My stats are higher than yours!!

"Why did you stop fighting? Don't you love fighting the most?" Bai Shuodong teased with a smile.

"Something's not right with you. It's disgusting to fight you. Not only are your stats high, but you also have 800 tricks up your sleeve. It's disgusting to fight you."

Xia Yanxin took a drink, took a sip, and continued, "Your attack strength is too high. It's too much of a disadvantage for me to fight you with dual greatswords."

"So what do you think would be a good choice to avoid losing out?"

"Um..."

Xia Yan thought about it for a moment, but she didn't expect it.

Then she thought about it carefully, but still couldn't think of anything. Finally, she fell into deep thought and said, "I don't think there are any good weapons to fight against. You just have a high pure psionic energy value. No matter what weapon you use to fight against you, you will be overwhelmed."

"Moreover, during combat, you also have to consider the number of attacks and confrontations. Too many head-on confrontations not only make your hands hurt from the impact, but your weapons are also easily damaged. It's incredibly troublesome."

"Really?"

Bai Shuodong nodded slightly.

Although he had temporarily won, he was not arrogant or complacent because it was only because Xia Yanxin did not want to fight him anymore. If they continued to fight, he would not be able to do anything about her.

Xia Yanxin was faster and had an intuition to prevent sneak attacks. In addition, with her high skill level, he was unable to defeat his opponent.

If they keep fighting, they can only stay tied, and eventually it will become a battle of stamina, with whoever has better stamina winning.

"Boom boom boom!"

Suddenly, a knocking sounded on the door. Xia Yanxin and Bai Shuodong exchanged a glance, and Xia Yanxin said directly, "Xiaoling, Xiaoling, open the training room door."

"Ok."

Mechanical noises filled the room.

Chapter Sixty-One: Slow Startup?!

The door to the training room opened, and standing behind it was not Xia Yanxin's best friend, but Jiang Lin, whose face was full of worry.

What are you doing here?

Xia Yanxin lay on the sofa, crossed her legs like a boss, and asked.

"I heard you're here with Bai Shuodong, complaining to him," Jiang Lin said dejectedly.

"Huh? Complaining? Does that mean the girl you like has a boyfriend?" Bai Shuodong asked.

"Get out!"

Jiang Lin grumbled irritably, then looked at Xia Yanxin and tentatively asked, "May I come in and say a few words?"

"Whatever, you can tell me what's bothering you so I can cheer you up."

"You two are simply amazing!"

Jiang Lin sighed again, then went to the rest area, found a private seat, leaned back, and said, "You gave me the attribute-enhancing potion before, right?"

"Hmm, this is a great product from Giant Pharmaceuticals. How does it feel?" Bai Shuodong asked with a smile.

"It's so refreshing, so incredibly satisfying."

Jiang Lin closed his eyes and then said, "After using the Titan potion, my basic attributes increased significantly. As my basic attributes increased, my talent naturally awakened as well."

"Oh?"

Bai Shuodong raised an eyebrow slightly.

There are actually two types of talent awakening. After being actively stimulated by the school, some people will awaken their talents directly, while others will need to meet certain basic attributes before they can awaken their talents due to prerequisites.

Bai Shuodong belongs to the former, while Jiang Lin belongs to the latter.

“Talents that require certain basic attributes are usually quite strong, so you’ve really hit the jackpot!” Bai Shuodong laughed, then asked with a puzzled look, “Then why do you have that expression? Are you here to show off?”

"No, I'm already useless. Take a look at the talent description yourself." Jiang Lin sighed and then shared the talent panel.

[Slow Start]

等級：A

passive effect

①Heavy Price: Reduces base Strength, base Agility, and base Spirit by 50%. This effect is not a negative status and cannot be removed.

②Indestructible: Gain 5% fixed maximum health damage reduction, increased resistance to abnormal statuses, increased resistance to control effects, and increased soul resilience.

③I have activated: After entering battle, the recovery effect ① is reduced to 1% of the base three attributes every minute, and enters the [fully activated state] after 50 minutes.

[Fully Activated State]: Restores 1% of maximum health per second, greatly increases stamina recovery speed, gains an additional 5% maximum health damage reduction, greatly increases resistance to abnormal statuses, greatly increases resistance to control effects, and attacks deal additional damage equal to 1% of maximum health.

Supplement 1: After 1 hour of being out of combat, all three attributes will decrease by 1% every minute.

"hiss...."

Bai Shuodong immediately gasped. The values ​​for this slow activation were indeed terrifying. Once successfully activated, it would grant terrifying values ​​such as [10% permanent fixed damage reduction from maximum health], [1% maximum health regeneration per second], [significantly increased dual resistances], and [1% maximum health bonus on attacks].

This talent is ridiculously strong!

But the problem is...

It takes 50 minutes to start...

If it were just a matter of time, then I could simply pretend I didn't have this talent. But the problem is that it has side effects. In normal circumstances, it directly reduces strength, agility, and spirit attributes by 50%, and this side effect is not a negative state, so it cannot be removed.

"Let me see it too."

Xia Yanxin took the initiative to move closer, leaning against Bai Shuodong without any hesitation, and then looked at the panel together with an unusually excited expression.

"This is..."

"Holy crap, what a terrible talent! Who can fight you for 50 minutes? A normal 50% reduction in all three dimensions, what's the difference between that and suicide? This stat reduction is just too outrageous!" Xia Yanxin said with a strange expression.

Her gaze toward Jiang Lin gradually began to soften with pity.

This talent stat is incredibly high, even higher than many S-level talents, but the problem is that the side effects are outrageous. By the time it's successfully activated, it will probably be too long.

"So, now I just want to know one thing: can I take back my talent? Can I just not have this talent? I feel so much weaker now, like I've become useless." Jiang Lin looked melancholy and pained, tears streaming down his face.

"...Please accept my condolences."

Bai Shuodong patted Jiang Lin on the shoulder, then thought for a moment and said, "Have you ever thought that in the Spirit Realm, you can try to maintain a combat state as much as possible? That would make you very strong."

"It can't be activated in low-intensity combat; it can only enter combat mode under high-intensity combat." Jiang Lin lay down like a salted fish, his eyes completely devoid of any luster.

"You can look on the bright side. As long as you successfully activate it in battle, you'll be invincible. Even Xia Yanxin can't beat you," Bai Shuodong comforted him.

"If he activates it, who can beat him?"

Xia Yanxin echoed her sentiment.

"I feel like I need to switch to a more straightforward approach. If I don't focus on physical attributes, my talent is completely wasted. No, I should say I'm completely wasted."

Jiang Lin closed his eyes and sighed, then a helpless look appeared on his face as he continued, "I'm sorry, Lao Bai, I may not be able to keep up with you in the future, and I won't be able to see the scenery from higher places with you anymore. This talent is really... too much of a rip-off."

"..."

Bai Shuodong remained silent.

Bai Shuodong thought.

Bai Shuodong suddenly realized.

He smiled, held up a finger, looked at Jiang Lin, and said, "Hey! I have a plan!"

"?"

"You probably don't know this, but there's a Trial Tower over at Yanxiao Mountain. You can go there even if you haven't become a psionicist. Once you're inside, choose the Trial of Courage, then increase your Courage value, and then just keep fighting from beginning to end."

Bai Shuodong said with a grin.

"Will this... work?"

Jiang Lin frowned. He felt that the plan seemed unfeasible and the risks were too great.

"I'll only give you the general idea; you'll have to optimize the specific details yourself."

“Before you enter, you can consider taking out a loan to get into the Tower of Trials. As long as you get a high score, you will be considered successful,” Bai Shuodong coaxed patiently.

"This..."

Jiang Lin hesitated briefly, then looked up at Bai Shuodong and asked, "How's the trial reward? Can it solve my problem?"

“I don’t know, but if you can get a high score, the final reward should be pretty good. It will make you stronger and make it easier for you to get a stronger job when you try to get a job in the Spirit Realm,” Bai Shuodong said.

"Isn't that still gambling?"

“Otherwise, Jiang Lin, you’ve already awakened this talent. Do you think you still have room for steady improvement? If you don’t gamble, will you still have any fun?” Bai Shuodong said, spreading his hands.

"That seems to be the case."

Jiang Lin clenched his fist and said, "If you want a profession or ability that can make up for your talent, you must have more choices. Improving your strength is very necessary. I have to take a gamble."

Chapter Sixty-Two Legendary Psionicists

Jiang Lin is gone.

Bai Shuodong looked at Xia Yanxin and suddenly asked, "By the way, weren't you quite warlike before? Why don't you want to fight this time? I don't believe you're scared."

“Of course not. Didn’t I tell you before? I’m going to participate in the trial. I need to be in good condition and can’t get seriously injured during this time. Your psionic attacks are too dangerous, and I don’t want to take the risk,” Xia Yanxin replied.

"A trial in the spirit world..."

Bai Shuodong felt a longing in his heart.

Those who can pass the trials of the spirit world can become true psychics, obtain a profession, and possess power far exceeding that of ordinary people.

"By the way, now that you have successfully mastered psionic power and are so skilled at using it, I suggest you prepare for the trial as soon as possible."

Xia Yan's voice was slightly dull, but then he said seriously, "The college entrance examination preparation team for this year has already started recruiting."

"Are the benefits good?"

Bai Shuodong asked curiously.

"Of course, resources are not that important. The most important thing is that after joining the college entrance examination preparation team, there will be many opportunities for practical combat, and even opportunities to challenge geniuses from other colleges, whether it is individual combat or team combat."

Xia Yanxin smiled excitedly, her eyes sparkling like stars. For a pure warrior like her, more opportunities to fight were the best benefit.

“I think resources are quite important. If you don’t think they’re important, then give me your share.”

"If you win, I'll give it to you."

"Give it to me if you want it?"

Bai Shuodong's eyes widened slightly, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up wildly.

"You think you can beat me? I just think it's too risky and I don't want to fight you. You don't really think you can beat me, do you?" Xia Yanxin's competitive spirit was instantly aroused, and her crimson spiritual energy naturally burst forth, causing her long crimson hair to move without wind.

"Of course, I'm the strongest."

"Bullshit, get lost! Don't bother me!"

Bye-bye~

...

Three days later

Snow King Ice Castle

Bai Shuodong sat in the shop drinking lemonade, glancing at the people coming and going outside. He thought to himself: "Old Bi said the person who taught me marksmanship would arrive at 2 o'clock, and now it's already 1:55. This guy really knows how to time his arrival perfectly."

Soon, a tall, handsome, and extraordinary young man emerged from the bustling crowd. He wore a black jacket and a white shirt, and his golden hair shone brightly in the sunlight. His gaze swept into the Snow King Ice Castle.

Their eyes met. The young man glanced down at the photo, and after confirming it was correct, he smiled and walked towards Bai Shuodong's seat, waving to the waiter and saying, "An iced Americano."

"Ok sir."

He paid naturally, then came to the opposite side of Bai Shuodong and said with a smile, "You must be Bai Shuodong, the little genius that Director Bi mentioned?"

"Ah."

Bai Shuodong nodded.

If you're going to call someone a genius, just call them a genius. Why add "young" before it? This guy doesn't look that much older than me. Could he actually be much older? Or does he just have a special ability to maintain his appearance?

"Hello, my name is Lin Zilong, a senior student in the Warrior Department. It's nice to meet you," Lin Zilong said with a smile, extending his hand.