Chapter 190: Origin Knight? Dispute Knight!

"Job Change Evaluation: You used the flesh of a deity to complete the final step of the job change ritual; the deity's flesh granted you a trace of divinity, giving you the potential to transcend humanity and rise above the mundane world."

"You have completed all job change tasks. Overall job change evaluation: Perfect!"

"You forged your anchor in the real world using the deity's terrestrial divine realm, allowing you to face the fundamental laws of world operation without losing your sense of self."

"You perceived the true essence of the Mystic Knight, refining the impure mystical pollution into mystical origin, completing the existence of the Mystic Knight."

"Using the deity's flesh, you forged a perfect job change; the deity's mastery over energy unlocked for you the true key to controlling the mystical."

"You have job-changed into a special hidden class—Origin Knight."

As the success notification appeared, Wu Chang's vision blurred, and the blue sky, white clouds, sea surface, and shipwrecks vanished one by one before him.

All material existence gradually disappeared before his eyes, revealing the fundamental laws underlying matter.

In a daze, the world became an empty space, and he stood within it, feeling his consciousness stretched infinitely; no one needed to tell him—a piece of information naturally appeared in his mind.

Here, then, was the origin space composing the Wasteland Realm.

Within the origin space, he felt no up or down, no left or right, no inside or outside; he felt only that he and the space were one and the same.

He was the origin, indistinguishable from it.

The dissolution of this "I" is profoundly terrifying to any sentient being.

Merging the delicate, fragile consciousness of a human into the vast consciousness of the entire world easily leads to being swept away and quietly erased.

Like a tsunami crashing against a rocky shore, a single dewdrop—though both are water—how can it remain unmoved amid the tsunami, waiting until the tide recedes and it still lingers in place?

But the anchor Wu Chang established in the real world during Job Change Task One successfully preserved his consciousness, ensuring that even without the concept of "I," he would not be assimilated by the origin space.

Within the origin space, he saw countless brilliant lights; each light represented a component of a world rule.

Countless rules intertwined to form the countless planes of the Wasteland Realm—the source of all supernatural powers.

The lights before Wu Chang quickly dwindled to only one.

It was the purple representing mysticism.

When he precisely captured that shade of purple, the entire origin space turned mystical purple; the next instant, his mind felt as if someone had stuffed into it an encyclopedia of Wasteland Realm mysticism.

He felt only an instant had passed, yet he understood everything about mysticism.

Contacting the fundamental rule grants understanding of its corresponding knowledge.

The instant Wu Chang discovered this truth, he wished to seize this opportunity and observe more rules.

Unfortunately, the origin space gave him no such chance; the moment he mastered mysticism, his consciousness was ejected from the origin space and returned to the real world.

As his consciousness returned to his body, his eyes snapped open, and his hand slowly opened, then clenched into a fist.

In this simple motion, he felt a tremendous new power within him.

Is this what they call, "Knowledge is power"?

"You have job-changed into an Origin Knight. The mystical origin's transformation of your body has erupted at this moment: your Strength increased by 20 points, Energy by 30 points, Inspiration by 10 points, Willpower by 20 points."

Oh, so it's just the attribute bonus from job change success. No problem then.

"Having entered the origin space and encountered the mystical origin, you have unlocked your job change talent—Mystical Mastery."

"Talent Name: Mystical Mastery"

"Description: Your existence is the origin of mysticism. You may directly touch mystical energy, bypassing all mystical tools to construct or modify mystical consciousness using pure energy."

Wu Chang looked at the job change description; the talent he gained was the reward from his time in the origin space.

With Mystical Mastery, mysticism in his hands became a "black box."

Other mysticism users—whether apprentices or masters—must study mysticism arrays, follow mysticism rules, and apply expert techniques to successfully construct a mysticism ritual.

But he was different: he only needed to know what ritual he required, then expend sufficient energy—Mystical Mastery would automatically generate the corresponding ritual.

For example, if he returned to the Star Leap now and wished to alter the terrestrial divine realm ritual.

He would not need Cui Chengze's help, nor Ma Jia's preliminary modifications; he only needed to intend changing the deity targeted by the terrestrial divine realm to Ailin, and expend sufficient energy—the ritual would alter itself.

As a mature job change talent, Mystical Mastery automatically resolves any technical difficulty.

Of course, this was not without limits.

First, the most obvious limitation was energy: only if Wu Chang provided sufficient energy could Mystical Mastery function.

Second, his mastery of mysticism was confined to the Wasteland Realm level.

Facing mysticism rituals from the Abyss's second layer or higher, his talent might not work.

Even so, within the Wasteland Realm, his existence was a dimensional downgrade against all other mysticism users.

If the Ritualist encountered him again, they would suffer terribly.

Besides the Mystical Mastery talent, he gained three job change skills.

"Skill Name: Eye of Dispelling"

"Skill Effect: Within your same level, no mysticism holds secrets. You can swiftly perceive all mysticism rituals under the same level of world rules."

"Skill Note: Having witnessed the mystical origin, you now understand everything!"

Wu Chang sensed that the effect of Eye of Dispelling was also shaped by what he gained in the origin space.

The essence of Dispelling lay in the knowledge added to his mind after witnessing the mystical origin.

That knowledge was the sum total of all mysticism research and understanding from countless planes of the Wasteland Realm since the birth of sentient life.

It was too vast; with his current cognitive capacity and brain volume, he could not possibly receive it. Even if he tried, he could not finish one ten-thousandth of it in his lifetime—and even if he quantum-read it all, the content would explode his brain.

In other words, the knowledge from the mystical origin now merely resided in his mind; he could not actively use it, but could passively receive its gifts.

Externally, this manifested as Eye of Dispelling.

Whenever his eyes observed a mysticism ritual, the mystical encyclopedia in his mind transmitted the corresponding true-structure knowledge to him.

Alone, Eye of Dispelling required a certain threshold to comprehend and utilize this knowledge.

But combined with his passive Mystical Mastery, it instantly completed analysis and replication.

The terrestrial divine realm ritual he had once seen, and the mobile mysticism arrays used by the Ritualist—he could now perfectly replicate them if he wished.

Skill Name: Melee Wizard

Skill Effect: Who says physical strength is useless to mystics? Your Strength stat now amplifies your energy-based damage skills, with amplification equal to your Energy stat.

Skill Note: As a Mystic Knight, charging and close combat are essential mandatory lessons.

Undoubtedly, the Melee Wizard skill originates from the Mystic Knight itself.

In the Moonlight Sanatorium dimension, Mystic Knights do not possess the innate talent of Mystical Control like Wu Chang, nor do they have the Breaking Magic Eye to rapidly master mysticism.

Their combat style, as the skill name suggests, is that of wizards skilled in close combat—a style that naturally evolved into the Mystic Knight's exclusive skill.

Skill Name: Knight Never Dies Empty-Handed

Skill Effect: Once your Energy is fully restored, excess Energy forms a sturdy energy shield on your body, capable of storing up to three times your maximum Energy. When your Energy is depleted, you may spend stamina and endurance to convert into Energy.

Skill Note: Powerful knights fear neither traps nor ambushes, nor do they falter from lack of weapons or Energy. No matter the situation, they always possess the strength to subdue their foes.

After completing his class transformation, without accounting for the Breakthrough Master's bonus, his Energy had already reached 86.

A shield three times his maximum Energy was like carrying a shell of immense thickness.

This energy shield would make even the neighboring Gorgon weep with envy; give you the Holy Sword, and you should guard the World Tree shattered in three paths. The three class transformation skills granted to the Root Knight suited Wu Chang perfectly—mechanics and numbers alike.

In short: no flashy tricks—just max out Strength and Energy!

The class transformation talent, plus the three transformation skills, had already left Wu Chang thoroughly satisfied.

But how could a powerful hidden class be without its most crucial ultimate move—transformation?

Even Lei Hu's Thunder Warrior and Hearing Zhanghuo's Fire Saint could transform; his higher-quality Root Knight had no reason to lack an ultimate.

Ultimate Skill: Root Knight

Skill Description: Fully unleash the root power within your flesh and blood, briefly transforming into a constantly collapsing Root Knight. In Root Knight state, all your stats double, and you rapidly absorb ambient energy through root power. Simultaneously, the divine spark latent within you is awakened, transforming you into a demi-god. Cooldown: Two instance dimensions.

Demi-God: Damage dealt to non-divine beings increased by 10%. Damage received from non-divine beings reduced by 20%. Immune to most status effects. When afflicted by status effects, their duration and potency are reduced by 30%.

Note: Only those who have witnessed the root of all things realize the insignificance of mortals.

Gazing at the demi-god on his stat panel, Wu Chang clicked his tongue—could only say his three perfect evaluations in the class transformation quest were not wasted.

Whether this Root Knight transformation could surpass Xiang Jianxing's Sword Cultivator, he could not yet determine.

!

After all, Sword Cultivators ranked among the top ten even in the second layer of the Abyss, and though both were hidden secondary transformations, crushing Xiang Jianxing's current Sword Sect transformation posed no real problem.

Cui Chengze sensed Wu Chang had completed his transformation and was the first to congratulate him: "I sense the essence of mysticism on you—you've obtained the power you sought."

Wu Chang smiled and said: "I owe this to you. Without your earlier help, things might not have gone so smoothly."

This was sincerely spoken—if not for Cui Chengze's aid, even if Wu Chang had completed his second transformation quest and achieved perfection, it would have been hard to reach the exceptional level he attained.

Moreover, discerning the true nature of mystical corruption and purifying it into the source of mysticism relied entirely on Cui Chengze's assistance.

Though Cui Chengze hailed from Gao Mu's mythology, he bore the bearing of a celestial master from the ancestral realm. He smiled and said:

"This trial you've gained is your own fortune. Even without me, you would have eventually attained it—I merely accelerated your progress slightly."

"Compared to you saving every passenger aboard the Star Leap, eliminating two foreign evil gods, and utterly eradicating the evil god remains beneath the deep sea, I, an old man hiding among the wrecked ships, can only do trivial things."

As Cui Chengze spoke, he pointed to another ritual beside the transformation formation. Wu Chang cast a single glance, and his Breaking Magic Eye immediately recognized it as a bloodline awakening ritual.

Yet he could not replicate it—the key component was Cui Chengze's divine essence infused with dragon qi.

Mystical Control could only simulate energy within the Wasteland Realm; divinity was far beyond its scope.

Cui Chengze said: "I sense you're about to leave this place. Before you go, I can still offer you one final favor."

Wu Chang entered the bloodline activation ritual. As Cui Chengze activated it, Wu Chang's muscles writhed rapidly, bones screeched with sharp friction—as if something within him was awakening.

The bloodline awakening drove his internal power into furious motion, accelerating his energy cycle, which urgently required vast external energy.

The flesh of the evil god remains within the ritual became the source of this energy.

The desiccated tentacles visibly shrank, decomposing into primal bloodline energy that merged into Wu Chang's body.

Wu Chang's body swelled like an inflated balloon, transforming into a mound of flesh—his torso's bulging muscles nearly engulfed his head, forming a colossal muscle egg.

Crack.

When the evil god flesh had been consumed by eight or nine tenths, a crisp snapping sound rang from Wu Chang's body—clean and sharp as the first bite into a freshly fried chicken.

As the sound of skin splitting echoed continuously, the skin of Wu Chang's muscle egg state kept cracking open.

Soon, his entire skin peeled away completely, and from within the muscle egg surged a massive black serpent, thirteen to fourteen meters long.

When the Sea Serpent transformed, Wu Chang's upper body remained human; now, after bloodline awakening, he had become pure giant serpent—though he retained his amphibious trait, and could still perform partial transformations at will.

The serpent left the formation, slithering into the sea; viewed from above, it resembled a black dragon.

After bloodline awakening, his transformation evolved from mere Sea Serpent into "Abyssal Giant Serpent."

Meanwhile, outside the wreck zone, Zhen Wo—who had been waiting alone in a lifeboat—suddenly swelled, bursting the lifeboat apart.

After the explosion, a giant over one hundred twenty meters tall, his back covered in scales, emerged from the sea.

Zhen Wo's Whale Transformation, after bloodline awakening, became "Sea Giant."

Such immense size made even the ocean's largest blue whale seem like a small fish before him.

Clearly, after bloodline awakening, his Ocean-Favored transformation had transcended its original marine biology, evolving into a mythic fantasy species.

Wu Chang's true body and Zhen Wo were preparing to fully experience the power of their new transformations—when a prompt appeared before them: leave the instance dimension.

After completing the main quest, he could remain in the instance dimension only for a limited time—he must depart now.

Before leaving—no, before leaving, he still had one thing to do.

He reverted from Abyssal Giant Serpent to human form, reached out, and summoned a massive Erosion Core from the wreck zone, catching it in his hand.

This Erosion Core contained a full 3.0 energy points.

But he could not use it just yet.

"Clearing A-Rank Instance: Energy Points Accumulated: 1.5."

Wu Chang took out the Poison of the Mortal, and the item's stat panel displayed:

"Current accumulated energy: 10/10."

Hiss.

As the accumulated energy bar filled, the spike in the Venom of the Mortal's socket suddenly thrust forward, piercing straight through the embedded Eye of Leman embedded within it.

Click.

The sound of mechanical turning rang out, and from the surface of the spike that had pierced through the Eye of Leman, dense clusters of tiny spikes extended once more.

These spikes frantically absorbed the energy of the Eye of Leman, and within a few breaths, the Eye of Leman vanished completely.

Wu Chang had an inspiration, and put the Venom of the Mortal on his body. The instant the Venom of the Mortal pressed against his chest, a spike extended from the back of the pendant, stabbing into his chest.

A force far vaster than the previous class change and bloodline awakening poured into Wu Chang's body.

The third layer of the Abyss, the Void Realm.

Inside a colossal temple, Leman, his entire body shrouded in mist, was roaring as if in impotent fury.

"That damned madman again — don't let me catch you, or I'll kill you a thousand times over!"

Leman had roared halfway when, suddenly, a soul-deep searing pain shot from his left eye socket. He felt that part of his authority belonging to him was being stripped away by something unknown.

Someone was stealing his power.

The mingling of agony and fury made his roar even more deafening.

"Ah! And that damned mortal too — I'll kill him ten thousand times, and it still won't be enough!"

Inside the Sunken Ship Belt, after the vast power was poured in, a line of prompt popped up before Wu Chang's eyes.

"The Venom of the Mortal, through the left eye of the evil god Leman, has seized part of his authority."

"The authority seized is — the Authority of Chaos."

"The Authority of Chaos has brought you tremendous energy. Your Energy attribute increases by 20 points, Inspiration attribute increases by 15 points, and Will attribute increases by 15 points."

"The player has obtained the Authority of Chaos. An unactivated divine seed has been detected within the player's body; the divinity will fuse with the authority."

"Your class — Root Knight — has undergone a mutation under the influence of the Authority of Chaos, transforming into the unique class — Knight of Strife."

(End of this chapter)