23: Chapter 23 Gold Level Talent [Ice Spirit]

“Gah, so this is the Bloodthirsty Demon Spider…”

Lin Zhizhi looked utterly bewildered, staring incredulously at the massive spider in front of her. Their target for this trip was just… gone?

In her surprise, she walked over to the spider’s corpse and poked a thick spider leg with her finger.

The moment she touched it, Lin Zhi immediately felt the hardness of the spider leg. Even using most of her strength, she could only make the spider leg indent slightly.

Fang Yuan, behind her, also looked at the Bloodthirsty Demon Spider’s corpse in astonishment. To single-handedly kill a Gold-tier Lord Monster at Black Iron Level Seven, even a fully equipped Silver Talent Holder would find it difficult.

Looking at the young woman named Li Xuefei next to him, there wasn't a trace of disarray on her, indicating that she had killed the Bloodthirsty Demon Spider with considerable ease.

“You awakened a Gold Rank Talent?”

Once the thought arose, Fang Yuan gazed at Li Xuefei and asked. He had no other intentions; he was simply curious about the abilities of a Gold Rank True Spirit Talent.

After all, his 【Source Devour】 Talent was quite miraculous. Although it was only Silver Rank at this stage, it could later evolve and upgrade to Gold Rank or even Legendary Rank Talent by killing monsters and devouring their Origin.

With such a Talent, he naturally wouldn't feel any envy towards Gold Rank Talent Holders.

“Hehe, your eyesight is quite good. That’s right, I awakened a Gold Rank Talent — 【Ice Spirit】, and I can control the power of ice.”

Upon hearing this, Li Xuefei looked at Fang Yuan curiously and directly stated her Talent.

She wasn't surprised that the other party guessed her Talent Rank, as being able to easily hunt Gold-tier Lord Monsters already demonstrated the extraordinary nature of her Talent.

What made Li Xuefei curious was the attitude of the man in front of her. When she mentioned Gold Rank Talent, his expression didn't change at all, as if he didn't care or envy it.

One must know that a Gold Rank True Spirit Talent is synonymous with a Prodigy; only one might appear in the entire Sea City every few years, which is even more exaggerated than one in ten thousand.

Li Xuefei had no intention of concealing her Talent Rank. Stating the Talent Rank and name wouldn't have much impact, as one could roughly deduce another person's Talent ability through combat.

Of course, she didn't reveal the most important sub-abilities of her Talent. Aside from close acquaintances, no one is willing to expose all of their abilities.

For Black Iron Rank and Bronze Rank Talents, whether abilities are exposed or not doesn't matter much, as the abilities of these two low-Rank Talents are not significantly different.

For Silver Rank Talents, even the same Talent can manifest different sub-abilities due to individual differences.

“Indeed, mine is a Silver Rank Talent — 【Strength Enhancement】.”

Since others revealed their Talents, Fang Yuan naturally had to reveal his as well. However, he still concealed his true Talent, continuing to use 【Strength Enhancement】 as a substitute.

There was no other way; although the 【Source Devour】 Talent was only Silver Rank, its rarity and unknown nature were incomparable to Gold Rank Talents.

“So it’s Silver Rank 【Strength Enhancement】. This Talent is one of the strongest among all Talents of the same Rank, providing a huge boost to combat power.”

After learning of Fang Yuan’s Talent, Li Xuefei understood his previous calm demeanor.

The 【Strength Enhancement】 Talent is a well-known common Talent. Its Awakening Rank encompasses Black Iron Rank, Bronze Rank, Silver Rank… As for whether there is a Gold Rank, it is unknown.

Its unique strength enhancement makes it a Talent countless people desire to awaken. Even at the lowest Black Iron Rank, the 【Strength Enhancement】 Talent has a good effect.

Perhaps its strength boost cannot make the professional's punches stronger than the Bronze Rank 【Iron Fist】, but its overall physical quality is not inferior at all, and even slightly better.

Being able to enhance one's own strength is much better than most useless Black Iron Rank Talents.

As the saying goes, one force breaks all methods. Powerful strength makes professionals with 【Strength Enhancement】 theOutstanding among Talents of the same Rank.

Silver Rank 【Strength Enhancement】, its rarity is completely on par with Gold Rank Talents, and it completely overwhelms Li Xuefei's 【Ice Spirit】 in terms of pure strength.

However, overall strength cannot be judged solely by power. The ice power controlled by 【Ice Spirit】 is quite terrifying, easily releasing ice blades that can pierce through wooden boards.

With the assistance of ice power, Li Xuefei could steadily suppress a true Silver Rank 【Strength Enhancement】 Holder.

This is not to belittle 【Strength Enhancement】. If it were other Silver Rank Talent professionals, their performance might be even worse. 【Strength Enhancement】 is already equivalent to a Talent that surpasses one's own by half a Rank.

A Silver Rank 【Strength Enhancement】 is basically equivalent to half a Gold Rank Talent.

It was somewhat helpless to admit, but to conceal his true Talent, Fang Yuan only had 【Strength Enhancement】 as an option; he didn't know about other Silver Talents.

Living in the Outer City, he simply couldn't access much information about Advanced Talents. Among the few choices he had, only 【Strength Enhancement】 fit.

He couldn't manifest other Silver Talents he knew about, as Silver Talents all have distinct characteristics. 【Strength Enhancement】 means immense strength, which aligns well with his current situation.

After Fang Yuan finished speaking, Li Xuefei's gaze shifted to Lin Zhizhi, who was observing the Bloodthirsty Demon Spider's corpse nearby.

With Fang Yuan's so-called Silver Talent — 【Strength Enhancement】 — she was even more eager to know about the second person's Talent.

“Don’t look at my high Rank; all of this is because my cousin brought me to level up. Mine is just a Bronze Rank Talent — 【Iron Fist】.”

Feeling the gaze from behind her, Lin Zhizhi spoke of her Talent with a hint of envy and helplessness. In front of two Silver Rank and Gold Rank Talent Holders, a deep sense of inferiority arose in her heart.

“…”

Hearing that Lin Zhizhi only had a Bronze Rank Talent, Li Xuefei instantly lost interest in her. It wasn't that she was being too realistic, but rather that reality simply was that way.

Bronze Rank Talents are common, found in one out of several people. They are ordinary Talents, and there is basically no chance of reaching the peak of power. Gold Rank True Spirit Professionals, as far as she knew, were only a mere handful, unlike Silver Talent Holders who, as long as they don't encounter accidents along the way, can all become Gold Rank True Spirit Professionals.

“After we get out, I will form a squad. Fang Yuan, would you like to join? If you’re willing, I can provide you with a full set of Bronze Rank equipment.”

Li Xuefei took a few steps forward, came before Fang Yuan, and extended her slender, fair right hand, inviting him to join her team.

A Silver Rank 【Strength Enhancement】 Talent Holder is a rare Talent; if he were outside, he would surely be sought after by all the Inner City forces.

Before that, since she happened to encounter him, she naturally wanted to make the person in front of her one of her own.

“..., add her, and I’m willing.”

Facing Li Xuefei's invitation, Fang Yuan didn't immediately agree. Instead, he pointed to Lin Zhizhi beside him.

“Okay.”

No sooner had the condition been stated than Li Xuefei immediately agreed. Although Lin Zhizhi was not part of her invitation.

However, since it was a request from a Silver Talent Holder, adding an ordinary person was fine; it was simply adding a reserve member.

With the condition met, the two happily shook hands.

A soft touch came through; the other party’s hand had no rough calluses. It was impossible for Li Xuefei not to have trained hard. In this dangerous world, no one would relax, and he didn't know how she maintained it.

After shaking hands for a moment, Fang Yuan naturally let go, without any ill thoughts due to the other party's soft touch.

Becoming a member of someone else's team, Fang Yuan didn't feel there was anything wrong with it. Coming from the Outer City, he would inevitably become part of a certain force after leaving.

Otherwise, even with a powerful Talent, it would be difficult to navigate in the future. Now that someone had invited him, and it was the mayor of sea city's granddaughter, he naturally chose to join.

Lin Zhizhi, on the other hand, looked at him with gratitude. With Li Xuefei, becoming a part of the Inner City was already a foregone conclusion.

Entering the clean and privileged Inner City was the lifelong aspiration of all who lived in the squalor of the Outer City.

Now that her goal was achieved, how could she not be happy and grateful to the person who helped her achieve it.