Everyone thought they had misheard. No Devil Fruit? How could that be?!
After the initial shock, Lin Muxue covered her mouth and laughed, "Brother Yu, you're joking with me, right? This joke isn't funny at all. Stop messing around and tell us, which powerful Devil Fruit did you get?"
At this moment, the scene was being broadcast live. Since Ye Yu was the only one who hadn't made it to the trending list yet, many people across the Dragon Kingdom were paying attention. Some were watching on their phones, others on TV, and all of them thought Ye Yu was joking.
The classmates also burst into laughter.
"Yeah, Brother Yu, this joke isn't good. And it's not just us; the entire nation is watching you, eager to know which powerful Devil Fruit you obtained."
"Brother Yu, come on, tell us."
"Even those with Level 10 talents are envious of your potential. After all, during the test, the light from your monument was the brightest, surpassing even those with Level 10 talents. You're known as the strongest talent in the Dragon Kingdom, bar none. So, you have the most potential."
...
This was indeed true, which was why Lin Muxue was so eager to fawn over Ye Yu.
However, Ye Yu said seriously, "I'm not joking with you. I chose to be an Ability-less One. With my strongest talent, I can contract seven Non-Ability Users, so I chose seven of them."
This statement plunged the surroundings into dead silence, and the entire Dragon Kingdom fell quiet.
Everyone's eyes widened in disbelief, shock, and confusion, frozen in place.
After a long while, they finally snapped out of it, and instantly, the entire Dragon Kingdom erupted in uproar!
"What the hell! No way!"
"He wasn't joking?"
"What was he thinking? With the strongest talent, he didn't choose a powerful Devil Fruit but instead went for Non-Ability Users?"
"Although each person can only have one Devil Fruit, those with high talent can contract more than one Non-Ability User. But no matter how many Non-Ability Users you have, how strong can they be?"
"Yeah, you should definitely choose a Devil Fruit. How strong can someone without abilities become through cultivation?"
"It's like us. Without a Devil Fruit, we could never become strong, not even mid-tier strong."
"Exactly, why? Even if he chose the seven strongest Non-Ability Users, their combined strength still wouldn't match the potential of a single Artificial Devil Fruit!"
"This is such a waste of talent!"
...
After a moment of stunned silence, Lin Muxue asked in disbelief, "Brother... Brother Yu... this... this can't be true, right? How could you not choose a Devil Fruit? If it were just bad luck—no, you couldn't possibly have bad luck because you'd succeed with any Devil Fruit you contracted. So, this must be a joke, right?"
Ye Yu replied solemnly, "It's true."
This dashed everyone's hopes.
"This is too absurd!"
"The strongest talent, yet he chose to contract seven Non-Ability Users."
"He's ruined, completely ruined! His future achievements and strength will definitely be inferior to mine, and I only contracted an Artificial Devil Fruit with a Level 4 talent."
"What a waste! Such a great talent, and he doesn't know how to cherish it. If I had that talent, I'd be laughing in my dreams, carefully choosing the strongest Devil Fruit. But he did this? What a waste of talent!"
"Three years from now, the Navy will arrive, and if Ye Yu makes this choice, it means we'll be short one powerful fighter by then!"
"Did he deliberately choose a Non-Ability User, or were all the Devil Fruits gone, already taken?"
"If he chose deliberately, that would be incredibly foolish and brainless, so I think the latter is more likely. He's just had the worst luck, even worse than Sun Long."
"Possibly. Ye Yu only just came out now, which means he was the last one to enter. It's possible that by the time he went in, there were no Devil Fruits left."
...
At this thought, everyone's gaze turned to Ye Yu.
Ye Yu also gave a perfunctory response: "Well, when I went in, there were no Devil Fruits left, so I had to go to the Non-Ability User space and picked seven that looked pretty good. They should be the seven strongest among the Non-Ability Users."
Upon confirmation, everyone was devastated.
"Such bad luck."
"Ah, fate is truly cruel."
"Even if he picked the seven strongest Non-Ability Users, even if they were seven that many couldn't contract with, they're still just low-tier talents that can't be contracted."
"Exactly. Just because they can't be contracted due to low-tier talents doesn't mean they're strong. After all, their talents are too low. With my sixth-tier talent, I'm confident I could contract with anyone if I went in."
"Has anyone with sixth-tier talent ever failed to contract?"
"No, I have fifth-tier talent, and after going in, I chose a giant named Hairdin. I contracted with him directly, and I think Hairdin is the strongest among the Non-Ability Users. He's a giant and all muscle, very powerful."
"Ah, the strongest talent has been wasted. Even if he contracted with seven strong Non-Ability Users, at best, it would only be equivalent to the achievements of third or fourth-tier talents in the future, and that's only if the fourth-tier talent is an Artificial Devil Fruit Ability User."
"Maybe we're overestimating it."
...
At this moment, the trending topics exploded. Ye Yu was at the top of the headlines, but it was completely different from what they had imagined. It wasn't because of the emergence of the strongest potential, but because of the weakest prodigy.
Shocking!! The strongest talent, Ye Yu, actually chose seven Non-Ability Users! Completely ruined himself!
Explosive!! The most anticipated Ye Yu turned out to have the worst luck, failing to pick a Devil Fruit!
Explosive!! The originally strongest talent, admired and respected, with the greatest potential, Ye Yu, has now become a clown!
Explosive!! The most monstrous Ye Yu, after the contract ended, became utterly ordinary! In the future, forget about dominating the seas, it's questionable whether he can even be a crew member on a powerful ship!
...
For a while, the top trending topics were all about Ye Yu.
At this moment, after confirming it was true, Li Cang burst into laughter, not holding back at all. Previously, Ye Yu was the strongest talent, and although he was unhappy, he didn't dare to show it. But now, he laughed without restraint.
"Hahaha!! This is hilarious!! He chose seven Non-Ability Users, what bad luck! After going in, there were no Devil Fruits left, hahaha, couldn't you have gone in earlier? You must have been devastated, right? Felt like eating shit, huh? Hahaha! Good! Very good!"
Li Cang laughed heartily, even mocking, without any fear, because now Ye Yu was no longer the strongest talent. He had completely ruined his tenth-tier talent, and Li Cang was overjoyed, thinking his curses and prayers had really worked.
Li Cang mocked, and no one around said anything. Even Ye Yu's d
evoted admirer, Lin Muxue, remained silent and even changed her expression abruptly.
"Li Cang, you're absolutely right. He really is too ridiculous."
(End of Chapter)