Chapter 326

Unfortunately, no matter how firmly Ji Ming refused, the situation was that the small account couldn't be opened, so the next step couldn't be carried out.

To avoid causing disaster to the whole world and not to destroy the established plan, I can only crouch in a Faraday cage like an emperor sitting on a golden toilet, just like a hamster running with only a ball.

So he also had no choice but to compromise, going to the Production Team and everyone in the council to get related technical data for the small boss to study, then watching it fuse various materials together into a brilliant divine light that enveloped him.

The ceremony was personally handled by the small boss, so everything went smoothly. Soon, the prompt 【Divine Status: Sovereign of All Living Beings (Sealed)】 appeared in the lower-right corner of his vision, followed by a gold and a black light emanating from his body, intertwining and slowly rotating in midair.

【Alright, go get it, this is your second form】

「Ah, do I still have to draw cards? 」

This kind of behavior that could very well bankrupt one's family made Ji Ming instinctively resist, so he first asked himself conscience-wise and tested his fortune with an ominous luck test.

Who would have thought that the subconscious, which usually reacts a little bit day-to-day, had no reaction at all this time—if Ji Ming hadn't also asked about some trivial matter, like whether tomorrow's 'I and the Hundred-Ton Rock Beauty Maiden from My Neighboring Village' would update normally, he would have seriously doubted whether his luck had quietly gone offline.

「It's over, looks like the situation is rather complicated. 」

He hesitated for a moment, could hesitate no longer, and finally could only touch the light ball with slight apprehension.

And at the instant his fingertip made contact, the two beams of light immediately stopped rotating and began to converge in his hand.

The ethereal light gradually took shape, solidified, and became a clear, tangible object that could be felt; after the brilliant light dissipated, what appeared there was a ……

「Holy shit! 」

Ji Ming let out a startled cry, his finger trembling and almost losing his grip, because hanging in his palm was a rather beautiful crown.

The dark gold intricate pattern guarded the black semi-transparent crystal; the asymmetrical design increased the visual impact—if a laurel crown is simple and natural beauty, then this is the epitome of luxury and technical prowess, a rare treasure worthy of a king's pride.

But the problem is that it's too exquisite and too small; the overall style reminded Ji Ming of those secret videos he used to sneak a peek at as a child, which would embarrass him to the point of wanting to crawl under the bed if discovered.

Believe me, by now you've guessed it—yes, it's the magical girl genre that seems aimed at little girls but actually excites little boys and even grown men.

Feeling the malice lurking in the shadows, Ji Ming gave it a hard twist twice and found, as expected of a treasure packed with potent material, it was really quite sturdy.

「So how do I use this thing? 」

【It should probably be worn on the head】

「Which……? Ah, no, I'm just a bit too nervous; let me think it over first. 」

If I activate the second form, I will become a being possessing hypnosis, brainwashing, moral degradation, common sense alteration, time stop, forced emotional electric shock, etc., with the ability to produce various special mental and energy potions and to alter others' physique appearance and organ function, my charm so high that I can ignore looks, tear my face off and still wear a paper bag as an otherworldly bulldozer—my whole body slippery, staring with big eyes, looking quite white-toothed, a tentacle monster……

Oh, I forgot to mention, there are also skills like 【Mastery of Long-Handle Weapons】, 【Mastery of Wind Instruments】, and 【I step on horse social security】—individually they seem nothing, but combined they're terrifying upon reflection.

【Uh, it does sound really strange, but I told you about this long ago, didn't I? The origin of all these skills is your own influence; I can't be blamed】

「……」

「Skills are skills, character is character! 」

「Some people develop hypnosis apps to do evil, while others develop them to create an all-in-one anti-fraud app! 」

「Don't fear weapons; owning and using them are two different things! 」

Like self-hypnosis, after muttering a few lines, Ji Ming put on the crown and instantly felt something like mud flowing through his whole body, and then……

「I don't want to look; tell me, do I currently look American-style or Japanese-style? 」

【Uh, how to put it… we're just saying… it's kind of like taking a swim in oil】

「What? 」

Ji Ming couldn't help but open his eyes and look, discovering that what met his sight was not writhing tentacles, nor a three-foot floating mass of flesh, but a human body and legs, merely covered with a layer of black and gold substance, like wearing a tight-fitting suit.

「Holy cow, I actually still look somewhat human? 」

He quickly opened his panel again and found that the second form had not separated from his main body; on the contrary, it was an addition to the original foundation.

Everything originally available remains usable in this state, causing no adverse effects—in fact, it brings many benefits!

First is the 【Sovereign of All Living Beings】 Divine Status; relying on a higher rank and the Eyemonster physique, he finally managed to absorb it smoothly, and after lifting the seal, there was no uncontrolled lightning leakage—it has completely become part of his power.

Then there is the power of shadow, since it is directly obtained from Wendigo's divine incarnation, so according to the purity and rank of energy, Ji Ming has objectively become an existence of the Shadow God-Chosen tier, and due to the existence of the Zhen Shen divinity, Wendigo cannot establish any connection with this God-Chosen, and is even completely unaware of this God-Chosen's existence.

……Therefore, their guess was not wrong, the Lord of All Living Beings is indeed usurping divinity, but what is being usurped may not be the Holy Light God, but rather their old goat's divine position; however, strictly speaking, Ji Ming now has three Zhen Shen-level divinities, and it is no surprise that this little rickety stool they cobbled together is just that.

Next is the race that has been replaced from 【Pureblood Human】 to 【Eye Demon】, correct, logically speaking, Ji Ming should now be a large eyeball floating in midair, with many slick tentacles.

And the reason he hasn't turned into that form is first because his true second profession 【Alchemist】 differs from his peers; all the theoretical foundations Ji Ming has learned so far come from that mad alchemist Edgar, and the information obtained from his subordinates is mostly related to the mysteries of the human body, so his alchemy specialty is 'Life and Flesh'.

Second, because the shadow power exists in almost every inch of this body, its greatest feature is being able to expand and shrink like a shadow at will; thus, with theory and superstructure coexisting, Ji Ming gains the ability to reshape his body according to his will.

In other words, this shadow-eye-demon body is just a lump of plasticine; for now, he unconsciously kneads the eye demon's appearance into the shape of Ji Ming, but if he wishes, he can also take on many other forms.

【Awesome!】

「No way! 」

Besides these skills, as an eye demon adept at mind magic and an alchemist who gains intelligence with each level, Ji Ming's intellect in his current form has directly broken through the 400-point threshold thanks to the dual boost from both.

If we return to the moment before the great change happened in Sunlight City, relying on such high intellect and the combined use of 【Suggestion Technique】 and the eye demon's talent, he would probably only need to gather everyone for a meeting, clasp his hands together and say one sentence.

「Everyone is good friends, no fighting allowed. 」

Then one can enjoy the happy scene of various big shots setting aside their disputes and grudges, sitting together and cheerfully playing drop-the-handkerchief.

「Wow, no wonder I feel like the cartoons I watched as a child are now vividly before my eyes; it turns out I already possess such astonishing wisdom? 」

After looking at this new panel, Ji Ming also considered the practical significance of his second form; the God-Chosen Ji Ming is meant to be a great benevolent of the order side, eloquent and good at debate, with wide sleeves skilled in dance, able to say a few words to anyone—that is the proper positioning for this identity.

But some people in this world are obviously incapable of speaking nicely, so we need an identity with sufficient great strength, dedicated to doing dirty and tough work, to let those benefactors who refuse to listen to the Great Accomplishment Buddhist Dharma feel the poor monk's fists and kicks.

So……

Donning a black robe with a big question mark on the back, Ji Ming also put on that question mark mask, adjusted his figure in front of the mirror, making himself into a burly man whose arms can run horses, whose fists can support a person standing on them—in short, looking nothing like a God-Chosen.

This black-and-gold patterned attire, paired with the floating crown above his head, greatly resembles the antihero character from superhero comics; just standing there exudes overwhelming aura, enough to scare players into hastily checking their potion supplies, which surely matches their impression of the powerful image of the novice village boss, the Mysterious Merchant.

Thinking of this, Ji Ming suddenly realized that although he had built the Soul Spirit Tower as a dungeon specifically to torment players, he himself seems to have not personally pressured them for a long time.

Thus, in the next moment, amidst a flash of lightning and thunder, the Mysterious Merchant, who had been offline for a long time, reappeared, descending before the gate of the high tower castle.

The high-level players who had just undergone a tense and fierce night in the Soul Spirit Tower were still resting in their respective bases; upon hearing the news of the Mysterious Merchant's appearance, they didn't wait for their mana to naturally replenish to relax, but drank a bottle of mana potion and hurriedly teleported to the high tower castle.

For new players, they definitely want to go and watch this NPC who has persisted from the closed beta to the open beta—just mentioning his name makes players tremble—

But for veteran players, this wave is——

Come back, Mysterious Merchant, my most proud belief;

The hatchet remained vivid in my hand, and tears flowed inexplicably.

I vaguely recall the sting in my palm, and there was also an effective shield.

We drove back all the bosses, and even staying up all night wasn't tiring.

"Is the difficulty not enough yet? Why hasn't the mysterious merchant in this trench been deleted yet? What a cyber psoriasis!!"

They, already psychologically scarred, hurried to the front of the crowd and discovered that today's novice village boss seemed somewhat different.

"What's so different about it? Did he eat protein powder as a meal?"

"How did his physique get so huge? Even the governor would feel inferior and have to push the lever two extra times!"

And the floating crown on his head—Constance, who daily fantasized about shuttling between hell and heaven, was instantly struck with shock.

"Demon! This is absolutely a pure demon!"

Having said that, she drew an extraordinarily mysterious magic circle in midair and was about to unleash a bombardment at Ji Ming.

"Whoa, what kind of magic is this?"

Ji Ming knew that after the public test, many talented individuals had flooded into the game, just like the True Qi Nurturing Body Technique of the Heaven-Swallowing Fire Splendor sect; their abilities could hardly be gauged by anything existing in Yangyue World.

So, to maintain his prestige as the novice village boss, he didn't dare get overconfident and directly countered with a bolt of lightning.

But the public test had only just begun five days ago—how much strength could this bunch of gifted players possibly have? Thus, while that lightning bolt cleaved the magic explosive unimpeded, it also struck Constance with a single bolt.

Although it didn't instantly kill her, she was sent flying seven or eight somersaults with crackling sounds, then slammed face-first into the ground.

"Ah, senior!"

Although this girl is a nutcase in reality—so weird that even dogs shake their heads at her, and she's addled her brain reading manga—her strength in this game, where the crazier you are the stronger you get, is absolutely not to be underestimated!

To be reduced to this state by a casual strike from that blackguard, the Mysterious Merchant 3.0 must have gotten another power boost!

But seeing one of their own suffer a crushing defeat at the boss's hands, the other superpowered individuals couldn't sit still; one, holding a shield and with bitter tea on his head, leapt up and shouted loudly.

"Father-Worrying Ones, assemble! Everyone, charge together and annihilate the demon!"

If seeing the senior fall flat on her face left Howard feeling shocked, then hearing the White Eagle Captain deliver such an infectious speech turned his feeling into awe-struck terror.

"Come on, that's all they've got—why are you still thinking of rushing in blindly?"

But it was already too late to intercept; he could only stare blankly, face full of bewilderment, as the superpowered individuals rushed out chaotically, and unintentionally locked eyes with the gaze coming from the Mysterious Merchant.

"... It seemed to say, 'Thanks for your hard work—taking care of all these nutcases must not be easy, right?'"

Howard instantly felt his nose sour, but before tears could well up in his eyes, he saw his superpowered battle team collapse in an instant.

Whether it was a mage with a thousand-year legacy, a martial artist empowered by Eastern mystic power, or a high priest from some Mesoamerican tribe, none of them were a match for the Mysterious Merchant 3.0 in a single exchange; under that endless thunder, only a real-world world‑class boxing champion managed to withstand a second strike.

But that was only two moves—after relying on his mighty physique to endure two thunderbolts, he was paralyzed from head to toe, unable to move, and could only be roasted to a fragrant crisp in the next wave of attacks before bowing out.

Watching that devilish muscle man fade away, Ji Ming actually felt a twinge of regret—had he been too harsh? He'd taken them out in just two or three moves; who else would dare to cross him now?

But the facts proved he underestimated the players' initiative, for the Father‑Worrying Ones Alliance had just fallen, and Fan Taozhu stepped out from the crowd.

"Spear‑blade! Why can't this starry sky do anything? Come with me—let's also rush up and touch the tiger‑skin drum!"