Surprising Rewards

"Spiritual Realm Mark."

As Shen Mu watched the white crystal float and slowly rotate, releasing wave after wave of unusual fluctuations, his previously relaxed expression gradually turned solemn.

The lingering memories of the original owner still brought a growing sense of unease to his heart.

Then Shen Mu suddenly chuckled softly.

"Unfortunately, I'm not that useless original owner. I also don't understand why my parallel-world self was like that."

"But at least I know things are different now."

He strode forward, refusing the eager offers of support from the two Swadian Footmen, and entered this lord's private domain.

Inside, seven farmers holding pitchforks had just finished searching every corner and room. Judging by the bloodstains still on the tips of their pitchforks, some Lesser Imps or lesser demons that had failed to hide in time had undoubtedly met their end beneath those farmers' weapons.

This included the three bandits who had just emerged from a room, slaughtering knives in hand, their faces splattered with blood and twisted with vicious grins.

However, upon seeing Lord Shen Mu, they hurriedly wiped the savage expressions from their faces, put away their slaughtering knives, and obediently stood to the side without daring to say much.

Of course, Shen Mu did not blame these soldiers who had fought for him.

What Shen Mu cared more about was the Spiritual Realm Mark before him.

This Scene Core!

"This is it."

Shen Mu approached the crystal and slowly extended his hand, his heart trembling slightly with excitement.

Because he knew.

No matter what kind of Spiritual Realm Mark it was, touching such a crystal would grant one an inheritance from the Spiritual Realm!

Some were creatures of the Spiritual Realm, some were inheritances from Spiritual Realm professionals, some were all kinds of Spiritual Realm treasures, and some were Spiritual Realm buildings or even plants...

There was every kind imaginable!

Because Spiritual Realm Marks themselves were formed from fragments of the Crystal Wall System of the Spiritual Realm, which had already completely shattered!

'Buzz!'

The instant Shen Mu's outstretched hand finally rested on the crystal, those fluctuations appeared once more.

But at Shen Mu's brow, countless fine Data Streams instantly gathered up every trace of those fluctuations, like a cast fishing net capturing a school of fish trying to escape!

'Buzz!'

The white crystalline core, covered in dark-red veins resembling a web of blood vessels, shook again.

Before Shen Mu could react, it was completely absorbed by those white Data Streams.

It transformed into strands of pure white light, then was dragged back into Shen Mu's brow by the net-like Data Streams.

'Drip!'

Only the dark-red, blood-like viscous liquid remained. Having lost what it clung to, it dripped onto the ground, hissed as black smoke rose from it, and turned into dried clots of blood.

Then new Dialogue Boxes immediately began appearing across Shen Mu's retina.

Ding! You have absorbed special rules and drawn upon the special energy contained within them!

You may perform one 'Fantasy Faction Soldier—Character Template Upgrade.'

You have completed the Temporary Mission!

Ding! You have obtained: 'Magic Ball (Map Editor) Usage Rights × 30 minutes.'

Congratulations! You led your troops to a resounding victory and obtained 'Silver Tier Treasure Chest' ×1.

Congratulations! Some of your soldiers can be upgraded!

Dialogue Boxes appeared one after another.

"Fantasy Faction Soldier... Character Template Upgrade."

Shen Mu swept his gaze over the contents of the Dialogue Boxes, his eyes immediately locking onto this key phrase.

He sensed that there was something extraordinary about it.

In particular, the words "Fantasy Faction Soldier" made Shen Mu raise his brows slightly.

"Could it be that this Character Template Upgrade reward is no longer limited to conventional Kingdom Faction troop upgrades like Swadian Footmen or Swadian Heavy Cavalry, but has become a troop template upgrade from a fantasy MOD!?"

This truly was a pleasant surprise for Shen Mu.

'Buzz!'

But just as Shen Mu was rejoicing, the ground beneath his feet suddenly began to shake as if there were an earthquake.

"What's going on?" Shen Mu came back to his senses, only to discover cracks rapidly spreading across the surrounding walls with the shaking. Deep darkness filled those cracks, so profound that a single glance seemed capable of sucking in one's very soul.

"Earthquake! Protect Lord Shen Mu and get out quickly! This castle is about to collapse! Move!"

The two Swadian Footmen still serving as Shen Mu's guards immediately changed expression.

They sensed the danger.

At that moment, they could no longer worry about the difference in status between themselves and Shen Mu. They directly grabbed his arms and rushed toward the spiral staircase they had come through, hurrying downstairs.

Protecting the life of a great figure like Shen Mu was the supreme will etched deep within the hearts of these Mount & Blade soldiers!

By the time they reached the Castle Hall, the shaking had become even more violent.

More cracks appeared as well.

"Move!"

The Mount & Blade soldiers who had been hunting down the remaining demons all retreated into the corridor outside the Security Door.

Then they saw the two Swadian Footmen supporting Shen Mu by the arms as they also sprinted back into the corridor.

At this moment, within the castle and this Spiritual Realm Scene, increasingly large cracks and openings were appearing across both the walls and floor amid the violent shaking. Large amounts of stone and lumber collapsed with thunderous crashes onto the ground, making those cracks even wider.

The deep darkness within those cracks became increasingly apparent as well.

It carried an eternal darkness that could steal one's soul with a single glance, baring its fangs and claws as it seeped through the cracks into the rapidly disintegrating castle.

And when the last bandit leaped into the corridor, that soul-shaking darkness completely enveloped the entire castle.

'Buzz!'

Only a peculiar fluctuation containing the power of space and time flickered, bursting into a small patch of light amid the darkness.

When everyone in the corridor who had been staring blankly in that direction instinctively closed and reopened their eyes.

The light vanished.

Even the darkness beyond the Security Door vanished with it.

Including that castle.

Or rather, the Spiritual Realm Scene beyond the Security Door had completely disappeared from Blue Star along with that light.

"This... that... the castle is gone?"

"It turned back into a room..."

Several Swadian Footmen near Room 4070 wore expressions of surprise.

Because after they blinked, what appeared before them was no longer the relatively spacious Castle Hall filled with monster corpses.

Instead, it was a cramped apartment suite no different from any other ordinary room!

"The Spiritual Realm Scene shattered into Space-Time Turbulence because its core crystal nucleus disappeared."

Shen Mu understood perfectly well what had happened.

He slowly closed his eyes.

Within his brow, the four rewards from completing this mission floated in his mind.

Character Template Upgrade.

Magic Ball usage rights.

A Silver Tier Treasure Chest.

And the soldiers who could be upgraded after the battle ended!

"The gains weren't bad."

The corners of Shen Mu's lips curled up slightly.

The rewards this time truly were quite good.

"Let's head back." Shen Mu sheathed the Germanic Sword in his hand and led the group back to the Stronghold Main House.

"Lord Shen Mu!"

At this moment, the ten Lake Rats Veteran Thugs stationed in the Elevator Room and responsible for standing guard were still standing ramrod straight.

Upon seeing Shen Mu approach, they all raised their fists to their chests and bowed.

"Mhm." Shen Mu nodded. "Did you notice anything unusual?"

"No."

The ten Lake Rats Veteran Thugs answered seriously.

However, one Lake Rats Veteran Thug still reported, "Lord Shen Mu, Miss Liu Na from the fifth floor, along with her Halfling Elder Polo, came here twenty minutes ago. They wanted to meet with you, but we turned them away. We told them you were working and would take the initiative to meet them once you were finished."

"Liu Na and her Halfling?" Shen Mu was briefly stunned, then understood. "It should be related to last night's battle."

The commotion last night had been so great that the apartment building must have noticed something.

As allies.

Even if they were merely nominal allies and partners with no real entanglement of interests, it was only natural for Liu Na to come and take a look.

However, Shen Mu had only formed an alliance with Liu Na to complete a mission. At present, even though he knew Liu Na was a druid, he had no need for her assistance, so their relationship had remained neither warm nor cold.

"Mhm, I understand." Shen Mu still turned and returned to the Stronghold Main House without arranging a meeting immediately.

Right now, what mattered more to Shen Mu was using the rewards he had just obtained to quickly deploy the building and use the Magic Ball Map Modifier to complete the renovation of the entire Seventh Floor Apartment!

Because there seemed to be something extra in Shen Mu's mind now.

Whenever Shen Mu closed his eyes.

He could vaguely sense that within a tiny sliver of space fixed amid the Space-Time Turbulence between the Spiritual Realm and Blue Star, countless massive stones and neatly arranged pieces of lumber could be summoned by him at any time to descend upon Blue Star.

Then they would form the main structure of a fairly sizable stone Small Castle!

"Because the Spiritual Realm Mark I obtained is one capable of summoning an entire Human Castle!"

The corners of Shen Mu's lips rose slightly.

Seated in a High-backed Chair, Shen Mu's thoughts instantly connected with the system.

'Buzz!'

The Mount & Blade System Rules descended instantly.

Once again, Shen Mu entered Third-person Perspective.