Chapter 1
Fortune-Telling
"Thirty for fortune-telling, thirty for the eight characters of birth date (used in Chinese astrology)," the fortune teller said.
He looked up at the person standing before his stall. "What would you like me to predict Miss?"
“……”
The girl before him didn't answer. She just remained silent for a long moment, then finally spoke: "In a world overrun with monsters, can you actually make good money telling fortunes?"
Three hundred years ago, the sun had turned an ominous red. At first, people didn't pay much attention, simply attributing the color shift to rising temperatures. But the day after the sun changed color, many people discovered something terrifying: they began to mutate.
Some transformed into creatures that crawled on all fours. Others became beast-like, resembling bears. During that period when the red sun appeared, nearly eighty percent of the world's population underwent this mutation. Those who mutated became mindless monsters without exception. The survivors began building walls to isolate themselves, and they called these mutated people "monsters."
"Of course I don't make much money these days. Resources are so scarce now—who would spend their money on fortune-telling?"
The fortune teller had been sitting with his eyes closed the whole time, so he never noticed that the girl who had been at his stall had vanished, and that his only tip box was gone too.
"Heh."
The fortune teller glanced in the direction the girl had fled, but he didn't chase her or show any surprise. It was as if he had expected this all along.
"It's about time. Time to pack up."
He didn't seem upset at all that his entire day's earnings had been stolen. He packed up his stall quickly and efficiently, then began walking toward a mountain to the south.
Soon he reached the mountaintop and entered a temple—his home. In the center of the temple was an enshrined statue of an unknown sage.
"Ancient Master, this disciple has a question he cannot solve today. May I request an audience?"
The fortune teller asked this question before the statue. Anyone watching might have thought him crazy. But the moment he finished speaking, a spirit emerged from the statue—one that looked exactly like the statue itself.
After stretching his limbs a bit, the fortune teller's Ancestor Master said: "You want to ask about that girl, don't you?"
"That's right. According to her facial features, she should be a dead person. Why is she still alive? And why did she steal my money?"
"Little Laizi, I cannot answer your first question. But as for the second, I must scold you a bit. You calculated that she would steal your money—why didn't you calculate why she would steal it?"
"Ancestor Master, you know we are Taoists and fortune tellers both. The fewer fortunes we tell, the better. We can't make things harder for ourselves during our tribulations over small matters."
"And how do you know this is a small matter?"
When the girl returned home, she was immediately greeted by angry shouting.
"You worthless scallywag, where were you today? No one made lunch—were you trying to starve your father? I doubt you even need to bother with tomorrow's Awakening Ceremony. You're definitely going to be useless anyway."
The Awakening Ceremony had been established two years after the "Red Sun" appeared. Some people discovered they possessed extraordinary powers beyond normal humans. They were called the Awakened Ones, and they formed organizations to fight against the monsters.
Humanity was gradually reclaiming its territory. Through research, people discovered that upon reaching eighteen years of age—adulthood—everyone had a chance to awaken. After awakening, those with good aptitude would enter the organizations; those with poor aptitude might end up doing menial work. Aptitude was determined by one's "mental power."
The girl didn't answer. She silently turned and went to the kitchen.
"What's the use of going now? It's already evening. You know we don't eat dinner."
"...…”
The girl moved through the house like a machine, while her father ignored her. Then two other figures came down the stairs: the girl's mother and her younger brother.
"Oh, look who's finally home! What were you so busy with today? We went shopping, you know—bought lots of new clothes!"
The younger brother's sarcasm was nothing new to his sister. But then he spoke again: "Here, this is for you."
He tossed her a torn, hole-ridden piece of clothing. The girl said nothing.
"Your brother is talking to you, Liu Yanran! Where's your gratitude? I told him to throw this away, but he insisted on giving it to his sister!"
"Who are you making that ugly face at?"
When Liu Yanran saw her brother's hand reaching toward her, she did something unexpected—she kicked him hard. She didn't know why she did it. She hadn't meant to hurt him.
Chapter 2
The Awakening Ceremony
“Today is the coming-of-age ceremony for both of you—your awakening ceremony. If either of you awakens with unsatisfactory results, you may leave the Liu family on your own.”
Liu Wujiu looked at Liu Yanran with glee, as if after the awakening he would be able to hold power over his sister forever.
Soon after, Father Liu and Mother Liu sent the two into a car driven by a chauffeur designated for the awakening ceremony, while they drove their own car to the venue—the awakening platform and the spectator stands were separate.
Once in the car, Liu Wujiu kept taunting Liu Yanran.
She remained silent, which eventually bored him. Finally, he grabbed her by the collar and said:
“I am the future heir of the Liu family. I must also tell you that anyone with spiritual power below one hundred is just an ordinary person. When that happens… you know what that means.”
“Worry about yourself.”
After saying this, Liu Yanran paid him no more attention and instead gazed at the scenery along the road. She had never traveled far from home—this was practically her first time in a car.
Arriving at the destination, Liu Wujiu and Liu Yanran got out together.
Father Liu and Mother Liu arrived shortly after. By the time they got there, the place was already packed with people, meaning the awakening ceremony had begun.
“You may enter. The people over there will explain what to do.”
After instructing Liu Wujiu and Liu Yanran, Father Liu and Mother Liu went up to the spectator stands to watch which prodigies would appear this year.
All five great families were present in the stands: the Liu family, the Zhang family, the Wang family, the Lu family, and the Zhu family.
“Thank you to the five great families for attending. The awakening participants coming up next must all be your children, right? Then let us look forward to how many prodigies will emerge this year!”
As the host finished speaking, a stone pillar rose behind him—that was the awakening stone used to test spiritual power.
This stone could measure up to a thousand units of spiritual power, because they believed the great families would surely produce prodigies, so they deliberately chose a moderately capable stone.
“Now please welcome our young awakening participants. They represent the future of each family. All you have to do is place your hand on the awakening stone, and based on how high the light reaches in the center, we will calculate your spiritual power.”
The first to step up was Zhang Liner of the Zhang family.
When he placed his hand on the stone, it emitted a dazzling light that reached the height representing four hundred units of spiritual power.
The whole audience erupted in cheers, especially the Zhang family. Four hundred for a newly awakened child was an above‑average level—not top‑tier, but more than sufficient.
“Congratulations to the Zhang family. Your child has not let you down and has achieved the expected result. Now, please welcome… Liu Wujiu of the Liu family!”
When Liu Wujiu placed his hand on the awakening stone, it shone as before, but the light was not as intense as Zhang Liner’s.
As expected, it stopped at the height representing two hundred units. This time, the audience was full of jeers.
“Is this the level of a Liu family child? Even a beggar’s child would manage three hundred.”
Father Liu and Mother Liu heard these remarks all too well. They had not expected their own child to perform so poorly.
After stepping down, Liu Wujiu wore a resentful expression but continued to mock Liu Yanran.
“I’ll tell you, even if I only have two hundred spiritual powers, I’m still better than an ordinary person like you. You’ll always be nothing but a slave.”
After his awakening, Liu Wujiu rejoined Father Liu and Mother Liu in the spectator stands. Seeing their dejected faces, he too felt ashamed of his own lack of ability.
“Mom, Dad… that…”
“It’s all right, son. Even if you only have two hundred spiritual powers, you are still an awakener. The Liu family has plenty of resources; we will definitely cultivate you beyond your natural talent.”
Without hesitation, Liu Yanran placed her hand on the awakening stone. But the stone showed no reaction at all. The audience burst into laughter.
However, most people soon lost interest—after all, among the participants who had already awakened, many had scored between three and five hundred, all above‑average, and with training they would become strong in their own right.
“Hey, who’s that on stage? Haven’t seen her before. Which family does she belong to?”
“Who knows? This awakening ceremony is probably done. The one who reached six hundred is likely the greatest prodigy of the event.”
“Ah, the Wang family—they’re the head of the five great families. It’s only natural they’d have such an offspring.”
“So envious.”
The people in the stands were either discussing who Liu Yanran was or talking about Wang Shubai, the prodigy of the Wang family.
Overall, no one in the audience believed Liu Yanran could surpass him.
“Now, please have the last awakening participant place her hand on the awakening stone.”
Without wasting time, Liu Yanran placed her hand on the stone.
Still, the stone showed no reaction.
The crowd laughed even louder.
“That’s hilarious. Whose child is this? She’s even worse than Liu Wujiu of the Liu family—she hasn’t awakened at all!”
Watching from the stands, Liu Wujiu was overjoyed to see that Liu Yanran was just an ordinary person.
He had thought he was the worst, but now it turned out his sister was even worse.
Boom… boom!
Everyone in the stands was still laughing at the girl, but the next moment, the awakening stone suddenly shattered, erupting with a burst of crimson light.
“Huh?”
The host was utterly baffled when he saw the stone break—that was virtually impossible. And what was that red light?
Then a possibility occurred to him: perhaps this girl’s spiritual power exceeded one thousand.
“This… there’s no precedent for this in history. And that blood‑colored light…”
The audience was also stunned. After a moment, they too thought of the same possibility. But Liu Wujiu refused to believe it.
“How can that be? How could she…”
Seeing the stone shattered, the host first left the scene, then quickly returned with a taller awakening stone. This time, the stone could measure up to two thousand units of spiritual power.
“That’s an awakening stone normally used for awakeners who have trained for several years.”
Liu Yanran ignored all the noise. She placed her hand on this enhanced awakening stone. This time, the stone began to shake violently, and the red light appeared again, but it stopped at the height representing one thousand eight hundred units of spiritual power, going no further. Yet this time, the entire audience fell silent…
The original story in Chinese:
第一章
算命
算命先生抬头看了一眼在摊位前的人
“姑娘要算什么？”
“……”
眼前的女人没有回答算命先生的问题，只是一味的沉默，过了半晌才开口说道：“在这个遍地魔物的世界算命真的赚钱么。”
三百年前，天上的太阳呈现出一种诡异的红色，起初人们并没有太在意这个变化，只是觉得温度变高才导致的变色，然而，在太阳变红的第二天，很多人身体上都发现了本不属于人的「变异」。
有些人变成了四条腿爬行的怪物，还有些人成为了像棕熊一样的动物，且在红色太阳出现那一段时间内，世界各地将近有百分之八十的人都遭遇了变异，而这些变异的人都无一例外变成了没有理智的怪物，幸存的人们开始搭建隔离墙，并称呼这些变异人为「魔物」。
“自然是赚不了多少，现在物资那么紧缺，谁会把钱财耗在算命上面啊。”
算命先生一直坐着紧闭双眼，所以他根本没发现刚刚在他摊位上的女人已经不知所踪，而且摊子上唯一的小费箱也被拿了。
“呵。”
算命先生望了一眼女人逃跑的位置，但并没有追或是任何意外，仿佛这一切都在他的意料之内。
“时间差不多了，该收摊喽。”
他根本没有因为自己一天的钱都被抢了而不高兴，反倒是三下五除二就将摊位收了起来，开始往着南边的一处山上走去。
没过一会他就到了山顶，进到了一个寺庙里，而这里就是他的家，寺庙中间还供奉着一个未知的圣人。
“祖师爷啊，晚辈今日有一事不解，可否一见？”
算命先生在这座圣人雕像前问了这句话，如果旁边有人或许会把他当成神经病，然而，在他问完问题的下一秒，雕像内竟出来一个和雕像长得一样的幽魂。
算命先生的祖师爷在从雕像内出来后先是活动了一下筋骨，随后说道：
“是想问那个女孩的事情么”
“没错，按照她的面相，她明明是个已死之人为什么还活着，而且又为什么会偷我的钱”
“小莱子啊，第一个问题我不能回答你，但第二个问题，我就得说吧说吧你了，你算了人家会偷你钱，你怎么自己没算他偷你钱干嘛呢？”
“祖师爷，你也知道，我们是道士加算命，能少算一次就少算一次，不能因为几个小事让自己渡劫变难啊”
“你又怎么知道，这是个小事呢？”
………
另外一边，在女人偷了算命先生的小费箱后就找了个无人的角落把它拆掉，里面赫然有着三百大洋。
“这种末世算命的小费都那么多？”
女人虽然在拆了了小费箱后有几秒愣神，但又马上跑到了另外一个小巷子里，而那里有一个小女孩。
“瞧瞧，姐姐这次赚了多少钱”
小女孩也有几秒愣神，随后回道：
“姐姐，这次怎么赚了那么多啊，之前不都是几十几十的么？”
“害，这次客户人傻钱多呗，好了澳，这两百给你，这一百就算我的啦”
“姐，这些钱是你赚的，我怎么能不劳而获收那么多属于你的钱呢”
听到这句话的女人脸色暗了下去，她没法说出实话，她不敢说出这些钱其实是她偷的，而且现如今最不劳而获的明明是自己啊。
“别管，以后钱多的是，拿着就行，天色也不晚了，我也该走了，再见”
“啊，内个…”
还没等小女孩说完，女人就已经先一步离开了，而女孩想说的是，女人给了她二百七十五，所以女人自己其实只拿了二十五。
回到家后，屋里立马传来一句怒骂。
“死贱货，今天又去哪了，午饭都没人做，你想饿死你爸么？我看明天的觉醒仪式你也没必要参与了，肯定是个一无是处的废物”
觉醒仪式，在「血日」出现的第二年后，有一部分人觉醒了常人不能拥有的力量，简称觉醒者，而他们也成立了组织来对抗魔物。
人类也在逐渐拿回属于自己的领土，经过研究后，人们发现只要到了十八岁也就是成年那日，都有概率觉醒，觉醒后如果资质好会进去组织，反之可能就是个打杂的，而资质的的好与不好取决于自己的「精神力」。
女人没有回话，而是默默转身去了厨房。
“现在去有什么用，都晚上了，你知道我们不吃晚饭的”
“……”
女人像是个机器一样开始自己在家里游荡，而她的父亲也没有继续鸟他，直到另外两个身影从楼梯口走了下来，来人正是女人的母亲和她的弟弟。
“哟，姐姐今天都在忙什么啊，我们可是去逛了街噢，买了很多新衣服呢”
弟弟的阴阳怪气姐姐早已习以为常，但这时，她的弟弟再次说道：诺，这个是给你的”
他直接丢了一件破了洞的衣服给了她的姐姐，女人还是没说话。
“你弟和你说话呢，柳嫣冉你到底有没有感恩之心，我都让他把这件衣服给扔了，它坚持要送给姐姐的”
“……”
啪！
“摆着个臭脸给谁看呢”
柳嫣冉的脸上肉眼可见的变红，但她还是保持着沉默。
“姐姐…”
柳嫣冉看到弟弟的手即将碰到自己时竟然直接一脚踹了上去，她自己都不知道为什么会这样，她明明没有想打他的。
“赔钱货，你敢打你弟弟？我们真是白养活你了，死白眼狼”
听到这边的动静时，柳嫣冉的父亲也转过头来，但看到躺在地上的柳无咎时，他立马站了起来，并把他扶了起来。
“死贱货，还看着干什么，那创口贴啊，你没看到你弟他腿都磕出血了么？”
柳嫣冉在听到父亲的话后立马就去找来了创口贴并帮自己的弟弟贴了上去，但在她贴的时候却发现柳无咎一直在有意无意的笑。
没过多久，柳无咎从地上坐了起来，然后表现的一脸虚弱，让柳父柳母一起扶着他回了房间。
在快要进到柳无咎的房间时，柳父也吼了一句。
“自己滚去地下室去，想想今天怎么回事”
这次，柳嫣冉没有进行沉默，而是回了句：
“那么就先谢过父亲大人的…不杀之恩了”
第二章
觉醒仪式
柳父柳母把柳无咎扶到了他的房间以后就去了地下室，而那里头赫然就是一座地牢，其中一间正是柳嫣冉在的地方。
他们也没有担心柳嫣冉会不照做，毕竟她现在可是什么话都言听计从。
到了地牢后，柳嫣冉还是一声不吭，仿佛一个做了伤天害理事的犯人一样。
“再有下次，你就可以滚出我们柳家了，我们不需要一个连自己弟弟都会打的孩子”
血日过后，仅存的人类开始自建家族，而这些家族哪怕是个女仆都有概率拥有精神力，而柳家，则是排在世界前五的大家族，这也就是为什么有地牢之类的。
柳媽冉始终保持着沉默，随着时间的推移，柳父柳母也退出了地牢，转头回了各自的的房间，而她也陷入了沉睡。
第二天一大早，柳父柳母就领着柳无咎来到了关押着柳嫣冉的地牢并把她放了出来。
“今天是你们两个人的成人之日，也是你们的觉醒仪式，你们其中一人只要觉醒的不理想，那么就自己滚出柳家”
柳无咎欣喜若狂的看着柳嫣冉，仿佛在完成觉醒后他就可以一直拿捏他的姐姐了。
不过多时，柳父柳母就将两人送上了觉醒仪式专用司机的车上，而他们自己则是开着自己的车去往现场，因为觉醒台和观众席分别是不一样的。
在柳无咎上车后，就一直嘲讽着柳嫣冉，而柳嫣冉也始终保持沉默，这也让柳无咎的兴趣给消磨殆尽了，最后他甚至抓着柳媽冉的衣领，开始说道：
“我才是柳家未来的继承人，我也务必得告诉你，精神力少于一百就是普通人，到那时…你懂吧”
“关心好你自己”
柳嫣冉在说完这句话后也没有继续理会柳无咎，而是自顾自的欣赏来路的风景，她从未出过远门，甚至可以说这是她第一次坐车。
到达目的地后，柳无咎和柳嫣冉一起下车，柳父柳母也在随后到达，在他们到达这里之前就已经人满为患了，这说明觉醒仪式已经开始了。
“你们可以入场了，那边的人会给你们介绍该怎么做的”
柳父柳母在叮嘱完柳无咎和柳嫣冉就上了观众席，开始看今年有哪些天骄，观众席五大家族也全都在，分别是柳家，张家，王家，陆家以及诸家。
“感谢五大家族的出面，接下来登场的觉醒者肯定都是各位的子嗣吧，那就让我们期待今年会有多少天骄！”
主持人在说完后，他背后突然升起了一个石柱，而那就是测试精神力的觉醒石，这个觉醒石能承受最大的精神力为一千，因为他们相信，大家族绝对有天骄，所以故意选了一个还算中等测试的觉醒石。
“有请我们年轻的觉醒者们，他们代表着各家族的未来，你们要做的就是把手放在觉醒石上，然后我们会根据觉醒石中间亮的那一部分来计算出你们的精神力”
第一个出面的是张家的张临儿，在他的手放在觉醒石时，它顿时发出了耀眼的光芒，而它也到达了代表四百精神力的高度，全场顿时一阵欢呼，尤其是张家，四百精神力放在刚觉醒的孩子身上属于中高的水平了，虽然不是顶级，但也够用了。
“恭喜张家，你们的孩子没有辜负你们，到达了预期的成绩，那么现在，有请柳家的⋯柳无咎！”
柳无咎在把手放在觉醒石上时，觉醒石和之前一样散发出了光芒，但却没有张临川的强烈，果不其然，在光芒到达代表两百精神力的高度时就停了下来，但这次，全场嘘声一片。
“柳家的孩子就这个程度么？哪怕是一个乞丐出家也能有个三百吧”
这些言论柳父柳母都听在心里，他们也没想到自己的孩子会那么差劲。
下了场后的柳无咎一脸怨恨，但还是继续嘲讽着柳嫣冉。
“我告诉你，虽然我只有两百精神力，那也比你这个普通人好，你永远都只是个奴隶”
柳无咎在觉醒完后也跟柳父柳母在观众席汇合，但看到柳父柳母垂头丧气的样子他自己也觉得自己不争气。
“爸妈，那个…”
“没事，儿子，哪怕你只有两百精神力，你依然是个觉醒者，我们柳家有的是资源，肯定给你培养成能超越你天赋的人”
柳嫣冉也没有磨叽，直接就将手放在了觉醒石上，然而觉醒石并没有任何反应，这也让现场嘲百之间，都属于中上水平，经过培养，以后也都会是一方强者。
“诶？这个在台上的人是谁啊，之前咋没见过，哪个家族的？”
“谁知道啊，反正这次觉醒也估计就这样了，最高能到六百精神力的那位大概就是本场最大的天骄”
“诶呀，王家嘛，五大家族之首，能有这样的后代也很正常”
“羡慕住了”
台上的人不是在讨论柳嫣冉是谁就是在讨论王家的天骄王梳白，但总的而言，观众席的人都不认为柳嫣冉能超过他。
“请最后一位觉醒者将手放在觉醒石上”
柳嫣冉也没有磨叽，直接就将手放在了觉醒石上，然而觉醒石并没有任何反应，这也让现场嘲笑声一片。
“笑死我了，这是谁家的啊，连柳家的柳无咎都不如，她甚至都没觉醒”
在台上的柳无咎在看到柳嫣冉只是个普通人后顿时心里一阵狂喜，原本他以为他是那个最差的，但现在看来，他姐姐才是。
轰⋯轰！
原本观众席的人都在嘲笑看这个女孩，然而，在下一秒，觉醒石突然炸裂，然后爆出了一大堆血光。
“嗯？”
主持人在看到觉醒石碎裂的那一刻一脸懵圈，这基本是不可能的，而且那红光又是怎么一回事，然而，他想到了一种可能，就是眼前这个女孩的精神力，也许超越了一干。
“这，历史上可没有这种先例啊，而且那血光.”
观众席的众人也是一愣，事后也想到了主持人想到的可能，但柳无咎就不愿意相信了。
“怎么可能，她怎么会”
主持人在看到觉醒石裂掉后，先是离开了现场，随机折返然后拿了一个比之前更高的觉醒石，这一次，这个觉醒石最高的精神力是两干。
“那可是在培养了几年以后觉醒者才能用的觉醒石啊”
柳媽冉没有理会现场的任何声音，她再一次将手放在了这个加强版的觉醒石上，这次觉醒石开始剧烈摇晃，也出现了之前的红光，但这次，它只是停在了代表一千八百精神力的地方，就没有继续往前了，但这次，全场都闭上了嘴。
