Purchases Before Departure

Chapter 34: Pre-Departure Procurement

Si Ming returned once more to that dense forest, to that temple. And this time, he saw even more crows.

They circled him, cawing as they flew. There was a unique rhythm to their voices. If one listened closely and felt it, they could once again hear the strange prayers of that ancient era.

[Revere death! Follow death! We shall all eventually return to death!]

Ancient wishes gathered together. Pure power was shaped.

Amidst the vast prayers and the whispers of the flock, Si Ming ascended to the very top of the pyramid temple. He crossed the altar of the god and sat firmly upon the divine throne that should not have existed.

The flock of crows fell silent.

This time, eight crows landed in his hands.

--Total amount of Divinity Particle increased eightfold.
--Intensity has increased once again.

The nature of the Necrotic Aura had also undergone slight changes.

Si Ming stood up and brushed the tips of Eve's hair as she still slept beside him. The soft, smooth sensation of her pure white hair truly made him feel at ease. But now was not the time to linger in a bed of comfort.

He had to leave.

He also had to make other preparations for heading to the Celestial Team.

He rose and headed toward the open wilderness outside. The restless essence, energy, and spirit within him transformed at this moment into calm Night Battle Qi, flowing through his limbs and bones like liquid. At his core, it completely shifted into irregular, thorny, crystalline shapes.

The peak of a Great Battle Master? Or perhaps, had he already touched the edge of a Battle Spirit?

Si Ming was not certain, but he was sure that his Night Battle Qi had already brushed against the boundary of A-rank. The nature of the energy conversion had not diminished with his own growth. He was also well aware that it only manifested as Battle Qi because he firmly believed it to be so.

Battle Qi was fine.

He clenched his fist, and the dusk-colored Battle Qi formed armor upon his skin. It could even overlap and merge with the Nanosuit, hiding this newfound defensive power beneath the suit.

And what's more...

Poof. A soft sound.

At his will, the outer edge of the armor transformed back into boiling energy. These violent yet orderly dusk-colored auras successfully lifted Si Ming off the ground.

Ten meters off the ground.

By adjusting the structure of the boiling energy, he could briefly fly through the air.

The consumption was massive.

He rated it as inferior to a standard future jetpack.

Perhaps when his Battle Qi could manifest as wings or turbine nozzles, the situation would see better changes.

"I need a Battle Skill."

Si Ming landed lightly on the ground. He realized that the experience he had gained from the Otherworld Blood War, as well as the Origin of Battle Qi he had purchased from the Main God, were no longer sufficient for his current stage of power. They might have sufficed in the realm of B-rank enhancements, but at the A-rank level, they were ill-suited.

He exhaled softly, summoned the Profaned Greatsword, and gripped it—the scorching, dark flames were even more vigorous and ferocious than before. Even when he injected ninety percent of his internal Battle Qi into the sword, its structure remained stable.

An idea suddenly sprouted.

It blended into his inspiration and mixed with the various techniques recorded in the Origin of Battle Qi he had read. A crude but feasible framework immediately appeared in his mind, driving him to swing his arm forward!

Poof— A left upward sweep, inciting a storm.

The Profaned flames suddenly dispersed, expanding rapidly in all directions. The dark fire, mixed with the spreading crimson, ignited and scorched the surrounding air.

After the left upward sweep came the right, and after the right, he slashed down toward the lower left. The boiling air transformed into a rotating vortex, and with the following right-down slash, the vortex formed by the blazing fire converged sharply toward the center.

The vortex became a cage. The purpose of the first four strikes was to construct a cage with the massive Profaned flames, and then, at the point of maximum influence, suppress and constrict the enemy target trapped within.

And finally, he raised the greatsword high to slash downward, detonating all the flames at once!

Five Strikes of the Cinder King!

BOOM—!!!

The boiling Profaned flames instantly baked the core area into a crystallized crater. The erupting fire continued to spread outward in the form of a vortex. It was undoubtedly a small, suddenly rising tornado. It pushed outward for more than ten meters before its power diminished to a level that no longer tore apart or melted the earth.

"Hoo..."

Ninety percent of his Battle Qi was almost entirely consumed. The dark flames spreading on the ground burned fiercely, and it took quite a while for the heavily depleted energy to gradually flow back.

Si Ming drove the sword into the scorched earth at his feet.

"Still need a lot of adjustment and improvement."

The concept was indeed feasible, but the consumption was too high, and the "gymnastics" required for the first four strikes to set up the fifth were too cumbersome. However, this gave him a suitable place to spend his remaining two D-rank side quests.

"Main God, list energy manipulation techniques that can increase power and reduce consumption, especially those that enhance explosive force."

A light screen descended.

The results were slightly awkward.

There were indeed many items that could effectively solve Si Ming's current problem. Unfortunately, the price tags were generally high. After all, while he still had tens of thousands of reward points, he only had two D-rank side quests left. With only that much hard currency, he couldn't just go and buy a double-jump.

"Hmm... how about purchasing a battle technique to enhance mobility?"

The Main God silently listed a high-quality CC-grade Three Thousand Lightning Movement for him, followed by a budget-friendly DD-grade Thunder Bat Wings. After carefully reviewing the parameter list for the Thunder Bat Wings, Si Ming felt that it was truly inferior to simply installing a detachable jetpack onto the back of his Nanosuit.

He actually bought one, as such auxiliary equipment only required the consumption of reward points. Once the pack was mounted and he had performed several consecutive maneuvers in the air, the crisp, cold wind made his eyes light up once more.

Explosive power...

Corpse Explosion is also an explosion!

--[Evil Explosion--Originating from 'Pan-Xianxia', a spell technique specialized in dark, necrotic power systems. It can cause a negative energy explosion within a certain range by detonating a corpse. Depending on the output, the explosion range and power can be adjusted accordingly. Furthermore, the explosion will be imbued with a certain degree of the user's energy characteristics, thereby causing different types of blasting effects such as erosion, corruption, and penetration.]

--[To redeem this skill, one must pay 2 D-grade side story rewards and 2500 reward points. The redeemer must possess an energy cycle with one of the following attributes: darkness, curse, evil, or necromancy.]

This was originally an additional ability for summoning necromancers, and Si Ming had not intended to purchase it, as he had already figured out how to use Corpse Explosion on his own. Though, perhaps the efficacy was slightly inferior.

But now... buy it!

The reinforcement beam of light descended and quickly faded away. A set of exquisite and unique energy manipulation techniques took shape and structure within his mind. It was complex, but not difficult to understand. One only needed to slightly unlock the first stage of the Gene Lock. Then--

'Click--'

A summoned Skeleton Soldier suddenly exploded.

The range of the explosion was close at hand, yet the intensity was like a thunderbolt descending. Within the suddenly tearing black flash, a crater three meters in diameter was instantly blasted into the ground. The next moment, an explosion of the same specifications was generated on another idle Skeleton Soldier a hundred meters away.

Things you pay for are indeed much better to use. With this single strike, it even possessed the power of a small grenade.

So then...

Si Ming's brows furrowed. The next moment, his Night Battle Qi shifted again and was injected into the Profaned Greatsword--the share was only one-tenth of what he had used for the Five Strikes of the Cinder King. The surging Night Battle Qi then operated within the greatsword using the model of the Evil Explosion, and was suddenly released.

'Boom--' The power had not diminished much.

Boiling, gloomy flames spread out. This technique, originally intended for fragile spellcasters to protect themselves, was now successfully applied to melee battle qi. The Five Strikes of the Cinder King, which had been nothing more than a rough framework just over ten minutes ago, had now received a significant reinforcement. The time and consumption required to create a Burning Flame Cage were both reduced. It transformed from a test skill only useful for hitting wooden dummies in a training ground into a power that could be used in actual combat.

Very good. The strength of the Profaned Greatsword indeed has its own unique efficacy.

Si Ming smiled.

In the distance, Eve's piano music could be heard faintly; the pleasant performance made his mood even more relaxed. The testing of the Night Battle Qi thus came to an end. Next, what needed to be practiced was the BB-grade summoning-type necromancy.

The total number of Skeleton Soldiers that could be summoned had already increased significantly. Previously it was only thirty, but now it could easily exceed the range of three hundred. Furthermore, those special summons whose efficacy had already been verified in the third generation could also be constructed before him.

First were the Skeleton Mages, these advanced spellcasting units. Each required three times the Necrotic Aura consumption of a single Skeleton Soldier. They could acquire one of three abilities—ice, fire, or lightning—at the moment of creation, which could be unleashed at close range or released as projectiles.

Not only that, but Si Ming could also easily summon more than ten Sub-Giant Skeletons, which possessed standard second-tier combat power. Each of them stood nearly ten meters tall, and besides swinging their fists, they could also emit roars with area-of-effect suppression and destruction.

The effects were good.

In addition to these, Si Ming also experimented with Rock Giants and Steel Giants, which were different from the conventional necromantic series. Their destructive power and toughness were indeed sufficient. Their characteristics as meat shields were significantly higher than their output.

So then...

"Basic offense, defense, sustainability, and burst are all complete. Next, I must reinforce the special fields."

In World Two, the one that contributed the most was actually the Burrowing Devil Worm. It had already been buried in the nuclear explosion and tsunami generated when he detonated New York City--even a necromantically-enhanced body could hardly withstand such a combination of water and fire. And Si Ming truly had no way to reach the center of the explosion to recover this damaged devil worm.

Si Ming would remember it.

But now...

He silently connected to the Main God and opened the classic ingredient section.

"Main God, give me the corpse of an adult Mind Flayer. And then--"

"Give me a Byakhee as well!"