Chapter 59
Chapter 59
[Through the enhancement of Judgment Scroll, your skill Blazing Heaven Sword has advanced to the Exclusive SS-Rank skill Dawnbringer!]
[Dawnbringer] (Exclusive SS Rank)
Description: One sword descends, and heaven and earth bow.
Skill Effect: Condense a blazing solar greatsword in midair, locking onto a target within a 300 × 300-meter area and dealing damage equal to 1,000% of your Attack. This attack is guaranteed to land a Critical Hit, guaranteed to inflict Suppression, and reduces Movement Speed by 100% for 5 seconds.
Additional Effect 1: Fire waves spread outward from the struck target, dealing 150% damage to units within a 100 × 100-meter area. Range increases with strength. This attack has a high chance to inflict Burn and Knockback, with the exact probabilities determined by the difference between both sides.
Additional Effect 2: The user may charge the blazing solar greatsword. The longer the charge, the greater its power and range. Current damage can increase to a maximum of 2,000%, while the affected area can increase to 200 × 200 meters.
Cooldown: 20 seconds. The longer the charge, the longer the cooldown.
(Growth-Type)
…
Terrifying!
Zhou Ming’s heart surged with excitement.
If he charged this sword to its current limit, even he couldn’t say for certain whether he could survive it, let alone any other player.
Most importantly, despite such a massive increase in power, an instant-cast Dawnbringer still had a cooldown of only twenty seconds.
Zhou Ming suppressed the urge to find someone and test it out, then turned his attention to his other skills.
He had cleared the second stage of the Trial of the Seven Sins!
It had brought the Flame Demon Lord another exclusive skill and ability.
[Flame Soul Art] (Exclusive S Rank)
Description: Burning the soul allows the Flame Demon Lord to pursue greater strength, but the price is severe.
Skill Effect: All Attributes +80%.
Additional Effect: Locked. Absorb Flame Dragon Blood Essence to activate.
Cost: Level -5 and enter the Weakened state for 5 hours.
Cooldown: 48 hours.
[Heaven’s Envy] (Exclusive Ability): When you suffer fatal damage, you will not die and will immediately counterattack. The counterattack’s strength equals that of the attack that dealt the fatal damage. Cooldown: 3 days.
…
Flame Soul Art was an ultimate of a different sort, one he would only use at a critical moment when he had no choice but to stake his life.
Its additional effect was related to the dragon race and would be difficult to unlock in the short term.
Heaven’s Envy further improved his ability to survive. Used correctly, it might even allow him to turn defeat into victory.
Once he finished absorbing every benefit from the siege, Zhou Ming turned back to the Trial of the Seven Sins.
[Trial of the Seven Sins] (???)
Description: Only one who endures the extremes of original sin may become a true Demon Lord.
Sin of Pride: [Demonic Flame Armor]
Sin of Envy: [Flame Soul Art]
Sin of Wrath: Inactive. Automatically activates in 3 days.
Sin of Sloth: ???
Sin of Greed: ???
Sin of Gluttony: ???
Sin of Lust: ???
…
There was still some time before the third trial activated, finally giving him room to breathe. Even so, Sin of Envy had been so difficult that he had needed to exploit a loophole to clear it. How dangerous would the later trials become?
No wonder every previous owner of the God-Demon Orb had fallen, allowing it to eventually reach his hands.
“I’ll deal with it when it comes!” Zhou Ming logged off and went to rest without another worry.
“Ying’er, Xuanniao, good night.”
“Good night!”
“Chirp, chirp!”
…
The next day.
Refreshed and full of energy, Zhou Ming ate breakfast and began a new day’s journey.
After returning to the game, he opened the map and searched for a suitable leveling area.
On the way, Zhou Ming withdrew some of his gold and transferred a hundred thousand yuan to his parents.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to give them more. The problem was that he couldn’t explain where the money had come from. Sending several hundred thousand or even millions could easily cause trouble.
If his identity in the game ever leaked, some unhinged player might come after him in real life.
“I really struck it rich!”
Zhou Ming looked at the gold coins in his inventory. The whole thing still felt unreal, and the corners of his mouth nearly reached his ears.
Nine hundred and fifty million!
The money might have come through dishonest means and a blatant system loophole, but it was still real wealth he could bring back into the real world.
“One million gold coins should be enough for you to live comfortably in your world.” Qianying had noticed how Zhou Ming kept checking his inventory and grinning at his sudden fortune. “But I still want to pour some cold water on you.”
“Oh?”
Zhou Ming couldn’t help laughing. “How are you planning to do that?”
He naturally understood that Qianying didn’t want him to grow complacent in luxury and neglect his leveling.
What made him curious was how she intended to drive the point home.
“Possessions are ultimately hollow.” Qianying transformed into white light and flew out of the God-Demon Orb. With a serious expression, she continued, “Only personal strength allows you to protect your wealth.”
“Chirp, chirp!”
Xuanniao nodded repeatedly beside her in agreement.
“…”
Faced with Qianying’s utterly solemn attitude, Zhou Ming didn’t know what to say.
Destiny Continent and the real world operated on completely different principles.
Qianying probably didn’t realize that no matter how hard he worked to increase his strength in the game, he couldn’t bring that power back to reality.
“The world I come from follows different rules than Destiny Continent,” Zhou Ming explained as simply as he could. “Here, I can become one of the strongest adventurers. Back in my homeland, I’m still an ordinary citizen, permanently stuck at Level 1.”
“Impossible!”
Qianying shook her head with absolute certainty. “The fact that you can’t bring your power across only proves you aren’t strong enough yet!”
“…”
“You don’t believe me?”
“That’s not what I meant…”
“You don’t believe me!”
Qianying’s expression held a seriousness Zhou Ming had never seen before. “Whenever you leave this world, I’ve tried to leave with you.”
“!!”
Zhou Ming’s heart skipped. “What happened?”
“I encountered an extraordinarily sturdy barrier and couldn’t break it,” Qianying answered honestly.
Inexplicable disappointment rose in Zhou Ming. “Maybe you ran into the dimensional wall.”
“So that’s what it’s called.”
Qianying looked thoughtful. “In any case, the dimensional wall is exceptionally strong. My current power isn’t enough to break it, but if I advance one step beyond god-tier, I might have a chance.”
“…A chance to do what?”
“Break the dimensional wall, of course!”
“…”
Zhou Ming fell silent, struggling to believe her conclusion.
Truthfully, after entering Destiny, even he sometimes had trouble distinguishing reality from the game. Unrealistic suspicions occasionally crept into his mind.
Hearing that possibility voiced by Qianying for the first time made the feeling far stronger.
“You still don’t believe me?” Qianying frowned.
“No!”
Zhou Ming shook his head, then said with complete seriousness, “I hope it’s true!”
He paused there before steering the conversation back on track. “I understand what you mean. Money is an external possession, and I shouldn’t become overly attached to it. Money really is important to me, but…”
“But what?” Qianying asked.
“Taking you away from this place is more important!”
Morning sunlight spilled across the land.
The young man’s expression was exceptionally earnest.
…