Chapter 577
Chapter 577 - 557: Phantom Limb
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7 min read
Peaceful life was always precious and luxurious. After returning to the Ancient City, Lu Ping’an and his group entered a quiet recuperation period.
For the entire city, although it was impacted by the new era, overall, it was still within a controllable range....This made the local Bureau of Anomaly Management and other departments very dissatisfied. Their news channels were all major events in other cities, which to some extent, also meant opportunities for great development.
The Ancient City had naturally fallen behind once again, or rather, it had consistently remained outside the core circle.
As for Lu Ping’an and his group, these developments could only be considered as embellishments and anecdotes.
They were neither core investors of the city nor high-level administrators. The good and the bad of the local development had no bearing on them. They had been living the same way for years.
"Everyone, improve yourselves as quickly as possible. The next exploration should be within two months."
Rhythm is important, and two months is enough for everyone to absorb their spoils and consider the next step.
Strength is the key to everything. In a "pond" like the Ancient City, a sixth-tier Gardener could walk sideways in the past.
[Ding, congratulations Host, the third-tier Life system profession Parasitic Tree’s initiation ceremony has been completed, evaluation ’perfect’, obtained Captain ’Parasitic Tree’.]
[Parasitic Tree profession correction: significant increase in physique, slight decrease in reflex, significant increase in spirit.]
[Current status: Physique (Middle Brass), Reflex (Black Iron middle-rank), Spirit (Middle Brass)]
Finally, on one day, Lu Ping’an awaited the expected system prompt.
The symbiotic Demon Plant had matured, and the initiation ceremony of the Parasitic Tree was completed. He naturally stepped into the third-tier.
Along with it came further changes in his physical condition... Instead of "progress", it was "change", as Lu Ping’an could feel that his body was quite different from before. The same data feedback gave out a completely different bodily sensation.
[Congratulations, Host, for obtaining an unnamed symbiotic Demon Plant limb and a new passive Abnormal Ability ’Phantom Limb (Brass Upper)....]
[Phantom Limb (Passive Abnormal Ability at Brass Upper tier): You can control your symbiotic tentacles as if controlling your own body and actively control their extension, repair, and fracture. Its response speed is considered Brass Upper-tier.]
This ability was expected and was the core ability of the "tactical platform" that Lu Ping’an had always desired.
With his current power combination, his "hands" were too few and too short. Many times, he could control his power, but he didn’t have enough hands and feet.
The most direct example was that he couldn’t pilot a mecha while using his Gardener’s abilities to fight.
"...Not bad."
Lu Ping’an experimented a bit, and the vines on his hand reacted very quickly, reaching lightning speed beyond three meters. It could basically be used as his own limb.
The "response speed considered Brass Upper tier" also relieved Lu Ping’an, who was increasingly lagging in reflexes. It was a good thing it didn’t rely on his own reflexes.
In a sense, he returned to a "perfect balance" but relied on external factors instead.
The limbs, including arms and joints, all had vines hidden within them that he could use to assist with movement and attack at any time.
[Sun Vine (Brass Upper-tier Passive Ability): This Demon Plant has awakened the bloodline of the sun and the fire-producing organ and can create the Purifying Holy Fire with an upper limit of Brass Upper tier.]
The awakening of this ability meant that even without Little Flame, Lu Ping’an could play with fire himself.
Moreover, due to the existence of the Sun Vine, his entire skin was covered with this high-level Magic Plant which was strong against fire. He probably wouldn’t experience the Parasitic Tree’s weakness of fearing flames.
[This Demon Plant shell is still growing, and its divine blood has not fully awakened...]
This prompt indicated that it had not yet reached its limit. Whether it’s these two abilities or the Abnormal Ability awakened later, they could all advance along with the growth of the symbiotic Demon Plant.
[Host has obtained a third-tier life-system profession, and the Power of Life begins to condense and sublimate, gradually transforming into high-level Life Curse Power...]
[Host’s all life-system abilities have been greatly enhanced, including Life Perception, Life Whip...]
On Lu Ping’an’s side, the enhancement of various abilities became a list. The specifics would require individual tests.
This new "Phantom Limb" didn’t have an independent name because it wasn’t an individual entity. Instead, it was an auxiliary part for Lu Ping’an, similar to a biological prosthesis’s existence.
With these additional "arms", Lu Ping’an’s combat repertoire increased several times.
But now, he had also completed the construction of his power system, and even in his normal state, he was considered a strongman.
"...Find some friends to practice."
Whether he could fight or how to fight required actual combat to test and temper.
As a result, Lu Ping’an’s progress was quite obvious... Now, he could easily defeat Captain-level opponents in individual battles.
During this period of "low-key" behavior, he used it as a whetstone to digest his gains.
The advancement ceremony for the second-tier Heavy Armor Warrior was still ongoing. Lu Ping’an just went to the Secret Realms to complete his own killing ceremony. If he received fewer Divine Graces, so be it, after all, he didn’t need much.
At the same time, the first-tier Tamer and second-tier Runner’s abilities were also integrated by Lu Ping’an into his armed forces.
"At my lower limit, I can compete with a third-tier Battle-profession, at my upper limit, I can have a shot at fourth to fifth-tier ordinary strongmen."
Meow’s evaluation was quite high, but this was not what Lu Ping’an wanted to hear.
"What if Meow uses Spiritualization, and you descend upon me?"
"The same, lacking a Decree-level foundation, you won’t be able to take on Rule-level ones."
"Tsk, I still need to be patient..."
"...Have you ever been patient?"
Meow felt that this person was getting increasingly outrageous. He had gotten to this level in just a few months but still wasn’t satisfied.
"Heh, there are so many monsters, demons, and ghosts in this world, and there will be even more later. This little bit of power may not be enough."
In the past, a 2-tier was considered an expert, but now even a third-tier seemed unremarkable. There was no telling how many strong people from the Foreign Domain there would be, so stopping was absolutely impossible to accept.
From the current overall situation, due to the introduction of a large number of foreign combatants and the convergence of various churches in the country, the security situation in the Ancient City had improved a lot.
Social order was maintained, which was naturally a good thing... for the weak and ordinary people.
"Mom and Dad, I have some business here and am short of trustworthy people to look after things. Come help me."
Lu Ping’an called his family, hoping that they would be safer in the city under his protection.
Unfortunately, this attempt still failed to convince them... but Lu Ping’an had already achieved his goal.
More importantly, he was preparing for the future relocation of his family and giving them some psychological preparation.
Once the situation reached a certain point, there would be no need to worry so much.
"Perhaps it is time to propose some conditions to the officials."
— End of Chapter 577 —