Chapter 82

Chapter 82

Huo Liangzhou's living room was huge, but it still couldn't accommodate over fifty people without it getting packed.

Qi Mo felt a bit awkward and said, "Director Huang, you've brought quite a crowd today."

Huang Ming chuckled, "These are all good kids. The sooner they get their psychic powers, the sooner they can serve the people."

"Zhang Liu, Zhang Liu, get some ice going out here. Everyone, line up in the yard," Huang Ming called out to Zhang Liu behind him.

Zhang Liu was the ice-type Psychic from yesterday.

After a full day of practice, Zhang Liu could now control his ice shards without them hitting anyone in range.

Soon, stacks of ice chunks accumulated in the yard.

With shade nets blocking the sun and ice cooling the area, the temperature quickly dropped, making it bearable.

News about yesterday had spread to Huo Village.

The village chief sought out the Elder Clan Leader to discuss the matter—people in town awakening Psychic Powers, which they suspected might be related to Qi Mo.

"Elder Clan Leader, what should we do?" the village chief asked.

The Elder Clan Leader replied, "Qi Mo hasn't mentioned this, and he owes us nothing. Since Huo Liangzhou isn’t home during the day but will return at night, I’ll go ask him then."

"That’s a better way to communicate. Liangzhou is from our village, after all—he should still consider our interests to some extent. Besides, he’s the muscle behind breaking those rocks," the Elder Clan Leader said.

This wasn’t wrong, but some villagers felt it was unfair since Huo Liangzhou only worked for an hour.

When they complained to the village chief, he scolded them up one side and down the other.

Even though Huo Liangzhou only worked an hour, he moved as much in an hour as the rest of them did all night. His labor equaled the combined effort of all of them.

By now, rocks were already piling up at the village entrance.

The foundation for the boundary wall had begun along the roadside, though only a small section—about ten meters long and half a meter wide—had been dug so far.

The village chief nodded. "Guess that’s how it’s gotta be."

However, Chen Xia wasn’t like the Elder Clan Leader or the village chief—she didn’t beat around the bush.

The second she caught wind of the news, she came straight over.

"Momo, what are you doing here?" Chen Xia asked, her son Huo Jingjun trailing after her, curious.

Seeing Chen Xia enter, Qi Mo smiled. "We have guests. Grab a seat somewhere—I’m about to help some people awaken. Later, I’ll check if Jingjun’s got potential too."

Chen Xia asked, "Awaken? What’s that?"

Huo Jingjun pulled at his mom’s sleeve and said, "Mom, let Xiao Mo finish up first. Xiao Mo, you go ahead—we’ll find some shade."

"Alright, look after your mom," Qi Mo said before turning to Bai Bin and Huang Ming. "Wanna get started or shoot the breeze first?"

Bai Bin glanced at Chou Yun, who spoke up, "Let’s do the awakening ceremony first."

Like before, they brought out a stool, and Qiu Qiu was summoned by Qi Mo.

She plopped down on the stool, her tail lazily swishing.

Here’s the refined translation incorporating the expert suggestions:

However, today Qi Mo didn’t sit on the stool but stood aside, feeling awkward making people kneel.

Huang Ming lined everyone up, with the first person standing a meter away.

Qi Mo looked at the queue and asked Qiuqiu, "Can we start now?"

Golden Kitty gave a meow in reply.

"We can begin. First one, no need to kneel on both knees—just one is enough," Qi Mo instructed.

The first special forces soldier stepped forward, knelt on one knee, and bowed his head.

He’d already learned the Awakening ritual procedure and knew what to do.

The kitty lifted its little paw and took a swipe.

Three red streaks appeared instantly.

The soldier then said, "Thank you, Great Kitty Spirit," before standing up and stepping aside.

The next soldier followed...

Even with fifty people, it went by fast—the Awakening ritual was completed in just over ten minutes.

Seeing how efficient it was, Huang Ming turned to Qi Mo and said, "Momo, can you check with the Great Kitty if there’s a daily limit on Awakenings?"

Qi Mo asked, "Hey Chubby baby, any limits?"

Golden Kitty Qiuqiu jumped onto his dad’s shoulder, meowed, and curled up.

Qi Mo told Huang Ming, "Director Huang, Chubby baby says there’s no limit. He’ll give the chance—whether someone awakens is up to their own potential. It doesn’t take effort."

Huang Ming replied, "That’s great! I’ll prepare more people tomorrow to boost our fighting force faster."

"Great Kitty, do failures get another shot?" asked a friend of yesterday’s unsuccessful candidate.

Golden Kitty wagged its tail and meowed.

Qi Mo explained, "They can retry in 10 days or so."

"Or, a few extra beatings might do the trick—could spark a breakthrough," Qi Mo added, as Snowball put it.

Qi Mo scooped up the chubby baby from the play mat, while Bai Bin and Chou Yun followed him outside.

Yesterday’s Awakening was in the courtyard, but with today’s crowd, they used the clearing beyond.

Passing Bai Bin and Chou Yun, Qi Mo paused. "Want a try? Jingjun, come here. Let your little brother give you a swipe—you might unlock Psychic Power too. Then go call the village guards: Jing Xuan, Jing Tan, and Qin Lan."

Huo Jingjun, hearing Xiao Mo’s words, rushed over. He’d been itching for Psychic Power and was determined to awaken.

Qi Mo turned as Qiuqiu eyed the bashful teen before it and meowed.

Qi Mo chuckled, "Duck down—your little bro can’t reach."

Huo Jingjun’s cheeks flushed as he offered his forehead.

One swipe left streaks of blood, droplets falling. "Alright, get someone to rough you up later. Might sting, but they’ll go easy—no serious harm," Qi Mo said.

Huo Jingjun nodded, "I'll go get Jing Tan and the others first."

"Go ahead, go ahead," Qi Mo said with a laugh.

Chen Xia also wanted to go, but she was the only woman here; it wouldn't be appropriate if these young men harassed her later.

Maybe I should gather some girls—Xiao Yu, Wang Qi, and others like them.

But there's no rush—better to gain some experience first.

She and Momo were neighbors and got along well. She figured Qi Mo wouldn't refuse her.

Since liberation, women had been holding up half the sky. Momo wasn't a chauvinist and had a good temperament. As long as nobody provoked him first, he was friendly toward everyone.

In the yard, a squad of special forces soldiers selected five men and began beating the first one who had undergone the awakening ceremony.

Huo Jingjun quickly went to find Qin Lan and Huo Liangya, then notified the Elder Clan Leader before heading out to find Jing Tan and Jing Xuan.

Qin Lan, Liangya, Jing Tan, and the others followed Huo Jingjun to Jing Xuan’s home. Recently, Jing Xuan had been feeling down—probably due to the disgrace brought by his older cousin.

Right now, however, Jing Xuan’s house was noisy, with his uncle and aunt creating a disturbance.

Huo Liangya looked at the chaos and asked, "What's going on? Sure, he received twenty lashes, but they were just superficial wounds. Liangzhou even provided anti-inflammatory medicine and disinfectant—it's impossible for him to have died."

Jing Xuan stepped out, surprised. "Why are all of you here? My cousin isn’t dead; it’s just... just..."

He couldn’t even say it—it was too embarrassing.

"My cousin has completely lost his mind. If he ever comes begging to borrow anything, don’t give him a thing. Last night, my uncle’s house lost four sacks of grain—about two hundred pounds. He probably took it to his in-laws or traded it for food. Now the two of them could be anywhere."

The group fell silent, weighed down by pity. Huo Jingcheng was truly beyond redemption.

Huo Jingjun, always optimistic, broke the silence first. "Forget about Huo Jingcheng. His messed-up brain is his own problem—he’ll regret it soon enough. Let’s talk about something happier. We're heading to Momo’s place—something big is happening."

Huo Jingtan got involved too.

On the way, Huo Jingjun explained the awakening ceremony. Jing Tan was stunned—Xiao Mo is a legend! Xiao Mo is the real deal!

When they arrived at Qi Mo’s place, Huang Ming divided the group into ten teams to speed things up.

Four-on-one beatings started, and soon someone awakened their power.

Water gushed out forcefully.

A few soldiers cheered, "Huang Hai is set for life now!"

"I'm soaked and can't stop it," Huang Hai muttered. His clothes were already thin, and now they were practically see-through. It was extremely awkward.

"Stop complaining—we're all guys here," another soldier teased.

Chen Xia waved her hand. "Stop staring—I could've given birth to all of you. There's nothing worth gawking at."

They continued awakening—water, wood, healing abilities.

The second healing ability appeared, and several awakened soldiers rushed forward to test it.

Afterward, they noticed faint shadowy lines on each other's foreheads. Upon closer inspection, they somewhat resembled the letter "K."

Bai Bin examined the faint patterns on the warriors' foreheads and asked in confusion, "Momo, are these tiger stripes?"

Qi Mo shrugged. "I don’t know either!"

"Chubby, what’s going on here?" Qi Mo inquired of the little Snowball, who was darting across his shoulders, playing hide-and-seek with her older brother, Chubby.

Qiu Qiu had long since grown bored and wandered off to nap. Meanwhile, Snowball leaped between her father’s shoulders and head, keeping Chubby in a frantic search, never pausing for a moment.

Chubby was utterly delighted by the game, peering left and right, up and down, hunting for his little sister.

Each time he found her, he burst into giggles—utterly endearing.

At her father’s question, Snowball paused her antics and meowed out an explanation.

But the moment she stopped, her brother caught her, promptly gnawing on her tail and ears—biting anything within reach, likely due to teething discomfort.

After listening to Snowball’s explanation, Qi Mo clarified, "She says these aren’t tiger stripes—they’re cat paw prints. Right now, you can’t control them, so they’re visible. As you grow stronger, you’ll learn to conceal them. These marks identify followers of the feline deity. The more powerful you become, the clearer the patterns grow, eventually forming full paw prints."

Snowball then demonstrated, eliciting amused twitches from the onlookers—the effect was downright playful, the paw prints almost cartoonishly adorable.

And they weren’t static. Their hues shifted with the wielder’s affinity:

Water-aligned turned them blue.

Wood-aligned tinted them green.

Lightning-aligned flared purple, metal gleamed gold, and healing glowed semi-transparent.

Thankfully, they could be hidden.

Glances drifted to the tiny kitten in Qi Mo’s arms—a fetal sibling, still unborn.

Well, fetuses favoring cuteness was hardly surprising.

Such a precious little deity demanded protection. They couldn’t let that malicious mind-controlling god seize their land.

Amid the clamor, Huo Liangya, Qin Lan, and others underwent their awakening ceremonies, kneeling solemnly—this was no casual rite.

Outside, earth-aligned Psychics tilled the soil, water-aligned ones irrigated, and wood-aligned cultivators planted seeds taken from Chen Xia’s home. Soon, fuzzy sprouts carpeted the earth.

The patch—a few square meters—reached ten centimeters before their energy depleted.

But Qi Mo had assured them: power could be cultivated. Strength would bring greater yields.

Not as boundless as Qi Huai’s gifts, perhaps, but these abilities came without forfeiting thought or will.

Nothing outweighed self-awareness and freedom.

Free things often cost the most. The feline deity provided only the seed; the rest depended on their efforts. But this power was theirs alone.

So long as they harmed neither the deity nor its kin, no other restrictions bound them.

And with awakening came a silent prompt: *The Divine Guard awaits, should you answer.*

Here’s the refined translation incorporating the expert suggestions:

After joining the Divine Guardians, there will be various benefits.

However, to receive these benefits, one must pay a certain price—working regular shifts, protecting the temple, engaging in battles...

Not participating is fine too, but the training progress will be slower, with no other side effects.

This is acceptable to everyone because it’s not mandatory.

Huang Ming left with the elite squad. This time, the success rate for awakening had actually increased slightly, reaching about two-thirds.

Huo Jingxuan and the others were thrilled.

Whether it was because they were familiar with Qi Mo or some other reason, their success rate for awakening was 100%.

Except for Chen Xia. She also participated in the awakening ceremony, but she was too shy to take the hits required, so she didn’t awaken any Psychic Power.

However, Chen Xia’s son, Huo Jingjun, awakened. The boy was scolded by Chen Xia because, aside from strong attack power, his lightning-based Psychic Power wasn’t very practical.

Chen Xia had wanted hydro or plant powers.

Bai Bin and Chou Yun sat in Qi Mo’s living room. Qi Mo sliced into a huge watermelon and invited them to eat. "So, what’s up?"

Chou Yun paused from eating the watermelon. "Momo, I’d like to arrange for some people to come over. No—actually, coming all the way from Shangjing is a hassle. Your husband’s crazy fast. Can you bring the kids to Shangjing City? We need to hold a meeting to discuss..."

Qi Mo frowned upon hearing this. "I can’t decide this. I’ll have to wait for my husband to return and ask him."

The thought of negotiating with those big shots made Qi Mo nervous.

Such heavy lifting—of course, he’d leave it to his husband to handle.

"I understand. We’ll wait for him to return. Will he be back tonight? I heard from the villagers that your husband comes home every evening?" Bai Bin asked.

Qi Mo relaxed a little and replied, "Usually, he comes home for lunch and returns in the evening too. Unless he’s too busy, then he’ll just come back at night."

"Then we’ll wait for him," Bai Bin said. He wasn’t in a hurry—a day or so wasn’t a big deal.

However, at noon, Huo Liangzhou didn’t return home.

Huo Liangzhou was currently preparing to move. Everyone would be traveling light that evening. As for the rest of the belongings, Huo Liangzhou planned to bring Momo back later to collect them—Momo had a massive inventory space.