Chapter 388: The Qi and Fortune Plunderer

The Lake Light badge is a silver, shield-and-sword-shaped emblem.

At its center is set a sapphire, its pale blue hue like lake water, containing a calming energy.

Where the blade of the Lake Light Sacred Sword meets the guard, there is a diamond-shaped recess, perfectly matching the size of the sapphire on the badge.

Wu Chang pried the sapphire from the badge and embedded it into the Lake Light Sacred Sword, as lake light erupted from the blade.

When the lake light faded, a brand-new sacred sword appeared before him.

"Item Name: Eternal Lake"

"Item Rank: A (Growable)"

"Item Description: A sacred sword born from the waters of the Stilran Holy Land; the embedded sapphire reflects the holder's virtue—good and evil thoughts alike manifest upon the blade's edge."

"Item Skill: Perfect Blade."

"Skill Description: A sacred sword blessed by the Lake Maiden of Stilvan; as long as the guardian's conviction remains unshaken, the blade will never break and is immune to abnormal states."

"Item Skill: Sword of Honor and Order"

"Skill Description: When a morally pure individual wields the Eternal Lake, the special state 'Lake Light' is triggered. When attacking a target harming the dimensional order, the sword slays the order-breaker and partially restores the damaged order, proportional to the strength of the Lake Light."

"Lake Light: The extended lake light becomes the blade's edge; the higher the user's morality and sense of honor, the greater the additional damage inflicted by the Lake Light."

"Item Skill: Guardian's Oath"

"Skill Description: The Eternal Lake generates a corresponding oath based on the user's conviction; when the user fights for the oath, the guardian becomes immune to all abnormal states, and the Lake Light gains protective power."

"Item Skill:???"

"Skill Status: Inactive"

"Skill Description:???"

Wu Chang toyed with the Eternal Lake in his hand, feeling the power within the blade.

The Lake Light Sacred Sword evolved from an A-rank item into an A-rank growable item; on the surface, its rank remained unchanged, but the transformation was truly earth-shattering.

A growable item does not mean it can ascend to S-rank—it means it possesses infinite growth potential.

Though the conditions for upgrading a growable item are harsh, and reaching S-rank is nearly as difficult as obtaining a new S-rank item, every growable item has at least the foundation of an S-rank item.

In the Abyss Game, an A-rank growable item is worth at least five ordinary A-rank items—and even at this ratio, it is priceless.

Receiving one A-rank growable item as a reward for clearing an S-rank dungeon is considered overpowered, even for an S-rank dungeon.

His acquisition of the Eternal Lake was likely sheer luck.

While he did not obtain the Lake Light badge while in the Steam Phantom dimension, it appeared on his reward list upon settlement.

The reason lies in his exceeding the main quest two and hidden side quest, as well as his identity as the Grandmaster of the Secret Knight Order, which granted him early access to the Lake Light Sacred Sword.

No other player, even with the same dungeon score, could have obtained the Eternal Lake.

Compared to the original Lake Light Sacred Sword, the Eternal Lake's skill set has been comprehensively upgraded.

First, the skill "Perfect Blade" changed from "the blade will not break as long as its origin remains intact" to "the blade will not break as long as the user's conviction remains unshaken."

For ordinary players, this change is a nerf, since their willpower is far weaker than the origin's.

But for users with high willpower, firm conviction, and compatibility with the Eternal Lake, it is a massive buff.

A regular A-rank item contains little origin power; even against ranked players, it may snap.

But a blade sustained by conviction will not break, even against gods.

The original second skill, "Lake Blessing," was removed and replaced with the new skill "Guardian's Oath."

The "Lake Blessing" skill granted the user greatly enhanced survivability and slight damage increase when near water.

For ordinary players, "Lake Blessing" was the core skill of the Lake Light Sacred Sword.

But for Wu Chang, the boost from "Lake Blessing" was negligible.

As the Deep Sea Origin Seed, a small lake's blessing was far too petty for him.

He did not care about the increased vitality or 20% damage boost from "Lake Blessing"; he valued its immunity to mental abnormal states.

In "Guardian's Oath," this effect was not only fully upgraded to immunity against all abnormal states, but once activated, the previously offensive-only Lake Light gained defensive capabilities.

As long as conviction is strong enough, the Lake Light becomes both the sharpest spear and the hardest shield.

The third skill of the Lake Light Sacred Sword, "Sword of Honor," merged with the "Sword of Order," unlocked only by the King's Badge.

Although the new merged skill lacks the godlike effect of "Sword of Order," which forcibly initiates a fair duel with the target,

the abstract description "restore order" in the skill description suggests its upper limit is extremely high if used at the right moment.

Beyond the three fully upgraded skills, the Eternal Lake also has a high-rank growable item's standard unactivated skill, indicating its current power is far from its maximum potential.

Wu Chang was very satisfied with the Eternal Lake—the only problem was…

He gripped the Eternal Lake and activated its Lake Light.

After a brief pause, the blade glowed with a faint light, illuminating only half a meter around the edge.

The only problem was that while he considered himself a good person, his moral底线 was too flexible to be recognized by the rigid Eternal Lake.

He had saved Stilran, even the entire Steam Phantom dimension, yet the Lake Light he could summon was still only half a meter.

Worse still, though his willpower was immense, his strength served only himself.

He had no unwavering belief worth defending beyond himself—he fought because he disliked certain people, but he would not risk himself for them, let alone sacrifice himself.

This prevented "Guardian's Oath" from forming any corresponding oath within him.

He clicked his tongue. Clearly, only Ailin could truly unlock the Eternal Lake's potential.

Then again, the Eternal Lake's skill set was practically tailor-made for Ailin—just as dungeon difficulty rose, her current "Light of Conviction" had become inadequate and needed replacement.

A Holy Maiden archetype, especially given Ailin's history, truly belongs with a sword.

He sheathed the Eternal Lake and continued with the dungeon settlement.

"Player dungeon score reached Perfect rank. Select one rare item from this dungeon dimension as reward."

"Sword of Kings"

"Prototype of the Mechanical World"

"Zhu Li's Research Notes on Spatial Magic"

Wu Chang had seen the first reward of a perfect rating before—it was Olivia's sword, a symbol of the royal family and the first sacred sword of Stilan, more renowned than the Lake Light Sacred Sword.

The king's sword in the reward was embedded in the body of a lion-shaped mechanical beast lying on the ground, but compared to Olivia's mechanical beast, this one was only half the height and body length of the dungeon's mechanical beast.

The three options of the perfect reward did not differ greatly from each other; considering the other two rewards, the king's sword selected here likely was not an A-rank item capable of growth, like the Eternal Lake.

At most, it was an ordinary A-rank item, plus a miniature lion-shaped mechanical beast.

The lion-shaped mechanical beast in the dungeon was a product built around a difference engine, fused with dozens of supernatural steam cores; even without relying on steam rules to suppress opponents, the mechanical beast was formidable.

Purely in terms of displayed power, excluding any hidden final tools, Leng Shan might not be a match for the mechanical beast. The reward's mechanical beast was likely a fully weakened version, but as long as it retained its simplest functions and a trace of steam rules, it remained an extremely powerful summon.

At least players ranked outside the top one thousand on the battle power list might not overcome the weakened mechanical beast.

If he had obtained the Peacebringer before, he might have been interested in the lion-shaped mechanical beast, but now that he had the Peacebringer, even the original version was crushed under his control—how could he possibly care for this weakened one?

He paused only briefly on the first option before turning his gaze to the second.

The second reward, "Prototype of the Mechanical World," as its name suggested, was clearly tied to Olivia's plan.

Replacing individual consciousness with collective consciousness to reduce conflict among people, thereby creating a perfect world.

Its presence as a reward, listed alongside the king's sword, indicated the plan indeed held some merit.

Given the level of the difference engine, completing this world would be difficult, but he possessed the Omniscient Crystal; combined with the Primordial Spirit Pivot, he might truly be able to construct the Mechanical World.

If he deployed the Mechanical World into Aileen's divine realm, turning it into a rule coexisting with the divine realm,

then every time they spread their faith to a new plane, that plane would fall into absolute order—its humans would no longer have disputes, all becoming a single collective striving to generate more divine power.

It sounded promising, but the method was too bizarre; even if he found the balance point between individual and collective, those altered by this method—due to the loss of self-awareness—would no longer seem truly human.

In psychology, there is a theory called the Uncanny Valley effect: when something is nearly human but differs in only minor ways, it triggers intense revulsion and aversion.

If he truly implemented the Mechanical World plan, every plane he passed through might become a horror-plane.

He disliked this method, and Aileen's charisma certainly did not require it.

Eliminating the first two options, Wu Chang had only one reward left to choose.

He had deeply experienced Zhu Li's aptitude for spatial magic; in the Steam Phantom plane, where spatial magic did not exist, she had mastered it through self-exploration alone and turned it into an art.

He hoped her research notes would give him enough surprises.

"Item Name: Zhu Li's Research Notes on Spatial Magic"

"Item Type: consumable"

"Item Rank: A"

"Item Description: When the player's energy attribute exceeds 150 points, inspiration exceeds 50 points, and they possess Master-level spatial magic, this item can be activated."

"Item Effect: Spend 300,000 Corrupted Silver Coins to elevate spatial magic to Lord-level."

"Note: In the eyes of mediocrities, this notebook is filled with impractical fantasies and delirious ramblings, bringing misfortune or even madness; but to a Master of spatial magic, it is a ticket into the realm of space."

The effect of "Zhu Li's Research Notes on Spatial Magic" was simple and brutal, precisely because of its simplicity and brutality that its power stood out.

In the Steam Phantom dungeon, when Zhu Li settled his hidden side quest, she had already given him a great gift; he had not expected her to keep delivering after leaving the dungeon.

In the Deep Abyss Game, at least in the Wasteland Realm, S-rank not only represented the highest rank but also extreme rarity.

In the Wasteland Realm, cultivation methods with an upper limit of B-rank were already highly advanced; methods capped at A-rank were as rare as hidden classes.

Elevating spatial magic from Master-level to Lord-level meant raising the method's upper limit to S-rank.

S-rank cultivation methods were not much weaker than S-rank items.

He had thought the reward settlement from the basic dungeon was a big windfall, but he hadn't realized the real big one was still coming.

Turning his attention away from the research notes, Wu Chang proceeded to the final part of the dungeon reward settlement: his favorite title draw.

"The player, having achieved a perfect clearance in an out-of-control dungeon (dungeon contamination value > 85) with a level equal to or greater than their own, receives one random title chest."

"The player will only draw titles that meet the prerequisites."

Wu Chang quickly skipped the prompt and fast-forwarded to the title wheel.

His mastery of the Steam Phantom plane far exceeded the dungeon's design limits; this title draw, like previous ones, was destined to shimmer with golden light.

"Title: Soul Reaver"

"Title Acquisition Requirement: Defeat more than one Plane Child within a single dungeon, causing the transfer of the Plane Child's fate."

"Title Description: Every person is born with a destined fate and corresponding fortune; by plundering another's fortune, one may steal their fate. One need not be chosen by the plane to become a Plane Child."

"Title Effect: Wearing this title grants the player a hidden attribute: Fortune. Each time the player takes an action that alters the dungeon's overarching trend, or defeats a key figure burdened with fate within the dungeon, they gain a portion of Fortune. Upon defeating a Fortune Child, the player may assume their position as the plane's Fortune Child."

"Each entry into a dungeon requires starting Fortune from zero; at dungeon settlement, 10% of the Fortune gained within the dungeon becomes permanent Fortune."

"Fortune: Fortune is destiny and luck; the higher one's Fortune, the higher one's luck, the greater the chance to uncover the plane's secrets, and the higher the probability of receiving the plane's protection in danger, turning misfortune into fortune. Current permanent Fortune: 5."

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

Unlike other colorful talents, the "Soul Reaver" title, according to its description, was a growable title.

Bearing the "growable" label in the Deep Abyss Game often meant superiority; regardless of how practical Fortune's effects proved, this title held great potential.

Moreover, the title description mentioned one point: if he defeated a Fortune Child, he could seize the Fortune Child's identity.

The hallmark of a Fortune Child was the ability to influence plane rules using their root force.

Recalling how Xavier and Olivia activated the Steam Root, causing other players' abilities to be restricted, if he could master this ability, it would be more useful than authority when facing large numbers of low-level enemies.

He looked back at the TV wall in the settlement space, which replayed everything he had done in the Steam Phantom dungeon.

The walkthrough process and rewards left him thoroughly satisfied; the only regret was that, following Zhu Li's decision, he had stopped Olivia's Mechanical World plan without fulfilling Schultze's resentment.

【Without relying on any gods or higher-dimensional beings, decide humanity's future through human will alone.】

He had thought letting Zhu Li's will determine the fate of the Steam Phantom plane would satisfy the condition of Schultze's bloody last words, but the result showed the judgment was far stricter than its literal meaning.

He did not know whether it was because he used divine power during his intervention against Olivia, or because stopping the Mechanical World plan could not be counted as deciding humanity's future.

He took out the Omniscient Crystal, trying to make it give him an answer, but the Omniscient Crystal, having fully replenished its energy and entered recovery mode, could not comprehend his Transcendence talent and thus could not provide an answer.

Sometimes, having too high a level of ability isn't necessarily a good thing.

Since the Omniscient Crystal could not answer it, he set aside Schultz's resentment and waited for a better opportunity to try again.

As Wu Chang left the settlement space and returned to the Crimson Courtyard, a prompt floated before his eyes.

"Player ID 4444444, successfully completed the qualification dungeon. Your completion rank in the qualification dungeon is within the top ten thousand of all players who completed the qualification dungeon. Awarded special item: Dungeon Access Pass."

As the prompt appeared, Wu Chang's hand now held a white invitation.

On the cover of the invitation were written his player ID and his completion rank for this qualification dungeon.

The rank listed on his invitation clearly read: 1.

Opening the invitation, he saw:

"Dear NoBeef, your completion rank in the qualification dungeon is first place. You have been invited to participate in the World dungeon."

"This invitation is bound to your soul. Non-transferable, non-tradable, non-rejectable."

"Ensure you are within the Crimson Courtyard when the countdown on this invitation expires."

"Due to your outstanding performance in the qualification dungeon, you have been granted early access permission. You may enter the World dungeon 36 hours ahead of its official opening. During this early access period, you will receive the Blessing status: you will suffer no damage unless you initiate an attack."

"Note: The World dungeon is of high difficulty. Prepare thoroughly before entering."

(End of Chapter)