The Professional Rankings, in twelve volumes, each bearing the name of my lord.

The experts are right.

No matter how real everything in the illusion looks.

It's even more real than the outside world—because there's nothing quantifiable here.

But at the moment of its collapse, it became clear that everything was just an illusion.

If observed from the field, one can see that the towering beam of light is rapidly shrinking.

When all the light disappeared, Song Gua found himself standing on several sharp, uncomfortable stones.

The fog around us was so thick that visibility was less than ten meters.

But faintly, it seemed as if some enormous entity was breathing, creating a rhythmic sound of wind.

Without saying a word, Song Gua summoned the Monkey King.

"Take me flying!"

Monkey King summoned his somersault cloud, pulled Song Gua onto the vehicle, and flew into the sky.

In fact, the sky over areas with dense fog is not safe either.

Some wild monsters and creatures from restricted areas can also fly.

However, unless they have special observation skills, the dense fog will also affect their vision, making it impossible for them to see targets in the sky.

Therefore, the sky is relatively safe.

Song Gua glanced at the Great Rejuvenation Pill in his hand.

【Name: Shi Quan Da Bu Wan (Ten-Ingredient Tonic Pill)】

[Type: Consumable]

[Quality: Epic (Purple)]

[Effect: After consumption, all attributes increase by 5%. This effect will persist as attributes increase.]

The Great Rejuvenating Pill has become the Perfect Tonic Pill.

The effect of increasing internal strength by 20 years has been changed to a +5% increase in all attributes.

5% isn't much, but it's permanent.

Just like the attribute boosts provided by weapon specialization and armor specialization.

Even if the attributes of the Song hexagram are improved in the future, there will still be an additional 5% increase.

"A very good consumable. Since the Bonded One doesn't have weapon specialization, this 'Perfect Tonic Pill' will make up for that attribute."

Monkey King has already brought Song Gua to the top of the thick fog.

After taking the Ten-Ingredient Tonic Pill, Song Gua looked around.

"Where's the reward? Where's the reward?"

The illusion disappeared, meaning the player had cleared the game.

But where is the reward?

Song Gua summoned the Rhythm Mage's clone and instructed him to use the Wind Control Technique to return to the ground and take a look.

I was so focused on getting out of the dense fog that I didn't really observe my surroundings carefully.

Maybe there's something like a dungeon chest?

Only after opening it will you receive the rewards that Bing Shen mentioned, such as longevity and a complete transformation.

After a while.

The mage's clone slowly floated up.

There's nothing there.

"Was the year of Bing Shen a lie?"

The group of clones were filled with righteous indignation.

"Damn it! We've been tricked!"

"All that work for nothing!"

"I'd rather go level up."

"Exactly!"

"What kind of bullshit illusion is this? I've been busy for days and all I got was a Great Rejuvenation Pill."

"One? Then we definitely won't get one."

"By the way, did Ma Feng not take those things that were leaking from his backpack?"

"There's nothing valuable in it, and it belongs to the victim. Taking it would only arouse suspicion, so it's better not to take it."

"..."

Something seems off.

What is wrong?

Song Gua glanced at Monkey King, and the two exchanged a look, raising their eyebrows simultaneously.

"How come there are so many clones!"

The chattering noise was twice as loud as before!

Song Gua commanded, "Report your numbers in your birth order!"

"1!"

"2!"

"3!"

"4!"

"..."

"250! Damn it! Why am I a 250?"

"..."

"256...Is that you, idiot?"

"..."

"433!"

Five clones!

On the day Song Gua changed jobs, he had 200 clones.

It has been 48 days since I changed jobs.

At a rate of one clone per day, he should have 248 clones.

However, during this period, 15 were lost due to self-destruction, being killed, etc., so the total is 233.

But now, there are 433 clones.

200 more!

"This is the reward from the illusion?"

Suddenly, Monkey King had a flash of inspiration and said, "Old thief, it seems that it's not just the number of clones that has increased."

Song Gua felt something and had a thought.

"Whoosh!"

The person wielding the Ruyi Jingu Bang (magic staff) became himself.

Wearing his own disguise as an ancient person, he became the Monkey King!

"Switch positions!"

Song Gua finally understood what the illusion had given him as a reward.

The clone ability has evolved!

Having 200 more clones is just an appetizer.

The main point is that he can now switch places with any of his clones!

Moreover, only the physical body is exchanged; the clothes and belongings are not exchanged.

It's easy to imagine how useful this advanced ability is.

For example, when the original body rushed to save Yuwen Hao and Xu Kai's group in the illusion, it didn't need to give such a clumsy reason as "I'm going to change my clothes".

They swapped positions immediately and rushed to the rescue!

Not only is it easier to rush to the rescue, but it's also easier to escape.

As long as you keep one clone at home, you can go out and have fun as you please.

If things go wrong, simply switch places with your clone at home.

It's comparable to instantaneous teleportation that ignores distance!

This advanced ability can be used in many ways beyond this, and can be used to develop a wide variety of gameplay options.

"An illusion! Awesome! But why is it different from what Bing Shen said? Does that mean the rewards are different for everyone who clears the illusion?"

To be honest, it's certainly good that the ability to create clones has evolved.

The possibility of increasing lifespan is quite tempting for Song Gua.

"Could it have already increased?"

The rewards in the illusion realm are given without any hints; you have to discover them yourself.

If older people have an extended lifespan, they may show signs of regaining their youth.

For example, hair turns from white to black, wrinkles decrease, and the vitality of various organs in the body increases.

But Song Gua is currently in the prime of his youth, and if his lifespan were to increase, he would not be able to turn into a child again.

That's not a reward, that's a punishment.

We can only observe our own aging rate. If it's slower than normal, it means this journey has increased our lifespan.

"This trip was a huge success; all those brain cells I lost in the illusion were worth it."

By the way, will my clone ability evolve every time I clear the illusion?

If that's the case...

Terrifying!

But clearing the illusionary realm is no easy feat.

There are strategies for Song Gua, but I still took some detours.

Without a guide, it's impossible to succeed by guessing.

Because they don't even know what the main storyline is.

"I'll have to keep an eye out for news about the Illusionary Divine Stele in the future. If I get the chance, I'll try to steal one too."

Riding on Monkey King's somersault cloud, after flying to the foggy area, Song Gua took out the return scroll and prepared to return to the city.

[Failed to use.]

"What's wrong?"

A loud global announcement rang in my ears.

World Bosses are spawning around Yunshan City!

The World Boss Siege Battle is about to begin. Yunshan City, please prepare your defenses!

During the World Boss battle, return scrolls will be unusable, dungeons will be inaccessible, all monsters will evolve into elite monsters, level up, and enter a nighttime berserk mode!

Song Gua was shocked.

"Something terrible has happened..."

I took out my phone and looked at it.

Today is... August 31th!

World bosses only spawn in January each year, with five to ten appearing each time, scattered all over the world.

Yunshan City is so unlucky; it actually got targeted by the World Boss on the very last day!

[End of Volume One]