The Final Preparations

"Hmph!" Celestial gave a cold snort, but said nothing more. If he argued with this woman in front of everyone, he'd be giving her exactly what she wanted. People would think he was petty, and recruiting would be harder from then on. He'd worked so hard to put this plan together, and it had been on the verge of bearing fruit. He hadn't expected this woman to ruin everything. He was seething inside.

After composing himself, Celestial put on a forced smile. "Of course. Though I, Celestial, came up with this idea after a lot of hard work, if Miss Phantom wants to use it too, I won't object. Go ahead and use it."

"Hehe, Captain Celestial is so generous. Then I'll have to thank you." Phantom covered her mouth and chuckled. This time, she didn't mock him again. She'd already offended him by doing this; if she kept pushing, she'd make a permanent enemy of him, and that would cause trouble later.

Celestial didn't want to waste any more time on her. In his view, recruiting good teammates—preferably experts—was the priority. He'd have plenty of chances to settle things with her later, and then all his efforts would pay off.

"Everyone, is there anyone else who'd like to join my Celestial Team? There are very few teams in the space right now. If you don't join one soon, it'll be much harder to get in later. Think it over carefully. More people make things easier, and you'll have a better chance of earning Source Points and living comfortably in the space."

"That's right. Captain Celestial is absolutely right. If you're looking to join a team, come take a look at my Heavenly Demon Team," the woman called Phantom added, trying to recruit people as well.

Lin Maoxian watched the group walk away and shrugged helplessly. Then he turned toward the East District and headed back to his Private Space. He'd wanted to watch a good show, but he hadn't expected Celestial to be so good at holding back. He'd never lost his temper, and the show never happened. As for joining a team? He'd never considered it. Team members couldn't attack one another, and a death would cost them 3,000 Source Points, but if someone had enough motive, they could still frame another person without getting their own hands dirty. You could never guard against that. Human nature was complicated. Someone could be one way one moment, then change for some reason the next. So he'd never wanted to create or join a team. He was afraid someone would set him up.

After returning to his Private Space, Lin Maoxian asked the space, "If I return to the real world, can I come back to the Origin Space at any time, instead of having to wait until a mission is about to begin?"

"Adventurers may return to the space at any time, but they must not do so while under the observation of any monitoring device or human being. Otherwise, it will be considered indirect disclosure of the space's existence, and the space will impose a severe punishment."

"I want to leave the space!"

"After leaving the space, adventurers must not reveal its existence in any way, whether actively or passively. Adventurers may use their abilities in the real world, but aside from their basic attributes, all other equipment, skills, and items will have 80% of their effects sealed."

"Adventurers may return to the space by finding any mirror and silently repeating, 'Return to the Origin Space.'"

"Restoring adventurer's appearance. Adventurer teleporting..."

When Lin Maoxian returned to the real world, he found himself in exactly the same place. He hadn't moved at all. He felt the powerful strength and stamina coursing through his body, and even his thoughts and vision seemed much clearer. These changes all proved that his experiences had been real, not merely a fantasy.

At the gym, Lin Maoxian tested his current attributes. The difference was huge. Equipment that he'd once struggled to lift was now easy to handle. He tested his strength and realized he didn't yet have good control over his increased attributes. Sometimes he tried to use less force, but still ended up using too much, missing his target. And that was without using any skills. If he used a skill and his strength and stamina suddenly doubled, controlling them would be even harder.

Knowing what he needed to do next, Lin Maoxian trained with specific goals in mind. Through his connections, he got hold of a highly advanced infrared system to train his agility and perception. It could adjust its frequency automatically and track body heat, making it ideal for training. He worked on strength and stamina with basic skills, which also proved very effective. From time to time, he used that A-grade skill to become more familiar with it, so he wouldn't have trouble controlling it if he needed to use it suddenly.

Six days passed unnoticed as he trained, and the results were striking. He could now control his increased attributes very well. He'd also learned to keep the A-grade skill under control when using it, so his strength wouldn't get away from him and damage the surroundings.

During this time, Lin Maoxian bought a supply of food, water, and other necessities and put them in his Storage Space. That way, he wouldn't starve if he got trapped somewhere without food or water. Once he felt he'd taken care of everything, he returned to the Origin Space using a mirror, even though it wasn't yet time for the next world mission.

"Adventurer number 258 has returned to the space. Space teleporting..."

After returning to his Private Space, Lin Maoxian asked the space, "Is there anywhere in the space where I can train? It's still hard to fully control my increased attributes. Is there a way to solve that?"

"Adventurer's authority is sufficient. Permission to answer granted. Once adventurers upgrade their authority to rank eight, they may temporarily create a training ground within their Private Space. There, they may train their increased attributes or skills to improve their control."

"Training in the training ground will only improve an adventurer's control. It will not increase character attributes or skill levels. All character enhancements require Source Points, with the exception of certain special items; they cannot be increased independently."

"Looks like I should upgrade my authority to rank eight soon. Even training in the real world is becoming difficult with my current attributes. As my attributes increase, it'll probably become less effective. But why can't training increase any enhancements? Is it because the space wants to keep adventurers under control?" After hearing the space's answer, Lin Maoxian muttered to himself, then asked it directly.

"Adventurer's authority is sufficient. Permission to answer granted. To put it in terms an adventurer can understand, the reason is spiritual energy. The space's Source Points are equivalent to spiritual energy. When an adventurer is enhanced, spiritual energy is infused into their body, strengthening them. Since independent training does not involve spiritual energy, it cannot increase attributes or skill levels."

"Is there spiritual energy in the world of story missions?" Lin Maoxian asked. He wanted to know whether those worlds had spiritual energy. If they did, he could train during his free time between missions. It was hard to find such a good deal: improving his attributes and skills without spending Source Points.

"Adventurer's authority is insufficient. Permission to answer denied."

"Ugh..." Lin Maoxian shook his head helplessly. That damned authority again. He couldn't waste his contribution points next time; he needed to save them for an upgrade. If he had time in the next story world, he could try training there, preferably by focusing on one thing the whole time. Then, if anything changed, it would be easier to notice.

Unable to get an answer from the space, Lin Maoxian remembered that his next story mission was coming up soon. He checked his remaining 1,200 Source Points and realized he couldn't afford any good equipment, so he went to the Space Shop and spent 950 Source Points on two items that could restore 100 health during battle. With the remaining 250 Source Points, he spent 190 on an Entanglement Trap. It had to be activated 30 seconds in advance, and depending on the target's strength, it could hold them for 1–5 seconds. It wouldn't work if the target's strength was over 30 points.

He didn't know whether he'd need it, but with so few Source Points, it was the best option. As for saving them for after the next world, Lin Maoxian believed in making the most of what he had. He could worry about the next world when he got back; for now, he'd use what he had. If the trap came in handy, he'd come out ahead. After checking his remaining 60 Source Points and failing to find anything else useful, he left the Space Shop, ready to get a good night's sleep and rest up for his next adventure.

When Lin Maoxian woke, he checked the time and saw that the next mission would begin in half an hour. He decided to take a look around the Adventurer Zone.

There were still plenty of stalls in the Adventurer Zone, but it wasn't as lively as the last time he'd visited. He stopped at a stall to browse. The items were all ordinary-grade, but they weren't what he was looking for. He didn't have many Source Points left, and couldn't afford to buy anything anyway.

Lin Maoxian casually asked the stall owner, "Hey, friend, can you tell me what happened when the Celestial Team and the Heavenly Demon Team were recruiting a few days ago? I watched for a while, but had to leave early."

At the mention of that day, the stall owner said excitedly, "Hey, you missed what happened afterward. What a shame! More people wanted to join later, and quite a few met the requirements. In the end, they had no choice but to settle it with arena matches. It was amazing to watch—way better than a monkey show."

Lin Maoxian felt sorry for those people. They'd been compared to monkeys. He wondered what their faces would look like if they found out. "They fought in the arena? How could you watch?"

The stall owner said gleefully, "They used spectator mode, of course. At first, none of them agreed, but after everyone protested, they turned it on. They didn't use any skills, though; at most, they used their equipment. I don't know if they didn't have any skills or were saving them as trump cards. It was a bit of a shame."