Looking at the giant sword in front of him, Torres found its size was even more exaggerated than his own shield.
"From now on, you'll be using this sword for your training and combat," Ye Chuan said.
"Yes..." Torres instinctively went to lift the greatsword, but its extreme weight made his eyes widen in shock. As a Paladin, his physical constitution was undoubtedly robust.
Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to haul that massive shield around to protect others all day. Yet, with this greatsword, he found that a casual tug wouldn't even budge it!
"What's wrong? Can't pick it up?" Ye Chuan asked.
"N-No, that's not it." Torres took a deep breath, gripped the hilt with both hands, and heaved with all his might. He finally managed to hoist the greatsword, though the exertion turned his face beet red.
"Alright, use this sword to kill monsters in a bit," Ye Chuan said.
"Lord Xi Xi, this sword is too heavy. I don't think I can actually kill magical beasts with it," Torres forced a bitter smile. The weight of the weapon was simply terrifying.
"Is it heavy?"
"Yes..."
Hearing this, Ye Chuan nudged Torres aside. He then grabbed the greatsword with one hand and lifted it. He looked as relaxed as if he were holding a piece of Styrofoam, showing absolutely no sign of strain.
Torres was dumbfounded. Wasn't Lord Xi Xi a mage? Why did he possess such terrifying physical strength?
Ye Chuan set the greatsword down, kicking up a thick cloud of dust.
"This sword possesses the power of attribute amplification. That means the more times you swing it, the more your stats will increase."
"Such a divine artifact exists?!" Torres hadn't expected Ye Chuan to possess such a treasure.
Gaining power just by training?
"Something like that." After all, it was just a gadget Ye Chuan had forged on a whim. Each swing provided a bonus of 1 Strength attribute point.
To Ye Chuan, a 1-point strength increase was too low—it didn't even count as a crumb. He'd be better off using the Human Emperor Banner to refine some soul attributes. So, this was just a throwaway weapon he could forge with ease.
Furthermore, there was a cap to this power increase.
"Alright!" The muscles on Torres's arms bulged as he finally managed to swing the sword with great effort.
*Clang!* The greatsword smashed into the ground, kicking up dust once more.
Torres panted heavily, his face covered in sweat.
Seeing this, Ye Chuan snapped his fingers. A dispel magic spell landed on Torres, instantly washing away all his fatigue.
"Thank you, Lord Xi Xi."
"You're welcome. It's all going on your tab."
"Uh..."
Whether it was psychological or not, Torres found the greatsword in his hands seemed a little lighter. This boosted his confidence significantly. "Lord Xi Xi! I feel like I've gotten stronger!"
"Oh, really? Keep it up then." Ye Chuan scanned the area, his gaze finally landing on a slime not far away. It was currently attached to a rotting corpse, wobbling as it moved.
Compared to goblins, this kind of weak slime should be easy to deal with.
"Go get it."
"Understood!" Torres dragged the greatsword and walked toward the slime-infested corpse.
*Gurgle gurgle.* The slime corpse sensed Torres's presence—or rather, the ear-piercing sound of the dragging metal was so loud that even a near-mindless monster like a slime could perceive it.
The slime squirmed its mud-like body, manipulating the corpse to walk straight toward Torres.
"Hah!" Seizing the moment, Torres mustered all his strength to hoist the greatsword and brought it crashing down on the corpse!
The massive blade crushed the corpse, splattering the slime's body everywhere. Its magic core shattered, resulting in an instant kill.
After all, Torres was at the third tier. Dealing with a first-tier monster was naturally a stomp. Even so, seeing that he could kill a monster with such a weapon brought an excited smile to his face.
"Yes!"
"Lord Xi Xi, I did it!" Torres exclaimed.
"Congrats, congrats," Ye Chuan said in a monotone voice. "You keep working at it. I'm going back to rest."
"L-Lord Xi Xi, you're going back?"
"What else?" Ye Chuan replied lazily. "You don't expect me to stay here with you forever, do you? Come on, this is only the first floor of the dungeon."
"I understand." Torres nodded. "Please, go back and rest!"
"Mhm."
However, just before leaving, Ye Chuan looked at Torres in the distance. After a moment's thought, he cast a blessing on him. "A gift for you."
Torres noticed a golden glow radiating from his body. His wounds healed, and not only that, he felt his strength increase significantly!
"A blessing?!"
"Something like that. It boosts your healing ability and increases your strength," Ye Chuan explained.
"How long does it last?!" Torres asked excitedly.
"How long?" Ye Chuan pondered. "Hmm... probably forever."
"Forever?!"
"You can think of it as a type of curse. By simply reversing the spell formula for blood-draining and weakening curses, you can create an effect similar to a blessing." Ye Chuan waved his hand dismissively.
"Just a boring parlor trick."
Ye Chuan's words left Torres stunned.
A... a boring parlor trick?
He increasingly felt that Lord Xi Xi's magic defied all logic. Not only did he require absolutely no chanting, but he also mastered so many elemental attributes. It was as if he wasn't from the continent of Aether at all.
"Alright, good luck." Ye Chuan couldn't be bothered to explain further and vanished from the spot the very next second.
"Lord Xi... Xi?"
Ye Chuan's aura was gone from the dungeon. Torres had wanted to ask how he was supposed to get back himself, but he quickly calmed down.
It's fine. Lord Xi Xi surely has a plan.
He definitely wouldn't just abandon me. He'll probably be back tomorrow, right?
Probably...
"Time to get to work!"
...
...
The next day, inside Count Kan Gong's manor.
During a peaceful afternoon tea, Irena learned from Ye Chuan that Torres had gone to a nearby dungeon for special training.
"Torres is just a Paladin. Is it really okay to leave him alone in the dungeon? Lord Xi Xi."
"What problem could there be?" Ye Chuan ate the pastries Irena had prepared. "The first floor of that dungeon is full of tier-one and tier-two monsters. Torres is a big boy; surely he won't get mobbed to death?"
"That is true..." Even so, Irena was still a bit worried.
"If you're worried, shall I send you over there too?"
"T-That won't be necessary. I'd only be a burden to him." Irena waved her hands frantically.
Speaking of Torres...
Has he eaten?
...
...
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
ine. During your journey, you save an abandoned baby girl and become her elder brother】 【You rely on each other, becoming each other's support】 【At the end of the simulation, you shield the now-grown girl with your life, sacrificing yourself to block numerous demonic cultivators. You die, and the light in the girl's eyes fades】 …… 【Second Simulation: You are transported to a world where steam and magic coexist】 【You immerse yourself in the study of magic, obsessed with its research. One day, while out, you encounter a half-blooded demon girl wandering the streets. You take her in as your student】 【You teach the demoness what it means to be human, show her the beauty of the world, and nurture her into a miracle that surpasses even the gods】 【At the end of the simulation, you die of old age in front of the nearly immortal demoness due to your mortal lifespan】 …… One simulation after another, one encounter after another. Xu Xi suddenly felt something was off: "Wait, you said you're coming to the real world to find me?"
