49: Chapter 49 S-Rank Talent

Lin Yan did not reach out. His fingertips lightly brushed against the warm wall of the cup. After a moment of silence, his tone was calm and waveless: "I will consider it."

He did not refuse, nor did he immediately agree.

He would not be easily persuaded by this "theory of rules," but he also would not stubbornly close off all possibilities. Whether it was privilege or Federation rules, in the end, everything had to be spoken for by strength. Whether to cooperate or not depended on whether it aligned with his path, and whether it could help him go further.

Jiang Ruoxue did not force the issue, nor did she reveal any look of disappointment. She merely nodded slightly, a hint of appreciation appearing in her cold, clear eyes; only those who could keep their composure were worth long-term cooperation.

She took the opportunity to change the subject and brought up other matters: "I am now Level 13, and my attributes and combat power have met the requirements. For the next Dungeon, I have chosen the four-star difficulty."

"For the four-star Dungeon, the Dungeon system has randomly assigned a fixed four-person team mode—no more, no less. It has given me three days to choose team members, otherwise, they will be randomly assigned." She raised her eyes, her gaze solemn, and formally extended an invitation: "I would like to invite you to team up with me."

Lin Yan had already quickly calculated in his mind. In a four-star Dungeon, monsters were at least Level 16. With the high experience boost, it would allow him to quickly rush to Level 15 and equip those few pieces of purple gear. With his current attributes, he could fully withstand the intensity of a four-star Dungeon.

Thinking of this, he nodded slightly.

Jiang Ruoxue looked at Lin Yan, a trace of imperceptible anticipation in her eyes, and confirmed one last time: "You, agree?"

Lin Yan stood up, his posture tall and straight, his aura as steady as a mountain. Without the slightest hesitation, his tone was firm and clear.

"I agree. But Qin Chuan and Shen Xin must be included."

Jiang Ruoxue did not hesitate. "That is fine."

"Are you not going to ask why?"

"Qin Chuan's Boundary-Breaking Blade can reduce defense, and Shen Xin's Oath of Light is a team-wide buff. Their talents are both good," Jiang Ruoxue said. "Your fighting style requires armor penetration and support; they are the most suitable candidates. Since you have spoken up, there must be a reason."

Lin Yan turned and left, his footsteps fading away until the door gently closed.

The living room returned to silence.

Jiang Ruoxue picked up her tea, which had long since gone cold, and took a sip. The expression in her eyes gradually shifted from calm to cautious. She did not hesitate for too long, put down the teacup, and rose to walk toward the study on the second floor.

The door to the study was not tightly closed; warm yellow light spilled out from the crack in the door, casting a long, narrow shadow across the hallway floor. Jiang Ruoxue pushed the door open and entered. A middle-aged man was sitting behind the desk, his spine as straight as a pine. His facial features bore some resemblance to hers, but his aura was more solemn and imposing.

Jiang Haichao, her father.

"He has left," Jiang Ruoxue said, sitting down opposite him in a flat tone. "He did not agree immediately."

Jiang Haichao's gaze lingered on her face for a moment, then he walked to the desk and placed an emblem on the surface. The moment the emblem touched the desk, a faint blue light pattern spread out from the center of the emblem, sweeping across the entire study like ripples in water before silently dissipating.

"This is the 'Eye of Peering'," Jiang Haichao said calmly. "It belongs to a person with a special talent supported by our family, whose ability is to analyze combat data within a Dungeon. As long as the target's performance in the Dungeon is prominent enough, he can reverse-extract the true combat records from the residual energy of the Dungeon system."

Jiang Ruoxue's eyelids twitched slightly. She knew what this ability meant. The Federation could only obtain the Dungeon scores and basic data of each Awakened, but could not obtain the detailed combat process, attribute fluctuations, or skill usage frequency.

Yet her father's methods allowed him to directly see every punch Lin Yan threw in the Dungeon.

"I have already seen the combat data from Lin Yan's Newbie Dungeon and the Zombie Horde Dungeon. His talent... is not an ordinary random type."

Jiang Haichao raised his eyes to look at his daughter.

"His attributes grow continuously and significantly during battle. Every time he kills a monster, his base attributes see an observable increase. This rate of growth does not belong to any known A-Rank Talent."

He paused for a moment and pushed the data pad in front of Jiang Ruoxue.

"You should know what this means. His talent is very likely... S-rank Talent!"

The air seemed to have been sucked away.

Jiang Ruoxue's pupils contracted suddenly, her fingertips felt slightly cool, yet her heart rate quickened.

S-rank Talent. In the entire human Federation, there were fewer than ten registered powerhouses with S-rank Talent. Each one was a pillar of the human faction, a true top-tier powerhouse on the Rift battlefield, and the ultimate trump card that the entire Blue Star Federation relied on to fight against the monster hordes.

And Lin Yan, that unified cultivator who came out of the orphanage, that teenager who was mocked by the whole school as having an "F-Rank trash talent," was actually S-rank?

"The Federation does not know yet."

Jiang Haichao's voice was low and slow.

"In the Federation's files, he is still an F-rank random talent. But this window of time will not be long; every time he enters a Dungeon, the risk of exposure increases. Once the Federation notices his true talent, all the families will move at the first sign of wind."

Jiang Ruoxue stared at those curves, her lips pressed into a line. She recalled Lin Yan talking about his combat record in the Dungeon, how he killed the Tyrant with overwhelming force, and remembered his terrifying attributes that clearly exceeded his level limits... So that was it. It wasn't luck, it wasn't a coincidence, but the dominance that an S-rank Talent should naturally possess.

"So..."

Jiang Haichao took back the data pad, looking at his daughter with a heavy gaze.

"At all costs, before the Federation discovers it, make him join us."

The voice was not loud, but every word carried unquestionable weight.

Jiang Ruoxue raised her eyes, meeting her father's gaze. She did not answer immediately, but countless thoughts raced through her mind.

At all costs—in this circle, this phrase was never just literal. Resources, equipment, intelligence, background... even herself.

"I know you have no ill will toward him."

Jiang Haichao's tone softened slightly, yet it still carried an irresistible force.

"That is enough; feelings can be cultivated. Ruoxue, an S-rank Talent is worth betting all our chips on."

Jiang Ruoxue was silent for a long time.

The light in the study quietly spilled onto her fair side profile, her eyelashes casting a small fan-shaped shadow under her eyes.

She remembered the eyes of Lin Yan when he sat in the living room and said "We have no choice," eyes so calm they were almost cold. She remembered his neither humble nor arrogant demeanor when facing Fang Shen's provocation, and his composure when walking into Star Spring Bay facing those scrutinizing gazes.

"I understand."

She finally spoke, her voice very light.

"I know what to do."

Jiang Haichao looked at her deeply, nodded, and said nothing more.

Jiang Ruoxue rose and left the study. The moment she walked out the door, her fingers curled slightly and then relaxed.

She pursed her lips, her lowered eyelids masking the surging emotions in her eyes.

I know.

Behind these three words lay a choice, and also no choice. Just as Lin Yan said—people like them, in reality, never truly had a choice.