Bai Fan snapped her eyes open.
She gasped for air, feeling as if she had just been pulled out of a drowning.
What… was that just now?
Did I get hit by a truck?
The playful voice of the snow-haired girl rang in her ears.
“This time, for real!”
Again?
A roar echoed from behind her again.
Before she could think, before she could curse, a certain string deep within her soul trembled violently.
The world seemed to change.
She “saw” it—not with her eyes, but with some newly awakened sense beyond vision.
Tendrils extending from the depths of her soul silently enveloped the space dozens of meters around her.
The dust kicked up by the wheels, the cracks in the windshield, and the twisted face forming on the steering wheel.
At that moment, everything appeared in her perception. Everything slowed down.
A flood of information surged into her consciousness in an instant.
The speed and trajectory of the truck. The point of impact about to happen.
Without needing to think, her body rolled to the right.
BOOM.
The truck crashed into the wall behind her. Glass shards flew everywhere. The front of the vehicle crumpled and twisted.
Bai Fan lay on the ground, panting heavily. Sweat mixed with dust dripped from her chin.
After a long moment, she slowly propped herself up and looked down at her hands.
Her fingertips trembled slightly, but not purely from fear. It was because something had awakened within her, still buzzing inside her body.
“This feeling… what is it?” she asked in a hoarse voice.
The snow-haired girl’s voice sounded beside her, seemingly satisfied.
“Awareness. Like I told you—the perception that extends from your soul.
Congratulations. You didn’t drown. The test run was a success.”
“Just now… I saw myself die once.”
“Death Omen. That means your Awareness is extraordinary. When life-threatening danger approaches, you can already foresee the future.”
“Is that so?” Bai Fan murmured, instinctively touching her arm.
That sensation of “seeing herself die” still lingered on her skin, like a chill that wouldn’t fade.
She looked at the wrecked truck and the driver, whose body was twisted beyond human recognition.
Why had a truck suddenly lost control here?
If she had been just a little slower, she would have been flattened like a noodle.
Bai Fan’s legs went weak, but she forced herself to stand up slowly.
Wee-oo, wee-oo.
Suddenly, a sharp sound came from outside.
The Public Security Bureau’s vehicle had arrived.
Back when she worked under Master Mo, she had heard that sound many times.
Selling Skeleton Beast carcasses walked the line between gangs and gray industries. She had narrowly escaped being caught by the PSB several times.
Add to that the strange state of her body after the Rebirth, and the moment she heard that sound, Bai Fan didn’t hesitate for a second. She turned and ran.
—
When the familiar container house appeared before her, Bai Fan finally breathed a sigh of relief.
She was home.
The snow-haired girl’s figure appeared beside her.
“Dear little sister, is this your home?”
Before Bai Fan could respond, the girl sighed to herself. “So shabby. How can you live in a place like this?”
Bai Fan felt speechless. If she had a choice, she would obviously want a better place too.
“If you don’t like it, find somewhere else to live yourself.”
“Oh? You’re not even going to argue about me calling you ‘dear little sister’?”
“…I can’t be bothered with you.”
She pushed open the door and was greeted by Da Gan, who bared his teeth at her.
“Woof! Woof!” Da Gan barked a fierce warning.
“It’s me, Da Gan!”
The yellow dog didn’t recognize her and kept barking warnings.
Bai Fan then realized that with her current appearance, even Da Gan—or even her missing parents if they stood before her—might not recognize her.
Her facial outline hadn’t changed much, but her snow-white hair, blue eyes, and shortened height made it hard for even the closest people to connect the current Bai Fan with the one before.
She hurriedly stepped inside, trying to explain to the dog.
Seeing that his warning was ineffective, Da Gan lunged straight at the “intruder.”
This robust yellow dog was fast and strong enough that even a grown man wouldn’t dare underestimate him.
In the past, when Bai Fan played with Da Gan, even if he didn’t use full strength, he could usually pin her down easily.
But this time, she found Da Gan’s movements much slower in her eyes—or rather, her reactions had become faster.
With a simple sidestep, she dodged Da Gan’s pounce.
Da Gan landed and prepared to leap again, but Bai Fan was faster. She caught both of his front legs and held him.
“Wake up, it’s me!”
Da Gan struggled in her arms at first, then suddenly seemed to sniff something—a snowy scent that was both unfamiliar and familiar.
He had smelled it before.
Suddenly, Da Gan stopped struggling. His whole body calmed down.
Bai Fan gently stroked his head. “It’s me, Xiaofan.”
Da Gan seemed to finally recognize her. He let out two soft “woofs,” as if answering her call.
Bai Fan’s eyes grew a little hot. She buried her face in Da Gan’s fluffy fur.
“Thank you.”
The snow-haired girl clapped from the side. “Wow, what a touching reunion between master and pet~”
Bai Fan choked, then turned to glare at her.
“Can you… not ruin the mood at a time like this?”
“Oh, am I going to be hated? Then I won’t show myself in front of you anymore.”
With that, the snow-haired girl’s figure dissolved like a bubble, dissipating into the air.
“Hey, you…”
That girl… she’s so blunt? She just vanishes like that?
But considering she said she was an Attached Spirit attached to me, she’s probably just hiding somewhere I can’t see.
Maybe she’s secretly laughing in the corner even now.
“Woof! Woof!” Da Gan barked, his canine eyes filled with confusion, clearly having no idea who she was shouting at.
Bai Fan realized then that it seemed no one else could see the snow-haired girl except her.
“It’s nothing. Just someone who ruins the mood. She’s already hidden herself away.”
Bai Fan didn’t dwell on it. She rubbed the yellow dog’s head again to soothe him.
Da Gan nudged her chin, then broke free from her hold, wanting to keep playing.
“Da Gan, another time. I still have things to deal with.”
Da Gan looked confused but stayed by the side, watching to see what she would do.
Bai Fan took out the Aether Crystal and White Jade from before and placed them on the table to study them.
The snow-haired girl had said earlier that she could now “grasp” the Bright Divine Jade’s ability.
But how exactly was she supposed to use it?
Awareness? She tried to sink her attention into the depths of her consciousness to feel that newly awakened sense.
Nothing happened.
She tried holding the White Jade in her palm, closing her eyes, and imagining that perception flowing from her palm into the jade.
Still no response.
She thought hard, rubbed it, even felt like chanting “Bala La Magic” at it, but the White Jade remained motionless.
“How am I supposed to do this?”
“Dear little sister, why not ask your big sister for help when you encounter a problem?”
Bai Fan’s scalp tingled.
“Don’t suddenly talk behind me! Even a ghost would be scared by you.”
She turned, but saw no sign of anyone.
“Where are you? I can’t see you.”
The snow-haired girl’s voice sounded faint. “Aren’t you the one who thinks I ruin the mood? It’s better if I don’t show myself. That way, you can solve the problem yourself.”
“…”
Damn it. Bai Fan could sense that the “good big sister” who had been casually teasing her all along was now truly a little upset.
Not that she was really afraid of her, but she did need to ask her many things, and from the tone, the girl hadn’t gone far—she was just deliberately hiding.
When you need someone, you have to lower your head.
“I’m sorry. I was a little rude earlier. Please come out.”
“Not sincere enough. Why didn’t you say ‘please’ when you apologized?”
“It’s my fault. Please come out.”
“Still not sincere enough. Remember to use a respectful title when apologizing to others.”
“Dear lady, it was my fault. Please show yourself.”
“A respectful title doesn’t mean that. Call me something I like.”
Bai Fan vaguely felt a vein throbbing on her forehead. Her fists clenched several times, but she loosened them again.
What did she like to hear?
Bai Fan pursed her lips, thinking.
Right, she had been calling me “dear little sister” all along. Maybe she wanted me to call her “big sister” in return?
With that thought, she changed her tone to something softer.
“Dear big sister, it was my fault. Please show yourself.”
“Hehe, it’s good that you can correct your mistake. That’s my dear little sister.”
A cluster of white light gathered in front of Bai Fan, and the snow-haired girl in a dress materialized before her.
She smiled at her, eyes crinkling. “I like that title very much. Call me that from now on.”
The corner of Bai Fan’s mouth twitched slightly, but she swallowed the retort “you wish.”
“So… what exactly is this Awareness? How am I supposed to drive this power?”
The snow-haired girl’s smile faded, and she grew somewhat serious.
“Don’t think of it as ‘using’ it. Awareness is the antenna of your soul. You wouldn’t ask ‘how do I use my hand,’ would you?”
“What should I do?”
“Focus, but don’t tense up. Try to feel it. Right before the truck accident happened to you, was there something curled up deep in your soul?”
Bai Fan took a deep breath and slowly closed her eyes.
Gradually, she sensed something dormant in the depths of her consciousness, a perception waiting to awaken.
“I can feel it.”
“Good,” the girl’s voice held approval. “Now, let it open its eyes, like instinctively surfacing when you’re drowning.”
Bai Fan relaxed her consciousness.
That formless perception, like a thread being pulled, surged from the depths of her soul.
“Hold it steady. Follow your arm, let it flow into the Bright Divine Jade in your palm.”
The White Jade lit up, a soft glow like a life awakening from slumber, flowing slowly along its grain.
Bai Fan opened her eyes, momentarily stunned.
It… really glowed.
But why did the glow feel slightly cool, seeping in from her palm?
“Don’t stop,” the snow-haired girl reminded. “Extend that power into the Aether Crystal.”
The white light flowed. When it touched the surface of the tainted Aether Crystal, a faint resistance came from her fingertips.
She met a thin barrier. Her brow furrowed involuntarily.
“Don’t force it. Imagine your perception as weak water that seeps through everything. Let it permeate.”
Bai Fan followed the instruction, visualizing herself as formless water.
The soft white light, like molten silver, silently seeped into the black crystal’s interior, flowing slowly along invisible veins.
In her awareness, patches of purplish-black impurities appeared, carrying an ominous and filthy aura.
“Slowly, wash away those impurities in your consciousness.”
Her perception turned to water, beginning to rinse bit by bit.
The dark purple on the Aether Crystal in her hand faded like ink diluted by clear water, layer by layer.
She didn’t know how long passed before the snow-haired girl’s voice gently sounded. “It’s done.”
Bai Fan snapped back to reality and looked down at the Aether Crystal in her hand.
The original murky purple-black was gone, leaving only a translucent light purple, scattering an unreal hue in the sunlight.
“It… actually worked?” She looked up at the girl, disbelief in her eyes.
The snow-haired girl crossed her arms, a faint smile on her lips. “Congratulations. You’ve taken the first step toward becoming an Ascender.”