Zhang Zhi went into battle with high hopes. He had a lot of things going for him, a giant boost in power and a new sword that was given to him by the leader in a mysterious way. This boosted his morale and made him make the mistake of engaging this monster on his own. He was now in a losing battle with his spiritual energy being drained.

His biggest mistake was not taking the enemy's huge turtle into consideration. It seemed to not be able to do much besides its massive head, this was however enough to keep him on his toes. The enemy did make mistakes and there were a few opportunities where a devastating blow could be delivered but he was unable to follow through.

Whenever he tried using this high-quality weapon of his to slice the merman in half, a wave of sound energy would knock him back. Then the opportunity would be gone and his enemy would be back to thrusting that strange trident his way. If not for his new weapon his death would have been assured, only with it could he hope to counter the water Qi that his enemy was employing.

He needed to find a weak point and do it fast, if he didn’t then his life was at risk. This was not even the worst thing, what he was worried about the most was that if he fell that the tide of battle could turn in the merman’s favor. How could he face the Patriarch or his sect brothers and sisters if he lost? Dying was better than letting the sect's name be dragged through the dirt.

Zhi was entrusted with this mission and retreating was not an option, thus he decided to give up his flesh so that he could cut bone. The next time the sound wave came he would take the hit and commit to the strike. His internal organs would take a beating but he would be able to slice through his enemy. If everything went right the other side would be injured far worse than he would. However, if he made a mistake then his life would probably be over and inside his chest, he would find the trident of his enemy.

‘W-what is this?’

His mind was resolute and both his hands were on the elongated katana. Before he could go through with his suicide tactic a familliar aura washed over him. The Qi cleary belonged to the Patriarch but he was not here; it was as if it was coming from within his own soul.

‘It’s as if the Patriarch is guiding my hand with his own superior swordsmanship…’

The knowledge and skills that he needed to win this clash entered his mind. A burst of energy that was unfamiliar yet familiar filled his entire being. The thought of risking his life left his head as he knew what to do. It was as if the path became clear to him and he just needed to follow the Qi trail before him.

With all his might he charged forward, the merman that he was facing looked surprised by the boost in power and speed. The turtle produced another blast of sound energy but just at the right moment, he slashed with his sword to open up the way towards victory. The protective barrier was cleaved apart and he found himself before the enemy leader.

It all happened in a fraction of a second, before the trident could even reach his throat his sword went through. The speed was trouly something he was not fully used to and so he found himself tumbling forward in an uncoordinated fashion. Yet he did not panic, the deed was already done, his sword had gone through and his enemy was already dead. His body was slashed in two from his neck down to his waistline.

When looking back he could swear that he saw the illusory figure of the Patriarch fading away. It was as if he was there as a teacher guiding his hand and lending his power to him just for that one sword strike. Just as fast as the knowledge and Qi was given to him it faded away. It was not clear to him how this had happened but he knew that if he wanted this technique would be open to him.

‘My whole body is screaming in pain… my bones almost shattered…’

There was a big drawback though, his whole body had been almost critically injured after performing this attack. It was clear that his body refining needed a tuning if he ever hoped to master this strange technique. This was obviously something that the unfathomable Patriarch had left behind during the ceremony.

He could feel a massive surge in holy and lightning energies that he was not that familliar with. During his ascension to the middle stage, some of the Patriarch’s healing properties had been given to him but it was nowhere near that power that just exploded from his fingers. Now after it was all said and done he was feeling a bit dizzy but his strength was returning to him. Perhaps if he mastered this new art he would be able to touch Zhang Dong’s heels.

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…

‘This skill does burn through a lot of Qi.’

Zhang Dong leaned back in his chair while giving out a relieved sigh. Everything seemed to have worked out just as planned and the commander of the underwater creatures had been killed. Zhang Zhi’s Qi had fallen to only ten percent after using the special prestige class ability but with its help, he would be able to combat people above his level.

‘I didn’t expect this added feature though, I actually gained some spirit points from Zhi killing that merman commander, is this only limited to the prestige units from my faction or can I increase the number?’

He had a limit of five prestige units and had decided on the first three. Perhaps giving the next one to Qiang would be better after making this discovery. His friend was a battle junky and probably had the second biggest kill count from the whole sect. He was only second to him that had been putting himself in a bit more danger than a Patriarch should.

‘It’s not even a small number, It’s not quite as much as the old system was giving me but not that far off either.’

The system went through some changes along with changing the spirit point gain in general. When trying to compare it to the old points he would receive for killing a nascent soul master this gave him a bit above thirty percent. This meant that if his five prestige units started going through enemy numbers he would be given quite a large chunk of change.

‘This means that if I can get four of them to kill four early stage, nascent soul masters, I should get more points than if I killed one myself…’

While at first, it didn’t sound that great, he could probably go through nascent soul masters as a warm knife goes through butter at the moment. However, if he considered that the old system started to give fewer points to the weaker enemy he fought, this might be even more efficient. Then he also had the numerical advantage with the prestige units and perhaps other options would open up in the future.

‘This must be the effect of Wang Long’s system I came in contact with but can I really keep relying on this workaround…’

Zhang Dong was unsure if he should continue using the altered system too much. It all felt too easy but there weren’t that many options left to him. The spirit points were nothing more than an intricate way of gathering cultivation resources. He could spend them on almost anything, even for forcefully pushing his cultivation level forward.

Bob never mentioned any problems and it seemed that all the effects of the old system were countered. In theory, it had become an integral part of his oversized soul and would not be affected by any external powers. However, he did not know how powerful this superior being actually was, perhaps even after reaching the immortal level he would not be able to contend with it.

‘It might not even be malicious though but I’m not sure if something like the devouring seed protocol would have been developed by a good god.’

After going through some research and now after interacting with Wang Long’s system he had become more knowledgeable about that thing. It had been removed during his pseudo-death and it was also almost activated when Wang Long was defeated.

In theory, Bob explained that this thing would send out the very being of the system user somewhere. This he was not sure about as Bob remained vague. It was as if every experience, technique, spiritual energy, and even memory would be forcefully transferred somewhere. What someone would want with the memories of a system holder was above him, was the god just bored and wanted to live life through these ‘players’?

There was some hope at the end of the tunnel. It made the being that was at a different realm of existence more humane and with more flaws. In a way, it meant that it still needed something from the mortals that these worlds were created for. Perhaps it was not as omnipotent as things seemed, it could have just been a very powerful cultivator that was trying to delve into the mysteries of the universe.

‘I’m getting ahead of myself, this system is probably the only way I have a fighting chance, it’s the only thing that kept me from succumbing to that overseer.’

If the system was evil or trying to control him then he would have probably had his mind wiped after killing Wang Long. Without knowing that it was the Empress and without Wang Long’s cube his only way of moving forward would have been the enemy emperors.

‘Though that overseer doesn’t seem to be doing her job properly, perhaps they don’t get that much work and aren’t that good at it?’

The job performed by the Empress was indeed quite sloppy. She should have been able to tell after examining him that there was something wrong. However, she didn’t really go into detail or even try to get him to talk about his experiences. This would only make his victory more probable as he knew that his opponents were underestimating him, or not even taking him seriously at all.

“Well then, Zhi should be able to wrap it up and that turtle doesn’t seem very dangerous after the leader is dead… time to move the plan ahead.”

While nodding to himself he brought up Huo Qiang’s faction window, now with the added points from the kill he would be able to create his next prestige unit a bit faster than he had planned.