บท 9: Chapter 9: Another Successful Replication, The Voice of All Things
Some days are longer with books, shorter without.
Compared to the thrilling events on the arena platform yesterday, today was a relatively uneventful day for Liam.
To celebrate his victory, he had stayed up late playing games, then slept in until noon.
His schedule was typical for someone his age.
The only odd thing was that the female gamer he played with suddenly started explaining a lot of things to him.
Last night, she used a voice that was obviously altered by a voice changer to give Liam a detailed rundown of the current superpower academies, emphasizing that many young geniuses hold high positions.
She also mentioned a kind and beautiful genius goddess who had already become the youngest War God of the War God Hall—a very accomplished figure.
Liam was utterly confused, unsure what any of this had to do with him.
Now, the time they had agreed upon yesterday had arrived. Before leaving, Liam left a stack of money on the table as payment for the few days of rent.
He held a bottle of mineral water in his hand as he once again stood at the same spot as yesterday.
Everyone else had already arrived, most of them accompanied by family members carrying quite a bit of luggage.
The parents' faces were full of pride, knowing that their children had been recognized as the best among the best.
Liam, on the other hand, looked a bit out of place, standing alone with just a bottle of water.
Sophia spotted Liam immediately, noticing his cheap T-shirt and the bottle of water he was carrying. She couldn't help but frown slightly.
She walked over to him and quietly asked, "Didn't I give you money? Why didn't you use it to dress up or buy some things?"
Liam scratched his head and replied in a perfectly reasonable tone, "You see, I don't have much to begin with, so if I'm going to buy things, wouldn't it make more sense to do it once I get there? That way, I won't have to carry everything on the plane."
Sophia: ...
It made an annoyingly good point!
At Sophia's gesture, Liam joined the other guaranteed students.
"Hello."
To Liam's surprise, the first person to greet him was Lila.
Are we that familiar?
Despite his confusion, he nodded and greeted her in return.
Today, Lila looked different from yesterday. She was wearing glasses, which made her appear much more intellectual and well-behaved.
A middle-aged man, noticing Liam's arrival, exchanged a look with Lila before nodding and walking over to Liam.
"So you're Liam, right? I'm Xiaoluan's father. My name is Ye Tian."
The middle-aged man, who had a refined, scholarly air about him, smiled warmly and extended his hand to Liam.
Seeing this, Liam sighed inwardly.
Based on his extensive experience from reading novels, this was clearly a classic case of "after defeating the younger one, the older one shows up."
Instinctively, he felt that Ye Tian might be here to cause trouble.
Moreover, Lila's family had come out in full force today, with the Ye family showing up with a whole entourage, including what seemed to be bodyguards.
Still, it's better not to offend someone who's being polite. Liam reached out and shook Ye Tian's hand, remaining silent.
But then, Ye Tian's words caught him off guard.
"You defeated Xiaoluan yesterday, didn't you? Truly impressive, young man."
"But, you know, they say you don't really know someone until you've fought them. I hope you two can get along well and not hold any grudges."
Contrary to Liam's expectations, there was no hostility. Ye Tian maintained a friendly demeanor and spoke with tact.
Whether it was sincere or not, a man who had built such a large family business clearly knew how to handle social situations flawlessly.
As they let go of the handshake, Liam quickly nodded and said, "Of course, I don't hold any grudges."
"By the way, are you also a superpower user?"
Ye Tian was momentarily surprised by the question but quickly smiled and replied, "I am, but my talent is quite low—just D-level. Xiaoluan's powers come mostly from her mother."
Liam's eyes lit up at this.
D-level?
D-level is good!
He had thought about it last night and realized that his Replication Hand system had a much higher success rate with lower-level talents.
Now that he had an SSS-level power as his primary combat ability, he didn't feel as urgent a need for high-level talents.
Even lower-level abilities could be helpful.
For instance, the Energy Chains, although they had no offensive power, significantly improved his control and perception of energy compared to others.
So, rather than gambling on low-probability high-level talents, he might as well replicate more miscellaneous low-level abilities as support.
Thus, hearing that Ye Tian had a D-level ability, Liam quickly smiled and said,
"Ah, I see. A D-level talent is still impressive. It's an honor to meet you." He extended his hand again for another handshake, intending to replicate the ability.
Ye Tian's expression stiffened.
Didn't we just shake hands a few seconds ago?
And what's with this "honor to meet you" nonsense? Did you even know who I was before this?
As someone who had spent years in the political arena, Ye Tian had never encountered someone so inexplicably odd. This left him at a loss for words.
With a slightly forced smile, and out of a sense of politeness towards someone who might be mentally unstable, Ye Tian shook Liam's hand again.
[Replication successful. Acquired D-level talent—Precise Analysis of the Explorer!]
[Automatically enhancing talent...]
[Talent upgraded. Evolved into—The Voice of All Things!]
[Ability description: From today onward, you can hear the voice of all things and obtain the answers you seek from the plants and stones around you.]
The familiar, melodious voice echoed in Liam's mind, and he couldn't help but smile. Even though it was a D-level talent, a successful replication was always a good thing.
But a moment later, his smile vanished.
Without him consciously activating it, the ability seemed to switch on automatically, like a passive skill.
Suddenly, Liam felt like he had walked into a nightclub full of blaring speakers. The cacophony of noise assaulted his mind, and his head began to throb.
The entire world seemed to come alive, with rocks shouting, wind howling, and the grass and trees chattering incessantly in his ears.
[Grass: What the heck?! Why did someone spit on me?!]
[Cloud: Wind! Stop touching my butt! I want to go south, so why are you blowing me north?!]
[South Wind: North Wind lost a bet to me yesterday, so today's my shift. What's the big deal if I touch you? What are you going to do about it?]
[Tree: That dog just peed on me. So annoying. It seems to be a stray I haven't seen before—not from around here.]
A chaotic mix of bizarre voices filled Liam's mind, and unprepared as he was, his temples throbbed painfully. The sudden mental onslaught quickly became unbearable, leaving him with a splitting headache.
His face turned deathly pale, and with a low growl, he clutched his head with one hand while tightening his grip on Ye Tian's hand with the other, sinking to the ground in agony.
The others, including Lila: ?
Sophia: ??
Ye Tian: ???!!
Ye Tian: What's going on here? Is he trying to blackmail me? I swear I didn't do anything!
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