My skills have mutated again!

Chapter 293 Personality Awakening! Side Effects!
Xia Lin isn't the King of Hell; he doesn't have the power to decide life and death with a single word.

The reason he dares to say "no one has to die" right now is not because he is confident enough in his own strength to fight No. 259 head-on.

Of course, the necessary attempts and preparations still need to be made.

A light drizzle suddenly began to fall from the sky.

Xing Fanwu looked up, reached out his hand, and caught the raindrop, only to find that it was a Dongfeng missile as thin as a hair.

With a "pop," the missile slightly exploded in Xing Fanwu's hand, like a popping cannon.

—It can't even hurt a blade of grass.

But the 100-fold increase is absolutely true!
The buff from Dongfeng Dominator was instantly boosted to its peak by Xia Lin. Based on 43 racial points and 700 million total attributes, combined with a hundredfold increase, Xia Lin's actual attributes broke through the 300 billion mark!
But that's still not enough compared to No. 259!

It's alright, he still has the true form of the demon he just acquired!

This trump card skill, which can only last for an hour, is not a waste to use now.

As surging demonic energy exploded from Xia Lin's body, his flesh instantly expanded, transforming into a bizarre monster with the wings of a blue dragon, the fangs of a white tiger, the eyes of a blue phoenix, and the armor of a black tortoise!

A ferocious aura emanated from Xia Lin's body.

The already terrifying aura doubled again!
Thus, the base attribute reaches a total of 600 billion (any temporary buffs are additive, not multiplicative).

Is that enough?
"Not enough..."

Although Xing Fanwu was astonished by Xia Lin's explosive power, he still did not think highly of Xia Lin.

This has nothing to do with factions, it's just about the facts.

At this moment, Xia Lin's temporary attributes are indeed high, reaching more than half of NO.259's normal level.

Furthermore, NO.259 had six skills removed, while Xia Lin's skills were even further enhanced...

But this still cannot change the balance of power!

The skill-based weighting of the Third Law is an insurmountable obstacle.

Furthermore, NO.259 can also perform this operation—using skill crystals to obtain new skills.

How could a human with a sequence number of 7 not have a few reserve skill crystals in their personal space?
Even without being too powerful, just equipping a few skills that can temporarily boost attributes several times over will still result in Xia Lin being instantly killed when facing NO.259!
“I know this is not enough.”

A heavy sound echoed from the air.

Xia Lin, who had transformed into a dragon with wings, a phoenix head, tiger claws, and a tortoise shell, lowered his head, glanced at Xing Fanwu, and then looked back at the Soul-Changing Circus.

"This is just a backup plan... If I'm lucky enough, this time we can save our lives without even lifting a finger."

Xing Fanwu didn't understand Xia Lin's meaning, but Xia Lin waited patiently with a deep gaze.

Exchanging fate for NO.259's skill won't solve the problem—Xia Lin himself knew this without Xing Fanwu needing to say it.

Therefore, Xia Lin's main purpose in obtaining the NO.259 skill through this combination of deceiving fate and randomness was not his primary objective, but merely a secondary objective of "being greedy for money" and "plucking feathers from passing geese".

Looking at No. 259, or Xin Zhan, in the Soul Swap Circus, who had lost his smile and whose height had swelled to over three meters, Xia Lin slowly narrowed his eyes.

He was waiting, and he was also gambling.

In his delusion-based state, Xia Lin was willing to gamble on anything!
……

At the Soul-Changing Circus, a lively circus performance is underway.

However, NO.259 had lost its smile.

The lively and joyful circus performance gradually blurred and became hazy in his eyes.

He stood there quietly when he suddenly heard Thirteen's voice beside him.

"What's wrong? Isn't it fun?"

The sound made NO.259 raise his hand and secretly wipe his eyes. Then he turned his head and looked down at Thirteen beside him.

At this moment, Thirteen was also looking up at NO.259, completely unaware of how strange and bizarre it was that a five or six-year-old boy had become like this.

Eyes facing each other.

Thirteen's eyes held both friendliness and doubt.

The confusion and unfocus in NO.259's eyes were no longer there.

"I have to go now……"

He suddenly spoke, his voice calm, low, and slightly hoarse, addressing Thirteen in this way.

Then, NO.259 laughed.

"I should go home now, thank you, Thirteen."

Thirteen, unaware of anything amiss: "Uh..."

He felt something was off, but he couldn't pinpoint what it was.

Until the Soul-Changing Circus abruptly froze, and then, like glass, slowly shattered.

As his skill was broken, Thirteen's smile gradually faded.

Thirteen's smile froze on his face as the memories temporarily taken away by the Soul-Swapping Circus resurfaced.

He realized that he was probably going to die...

Even as the two were still gazing at each other, NO.259's smile became even gentler.

"Thank you."

"Also, please remember, my name is Xin Zhan."

Before Thirteen could respond, a wave of dizziness washed over him.

The Soul-Swapping Circus completely collapsed and disappeared, and Xin Zhan and Thirteen's spirits and bodies returned to one, returning to reality.

The atmosphere froze instantly.

Xing Fanwu raised his hands, ready for battle.

Xia Lin's demonic body was also tense, ready to rescue the person and run away at any moment.

Then, the Joker and No. 259 opened their eyes at the same time.

……

There was no roar, no howl, no amazing outburst or devastating attack.

NO.259 simply stood up and glanced at Xia Lin, Xing Fanwu, and the clown who also had his eyes open, with eyes that were not clear but not blank.

He then nodded slightly.

"thank you all."

This was the third time he had said thank you in such a short period of time.

Right after saying those four words, NO.259 turned and left without stopping!
This left both the Joker and Xing Fanwu, who were prepared for a fight to the death, completely dumbfounded.

Wait... what's going on here?!

Xia Lin watched as NO.259's figure quickly disappeared into the distance, vanishing within seconds, and finally let out a heavy sigh.

"The bet was right."

certain.

By defying fate and changing destiny, Xia Lin can enjoy boundless good fortune. Under such circumstances, as long as there is a possibility, Xia Lin has a high probability of winning the gamble!
Xing Fanwu turned to look at Xia Lin, puzzled.

Then they saw that Xia Lin had already deactivated his demonic form. He stepped forward and helped the equally astonished clown up from the ground, while smiling at the two of them.

"NO.259 let us off the hook..."

After he finished speaking, he suddenly realized that there was a mistake in his statement.

"No, it's not NO.259, it's that Xin Zhan let us off the hook."

NO.259 and Xin Zhan seem to refer to the same person, but they are not.

These are two completely different objects!
And this is the key point that Xia Lin gambled on in this round.

He was betting that Xin Zhan's character had not been completely erased by NO.259!

……

There are two logical starting points for this bet.

First, in transcendence.

As the first person to break through limits that Xia Lin had ever seen, Beyond truly taught Xia Lin a great lesson.

He not only told Xia Lin about the dangers and insidiousness of this universe, but also gave Xia Lin a fairly in-depth understanding of the unfortunate profession of Limit Breaker.

The so-called price of power is the scheme of the old ruler, and His curse upon all those who break the limits.

In this state, all those who break the limits will slowly split off another personality, completely loyal to the former ruler—this personality is generally referred to by the number NO.

Just like NO.259, Xin Zhan's name has long been forgotten by everyone. Everyone calls him War Ghost or NO.259.

This means that his old personality has been devoured by the price of power, and he has almost completely become a puppet of the former ruler and the creator of the Heavenly Dao.

But did his original personality really disappear?
Xia Lin wasn't sure... but Xia Lin from Xingfan Martial Arts Club was certain.

This is the second logical point that makes Xia Lin dare to sit at this gambling table!
"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."

That's it!
And, when NO.259 and Thirteen first met at the Soul-Changing Circus, NO.259 introduced himself by saying that his name was Xin Zhan!

Xia Lin still doesn't know the operating logic and actual effects of the Soul-Swapping Circus.

But this skill seems to have awakened Xin Zhan's original personality, which had been suppressed to almost nothing.

Thus, in a flash of inspiration, Xia Lin simply activated the Deceitful Fate Technique.

He was gambling that the awakened personality of Xin Zhan was not inherently bad, and that in the time difference between the end of the Soul-Swapping Circus effect and the end of the Deceiving Heaven and Changing Fate effect, he could overpower the personality of NO.259, thus letting the three of them go.

Judging from the current situation, Xia Lin made the right bet!

The underlying logic doesn't need to be explained in detail by the Joker and Xingfanwu.

Deceiving fate and altering destiny is Xia Lin's most crucial trump card, and he would never willingly reveal it to anyone.

Suddenly, as if remembering something, Xia Lin turned to look at the place where Xin Zhan had just left.

There, a crystal sphere shines brightly and sparkles!
Antarctic Cave Heaven!

Xin Zhan left, but he didn't take the Antarctic Cave with him...

The person who received the order was NO.259. What does that have to do with Xin Zhan?
This prompted Xia Lin to dart like a rabbit to the front of the Antarctic Cave, where he scooped it up and attached it to the Hidden Soldier Cave Ring.

Devour and merge, activate!
Once you fall into Xia Lin's hands, how could you possibly escape?

Just as the light began to shine, footsteps and a weak voice rang out at the same time.

"Um... thank you, three brave warriors... I am Zheng Qun, and I thank you for saving my life..."

The indigenous villain, Zheng Qun, took the initiative to come up to Xia Lin and greet her.

At this moment, the state of deceiving fate has not yet ended, and there are still six minutes left.

Good fortune is not over yet.

Xia Lin turned to look at Zheng Qun and grinned.

"Young Master, there's no need for you to be so polite."

……

Xia Lin's good fortune was not over yet.

Therefore, Xin Zhan, who was briefly awakened, still dominated his body.

In the midst of his frantic run, he suddenly burst into laughter, and as he laughed, tears streamed down his face.

"The circus...it's the circus..."

He laughed and cried, but his speed increased and the noise grew louder.

In a way, he sensed that the NO.259 personality within him, which had been temporarily suppressed, was rapidly reviving, and he realized that his time was running out...

The Seeking Dao Sect is too far away, and there isn't enough time.

This prompted Xin Zhan to immediately lock onto another location without hesitation!
Just as Xia Lin's lucky streak was about to end in three minutes, Xin Zhan arrived at his destination.

The plaque of the Dongchuan Sword Sect shines brightly above the gate.

The most precious treasure within the gate, the Dongchuan Divine Sword, remained dormant, unawakened by Lin Fan. Xin Zhan stood there, slowly tilting his head.

Then he rose from the ground, ascended into the air, and then fell from the sky like a comet, landing at the center of the Dongchuan Sword Sect!
The absurd physical attributes bring about devastating destructive power!

A deafening roar erupted, and the entire Dongchuan Sword Sect was razed to the ground in that single fall!
Amidst the swirling dust, Xin Zhan had already obtained the Dongchuan Divine Sword, which would accompany the protagonist Lin Fan in the future and make great contributions.

He wanted to slit Xin Zhan's throat with the sword, but the sealed Dongchuan Divine Sword was not enough to cut through Xin Zhan's skin, and the personality of NO.259 would also prevent Xin Zhan from self-destructing.

"Then that's the only way..."

Xin Zhan smiled and gripped the Dongchuan Divine Sword with both hands.

As the muscles expanded, a "crack" sound flashed by.

The Dongchuan Divine Sword was broken in two by Xin Zhan...

He casually tossed the broken divine sword at his feet.

Xin Zhan sat cross-legged on the ground, gazing up at the sky.

Consciousness is fading, NO.259 is about to return to its place.

In his final moments, Xin Zhan smiled and pointed his middle finger to the sky.

"Heaven created the master, the former ruler."

"I curse your ancestors for eighteen generations..."

As soon as he finished speaking, he withdrew his hand and stood up.

The blank look in his eyes returned to his entire being.

……

Within the Seeking the Dao Sect.

Xu Haonan used his skills to see everything that happened to NO.259 from beginning to end.

Firstly, he didn't understand the effects of the Soul-Changing Circus; secondly, he didn't know the effects of Xia Lin's ability to change fate; and thirdly, his limited strength prevented him from interfering with any events that occurred there.

This made it impossible for him to anticipate or defend against Xin Zhan's sudden outburst.

When Xin Zhan broke the Dongchuan Divine Sword, Xu Haonan was completely stunned...

"I'm fucking..."

His face turned red, and he couldn't say a word.

Just then, a deep voice sounded nearby.

"The one who should be cursing is me, not you."

The biggest victim of the disappearance of the two personal magical treasures, the Antarctic Cave and the Eastern River Divine Sword, is undoubtedly Lin Xiantian, who took Lin Fan's place!
As you can see, Lin Xiantian is trembling with rage, though his voice remains relatively calm—but that's just a facade…

As the identity replacement, maintaining the smooth development of the plot is his inescapable responsibility.

As it turned out, Bao Bowen failed to accomplish this task, and NO.259 messed it up instead!

Well, at least on the surface, it was NO.259 who caused all the trouble... They lost the Antarctic Cave and destroyed the Eastern River Divine Sword. If they can't blame NO.259, who else can they blame?
"Limitbreakers... those brainless idiots who are causing all this trouble..."

Lin Xiantian said this through gritted teeth, just as Xu Haonan's communication jade beeped. The voice of NO.259 came from inside.

"I messed up."

These four words completely ignited Lin Xiantian's anger.

"You actually realize you messed up!?"

NO.259 Silent.

Lin Xiantian couldn't say much more to those who had broken through their limits.

They're not part of the same system, just like it's unreasonable for a person to get angry at an inanimate object.

Besides, we'll have to be teammates for a while...

At this point, the effect of deceiving fate had ended, and Xia Lin's misfortune had officially begun to backfire.

Therefore, it was only natural that Lin Xiantian issued such an order.

"Kill Xia Lin, kill Bao Bowen, kill Xiao Feng, and kill as many of them as you can!"

After the communication ended, Lin Xiantian recalled the notification tone he had just heard and almost ground his teeth to powder!

The storyline has been severely damaged; both the Antarctic Cave Antenna and the Dongchuan Divine Sword storylines have failed.

[Based on the plot's progression, you will not be able to successfully reach the twelfth level of Immortal Venerable Realm.]

Please find substitutes for these two items as soon as possible to maintain the smooth progress of the plot.

[At the same time, even if you can find substitutes for both items, you will still be subject to the following punishment:]

[One: After the Ash Zone ends, your base stats and basic attributes will be forcibly reduced by 5%.]

[Second: Your understanding of the Celestial Immortal realm and above will be slightly weakened within this Ash Zone.]

Without a suitable replacement, Lin Fan, the protagonist of this Ash Zone, would not be able to achieve the Twelfth Level Immortal Venerable Realm.

Even if Lin Xiantian can find a substitute for the Antarctic Cave Heaven and the Eastern River Divine Sword, he still has to suffer the punishment.

On the one hand, you have to be punished by having your attributes reduced.

On the other hand, it also diminishes the biggest benefits you can gain from using identity cards.

Lin Xiantian looked up at the sky and roared.

"Damn, we've lost out big time!!"

……

"This was quite profitable..."

Xia Lin knew that the Ash District Walker who had taken Lin Fan's identity was definitely at a huge loss.

But that was irrelevant to him; he was taking stock of his gains.

You definitely made money, but not as much as you might have imagined.

First, let's look at the skills of NO.259.

I'll definitely sell them all... Anyway, these skills will disappear after the one-hour random combination effect ends, so I'll just sell them all.

The Innate Battle Saint Body sold for 8 evolution points!
This skill is quite powerful in fair trade assessments, and Xia Lin took a liking to it. But after glancing at Er Ying's recipe book, Xia Lin's heart clenched.

You two are making way too much profit as middlemen...

Buying it back will cost Xia Lin 80 evolution points!
Ten times worse!

"What the hell..."

Xia Lin wanted to curse.

The Human-Earth-Heaven-God Transformation sold 4 evolution points.

The selling price is still higher than that of a typical racial foundation-level skill, and it costs 26 evolution points to buy it.

Xia Lin said he had nothing to say.

Fair trade and recipes will eventually drain him dry.

The Demon Sealing Wave costs 500 base attribute points to sell, but it costs 1 evolution point to buy it back.

Actually, instead of retaining the mutation, selling Devastating Punch seems to be a better choice, as this foundational skill can at least be sold for 1 evolution point.

However, due to the urgency of the situation, Xia Lin did not consider these details and thus failed to maximize his interests.

Devouring and fusing sold 1 evolution point.

Xia Lin has already used this skill. The Hidden Soldier Cave and the Antarctic Cave Heaven have already merged, but we'll talk about that later.

Getting back to the skill itself, Xia Lin found that this skill was actually quite useful, and the price of buying it was not expensive: 5 points, a drop in the bucket (?).

Unlimited Life is sold for a high price of 6 Evolution Points, but it costs 43 Evolution Points to buy it back.

The Demon True Form also sells for 6 evolution points, but it costs 45 evolution points to buy it back.

All I can say is that NO.259's skills are indeed quite powerful. In this round alone, Xia Lin gained 25 evolution points!
Secondly, it is a product of the fusion of Antarctic Cave and Hidden Soldier Cave.

This solved Xia Lin's immediate problem.

The product of the fusion of the two still looks like the thumb ring from the hidden troop cave, but its properties are completely different.

[Hidden Soldier Cave (Racial Heritage Level Item): Spatial Item. Contains a vast dimensional space capable of holding living beings and provides the user with a 1/1 second mental energy recovery effect.]

The space has expanded to more than three times the size of the original troop-hiding cave. Xia Lin roughly calculated that it was roughly the sum of the troop-hiding cave and the Antarctic Cave.

The effect of absorbing mental energy has been removed, but an additional effect of restoring mental energy has been added.

Xia Lin didn't know the principle of devouring and fusion either. He wasn't a divine blacksmith and knew nothing about crafting and creating artifacts.

Therefore, Xia Lin cannot customize special attributes for items like Silver Axe.

Taking advantage of the "Deceitful Fate" effect, Xia Lin activated his skill and, with the help of luck, erased the negative effects of the Hidden Soldier Cave. This already made Xia Lin very satisfied.

The next gain was a positive group.

Xia Lin obtained Zheng Qun's contact information—this was easy under the circumstances of deceiving fate.

And it is indeed necessary to get to know a native of noble status.

However, their communication was limited to exchanging contact information and names. Before the deception and change of fate were over, Xia Lin had already bid farewell and left with the clown and Xing Fanwu.

The final gain was one and a half teammates.

The clown is one... He's a teammate Xia Lin can trust and who is also capable.

Xingfan Wu is half a person.

This person seems to be of decent character, but Xia Lin doesn't dare to completely trust him, hence he's only considered half a person.

At this point, the effect of deceiving fate and altering destiny is about to end.

The three of them had already run far away.

Xing Fanwu activated his skill to conceal the three's presence, and the clown also took out a prop to hide their aura.

As the effect of deceiving fate ended, Xia Lin gave the two an apologetic smile, which puzzled Xing Fanwu, while the clown seemed thoughtful.

Xia Lin spoke.

"We might have to endure some tough times for the next three days..."

……

And that was exactly the moment the effect of deceiving fate ended.

Zhengqun, who had also left the battlefield, suddenly stopped.

"Wait, something's not right..."

"Where is my Antarctic Grotto? Where is my Antarctic Grotto?!"

The villain is starting to act up...

In the midst of good fortune, Zhengqun felt that it was perfectly reasonable for Xia Lin to have saved his life and taken the Antarctic Cave.

But now that Xia Lin is having a run of bad luck, Zheng Qun feels increasingly uneasy.

That's one of the seventy-two ancient minor grotto heavens, it should belong to me, how could you, Xia Lin, take it?
For a demonic cultivator and a villain, going back on one's word is basic practice.

Thinking of this, Zhengqun's eyes lit up, and he turned and chased after Xia Lin in the direction she had left.

Meanwhile, NO.259, having regained control of his body, began searching for enemies.

At this moment, Xia Lin, Xiao Chou Xing Fanwu, Bao Bowen, and Xiao Feng have all become his targets.

Even the Joker and Xia Lin are given higher priority than Xiao Feng!
no way.

The personality NO.259, or rather, the personalities born from the price of power for all those who break limits, is most averse to the resurgence of the dominant personality—because this is a manifestation of disloyalty to the master.

Those who break limits cannot tolerate this.

Luck intervenes in the unseen world.

Even though NO.259 didn't sense Xia Lin and the other two's escape route, it still headed in the right direction.

(End of this chapter)