Chapter 278: Beginning the Harvest of Faith

The "Hot Topics of Each Issue" was forcibly cut off, so Wu Chang left the Crimson Courtyard directly; he did not linger long in Yanjing, immediately boarding a flight back to Wanghai City.

He did not care about what changes the Administration would undergo, nor did he intend to interfere.

He had already delivered the intelligence at the earliest opportunity; the Order Faction within the Wasteland Realm Administration held a dominant position—if they still could not control the situation under these circumstances, then the Order Faction was nothing but mud that could not be raised to a wall.

Getting overly entangled and acting as their babysitter was far less worthwhile than using this time to enhance himself.

One's own fate must ultimately be held in one's own hands.

While his True Self returned by flight, Wu Chang's physical body in Wanghai City began preparing for the next Instance Dungeon.

The Brocade Guild was very astute; upon seeing the small line of text posted on "Hot Topics of Each Issue," they immediately sent him 100,000 Rotten Silver Coins.

Wu Chang greatly appreciated the Brocade Guild's straightforwardness, yet he was also curious—who was the hidden boss behind this guild, and what exactly did they intend to do?

The Brocade Guild belonged to an elite faction; before using him to promote itself to the outside world, it had remained obscure, known only to a small number of players specializing in bounty missions.

Even the Administration, based on the intelligence Wu Chang could currently access, mentioned this faction rarely, let alone the player forums.

No one knew who the boss of the Brocade Guild was, who its members were, or how large its scale truly was.

People only knew that many real-world billionaires backed the guild, that it had extensive connections, and that it never lacked money.

A small faction with unlimited funds—this setup seemed unproblematic at first glance, but it did not hold up under scrutiny.

The advertising fees the Brocade Guild had spent on Wu Chang alone already exceeded 200,000 Rotten Silver Coins—how many antiques would they need to recover to make back this advertising cost?

If they spent so much money on just one person, and if their true goal was indeed to collect antiques, then the total Rotten Silver Coins spent on acquiring antiques must amount to tens of millions.

Aside from special items like the Omniscient Crystal, antiques authenticated by the Abyss Game were genuine antiques—beyond their appearance, they held no value whatsoever.

Wealthy individuals spending 30,000 to 50,000 Rotten Silver Coins to acquire a few pieces for display was normal, but the market for this niche would never be large.

Judging from the current situation, the Brocade Guild seemed to be searching for something specific, using antique collection merely as a cover.

But if that were true, the Four Major Organizations should have noticed them long ago and launched investigations against them.

Wu Chang stared at his True Self's player name, his eyes filled with contemplation—his top donor had a rather mysterious identity.

Yet a world Instance Dungeon was imminent; both the Wasteland Realm and the Rational Realm would undergo dramatic upheavals—under such turbulent tides, even the deepest-hidden big fish would surface.

He believed it would not be long before he could establish contact with his top donor.

Wu Chang looked at his account's 200,000 Rotten Silver Coins and silently thanked his gold daddy, then turned his gaze to his attribute panel and selected to upgrade Spatial Magic.

"Spell Name: Advanced Spatial Magic"

"Spell Rank: C"

"Spatial Magic can be upgraded by spending Rotten Silver Coins or absorbing spatial attribute spiritual items; this spell can be upgraded to a maximum of A-rank."

"Upgrading this spell to B-rank requires 120,000 Rotten Silver Coins."

Unlike the Thunder Spell Fragment, which increased in power without additional cost through fusion, the original Spatial Magic, whose upper limit was A-rank, was extremely expensive—even with the resources he gained from consistently perfect clears, he could barely afford it without his top donor's support.

This was the disadvantage of solo players: even if they lucked into powerful spells, they lacked sufficient resources to upgrade them.

"Upgrade Spell."

As 120,000 Rotten Silver Coins vanished, Advanced Spatial Magic upgraded to Master-level Spatial Magic.

Upgrading from C-rank to B-rank triggered a qualitative transformation—this stage of upgrade did not directly increase attributes, but made the spell fully become the player's own ability.

When the Thunder Spell Fragment upgraded from C to B, Wu Chang truly acquired a cultivation method; the same applied to Spatial Magic.

Upgrading Spatial Magic to Master-level granted him complete mastery over the spell; when using it, he was no longer bound by skill cooldown restrictions.

During the Advanced Spatial Magic phase, he could only perform spatial displacement via long-distance teleportation; whether he carried ten people or none, regardless of distance, once activated, it required a one-hour cooldown.

In short-range, one-on-one combat, it could only serve as a one-time surprise tactic, not a conventional offensive method.

But now, his long-distance teleportation skill evolved into Teleport: maximum carrying capacity increased to 20 people, maximum range extended to 30 kilometers, and he could now return cooldown time through his own teleportation method.

For example, when he used it alone and the distance did not exceed one hundred meters, the Teleport cooldown was only fifteen seconds.

In intense combat, a fifteen-second cooldown was not short, but it was sufficient to serve as a regular offensive and evasive maneuver, greatly enhancing his combat mobility.

The original skills within Spatial Magic also changed: the bonus of "Efficient Spatial Utilization" increased to 1000%; the Inner World became more resilient, gaining spatial lockdown effects—once dragged into the Inner World, ordinary spatial escape items would lose their effect.

In addition to the upgraded old skills, Master-level Spatial Magic granted a new ability.

"Skill Name: Spatial Folding."

"Skill Description: You have touched the true essence of spatial transformation; you can freely alter an object's spatial position by stretching and folding space. Range: 100 meters; maximum folded space: 10 meters; cooldown: varies with usage intensity, minimum 15 seconds."

"Note: When used in the Inner World, Spatial Folding is amplified by Efficient Spatial Utilization."

Leveraging his mastery of Master-level Spatial Magic, Wu Chang quickly understood how to use Spatial Folding.

Spatial Folding was an advanced form of Teleport, effective for both offense and defense; when used on a small scale, it not only achieved short-range teleportation effects but could also affect both enemy targets and his own attacks.

Used properly, it could make his attacks unpredictable and impossible to defend against.

Only by mastering Spatial Folding could one truly be said to directly influence space, rather than merely exploiting spatial rules.

Spatial Magic was excellent, but its cost was exorbitant.

Upgrading to the next rank—Grandmaster-level Spatial Magic—required consuming 200,000 Rotten Silver Coins.

Money, whether inside or outside the Abyss Game, was always insufficient.

In truth, if Wu Chang wished, he could easily raise a large sum of Rotten Silver Coins in a short time by selling just two pieces of equipment.

He had studied the market through the trading platform's display page and player forums, understanding the value of equipment at all levels.

The items in his possession were obtained from high-difficulty Instance Dungeons nearing uncontrolled collapse, accumulating far more Abyss Corruption than average items of the same tier.

Not even mentioning the highly promising growth-type equipment, even A-rank items like the Golden Wang Zuo and the False Divine Miracle—if he listed them on the auction house—he could easily fetch several hundred thousand, even over a million Rotten Silver Coins.

If he listed his growth-type equipment or the Wood Carving of Wuqu Star Lord, a type of A-rank consumable, he could easily exchange them for several million Rotten Silver Coins.

But the effects of the items in his possession were all unique; Rotten Silver Coins could be earned again, but once these items were gone, they were truly gone.

Even he could not easily obtain similar items in a short time.

Trading away one-of-a-kind items for temporary profit was less wise than waiting two or three more Instance Dungeons to gradually accumulate wealth.

After upgrading his spell, the next step was to allocate free attribute points.

After the Saint Song Company Instance Dungeon, his level increased by four, reaching level 28.

There are two paths for allocating attribute points: one is to put all points into Inspiration, rapidly stacking it to 200 to meet the activation condition of the Virtual Reality Interactor.

But the risk of this build is that even if he reaches max level and puts all free attribute points into Inspiration, he still won't reach 200—he must bet on finding enough Blood Testament in the next Instance Dungeon.

Not only must he find many, he must find them fast; otherwise, even if he accumulates enough, he won't finish his second class transformation before the World Instance Dungeon.

The second path is steady and methodical: allocate attribute points to his weaknesses.

What determines how much water a barrel can hold is its shortest plank, not its longest.

His current strengths are already long enough, but many of his attributes are unimpressive even among max-level players, even disadvantageous, dragging down his overall performance.

After some thought, he ultimately chose the second option.

The Knight of Discord is sufficient in the Wasteland Realm; his second class transformation isn't urgent. Besides, along his journey, he never deliberately allocated points—Inspiration and Will naturally stacked to their current values. Adding points now feels like wasting attributes.

In the end, he converted his 20 free attribute points into 1 point of Life, 7 points of Strength, 7 points of Agility, and 5 points of Endurance.

Wu Chang's final attribute panel was:

Player Nickname: NoBeef.

Player Level: 28 (9810/14000)

(45810/11000) (34810/12000) (22810/13000) (9810/14000)

Title: Perfectionist, Breakthrough Master, Truthwalker, Blasphemer, Titan.

Class: Knight of Discord

Life: 75

Strength: 75

Agility: 50

Endurance: 56

Energy: 146

Inspiration: 162

Will: 226

Free Attribute Points: 0

Corroded Silver Coins: 87750

Skills: Mamba Iron Elbow, Firearms Proficiency (Skilled), Social Anxiety, Elite Stealth, Iaijutsu, Martial Arts Beginner, Master-Level Mechanical Driving, Twin Synchronization.

Cultivation Techniques: Thunder Art Fragment (a), Master-Level Spatial Magic (b).

Items: Dawn's Weight Hammer, Favor of the Goddess of Luck, Poison of the Commoner, Soul-Purifying Banner, Four-Sided Flame Lamp, Saint's Mask, False Miracle, Golden Wang Zuo, Woodcarving of Wuqu Star Lord, Unlimited Personal Live Stream, Mind Resonance, Virtual Reality Interactor, Plague Seed, Survivor's Revenge, Omniscient Crystal, Disguise Mask.

Talents: Transcendence, Misfortune, Ocean Kin Transformation, Miracle Guide, Solidify the Void.

After allocation, Wu Chang's lowest Agility and Endurance both exceeded 50—combined with Breakthrough Master, his attributes were no weaker than other max-level players' secondary stats.

When his shortcoming also surpasses other players' strengths, his build will be perfected.

Wu Chang turned his attention back from the attribute panel to reality, opened the door, and stepped out of the Inner World's bedroom, looking at Erin sitting on the sofa watching a movie.

Since gaining full human emotions, Erin had become obsessed with all kinds of films and TV shows, lost in them utterly.

If not for her innate virtue demanding self-discipline, left unsupervised, she might have become a couch-bound, binge-watching goddess.

Wu Chang cleared his throat softly, drawing Erin's attention. "Young Lady Erin, would you like to take a walk with me?"

Erin smiled. "Sure, to the shopping street?"

Wu Chang shook his head. "Too close. I'm taking you somewhere no one will find you, where you can move freely."

Erin realized. "Another dimension?"

Wu Chang snapped his fingers. "Clever."

Erin's expression dimmed—perhaps she was thinking of the dimension she once inhabited.

Wu Chang assumed she was homesick, but Erin glanced at the laptop in front of her and asked quietly, "Does that dimension have electricity?"

Wu Chang clicked his tongue in annoyance and replied:

"Yes. And the place we're going specializes in mindless emotional dramas—side characters, car crashes, incurable illnesses—guaranteed to let you binge till you're satisfied, immersive experience of what 'life isn't worth it' means."

Erin blinked. "When do we leave?"

Wu Chang shrugged, pulled out a tablet, and said, "Now."

!

He opened the video folder on the tablet, found the file named "Thank You Letter from the Star Leap Survivors," and played it.

As the video played, a system prompt appeared before him.

"Player is opening the fixed portal to Wasteland Realm—75236."

"Note: This is a Past Instance Dungeon. Upon entry, the time flow ratio between Past Instance Dungeon and reality is 1440:1. Each day spent inside consumes 100 Corroded Silver Coins. If balance is insufficient, you will be forcibly expelled from the Instance Dungeon dimension."

"Enter this Past Instance Dungeon?"

The Instance Dungeon Wu Chang intended to enter was the Silent Passage.

Erin gazed at the tablet, watching Li Yubin speak with deep emotion about missing Wu Chang, her tone melancholy:

"I feel the atmosphere you described."

Wu Chang pretended not to hear. "Enter."

With a flash of light, Wu Chang and Erin appeared in a colorful corridor, its end featuring two doors, each with a screen above displaying a scene.

The left scene showed the harbor from when they first entered the Instance Dungeon; the right scene showed the End Sea, where Erin's terrestrial divine realm was established.

This entry into the Silent Passage Instance Dungeon was to gather the Faith Power required by the Omniscient Crystal, so Wu Chang chose the harbor as the entry point.

Pushing through one door, Wu Chang and Erin passed through a pure white light curtain and appeared on the harbor.

"Player's previous identity detected in this dimension. Player may freely switch between current identity and previous identity."

"Current available identity: Li Zaishi."

Wu Chang raised an eyebrow; the Abyss Game was surprisingly considerate, preserving the identity he had used as a True Traveler and allowing him to switch freely.

Gao Mu was a conglomerate state; with Li Zaishi's identity, harvesting faith would be much easier.

Since he could assume Li Zaishi's form, perhaps starting from the surface world would be far more suitable than the harbor.

He checked the weather forecast—it was perfect timing. Gao Mu's coastline was overcast today, with fog, and heavy rain was expected tonight.

This weather was perfect for what he intended to do.

He brought Ailin to the rocks beneath the harbor cliff, set up a mystical ritual to amplify his abilities, and, leveraging Ailin's divine realm power, combined the two to construct an altar.

He stood behind the altar and activated the Water Thunder technique from the Five Thunder Art.

Among the Five Thunder Art, Water Thunder governed thunder and rain, summoning wind and rain.

Water Thunder was both a thunder and water technique, benefiting from the amplification of his Oceanic Kin transformation, and when combined with the altar's power amplification, it enveloped the entire Gao Mu coastline within the reach of Water Thunder.

As Wu Chang activated his ability, the already dim sky suddenly darkened, black as spilled ink.

Wild winds arose without warning, churning the sea into violent waves.

Crack!

A massive thunderbolt, root-like in shape, blazed across the sky, as if tearing a gash in the clouds, unleashing the rain trapped within—drops merging into a curtain of water.

In less than two minutes, the weather shifted from slightly gloomy to apocalyptic.

People at the harbor screamed and fled indoors, trembling behind glass as they watched the world outside.

Those left at the harbor were already this terrified; the situation of ships still at sea was unimaginable.

Heavy rain and strong winds were forecast near the harbor today; vessels with poor storm resistance should avoid attempting to dock and instead follow safe routes to detour toward more distant ports.

But some captains stubbornly refused to believe it, convinced their ships were fast enough to reach port before the storm hit—like the Valo.

But sea weather changes like a child's face—sudden and unpredictable. It was still early evening, the clouds hadn't fully formed, yet the storm arrived without warning.

Seeing the raging winds and towering waves, veteran sailors pulled out statues of the Sea General and began worshiping, hoping to appease the sea's wrath.

Captain Hong Youze's voice remained calm as he gave orders, but the hand holding his cigarette trembled violently, shaking off ash before it could even accumulate.

He had sailed for twenty years and had never seen such a bizarre storm—the waves rose like those of a young man raised on meat, eggs, and milk, impossibly high. The last time he felt this way was before setting sail, when he met his neighbor's second-grade son.

The boy still had baby fat on his face, yet he was already half a head taller than him—absolutely a monster.

Hong Youze shook off the fear of height disparity and turned his gaze to the far more terrifying towering waves before him.

Behind the ship, a wave over fifteen meters high surged toward them, moving too fast to evade.

Oh shit—even a large cruise liner wouldn't survive a wave like that.

The first mate's trembling voice came from beside him: "Captain, what do we do now?"

Hong Youze crushed out his cigarette and said calmly: "Notify everyone—say your goodbyes to your families. Don't type. There's no time."

The first mate nodded. The captain's decisions were always reliable. Normally, he'd praise him lavishly—but now, he needed to save time to leave more final messages.

The wave was less than a hundred meters away. As the crew wept and cursed while saying their goodbyes, the howling wave suddenly calmed—as if soothed by an invisible hand.

"Did the Sea General manifest?" one veteran sailor whispered, disbelieving.

"Yes—it must be the Sea General!"

"Quick, record it!"

"A miracle!"

The veteran's claim was met with widespread agreement; crew members switched to recording, capturing the moment the massive wave calmed.

As the wave was halfway subdued, the sharp-eyed first mate stared at the screen, zoomed in with two fingers, and shouted: "Look! Isn't there a person on top of the wave?"

Everyone turned to look—and there, standing atop the crest of the wave, was a figure. Beneath his feet was a crude wooden raft, as if he were surfing the wave.

Golden light flickered behind him, faintly resembling feathers. Where the light passed, wind and rain ceased, and the waves calmed.

The crew held their breath, afraid to speak, fearing that if they did, they'd realize the Valo had already sunk—and what they saw was merely a dying hallucination.

The massive wave reached the Valo and vanished completely—as if its sole purpose had been to deliver the man upon it to shore.

The wooden raft settled gently on the sea surface, barely rocking. The man on it called out: "Throw down a rope!"

His tone was commanding, arrogant—but the crew felt it was only natural.

They threw a rope. He grabbed it with one hand and nearly ran up the ship's hull.

Watching the young man with three-panel clothing leap onto the deck, a crew member asked the veteran sailor: "Does the Sea General's statue look like this?"

The veteran shook his head.

The young man before them didn't resemble the Sea General—but he looked strangely familiar.

Captain Hong Youze shuddered, suddenly remembering something: "Are you Li Zaishi, the CEO who went missing at sea over twenty days ago?"

Wu Chang nodded: "I am."

Now the crew remembered—the man before them was none other than Li Zaishi, who had saved the Star Leap with his exceptional leadership, then tragically fell into the sea trying to rescue others.

For his actions, the Gao Mu government had declared him a Great Gao Mu Hero. At his memorial, even the president attended and delivered a eulogy.

Reports about him had flooded the nation; no Gao Mu citizen was unaware.

Surviving alone at sea for over twenty days, plus having just ridden the wave—there was only one possible explanation.

Li Zaishi had been protected by the Sea General.

Thud.

The crew instantly dropped to their knees. Sailors trusted the Sea General above all else; to witness a miracle, how could they not bow?

Besides, they owed their lives to him.

Feeling faith flowing toward a direction it shouldn't, Wu Chang immediately spoke to stop their delusions:

"Don't misunderstand. The deity who protected me these past days, who carried me across the sea on this raft, is not the Sea General—it is a deity named Eternal Pure Light."

(End of Chapter)