From Two Comes Three, From Three Comes All Things

Amid all that blind, unfounded confidence, only NO.7 [Perfect Order] had taken effect.

Such an inconspicuous ability.

Yet it made Chu Yunyi stop just as he was about to open the door.

He paused.

Something was wrong. This wasn't the usual Chu Yunyi.

"Wait, something's not right."

"I think... I'm feeling this inexplicable confidence?"

Chu Yunyi shook his head, immediately let go of the doorknob, slumped to the floor, and fell asleep.

Inside the Round Table Dreamscape.

Chu Yunyi's consciousness arrived there.

Originally,

since NO.7 [Perfect Order] let him think rationally at all times, he wanted to make full use of it before the battle, so he planned to use up all his Control Power.

But after arriving here,

he instead felt that something was off.

"One, two, seven..."

"Twenty?"

Chu Yunyi counted them all and was surprised to find twenty Ability Table Balls here.

He examined them more closely.

Only then did he discover

that one ball, paler than white and almost transparent, had blended in with the others.

Chu Yunyi took it out and glanced at it:

[NO.2￥#*0 [Pride Virus]]

[Quality: Colorless+]

[Description: You are a prodigy, an extraordinary existence. You will become incredibly confident. When your belief is strong enough, you can even twist the facts.]

[Note: At the same time, you are also controlled by the virus's distributor, [Seven-Day Demon King Mo Xun].]

Looking at the string of code representing its sequence,

he saw that it wasn't NO.20, but NO.2￥#*0—an unordered, scrambled display.

But since it had entered the sequence, that meant it had taken effect.

The Gluttony Virus Xia Tian had spread to him earlier still hadn't taken effect; it was displayed as NO.??. But this ability had undeniably taken hold.

"What?"

"Has Mo Xun already made a move against me?"

Only now did Chu Yunyi realize what had happened to him.

No wonder.

That feeling of looking down on the world, of being invincible, couldn't possibly be normal for him.

"When did it happen...?"

As he wondered, Chu Yunyi remembered that with NO.5 [Eidetic Memory], reviewing the past would take him only an instant.

"It was when..."

"I said Mo Xun's name."

"I just mentioned his name, and he planted the Pride Virus in me? He really is a Deity worthy of the name."

As Chu Yunyi thought this, he instantly crushed NO.2￥#*0 [Pride Virus].

It crumbled into several semi-transparent balls, a pile of dust, and a murky ball.

Chu Yunyi crushed the murky ball as well, reducing it to dust.

Now,

Chu Yunyi had obtained:

[NO.?? [Arrogant and Unconcerned]]

[NO.?? [Touch the Truth]]

Just like when he crushed the [Gluttony Virus] and it split into [Gluttony Trait] and [Dietary Therapy Trait], one was auxiliary and the other was the core ability.

[Arrogant and Unconcerned] made its owner incredibly confident.

[Touch the Truth], on the other hand, allowed its owner to twist the facts through sheer conviction.

Like [Gluttony Trait], [Arrogant and Unconcerned] wasn't worth keeping.

Sometimes, confidence was a good thing.

But sometimes, confidence was just another word for "blindness."

With that thought, Chu Yunyi crushed it into dust.

He kept [Touch the Truth], intending to fuse it with other suitable abilities later.

He didn't have any suitable abilities right now. He'd considered fusing [Touch the Truth] with NO.6 [Words of All Spirits], NO.11 [Environmental Adaptation], NO.12 [Fighting Saint Body], or NO.16 [Blood and Flesh Feast].

Perhaps that would produce abilities like "spellcasting," "believe it and adapt," "an undying body," or "turn someone into food just by looking at them."

But it would probably be better to fuse it with an ability related to conviction.

Next,

Chu Yunyi looked at the round table. He knew that with his current Operation Power, he could get at most two purple Ability Table Balls into the pockets.

He might not even have enough, but it was worth a try.

He had no choice.

Chu Yunyi first took aim at [Element Master]. He'd looked into the ability, and it seemed fairly useful.

He struck, spending a large amount of Control Power.

It went straight into the pocket!

Chu Yunyi picked it up and checked its information:

[NO.20 [Element Master]]

[Quality: Purple]

[Description: You will be able to control and create out of thin air five basic elements—[metal/wood/water/fire/earth]—with your mind. The ability can grow stronger depending on how extensively you use it.]

[Note: The various elements can be combined with one another, such as , , and .]

Chu Yunyi was very pleased with this ability.

It gave him a strong sense of "from one comes two, from two comes three, from three comes all things."

As long as he became proficient enough,

Chu Yunyi could even use this one ability alone to develop every element!

The number of possible combinations would be endless.

With some Operation Power left,

Chu Yunyi knew that he might not be able to get another purple Ability Table Ball into the pocket.

But he still had to try.

His next target was NO.?? [Absolute Blade], an ability he really liked.

Bang!

He swung a cue made of Operation Power, sending the ball rolling forward several steps before it came to a stop.

Chu Yunyi struck again, pushing it forward slowly.

This wasn't a standard game of pool, where someone else had to take a turn after a single shot. He could nudge one ball toward the pocket over and over.

That way,

he could get the purple ball into the pocket using as little Control Power as possible.

But it was a good idea in theory, and the result was disappointing.

The ball representing NO.?? [Absolute Blade] reached the edge of the pocket, then stopped.

It seemed like the slightest breeze would be enough to send it in.

"Damn it!"

Chu Yunyi cursed under his breath. It would've been one thing if the ball were still far from the pocket, but it was practically in, yet just sat there guarding the hole...

The suspense was driving him crazy!

"Can't be helped. I've already... burned out..."

Chu Yunyi looked at his depleted Operation Power and could only turn his attention elsewhere.

Just then,

a faint ripple seemed to spread through heaven and earth. A tiny amount of weak Operation Power appeared!

"What's this?!"

Chu Yunyi was delighted. He even wondered if the round table had heard what he'd said.

But he soon figured it out.

In the past, killing patients with knives and guns had built up Operation Power for him.

But killing patients with abilities also increased it.

In other words,

since NO.19 [Apostle of the Mind] had transformed Zi Shu, that counted as an extension of the ability. So... Zi Shu could build up Operation Power by killing patients too?!

The thought filled Chu Yunyi with excitement.

"Great! This is great!" Chu Yunyi exclaimed, using his Operation Power to send NO.?? [Absolute Blade] straight into the pocket!

The next moment,

Chu Yunyi pulled it over beside him, and its information appeared: