Was Shen Xing's Talent SSS-Rank? Speculation About the Various Talents

After Shen Xing finished reading the long list, he was momentarily stunned.

"Wow, so many hidden talents above S-rank?"

"Three SSS-level players, seven SS-level players, plus dozens of players with S-level talents..."

"It seems... there are more powerful individuals on Blue Star than I imagined."

Shen Xing narrowed her eyes.

Before this ranking was released, those talent holders probably never imagined that there were so many people just like them.

The Common players were even more confused.

What happened to the promise of fair development for everyone, with everyone starting from the same point?

How come you have one more talent than me?

But that's normal.

The world is inherently unfair. Just as some military units are born with the combat power of Boss or even Overlord Rank, they are bound to shine brightly in the future.

However, some military units are destined to be cannon fodder, born only to die on the battlefield.

Even among lords, there are so many pay-to-win players, second-generation lords, and so on.

Therefore, absolute fairness is impossible.

Looking at his name on the leaderboard, Shen Xing muttered to himself, "I didn't expect my Life-Sacrifice Evolution to only be an S-rank talent, and ranked 56th."

"Judging from this data alone, it seems quite weak..."

But thinking about it, it makes sense. If other lords had this talent, it would be completely useless.

The fact that it requires a permanent sacrifice attribute to help a unit evolve is enough to deter most people, and no one dares to use it too many times.

It's ranked S-tier probably because it has a 100% evolution success rate.

Otherwise, at best, it can only be considered an A-level talent.

However, once it came into Shen Xing's hands, this talent underwent a qualitative change, and it's estimated to be comparable to an SSS-level hidden talent.

As noted in the leaderboard: Talent level only represents Rare, not final strength.

There's a saying that goes, "There are no bad talents, only bad players."

Shen Xing smiled, then switched his consciousness out of the Land of Mist and logged into the forum.

As expected, the number of posts and comments above has exploded again.

Posts about the new version sprang up like mushrooms after rain.

"New Version Event Predictions! Including Arena, Battlegrounds, and More. Purely personal speculation; no responsibility for errors -- Written by Mist City Know-It-All."

I know who holds the top spot on the talent ranking, the "God's Will"! Pictures and proof included, come check it out!

Analysis Post! Based on the names of 67 talents of S rank or higher, we can reasonably speculate on their abilities and their holders!

Dominic, Master Rank expert from the Sand Nation, has revealed himself, claiming to be the possessor of the 'King' talent and detailing its abilities—it's truly heaven-defying!

"...

"Tsk tsk... These guys must have all graduated from UC's Shock Department, right? The post title is really good; I couldn't resist clicking on it."

Shen Xing made a comment and clicked on each one to take a look.

First, there's the first post about predictions for the new event, posted by what appears to be the well-known influencer: 'Mist City Know-It-All'.

It's said that he had previously made predictions for similar new version events, with an accuracy rate of at least 30%, if not 50%.

Shen Xing glanced at the post, which was roughly about a preview of the upcoming version and some predictions about the events.

Such as arenas where players can battle against each other, and multiplayer battlefields, etc.

In addition, there are some smaller events, such as point-based competitions and unit trials.

He even speculated, based on customs of the Land of Mist, such as next month's 'Flame Wind Festival,' that the new expansion would include 'festival celebrations.'

Of course, these are all speculations by the Mist City Know-It-All; even he couldn't possibly know the content of the next expansion pack in advance.

It seems there were two previous instances where none of his predictions came true.

"These prediction posts are really just for fun. Based on survivor bias, if you make several predictions, one of them will eventually come true."

"If you can hit just a few of those predictions, it will be circulated as if it were some kind of miracle, just like fortune telling."

Shen Xing shook his head, then clicked on the second post, about the current number one holder of 'God's Will' on the talent ranking.

Some say it's a veteran Master Rank expert from the Golden Eagle Kingdom named Fabian, who is said to have broken through to the Grandmaster Realm this year.

Some say he is a rising genius from the Earth Bear Nation who has already achieved the feat of killing a Master Rank expert in less than a year.

Some say he's a hidden genius from Gaul Nation, the one who topped the previous Newbie Leaderboard.

However, this person has disappeared since the last ranking ended, presumably because he has been sidelined by his country.

Of course, what attracted Shen Xing the most was the third post: predictions about various Empowerment.

The talents are listed above for discussion, and sorted by the number of likes.

There were numerous replies on each floor.

Shen Xing also read them in order.

Sword Gradually Falls Silent [First Floor]: "Since the number one 'God's Will' is related to God, I boldly speculate that this ability should be 'Creation'."

After all, don't those guys boast that their God is omniscient and omnipotent, capable of creating things out of thin air? So I speculate that the holder of God's Will can create things they want out of thin air, such as souls, resources, and so on.

The holder should be the Lord of Ten Thousand Souls of the John Bull Nation, after all, he is recognized as the lord with the most powerful territory.

This comment garnered over seven thousand likes, clearly indicating that many players agree with his speculation.

Then comes the second layer.

Wind-Splitting Xiao Hei [Second Floor]: "The second place's 'Seven-Orificed Exquisite Heart' needs no further explanation, right? I'm sure the players of Heavenly Star Nation all know that it's used to describe someone who is extremely intelligent and has a very high level of comprehension."

Therefore, I speculate that he must have an extraordinary speed of leveling up, and he can learn anything very quickly.

I strongly suspect that Shen Xing, who has been winning first place recently, is the holder of the 'Seven-Orificed Exquisite Heart,' given how incredibly fast he's getting stronger."

This comment received over 20,000 likes, with comments like "reasonable," "definitely Shen Xing," and "I didn't chop off my penis on live stream."

Li Li Li Li Li [Third Floor]: "The name of the third-ranked 'King' is too vague to make a good guess."

However, on foreign forums, Dominic from Sand Nation claimed that he is the holder of the 'King' title, and that any territory he occupies belongs to his kingdom.

Within this system, the entire territory, including himself, will see its combat power multiply according to the size of the kingdom.

Even more outrageous is that as long as the troops in his territory don't all die, he's practically immortal within the kingdom.

[Fourth Blue Smoke Enters the Throat]: "The fourth-ranked 'Seven Deadly Sins - Envy' is quite interesting. There's a saying: 'Of all evils, Envy is the most insidious. The serpent pours all its venom into the depths of the heart; the Envy do not wish for their own good, but only for the downfall of others.'"

Based on this information, it can be inferred that the ability of 'Envy' is to weaken enemies or significantly amplify negative status damage.

But this alone is clearly not enough to rank it first among SS-level abilities, so I boldly speculate that this ability has even more incredible power.

For example: copy.

Because Envy other people's abilities, I copied them. The stronger the target I copied, the stronger I became. Brothers, do you think that makes sense?

Super-Cute Ika-chan [Fifth Floor]: "The fifth place 'Soul of the Qilin'..."

"..."

I Laugh Gleefully [56th floor]: "This 'Life-Sacrifice Evolution' sounds simple, it's just about spending your life to become stronger."

Therefore, I speculate that this is either an ability to sacrifice one's lifespan, or the more one sacrifices, the stronger one becomes.

Or it could be sacrificing something else to evolve a certain item or unit.

Shen Xing read through the entries one by one, his expression gradually becoming strange.

These players seem to actually have some skill.

Each speculation was presented with reason and evidence, sounding as if it were true.

Especially the second point, they actually claimed to be the holders of the 'Seven-Orificed Exquisite Heart'.

Considering his recent behavior, he is indeed the prime suspect.

Damn, if Shen Xing hadn't known the situation, he himself would have believed it.

"Like the event prediction posts above, these guesses about Empowerment are just for fun."

"However, the third post about the 'King' seems to have some credibility, and his abilities are consistent with an SSS-level talent."

"However... the fact that this Master Rank expert chose to self-destruct is highly suspicious, so we shouldn't make a decision hastily."

"As for the ability of 'Life-Sacrifice Evolution,' it seems they've guessed it pretty accurately. But that's normal; with such a straightforward name, it's hard not to guess it."

"However, they probably never imagined that I am the one who possesses this talent."

"After all, there are a whole bunch of people above me with talents whose very names sound incredibly powerful."

"How could a Xiao Xiao S-rank talent, with its own usage costs, possibly overpower everyone else and secure first place consecutively?"

Shen Xing smiled.

Meanwhile, messages kept flashing in the discussion group, also about the talent rankings.

Cilantro Who Loves to Play: "Shen Xing, are you really the holder of the 'Seven-Orificed Exquisite Heart'? It sounds quite plausible!"

She and Her Cat: "It's him. I heard that the person who possesses this talent has a dirty heart. He suddenly schemed against you, and you're even helping him count the money?"

Take Her Eyes With You, she said, "Huh? But I think Shen Xing is a really nice guy. He's always been helping us."

She and Her Cat: "This is the terrifying thing about a 'Seven-Orificed Exquisite Heart' —they can strip you naked and manipulate you like puppets, and you won't even know it."

Xu Jiayi remained silent, quietly observing the screen.

Shen Xing watched their discussion, speechless for a moment, then replied:

"I am not the possessor of the 'Seven-Orificed Exquisite Heart,' so don't make wild guesses."

Everyone was stunned for a moment when they saw the message, and then a barrage of emojis bombarded them.

The Cilantro Who Loves to Play" posted a sighing emoji: "Sigh... What a pity. I thought my brother had SSS-level talent, which would make it easier for me to rely on him in the future."

As longtime best friends, they believed Shen Xing's words; since he said it wasn't true, then it definitely wasn't.

Neither Yu Feifei nor Xia Wanyin had any doubts.

Shen Xing smiled and said, "This Empowerment rated SSS-level must be something special."

"I suspect that the person who possesses this talent must be an extremely intelligent individual, exceptionally skilled at concealing their abilities."

"As long as he doesn't reveal himself, I doubt anyone will be able to guess his identity."

Everyone agreed that what he said made sense.