Sanctuary Paradise

Chapter 812 Everything is ready
Sanctuary Paradise, Private Room.

[Teleportation complete. The Pioneer has returned to their private room.]

"Phew~ With that, the team skill card issue is sorted out."

Inside the room, Xin Lailai, dressed in formal attire, stepped out from the pale golden teleportation beam, glanced at the 15 golden cards in her storage space, and let out a long sigh of relief.

In fact, he had originally planned to spend three or even five times more to acquire team skill cards, but he didn't expect to get them ahead of time from Sanshui Renyun, which directly saved them several hundred million amusement park points.

"Now I owe Brother Sanshui a huge favor."

"Hmm, by the way, Lai Lai, about that guy named Aheng from earlier, why do I feel like there's something strange about him?"

Xin Lailai sighed, while Ling Yuzi, located in the soul space, nodded subconsciously, then a thoughtful look appeared in his eyes as he muttered to himself.

"Hmm? Lingyu, do you think there's something wrong with that Mr. Aheng?"

Hearing the girl's complaint, Xin Lailai's eyes lit up, and she asked her with some curiosity. Ling Yuzi, upon hearing this, lowered her head, frowned, and thought for a while before suddenly raising her head, her eyes lighting up, and excitedly saying:

"Hmm, let me think... Ah... Lai Lai, I know what's wrong! Ah Heng doesn't seem to have ever been with a woman before?!"

"?"

“Look, that guy named Aheng is so good-looking, and he even knows people from our cult, which means Shanxi should have heard of him too! But his soul shows absolutely no signs of leaking essence. Lai Lai, don’t you think that’s strange?”

"...I think you, Zero, are perhaps a little stranger in this regard, being able to make this connection out of thin air."

"Don't interrupt! Lai Lai, why do you think Sister Shanxi let Mr. Aheng go? Judging from how she attacked Mr. Sanshui, she shouldn't dislike that type, right?"

"I don't know, and I'm not interested..."

"Hey! I get it now, Lai Lai, do you think that Aheng might like men? That explains why he wasn't touched by Sister Shan Xi, and why he would go to such lengths to meet you in public!"

"...Lingyuzi, stop talking. Besides, I think that with Shanxi's personality, if she finds out that the person she's humiliating hates women, it will only make that guy more excited."

"Hmm, that seems to be true..."

Inside the soul space, Ling Yuzi made an enthusiastic guess, his ruby-like pupils sparkling with curiosity. Xin Lailai replied expressionlessly, then silently tossed the other's words into the information garbage heap.

On the contrary, Ling Yuzi, after Xin Lailai pointed out the oversight, nodded his little head thoughtfully, his eyes still showing a pensive look, as if he cared a lot about the truth of the problem.

Oh well, let her do as she pleases...

Seeing this, Xin Lailai's eyes twitched slightly. She rubbed her temples helplessly and didn't bother the other person further. Instead, she focused her attention on the team's skill list in front of her, and took out all the upgrade cards from her storage space.

[Detected that the Pioneer currently possesses 15 Squad Skill Upgrade Cards (Gold Grade). Use/Decide?]

"confirm."

[Confirmation complete, in use...]

[Successfully used. Based on the current squad level, a total of 150000 squad experience points have been gained!]

[The current squad experience points have exceeded 1000. Do you wish to accumulate squad skill points?]

[Confirmation complete, team skill points being accumulated...]

[Gathering complete. Based on the current squad experience, a total of 150 squad skill points have been gained this time!]

A cold notification sound rang out, and as the golden card in Xin Lailai's hand dissipated, the number of team skill points that had previously shown as "0" on her brand interface suddenly jumped to a full "150". Not only that, the three "+" signs that had previously appeared as gray on her team interface also turned into a striking golden yellow.
……

[The Pioneer's current squad has available skill points. Should we allocate and use them?]

[Note: The squad skill "Limited Expansion: LV.1" currently requires 3 skill points to upgrade.]

[Note: The squad skill "Undying Aura: LV.1" currently requires 5 skill points to upgrade.]

[Note: The current upgrade requirement for the party skill "Abyss Adaptation: LV.1" is 10 skill points.]

……

Numerous prompts appeared, clearly and intuitively displaying the upgrade costs of the team's skills. Upon seeing this, Xin Lailai nodded slightly, and without much hesitation, distributed the team's skill points according to the pre-determined plan before pressing the confirmation button heavily.

[Confirmation complete, team skills are being upgraded...]

[Upgrade complete. Current team skill points remaining: 0]

……

【The Return to the Ruins Team】

Team rating: SSS
Team Rank: Tier 3

...

...

Squad Skill 1, Undying Aura (Active/Passive, LV.10): In passive state, when squad members are within 10000m (+9000m) of the leader, they can obtain the "Eternal Aura" buff. This aura has two forms: "active" and "passive".

*被动形态：小队成员生命值提高1000点（+900点），身体防御值提高100点（+90点），移动速度+100点（+90点）。

*Active Form: Once activated, a "Health Distribution" will be performed every 0.1 seconds (minimum interval -0.9 seconds), deducting 1000 health points (+900 points) from the unit with the highest health in the team and restoring 1000 health points (+900 points) to the unit with the lowest health in the team. This effect can be actively set with a distribution threshold and can be freely turned on and off.

*Note: The current squad skills have reached the maximum upgrade limit for the current squad rank. Further upgrades are only possible after the squad rank breaks through to the fourth rank.

Squad Skill 2, Limit Expansion (Passive, LV.4): Increases squad space by an additional 40 cubic meters (+30 cubic meters).

Squad Skill 3, Abyss Adaptation (Passive, LV.10): Each time a squad member is affected by an Abyss Corrosion effect, their Abyss Resistance will be permanently increased. Current maximum increase: 1/10 points (maximum + 9 points). *Note: Because the difficulty of increasing Abyss Resistance increases in stages, this squad skill only applies to Abyss Resistance up to 10 points. If Abyss Resistance exceeds 10 points, the actual increase will be reduced by 50% to 100%.

*Note: The current squad skills have reached the maximum upgrade limit for the current squad rank. Further upgrades are only possible after the squad rank breaks through to the fourth rank.

*Note: Current squad experience: 0/1000 (Every 1000 experience points can be converted into 1 squad skill point, which is used to upgrade squad skill levels)
……

Great, now their squad skills can finally be put to good use!

Inside the room, Xin Lailai looked at the upgraded team skills before her, a look of unusual satisfaction in her eyes.

Of the three squad skills, 'Limit Expansion' and 'Abyss Adaptation' are self-explanatory. The former is a functional skill that every squad needs, while the latter is arguably the core reason why they are so keen on squad skills.

With a maximum of 10 points of Abyss Resistance, it's worth noting that the maximum Abyss Resistance a Tier 3 Contractor can achieve is only 10 points. This means that with just one skill, a Tier 3 Contractor with zero Abyss Resistance can have their resistance in this area maxed out.

Of course, since they have already gained 5 points of Abyss Resistance from the new class template provided by 83203, the maximum improvement this skill can currently provide them is only 5 points.

However, this does not mean that the last 5 levels are temporarily useless. On the contrary, due to the extremely high priority of the permanent buffs of the team skills, once they forcibly max out these 10 points of Abyss Resistance, then according to the rules of the Paradise, the 5 points of Abyss Resistance that overflow will continue to exist on them in a state that is improved but suppressed to the allowable range of Tier 3.

In other words, when they use "Limit Break" to temporarily raise their attribute rank cap to Tier 4, their Abyss Resistance will also rise to 12.5 points. This is definitely a great help to them, since the Abyss Energy Concentration around enemies and environments that force them to use "Limit Break" in expeditions is generally not low.

"Speaking of which, how exactly does the transfer of life energy in the Undying Aura work...?"

After quickly glancing at the skill descriptions of 'Abyss Adaptation' and 'Ultimate Expansion', Xin Lailai shifted her gaze to the last one, 'Undying Aura,' looking at the skill description with a hint of curiosity in her eyes.

In just one second, tens of thousands of health points can be transferred out. If this kind of transfer technology could be used in Crystal Spirit Healing Techniques...

Xin Lailai pondered, a burning glint flashing in her eyes. Her gaze involuntarily drifted to the pale golden mark on the back of her hand, and then—

[WARNING: Aura-type skills are high-level technologies of the Paradise faction. Based on the current imprint rank of the Pioneer, they only have the normal right to use this type of technology. Forcibly analyzing or destroying the Paradise imprint will result in a warning and a deduction of the Holy Land Paradise's reputation points!]

"Tsk, so stingy. He only had the thought for a moment, and he hasn't even made a move yet."

The chilling warning sounded, causing Xin Lailai to purse her lips and mentally complain for a moment before obediently suppressing her thoughts on researching the mechanism of the 'Undying Aura'.

In fact, as an aura-type ability that can only be effective through a notarized system, he had been eyeing its working principle for a long time. However, they didn't have any suitable aura-type skills to research in the past, and the Paradise's control over this area was ridiculously strict, which forced them to put the matter aside.

'Once we enter the area outside the amusement park's notary office, let's see if we can get Little White Number One to examine the underlying code of the Immortal Halo within its imprint.'

Relying on her extensive knowledge of regulations as a pioneer, Xin Lailai skillfully devised a plan in her mind to circumvent the warnings mentioned by the amusement park. She then stopped worrying about the principles of aura-type skills and instead took out the "Soul Cultivation Manual," chanting in her mind:

"Lingyuzi, wake up, it's time to get down to business!"

"Tsk, here it comes! Lai Lai, really, I just had an idea!"

"Never mind... If I let you keep thinking about it, I won't dare to face Lord Aheng directly next time."

"Rui~ I won't listen~! It's all because you keep interrupting me, Lai Lai~!"

Inside the room, the two of them held soul cultivation manuals on either side of each other. Like an old married couple, they bickered with each other while focusing their attention on the soul inscriptions that recorded knowledge from one subject to another. Soon they quieted down, with only the rustling of the pages echoing in the room.

One hour... two hours... three hours...

One day... two days... three days...

In the following days, their daily routine became fixed. Apart from a minor incident where they needed to use a certain human lightning bolt that they had recently tricked in the chess game illusion to efficiently farm the number of times the abyss erosion occurred, they were basically like tireless robots, precisely and efficiently carrying out one repetitive task after another.

Learning, exercising, testing, researching...

Private rooms, training grounds, private rooms, training grounds...

Time ticked by, and their Soul Weaponry level and proficiency in Future Tracing began to improve rapidly under this near-non-stop, high-pressure schedule. And when this monotonous, two-point-one-way lifestyle continued for the sixth day—

[Hint: Upgrade complete. Basic Soul Weapon Skill has been upgraded to LV.30]

[Note: Since the Pioneers have not yet mastered "Intermediate Soul Science", "Basic Soul Weapon Science" can currently only be upgraded to LV.30.]

[Hint: Based on the Pioneer's current specialization in Soulology, the Pioneer needs to...]

……

[Soul Weaponry: LV.30 (Soul Science - Knowledge)]

Proficiency: 0/5000
1. Natal Soul Weapon: Possibly...

...

...

6. Spiritual Weapon Hundred Forging - Soul Casting: A reforging method developed based on "Natal Soul Weapon". By setting up the "Spiritual Weapon Hundred Forging" ritual, the "Natal Soul Weapon" can be reforged, greatly increasing its strength.

*Warning: This reforging method can only be used after your soul strength reaches 100 points or more!
*Warning: After completing "Spiritual Weapon Hundred Refinements - Soul Forging", the "cooldown mechanism" of the Pioneer's current "Fate Soul Weapon" will be greatly changed. Pioneers, please choose to proceed with caution!

……

A deluge of knowledge, accompanied by a cold notification sound, flooded into Xin Lailai's mind. Inside the room, Xin Lailai, who had been working under immense pressure for six days straight, slowly opened her eyes. Looking at the notification popping up at the edge of her vision, she exchanged a glance with Ling Yuzi, who had also opened his eyes. They nodded in unison, without hesitation, and retrieved the 'Soul Hundred Refinement Ritual Array Diagram' from their storage space—a diagram they had prepared long ago and which had cost them a whopping 3.7 million Paradise Points. With a thought, they activated it completely.
boom--! !

In an instant, a tremendous roar exploded from their soul spaces. Their natal soul weapons, located within their soul spaces, trembled violently, unleashing powerful soul fluctuations. They flew out of their soul spaces, floating above their heads, and under the ritual composed of treasures of soul characteristics, they gradually transformed, until finally…

[Notification: Reforging complete! Due to the "Spirit Weapon Hundred Refinements - Soul Forging" effect, the "Fated Soul Weapon - Sword/Shield" effect has undergone a "significant" change!]

……

(End of this chapter)