Chapter 117: Thoughts Unlocked

Kill! Kill! Kill!

No one can comprehend Jili An's feeling at this moment; he is like a small boat amid raging waves, as if in the next second he will be swallowed by a towering sea of surf.

He is completely surrounded by Asura Warriors, and attacks from all directions pelt him like a raging storm.

The worst part is that he himself seems to be stuck in quicksand; his body grows heavy, his thoughts become sluggish, and even his reactions start to slow.

He futilely swings his battle axe, cleaving the nearby Asura Warriors; these warriors turn into liquid that flows back into the Sea of Blood, and after a brief pause they again emit hoarse, sharp roars as they crawl out of the Sea of Blood.

The towering Asura Warrior, fierce as a nightmare and drenched in blood, radiates bursts of brutality, continuously besieging the werewolf Jili An.

Unexpectedly useful!

Mu Yi discovers that within the barrier, reviving Asura Warriors consumes less than he imagined; the ever-present Sea of Blood is merely a materialization of will, dragging enemies into the barrier and then delivering a righteous group assault, with remarkably outstanding effect.

The werewolf's strength is actually quite good, but before a formed battle formation of death‑defying Asura Warriors, he is outclassed.

Nevertheless, though the werewolf looks pitiful, Mu Yi knows this is merely the werewolf feigning weakness; although the Asura onslaught inflicts heavy damage, the werewolf never suffers a vital wound and still retains most of his combat power.

The opponent's continued endurance is like a seasoned hunter, lying in wait for prey to step into his trap.

Mu Yi remains calm and composed; the barrier does not shatter, the Sea of Blood does not vanish, and the Asura Warriors' revival will not cease.

He wants to see how long the werewolf can endure.

Mu Yi reaches out toward the werewolf, igniting Ember Fire; the Asura Warriors respond to Mu Yi's resonance, and scarlet illusory flames begin to blaze fiercely upon the werewolf.

Jili An feels as if he is inside a furnace; his stamina, spirit, energy, even his will are being worn away bit by bit.

It is as if he were metal in a furnace, melting little by little.

In his daze, the werewolf is caught in a gap by an Asura Warrior, and a shattered sword blade slashes his back with unstoppable force.

The searing pain instantly snaps the werewolf awake; he realizes he can no longer endure, and unknowingly he has become the frog boiled in warm water.

Awo…

The werewolf howls upward, draws a deep breath, and his axe begins to emit a deep black radiance that spreads from the axe onto his body.

Under the shroud of the black light, the werewolf's body suddenly expands, and the wounds are pressed shut by the wildly swelling muscles, no longer bleeding.

The werewolf's Frenzy continues to surge, even ultimately breaking a limit—

Roar!

A colossal being appears within the Six Paths Barrier.

Alright, alright, everyone has two stages, right!

Mu Yi can't help but quip that the werewolf, who was just a normal human size moments ago, has now swollen a layer, standing over three meters tall and exuding a tangible threat and terror.

Owners of these Divine Artifacts generally possess a trump card technique; while it does carry a certain cost, it is enough to turn defeat into victory.

Apprentice Rank melee professions lean more toward hand‑to‑hand combat; unlike spellcasters with flashy incantations, their abilities ultimately boil down to changes in physical attributes.

Simple, yet remarkably effective.

The werewolf, previously crushed by the battle formation and having his strength drained, instantly shattered the Asura Warriors' blockade and charged toward Mu Yi with a bamboo‑splitting momentum.

"Indeed, it's not that easy to handle; I keep feeling opponents get harder to deal with. Should I keep raising my profession level?"

Mu Yi summons a Great Rhinoceros, mounts it, and channels the Asura Warriors' will into the Formation Blade.

Mu Yi doesn't know how other Military Strategists handle it, but whenever enemies rampage through the military formation, he can only choose to go on top himself.

This troubles Mu Yi; if he cannot suppress the enemy and trap them within the military formation, the formation loses most of its effect.

Just like now, when the Asura Warriors cannot stop the werewolf's charge, Mu Yi must step onto the field himself.

"Maybe I should get a proper follower and train him into a capable general? Or perhaps a iron‑wall defensive knight to hold the enemy?"

As Mu Yi charges, countless wild ideas flash through his mind.

The werewolf Jili An lunges at Mu Yi without hesitation, apparently intending to cleave both Mu Yi and his mount in half with a single axe swing.

He once used this move to slay a Transcendent creature, so he is confident in his desperate gamble.

Jili An is immersed in the excitement of about to split Mu Yi in two; chaotic bestiality erodes his will, yet he still retains some reason, only becoming more feral.

During a prior battle against a demon god, he observed Mu Yi's power and knows clearly that Mu Yi is swift, but his strength is insufficient.

Thus he has only one chance: using the Divine Artifact's sharpness and his post‑expansion strength to cleave Mu Yi dead.

"Die!"

—Blood‑thirsty Heavy Strike

Muscles contract, power erupts beyond limits at this moment, and the werewolf unleashes his ultra‑strong strike.

The battle axe descends with thunderous force, but halts abruptly in mid‑air.

The Formation Blade blocks the werewolf's axe.

"A powerful strike; if it had been earlier, you would indeed have had a chance to slay me!"

Mu Yi glances at the Zongwang Panel, noting that his panel already bears nearly a thousand 'Xiong' marks.

He is a late‑stage hero!

Given him such a long time to develop, does he still have a chance to survive?

When he actively approached at this moment, he already possessed absolute confidence to slay the werewolf.

If the werewolf had been placed in the Howell era, he might truly have been axed dead, but unfortunately, he had also prepared before coming.

By consecutively destroying several bounty‑hunter hideouts, Mu Yi early on stacked his attributes to an absurd degree, making his stats completely surpass the current werewolf's.

My stats are above yours!

Although both their profession levels are within the Apprentice range, their challenge levels have already leapt into the Transcendent tier.

Whether it's Mu Yi's multiple Elite Talents or the Divine Artifact in the werewolf's hand, both are enough to let them transcend mortal limits.

"Remember! Military Formation is always the final trump card of a Military Strategist's heir!"

Mu Yi swings the Formation Blade, his will fully locked onto Jili An.

Jili An leaps off the rhinoceros's head, only to find he still hasn't evaded Mu Yi's blade.

Fine blood droplets seeped onto his chest, the werewolf began to go mad, the sting of pain stripped him of reason, and the ancient god sealed within the artifact began to assault his will.

An ominous force gradually radiated from the werewolf, and the air began to exude a maddening aura.

Fierce hair sprouted from his skin like sharp needles with a fierce scent; his palms turned into claws that kept lengthening, flashing a chilling, bone‑chilling light.

His eyes turned blood‑red and wild, the chaotic beast nature about to engulf all his reason.

"Roar!"

The massive monster howled skyward, its earth‑shaking roar nearly deafening!

In the next instant, gathering Asura will, a formation blade resonating with wind and thunder struck heavily across his neck.

—Sharp Slash!

The massive head surged upward; the chaotic beast madness had not yet faded, and together with the headless corpse it crashed onto the ground.

"Zongwang Prompt: Current Dungeon remaining players: 2"

"Who taught you to transform beside the enemy?" Mu Yi said, looking at the fading light of the werewolf corpse, unable to hold back a jab.

A second‑stage transformation was one thing, but giving him a third‑stage transformation—truly treating him like a dead man.

The stationary wooden stake required no aiming; he unleashed his most powerful slash, cutting it away in one blow.

He had been wary of a possible werewolf resurrection, but the Zongwang Prompt confirmed its death; after the corpse's light faded, he finally relaxed completely.

When Mu Yi dispersed the barrier and intended to seek the last competitor,

he did not expect the opponent to appear directly before him.

Before his eyes stood a Holy Warrior with a weathered face; Mu Yi recalled he should be quite young, yet the heavy aura of wind and frost made him appear a dozen years older.

The two stared silently; Mu Yi guessed the change in the Holy Warrior— the sins of the City of Wealth had nearly crushed this young Holy Warrior, and what he witnessed firsthand differed entirely from what he had read.

Even Mu Yi, before this, could not imagine that the original sin of gluttonous humans could be to favor the most beloved food: infants still in swaddling, devouring them alive.

Enraged, Mu Yi nearly dismembered the opponent to death, yet could not alter the fact that it had indeed occurred, and that the opponent still existed in the world.

Just thinking that in some world of the Multiverse countless innocents were suffering, the Holy Warrior felt he could not breathe.

The Holy Warrior paused in silence and chose to depart.

The werewolf and the Zor Elf are dead; the remaining contest now hinges on who—him or Mu Yi—will compete fairly.

"Please stay!" Mu Yi called out to the Holy Warrior.

Then he took the list the Wealth Church had given him, tore off half, and handed it to the Holy Warrior.

"Thanks!" a hoarse voice issued from the Holy Warrior, then vanished into the dark night.

They both knew their actions were futile, yet having seen it, how could they ignore it?

Mu Yi is not a Holy Warrior; he only seeks a single thought to become clear.

He cleared too slowly alone, so he shared intelligence with the Holy Warrior, knowing the opponent chose to gather intel from the populace, which was too slow.

Mu Yi and the Holy Warrior threw themselves wholeheartedly into combating sin, encountering several joint hunts by traitors, yet each passed without injury; the capped Dungeon could not pose a lethal threat to them.

Until the final moment of the Dungeon countdown, Mu Yi appeared at the entrance of the Wealth Temple.

The more evildoers he eliminated, the more sin he witnessed, the more he despised the existence of the Wealth Temple.

These sins were born under the Wealth Temple's indulgence; although the temple imposed restrictions, it was far from benevolent.

A gentleman loves wealth but should acquire it righteously; he does not approve of the Wealth Temple's profiteering.

This is also why wars persist across the Multiverse— the expansion of beliefs and ideas inevitably brings conflict and violence.

"Dungeon end countdown: 5... 4... 3..."

When the countdown reached its final second, Mu Yi activated Time Acceleration and delivered his most powerful strike.

Amid the roaring explosion, the golden statue of the Wealth Goddess standing at the Wealth Temple's entrance shattered with a boom.

Beyond good and evil, solely for a thought to become clear.

"Proceed with Dungeon settlement?"

"Yes."

"Calculating character special Dungeon reward settlement..."

"You have completed the special Dungeon competition task: eliminate traitors; your number of traitors killed and total bounty are the highest, you have reached the full‑reward threshold..."

"Your accumulated bounty amount has reached 36,544 gold coins; you may exchange equivalent rewards from the Kingdom Treasury."

"Achievement unlocked: all traitors must die (5/5), rating slightly increased"

"Achievement unlocked: destroy Wealth Goddess golden statue (1/1), rating greatly increased."

"Special Dungeon final rating: Legend(3)"

"You have received the special Dungeon Legend rating reward:

1. 30,000 Zongwang Disaster Coins

2. Random item (Wealth Church)

3. Random item (Innocent's soul)"

"Settlement complete, transporting character out of the Dungeon Plane..."

When Mu Yi appeared in reality, a new Zongwang Prompt refreshed on his retina.

That felt great!

Though it was of little use, the moment he cleaved the Wealth Goddess statue, Mu Yi felt pure exhilaration.

"Your spiritual realm has achieved a clarity of will; perception attribute has increased."

"Zongwang Prompt: Thought clarity, perception attribute +1, current perception attribute 22."

"You destroyed the Wealth Goddess golden statue; your relation with the Wealth Church has dropped to: Enemy."

"You have received the Wealth Goddess's curse: Poverty Curse"

"Poverty Curse: your life will miss out on wealth, never become rich or noble, and at times you may even suffer sudden calamities..."

How petty, the Wealth Goddess—she promised absolute neutrality, yet just by destroying a golden statue of the Wealth Goddess inside the Dungeon, she cursed herself, on par with the Spider Goddess Queen Luo Si.

Fortunately, he now has a brand‑new method to dispel curses; the Six Paths can completely break down and digest these things. Previously, not only the curses of the Mo De Luo Si gods, but also the Wealth Luck granted to him by Guan Sheng Dijun were swallowed up by the Six Paths.

Otherwise, such rapid evolution would be impossible, and it is in no way inferior to the amplification effect brought by an artifact.

He unreservedly accepted the divine power of this Wealth Goddess.

If possible, please bring even more.