82: Chapter 82 Monitoring Hall

The global monitoring hall for the Dislocated Battlefield was brightly lit and imposing.

A massive holographic main screen occupied the center of the hall, synchronizing the scenes from the Corrosive Swamp in real-time. The peak duel between Lin Yan and Li Qingxiao that had just occurred was being replayed in its entirety by the system.

Thousands of split screens were arranged along both sides of the hall, each locked onto different areas of the battlefield. Dozens of monitoring personnel and site maintenance specialists were performing their duties, yet their gazes could not help but frequently drift toward the main screen.

At the front of the hall, several senior officials from the Federal Awakened Cultivation Committee, dressed in formal uniforms, stood with their hands behind their backs. They watched the screen with calm expressions, their presence solemn. The entire selection tournament captured the attention of all major Safe Zones and top factions; every clash between geniuses was enough to warrant their serious attention.

When the footage reached the moment Li Qingxiao chanted, "One body fights across three thousand miles, one sword once held off a million troops!!!" and a brilliant golden light tore through the gloom of the swamp, with a supreme sword pillar crashing down toward Lin Yan, an irrepressible gasp echoed throughout the hall.

"Good heavens! To have a sword strike with such terrifying power at this level!" A young monitor widened his eyes, his tone full of shock. "The entire battlefield is under a mana depletion rule; everyone's spiritual energy is dried up, and they can't even activate the lowest-tier skills. Yet, this person can actually continue to cast spells and even unleash a finishing move of this caliber!"

A more experienced maintenance staffer beside him nodded repeatedly, pointing his fingertip at Li Qingxiao, who was surrounded by cyan and white poetic aura on the screen: "It's more than just being able to cast spells. I saw it clearly; every time he chanted a corresponding line of poetry, his mana value recovered against the trend, which is equivalent to completely ignoring the global rule suppression. This kind of talent is practically a natural counter to the current battlefield environment."

Before they could finish speaking, the screen changed.

As the earth-shattering explosion dissipated, Lin Yan, clad in his tyrant armor, remained standing steadily in place without swaying in the slightest, having taken that single-target finishing move capable of shattering mountains and splitting the earth head-on.

The hall, which had been noisy with discussion just a moment ago, instantly quieted down by more than half.

Everyone's expression was grave, their hearts churning with turbulent waves. The strength of Li Qingxiao's poetic sword was plain for all to see, but the physical defense of this armored warrior exceeded everyone's understanding.

"It's too absurd. I saw the damage from that move just now; such a sharp poetic sword intent could only scratch the surface of the opponent!?"

Someone muttered, "I watched the entire exchange just now. The sky was filled with sword shadows, and layers of attacks fell one after another, yet the opponent stood in place from beginning to end, without even the thought of dodging."

Within the crowd, a senior specialist familiar with the background files of all the contestants stepped forward. Seeing everyone's curious faces, he took the initiative to explain, "I'm sure everyone is curious about the origin of this genius in white. Let me introduce him to you. His name is Li Qingxiao, and he comes from the 9th Safe Zone."

"The 9th Safe Zone? Isn't that just an ordinary Safe Zone? Only the first five are designated as super Safe Zones by the Federation, and most top geniuses are concentrated there." Someone interrupted in surprise.

"That's correct." The senior specialist nodded and continued, "The 9th Safe Zone isn't a place with top-tier resources, but there is a long-standing powerhouse there—the Li family. Li Qingxiao is the most outstanding genius of this generation in the Li family. His personality is very distinctive; he is extremely arrogant and has a strong obsession with his image, valuing his reputation above all else in life."

He paused, and combining this with the way Li Qingxiao appeared carefree and uninhibited even after his defeat on screen, he added, "He has a sense of pride in his heart, believing that all geniuses in the world are mundane, and only his poetic sword is elegant. In his eyes, a confrontation on the battlefield should be open and honorable."

"Furthermore, he has a bottom line for his actions, which everyone here can see from the battle just now: losing is fine, but his posture cannot be lost; getting injured is fine, but his style cannot be dropped. Even if he uses his full strength and still loses, he won't show even a hint of embarrassment. He remains as carefree and uninhibited as ever—in other words, he loves to show off."

Hearing this, everyone smiled knowingly. Recalling the entire process of Li Qingxiao issuing the challenge, fighting, losing, retreating, and finally reciting poetry as he left, they suddenly understood.

"So that's how it is. No wonder he remained so extraordinary even after losing the match."

The discussion gradually subsided, and everyone's gazes shifted from the retreating figure in white back to the upright figure in the center of the swamp. Compared to Li Qingxiao, who came from a major clan and possessed bizarre talents, this armored warrior with invincible physical strength clearly had more mysteries surrounding him.

"I recognize him." A staff member responsible for registering contestant information spoke up, his tone carrying a hint of complexity. "This person is from the Seventh Safe Zone. He is the biggest dark horse of the 7th Zone and may also be a major dark horse that emerges in this selection tournament, but his status is that of a Federal Unified Cultivator."

"A Federal Unified Cultivator?"

As soon as these four words were spoken, a commotion erupted in the hall once again.

Everyone was all too familiar with the Federal Unified Cultivation system. It was a cultivation model established by the Federation to mass-produce low-level Awakened to deal with monsters. Most Unified Cultivators had mediocre aptitude, and the priority for resource allocation was far inferior to the family descendants and talented direct lineages of the major Safe Zones.

In everyone's ingrained impression, Unified Cultivators were synonymous with being mere participants in the tournament, equipped with ordinary gear, possessing mediocre combat power, and finding it difficult to reach the later stages of the selection tournament.

"Something's not right." A staff member frowned, his eyes fixed on the tyrant armor with restrained light on the screen. "How could a Federal Unified Cultivator's equipment be this good? The armor he's wearing is not only a high-grade boutique item, but a complete set. How could a Unified Cultivator possess such a top-tier set?"

"Equipment alone doesn't explain it." Someone beside him immediately chimed in. "Li Qingxiao comes from the Li family in the 9th Safe Zone, which has deep pockets, and the weapons and equipment he wears are also of superior quality. With the power of his full-strength attack, ordinary high-grade equipment couldn't possibly withstand it, yet it still didn't cause much damage to the opponent."

"This has already exceeded the scope of what equipment can cover; the core is still the hard strength of his own physical body."

Everyone chimed in, and their confusion grew deeper. A dark horse from the Seventh Safe Zone, a Federal Unified Cultivator, wearing top-tier armor, physically withstanding a heaven-defying poetic sword... All these labels stacked together, revealing contradictions everywhere.

Just as the entire hall was caught in speculation, the specialist in charge of the original contestant files looked at the records in his hand, took a deep breath, and threw out a bombshell that would overturn everyone's understanding.

"Everyone, no need to dwell on the equipment and identity anymore. There is one more thing that will likely shock you even more." He paused for a moment, watching the gazes cast by everyone in unison, and said word by word.

"According to the official talent rating entered before the tournament, Lin Yan's talent level is merely F-rank Talent."

"What?! F-rank Talent?!"

These five short words exploded like a thunderclap in the monitoring hall!

The crowd, which had been whispering, instantly erupted, with gasps and exclamations rising one after another. Many people even stood up subconsciously, their faces full of disbelief.

In the Federation's talent rating system, it is divided into seven levels from high to low: S, A, B, C, D, E, and F. F-rank is the absolute bottom-tier talent; from the moment of awakening, its upper limit is almost predetermined, and it is seen by everyone as completely useless.

For all Awakened, talent is the foundation. A-Rank Talent geniuses are fought over by all factions, and even D or E-rank talents can achieve small successes with careful cultivation. Only F-rank has always been an existence to be abandoned.

"Did I hear that correctly? A Unified Cultivator is one thing, but he actually has F-rank Talent?"

"Are you kidding me! How did someone with the lowest-tier talent cultivate such an unsolvable physical body? Even an A-Rank Talent powerhouse can't do anything to him!"

"Before, I just thought he was lucky and relied on equipment, but now it seems this is simply a miracle! An F-rank Talent crushing a family genius with A-Rank Talent—this is unheard of!"

Amidst the clamor, the several senior Federal officials in charge of this selection grew increasingly grave. They looked at each other, their eyes filled with shock and serious attention.

A senior official walked out slowly, his gaze locked firmly on Lin Yan on the holographic screen. He said in a deep voice, "Interesting. A Federal Unified Cultivator with F-rank Talent, yet possessing combat power that even top family geniuses cannot shake. This person can no longer be defined simply as a 'dark horse'."

"Li Qingxiao has outstanding talent and an impressive family background, already at the top level of the tournament, yet he still couldn't do anything to him. For someone with F-rank Talent to reach this point, there must be something else going on behind the scenes."

"Pass down the order." The lead official patted the shoulder of the staff member in front of him and ordered in a deep voice, "List Lin Yan as a key observation target for this selection tournament as well. Track his actions, combat power changes, and opponents encountered throughout the process."

"The performance of these geniuses must be recorded to form a file and submitted to the Genius Training Camp."

"Understood." The staff member bowed his head slightly and respectfully acknowledged the order.

His lenses reflected the lights of the monitoring hall, obscuring his eyes.

After the senior officials turned and left, he slowly raised his head, his gaze lingering on the holographic screen.

To be precise, it was lingering on Lin Yan.

After a long time, the corners of his mouth curled up in an imperceptible arc.

"F-rank Talent..."

He whispered softly, his voice too low for anyone to hear.

Afterward, he closed the file page, copied a document marked [Key Observation], and sent it to an encrypted terminal with no notes.

After doing all this, his expression returned to normal, and he threw himself back into his work, as if nothing had happened.