhang Xu asked anxiously.
"It's just a bit strange. I'll only know for sure after I break through to Rank One, Stage One," Su Ke said. "I'm going back to cultivate now."
Without waiting for a response, Su Ke quickly returned to his room, locked the door, and eagerly opened the file containing the Cultivation Technique.
This Cultivation Technique had been revised and perfected over 500 years by countless generations, making it the most suitable method for human cultivation. Its core purpose was to teach humans how to absorb the Spiritual Qi drifting between heaven and earth.
Its name was extremely simple: Meditation Method.
Although everyone cultivated using the same technique, the speed of cultivation varied greatly. Those with better talent cultivated faster, while those with poorer talent progressed more slowly.
Wealthy families would purchase the meat of Mutated Beasts or even Vicious Beasts for their juniors. Consuming such meat not only enhanced Spiritual Power but also strengthened the body.
Those who were even more extravagant might obtain extremely rare crystal cores.
These items were unique to Yao Beasts.
The weaker the Yao Beast, the lower the probability of forming a crystal core. However, even the most common crystal core allowed the absorption of Spiritual Qi several times faster than relying solely on the energy between heaven and earth.
Some extremely rare crystal cores even contained special skills. After absorbing such a crystal core, a Spirit Energy User had a chance to comprehend the skill within, gaining an additional method of combat.
The probability of finding a crystal core inside a Mutated Beast was very low, but Vicious Beasts were different. Their bodies were guaranteed to contain a crystal core.
After finishing reading the Cultivation Technique, Su Ke sat cross-legged and began to cultivate.
Breaking through from Rank Zero to Rank One, Stage One was the simplest step. As long as one could sense Spiritual Qi, this stage could be reached after cultivating for a short period, followed by the awakening of a Rank One skill.
Spirit Energy Users were divided into a total of Ten Ranks. At each Rank, one skill could be awakened.
Starting from Rank One, combined with their Innate Skill, a Spirit Energy User would possess at least two skills.
Su Ke continuously circulated the Cultivation Technique in his mind, attempting to sense the surrounding Spiritual Qi.
His parents were worried that something might go wrong during his cultivation, so they did not dare to disturb him.
One hour passed. Then two hours. Then three.
He finally "saw" it.
Although his eyes were closed, countless tiny specks of light drifted within his perception.
'This must be Spiritual Qi.'
Su Ke accelerated the circulation of the Cultivation Technique, slowly drawing the Spiritual Qi into his body.
Another hour passed.
Crack!
It was as if invisible shackles inside his body shattered. Su Ke's aura surged outward, causing even the surrounding furniture to tremble slightly.
"So this is Rank One, Stage One," Su Ke said excitedly. "No wonder so many people are obsessed with cultivation. This feels incredible."
However, that was not what made him happiest.
What truly excited him was that his little broken watch could finally be used.
When he first awakened, the reason he had not known his Innate Skill was because the little broken watch had not officially activated yet.
Now that he had broken through to Rank One, Stage One, the watch finally revealed its function.
The Innate Skill it granted Su Ke was called DNA Recombination.
As the name implied, it allowed him to disassemble and then reassemble his DNA.
After the breakthrough was complete, a black silhouette finally appeared on the screen of the little broken watch.
"Heatblast."
Su Ke slowly read the name aloud.
Unable to suppress his excitement, he raised his arm and stared at the dial.
After a brief moment of thought, he whispered, "Hero Time."
He then slammed his right hand down onto the dial.
In an instant, a flash of green light engulfed him.
When the light dissipated, Su Ke was gone.
Standing in his place was a humanoid being composed entirely of blazing flames and black volcanic rock. Magma-like cracks glowed across its body, and fire burned continuously along its head and shoulders.
Embedded in the center of its chest was a circular device bearing an hourglass-shaped symbol.
"Amazing!"
Heatblast was a DNA sample of a Pyronite from the planet Pyros, collected by the Omnitrix.
He naturally possessed the ability to generate, project, and absorb flames, freely manipulating fire at will.
Su Ke was still examining his transformed body when the symbol on his chest suddenly flashed red.
In the next instant, he reverted to his original form.
"Tch."
Feeling weakness flood back into his body, Su Ke rubbed his forehead helplessly.
"The Spiritual Power stored at Rank One, Stage One is far too little. Even if I don't move, I can only maintain the transformation for one minute."
Even so, Su Ke now fully understood the function of the little broken watch.
From now on, every time his Realm advanced by one stage, the watch would unlock an additional Alien Hero DNA.
At present, only Heatblast was available because he was merely Rank One, Stage One. More would appear in the future.
Thinking of this, Su Ke's heart began to race again.
After all, who had never dreamed of owning a little broken watch and transforming into powerful aliens?
However, this Supernatural Ability also had a clear drawback.
In his normal state, Su Ke was still an ordinary person. Only after transforming did he gain overwhelming combat power. At most, his physical fitness would improve gradually as his Realm advanced under the nourishment of Spiritual Qi.
This was a problem.
'I'll deal with it later.'
Just as he was about to continue cultivating, the growl of his stomach reminded him it was time to eat.
He opened the door and walked out.
Zhang Xu and Su Yuan had been sitting on the sofa the entire time, waiting.
They were extremely nervous, afraid that their son had failed to awaken a good Supernatural Ability.
They did not hope for him to become powerful or wealthy. They only wished for him to live safely. In this era, safety required strength.
"Xiao Ke, how was the cultivation?" Su Yuan asked, his voice filled with concern.
"Don't worry, Dad," Su Ke said confidently. "The Supernatural Ability I awakened is extremely strong."
"R-really?" Su Yuan's eyes widened. "Show me."
"Not right now."
"Why not?"
Su Yuan feared Su Ke was lying just to reassure them.
"I already tested it and ran out of Spiritual Power," Su Ke explained. "Let's eat first. I'll recover after that."
"Yes, yes, let's eat first," Zhang Xu said quickly. "We can talk later."
Zhang Xu reheated the food, and the family shared a warm meal together.
After eating, Su Ke felt most of his Spiritual Power had recovered.
"Dad, Mom, watch carefully," he said seriously. "Next comes a miracle."
He activated the dial and slammed it down.
With only Heatblast unlocked, there was no possibility of a random selection.
A green flash erupted.
When it faded, a humanoid figure of fire and black rock stood in the room.
"Heatblast!"
Su Ke shouted the name of this Alien Hero, simply because it sounded cool.