Facing Zhang Jingping's gossip, Chen Xu quickly shook his head in denial. "Teacher Zhang, please don't say such things. That was strictly business. You shouldn't spread rumors."
"If it wasn't a romantic matter..." Zhang Jingping paused for a moment. "Have you been promoted to legendary-tier?"
Chen Xu was incredibly surprised that Zhang Jingping had correctly identified his current rank.
"How could you tell?"
"At the legendary-tier, your life essence undergoes a leap, which usually results in some form of physical mutation. For example, changes to hair, skin, or even shifts in size. Don't worry, it will slowly fade unless you intentionally maintain it."
"Teacher Zhang, since you know so much, are you also at the legendary-tier?"
"What do you think?" Zhang Jingping didn't give a direct answer. He only left Chen Xu with a rhetorical question before heading further into the base.
"What do I think? As an Archmage, he must be at least legendary-tier. He couldn't be mythic-tier, could he?" Chen Xu chased after him, voicing his guess.
"Mythic-tier? Hahaha, you certainly have a wild imagination. With that kind of creativity, it's a pity you didn't pursue the path of a mage."
The two of them entered the base. In the lobby, staff members were already setting up the venue. It seemed there would be many participants this time, as the previous meeting room wouldn't be large enough.
"Brother Zhang, you've arrived so early?" Xia Qiming emerged from a nearby office, holding two cups of coffee. "Want some?"
Zhang Jingping and Chen Xu each took a cup.
"Didn't I receive the orders you guys sent out? All my personnel were reassigned, so I couldn't continue my research. Having nothing better to do, I decided to come early," Zhang Jingping grumbled to Xia Qiming after taking a small sip.
"This was a sudden development. You should have seen the message sent by the World Will. This time, it's for the sake of the world as much as it is for ourselves."
"A message from the World Will?" Chen Xu took a large gulp of coffee and grimaced at the bitterness. Hearing Xia Qiming's words, he couldn't help but ask about it.
Deceived by Chen Xu's expression, Xia Qiming truly thought he hadn't received the notification. "You didn't get it? Even though the World Will acts like a child, surely it wouldn't hold a grudge against you specifically. Is there really no prompt on your panel?
It happened around midnight. I suppose the World Will saw we hadn't made a move yet, so it sent a message directly to the panels."
So it was a panel message.
Since his class evolved into the Lord of the Undead, Chen Xu discovered he could temporarily block the professional panel. It seemed the authority of the Lord of the Undead overrode the authority of the World Will.
Consequently, Chen Xu had panel notifications muted by default. Additionally, he had been playing with Sindragosa and the others all day yesterday, only leaving the Undead Kingdom when the message from the Soul-Inducing Token arrived.
Chen Xu opened his panel and found a message in enlarged font, pinned directly to the top. It was a forced notification that couldn't be closed until read in its entirety.
He wondered where the World Will had learned such tactics.
【Limited-Time Event: Mercy of the Heavenly Dao—Experience Sprint】
【Description: Recently, I have received numerous feedbacks from professionals regarding level progression issues. Additionally, two human believers personally beseeched me, hoping I would once again bestow my benevolence upon all living beings. Their earnest words moved me, thus I am opening a limited-time event to assist professionals in increasing their levels.】
【Content:
1. During the event, professionals' Advancement Ascension missions will be converted into side quests and will no longer restrict level progression. (Ascension missions can be completed later to obtain rank promotions.)
2. During the event, dungeon completion rewards are doubled.
3. During the event, experience gained from killing dungeon monsters is doubled.
4. During the event, the manifestation speed of dungeons will increase, with priority given to regions with the fewest uncleared dungeons.
】
【Duration: From now until further notice】
After reading the event notification, he felt a strong vibe of a mobile game event.
Was the World Will just playing games all day inside that Demon Abyss seal?
No wonder it sounded like a toxic gamer when it was talking to itself yesterday.
"I see it now. But what's with the 'two human believers' part? It doesn't mean you and me, does it, Teacher Xia?"
"Heh, you'll get used to it. The kid is just like that. It'll probably forget in a few days," Xia Qiming said helplessly. But since the other party was the World Will, there was nothing they could do but play along.
"That's not right. It's hundreds of years old and still looks like a child. Are you sure its sense of time will let it forget in just a few days?"
Chen Xu was a bit skeptical. After hundreds of years, it still had the temperament of a child, and with the influence of human games, he felt the Heavenly Dao was definitely not some benevolent entity.
"It's fine. It doesn't matter if it forgets or not, as long as I forget," Xia Qiming said nonchalantly.
His carefree attitude made him look like some high monk who had seen through the vanity of the world.
"Teacher Xia, your class wouldn't happen to be a monk or a cleric, would it?"
"Heh, you little brat. Don't think I don't know what you're thinking."
The group continued to chat for a while as more people arrived.
It seemed some high-ranking figures had arrived, as Xia Qiming went to greet them, leaving Chen Xu and Zhang Jingping sitting in a corner of the lobby.
"By the way, Teacher Zhang, what level are you now?"
Chen Xu was suddenly curious about Zhang Jingping's level. Due to the uniqueness of the Lord of the Undead, his advancement only required upgrading the Undead Kingdom.
He wasn't sure what level other professionals needed to reach for a normal promotion to the legendary-tier or how many Advancement Ascension missions they had to endure.
Zhang Jingping swirled the coffee in his hand. "Guess."
"I'm asking because I don't know. You know my promotion path is different from others."
"Sigh." Hearing this, Zhang Jingping seemed to recall something and sighed softly.
After a moment of silence, he finally spoke. "Level 23."
"Huh? No way. You must be joking, Teacher Zhang."
Chen Xu thought Zhang Jingping didn't want to reveal his true level and had just said a random number. But looking at his serious expression, it didn't seem like a lie.
"A self-breakthrough?" Chen Xu suddenly remembered the World Will mentioning something like this yesterday, though he hadn't quite understood it at the time.
Connecting it to Zhang Jingping's stated level, Chen Xu had a hunch.
"Self-breakthrough? What a strange term. Did the World Will say that?" Zhang Jingping felt that Chen Xu wouldn't have come up with such a thing on his own, and Xia Qiming didn't seem like the type to blabber.
That meant only the World Will would say something like that.
"The professional transcendent system bestowed by the World Will—do you think it's good or bad?"
"It should be good, right? After all, without professionals, humanity would have trouble even surviving now." Chen Xu didn't know why Zhang Jingping suddenly asked this, but he spoke his mind.
The professional transcendent system only required one to reach adulthood to awaken. One could grow continuously just by clearing dungeons. This absurd growth rate would make the cultivators of Immortal Island and the mages of Akhan go mad with envy.
"It is indeed good. No need for cultivation, no need for study. You only need to complete various missions from the World Will to obtain all sorts of skills, items, and treasures to directly increase your strength.
World energy is infused directly, without any hidden dangers."
"So, you think it's good too?"
"Yes, no one can deny the benefits of the professional system. Therefore, the path we chose might not necessarily be the right one, which is why Daxia chooses not to publicize the path of people like me."
"Perhaps humans are just perverse. My studies in Akhan led me to discover that one can obtain transcendent abilities without using the professional panel. Moreover, that kind of progression is built through bit-by-bit accumulation. That sense of groundedness is something the panel can't give me.
I can understand the principles behind a spell, rather than just seeing the cold words 'learning successful' on the panel.
Since then, I became obsessed with the feeling of increasing my strength through self-study. I haven't touched the professional system since."
Chen Xu understood. This was a pure academic genius. He felt that the abilities handed to him by the professional panel weren't satisfying to use, so he insisted on learning them himself.
"Teacher Zhang, do you think it's possible that Daxia doesn't publicize it because not everyone can easily learn other transcendent systems like you?" Chen Xu didn't want to say it directly, so he took a roundabout way to critique the idea.
"Heh, perhaps. Or maybe Daxia is afraid... afraid that I'll lead someone like you, a natural-born anomaly who's practically a walking cheat, down the wrong path of self-study."
"How am I a natural-born anomaly?"
Chen Xu was getting a bit defensive. His strength was built on the selfless dedication of a multitude of skeletal creatures, which provided him with such high skill levels and special enhancements.
He wasn't a natural authority-user like Chang Shu.
"Heh." Zhang Jingping gave a soft laugh without further reply.
Before Chen Xu could continue his defense, Xia Qiming walked to the front and picked up a microphone. "Everyone, everyone is here. The matter is urgent, and I've already sent messages to explain. I won't say much more here. We will proceed directly to operational deployment."
A 3D holographic map appeared above the lobby, and Xia Qiming began making arrangements while pointing at it.
He spoke for a long time. Chen Xu realized there was nothing for him to do yet. With so many big shots around, he felt embarrassed to take out a book to read, so he let out a bored yawn.
"Chen Xu." Xia Qiming's voice rang out.
"Here!"
"This time, you will be responsible for three dungeons. Two are mid-tier conquest-type dungeons, and the Hurricane Warband will be supporting you. The other is a mid-tier assimilation-type dungeon. Go to the Heavenly Crafts Academy later; they will provide disguises for your undead creatures."
"Understood!"
Rate on N.U.
