Chapter 12: Learn by Analogy
"Woof woof!"
Xiaohei barked joyfully twice, then his eyes rolled and he stretched out his little paw, fumbling in the air for a bit. Suddenly, a flash of light passed, and beneath Xiaohei's feet appeared a strange book.
The book was brown, with an antique cover, resembling an ancient tome. It had two peculiar black and white energies faintly flowing through it.
Two characters were written on the cover: [Spirit Gathering]
"Spirit Gathering? Spirit Gathering Book? What does this mean?"
Xiang Beifei felt curious and flipped open the first page of the Spirit Gathering Book.
On the simple page, an image of a star constellation emerged.
Each star was extremely dim, shown in gray, and they were not fixed on the page. Instead, they moved slowly, like flowing light.
And at the very center of the stars, one black and one white peculiar sphere circled each other.
Within these orbs, there was a line of text:
[The Yin Yang Two Qi begin in the void, giving rise to all things in wondrous forms]
"Yin Yang Two Qi?"
Xiang Beifei stared at the black and white orbs.
In that instant, it was as if everything before his eyes suddenly shook, and he was pulled into the two black and white rays of light. In the blink of an eye, he found himself amidst a vast expanse of stars.
Among those stars, he seemed to see two mysterious children.
Xiang Beifei couldn't make out the appearances of the two children, but there was a very profound aura about them that made his heart tremble.
"Haha, shall we choose him?"
It was the voice of a young boy, playful and delighted.
Xiang Beifei curiously watched the objects in the children's hands.
It could have been an illusion, but it seemed like each of them was holding a cup—
Milk tea?
"Yes, him, we need to leave, we're short on time," the other little girl urged the boy.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The two figures turned into black and white energies and disappeared before his eyes.
At the same time, all the stars jumped before Xiang Beifei's eyes, forming a peculiar spectacle.
Looking at the dazzling stars, he felt as if he had entered an ethereal realm. His mind cleared of all distractions, leaving only these stars.
These stars seemed to be pulling at his senses, and bit by bit, he felt as if he were about to merge with them.
Just as this thought flashed through his mind, all the stars suddenly contracted back, shooting into his body, moving through his meridians, and then disappeared.
Xiang Beifei's vision flickered, and he found himself still in his room, with nothing particularly different around him.
"The Twenty-Eight Constellations?"
Images of these stars' origins surfaced in Xiang Beifei's mind; he had studied the knowledge of constellations before.
Before he had crossed over, he had a great interest in astronomy and had researched the Twenty-Eight Constellations.
In a constellation, there are countless stars, but the most representative are only a few.
For example, among the Twenty-Eight Constellations, the Horn Constellation is represented by only two stars, Horn Constellation One and Horn Constellation Two.
Similarly, the Arrogant Dragon Constellation is represented by four stars.
"Woof woof!"
Xiaohei barked once, then opened his mouth and spat out a white starlight, which landed on Horn Constellation One, causing it to quickly light up.
Xiang Beifei watched in amazement at Horn Constellation One.
"Do these stars need to be lit up?" Xiang Beifei asked.
"Woof woof!"
Xiaohei then looked towards the Soul Condensing Pill in Xiang Beifei's hand.
This pill was a system reward from Yang Hua.
Xiang Beifei hesitantly asked, "Do you want this?"
Xiaohei wagged its tail and blinked its eyes.
Xiang Beifei hesitated for a moment, then gave the Soul Condensing Pill to Xiaohei.
Xiaohei 'smacked' his lips and swallowed the Soul Condensing Pill in one gulp.
Xiang Beifei's mouth twitched.
This was precious stuff, yet Xiaohei just ate it like that, without even chewing.
However, considering that Xiaohei had come with him after all, he calmed down to see what Xiaohei was actually going to do.
Soon, Xiaohei opened his mouth again and expelled another cluster of white starlight, which landed on Horn Constellation Two.
At that moment, a slender beam of light appeared between the two illuminated stars of Horn Constellation One and Horn Constellation Two, linking them. A light then flashed from the connection, transforming into the shadow of a flood dragon.
Xiang Beifei immediately knew about this flood dragon in his mind.
The Twenty-Eight Constellations were divided into four directions, each direction containing seven constellations.
The flood dragon before him must be one of the Seven Constellations of the East, the Horn Constellation, Jiao Mu Jiao!
The Jiao Mu Jiao in the sky quickly turned into a shadow and transformed into a turtle shell plaque.
The book also revealed a line of text:
[Ability of Jiao Mu Jiao: Learn by Analogy]
[Source: Zhou Yi, "Extend and expand it, learn by analogy, and all affairs under heaven can be accomplished."]
[Ability Introduction: By divination with a turtle shell, one can comprehend the essence of things and learn from it]
Xiang Beifei looked at the line of text with amazement, his gaze falling on the turtle shell plaque; the shell then turned into a beam of light and entered his mind.
His senses became incredibly sharp in an instant.
"Learn by Analogy, do I possess this ability now?"
Xiang Beifei was greatly astonished inside, eager to know what this ability could bring him.
His gaze fell on a pencil lying on the table.
But nothing happened.
Did Learn by Analogy require preliminary learning to master similar types of things?
He thought for a while, then searched online for how pencils were made. Once he understood the information about pencils, he looked at the pencil on the table, and suddenly, his mind was filled with information:
——Twilight Pencil, 2 grams, the core made of graphite and clay, the body of linden wood, used for 3 months and 2 days, last used 15 hours ago, manufacturing method as follows...
Moreover, once he knew how this pencil was made, he instantly understood other types of pens, including fountain pens, ballpoint pens, and gel pens—the manufacturing methods and detailed information for all kinds of pens.
The ability "Learn by Analogy" seemed to allow him to quickly grasp all the knowledge related to the category of "pens"!
"Such a strong learning ability!"
Xiang Beifei was moved and searched again, this time for knowledge related to the wall tiles. Once he figured out the structure and materials of the wall tiles, he suddenly understood the knowledge of other types of tiles.
He had only illuminated two stars of the Horn Constellation but already gained such a powerful ability. If he were to light up the remaining twenty-seven constellations, wouldn't it mean he could have twenty-seven more abilities?
"Xiaohei, must the method to illuminate the constellations rely upon system rewards?" Xiang Beifei inquired.
"Woof woof!"
Xiaohei barked twice while tilting his head.
But as Xiang Beifei could not understand the beasts' language, he couldn't be sure whether Xiaohei was agreeing or disagreeing with him.
"Why is it so hard to communicate with you!"
Xiang Beifei sighed, but then it occurred to him that since he now had the ability "Learn by Analogy," did it mean he could also learn Xiaohei's language?
"Xiaohei, bark a few more times; I need to understand what you mean," he said, focusing on Xiaohei.
"Woof woof!"
Xiaohei pointed at himself, then at Xiang Beifei, before starting to gesture excitedly with his paws and feet.
Learning a language was obviously not something that could be achieved instantly; it was much more difficult than learning about pencils, as Xiaohei only had one "woof," and Xiang Beifei needed to analyze its tone and combine it with Xiaohei's body language to figure it out.
"You're wagging your tail so energetically; tail wagging... wag... wag, which rhymes with handsome. Oh, does that mean you're saying I'm handsome?" Xiang Beifei asked seriously.
Xiaohei stared at Xiang Beifei with a confused expression!
"Well then, I'll take your tail wagging as a compliment for my handsomeness from now on!" Xiang Beifei declared cheerfully.
Xiaohei extended a paw toward the clock on the table, then pointed his paw at Xiang Beifei's face.
"One paw, clock... face... Oh, are you gesturing that looking at my face, I seem like a handsome and talented man?" Xiang Beifei pondered and said.
Xiaohei: "..."