My skills have mutated again!

Chapter 367 The Pillars of Eternity!

The staircase behind him appeared naturally, and only then did Xia Lin realize that this place, which resembled a laboratory, was actually completely enclosed and had no regular entrances or exits.

He glanced at the Demon Emperor one last time and found that the Demon Emperor had come back to his senses and was too lazy to pay him any attention. However, the Demon Emperor's soul light was surging in his hands, as if he was deducing something.

This made Xia Lin slightly purse her lips as she walked down the stairs.

Down the stairs, the Dream Master and Donald were still waiting—in fact, Xia Lin's meeting with the Demon Emperor didn't last very long.

The ghostly cat, known as the Dream Master, leaped up again and landed on Xia Lin's shoulder.

The first sentence was, as expected.

"What do you think?"

Xia Lin remained silent, while the Dream Master continued, "Don't you feel that the Demon Emperor is somewhat different from what you expected?"

Xia Lin then dared to speak, and said with a wry smile, "It's not that it's off, it's just a bit colder than I expected."

The Demon Emperor's coldness is ruthlessness and indifference.

And it's even colder than rumored.

Xia Lin's evaluation was not negative, so it did not cause any ill will to the dreamer or Donald.

The dreamer sighed: "He is indeed like that with outsiders, not paying attention or caring, but he gets much better once you get to know him."

Xia Lin glanced at Donald and saw him shrug at her with a wry smile.

Well, just by looking at it, you can tell that Donald himself knows that his relationship with the Demon Emperor is only slightly better than that of a stranger like himself.

As for the familiarity the dreamer spoke of, Xia Lin probably didn't need to think about it—in the Demon Emperor's eyes, Donald wasn't even considered an acquaintance; at most, he was just an interesting experimental subject…

As he walked towards the Demon Emperor's palace, Victor continued.

"Other than that?"

Xia Lin thought for a moment and then said, "Besides that, the Demon Emperor's scholarly aura seems to be stronger than what is rumored to be."

Aside from the coldness, Xia Lin's only other feeling towards the Demon Emperor was one of focused attention.

His mind was not on external things; his occasional moments of absentmindedness were when he was exploring his inner thoughts—but in a way, this is precisely the manifestation of his focus.

As if chatting casually, the dreamer said in a low voice, "You've misjudged this."

Xia Lin: "What's wrong with it?"

Victor: "Not a scholar, but an avenger."

"After the new universe was established and the leader became one of the six pillars, he fought against the old thief of the Heavenly Dao several times, but all his efforts were in vain."

"Since then, the boss has been studying how to kill the old thief all day long. And your so-called scholarly temperament is just the boss constantly simulating various possibilities of killing the old thief of the Heavenly Dao."

As a soul pet that has grown up with Wen Yu since childhood, Victor knows the Demon Emperor's personality very well.

He didn't possess the qualities of a scholar, but rather the pure avenger.

Xia Lin was speechless upon hearing this.

What deep-seated hatred or grudge could there be?

Victor sneered: "The hatred and resentment of destroying the old universe is so great."

Upon hearing this, Xia Lin immediately abandoned her desire to inquire about gossip.

The King of Kings once commented that the greatest calamity in the universe is the personal feud between the Creator of Heaven and the Demon Emperor.

And the trouble this brings is even greater than the original dark side!
Xia Lin wanted to stay as far away as possible.

Victor saw through Xia Lin's thoughts and said slowly, "But your choice is different from your true heart."

Xia Lin was taken aback and turned to look at Victor, only to find that Victor was also looking at her.

Those black cat eyes slowly shone, like bottomless nebulae, swirling slightly, dazzling and mesmerizing.

“I don’t know what you talked about with the boss, but I do know the purpose of your visit.”

"Is the boss using you as a guinea pig, wanting to test his conjectures and create the unknown through you?"

Xia Lin nodded gently: "That's about right."

"Have you considered what kind of cascading consequences this will bring?"

Before Xia Lin could speak, Victor said to himself, "It failed. As an experimental subject, your fate is self-evident."

If they don't die, they'll be rendered useless, or their path forward will be completely cut off.

Xia Lin understood this principle himself, because Qing Jue was a cautionary tale.

After weighing the pros and cons, Xia Lin felt that this was a risk that had to be taken in order to pursue greater power.

"But what if it succeeds?"

Victor countered with a question, and Xia Lin was about to speak, saying that if it succeeded, it would naturally succeed, but she suddenly paused and realized what Victor meant.

Without needing Xia Lin's explanation, Victor flicked his tail and whispered, "If it succeeds, the boss will have created the product He wanted through you, or explored some unknown possibility."

"Then you yourself have become the point of contention between the Creator of Heaven and us."

"Even if you have a soul aura that is not subject to the interference of Heaven's will, if this situation occurs, it is not just a matter of Heaven's will, but a direct projection of the will of the Six Pillars!"

The so-called divine intervention is the unconscious reversal of the course of events by the Six Pillars, which even influences the thought processes of all people and things under the Six Pillars.

This is what the Soul Light is defending against!

But if I, Liuzhu, have my eye on you and want to kill you myself, if I deliberately set a trap for you, or if you willingly fall into my trap, then the Soul Light will naturally be useless.

"I guess the boss didn't mention that these are also consequences you need to bear yourself, and you don't seem to have thought about this either."

"I'm offering this advice now as a gesture of goodwill... If you don't want to get involved in certain matters, then it's best to completely sever ties and avoid any contact whatsoever."

"Remember, when it comes to matters concerning the Six Pillars of Destiny, you must absolutely avoid getting involved in cause and effect in order to remain completely detached."

Just then, a group of two people and a cat walked out of the Demon Emperor's mansion and came to the outside passage.

Bathed in the soft sunlight, Xia Lin suddenly smiled.

He turned to look at Victor and said slowly.

"I actually had an unexpected gain during this trip to the Demon Palace. Do you know what it is?"

Victor widened his eyes, wondering why Xia Lin had suddenly changed the subject.

Then Xia Lin slowly said, "This unexpected gain is that I reunited with my old friend, whose name is Gu Hua."

Donald nodded in realization, but Victor had no idea who Gu Hua was...

But this did not stop Xia Lin from continuing: "When we met, Gu Hua raised this philosophical question... Should a person choose a peaceful but mediocre life, or a short but glorious life?"

"There is no right or wrong answer to this question; it doesn't really matter which option you choose."

"If I were the former, then what you just said might scare me away, or it might change my mind."

"But unfortunately, in essence, my friend and I are the same kind of people!"

As she spoke, Xia Lin herself began to laugh.

He never denied his ambition, nor did he ever hide his desire.

"I want to become stronger, incredibly stronger, as strong as a Six Pillar!"

"But the problem is, the further I go, the more I realize that to achieve my goals, I can never escape the gaze of the Six Pillars or eliminate their interference."

"In other words, from the moment I set my goal, I was already involved. So how could I possibly remain uninvolved?"

The Six Pillars are supreme.

If the six pillars are combined into one, then one is omniscient and omnipotent!
In the current universe, a level twelve requires the support of six pillars to be forged. Qingjue's method is a heretical path, so let's leave that aside for now.

And if one wants to climb higher, one cannot escape the gaze of the Six Pillars.

As Victor himself said before: Every position has its own difficulties. What's even more illogical is that the difficulties don't lessen with the growth of strength; on the contrary, they become stronger with the growth of strength.

The six pillars are the biggest challenge!

Because they have blocked the way to the highest!

Victor remained silent, simply staring intently at Xia Lin with his black, gem-like eyes.

After a long while, the black cat suddenly meowed and gently pressed Xia Lin's forehead.

"Huang Tao wasn't wrong about you, and neither was I."

"You really are a person who lives up to expectations."

Xia Lin chuckled.

"Actually, I'm gambling too."

"What the Gambling Emperor can give me is enough to cover the risks I might have to take."

Victor reassured Xia Lin: "Don't worry about that. When it comes to the professional system, Boss is the most professional."

……

The Demon Emperor didn't say how long Xia Lin would have to wait, and Xia Lin didn't dare to ask.

But he is not in a hurry.

Good food is worth waiting for, that's one point.

Secondly, the Demon Palace is indeed a good place.

The Isolation Hunting Card ensured Xia Lin's safety, while Donald's Dream Time Tower saved Xia Lin resources such as Fraud Points and Hunger Points.

Donald wasn't stingy; since the Dream Time Tower could accommodate multiple people, he simply opened it up to Xia Lin, and Xia Lin settled in.

The incredible brush combo started rolling at a rate of one cycle per day.

Xia Lin's attributes are gradually increasing.

During this period, I had a small gathering with Gu Hua and Huang Tao. I won't go into the trivial matters such as shopping in the black market and spending money to sell stolen goods.

Twenty days later, a sound finally reached Xia Lin's ears.

"Come."

Xia Lin recognized that it was the voice of the Heavenly Rat.

At this moment, Xia Lin's attributes have increased to:
[Base stats: 10856 (originally 1613.7)]

[Basic Attributes: 203.5y (originally 30.25y)]

It bypasses the fourth third law and directly breaks through the fifth third law!
Xia Lin, at level nine, already has a higher judgment authority than Scarlett, who is at level eleven and has triggered the Third Law once!

A life-or-death battle (inferior), terrifying indeed!
But after a brief test in the Dream Time Tower, I'm sorry to say, it's still far inferior to Donald, and certainly not a match for Wuxin.

Not to mention Donald, he also has a life-or-death battle system. Xia Lin is growing, and so is he, and at a higher efficiency.

And that heartless one is an overpowered dog that even the highest-ranking user cannot handle!

"I can only hope that this time, the Demon Emperor will truly remember the name Wuxin."

Wu Xin was clearly unimportant to the Demon Emperor.

But it's very important to Xia Lin...

……

Upon arriving at the Demon Emperor's mansion once again, Donald was still by Xia Lin's side.

Upon entering the house, however, they found no trace of Victor, the dreamer.

Xia Lin wasn't surprised.

—Do you really think the dreamer is a greeter?

As soon as you step through the gate, a virtual staircase appears out of thin air.

Xia Lin climbed the steps, while Donald remained where he was, waiting quietly.

Soon, the Demon Emperor's figure came into Xia Lin's view again.

Compared to the last time, this Demon Emperor appeared more vivid, which also indicated His emotional fluctuations.

He was somewhat pleased, as if he had discovered something rather interesting.

"Your second job."

"I call it the Pillar of Eternity!"

The Demon Emperor didn't waste any words and went straight to the point.

Xia Lin: "The Pillars of Eternity?"

As he muttered those four words, he saw the Demon Emperor already sitting on the sofa, speaking slowly.

"The Shadow of Uncertainty represents chaos and the unknown, while this new profession, which I have named the Pillar of Eternity, represents certainty and the known!" "In terms of conception, these two professions are completely contradictory and mutually exclusive, even more so than the conflict between Immortal and Martial Arts!"

"From the very beginning of its design, the Uncertain Shadow profession was meant to find certainty and stability from chaos and the unknown, and you should be clear about that."

Xia Lin naturally understood.

He realized long ago that the chaos and unknown of the Uncertain Shadow was merely a facade.

What he was pursuing was actually that sliver of certainty in the chaos and the unknown—just like the indeterminate constant talent that accompanied Xia Lin throughout his life!

"Starting from this point, the profession of Pillar of Eternity appears to be certain and known, but upon deeper exploration, it can unleash unknown possibilities..."

The Demon Emperor became more and more excited as he spoke, until he finished speaking, when he suddenly slapped his fist and gave Xia Lin a cold laugh.

"What I need is this deeply hidden unknown, one that even I cannot fathom!"

The sneer was not directed at Xia Lin.

It should be aimed at the creator of Heaven.

The two had been fighting for so long, yet neither could gain the upper hand over the other.

Only the unknown, which even the Six Pillars of Destiny cannot calculate, can break the deadlock and create miracles.

"Of course, this process will be very long, and I'm not sure if you'll develop to the level I expect..."

The Demon Emperor suppressed his useless emotions and spoke to Xia Lin.

"The idea for this Eternal Pillar is there, but the related system is not yet complete. One talent and two skills are the results of my research over this period. As for the rest, I will leave it to the Ember District, allowing them to deduce and improve more matching talents and skills for this class."

The Demon Emperor, one of the designers of the Ash Zone system.

As mentioned before, some of the newly emerging professions were generated by the Ember Zone itself, while others were created by the Six Pillars—such as the Unstable Shadow and the Heavenly Soldier God.

However, just because it comes from the six pillars does not mean that all six pillars are involved.

In this process, the Six Pillars are merely the chief architects, providing the concept and framework, while the details are entirely deduced by the Ash Zone system.

Currently, this eternal pillar, on which the Demon Emperor has placed high hopes, also follows this principle.

"I have other things to do, so I don't really have high hopes for the Pillars of Eternity profession."

Just like last time, the Demon Emperor easily saw through Xia Lin's thoughts.

He spoke, as always, cleanly and decisively, without any concealment.

"To put it bluntly, this is just one possibility... and my preparations against that old thief have already failed more than 100,000 times, and there are still thousands more in progress. Your matter is just one of these."

Xia Lin had no reply and could only nod to change the subject.

"Let's talk about the Pillars of Eternity."

"Isn't the character '柱' (pillar) a bit inauspicious?"

One of the six pillars, the Soul-Controlling Demon Emperor, raised an eyebrow: "What conflict? Whose conflict are you conflicting with?"

Is there a problem with this name?

Xia Lin: "Then there's obviously no problem. I was just overthinking it..."

Alright, Liu Zhu doesn't care about these things.

Otherwise, names like Liu Haizhu wouldn't exist in the world.

"Then what you just mentioned about one professional talent and two professional skills..."

The Demon Emperor nodded and said, "Everything I have researched, including this profession, will be handed over to you in a moment. But let me make it clear beforehand that there are a few things I need to tell you first."

Xia Lin: "Please go ahead."

"Firstly, this profession is not unique. In fact, a few days later, I will find more unpredictable individuals to pursue dual professions as other experimental samples."

Xia Lin was an unruly person and ultimately not one of the Demon Emperor's own.

For exploring the unknown, more experimental samples are also necessary.

—As a pure egoist, helping Xia Lin was never his primary goal; it was merely something he did incidentally.

Xia Lin's face twitched, somewhat helplessly: "No, I spent a lot of money for this profession..."

The Demon Emperor waved his hand and said, "Don't worry, I will give you some compensation."

He didn't say he would definitely satisfy Xia Lin, and Xia Lin didn't dare to ask any more questions.

"Secondly: It may take a few months or years. Once the Eternal Pillar class is perfected in the Ember Zone, this class will be added to the Ember Zone system and become a class that Ember Zone Walkers can change to."

This is essentially a matter of uniqueness.

Having already accepted the first point, Xia Lin no longer cared about the second.

"Thirdly, there is the issue of dual-career itself."

“Dual professions can influence and interfere with each other, but in my design, this opposition is needed to unleash the unknown and create miracles. So, I haven’t solved this problem because that’s exactly what I want to see.”

"Once you embark on the path of dual professions, the conflicts between them may weaken your strength and interfere with your skills. You'll have to resolve these issues yourself, or adapt to them..."

This matter was clearly recorded in the handwriting of the Sword God of Pure Absoluteness, and Xia Lin believed that the Demon Emperor could resolve it.

Regardless of whether He can solve the problem, it seems the Demon Emperor has no intention of doing so...

"Now that the pros and cons have been clearly stated, you still have the opportunity to refuse."

As he said this, the Demon Emperor spread out his hands.

In his hand, a miniature, crystalline cylindrical object gleamed brightly.

This is the Pillars of Eternity job change certificate.

……

Xia Lin fell into thought, quickly weighing the pros and cons.

The benefits are:
Dual classes grant double the skill slots. Xia Lin is currently level nine. After switching to dual classes, although she may have to start from level 1, with Xia Lin's strength, leveling up in the Ash Zone is not difficult at all.

If the Pillars of Eternity class possesses other talents or skills that can expand skill slots, then even more skill slots will be gained.

Moreover, the dual-class system, combined with the Qingjue Manual, can unlock the path to level twelve. Although Xia Lin is not even level eleven yet, it is undoubtedly a good thing to have the path to level twelve in advance. Consider it a backup plan and a way to make arrangements in advance.

Moreover, the Demon Emperor himself admitted that this dual-class path of Uncertain Shadow and Eternal Pillar, which He designed, possesses a very deep-hidden possibility that even He could not deduce.

This is an unknown fact that even the Six Pillars didn't know... and it is very likely the greatest benefit Xia Lin gained from it.

The drawback is:
Having two professions will affect Xia Lin's strength, and the difficulty of advancing to level eleven and twelve will also increase dramatically.

However, this drawback can be resolved: the example of Qingjue serves as a cautionary tale!
The Bridge of Reverse Origin can merge conflicts. After the conflicts are merged, the problem of the impact of the clash between the two professions on strength can be solved, and it may even produce a qualitative change... or perhaps a disaster?
Of course, a temporary decline in strength is inevitable.

Considering the approaching sequence war, this drawback may be amplified in a practical sense.

The difficulty of advancing to level 11 or 12 increases dramatically, but with Qingjue's handwritten letter, this is not a problem for Xia Lin.

The issue of the uniqueness of a profession is not considered.

Xia Lin never cared whether he was the most special one... he only wanted to be the strongest one!

It seems the only drawback is the reduced strength caused by the conflict between two classes...

But Xia Lin realized that the real problem wasn't there.

"On the surface, it seems that I am temporarily reducing my strength in exchange for greater potential."

"But the fundamental drawback of this matter is that it is unknown."

Can the Bridge of Reverse truly merge the Shadow of Impermanence and the Pillar of Eternity?

I don't know, maybe not.

If these two completely conflicting systems could be merged, would the result make Xia Lin stronger? Or weaker? Or would it turn Xia Lin into a monster?

Still don’t know.

"So at the moment, I can't assess whether this unknown is good or bad. I might soar to great heights because of the unknown, or I might fall into hell because of the unknown."

The Demon Emperor thought for a moment and nodded, saying, "That makes sense."

He handed the Pillar of Eternity to Xia Lin and said, "There's no need to think so much. I can tell you clearly that this will be a gamble that even I can't see the outcome of."

"You just need to consider whether you want to sit at this gambling table. If not, turn around and leave. If you are, take my spoils."

As soon as the Demon Emperor finished speaking, Xia Lin smiled and extended his hand.

"What a coincidence, I'm actually quite a gambler."

Being in this location, it is impossible to initiate fraudulent operations.

Before the Demon Emperor, deception and luck are destined to have no effect.

But when there's no fraud or cheating, Xia Lin is a gambler; what's wrong with taking another gamble now?

The moment he came into contact with the crystal, it melted naturally and flowed into Xia Lin's body.

The Soul Emperor's faint voice rang in my ears.

"Since you've made your choice, I'll lend you a hand and save us some time."

He raised his hand and flicked it, and the light of his soul suddenly appeared!

At this moment, Xia Lin felt as if his soul had been torn in two.

From a bizarre perspective, Xia Lin clearly saw that half of his soul was radiating a chaotic and uncertain light—this represented the Shadow of Indeterminacy.

The other half of the soul, initially faint, began to shimmer with tiny, diamond-like sparkling light spots. The Eternal Pillar Job Change Certificate that had just disappeared had already condensed and taken shape in Xia Lin's heart.

There was a "pop" sound.

A crisp sound rang out as the Demon Emperor snapped his fingers.

Thus, the forcibly torn soul and body merged into one.

Then, a deep, soul-deep pain surged forth!

To achieve a dual-class system, you can't just find any other job change certificate.

There are many coincidences involved, and Qingjue's handwriting also has some special techniques.

Now that the Demon Emperor is personally taking action, Xia Lin naturally doesn't need to risk operating on his own.

However, the Demon Emperor's actions were indeed a bit too rough.

"Just a necessary price to pay..."

When the faint voice rang in her ears again, Xia Lin had already broken free from the pain.

The notification tone rang in my ears instantly.

[You have obtained a secondary profession: Pillars of Eternity!]

Current level: Level 2.

You have acquired one career talent and two career skills!

Congratulations on acquiring the class talent: Permanent Foundation!

【Eternal Foundation (Tier B): Pillars of Eternity exclusive talent! Pillars of Eternity represent certainty and the known! However, the so-called certainty and the known vary depending on individual understanding.

The more you see, hear, and try after acquiring this talent, the more permanent skill slots it will provide!

[Current number of permanent skill slots: 3!]

[Note: Under normal circumstances, permanent skill slots serve the same function as regular skill slots and there is no difference.]

[Note: This talent cannot be upgraded with evolution points; its level depends solely on your knowledge, experience, and understanding of the universe.]

[Congratulations on acquiring the profession skill: Eternal Imprint, Material Mimicry!]

【Eternal Inscription (Six Pillars Level) (Xia Lin Exclusive Skill) (Uniqueness): Passive skill, exclusive skill of the Pillar of Eternity, and a complementary skill to the Foundation of Eternity. Any skill that takes effect on you will be inscribed and recorded. The first time it takes effect, the skill's effect is fully applied to you; however, the second time it takes effect, the effect is halved; the third time, the effect is halved again. After the fourth time it takes effect, you can inscribe the skill into your Eternal Skill slot.】

Once this skill is inscribed into a permanent skill slot, you will gain that skill and become permanently immune to it!

[Material Mimicry (Racial Heritage Level): Passive Skill, exclusive to the Pillars of Eternity. You can mimic any substance you have ever seen and are familiar with. Depending on the substance you mimic, you will gain different buffs and additional traits!]

Xia Lin suddenly looked up at the Demon Emperor.

Then the Demon Emperor nodded slightly.

"He's heartless, right? I'll help you out. Go and kill him."

Before Xia Lin could respond, more notification sounds rang in her ears.

[You have been detected to have two jobs, and there is a logical conflict between the jobs themselves and some of your talents and skills!]

[Balance begins in the Ember Zone!]

An even stronger sense of tearing surged forth.

(End of this chapter)