Chapter 155: True Practitioner

If Wu Chang's consistently high-difficulty dungeons were targeted by the game administrator, then the title roulette was his compensation.

Amidst flashes of golden light, another colorful title appeared above Wu Chang's head.

"Title: True Practitioner"

"Title Acquisition Requirement: All dungeons the player has entered must be real dungeons."

"Title Description: The True Practitioner is born to bring change; to avoid wasting time in dungeon projections, the True Practitioner can perfectly integrate into the dungeon and gain partial dungeon-related intelligence."

"Title Effect: Wearing this title, the player will only match with real dungeons, entering not as an outsider but by replacing a native inhabitant of the dungeon, perfectly integrating into the dungeon's dimension. Dungeon completion rate increases by 15% upon settlement; this bonus completion rate can raise total completion to a maximum of 80%, with excess converted into base dungeon rewards."

"Note: Colorful titles can stack with other titles."

The True Practitioner's title effect turned "excess dungeon completion converted into base dungeon rewards" into a permanent mechanism—a legendary buff for Wu Chang.

If he continues to achieve perfect breakthroughs, combined with the Perfectist's completion bonus, it effectively grants a permanent 100% base dungeon reward.

As for the change in dungeon entry method—from outsider to perfect integration—noted in the title effect, the actual impact must be tested to confirm.

Yet as another colorful progression title, judging from the Perfectist's effect, the integration effect would not be inferior, living up to his expectations.

After the dungeon settlement, he exited the settlement space and returned to the Crimson Courtyard.

Before he could recover his wits, a prompt flashed before him: Agility +1, Inspiration +2, Willpower +1.

Upon closer inspection, he realized he had completed the Midnight Cemetery dungeon breakthrough—while fulfilling the Blood Testament of the Miracle Month, he also resolved Oda's resentment.

He had been preoccupied with Hearing Zhanghuo and the Miracle Month, forgetting Oda entirely.

Even a fly is meat; Oda's Blood Testament was a bonus reward from his two-for-one deal—let's see what it granted him.

"Skill Name: Elite Stealth"

"Skill Level: B"

"Skill Description: An essential skill for elite assassins; in stealth state, you enter full concealment, becoming undetectable by all detection skills below high rank. Stealth is broken when you initiate an attack that deals damage to an opponent. Duration: 5 minutes. Cooldown: 15 minutes. Stealth effectiveness is influenced by Agility, Endurance, and Inspiration."

"Skill Note: Deep Sea players are not lawless thugs; use this skill in accordance with public order and good customs."

Oda's Elite Stealth skill replaced Wu Chang's original Advanced Stealth.

Elite Stealth offers longer duration, stronger effect, and greater difficulty to detect.

Most importantly, stealth is broken not upon attack initiation, but only when the target takes damage.

Though seemingly minor, this is a world of difference—the latter means Wu Chang can initiate a charged shot while hidden, and his stealth only breaks the moment the target is struck by the charged shot.

It's a modest but meaningful upgrade.

Leaving the Crimson Courtyard, Wu Chang returned to his room at Jinjing Garden. Without resting, he immediately began studying the "Research Report on Miracles and Devotion" with Ailin.

Though named a report, the physical object was not a thin stack of paper, but a massive book, A3-sized and forty to fifty centimeters thick.

The cover was protected by a metal binding; the pages were made of parchment—thick, heavy, and tactile. Treated to resist dampness and decay, the ink remained crisp and clear as new.

Regardless of its contents, its sheer size could serve as a weapon if closed—embodying the truth that knowledge is power.

If Ailin strapped this book to her waist and held the Light of Resolve in hand, she could directly cosplay a Holy Knight.

A textbook of two or three hundred pages would take him a whole semester to study, and he might still not understand it—how long would it take to master this tome?

Fortunately, the Deep Sea Game understood Wu Chang's status as a poor student: merely flipping through it once like quantum reading automatically counted as mastery.

Each time Wu Chang and Ailin turned a page, the ink faded slightly; after two full readings, the text had dimmed to the point of requiring close scrutiny to discern.

"Player has used the Research Report on Miracles and Devotion and obtained the talent: Miracle Guide."

"Talent: Miracle Guide"

"Insight: You possess profound understanding of devotion and miracles, enabling you to channel devotion into miracles. Items and skills related to devotion and miracles receive additional bonuses."

After using the report, Wu Chang retrieved the False Miracle—and indeed, it had changed.

Under the Miracle Guide talent's bonus, the skill description's "degraded version of miracle" became "weakened version of miracle," and the cooldown of 15 days changed to twice every 15 days.

Beyond these direct changes in description, the negative effects of using the False Miracle and the upper limit of miracle realization difficulty also shifted accordingly.

Wu Chang checked the time on his phone, took a deep breath—whether he passed tomorrow's Core Member registration hinged entirely on the False Miracle. If he failed, he would report the Miracle Stone's item description for false advertising.

Meanwhile, inside a vast cavern, a lean, wiry man in a bright red kasaya sat cross-legged on the ground.

His eyes were half-closed, lips curled in a smile, as if immersed in a beautiful dream, his face radiant with joy and ease.

The man faced a wall where a map of Blue Planet was projected, dotted with hundreds of tiny glowing points—arranged in a pattern hinting at hidden geometry, radiating an inexplicable profundity.

In the silent cavern, the sound of leather shoes striking hard ground echoed.

As the footsteps ceased, a young man in a full suit, carrying a black briefcase like an insurance salesman, appeared behind the Monk.

Though the Monk could not see him, the insurance salesman bowed deeply and said, "Boss."

The Monk slowly opened his eyes, revealing a pair of clear, penetrating eyes.

"What is it?"

"Lei Hu's contract was torn."

The Monk's gaze fixed on the projection. "Which dungeon was he assigned to?"

"Midnight Cemetery."

The Monk's eyes locked onto one glowing point—larger than the others, a node connected to many surrounding lights.

The Monk slowly turned his prayer beads and murmured, "Trouble."

Sweat broke on the insurance salesman's forehead. He hurried to reassure: "Boss, rest assured—I added a powerful clause to the contract. I just triggered a charged magnetic storm using that clause. Even a Wasteland Realm player would die, let alone a lower-tier one."

The moment he finished speaking, the locked glowing point on the wall abruptly went dark.

A darkened point meant the corresponding dungeon had been broken.

The atmosphere froze. Only the sound of the Monk's forceful bead-turning remained.

"It seems not as you described."

The insurance salesman panicked. "Impossible! How could anyone in the Wasteland Realm block my attack? That's illogical..."

The Monk said nothing, but his expression darkened—from joy to deep, unreadable gravity.

Just then, as if coming to the insurance salesman's rescue, the other large nodes on the wall lit up with Bai Guang one after another, the flickering glow like stars.

Of the forty-nine special nodes on the wall, only the plane where Midnight Graveyard was located remained unlit—jarring to look at, but still barely acceptable.

The Monk's expression eased slightly, and a look of joy returned to his smile.

"What are you afraid of? I'm not the unreasonable sort. If someone shows up in the Wasteland Realm that even you can't kill no matter how you strike, that's just our rotten luck—it has nothing to do with your arrangements being wrong."

"Anyone who can break Midnight Graveyard's setup and still survive your attacks won't be a nobody in the Wasteland Realm. Go find him, and find a way to stop him from wrecking our plan." How exactly to stop the other party, the Monk did not spell out, but the insurance salesman did not press the matter either, merely lowering his head and replying: "Understood. I'll find a way to handle it properly."

The Monk slowly closed his eyes and said softly, "Be careful. Don't let anything go wrong. I've been out too long—I miss home."

Wu Chang, lying in bed and about to sleep, suddenly felt a chill run across his neck, giving him a shiver.

Relying on his Inspiration, he could faintly sense that something had set its sights on him.

He rolled over, yawned, and went back to sleep.

What's the point of just staring at me? Come into the instance and have a go.

A day passed in a flash. Four hours remained before Wu Chang's core member registration.

Inside the inner world he had set up in his room, Wu Chang looked at his attribute panel.

Player Nickname: Bu Chi Niu Rou.

Player Level: 18 (2060/6500)

!

(17960/4700) — (13260/5300) — (7960/5900) — (2060/6500)

Titles: Perfectionist, Breakout Master, True Wanderer.

Vitality: 39

Strength: 30

Agility: 22

Endurance: 20

Energy: 33

Inspiration: 104

Will: 79

Free Attribute Points: 15

Decayed Silver Coins: 57,750.

Skills: Mamba Iron Elbow, Firearm Use (Proficient), Social Anxiety Disorder, Elite Stealth, Combat Basics (E).

Arts: Thunder Art Remnant Chapter (C), Intermediate Spatial Magic (D).

Items: Omitted.

Talents: Salvation, Bane, Sea Clan Transformation, Miracle Guide.

Because held items can be stored in Crimson Courtyard and cannot be fully checked, the core member registration will not record held items—only the rest of the attribute panel needs attention.

Wu Chang took out the False Miracle and activated it.

"Grant me the ability to alter my attribute panel in a way that can fool the Management Bureau's inspection."

What the Miracle Stone had been unable to grant before, the False Miracle fulfilled now without much effort.

As the sapling-shaped False Miracle swayed gently, his player panel flickered like a bad signal; after a few flashes, the panel actually became editable.

Being allowed to edit his own attribute panel was undoubtedly the best solution to the problem at hand.

First, the level couldn't be too low. The experience he had gained in the Mind-Realization instance was very transparent, so setting the level too low would only draw attention. He would adjust it to the level he had before entering Midnight Graveyard.

Physical attributes were the key edit. While lowering all attributes, he had to keep Will and Inspiration slightly higher than normal—but not so high as to be conspicuous.

Finally, arts and talents—anything that could be hidden had to be hidden completely.

After a round of edits, Wu Chang's attribute panel became:

Player Nickname: Bu Chi Niu Rou.

Player Level: 15

Vitality: 25

Strength: 8

Agility: 13

Endurance: 10

Energy: 25

Inspiration: 25

Will: 25

Skills: Mamba Iron Elbow, Social Anxiety Disorder, Advanced Stealth, Combat Basics (E).

Talents: Sea Clan Transformation.

Looking at the edited panel, Wu Chang nodded in satisfaction. This looked far more reasonable.

Based on his attribute panel, anyone could easily imagine his combat style.

Main focus on Vitality, showing his dedication to survival; secondary focus on Agility, making it easier to flee while using Stealth—fitting the traits of a cautious player. Energy coordinated with his Sea Serpent Transformation.

His naturally high Inspiration and Will explained why, when using Social Anxiety Disorder, he could fool both players and monsters.

Perfect.

The moment he tapped confirm, he suddenly fell into a state of extreme weakness. He staggered and nearly plopped down on the floor.

What the hell.

After carefully checking his body, he discovered that editing the attribute panel hadn't just changed the display—it had directly changed his attributes. Apart from Will and Inspiration, which were unaffected, every other attribute had truly become the value shown on the panel.

His once sturdy, well-rounded build had instantly become a weak, ordinary alt. That enormous gap was the source of his weakness.

That's not right. He only wanted to modify the displayed values; he never intended to tie the displayed values to his physical body.

Right—it's a side effect of the False Miracle!

After figuring out the reason, Wu Chang gave a wry smile.

The side effects of the False Miracle really are something else. Good thing this is the real world; if he'd been weakened inside an instance, that would have been a real mess.

Something like a Miracle—better not to use it on yourself if you can help it.

Wu Chang looked at his original attribute panel. A special status called "False Miracle" had appeared on it, lasting 10 hours—enough time for him to complete the registration.

Worth mentioning: as a user of the False Miracle, he could choose to end the Miracle proactively. This option let him breathe a sigh of relief; if an emergency arose, he'd still have time to recover his strength.

There was still some time before the core member registration. Skillfully, he entered Crimson Court, renewed his SVIP service, and began getting familiar with his current state.

With his previous experience, he adapted to his new body extremely quickly. In just two hours, he was already accustomed to his weakened state.

To further familiarize himself with his body's performance, he didn't call a ride. Instead, he changed into athletic wear and jogged to the Bureau.

At 10:30, Wu Chang appeared punctually at the entrance of the Fighting Club. He scanned his face to enter and saw Shi Ning, Xiang Jianxing, Zhao Yan, and others already waiting inside.

Besides the few people he knew, Bureau Chief Gao and Lei Huo, along with other senior figures from Wanghai City, were also present.

Meng Yawen had never found the chance to be "accidentally" exposed by Wu Chang. She should have attended, but since she hadn't been exposed yet, it became awkward for her to show up—so she was absent once again.

Before the registration, Bureau Chief Gao and the others offered their congratulations to Xiang Jianxing and Wu Chang on their promotions. Especially Wu Chang—Bureau Chief Gao and Lei Huo wouldn't let him go, insisting they find a chance tonight to drink together and hold a celebration banquet in his honor.

Wanghai Branch gaining one more Explorer was secondary; even gaining one more Investigator wouldn't warrant such attention from Bureau Chief Gao and Lei Huo.

Their regard for Wu Chang came from the fact that he had contributed the most in this Erosion instance. Without him, Wanghai City's losses would have been more than ten times greater.

In Bureau Chief Gao's words, based on this merit alone, at every future Bureau gathering, Wu Chang must be the first to pick up his chopsticks.

After some brief small talk, Shi Ning took out an old-fashioned tape recorder and began the core member registration.

Unlike what Wu Chang had imagined, the registration process didn't require him to actively display his attribute panel, nor was it like the initial formal member recording done via computer to build a file.

Shi Ning simply turned on the tape recorder and had him read out his attributes.

According to Shi Ning, if any part of the attributes was concealed or abnormal, the content revealed in the tape recorder would emit a piercing shriek.

Wu Chang looked at his attribute panel, his throat tightening a little.

Oh no. He'd always told only the truth, never told a lie. If the tape recorder Shi Ning brought out had a lie-detection function, he wasn't sure he could get through it.

(End of Chapter)