Master Changsheng

Chapter 133, Section 131: The Road [Please Subscribe and Vote]

"Sixth rank?"

Milton heard this question.

He pondered for a few seconds, shook his head, and then nodded.

His "riddler" demeanor left everyone puzzled.

Before Ankai could urge him, Milton spoke up on his own initiative:

"In the [Spirit Empowerment Secret Realm], I saw a record about Spirit Empowerment. It said that Spirit Empowerment is a fifth-level but not quite a fifth-level, and at the same time, it is a sixth-level but not quite a sixth-level."

"It is a level between the fifth and sixth tiers."

"Your Highness Wayne, is there no record of this in the royal family? The patriarch of the Shak Kingdom was a genuine professional above the fifth rank."

Milton looked at Wayne, who was recording the events. Wayne gently shook his head: "The ancestor disappeared a hundred years ago, taking with him all the royal family's records regarding those above the fifth rank, and leaving behind a single sentence..."

"One sentence? What sentence?"

The first to speak was neither Milton nor Ankai, but Widow Wang…

Her eyes gleamed, as if she were anticipating what Wayne would say next.

Wayne didn't keep them in suspense any longer and continued, "The Ancestor said... we've gone down the wrong path of Spirit Empowerment!"

"Wrong way...wrong way..." Widow Wang kept muttering this phrase, her expression becoming increasingly agitated...

It was only when Hanks gently nudged her that Widow Wang realized she had been somewhat out of line…

Then, embracing Hanks's old face and ignoring everyone present, she kissed him on the lips with a "pop".

Ankai observed everything about Widow Wang without reacting.

He knew that Widow Wang had a secret.

When he learned that Widow Wang was a hidden fifth-tier professional, he guessed that Widow Wang had a secret.

However, he never asked, because An Kai knew that if Widow Wang could keep this matter a secret, it must be a troublesome matter.

Unfortunately, what he hates most is trouble.

So it's become like this today: if you don't tell me, I won't ask, and I'll pretend I don't know.

Hanks tried to speak several times, but Ankai stopped him with other words, not because he didn't want to listen to Hanks' story.

Rather, it's better for Widow Wang to say the truth about such matters, which could very well be a matter of life and death, herself. For example, she could explain why she's called "Widow Wang"...

Wayne's response startled Milton, who had just successfully been imbued with a spirit...

"Did we take the wrong path on the path of spiritual empowerment?"

"Did the patriarch of the Shak Kingdom also enter the [Spirit Empowerment Realm]?"

Did he point out what was wrong?

Why did we go to the wrong place?

Milton, as if in disbelief, strode over to Wayne and began asking questions.

Unfortunately, his inquiry was met with Wayne calmly shaking his head.

"He disappeared a hundred years ago, taking all the information about spirit empowerment and the fifth rank and above with him."

"Otherwise, why would my father be stuck at the fifth rank and unable to advance?"

"Furthermore, not only in our Shak Kingdom, but throughout the entire desert encompassing the seven kingdoms, have you heard of anyone being granted spiritual power or reaching the fifth rank or above in the past hundred years?"

Milton was taken aback, suddenly realizing that being imbued with a spirit wasn't such a pleasant experience...

"Oh? According to Wayne, Milton, you're the first spirit-wielding professional in a century!"

"Excellent! You truly are the pillar of our kind family!"

Ankai approached Milton, seemingly oblivious to Wayne's concern about "spirit empowerment," and gently patted Milton's shoulder to encourage him.

If Wayne hadn't said so much five minutes ago, Milton would have been happy to accept it.

Hearing Wayne talk so much about spirit empowerment, especially the phrase "no one will be empowered in the next hundred years," Milton felt a chill run down his spine...

He gave a dry reply: "Thank...thank you, sir."

Wayne's words were like a bucket of cold water poured over Milton's head, and not only him, but also the remaining eight fifth-tier professionals besides Widow Wang and Malken.

My heart sank.

It should be noted that the patriarch of the Shak Kingdom has always been a legendary figure in this region.

Even though he disappeared 100 years ago, his legend still lives on in this region.

This legendary figure said that the path of spirit empowerment was wrong, so how could Milton, who grew up listening to the legends of the ancestors of the Shak Kingdom, not feel uneasy?

Seeing the atmosphere become tense, Ankai waved his hand to shoo them away.

They all looked like they had lost their parents, and it annoyed him just looking at them.

After everyone left.

An Kai was calculating in his mind, based on the information he had received.

There are currently two theories about spirit possession. One is that Milton, for example, communicated with deities and was endowed with "spirit"...

Secondly, as the patriarch of the Shak Kingdom said, the path of spirit empowerment was wrong, but he didn't say what was right.

Perhaps he himself doesn't know what is right.

However, Ankai still largely agrees with the views of the Kingdom of Shak.

Communicating with gods or praying to them doesn't seem to suit him at all.

If it were truly possible to communicate with the gods, then someone like An Kai would be committing suicide.

The fact that the God of Law didn't slap him twice is a testament to the God of Law's good temper.

Of course, he doesn't believe in God either.

He wasn't the only one; most people in the desert didn't believe in God.

Otherwise, they wouldn't often use phrases like "that bitch Lady Luck," "that old geezer God of Law," and "that damn God of Contracts" on their lips.

Most of the desert people are like Ankai, believing only in themselves.

However, Ankai has a way to truly not rely on the gods. Including spellcasting and contracts, he bypasses the "gods" and takes advantage of them.

Others, however, had no such option. Although they did not believe, they were forced to submit to the oppression of "God" for survival.

This is why the Contract remains effective even in the desert.

Recalling Milton and Wayne's words, Ankai pondered that if he could also "be endowed with spirits," he would definitely not follow Milton's path.

Whether it is the "correct path" mentioned by the patriarch of the Shak Kingdom remains to be seen.

This was something that was still quite distant for An Kai, and since he couldn't understand it, he stopped thinking about it.

Now that Milton had successfully imbued the spirit, Ankai had a new idea in mind.

After a year of seclusion, there is a huge shortage of low-grade magic stones.

The fifth-tier knights from the Kingdom of Shak were shouting about searching for magic stone veins, but they made absolutely no progress.

Like a simpleton, he wandered aimlessly in the desert.

As for Hanks, he had completely run out of low-grade magic stones, and it took him a year to provide Ankai with two mid-grade magic stones.

If it weren't for the fact that Hanks might suddenly pass away any day, I would have slapped him long ago.

Milton's successful spirit-granting gave Ankai some hope.

He hoped to break through the "cage of the dead" set up by the Donglin Party and re-establish contact with the seven kingdoms.

While searching for Donglin and looking for opportunities to disgust him, they also plundered the resources of the seven kingdoms, at least to occupy the magic stone mines within the territory of the Kingdom of Shak!

If they couldn't get out of the desert, Ankai would have to resort to the most cumbersome and inefficient method...

Ugh!

Inside the castle, Ankai, who had never worried about skill points before, was now sighing incessantly because of them.

Sitting on the bed, An Kai brought up his control panel.

【Level Lv1: 10/10 'Locked'】

[Intelligence: 822 (702 + 120)]

Endurance: 822 (701 + 121)

[Stamina: 822『701+121』]

[Strength: 822 (701 + 121)]

[Talents: Immortality '∞', Mage's Body 'lv3']

[Spell Lv28 'Superior' '880/880': Meditation, Fireball, Freeze, Summon, Armor, Wind Blade, Swiftness, Contract.]

[Skill 'Superior': Forging Lv28 '880/880']

[Identity: Wanderer's Guide, Elite NPC]

Looking at the panel, there has indeed been an improvement in the past year.

There is still much room for improvement.

Ankai's efficiency improved somewhat compared to the first year.

This is also because Ankai's [Meditation] has been continuously improving over the past year, and it was upgraded to [Lv28] a few days ago.

The time to acquire attribute points has been reduced to 5.5 hours, and it only takes 5 hours and 20 minutes to wield the Meditation Staff.

If you work hard, you can easily gain four attribute points a day.

However, Ankai wasn't that diligent...

Sometimes two a day is already the limit...

Ankai's wish is that, with continuous improvement in [Meditation], one day he can raise it to the point where he can gain attribute points for every second of breathing, or even passively gain attribute points...

In just one year, his magic skills improved across the board, which greatly enhanced Ankai's strength.

[Fireball] The diameter has reached 10 meters, which is 2 meters larger than a year ago. The power and temperature have also increased compared to a year ago.

More importantly, Ankai has improved his ability to cast three Fireballs per second from a year ago to five per second.

He had conducted experiments and found that even the two mages from the Good Household, working together at full power, were no match for him for two seconds.

Another attack spell, [Wind Blade], has its length increased to 13 meters, further enhancing its "silence" and power.

At the same time, the release rate has increased from two per second to three per second.

The biggest change to the semi-defensive, semi-offensive [Freezing Technique] is that its three-dimensional perimeter defense has been increased from six meters to eight meters!

The color deepened, and the hardness increased again. Only when Ankai wielded the [Brute Force Staff] with all his might could he shatter it.

The arms of the [Magic Armor], which are mainly used for offense and defense, have also successfully generated high temperature enhancement. At this point, apart from the torso and head, [Magic Armor] has taken another step closer to a comprehensive upgrade.

This upgrade not only strengthened the defense, but An Kai could also clearly feel that since his arms were also enhanced by the high temperature.

The armor manifested by [Armor Technique] also enhances his offensive capabilities to a certain extent.

At this point, aside from the torso and head, [Magic Armor] is one step closer to a comprehensive upgrade.

At the same time, it is becoming increasingly different from the traditional "French League" strategy.

[Swiftness] Without a reference point, even a fifth-tier [Assassin] like Malken is no match for Ankai in terms of speed.

Therefore, Ankai was not sure how fast he was. He only knew one thing: within the City of Goodness, he was the fastest, without exception.

Perhaps judging by the speed at which he advances one level per level, he is currently at the fourth level of the fifth tier, roughly the speed of an Assassin.

After all, at [Lv26], [Swiftness] is not much different from that of a Tier 5, Level 1 [Assassin] Malken.

The [Contract] section remains largely unchanged, except for two additional contract slots, bringing the total number of contracts available to Ankai to 28.

It's worth mentioning, however, that Milton was the only one of the 10 members of the Ankai Contract who entered the [Spirit Empowerment Realm] to come out alive.

As for [Summoning]...

Let's not talk about it!

"Damn Lady Luck, open your eyes and look! What kind of monsters have you assigned me, you bitch?!"

[Giant Tree Guardian: Lv28]

It is a three-meter-tall, half-meter-diameter, lifeless dead tree, and most importantly, it cannot be eaten.

While spell upgrades are generally a cause for celebration.

However, Ankai's skill points are already scarce.

Skill Points: 135

[Low-grade magic stone: 513]

[Tier 1 & Tier 2 Magic Cores: 0]

[Tier 3 Magic Core: 86]

All the resources combined are not enough for him to upgrade his spell level once.

After all, if Ankai were to fully upgrade his spells and skills, he would need 5400 skill points, which is equivalent to 5400 low-grade magic stones.

Last time, after confiscating property and collecting taxes, I obtained a little over 10,000 magic stones. A few days ago, when I was upgrading my spell level, I didn't have enough skill points, so I used magic cores instead.

He has a lot of gold coins or things worth gold coins.

Hanks alone, after a year, still owes Ankai 25248 gold coins worth of low-grade magic stones.

More than 10,000 more than last year.

The taxes collected by Wayne, along with the gold coins and their value piled up on the first floor of Ankai Mage Tower, totaled 314536 gold coins.

However, there has been no new progress regarding this low-grade magic stone.

Without new magic stone resources, even if Ankai improves his attributes, his spell level will stagnate.

This is also a great loss to his strength.

Therefore, when Ankai appeared in Milton, he devised two plans.

One is effortless, the other is time-consuming and expensive...

...

The next day.

Milton and Ankai, along with eight fifth-tier professionals, left the House of Goodness.

Only Malken and Widow Wang were left to look after the house.

An Kai and his group of ten, working at full speed, spent over a day arriving at the "Cage of the Dead," the closest point to the House of Goodness...

Ankai nodded, Milton, who had been successfully empowered, confidently took a step forward.

Then, with a soft shout, "Empower!", his unique armor appeared. Milton, clad in the armor, charged forward like a sturdy magical beast!

The distance to the "Cage of the Dead" shrank in the blink of an eye...

boom!

A loud bang was heard...

Milton removed his armor, rubbed his head, his eyes full of confusion, and said aggrievedly, "My lord... I can't break through..."

"Can't break through?!"

An Kai knew how to break the Undead Cage; according to the information he had, all he needed to do was be stronger than Dong Lin.

According to Donglin's seclusion, that old man was imbuing something with spiritual energy...

But Milton's spirit-infused ability couldn't be broken?

An Kai's expression suddenly froze...

"Damn! This old man didn't close the Spirit Transformation Gate?!"

...

The Town of the Dead.

During his seclusion, Donglin sensed a force impacting the "cage of the dead" he had set up.

After a moment of contemplation, Donglin smiled.

"Hahaha, despairing, aren't you? Lord of Chaos City? You think you can defeat me just because you've been given a spirit?"

"So what if it's imbued with spirit?!"

"Do you really think that Donglin has prepared all this just for the sake of imbuing it with spirit?"

"Heh! I'm on the wrong path too? What do you know!"

"The path that Donglin has taken is the right path!"

murmured a few times, and Donglin remembered an old friend, an old friend who had disappeared while searching for the right path.

Donglin felt it was a pity that he had not granted this deceased friend immortality…

Otherwise, he would be a capable assistant.

...

three days later.

Ankai summoned all the fifth-tier members of the House of Goodness, as well as the best of the fourth-tier members, to the castle for a new meeting to discuss his resources.

It only took half a day.

The entire Good House sprang into action, acting on Ankai's orders!

(End of this chapter)