No strange things are allowed to evolve!

However, thanks to Shenji's meddling, the somewhat eerie atmosphere was successfully lightened again.

This also allowed Jiang Shu to rediscover Shenji.

He originally thought that although Shenji was a manager, she was not a particularly powerful type. People in the underworld only valued her because of her unique abilities, and she was probably a businesswoman-like figure.

Although he was successful in all aspects, he only scratched the surface of everything.

But looking at her relationship with Xia Zhi now, it seems that it's not just a simple friendship on the surface.

Since Shenji knows that no one can lie to Xia Zhi's face, and she can do whatever she wants with Xia Zhi, doesn't that mean their relationship has been tested over time?

Thinking hard.

As if sensing Jiang Shu's doubts, Shenji said with a smile, "He doesn't have many friends, and I'm a kind person, so I'll reluctantly be his friend out of kindness."

"So you not only know the bureau chief, but you also have a very good relationship with him."

Jiang Shu recalled how Shenji, knowing full well that she was a member of the Bureau of Different Principles, deliberately led her to meet Xia Zhi, and felt even more deceived:

"You've really put me in a lot of trouble."

Yin Susu was right; the more beautiful a woman is, the more likely she is to lie.

Especially for those with disabilities in both legs, any nutrition they receive goes entirely to their brains.

Shenji was even happier upon hearing this, and said dismissively, "Isn't this compensation for you? I told you I was going to give you a big treasure."

"Is that really the reason...?"

Jiang Shu was truly at her wit's end.

"But what exactly are you planning to give me?"

Although Shenji made a promise, she never revealed what she would give or when she would give it.

"It will be delivered when the time is right, don't worry."

Shenji waved his hand, continuing to keep everyone in suspense, and changed the subject:

"By the way, after knowing you for so long, I still don't know what the effects of your skills are. What is the purpose of 'Offering'? Does the name sound like it's related to sacrifice?"

Jiang Shu was taken aback, clearly not expecting Shen Ji to ask such a private question: "We've only known each other for a day, it's not like we've known each other for a long time..."

Xia Zhi, who was standing to the side, was also somewhat surprised, but he did not stop Shenji, clearly showing that he was also very interested.

"Of course I know we've only known each other for a day, and I know I shouldn't ask this kind of question, but..." Shenji said half-jokingly and half-seriously, "I'm giving you a chance. It's true that we're sitting at the same table now, but we're still lacking some bonds. Only with bonds can we truly sit at the same table."

“This…” Jiang Shu hesitated.

But this time, his predicament did not cause Xia Zhi to quietly lose points.

Because he also knew that normally he shouldn't ask that question.

Let alone catastrophic skills, even ordinary key skills or items, which can be considered trump cards for evolved beings, are as important as life itself.

Shenji's request is no different from KKB's. Showing it to you is a favor, not showing it to you is also his right.

Of course, this had to be decades ago.

After all, some people will show it to you on their own initiative even if you don't ask them to.

However, in the end, Jiang Shu still chose to give it.

First of all, he was too eager to improve.

Secondly, the reason he concealed it in the past was because he was afraid of being caught with a valuable treasure and that he didn't have enough power to protect himself. But now, the two people he was facing both possessed calamity-level skills and were inherently proud, so he didn't need to worry about that.

Since so much has already been revealed, and as I grow stronger, my catastrophic skills will inevitably be revealed sooner or later, so I don't care whether it's sooner or later.

If we could sit down at a table with these two people right now, be honest with each other, and share our innermost thoughts, wouldn't we have the power to protect ourselves?

“It has nothing to do with sacrifice,” Jiang Shu explained. “My skills are more passive, mainly affecting targets influenced by my charm. As long as they are influenced by my charm and have a good impression of me, they will become my loyal followers and unconditionally support and help me.”

"Oh." Shenji nodded: "So it wasn't you who made the donation."

Jiang Shu hummed in agreement: "Even the slightest bit of goodwill will be magnified infinitely."

"So..." Shenji belatedly realized, looking at Jiang Shu suspiciously, "Could I have been affected as well?"

“I’m really not sure about that,” Jiang Shu explained. “It’s hard to judge the effect, but based on my experience, the level difference will have an impact. If the level difference is too big, the effect of the skill will be negligible. If the difference is large enough, it may even be noticeable.”

As he spoke, he looked at Xia Zhi.

The latter nodded slightly: "When I first met you, I sensed something was off. Is that why?"

"What? Does that mean I'm weaker than you?" Shenji said, somewhat displeased.

"Isn't that obvious?" Jiang Shu thought to himself.

Just as Jiang Shu was writhing in his dark and twisted thoughts, he heard Shenji suddenly become serious and ask, "So, what do you think?"

“Yes, this further proves that Cataclysmic-level skills should be obtainable from the very beginning,” Xia Zhi replied.

Jiang Shu realized that what Xia Zhi had said to him before was not the first time he had said it in front of others; obviously, he and Shenji had discussed this issue.

I think I've been tricked again.

Besides giving himself the opportunity to sit at the same table with them, Shenji seemed to have a deeper meaning.

Thinking of this, Jiang Shu asked, puzzled, "Why do you say that?"

"Because our skills have more than one effect."

Shenji explained:

"Take me for example. My Divine Strategist has three effects: one passive and two active. My well-known ability to pay a price to gain knowledge of all things is just one of my active skills."

My passive skill is that I don't need to actively calculate; I can rely on my sixth sense to avoid misfortune and seek good fortune.

Another active effect is that you can see the next three seconds, but I don't use this effect much, because I'm already like this...

She pointed to her legs:

"That's why I don't really like fighting with people."

"Three?" Jiang Shu exclaimed in surprise, "A calamity-level skill, and it's a boss with three stages?"

Xia Zhi paused for a moment: "Me too, one is passive and the other is active. Being passive means I can collect all the clues and changes I see and calculate the truth."

As for initiative, one well-known ability is to perfectly imitate and predict through analysis. Imitation includes the opponent's fighting style and skills, although imitating catastrophic skills will be somewhat compromised. As for prediction, it is to judge the opponent's possible choices based on the way they exert force, which to some extent achieves the effect of predicting the future, but it is not as direct as the Divine Strategist. Not only is it less than three seconds, but I can also see many possibilities.

Another one...

Noticing Xia Zhi's hesitation, Jiang Shu quickly said, "It's alright, you don't have to say what you don't want to say. Just tell me what's widely known."

"Okay." Xia Zhi nodded in satisfaction.

The score finally increased instead of decreased.

"Before you appeared, I always believed that the three stages of a calamity-level skill corresponded to the dormant period of a spiritual root and two sublimations, and your existence just proves this point."

Xia Zhi said earnestly and seriously:

"Moreover... although it's also speculation, I think that the catastrophe-level skill obtained through the second sublimation may not be complete, and its effect may actually be diminished."

"Uh... Shenji's skill effects are so powerful, and yours, although not finished, is just as exaggerated. It can even imitate a calamity-level skill. Do you still think it's a watered-down version?"

Jiang Shu felt a little scared.

How outrageous must Xia Zhi think the complete version must be?

Upon hearing this, Xia Zhi shook his head: "Whether something is complete or not depends not on its effect, but on its potential."

"The upper limit?" Jiang Shu asked, puzzled.

"Above natural disasters, there is another level. Not only have the trial missions shown a higher difficulty level with question marks, but you should also be able to see it in the skill tree."

Xia Zhi explained:

"From ancient times to the present, there has always been a conjecture that this higher level has always existed, yet it does not exist, because it has never appeared anywhere. Items and skills of this level all evolved from the Cataclysmic level."

Items and skills of this caliber are the key to breaking through the level restrictions of evolved beings.

"Then how does it evolve?" Jiang Shu asked curiously.

"A complete Cataclysmic-level skill..."

Xia Zhi paused:

"And the ancestral spiritual root."

written request for leave

I started visiting relatives this morning, and I thought I could go home tonight, but I just heard that my relative's older sister is getting married after the New Year. Since I'm going back to Chengdu after the New Year and can't go, I have to go to deliver gifts and visit her after dinner tonight. I guess I'll get back very late and won't be able to make today's update.

Also, I should mention that my recent content has been more slice-of-life because it was indeed difficult to calm down and think about the plot during the Chinese New Year. However, I have already decided what to write for the next episode, and I will adjust my mindset as soon as possible. I will take a break during the Chinese New Year holiday.

Wishing everyone a happy new year and great fortune in 2026!

Chapter 193 Tourists, Gods, and Unparalleled Mighty Men

“However, this is just speculation, or rather, a legend. I don’t know if it can actually be realized,” Xia Zhi quickly added.

Jiang Shu thought for a moment and then tentatively asked, "Is it because you don't have the ancestral spiritual root?"

"It's because we don't have complete Cataclysmic-level skills."

Xia Zhi replied:

"The Primordial Spiritual Root... Although it has not appeared in modern times, it has been obtained by evolved beings in the past. They have gathered both of these conditions, but still have not been able to break through the limitations."

For this reason, many people initially thought this conjecture was wrong, but...

He paused:

"You might be able to achieve it."

Jiang Shu pondered silently.

Judging from Xia Zhi's words, the other party probably did not possess the ancestral spiritual root.

Since even he, the strongest of his time, failed to obtain the Primordial Spiritual Root, then other evolved beings should have been able to as well.

Therefore, the information I received when I first heard about the Ancestral Spirit Root Incubation Site in the minister's office should not have been wrong.

However, the rumor that the ancestral spiritual root is the key to breaking through the level limit of the evolved being is incomplete; one must also possess a complete catastrophe-level skill.

This is something that evolved beings who have never possessed catastrophe-level skills might not know.

But there's a rather suspicious point here.

Since Xia Zhi said he didn't know if it was possible, it means that so far, no evolved being in history has actually achieved this.

How come the rumor has persisted until now?

This rumor should be disproven once we observe the changes in those evolved individuals who obtained the Primordial Spiritual Root from the Primordial Spiritual Root Incubation Ground.

There should be at least more conditions; it shouldn't just be based on whether or not one has an ancestral spiritual root.

The only possibility is that the changes brought about by obtaining the ancestral spiritual root will lead the public to mistakenly believe that it is a breakthrough of the level limit, but that is not actually the case. Only true experts can understand the mystery, and for some reason, these insiders have not refuted this rumor.

Thinking of this, Jiang Shu directly asked the question that had been bothering him.

Xia Zhi looked surprised.

He was satisfied and gratified that Jiang Shu was able to draw such a conclusion from fragmented information and clues.

“That’s right.” Xia Zhi nodded: “Those who obtained the ancestral spiritual root in history all disappeared after reaching level eighteen.”

"disappear?"

“Hmm.” Xia Zhi explained, “To be precise, they disappeared from the real world, so it looks as if they broke through the limitations and became a higher level of existence, not in the same world as us.”

Jiang Shu understood the underlying meaning; Xia Zhi must know something: "So what's the actual situation?"

"Actually?" Xia Zhi said calmly, "Actually, I don't know either."

To say he wasn't sure if Jiang Shu believed him, but to say he had absolutely no clue, then Jiang Shu didn't believe him at all.

So Jiang Shu asked, "What do you think?"

"If I had to say," Xia Zhi thought for a moment, "I guess they've just changed their way of life. They've become beings that can freely traverse the incubation grounds, but they still haven't escaped the category of evolved beings."

"Level 3 access control?" Jiang Shu asked.

“Part of it is,” Xia Zhi answered ambiguously.

Jiang Shu clicked his tongue in disbelief.