Alone and Infinite.

Chapter 234 New Skill: Transparent World!
The embers, shrouded in darkness, seemed to never dissipate.

Is that the body of the Holy King after he was burned?

Aowu opened its mouth, then fell silent, a rare occurrence for it.

After a long pause, he exclaimed with emotion, "The Holy King is a true man!"

As a remnant of the previous era, Aowu won't give you a second glance just because you're strong or have a certain status.

Even if it's strong, it's still only a second-tier unit. What's the point?
But he was a man who would rather die than let the Holy King die than let the world be destroyed.

But it made Aowu genuinely say "Awesome".

Li Xia looked at the dim and withered yellow Demon Prison Star in front of him.

I always felt that one day I would come back here.

The image gradually faded away, and silver-white text began to refresh.

This surprised Li Xia somewhat, as he had thought the advancement battle hadn't been settled yet.

[This Trial World: Demon Prison Star]

[World Difficulty: B-S (Hard-Hell)]

[Global Environment: 1.1425 times standard gravity]

[Upgrade Result: Ultimate Upgrade]

Opportunity for Transcendence: 50%

[Transcendence Opportunity Conversion Rewards: 3 Attribute Points, 5 Merit Points, 5000 Hall Points]

[Other rewards: 3 points to all attributes (Light of Ascension)]

The regression process has been initiated.

In the dark starry sky, a huge starship slowly flew in from afar.

It was the same jump landing ship they had arrived in.

Li Xia felt a jolt in his body, and then he floated lightly towards the warp landing ship.

At the same time, streaks of light also carried the apostles toward the landing ship.

The seats that were packed when we arrived are now sparsely populated.

Awoo craned his neck and looked around for a while: "That guy hasn't come back."

Li Xia knew who it was talking about. She turned her head and glanced at the empty seat next to her—that talkative guy.

The transparent protective shield was lowered once again.

Welcome back to the Hall of Light!

In private room

Black Charcoal and Awoo threw themselves onto the soft sofa and rolled around happily several times.

Even Li Xia felt that her tense mind finally relaxed.

Almost immediately, exhaustion surged up from every corner of my body.

He yawned deeply, lay down on the sofa, and looked out the window at the falling snow.

Fall asleep.

Nothing happened that night, and when Li Xia woke up, she found it was already dark.

Just as I was about to go back to sleep, I suddenly remembered that the environment in a personal room is constant.

He picked up the black charcoal sleeping on his head and put it aside, then pulled off the howling beast that was wrapped around his neck and choking him.

Yawning, I walked into the bathroom. While I was washing, sleepy-eyed Charcoal also came in and jumped into his own private sandpit.

Needless to say, amidst the cat's piercing screams...

Black Charcoal was also grabbed by the merciless big hand, and howled like a pig.

However, its happiness didn't last long, as it was also dragged in by Li Xia.

By the end, Awoo's scales shimmered as if they had been waxed.

Black Charcoal's fur stood on end, looking like a black ball of yarn.

The kitten was immediately restrained and curled up on one side, frantically licking its fur.

Li Xia changed into loose-fitting clothes and nestled comfortably on the sofa.

I randomly picked an old movie and put it on, and the lights in the room slowly dimmed.

But it wasn't completely extinguished; the orange flames flickered inside the fireplace, and the firewood crackled crisply.

Outside the huge glass window, large, fluffy snowflakes fell in abundance.

Coupled with the slightly rustling dialogue of old movies, a tranquil and peaceful atmosphere flowed through the room.

Black Charcoal nestled up next to Li Xia as usual, still licking its fur.

Awoo watched the movie on the screen with interest, because it had never seen it before.

As for Li Xia, it doesn't matter whether he watches it or not; what matters is the atmosphere.

If you keep that string taut in the temple, it will eventually break.

Therefore, it is essential to take proper relaxation and rest during the intervals between world events.

The apostles had many ways to relax, and each person made different choices.

It is precisely for this reason that small teams and guilds with similar positioning to the Nightingale Guild have emerged one after another.

However, the Nightingale Guild itself would not do such a thing; it simply controls most of the market.

Most importantly, there is also a rest period after the promotion battle ends.

Furthermore, there aren't as many spoilers to process, making it relatively leisurely with plenty of time.

"This movie is pretty good."

Awoo gave its review with lingering enjoyment, having watched The Godfather.

There happened to be a cat inside, but unfortunately it wasn't black.

"Without special effects, the focus will inevitably shift to other aspects of the performance—a very interesting argument."

Li Xia smiled and, just like in the movie, picked up the black charcoal.

Wow, this cat is huge, even bigger than a leopard cat.

With a blank expression, the black-haired creature raised its head, rubbed its head against Li Xia's hand, and continued to frantically lick its fur.

As soothing music played, Li Xia and Aowu chatted for a while.

The topic naturally shifted to the previous ranking battle.

Aowu felt that something was off about the last promotion battle, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.

"Are you saying that this advancement battle seems to be missing something, that it was too direct?"

"Yes, yes, although there are three stages, when you look at them together, it just doesn't feel quite right."

After thinking for a moment, Aowu concluded, "It's not challenging!"

If it weren't challenging, most normal people would probably think it's crazy; wouldn't it be better to live a peaceful and safe life?

But in the apostles who were accustomed to walking on the edge of life and death.

The biggest problem is that it's not challenging.

Even a day earlier, Li Xia herself thought so.

Until the settlement, the past was relived, and the huge shuttle starship appeared in front of him once again.

He suddenly understood.

"Because the significance of this promotion battle is to promote oneself."

Li Xia said slowly:
"In the previous derivative worlds, the purpose of missions of varying difficulty was to select apostles and give them different rewards to accelerate their growth."

The Temple of Light has spent a lot of resources, such as resetting the world and granting attribute points.

Why don't higher-order worlds have derivative worlds?
Because the higher the level of the world, the greater the cost of resetting the timeline. It's not that the Hall of Fame can't do it, but the cost-effectiveness is too low.

Therefore, for the temple, trashy apostles are not worthy of enjoying resources.

"The derivative world is about distinguishing who the trash apostles are." Black Charcoal had stopped licking his fur and stood up to listen attentively with Awoo.

Li Xia's train of thought became increasingly clear as she spoke, as if she were writing a strategy guide:
"Don't you think there's one major difference between this promotion battle and the previous ones?"

Aowu and Heitan thought about it carefully for a while, and seemed to have vaguely grasped something, but in the end they still shook their heads.

"The biggest difference is that the Temple of Light requires almost no resources!"

As if a bolt of lightning had struck his heart, Awoo couldn't help but open his mouth and let out a howl:

"Damn! No wonder!"

Seeing that Hei Tan still looked confused, Teacher Ao patiently said:
"First, you need to understand the basic logic of how the Temple of Light operates; it requires the apostles to work for it."

However, low-ranking apostles certainly cannot accomplish anything, so resources must be spent on training them.

At this point, screening is definitely necessary, and the bad apostles should be eliminated as soon as possible.

Those who can participate in the advancement battle have all gone through many rounds of elimination to reach the peak of the second tier.

Regardless of their attributes or how they got here, reaching this point, even if it was purely by luck, is still a skill!

Black Charcoal nodded, indicating that he understood all of this.

"But what resources did the Temple of Light provide on Demon Prison Star?"

Awoo couldn't help but laugh out loud:
"It only sent out one starship, which is roughly equivalent to sending out a bus!"

The planet Demon Prison itself had held an ascension ceremony, and they succeeded, but they were unlucky and connected to a world with ancient gods.

Therefore, the ascension platforms are readily available, and the resources to activate them are also readily available.

Even the attributes His Highness gained were natural increases caused by the release of power from the third-tier world!
"Brilliant! The Hall of Light is indeed brilliant!"

Since no resources are being provided and it's all free, why bother with selection?
It would be better not to interfere and let the apostles choose for themselves; if they succeed, they can take off, and if they fail, they can rest in peace.

Even those three stages weren't devised by the Temple of Light itself, but rather were the same procedures used by the Arcane Dynasty when it was advancing.

"Meow?"

Black Charcoal nodded at first, but then raised a new question.

Even at the third stage, don't we still need to consume resources for selection?

Um? Um? !

Aowu opened his mouth, unsure how to answer, but Li Xia's voice came back from the side, tinged with laughter:

"From the third tier onwards, there's a native world; being cannon fodder to explore the map is a good thing."

He had just checked the panel while Aowu and Heitan were chatting, and found a very pleasantly surprising change.

Let's leave aside the rewards provided after upgrading the Tier 2 Supreme Badge.

Most importantly, a transparent world. It's finally here!
【Transparent World】

[Skill Effect: Unleashes potential, greatly enhancing dynamic vision and neural reaction speed. Activates special vision, allowing perception of the target's body structure. Some creatures with 'weaknesses' will have their 'weaknesses' detected.]

[Skill Type: Status Perception Skill / Special Passive Skill]

[Skill Cost]: Consumes 20 True Qi points per second after activation.

[Skill Cooldown]: No cooldown, can be freely turned on or off.
[Skill Description: This is exclusive to skill-based masters. It represents the pinnacle of breath control, a special sensory skill that only emerges when honed through countless hours of practice and perfectly matched with complete control over the body.]

[Special Note: This skill has no proficiency level; its effect can be improved by merging similar skills.]

[The Transparent World has been incorporated into the Ultimate Skill System; you can check it out yourself.]

Looking at the words on the panel, Li Xia let out a satisfied sigh.

As the pinnacle of the Breathing System in Demon Slayer, the Transparent World is far more difficult to achieve than the Demon Slayer Mark.

The results did not disappoint; the previous feeling of time stopping was due to the improvement of the dual-reaction system.

Special vision refers to the ability to see directly, like X-ray vision, the flow of energy and the internal organs.

"Transparent world!"

Upon acquiring the new skill, Li Xia immediately activated it, and the world around him instantly turned into a monotonous black and white.

Time seemed to slow down suddenly, and my movements also slowed down considerably.

The originally smooth picture and sound on the television seemed to slow down, becoming sluggish and drawn out.

The most crucial element is the visual aspect.

From Li Xia's perspective, Hei Tan's body seemed to have become a panoramic film, with his bones and constantly contracting lungs clearly visible.

A wisp of light entwined around the beating heart.

Is this a weakness?

Although there were no obvious markings, his instincts told him that this was his weakness.

Aowu's body was much simpler, with no bones or organs, only a pale blue body.

In the center of the skull is a small dot emitting a hazy white light.

This is the Soul Bead, and also the core of Aowu.

When this special vision is shut down, the world suddenly speeds up and becomes brighter.

This rapid switch even caused him to momentarily lose his composure.

Hmm. I need to be careful about this momentary lapse in concentration; I need to practice more and get used to switching between these states.

Having broken free from the transparent world, Li Xia realized that only a few seconds had passed.

Black Charcoal and Awoo were completely unaware of what was happening to them.

Seeing that the two kids were still chatting, Li Xia opened the panel and started to check her gains.

Although the main quests offer almost no rewards, there are actually quite a few items left over.

First, there are the rewards for upgrading the Tier 2 Arena Supreme Badge.

【Equipment Effect 2: After advancing while holding this badge, you will gain an additional 2 Enlightenment Points and +2 Gun Skill Talent (trait compatibility)】

【Equipment Effect 3: After advancing while holding this badge, you will gain an additional 14 attribute points】

It's a terrifying 14 attribute points, plus an extremely rare 2 points of comprehension and 2 points of talent.

Adding the 3 points from the settlement, I now have 17 attribute points.

In addition to these, after the ascension ceremony was initiated at the Ascension Platform, the power of the Third Order World was released through the holes.

It grants a 3-point bonus to all attributes!
The five attributes total 15 points!
In other words, Li Xia has only just entered the third tier and already has 32 attribute points!
On average, each attribute can be increased by 6 points.

How terrifying?
However, Li Xia looked at his own panel, and then at Aowu and Heitan.

The two little ones were a bit confused:

"What's the matter, Your Highness?"

Li Xia shook his head and remained silent, as there was still no way to transform Aowu into a physical body.

Unable to improve his strength, Kurotan only benefited from the Ascension Light bonus this time; the Arena Badge bonus was only available to him.

If this continues, the gap will only widen.

We need to find a way to improve the properties of charcoal.

Like other apostles, Li Xia couldn't abandon his companions who couldn't keep up with him.

He secretly kept the idea of ​​strengthening the two little ones to himself.

Li Xia stood up and waved:
"Let's go out for dinner and boost our stats while we're at it!"

Upon hearing the word "eat," Hei Tan immediately jumped up.

The kitten loves eating the most!
"Old God?"

Amidst the crisp click of the lighter, wisps of smoke swirled around.

Bai Xiao's indifferent face was particularly hazy in the smoke, as if she were somewhat nostalgic:
"The Old Gods... those are good things."

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1. Monthly pass 2. Recommendation vote

I'm experiencing some writer's block, mainly because I want the protagonist to acquire a lot of items in the next dungeon, which is quite challenging.
(End of this chapter)