Surviving the Maze of National Destiny: Hints from the Chinese Characters I Understand

"Bang..." The Moonlight Slash and the beam of light shot from the eyes of the Candle Dragon collided violently, shattering into pieces on the ground.

[Intense battle! Zhulong's approval rating for you has increased by 6%, currently at 94%.]

"Young man, you're quite impressive!" The 50-meter-long Zhulong stood upright, its terrifying body overlooking Lin Mo and Kabu below.

Kabu extended a chubby finger and pointed it at Zhulong: "Kajigu! (Don't be arrogant, watch closely, this next move is going to be really cool!)"

Zhulong: "...Your appearance reminds me of an old friend, but you are too weak now, so it doesn't quite resemble him."

"Me, weak? Haha, me, weak?" Kabu laughed in anger, unleashing his Wind and Thunder Wings to their fullest potential. His 1000-pound body hurtled straight towards the Candle Dragon in the void like a cannonball.

"Bang..." The immense force caused the surrounding mist to surge wildly.

Even Zhulong's body was shaken back several meters before it regained its balance. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Lin Mo rushed out, his battle blade quickly approaching Zhulong.

"boom……"

Two beams of light, one black and one white, shot out from the eyes of the Candle Dragon, forcing Kabu and Lin Mo back.

[Good teamwork and attack power. Zhulong's approval rating for you increases by 6%, current approval rating is 100%.]

"Not bad, not bad, you've passed! I will bestow upon you the bloodline of the Candle Dragon, hahaha!" The shadow clone seemed very happy, laughing as it disappeared.

Meanwhile, a notification sound had already been heard on Lin Mo's end.

Congratulations on awakening the Candle Dragon bloodline.

Please note that you must protect the true form of Zhulong in the future. If Zhulong's true form perishes, your bloodline will also disappear.

Lin Mo: ? ? ?

If even one of Zhulong's clones is this powerful, how strong must its main body be? You're saying it will face a crisis? Just how powerful must the opponent be? How can I protect it?

If you can't figure it out, then don't think about it anymore. Just focus on developing yourself first. Lin Mo looked at the data on his newly awakened bloodline.

…………

Zhulong bloodline level 1 (1%)

Basic Attributes: All attributes increased by 10%

Feature 1: Unrivaled during the day (has a 20% suppression effect on all creatures during daytime battles)

Feature 2: Unlocked at level 5

…………

Wow, that's amazing! It's a suppression effect, and it also gives a 10% boost to all attributes: attack, defense, and agility—a comprehensive enhancement.

Haha, once this bloodline level is upgraded, I'll definitely be able to beat Kabu.

Without saying a word, Lin Mo consumed the snow lotus as well, raising his bloodline level to level 1 (56%).

Lin Mo began offering sacrifices again, contributing some of the high-grade food he couldn't finish from his personal space, and finally raised his bloodline level to level 2.

The effects of the bloodline changed immediately.

…………

Zhulong bloodline level 2 (3%)

Basic Attributes: All attributes increased by 20%

Feature 1: Unrivaled during the day (has a 20% suppression effect on all creatures during daytime battles)

Feature 2: Unlocked at level 5

…………

Wow, that's awesome! The boost to all attributes has been increased to 20%, and the suppression effect remains unchanged. It should be a fixed value. A 20% suppression is already quite impressive.

Lin Mo's gaze towards Kabu had transformed into that of someone looking at a little punk: I'll teach you a lesson sooner or later.

Lin Mo's successful awakening of his bloodline caused a sensation in the live stream.

[Chinese netizens: Holy crap, Lin Ge's awakened bloodline type is completely different! Did you see that terrifying behemoth? It feels like it's on a completely different level from that little bug from the Free Country.]

[A netizen from the Free Nation: That's called Quetzalcoatl, what little insect?]

[Chinese netizens: They're no match for Zhulong. Even ancient mythical beasts have appeared. Chinese mythical beasts are truly awesome.]

[A netizen from Pakistan: The moment I opened my eyes, I felt like I was going to die. It was so shocking.]

[Chinese netizens: Lin Ge is taking off, Kabu's life is in danger. Haha, I know how frustrated Lin Ge has been lately, Kabu's going to get beaten up sooner or later.]

"Kajigu? (Hey? Lin Mo, what's with that look?)" Kabu felt that Lin Mo's gaze towards him had become three parts cold, three parts sinister, three parts ruthless, and one part expectant, which together made it extremely lewd.

Lin Mo smiled slightly, knowing that life and death were uncertain. "It's alright, life is peaceful!" Lin Mo patted Kabu's belly meaningfully.

Next, after taking down another wave of monsters, we'll fight the boss! Lin Mo felt a little excited.

The Nightmare-level boss grants 3 National Fortune Points upon defeat.

Lin Mo couldn't wait to look at the four passages around him.

[You are directly in front of a football field. There are no traces of humans here, but that doesn't stop 20 level 13 Earth Bears from playing football here. Their rules are a bit strange: whoever kicks an opposing player into the goal first scores. Currently, the two sides are fighting. Do you want to go and stop them? In the stands, you can find 1 ml of drinking water, 1 wind elemental, 1 lightning elemental, and 5 fire elementals.]

"That's quite a unique way to play," Lin Mo shook his head and looked at the next prompt.

Behind you lies a swimming pool where 30 level 13 Berserker Apes are holding a diving competition. The score is based on the size of the splash. Near the pool, you can find 20 bags of premium bread (1 jin per bag), 1 Water Element, and 1 Snow Lotus.

Hey! This one looks good, let me take another look.

[To your left lies a lake, utterly lifeless except for ten level 13 deep-lake electric eels. If you search carefully here, you'll find nothing.]

[To your right lies a temple, enshrining a sacred bull, the source of which is unknown. You have awakened your bloodline; entering will be considered heresy. Would you like to try wrestling with the bull? Winning will erase your bloodline inheritance, rendering all inheritors of the sacred bull's bloodline unable to upgrade and requiring them to undergo a new assessment.]

It's better not to go. These mythical beast clones are always 5 levels higher than you, unless you reach level 50.

The fact that Zhulong was so polite to him didn't mean that the other mythical beasts would be.

Lin Mo obediently chose the back passage to watch the water splashing competition—no, I mean the diving competition. Isn't that much more interesting?

The scenery changed before their eyes, and the next second, Lin Mo and Kabu had arrived at a professional diving competition venue.

"Splash! Splash!" On the 10-meter diving platform, one strong figure after another jumped down, accompanied by loud splashes in the water, creating huge waves in the pool.

Kabu's eyes lit up, and he flew straight onto the platform. "Kaji-gu! (Get lost! I'll try.)"

It kicked the two berserk apes in front of it, sending them flying. Due to the great force, they crashed onto the floor outside the pool area, creating two large craters in the ground.

"Chirp! (Haha! No splash, 0 points!)" Kabu laughed and jumped down as well.

The 1000-pound weight slammed onto the water's surface, causing the pool to erupt like a tsunami, with huge waves shooting skyward.

"Perfect score!" Lin Mo clapped.

(Give me some electricity! Happy Chinese New Year! Have you all prepared your New Year's goods? Happy New Year!)