The Old Priest pointed at Lin Mu, his withered finger trembling violently.
The horror in his eyes was almost spilling over.
His lips quivered, and he could no longer maintain his usual composure.
"You... what are you?"
"Quick! Activate the Holy Temple Defensive Array! Seize him!"
The Old Priest's voice was hoarse yet piercing.
He backed away, trying to activate the runes beneath his feet.
Lin Mu remained calm, not even bothering to move.
He simply stood there, watching the Old Priest's performance.
His perception range stretched an astonishing ninety-nine meters.
He had already detected several powerful presences rapidly approaching from outside the Holy Temple.
He recognized two of the three leading auras.
Mayor Fan Zhiheng and Department of Education Director Ji Xiangwen.
"Boom—!"
The side hall doors were blasted open from the outside with brute force, sending rubble flying.
Fan Zhiheng and Ji Xiangwen stormed in with a squad of elite City Guards.
They immediately spotted the bizarre scene before them.
Lin Mu stood unharmed, his expression calm.
Meanwhile, the Old Priest sat collapsed on the floor, nearly scared out of his wits.
"Seal off this place! No one gets in or out!"
Fan Zhiheng's expression was grave as he gave the order.
He strode over to Lin Mu, his sharp gaze sweeping over him.
"Lin Mu, what was that strange phenomenon just now?"
Lin Mu's face took on just the right amount of "lingering fear" and "bewilderment."
He looked as though he still hadn't recovered from the sudden upheaval.
He had prepared his explanation in advance.
"I... I don't know either."
"I was in the middle of my class advancement, and my class seemed to... to undergo some kind of mutation."
"Then an uncontrollable energy suddenly erupted. There was nothing I could do."
Lin Mu's tone was just the right blend of innocence.
He spread his hands, presenting himself as another victim.
Mayor Fan and Ji Xiangwen exchanged glances, both seeing deep suspicion in the other's eyes.
A class mutation?
It sounded bizarre, but it wasn't impossible.
But for a single class advancement to trigger a terrifying phenomenon that enveloped the entire city? That was absurd!
Still, they couldn't find any holes in his story.
And Lin Mu had already created the SSS-Rank and SS-Rank legends.
The boy was already shrouded in mystery.
"It seems a genius's class advancement really can't be measured by conventional standards."
Ji Xiangwen adjusted his glasses.
In the end, he could only accept the explanation that sounded the most ridiculous, yet was also the hardest to refute.
Their estimation of Lin Mu rose to a whole new level.
The turmoil gradually subsided.
Fan Zhiheng dismissed the unnecessary personnel and kept Lin Mu behind for a long talk.
At last, he patted Lin Mu on the shoulder, his voice low and firm.
"Remember, Xilin City will always be your strongest support."
"However, this incident was no small matter. It may attract unwanted attention, so be careful in your actions from now on."
"Thank you for the warning, Mayor."
Lin Mu thanked him.
By the time he left the Holy Temple, it was already the early hours of the morning.
His curiosity about his talent's upgrade and the peculiar nature of his class had deepened.
Back at his mansion in Tianlan Mansion,
Lin Mu took out the purple Ice Armor dropped by the Frost Lord, along with the Ice Group Control Skill Book, and gave them a quick look.
They were both quite good, but he had no use for them.
He couldn't be bothered to modify them. He'd just sell them for money next time.
He eagerly opened his Class Panel.
He began studying the new First Advancement skill he had learned.
[Death Prayer] (Level 1): Consumes 100 mana to summon an ethereal sound that surrounds your summons, increasing their attack, defense, and speed by 150%. Duration: 1 minute. Cooldown: 30 minutes.
His talent activated, revealing a more detailed description.
[Death Prayer] (Level 1): Consumes 100 mana to use Death Energy to summon the ethereal voices of the dead in the surrounding area. The voices surround your summons and unleash their potential, increasing their attack, defense, and speed by 150%. Duration: 1 minute. Cooldown: 30 minutes.
Lin Mu's lips curled into a smile.
After his talent upgraded, he could modify each target twice per day.
Without hesitation, he used both modifications at once!
"Change 'increase by 150%' to 'increase by 950%'!"
"Change 'Duration: 1 minute' to 'Duration: 15 minutes'!"
The skill description instantly transformed!
An unprecedented, terrifying group buff skill had been born.
Lin Mu suppressed his excitement and began systematically planning his next round of enhancements.
With two modifications available, the efficiency of his upgrades had increased by leaps and bounds!
He first turned his attention to his core summoning skill, [Resurrect Skeleton].
"Change 'Maximum number: 100' to 'Maximum number: 900'!"
"Change 'Summon 90 Steel Skeletons' to 'Summon 99 Steel Skeletons'!"
The skill description changed once more.
[Resurrect Skeleton] (Level 4): Consumes 500 mana to summon 99 Steel Skeletons to fight for you. Maximum number: 900.
His Skeleton Legion had expanded tenfold!
Next came [Resurrect Skeleton Archer].
Since he already had an army of Steel Skeletons, he decided to improve the individual strength of his Skeleton Archers first.
He would increase their numbers later.
"Change 'wield a Bone Bow' to 'wield a Crossbow'!"
"Change 'fire Bone Arrows' to 'fire Fire Arrows'!"
[Resurrect Skeleton Archer] (Level 3): Consumes 25 mana to summon 10 Fire Crossbow Skeleton Archers to fight for you. Maximum number: 10.
His novice archers had been upgraded in an instant!
Next was [Bone Tooth].
Lin Mu first changed "Summon 990 Bone Teeth" to "Summon 999 Bone Teeth."
Then he spent one skill point to raise it to Level 4, increasing the number summoned to 1,000.
Next, he modified it again.
"Change 'Summon 1,000 Bone Teeth' to 'Summon 9,000 Bone Teeth'!"
[Bone Tooth] (Level 4): Consumes 9,007 mana to summon 9,000 Bone Teeth from underground and stab the linear area ahead, each dealing 5–7 physical damage.
Bone Tooth had nearly become a thousand-toothed inferno!
Even with the 99% cost reduction from the [Withered Wood Staff], each use still cost 90 mana.
The range of [Grasp of Bones] was sufficient for now.
Lin Mu directly modified its damage twice and raised it to Level 4.
[Grasp of Bones] (Level 4): Consumes 31 mana to summon a skeletal hand at a designated location. After grabbing hold, it explodes, dealing 100 physical damage within a 90.3-meter radius.
Last came his equipment.
He maxed out the frost damage reduction and mana recovery on the [Frost Breath Whisper Hood].
[Frost Breath Whisper Hood] (LV.10, Purple) Defense: 25–30 Constitution: +5 Special Effect 1: Reduces incoming frost damage by 99%. Special Effect 2: Restores 99% mana per second. [Fear Whisper Ring] (LV.10, Gold) Constitution: +5 Intelligence: +5 Special Effect 1: [Fear Aura]: When worn, inflicts [Fear] on all hostile targets within a 90-meter radius (all attributes reduced by 9%). Special Effect 2: [Despair Scream]: Actively activated. Consumes 100 mana to unleash a scream filled with endless despair, dealing (900 + Intelligence × 9.5) mental damage to all enemies in a fan-shaped area ahead, with a 50% chance to inflict [Confusion] for 5 seconds (attacks target allies and enemies indiscriminately). Cooldown: 60 seconds.
The damage from [Despair Scream] was downright explosive!
Lin Mu finished distributing the attribute points he'd gained from leveling up.
Combined with the bonuses from his class advancement, his new status panel had been completely transformed.
[Name: Lin Mu] [Class: Necromancer] [Level: LV.13, Experience: 4382/10000] [Health: 470/470] [Mana: 610/610] [Strength: 7] [Agility: 19] (Battle Boots +5) [Intelligence: 61] (Whisper Ring +5) [Constitution: 47] (Chestplate +3, Necklace +2, Hood +5, Whisper Ring +5) [Free Attribute Points: 0] [Skill Points: 2]
His overall strength had increased more than tenfold compared to before his class advancement!
Just as Lin Mu was immersed in the exhilaration of his soaring strength,
his powerful perception
suddenly detected a familiar yet ghostly presence.
It had appeared silently on the balcony of his living room.
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