Over-the-Limit Stat Allocation

The system's stat allocation was more complicated than Lu Yuan had imagined.

Lu Yuan had been practicing the Body-Protecting Shield and had made a little progress.

Now, when he punched a wall with all his strength, it hurt much less, and any skin he scraped off his fist healed completely in just one day.

Lu Yuan had also discovered that the Body-Protecting Shield's effectiveness fluctuated along with his True Essence.

For example, when the system's True Essence value fluctuated between 112 and 120, he took considerably more damage than when it fluctuated between 106 and 120.

It seemed that the more True Essence the Body-Protecting Shield converted, the stronger its defense became, Lu Yuan concluded.

As he grew more practiced, Lu Yuan increased the range of fluctuation from eight points to fourteen. But 106 was a hurdle he had been unable to cross for quite some time.

Since I can't move the lower limit of my True Essence, what about moving the upper limit? Lu Yuan considered.

He planned to spend 200 points to raise his True Essence limit by two. He had been here for many days, and his True Essence had long since recovered to full on its own, so he could allocate the points directly.

But when Lu Yuan focused on the plus sign and thought about adding two points, the system's True Essence value did not become 120/122.

Instead, it became 132/120.

The plus sign after the value had disappeared!

At the same time, 120 Merit Points had been deducted, leaving him with 1,379.

Huh, why had that happened?

His True Essence had actually exceeded its upper limit.

Judging by the Merit Points deducted, the amount above the limit and the Merit Points had a ratio of one to ten.

He already knew that raising the True Essence limit cost one to one hundred, while replenishing True Essence cost one to one.

Lu Yuan's system panel now read:

Merit Points: 1,379

True Essence: 132/120 ling

Spiritual Pressure: 12 seals

Divine Sense: 24 thoughts

Return Progress: 11.17%

Lu Yuan tried adjusting his breathing to activate the Body-Protecting Shield. The system's True Essence value began to fluctuate, changing regularly between 132 and 116.

In other words, the True Essence the Body-Protecting Shield could draw on had increased from fourteen points to sixteen.

Lu Yuan tried punching the wall and clearly felt that his fist had grown harder still.

It worked!

Although he didn't know why he could no longer raise the True Essence limit, allocating points directly above the limit was pretty good too. He had added twelve ling at once, and it was much cheaper than raising the limit.

Raising the limit by twelve ling would cost 1,200 Merit Points, while allocating points beyond the limit only cost 120. It was something of a bargain!

As it turned out, Lu Yuan had been happy too soon. Before long, he noticed that the amount above the limit had begun to drop.

131, 130, 129-it dropped point by point.

After about an hour, his True Essence had returned to 120/120.

It seemed that allocating points beyond the limit was not permanent; they could only be retained for a very short time. Lu Yuan guessed that this might be a means of producing a temporary burst of power.

But if it only lasted an hour, allocating points this way was a poor bargain. After all, replenishing True Essence cost one to one, while this cost one to ten.

Lu Yuan thought his exploration of the system would end there for now, but it wasn't over yet. After getting some sleep, he happened to glance at the system and discovered that it had changed again.

Merit Points: 1,379

True Essence: 120/120 ling +

Spiritual Pressure: 13 seals

Divine Sense: 24 thoughts

Return Progress: 11.17%

The plus sign after True Essence had returned. That was cause for celebration.

Stranger still, his Spiritual Pressure had risen by one point for some reason, reaching thirteen seals.

Spiritual Pressure had always been a value he couldn't understand, and now he was even more baffled.

Lu Yuan was certain of at least one thing: this system, which looked simple on the surface, might be far more complicated than he had imagined.

On the very day his Spiritual Pressure changed, the opportunity Lu Yuan had been waiting for appeared.

First, he faintly heard shouting from the direction of the prayer hall. That was unusual, because the cultists who prayed all day were generally quiet.

The sudden commotion suggested that something might have happened.

Before long, Zhang Cheng came over and opened the door.

"Brother Cheng, are you taking me to pray?"

Lu Yuan asked because Zhang Cheng hadn't come at mealtime.

"Not to pray today." Zhang Cheng spoke mysteriously. "Lord Protector of the Faith is here. He'll conduct a ritual for everyone in a little while."

"All of you are to come."

By "all of you," he meant Lu Yuan and the other three students. Besides Xu Wenbin, Guo Huai had later brought two more people down. But their rooms were farther from Lu Yuan's, so they had barely had any contact.

Xu Wenbin's face was pale, and he no longer had the innocent liveliness he had shown when they first met. Ever since the beating, he had been gloomy and withdrawn.

The two new faces looked much the same. Anyone locked in confinement for more than half a month would be in terrible shape.

Lu Yuan was the exception, of course. He had been so immersed in the joy of solving problems that he had lost track of time.

The four followed Zhang Cheng and were led into the prayer hall.

At that moment, cultists knelt all over the hall, shouting cult slogans with fanatical fervor.

A black-robed man wearing a bird-shaped mask stood beneath the divine statue, with three guards standing respectfully to one side.

"Are you the Holy Church's fresh blood? Come over here and let me have a look at you."

The black-robed man's voice was deep. The cultists moved aside, clearing a space in the middle of the prayer hall.

Lu Yuan and the other three slowly stepped forward. Under the influence of the fervent atmosphere around them, the three students who had looked unwell also became submissive.

Lu Yuan lowered his head, hiding the doubt in his eyes. The black-robed man's figure seemed somewhat familiar; he might have seen him somewhere before.

One of his main tasks in infiltrating the cult was to find out the Protector of the Faith's true identity. Right now, he badly wanted to rush over and tear off the mask to see who was behind it.

Of course, doing so would be no different from bringing destruction upon himself. Seemingly submissive, he joined the other three in shouting the Divine Lord's name.

The black-robed man looked the four over, then nodded at Guo Huai beside him, apparently quite satisfied with the candidates this time.

"Good! The Divine Lord has granted an oracle today, permitting the four of you to bathe in the Divine Lord's glory!"

"Guards, prepare!"

Guo Huai and the others obeyed, taking out candlesticks and incense and arranging them on both sides of the divine statue. Sheng Hong led Lu Yuan, Xu Wenbin, and the other two farther forward and told each of them to sit cross-legged on the rug.

The cultists watching around them were filled with envy, jealousy, and resentment. They kept squeezing toward the center, hoping to catch a little of the "Divine Lord's glory" when the ritual began.

Guo Huai roughly kicked them aside.

An old woman was sent rolling several times across the floor. She did not resent Guo Huai; instead, she knelt toward the black-robed man and held out her hands in supplication.

"Doctor Li, let me stand at the front!"

"You wretch!" Guo Huai slapped her flying. "You have to call him Lord Protector of the Faith!"

The old woman lay to one side, groaning, as a flash of lightning went through Lu Yuan's mind.

Doctor Li!

Li Tailai of Jiangzhou First Hospital!

When Lu Yuan had been handling the paperwork for his mother to receive Xikangnuo at Jiangzhou First Hospital, he had intended to consult the specialist about some questions concerning her subsequent recovery.

But it had already been mealtime, and by the time Lu Yuan found him, Li Tailai was just taking the elevator downstairs.

In the instant before the elevator doors closed, Lu Yuan had memorized Li Tailai's appearance. Sure enough, his figure was identical to that of the black-robed man before him now.

Thinking further, why were there so many Twilight Syndrome patients among the cultists?

Lu Yuan remembered his father saying that he had heard Doctor Li Tailai also had a very secret treatment method, which he would only reveal to someone who sought him out in private.

This place was probably what the so-called secret treatment meant.

At the thought, Lu Yuan broke out in a cold sweat. If he hadn't obtained the money for treatment, his mother might already have been here.

Using the despair of terminally ill patients to recruit believers-a cult was a cult, all right. It deserved to be wiped out! Lu Yuan silently swore to himself.