My skills have mutated again!

Chapter 292 The Name of Thirteen, and the Second Deception of Fate!
The fantastical circus was as big as the town itself, teeming with smiling tourists. Colorful balloons, ribbons, and neon lights filled the sky, and the clowns performed energetically, making the children laugh heartily.

Noisy, bustling, joyful and happy.

At the very moment the skill called Soul Exchange Circus took effect on Xing Fanwu and NO.259, the joyful circus seemed to be paused, and everything inside froze, remaining still. The figures of the clown, Xing Fanwu, and NO.259 slowly appeared in the Soul Exchange Circus.

However, the bodies of the three people appeared somewhat illusory. Observation gave feedback indicating that the physical bodies of the three people had mysteriously disappeared without a trace, and what appeared in the circus were their souls!

Just as the three souls appeared in the circus, NO.259 opened his eyes and fell into a daze.

He looked up at everything frozen in his surroundings, the red light in his eyes as a war demon quickly extinguished, and he returned to a blank look, but it was different from the blank look of a limit breaker in normal circumstances.

NO.259 fell into a strange state, but the Joker and Xingfanwu did not.

The clown clapped his hands, then spread them apart, pulling out a long balloon. He pushed the balloon towards Xing Fanwu, who then crashed headfirst into it. Xing Fanwu was enveloped by the balloon and gradually rose into the air until he reached a height of about 100 meters. Then, with a "pop," the balloon and Xing Fanwu exploded and disappeared.

In reality, Xing Fanwu's body appeared out of thin air beside Xia Lin. After waiting for two seconds, he suddenly opened his eyes, panting heavily like a drowning fish, but he had undoubtedly broken free from the influence of the Soul-Swapping Circus.

Then Xia Lin's voice entered my ears again.

"Are you the Demon Emperor's people?"

"Ah."

Xing Fanwu nodded slightly, then looked at Xia Lin.

He took out various medicines and activated various skills to repair his injuries, but the healing speed of his wounds was ridiculously slow.

He turned to look at Xia Lin and asked softly, "So, are you going to attack me?"

Xia Lin raised an eyebrow, and Xing Fanwu nodded knowingly: "Then that won't happen... Actually, I know you. After the January Dream Calamity in the Ashes District, I checked your information and found that you seemed to have some unpleasantness with our side, especially with Brother Huang Tao..."

Xia Lin quickly waved her hand: "Don't say that... There's nothing unpleasant about it, it's just a little personal grudge."

To be fair, Xia Lin has indeed grown.

He used to be petty and short-tempered.

Now, putting everything else aside, he has indeed become more magnanimous.

Even if it's not much.

After saying that, Xia Lin sighed and added, "I have no good feelings towards you, but I don't have any bad feelings either. That's all."

"But speaking objectively, I still have a good impression of you and the Joker."

Xia Lin had little contact with Xing Fanwu, but quite a lot with the clown.

Xia Lin thought the clown, who seemed rather exaggerated, was essentially a good person.

So let's get back to the present.

Xia Lin pointed to the Soul-Swapping Circus in front of him.

"What are you two doing here? And what is this thing?"

"And, the meaning of life?"

The sudden appearance of the clown and Xing Fanwu brought unexpected changes, but also left Xia Lin completely confused.

In the midst of the Soul-Changing Circus, frozen time begins to flow again.

The clown's soul mysteriously disappeared, while NO.259 seemed to have blended into the lively and joyful environment.

He unconsciously took a step forward and blended into the crowd. His tall body slowly shrank, becoming like an ordinary person, and then continued to shrink until he became a boy who was only four or five years old.

The confusion in his eyes was gone.

The memories of the past seem to have vanished.

In the eyes of little NO.259, the innocence and curiosity that a child of this age should possess are evident.

Then a handsome and friendly young man suddenly appeared next to NO.259.

"Hi, little one, where are your parents?"

Little NO.259 opened his mouth and uttered a crisp, childlike voice.

"I came here secretly."

He held his head high, looking proud, as if running away from home to visit the circus was something he was proud of.

The man crouched down, looking directly at NO.259. Looking at the little boy's innocent face, the man chuckled, "Very good, young man, you have a lot of energy!"

"I don't have any friends to play with... how about we team up?"

The young man extended his hand, smiling as he extended an invitation to No. 259.

"Thirteen."

He spoke softly, and NO.259 reached out and placed her small hand in Thirteen's large hand.

"Xin Zhan".

……

"What a bizarre skill..."

Xia Lin, who witnessed the entire scene, couldn't help but gasp.

In this soul-swapping circus, No. 259's memories have undoubtedly been wiped clean.

"Not only No. 259, but also No. 13, whose memories have also disappeared."

Xing Fanwu added, causing Xia Lin to turn his gaze to Thirteen, who was no longer dressed as a clown.

He is about 1.8 meters tall, with a well-proportioned figure and regular features; he is a handsome young man.

He has a hearty laugh, and judging by his appearance, he seems like a pretty good guy.

Thirteen, from the Soul-Changing Circus, led a child whose real name was Xin Zhan into the crowd. Soon, Xin Zhan and Thirteen's laughter erupted from the crowd, and they were very happy.

Before Xia Lin could ask, Xing Fanwu's voice rang out again.

"The Soul-Controlling Demon Emperor is number one in the Soul Path, and the strength of his Soul-type skills is also the highest in the entire professional system."

A typical example is the Soul Strike skill – this type of skill can effectively penetrate the defense of a protective skill of the same level, something that other types of skills cannot do.

Moreover, not only are soul-based skills powerful, but their unpredictability is also second to none!
Just like the soul-swapping circus in front of Xia Lin right now.

Under the effect of such a soul-based ultimate move, NO.259's attributes had no room to be utilized, truly demonstrating what it means to have strength but nowhere to use it.

Xing Fanwu continued.

"Thirteen and the Soul-Changing Circus are the targeted plans prepared by the Demon Emperor for the former rulers, numbered Thirteen."

Xia Lin turned to look at Xing Fanwu in astonishment, her gaze slowly becoming complicated.

Xing Fanwu ignored Xia Lin's gaze and just smiled bitterly.

"It was created because of the Thirteenth Project, hence the name Thirteen."

"This is the reason for Thirteen's birth, and the meaning of his life."

……

"I don't like this..."

Xia Lin suddenly spoke up, saying this.

Xing Fanwu replied helplessly, "I don't like it either... but there's nothing I can do. The old grudge between the Demon Emperor and the Creator of Heaven is too deep. The Creator's six-pillar-level avatar, the Ancient Ruler, is also one of the key factors in their decisive battle."

"The Creator of Heaven is cunning and constantly pushes the boundaries of confrontation. To deal with such an opponent, you either have to crush them with absolute power, or you have to keep up with their pace and continuously lower your own bottom line..."

Looking at Thirteen in the Soul-Changing Circus, Xia Lin inexplicably thought of Fang Xiang.

Both Fang Xiang and the Heavenly Soldier God Lord are born from the creation of the Heavenly Dao, and are essentially pawns.

Thirteen's situation was even worse than Fang Xiang's.

According to Xing Fanwu, Thirteen seems to have been born because of the Thirteenth Plan.

This is neither fair nor humane.

But neither the Demon Emperor nor the Creator of Heaven are characters who uphold humanity.

Without Xing Fanwu needing to explain, Xia Lin already realized that what was happening before his eyes was a rehearsal at a higher level.

—If the Thirteen and the Soul-Changing Circus target NO.259, this matter can serve as the theoretical basis for the Demon Emperor's attack on the Old Ruler.

"Let's get back to the Soul-Swapping Circus skill."

Xing Fanwu continued, "This skill was created by the Demon Emperor specifically for Thirteen and the profession of King of the Circus."

Xia Lin knew that the Demon Emperor was skilled at fabricating skills.

The Soul-Swapping Circus, created by combining six fundamental skills with the power of dreams coming true, is undeniably powerful.

"The disappearance of memory is only a symptom; the root cause lies in the modification, assimilation, and fusion of the soul."

When this was mentioned, Xing Fanwu's gaze was complicated, and he unconsciously sighed softly.

"Because it is an experimental product, there are three possible outcomes."

"The best outcome would be that the Soul-Swapping Circus would work smoothly, and Thirteen and NO.259 would swap bodies, with Thirteen gaining NO.259's tempered and refined Limit Breaker body for nothing."

"Because talent, skills, and profession are not bound to the body, but to the soul, thirteen professions and skills will be retained."

I want the benefits (physical body) of those who break limits, but I will not bear the karmic consequences of those who break limits.

That's a brilliant move...

"The result was neither good nor bad: the two souls merged, and then split into two, with one part occupying one body."

Xia Lin looked at Xing Fanwu in astonishment: "You call this 'neither good nor bad'?!"

If souls merge and then split in two, wouldn't that create a monster?

Xing Fanwu gave a bitter smile.

"This is indeed a result that is neither good nor bad."

"Because the worst-case scenario is that the Demon Emperor's thirteenth plan is ineffective and cannot affect those who break limits... If that happens, the Soul-Swapping Circus skill will be useless. Not only will NO.259 be safe, but we will also be in big trouble."

……

A joyful atmosphere is spreading throughout the Soul Exchange Circus.

Thirteen and Xin Zhan enjoyed their happy time.

—This is a necessary step for the Soul-Swapping Circus to take effect.

Influence the soul with emotions, and harmonize the soul with bonds and tacit understanding.

However, just a few minutes later, the smile on Xin Zhan's face began to fade and disappear, while Thirteen, who also had no memory of the incident, was completely unaware of it.

He didn't even see this scene: the guy named Xin Zhan, also known as NO.259, was growing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

From looking like a four or five-year-old, he quickly grew to seven or eight years old... and the speed was getting faster and faster.

Xing Fanwu sighed heavily as he watched this scene.

"Failed……"

"The possible reason is that, due to the cost of power, those who break through limits have different souls, similar to having two souls in one body. The Soul-Swapping Circus can only affect one part of the soul of those who break through limits, and cannot suppress the other part of their soul."

Xing Fanwu was no longer explaining things to Xia Lin.

Instead, they act as observers and supervisors, recording everything that is happening and reporting it to their superiors.

That's how experiments work: you discover problems through trial and error, gradually improve them, and eventually either fail completely or succeed.

As the pioneer of Project Thirteen, this is also the meaning and value of the Joker's existence.

Just as Xing Fanwu finished speaking, he turned to look at Xia Lin.

"We should go."

Xia Lin was taken aback.

Xing Fanwu then quickly said, "Thirteen's mission is over. The Soul-Swapping Circus plan must be further developed and improved. NO.259 will soon break free from the Soul-Swapping Circus. If we don't leave now, none of us will be able to leave later."

This is the real problem. A furious NO.259 could easily crush Xia Linxing, Fan Wu, and Xiao Chou.

Xia Lin couldn't help but ask.

"What about the clown?"

Xing Fanwu remained silent, yet his silence spoke volumes.

Without the clown continuing to keep No. 259 trapped in the Soul-Swapping Circus, how will he and Xia Lin get away?
Can you outrun No. 259?
This made Xia Lin's lips twitch.

"That's why I said I don't like this..."

Xia Lin realized something from the incident in the Eighth Animal Realm.

The struggle between the Demon Emperor and the Creator has no bottom line whatsoever!

The King of Kings' assessment of the two men as having despicable character is truly apt and appropriate.

Furthermore, because the six pillars are so high, everything below them appears as ants and chess pieces.

Aside from the parties involved, no one cares what the pawns and ants think.

Xia Lin felt a pang of unease at that moment...

He himself had such an experience and found it quite offensive.

If it were someone he didn't know, it wouldn't matter, but the clown happened to have some connection with him.

As her mind raced, Xia Lin suddenly remembered something she had just observed.

That was the skill Xing Fanwu used, called War Shackles!
A flash of inspiration, and my thoughts suddenly became clear.

Before Xing Fanwu could turn around to leave, Xia Lin suddenly spoke up: "Wait."

Xing Fanwu turned to look at Xia Lin, his eyes filled with doubt and confusion, but then he saw Xia Lin take out a huge book, half the height of a person, from his personal space!
The appearance of the Spirit World Book made Xing Fanwu a little more cautious.

He seemed to sense that Xia Lin was unhappy and wanted to take it out on him.

But Xia Lin of the past might have done that; the Xia Lin of today would not…

Suppress your impulses and weigh the pros and cons.

One should not make enemies lightly, but if given the chance, Xia Lin would definitely give it a try.

"Don't be nervous, I'm just using your channel temporarily."

As soon as those words fell, Xia Lin activated the Deceitful Fate Technique without saying a word!
This is the second time Xia Lin has used the trick of deceiving fate!
……

Snowflake-like spots erupted from the Book of Spirits, covering Xia Lin's entire body!
The so-called destiny, which is supposed to be mysterious and unpredictable, is thus distorted by deception!

The system notification sound for the Ash Zone rang in my ears.

[You have activated your ability: Deceiving Heaven and Changing Fate!]

[You have received a blessing of good fortune, the effect lasts for ten minutes. After ten minutes, you will experience three days of bad luck!]

[Insufficient permissions for unstable mutation; cannot take effect!]

After the usual notification tone ended, Xia Lin glanced at NO.259, who had grown into a teenager, and finally fixed his gaze on Xing Fanwu.

Xia Lin's observations revealed that the shackles of war between Xing Fanwu and NO.259 still existed, and this was the absolute prerequisite for Xia Lin to take action!

Trust me this once!

He suddenly spoke, his voice booming like a bell.

The sound startled Xing Fanwu for a moment, causing him to slow down his activation of the skill.

The illusory image of the balance scale suddenly flashed past Xia Lin from behind.

Without saying a word, he sold the remaining six skills in his regular skill bar, except for Mental Tide and Cooldown Reset!
The very next second after the operation was completed, Xia Lin raised his hand and flicked it, and the randomly combined beam of light instantly shot out and entered Xing Fanwu's body.

At this moment, Xing Fanwu had already realized what Xia Lin was planning to do.

He hesitated for a moment, then finally sighed and made no resistance, letting Xia Lin's random combination fall on him.

But then he said, "It's not very meaningful..."

Time seems to stand still.

Xia Lin and Xing Fanwu's souls separated from their physical bodies.

In this frozen space and time, Xing Fanwu's voice continued to ring out, as if it were right next to Xia Lin's ear.

"First of all, my War Shackles can indeed help you bypass the skill permission judgment bonus of NO.259, allowing you to switch to the skill of NO.259 even with a judgment permission two levels lower."

"But the chances of you getting his skills are relatively small."

Xia Lin is level eight, while Xing Fanwu and NO.259 are both level nine. Under the War Shackles state, Xia Lin's use of random combinations will produce this effect.

—The three players exchange skills with each other.

Large and small orbs of skill light began to emerge from Xia Lin and Xing Fanwu's souls.

However, these orbs of light did not rush to intertwine, but instead continued to circle around, as if they were drawing something together.

From the perspective of the soul, the shackles of war between Xing Fanwu and NO.259 are exceptionally clear. One end of this blood-red chain is connected to Xing Fanwu, while the other end penetrates deep into the Soul-Swapping Circus, reaching into Xin Zhan, who has grown into adulthood and whose smile is becoming increasingly faint.

Soon, more skill orbs were forced out of Xin Zhan's soul.

They are bigger, brighter, but also heavier.

Linked by the shackles of war and pulled by randomly combined forces, these skill orbs drift outwards at an extremely slow speed.

Xing Fanwu said something wrong.

Even with the shackles of war as a medium, exchanging Xia Lin's judgment authority for NO.259's skill is still quite a stretch.

If NO.259 were in good condition, this combo would be unlikely to work on NO.259... But another problem is that NO.259 is currently trapped in the Soul Exchange Circus and is not in good condition, making it difficult to suppress the effects of random combinations.

This meant that no matter how difficult it was, the three people's skill orbs still managed to mix together successfully and then began to shuffle!
After the dazzling exchange, Xing Fanwu's eyes widened suddenly.

Because he saw that all his skills had returned to his body without any loss, as if they were completely unaffected by the random combination!
Instead, the skills of Xia Lin and NO.259 were swapped, with Xia Lin's skills returning to Xia Lin, while NO.259's skills were scattered, falling into the souls of Xia Lin and NO.259 respectively, completing a feat of zero for six!
Unfortunately, the miracle mechanism did not work, and the cooldown reset was not triggered.

[You have lost the skill: None!]

Under the deception of fate, Xia Lin's mental energy tides and cooldown resets were all retained!

[You have acquired the following skills: Innate Battle Saint Body, Human-Earth-Heaven Divine Transformation, Annihilation Fist, Devouring Heaven and Qi Greed, Infinite Life Return, Demonic True Form!]

[Innate Battle Saint Body (details omitted)...]

[Unstable mutation activated!]

[The Innate Battle Saint Body has mutated into a Divine Body!]

I glanced at the mutated skill; it's at the racial foundation level, but its effect isn't as strong as the Innate Fighting Saint Body, and the mutation isn't retained.

[Transformation of Man, Earth, Heaven, and Gods (omitted):]

[Unstable mutation activated!]

However, the result of the mutation was still not as good as the original "Heaven and Earth Divine Transformation".

These two skills are probably already ridiculously powerful enough that even under the "Deceitful Fate" state, they are not enough to allow Xia Lin to obtain better and stronger skills.

[Devastating Strike (Racial Heritage Level): Passive Skill. Greatly amplifies your melee damage, and makes it more difficult for enemies to heal when you deal damage.]

A sufficiently strong support skill that pairs exceptionally well with those who break limits.

But it's not suitable for Xia Lin.

Because Xia Lin's two main combat skills, East Wind Domination and Ghost Five Elements Black Blaze Slash, are not melee skills.

Fortunately, there are still unstable mutations that we can gamble on.

And with the buff of deceiving fate, this gamble truly lived up to expectations!

Your skill, Annihilation Fist, has mutated into: Demon Sealing Wave!

【Demon Sealing Wave (Rank A): Passive Skill. Whenever you deal damage to an enemy, there is an extremely small chance to randomly seal one of their skills, regardless of level!】

Xia Lin was stunned for a moment, and immediately realized how absurd this thing was!

A low skill level means that this skill is difficult to break through high-level protective skills, but the sealing effect, which is not limited by level, can even seal away the enemy's racial foundation level skills once it takes effect!
It may seem useless, but when combined with the ability to deceive fate and the probability of non-existence, this skill can create miracles.

Even disregarding the possibility of defying fate, just considering that this skill, combined with the probability of non-existence, forms a combo, it's worth Xia Lin keeping it as a trump card!

"Preserve the mutations!"

[Greed for Heavenly Qi (Racial Heritage Level): Passive Skill, Limit Breaking Skill. You can permanently increase your base attributes through breathing. The higher the energy density of the environment, the better the effect of this skill!]

Those who break limits naturally possess many limit-breaking techniques.

This limit-breaking technique is simple, convenient, and can be activated at any time, but it also means that its limit-breaking effect is only so-so. When combined with the limit-breaker's talent, it is incredibly powerful, but when taken out of context, it is only better than nothing.

[Unstable mutation activated! Your skill, Devouring Qi, has mutated into Devouring Fusion!]

[Devour and Fusion (Racial Foundation Level): Active skill, exclusive to Divine Forgers. Consumes 1 Spirit Points and two pieces of equipment to fuse their effects together, adding new traits. This skill has a one-month cooldown.]

Xia Lin: "???"

At first, Xia Lin was confused, but she quickly came to her senses.

This mutated skill came at just the right time, and it's also a sign of good luck!
[Infinite Life Return (Racial Heritage Level): Passive Skill. When your injuries reach a certain threshold, you can instantly heal all your injuries at the cost of one ten-thousandth of your base attributes! This passive effect has no internal cooldown!]

Xia Lin felt a chill run down her spine.

Previously, he couldn't observe NO.259's skill combination, but now, with just a glimpse, he immediately realized the strength of this human Sequence 7.

This is also a pure opening.

This guy seems to be invincible...

[Unstable mutation activated!]

However, the resulting mutation did not produce outstanding skills. Xia Lin could also use the Infinite Life Return skill, so he chose not to retain the mutation.

[True Demon Form (Racial Heritage Level): Active Skill! Upon activation, grants a 100x attribute boost, along with four additional demonic organs: Azure Dragon Wings, White Tiger Fangs, Azure Phoenix Eyes, and Black Tortoise Armor! While in this state, you can use demonic power to amplify your physical strength and skill power. This skill lasts for one hour and has a one-month cooldown!]

A powerful trump card move!

[Unstable mutation in effect.]

The mutation effect is not outstanding, so we choose not to retain the mutation.

……

Checking skills may seem like a long process, but in reality, it only takes a short moment.

Xing Fanwu's soul had returned to his physical body, but he still spoke and continued.

"Although I don't know the logic behind your combo, or if it's just pure luck... it still doesn't mean much."

"After all, the combat power of those who break limits is not reflected in their skills, but in the strength of their attributes."

For most professionals, losing their skills is like losing half of their potential.

But those who break limits are different.

Attributes are primary, skills are secondary.

In a way, those who break limits are actually the nemesis of the Uncertain Shadow!
Xia Lin did not respond to Xing Fanwu.

He simply turned his head and looked at the Soul-Changing Circus.

"time to go."

Xing Fanwu spoke again, but Xia Lin remained motionless.

"No need."

He said this, then laughed.

"This time, none of us will die, I said."

(End of this chapter)