Chapter 319

If previously the Miracle Walker had set a trap to help Wu Chang acquire the Omniscient Crystal, allowing Wu Chang to overlook past grievances and believe the Miracle Walker truly understood human nature.

Now, by delivering this Divine Pillar capable of supporting a large Divine Nation, it was more than enough for him to declare the Miracle Walker his eternal deity.

Setting aside the grudge formed with the Light Society, his greatest current concern was the excessive erosion of the real world, which was being absorbed into the Abyss Game.

The Omniscient Crystal had previously told him the solution to stopping or mitigating the Abyss's erosion of the real world.

To gain a sliver of chance, one must obtain three Pillars of the Real World and their corresponding temporary administrative permissions for the Wasteland Realm, along with the faith power of at least three realms, to construct a large hidden Divine Nation.

The greatest obstacle to securing this sliver of chance lay in the method of constructing a large Divine Nation—and the Miracle Walker had directly delivered the answer to this most difficult question.

Compared to the Omniscient Crystal, which spat out answers like toothpaste after consuming a bit of Primordial Spirit Pivot, the Miracle Walker's understanding of human desires and fulfillment of wishes seemed more like true omniscience.

The Miracle Walker's grasp of human desires was nearly mind-reading; Wu Chang feared that if she wished, she could even read his bank password.

Fortunately, he had no real interest in Grace, or else even a fleeting thought would have given her leverage.

If she could read his desire to build a terrestrial Divine Nation, how could she possibly misjudge his sexual preferences?

Grace's transformation into that form was surely intentional—he had nearly fallen for her con.

Wu Chang sighed at the treachery of human nature and exited the settlement space.

Upon leaving the settlement space, his experience points converted into level.

Player nickname: NoBeef.

Player level: 30 (29560/-)

(44560/15000) — (29560/-)

After completing seven dungeons, Wu Chang finally reached level 30, arriving at the endpoint of the Wasteland Realm.

Although the phrases "finally" and "seven dungeons" sounded odd together in the Abyss Game, for Wu Chang, the time spent on seven dungeons felt longer than the four years of university he had wasted.

After reaching the Wasteland Realm's level cap, his level did not rise further; instead, a prompt appeared before him.

"Player 4444444 has reached level 30. Deepening Ascension Evaluation initiated."

"Player's average dungeon exploration rate in the Wasteland Realm: 100%; average dungeon rating: Perfect."

"Player's comprehensive rating in the Wasteland Realm: Perfect."

"Based on comprehensive rating, player receives 10 Transition Dungeons. Transition Dungeons grant 20% additional output and reduce dungeon difficulty by 10%. Unused Transition Dungeons will accumulate and activate in the Rational Realm."

"After Transition Dungeons are exhausted, if a max-level player remains in the Wasteland Realm, dungeon rewards will be reduced to 60%, and dungeon difficulty will continuously increase."

"After reaching max level, excess experience points cannot be accumulated; instead, they convert to free attribute points at a rate of current experience points divided by 1000. If a player's total attribute points exceed 300, the Dimension Ascension Dungeon will unlock."

"Detected: Player's current total attribute points: 866. Dimension Ascension requirement met."

"Player must initiate the Ascension Dungeon within three dungeons. If deadline is exceeded, Transition Dungeons will be temporarily sealed."

Wu Chang stared at the 29,000 experience points converted into free attribute points, falling into brief silence.

From the system prompt, he understood that upon reaching level 30, players would not immediately unlock the Ascension Dungeon—they must first exceed 300 total attribute points to meet the requirement.

Before that, players enter a transition phase, continuing to enter dungeons in the Wasteland Realm like ordinary players, but dungeon experience converts to free attribute points at a 1:1000 ratio.

However, this did not mean max-level players could indefinitely linger in the Wasteland Realm; after a brief transition period, dungeon rewards would decrease by 40%, and encountered dungeon difficulty would keep rising.

In the Silent Passage dungeon, Wu Chang had encountered several players clearly beyond the current level—apparently, these players had lingered too long in the Wasteland Realm and were matched into Real World dungeons.

Only a super-player like the Painter, with immense strength and abundant gear, could hibernate in the Wasteland Realm for five years.

Over five years, assuming 24 dungeons per year, even if the Painter completed every dungeon with a passing rating, he could accumulate 360 extra attribute points.

This was outright a numbers monster.

In contrast, the Rational Realm's threshold was 300 attribute points—just like his own, a similar three-digit number.

Having confirmed the Ascension threshold, his next challenge was allocating attribute points.

He currently had 39 free attribute points; how to allocate them was a dilemma.

Pouring all into Inspiration would be enough to meet the activation requirement for the Virtual-Reality Interface.

But the problem was: would his second class change bring a qualitative leap to his current combat power?

He took out the Commoner's Poison, cleared the Dungeon of Cursed Fate, and absorbed the dungeon's erosion core, bringing accumulated energy to 15/50.

He was still far from his next draw of Lyman's Power.

The Root Knight's mutation into the Discord Knight occurred because class change and power draw happened simultaneously—he could not be certain whether separating the two would still allow fusion of power and class change.

If you don't know, ask—luckily, he had a living search engine in his inventory.

After signing a one-way soul contract with the Omniscient Crystal, he gained deeper insight into it.

The soul contract it demanded was, in essence, identical to the Miracle Walker's fusion—a method for deeper Abyss entities to die and be reborn.

After signing the soul contract, its relationship with Wu Chang resembled that between the Miracle Walker and Amber: mutual equality.

But after being manipulated by the Miracle Walker into signing a one-way soul contract, it became dependent on Wu Chang, forcing it to meet certain demands of his while unable to draw power from him.

In short, the current Omniscient Crystal was an incomplete form, capable of only about 15% of its full power—it still could not answer overly complex questions, but the benefit was sufficient safety.

However, for Wu Chang, this incomplete form was enough.

He told the Omniscient Crystal the details of his Discord Knight class change, then asked:

"If I complete the class change first, then draw Lyman's Power, can I still trigger the second-class mutation?"

This level of question posed little burden on the Omniscient Crystal, which had absorbed the "Gift of the Miracle Walker."

After brief contemplation, it replied:

"If the right opportunity arises, or sufficient Primordial Spirit Pivot is available, there is a probability the second class change will fuse with the Power—but overall, the probability is far lower than when both occur simultaneously."

Wu Chang sighed. He had grown accustomed to the sole hidden class change; if his second class change was merely an ordinary hidden class, it was better to wait for the right moment.

Given this, nearing the World Dungeon, he decided to first allocate attribute points to boost immediate combat power, then reserve points for Inspiration after the World Dungeon.

Among his current attributes, Agility and Endurance were clearly weak—he first added +15 to Agility and +9 to Endurance, bringing both to 70 points, then allocated all remaining 15 free attribute points to Strength.

Before he could consider his next move, a meeting request from Hou Jingchuan popped up on his attribute panel.

The meeting location remained the business space officially operated by the Crimson Courtyard.

When Wu Chang arrived, Hou Jingchuan was brewing tea; from his movements, he seemed more anxious than last time.

Seeing Wu Chang arrive, Hou Jingchuan first pushed a cup of tea toward him; after drinking two sips, he couldn't help asking:

"I want to know why you didn't fully break the instance."

Wu Chang's performance in the instance had already been reported to Hou Jingchuan by the Negotiation Master, and he also learned that Lin Jiang had been killed by Wu Chang.

But one thing troubled him: the Misfortune-Infested instance had indeed left the Wasteland Realm, but unlike Wu Chang's previous cleared instance, it did not degrade into an ordinary Wasteland Realm plane—it ascended to the Rational Realm.

The Misfortune-Infested instance was broken, but not cleanly.

If Lin Jiang still had a hidden card and could use the ascended instance to transfer the highest authorization to the Light Society, everything would be ruined at the last moment.

Wu Chang slowly sipped his tea; before answering Hou Jingchuan's question, he asked:

"This isn't urgent—where's my reward?"

Hou Jingchuan clenched his fists; not urgent? What could be more urgent?

He suppressed his anger and ultimately said nothing harsh; it was too late now—whether it succeeded or failed, nothing could be changed.

Even if Lin Jiang truly had a backup plan, angering Wu Chang now would only add one more enemy.

He handed Wu Chang twenty million Federal Credits face-to-face, then said:

"Selecting A-class consumables requires five more days."

Wu Chang asked: "Why?"

Hou Jingchuan sighed helplessly: "The Superbank of the Four Organizations is the most heavily guarded place. We're inviting you to enter it in reality—do you dare go?"

Wu Chang had been about to say yes, but then thought better of it and remained silent.

Hou Jingchuan continued: "During these five days, we need to gather the items and synchronize them into the Abyss Game; then you won't need to risk yourself in reality—you can retrieve them through the Crimson Courtyard."

Hou Jingchuan paused, locking eyes with Wu Chang, and said: "This is our sincerity."

Wu Chang shrugged and said: "I've felt your sincerity."

He opened his personal space, slammed the highest authorization of the Four Organizations onto the table, and pushed it toward Hou Jingchuan.

Hou Jingchuan stared at the highest authorization before him, his mouth slightly agape, speechless for a moment.

Killing Lin Jiang and seizing the highest authorization from Lin Jiang's hands—these were two tasks of entirely different difficulty.

The core of the Abyss Game is evolution and exploration; it does not encourage player-versus-player killing. Unless Lin Jiang actively opened his personal space and retrieved an item, no item could ever be "dropped" by killing him.

If items could be looted by killing players, the notorious plague organization wouldn't be just the Ironclad Clan.

Hou Jingchuan looked up at Wu Chang, his eyes filled with suspicion—how did this guy manage it?

Coercion? Bribery? Or the legendary ability to completely control another's mind?

Or perhaps his cheat ability allows him to loot equipment by killing players.

Thinking of this, Hou Jingchuan's breathing grew rapid.

If this man possessed the ability to control players or loot from kills, his abnormal growth rate suddenly made sense.

Wu Chang paid no attention to Hou Jingchuan's mental whirlwind; he finished his tea and asked:

"Is there anything else?"

Hearing Wu Chang's question, Hou Jingchuan snapped back to reality and remembered another matter: "According to our estimates, the Light Society won't give up after this failure—they'll strike in the World instance. With your strength, you'll definitely join the World instance—can we cooperate again then?"

Wu Chang set down his cup and offered a professional smile: "We'll see how sincere you are then."

After leaving the business space, Wu Chang did not return to reality—he directly entered the Silent Passage Realm.

The last time he left the Silent Passage, Wu Chang, accompanied by Ailin, had toured Gao Mu Country while simultaneously wiping out minor religious groups with competitive power.

Through physical-level faith wars, they nearly turned Gao Mu Country—a museum of cults—into a graveyard of cults.

Combined with Ailin occasionally revealing divine miracles when passing her own church, and backed by endorsements from political and business elites, Yongguang Sect Sect had become the national faith of Gao Mu Country.

Under the immense power of faith, when the two entered the realm again, they felt the warmth of home—as if heaven and earth welcomed their arrival.

Ailin sensed everything around her, her eyes brimming with wonder.

Though born in the Wasteland Realm and exploiting its loophole to manifest her divine form there,

due to her overwhelming power, she could only avoid being suppressed by the Wasteland Realm—she could not make it cease rejecting her.

But with faith power, the more powerful she became, the more the Silent Passage Realm rejoiced, feeling no threat from her strength.

This was the power of faith—a force capable of altering realm rules to some degree.

The first stop for the two upon returning to Gao Mu Country was Tan Mountain, the nation's sacred site.

They went to Tan Mountain, home of the Second Divine Nation, rather than the terrestrial Divine Nation at End Sea, because of the nature of religious propagation.

As an external or emerging religion, the most direct way to take over local faith was through fusion and reshaping.

In simple terms: "claiming kinship."

This tactic had been demonstrated many times by the elders of Blue Star for Wu Chang and Ailin—for example, turning the pagan festival of Saturnalia into Christmas, or Osiris's resurrection festival into Easter.

Even in Gao Mu Country, nine out of ten cult leaders claimed blood ties to Gao Mu—another form of fusion.

Such an effective method, Cui Chengze would never let slip.

In his rewritten mythology, to help Ailin integrate into the local framework, he gave her a new identity.

The founding god of Gao Mu Country was Tan Jun, the illegitimate son of the Creator God Heng and a she-bear; Ailin, however, was the Creator God's true daughter, making her Heng's elder sister and Tan Jun's aunt.

Tan Jun inherited his sacred mountain from his father Heng; since Ailin was Heng's elder sister, it became perfectly logical that Tan Mountain should be under her control.

Through this maneuver, Gao Mu Country's original sacred mountain was quietly transformed into the sacred mountain of Yongguang Sect Sect.

Coupled with Yongguang Sect Sect's nationwide popularity, it silently absorbed all of Gao Mu Country's faith.

With Tan Mountain now the sacred mountain of Yongguang Sect Sect, all faith in the sect converged here, making the Second Divine Nation—as an extension node—surpass the terrestrial Divine Nation at End Sea and become the new core of faith.

Tan Mountain became the sacred mountain of the Yongguang Sect Sect, and the faith of the Yongguang Sect Sect converged in this place, causing the Second Divine Kingdom, which served as an extension node, to surpass the earthly Divine Kingdom at the End Sea and become the core of faith.

Entering Tan Mountain's interior and standing at the center of the Second Divine Nation, Wu Chang took out the Omniscient Crystal and asked how to build a large Divine Nation using the Tree of Divine Miracles.

Entering the interior of Altar Mountain and standing at the center of the Second Divine Kingdom, Wu Chang took out the Omniscient Crystal and asked how to use the Tree of Miracles to construct a large-scale Divine Kingdom.

The Tree of Miracles was related to the Miracle Walkers clan. When a question concerning it was raised, the Omniscient Crystal was clearly a little emotional, but still answered:

"Plant the Tree of Miracles at the center of the Second Divine Kingdom, and it will spontaneously construct the Divine Kingdom."

Wu Chang placed the Tree of Miracles at the core node of the Second Divine Kingdom. Just as the Omniscient Crystal had said, before he could even activate it, the Tree of Miracles came alive on its own and actively drove its roots into the ground.

An endless stream of faith power poured into the Tree of Miracles, causing it to grow at tremendous speed. From its original miniature form of twenty to thirty centimeters, it grew in the blink of an eye to over ten meters tall, pressing against the ceiling of the cave on Altar Mountain.

The faith power flowed upward along the golden veins in the bark, gradually spreading to the treetop.

Rustle, rustle, rustle.

The treetop swayed slightly, and a soft rustling sounded in Wu Chang and Aelin's ears.

Along with the sound from the treetop, the two of them saw the crown of the Tree of Miracles pierce the cave ceiling and continue growing upward.

Their gaze rose along with the Tree of Miracles, their field of vision shooting straight up into the sky, through the clouds, and finally even piercing the atmosphere.

From a perspective drifting in the universe, they saw a colossal tree burst through the planet, its enormous canopy enveloping the entire world.

Even the legendary Pillar of Heaven in White Jade could not compare to the Tree of Miracles' present form.

At this moment, the Tree of Miracles became a true World Tree in every sense.

Before the two could take in this sight properly, their vision swiftly returned to the inside of the cave. The crown of the Tree of Miracles before them was still pressed against the inner ceiling of the cave — it had not actually broken through the mountain and shot out past the atmosphere.

What they had just seen seemed as if it were all an illusion.

But the two could be certain that none of it was an illusion. The pillar of the Divine Kingdom that had soared into the sky was immense on the level of faith, not in physical size.

The pillar of the Divine Kingdom was in place. Next, it was its turn to link together the various places of worship.

This time, as the holders of the Divine Kingdom, the two of them followed the roots of the Tree of Miracles as they extended downward, piercing into the ground as if stabbing into the void.

Guided by the faith within the roots and treetop, following the faint murmurs of prayer in the unseen, the roots darted through the void like giant serpents.

Any plane where Aelin's faith had once been left behind, as long as a single believer remained, would be found by it.

The roots successively entered the Quiet Town's Brifo Island and the Midnight Graveyard's holy city of Selina. The tips of the roots pierced into the ground, constructing a bridge woven from roots.

As long as the faith within a plane did not cease, the roots of the Tree of Miracles would serve as a fixed planar passage for the two to travel to that plane. Entering a plane through the roots was equivalent to entering a past instance.

Wu Chang had always been unable to figure out how organizations of believers like the Church of Serenity managed to send people stirring up trouble across various planes, with believers permanently stationed in each instance causing mischief.

If it were a prop for shuttling between instances, the cost would be far too steep. Even if an evil god could hand-craft such shuttling props, they could not produce so many of them.

Looking at it now, their method of entering instances should have been the fixed passages constructed from faith power.

It was just that the evil gods like Lehmann had their Divine Kingdoms built deep within the Abyss, and their large-scale Divine Kingdoms were larger than theirs, with a broader sphere of influence.

Because the Tree of Miracles needed to use faith as a medium to link the various planes, some planes — even though they were Wu Chang's private planes — could not be directly connected by the Tree of Miracles' roots.

Wu Chang needed to bring Aelin into that plane first and gain at least one believer before the Tree of Miracles could connect with that plane.

These planes included the Sanctus Corporation and Underground Shelter No. 88.

The Sanctus Corporation was not much of a problem for Wu Chang. Apart from anything else, the moment he announced that everyone who joined the Yongguang Sect Sect would be promoted and given a raise, the Sanctus Corporation's employees would instantly become Aelin's believers.

But Underground Shelter No. 88 — thinking of the shelter's true master, He Yun, Wu Chang instantly broke out in a cold sweat.

Oh no, it seemed he had not yet prepared himself.

(End of this chapter)