Chapter 4: Zhizhi is Trash?
Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: PlumSauce
Yun Yingzhi was the second son of General Yun’s household. General Yun and Madam Yun were both top-tier powerhouses of the Empire. Yun Yingzhi had an older brother, Yun Yinghui, who was twenty-eight this year, possessed a one-in-a-billion Super SSS-level talent, and held the rank of Colonel.
Yun Yingzhi’s younger sister, Yun Yingyao, was eighteen this year, had a SSS-level talent, and had been extraordinarily gifted in all areas since childhood. In comparison, the most ordinary member of the Yun family was Yun Yingzhi. Looking at the bloodline of General Yun and Madam Yun, there was no white rabbit gene. Yun Yingzhi’s gene seemed to have mutated, manifesting as a little white rabbit.
Because of this, Madam Yun once suspected that Yun Yingzhi had been switched at birth. In the interstellar era, the probability of such a switch was minuscule, but she still had Yun Yingzhi tested. The results proved that he really was the child of General Yun and Madam Yun.
When Yun Yingzhi was five years old, he accidentally overheard Madam Yun say that he was the shame of the Yun household. General Yun and Madam Yun wanted outstanding children, not a little white rabbit like Yun Yingzhi. From that moment on, a sense of inferiority never left him.
Physical tests, esper ability tests, mental power assessments, second form tests… Yun Yingzhi’s physique was rated C, his esper ability test showed no awakening, his mental power was C-level, and his second form was E-level. It was almost unbelievably low, but that was reality.
From the moment his talent was tested, Madam Yun had completely given up on Yun Yingzhi. General Yun and Madam Yun had a marriage of convenience; they only wanted the most exceptional children. Among the three children, General Yun only cared about Yun Yinghui, while Madam Yun favored her daughter, Yun Yingyao.
In comparison, Yun Yingzhi looked pitiable.
However, as if to compensate for the love his parents couldn’t give, his older brother Yun Yinghui doted on him especially. His affection often made the young Yun Yingyao insanely jealous, once causing a full-blown tantrum.
It was also during that incident that Yun Yingzhi had his first argument with Huai Boshe. The cause was Yun Yinghui’s favoritism toward Yun Yingzhi. Yun Yingyao cried and threw a fit. Huai Boshe, unaware of the situation’s background, sided with Yun Yingyao.
At the time, Yun Yingzhi was very angry. He knew his second form was even weaker than his human form and didn’t dare transform. He lunged at Huai Boshe in his human form. The two six-year-olds wrestled—it was more accurate to say that Yun Yingzhi was completely crushed by Huai Boshe.
Yun Yingzhi’s tears fell in streams, angry at his own incompetence and annoyed that Yun Yingyao, who had already received all of their mother’s love, wasn’t satisfied and wanted to compete. Huai Boshe forced Yun Yingzhi to apologize to Yun Yingyao.
The household servants tried to intervene but didn’t dare get too close. They could not afford to offend any of the three children. The butler, seeing the number of Yun Yingzhi’s bodily injuries increasing, contacted General Yun and Madam Yun, but to no avail—they had no intention of interfering in the children’s quarrels. Reluctantly, the butler contacted Yun Yinghui.
At the time, Yun Yinghui was still a student at Fansa Academy’s high school. Only fifteen years old, he took leave immediately and returned to the Yun household. He first rescued Yun Yingzhi from Huai Boshe’s suppression, then thoroughly beat Huai Boshe and forced Yun Yingyao to apologize to Yun Yingzhi.
Yun Yingzhi, who had been crushed by Huai Boshe, buried his head in Yun Yinghui’s arms, crying uncontrollably. Madam Yun, who had previously paid little attention to the children’s quarrels, returned home immediately after hearing about Yun Yingyao. She scolded Yun Yinghui and Yun Yingzhi, focusing mainly on Yun Yingzhi.
Not long after, General Yun was also alerted. Despite his busy schedule, he returned to the Yun household and scolded all three children, again mainly targeting Yun Yingzhi. During that period, for Yun Yingzhi who craved parental love, it was an extremely harsh childhood. It was precisely because of such biased parents that Yun Yingzhi cherished everyone around him.
As he grew older, Yun Yingzhi reconciled with Huai Boshe and returned to a normal sibling relationship with Yun Yingyao. However, that early quarrel had left a lasting psychological scar on the young Yun Yingzhi. He wanted to become strong—he desperately wanted to become strong.
At that time, he was only six years old and couldn’t even read all the characters. With the help of the AI assistant built into his personal terminal, he frantically searched StarNet for ways to make an E-level second form stronger. There was no way.
An E-level second form, without awakened abilities, had the combat power of an ordinary household pet at best. The only difference was that once the second form was awakened, it could manipulate energy. This energy, imperceptible to ordinary people, could only be sensed by those whose second form had awakened. It was called source energy.
Floating in the air, the body could naturally absorb it. Depending on the body constitution, the amount of energy absorbed varied. Espers with awakened powers could release abilities through source, while those without awakened abilities could only release source through source weapons.
For those espers whose powers hadn’t awakened, source weapons came into existence. At first, only people like Yun Yingzhi, without awakened abilities, used source weapons. Later, the variety of source weapons expanded. Some allowed espers to move on land, in water, or in the air, and even enhanced defense and attack…
Source weapons became increasingly widespread. Yun Yingzhi, unable to read all the characters, wanted to make himself stronger—even if just a little. At only six years old, driven by his desire for power, he began studying source weapons based on the information he found online. He believed this was a shortcut to leveling up.
The young boy thought of himself as a little genius and happily told his older brother Yun Yinghui, who was nine years older, about his plan. Yun Yinghui held Yun Yingzhi in his arms, kissed his cheek, and told him that his idea wasn’t wrong.
To become a source-weapon maker, the minimum requirement was a C-level mental power. Among Yun Yingzhi’s talents, only his mental power reached C-level. Following Yun Yinghui’s recommendation, Yun Yingzhi found a teacher named Alvin.
Alvin was one of only eight source-weapon grandmaster craftsmen in the Empire. He had once worked in the military’s Source Weapon Manufacturing Unit, but after his mental power was injured, he could no longer produce weapons above level ten—or even level ten consistently.
After retiring, he lived in seclusion on Imperial Star and rarely accepted personal commissions, only making level-nine or lower weapons when inspiration struck and sending them to the military. Yun Yinghui brought Yun Yingzhi to Alvin’s workshop. To a middle-aged man with a full beard, he said that Yun Yingzhi was very interested in source-weapon creation and hoped he could teach him.
At first, Alvin was reluctant, but he seemed to share a private friendship with Yun Yinghui, so he did not refuse. During that period, every minute at home felt suffocating for Yun Yingzhi. He didn’t want to see Huai Boshe, didn’t want to see Yun Yingyao, and didn’t want to stay in the cold, unfeeling household.
After school and every morning during holidays, he insisted the driver take him to Alvin’s workshop. Alvin allowed Yun Yingzhi to use all the materials in the workshop. Of course, the materials little Yun Yingzhi used were fully paid for by Yun Yinghui.
The young boy didn’t know how much of Yun Yinghui’s money he was wasting at the time, which left his older brother quite strapped for cash. Yun Yingzhi tried to craft source weapons entirely on his own, often failing, but he worked tirelessly to become stronger and to earn Madam Yun’s recognition. He would cheer himself on, sing to motivate himself, never afraid of hardship or fatigue—like a little mule in a production team1.
Alvin, whose mental power had recently been injured, was moody and initially seemed very cold, though he occasionally gave Yun Yingzhi a line or two of guidance.
After about a year, Yun Yingzhi and Alvin grew very close. One year later, Alvin crafted a crescent blade. Yun Yingzhi was extremely excited, flustered, and scrambled around to help him.
Alvin lifted Yun Yingzhi up and said, “Yingzhi, I was once a source-weapon grandmaster.”
Yun Yingzhi didn’t really know what a “master” was, but it didn’t stop him from praising Alvin. “Wow, Teacher Alvin is amazing!”
Alvin said, “Including me, there were only eight source-weapon grandmasters in the Empire.”
Yun Yingzhi thought for a moment but still didn’t quite understand. He continued praising Alvin, “No wonder, Teacher Alvin! You’re super amazing!”
From Yun Yingzhi’s expression, Alvin knew what he was thinking. He pinched his nose and said, “To craft weapons above level ten, you need immense mental power—SSS-level. But my mental power is damaged. I can no longer make weapons beyond level ten.”
Little Yun Yingzhi blinked and suddenly fell into deep thought. He looked at Alvin, then at himself, then back at Alvin. He understood what Alvin meant. In other words, to craft powerful source weapons, one needed immense mental power. Without it, no strong weapon could be created.
Yun Yingzhi counted on his fingers. SSS-level… and his C-level… The gap… seemed huge? He fell silent for a moment, then asked tentatively, “Th-then, Teacher Alvin… what level is your mental power now?”
Alvin’s expression was heavy. He replied, “A-level.” His eyes darkened. “I’m already a failure.”
Little Yun Yingzhi was dazed and confused. He looked at Alvin, then at himself, and climbed down from Alvin’s arms. Alvin shook off his moment of despair and looked at the boy.
The boy looked up at him, his delicate and beautiful face full of bewilderment. He pointed a tiny finger and said, “A-level… A-level is stronger than C-level!”
“Of course,” Alvin replied. That was common knowledge.
Yun Yingzhi’s small body wobbled, as if struck by a tremendous blow. Alvin furrowed his brows and steadied him, worried that the fragile little boy might hurt himself.
Yun Yingzhi, wearing the same pained expression Alvin had shown earlier, looked at him sadly and said, “Teacher Alvin says… A-level mental power is useless, is a failure… th-then C-level mental power…” His body softened like overcooked noodles, and he collapsed to his knees.
Alvin looked at him, momentarily speechless. This little boy, so young, yet his sadness seemed so immense. “In my view,” Alvin said, “C-level mental power isn’t suited for source-weapon makers. They lack talent. This lack of talent isn’t even failure—it’s simply no talent at all.”
As a genius, this had always been Alvin’s firm belief. Little Yun Yingzhi stared at him in horror. Alvin found the boy’s expression extremely puzzling.
Yun Yingzhi’s small mouth drooped at the corners. Unable to bear the injustice, tears streamed down his face. Not only did he lack combat talent, but even trying to grow stronger through source weapons seemed almost impossible. He pointed at himself and said, “Zhizhi… Zhizhi is trash!?” His tears poured even harder.
Alvin shook his head. “No, Zhizhi is amazing. How could you be trash? You have strong talent in this area.”
“B-but… QAQ… b-but Zhizhi only has C-level mental power!” Yun Yingzhi’s mindset collapsed, sobbing and hiccuping.
Alvin’s expression softened. He glanced around the workshop and saw the many Source materials that Yun Yingzhi’s little hands had battered into chaos. No, it wasn’t the first day Alvin had met him. Over the past year, he had guided Yun Yingzhi countless times.
Setting aside whether the boy had the innate talent to craft source weapons, one thing was certain: judging purely by the absolute destruction he caused to the materials, despite his young age, his mental power was definitely at least SS-level—possibly even SSS-level.
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