A "Dungeon" in the Abyss

Upon seeing the other person go to the restroom, Chen Luo immediately stood up and walked towards the ordering area.

While the other person was in the restroom, I ordered the food first.

The key is that when the other party temporarily disappears, Chen Luo can use the Herrscher of Knowledge's abilities, which have a higher limit, without worrying about being discovered.

Just as Cang Xiao Xuan said, KFC is currently having its second collaboration with Genshin Impact, so the queues are a bit long.

Because Chen Luo was in a hurry, he felt a little guilty and cut in line. The Herrscher of Knowledge's ability did not make the other customers in the store feel anything unusual, as if it were a matter of course.

"I'll have Two-dimensional Set Meal," Chen Luo said directly to the KFC staff.

"Oh, you want the combo meal, right?" The KFC staff immediately understood Chen Luo's subtext.

"That's right." Kan Luo nodded.

"Say it out. Please shout out the slogan." The staff member looked at Chen Luo with a smile.

"..."

Standing at the front desk, Chen Luo suddenly felt the same embarrassment that Klein had felt when facing him.

"I said, I'd like Two-dimensional Set Meal," Chen Luo said, tapping lightly on the counter and staring into the other person's eyes.

"...Okay." A strange light flashed in the staff member's eyes.

Although the staff were quite interested in the fact that these nerds were shouting out cheesy lines for a weird bucket and a weird medal.

However, under the influence of the Herrscher of Knowledge's power, he still obediently followed Chen Luo's arrangements.

If the other party can truly resist the power of the Herrscher of Knowledge with the mindset of a mere mortal and the obsession with watching the fun, then Chen Luo is a warrior.

To be able to watch something so funny that it completely overpowers a Herrscher Authority is truly amazing.

"One axolotl bucket, please," the staff member called out to the backstage area.

"..." Chen Luo suspected that the other party was subtly mocking him, and Chen Luo had evidence.

"Wait, give me three servings," Chen Luo suddenly said.

"Three buckets of salamanders, please," the staff member mechanically called out.

"..."

Chen Luo exclaimed in surprise.

Although Chen Luo couldn't see the words spoken by the other party, Chen Luo Herrscher Authority of knowledge was not just for show.

Chen Luo originally thought that Liu Wenxuan might also like this bucket, so he asked for one for him as well, and also asked for one for Herrscher of Knowledge.

As a result, he was ridiculed again.

Since you're mocking me like this, don't blame me for being ruthless.

"Miss, I see you have extraordinary talent, a natural genius. Would you be interested in playing Honkai Impact 3rd?"

"Honkai Impact 3rd?" The staff member was taken aback.

"That's right, it's Honkai Impact 3rd. You can try playing it after work today. And whatever you do, don't buy a starter account. Just create an account from scratch. And don't spend money unless absolutely necessary."

This time, Chen Luo did not use the power of the Herrscher of Knowledge, but instead used the skill of suggestion.

This thing can be broken in no time if one is determined enough.

After giving the other party his hint, Chen Luo suddenly felt that he might have been a little cruel.

To persuade someone to start playing Honkai Impact 3rd, especially a self-built account—what kind of grudge or resentment is that?

However, Chen Luo had at least advised the other party not to spend money on in-game purchases, so it wasn't a big problem.

Perhaps...

"Hmm, never mind, I'll make it up to her anyway," Chen Luo muttered.

"Miss, may you have sweet dreams tonight." Chen Luo snapped his fingers lightly.

"Thank you. Your meal is ready." A moment later, the staff placed three large buckets on the front desk.

With such popularity, the "Otherworldly Encounter Delicious Bucket" can't possibly be made to order. In fact, the kitchen is already working overtime to produce more buckets, selling them as soon as they're made, so there's no worry about them not selling.

When Chen Luo received them, the three buckets looked like they had just been cooked for two minutes.

"It seems no one has it easy in modern society." Chen Luo carried away three buckets of delicious food with a plate, while simultaneously withdrawing the thread that had probed into the staff member's mind.

"These are really strong negative emotions, but thankfully they're just at the level of an ordinary person." Chen Luo commented, savoring the negative emotions he had extracted from the other person's consciousness.

With Chen Luo's current mental strength, absorbing the negative emotions of everyone in the square might be a bit troublesome, but absorbing the emotions of one person and digesting them slowly would be more than enough.

"Hmm, didn't we agree that I'd treat? How come the food's already ordered? Oh well, let's try on these shoes." When Liu Wenxuan returned to his seat from the restroom, he paused for a moment when he saw the three buckets on the table, then placed a pair of shoes on the table in front of Chen Luo.

"Such small shoes?" Chen Luo stared blankly at the shoes on the table, which were less than the length of a finger.

"This is Conceptual Weapon. It's quite complicated to explain, so just think of it as a trick. You only need to inject some spiritual or magical energy into the shoe to make it recognize you as its master. When you don't want to use it anymore, it disappears with a thought," Liu Wenxuan explained.

"After using this equipment, you are essentially not wearing shoes, but to ordinary people it appears that you are wearing shoes."

"On the way here, I heard Yun Xia mention the Emperor's New Clothes Series, right?" Chen Luo answered while channeling his spiritual power into the shoes, and the tiny shoes instantly disappeared.

Then Chen Luo looked at his feet and found that he didn't have any shoes. But when Chen Luo suppressed all his aura and observed from an ordinary person's perspective, he found that he was wearing a pair of black retro-style mid-top shoes, which looked pretty cool.

Based on Chen Luo's own sense of touch, his feet were still firmly planted on the ground, and he could even feel the cool surface. He couldn't touch the shoes with his hands. This proved that the shoes weren't real; they were likely a peculiar illusion technique different from the abilities of the Herrscher of Knowledge.

Most importantly, Chen Luo's bare feet are not afraid of people wearing shoes and it still works normally. Although he doesn't quite understand the principle, as long as it works, that's fine.

"Thank you, it works great," Chen Luo said.

"No need for thanks. I'm more curious about how you ended up running into Yun Xia on the street," Liu Wenxuan said as he picked up a hamburger and started eating.

"This is how it happened..." Chen Luo didn't hide Liu Wenxuan's thoughts, but instead told him the story.

"A promising A-rank Talent User? Yun Xia has really struck gold." Liu Wenxuan nodded.

"But it's just that letting them join a powerful family so early, I don't know if it's good or bad for them."

"A prominent family?"

Chen Luo was naturally quite curious when a word he had never heard before suddenly appeared.

In other worlds Chen Luo can do whatever he wants, but in his own world Chen Luo is extremely cautious to the point of madness, because Chen Luo has to consider his parents.

As a result, Chen Luo's current understanding of the Dark World comes only from those few basic books, but some things are not recorded in the books, such as certain unspoken rules.

Chen Luo was familiar with aristocratic families in the historical sense, but Chen Luo felt that this aristocratic family was quite different from those in history.

"The so-called aristocratic family refers to a family with two or more A-level or higher Talent User in the same family. Only such families are called aristocratic families, and they must also have a certain historical background."

"The Yun family is one of the strongest families in our country, at least for now. The reason for this is probably because they have two S-rank Talent User."

"One of them is Yun Xia, and the other... is Yun Lian'er." Liu Wenxuan winked at Chen Luo.

"Oh." Chen Luo simply responded with a curt "Oh."

"Brother Luo, why aren't you surprised?"

"What's so surprising? The surname Yun is quite rare. To encounter two people with the surname Yun in a row, and both of them are very talented Talent User, do you think I'm stupid? That I can't even guess?" Chen Luo rolled his eyes at Liu Wenxuan.

"Oh dear, it seems they both underestimated your associative abilities, Brother Luo. They're still playing the 'Guess Who I Am' game. Tsk tsk." Hearing this, Liu Wenxuan couldn't help but shake his head.

"Let's get down to business."

"Oh. The Yun family was considered a superior family before the last End of Dharma Era. It's just a pity that all their glory will pass with the End of Dharma Era. Before this Spiritual Energy Revival, the Yun family was just a relatively wealthy family in our city, until two S-rank Talent User appeared in their family."

"Of course, this situation is not uncommon. Speaking of which, my family was a superior family before the End of Dharma Era, although it was only a branch. The Yun family is also a branch, but because this generation of the Yun family has two S-rank Talent User, it naturally became the main family," Liu Wenxuan said with emotion.

In this era of Spiritual Energy Revival, might makes right truly.

Regardless of your family background, in the first 50 years of the Spiritual Energy Revival, whoever had the most S-rank Talent User was the main family, the upper-class family, or the aristocratic family.

Simply put, this is a major reshuffling of the old powers, and it happens every millennium.

"And what about your Liu family? Logically speaking, you're an S-rank Talent User, so isn't it normal for you to become the head of the family?" Chen Luo said.

"That's what they say. The Liu family in the Capital City is indeed doing quite well now, and they really do intend to acknowledge me as their master. But I'm too lazy to deal with them. Now it's just me and my mother at home. How can I have time to play with them? So I just joined the Relevant Department," Liu Wenxuan said.

"I see." Chen Luo nodded.

Chen Luo is now wondering if, if he were to reveal that he is actually an S-rank Talent User, some relatives he doesn't even know would come looking for him to become the head of the family.

Never mind.

Chen Luo's thoughts were actually the same as Liu Wenxuan's: why not just develop steadily?

"Brother Luo, now that you've read those basic books, you should know about the Relevant Departments. The Relevant Department were established by the state according to the wishes of those big shots who have been out once. Basically, all Talent User who have a lot of ties with the Dark World will join the Relevant Department, regardless of whether you are from a powerful family or an ordinary Talent User."

"Many powerful figures within the Relevant Department have donated spirit stones and protective magic items to cultivate the new generation of Talent User."

"But wherever there are people, there is a world of intrigue, and the same is true for the Relevant Department. Even if Yun Xia and Yun Lian'er say everything, they themselves belong to aristocratic families, while I naturally belong to the direct line of the Relevant Department with impeccable credentials."

"The A-rank Talent User was taken away by Yun Xia, so naturally he was assigned to a powerful family. However, for Lone Wolf like him, it's not necessarily a bad thing. The Yun family is a relatively peaceful family and wouldn't drag him into any unnecessary conflicts."

The Yun family's confidence in remaining aloof from worldly affairs stems from the fact that they have two S-rank Talent User within the family, and they are sisters.

The relationship between these sisters is a little complicated...

Chapter 215 The "Dungeon" in the Abyss

"Listening to what you're saying, I feel like aristocratic families don't have any advantages at all. Someone like you, a direct descendant of a Relevant Department, should receive special treatment from that Relevant Department, right? But aristocratic families, they neither receive any special treatment nor have their own foundation. It feels like they're just a small clique," Chen Luo complained.

Due to the end of the End of Dharma Era, all the noble families were reduced to their original state, at most they had some money.

Money is important, but not so much in the Dark World.

"That's not how it works. As one of the superior families of the last thousand years, the Yun family naturally has a lot of resources. Before the end of the End of Dharma Era, some of the family's members entered self-enclosed places created by powerful beings, such as the Immortal Realm."

"When moving, gold and silver treasures will naturally not be moved up, but spirit stones, Heavenly Treasure will all be moved to the Upper Realm as start-up capital for the next thousand years."

"At the beginning of this new millennium, when some powerful figures went to resist the abyss, they also brought out these start-up funds and deposited them with the Relevant Department. Because after more than 500 years of development, it is impossible to determine which is the main family and which is the branch family. In the new millennium, which branch will rise faster?"

"Therefore, there is a regulation in the Relevant Department that if a family has property left by its ancestors, it can withdraw the property when it has two A-rank Talent User or one S-rank Talent User, whether it is the main family or a branch family," Liu Wenxuan said after taking a big gulp of cola.

"What if you're unlucky and don't have any awakened Talent User?"

"For families like these, the Relevant Department will divide their family property into 100 parts. If they fail to appear each year for the first 50 years, 1% of the property will be collected as a management fee. If they still fail to meet the requirements after 50 years, the remaining half of the property will be returned to them after the person from the Upper Realm descends. This property collected as a management fee is the reward that the Relevant Department will distribute to the Talent User."

"What if a family only has one A-rank Talent User? Wouldn't that be incredibly unlucky? What if their ancestral treasures are taken away as management fees?" Chen Luo complained.

"There's no need to worry about that. Almost every person from the Upper Realm leaves 50% of their inheritance to their descendants in spirit stones or ordinary rare Heavenly Treasure. The Relevant Department will prioritize collecting these items as management fees. For those people from the Upper Realm, they won't feel bad even if they spend all of these items, as long as their ancestral heirlooms are not lost," Liu Wenxuan replied.

"Where is your Liu family? Isn't it one of the 36 superior families? Logically speaking, you should have a lot of wealth. Why don't you inherit it?"

"Well, the Liu family is indeed one of the 36 superior families, that's true, but not all seniors from the Upper Realm leave start-up funds for their descendants. For example, our Liu family seems to have been sealed off by our elders when the abyss invaded, so they had no chance to come out and naturally did not bring out the start-up funds." Liu Wenxuan said helplessly.

Otherwise, Liu Wenxuan would not have chosen to join the direct line of the Relevant Department. Wouldn't it be better to be a scion of a wealthy family who has the right to squander all his wealth?

"Your family is really unlucky," Chen Luo couldn't help but remark.

"Actually, this is quite normal. Who knew the Abyss would suddenly invade? Normally, all the people of the Upper Realm would seal themselves away until 50 years after the Spiritual Energy Revival before awakening. But this time, something clearly went wrong, so a considerable number of aristocratic families didn't have time to prepare the start-up capital. Another considerable number of aristocratic families had the start-up capital, but not enough Talent User. In short, many were unlucky, and our family is no exception. Families like the Yun family, who have both start-up capital and Talent User, are truly rare." At this point, Liu Wenxuan wanted to laugh.

"The situation is quite complicated," Chen Luo remarked with some emotion.

For those families that have start-up capital but no Talent User individuals, it's like they're just paying 50% of the management fees to the Relevant Department for nothing.

Those Talent User lack start-up capital are clearly not wealthy enough to attract talent effectively. If you have no spirit stones or resources, why should an A-rank Talent User like me follow you?

"Oh, by the way, I wanted to ask if the Chen Family is among those upper-class families?" Chen Luo asked, a little nervously.

"If you asked someone else, they might not be able to answer right away, but if you asked me, I specifically checked. There are 36 top-tier families, 72 middle-tier families, and 108 low-tier families, none of which are from the Chen Family, Brother Luo. Otherwise, someone would have come looking for you long ago." Liu Wenxuan shook his head at Chen Luo with some regret.

"Oh." Chen Luo breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hey, Brother Luo, why don't you seem disappointed at all? On the contrary, you seem quite relaxed?" Liu Wenxuan asked with some surprise.

"I just don't want to suddenly have another ancestor."

Moreover, he was a patriarch who held everyone back.

Chen Luo thought to himself.

It's only 2021 now, and there's still a long time before the 50-year deadline. Let alone that long, even if Chen Luo had two years, he could develop into someone who could easily defeat an angel.

Well, actually Chen Luo could do it right now...

Therefore, in Chen Luo's view, those suddenly appearing celestial ancestors were just a hindrance.

Although Chen Luo is not very confident in his current strength, Chen Luo is very confident in his potential.