Chapter 623
Chapter 623 - 603: Reincarnation
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9 min read
A few months ago, in the same place, Lu Ping’an was trying hard to show off everything he had, trying to prove himself.
Now, with the same Secret Realm and the same opponents, Lu Ping’an is trying to hold back, trying not to break the materials in his hands too badly, or else the craftsmen processing them would complain a lot.
"...With so many ghostly creatures, even if they can’t stop him, they should at least make that something different about him come out."
But the next moment, the expectations of the onlookers were dashed.
The giant’s armor, still only a palm’s force... the ghostly creatures that should have been untouchable didn’t even have time to wail before they were turned directly into a pile of Ghost Sand.
Normally, pure physical attacks would indeed be meaningless against ghostly creatures, but Zhi Xi was a descendant of ghostly creatures. One of her core materials was the essence of ghosts, and she inherited the most dominant "possession" ability of ghosts.
This armor was Zhi Xi’s body, born as a semi-spirit body. Now that she imbued it with spiritual power, she could tear apart Animated Armor and Minotaurs just as easily as ghosts.
Lu Ping’an didn’t even touch the ghosts; it was merely the "wind of his palm" that caused these fragile spirit bodies to disperse.
Originally a difficult nineteenth layer, when the "untouchable" ghost-creatures were completely countered, the breakthrough was even faster than before.
"Maybe... I’m much stronger than I expected..."
When his Life system abilities took shape and the combat platform he had envisioned was formed, the explosive combined combat power that came out in a flash even surprised him a bit.
Those past accumulations, those several Rule-Level and Quasi-rule creations that made up his "Life," ultimately formed an assembly combat platform that indeed displayed its terrifying lower limit... The upper limit was clearly something Lu Ping’an needed to master and utilize.
He didn’t use weapons because, to him, the armor itself was a weapon.
Those constantly growing "gained XX experience" prompts were the reward for his choices. He didn’t blindly pursue strength and speed, the precision in his movements, shown at a relatively slow speed, instead became more of a test of his accurate control.
"...I wonder if I can eat Ghost Sand..."
Zhi Xi’s words brought Lu Ping’an out of his focused training.
"Ghost Sand? As a seasoning, how about stir-fried Animated Armor fragments?" Seeing Zhi Xi, who had lately been somewhat obsessed with trying the taste of everything, Lu Ping’an made a joke.
Then, the next moment, he saw the Silver Armored Knight squat down and start picking up the fragments of Animated Armor.
"...I was joking, joking! Don’t, I could die from heavy metal poisoning too."
When he remembered that Zhi Xi might actually do this, and he would likely be the one forced to taste it, Lu Ping’an knew the joke was probably inappropriate.
At this level, Lu Ping’an increasingly realized Zhi Xi’s versatility... As a component of his future fighting power, she was far more useful than any Taboo item, even a true Rule-Level item might not be as good as her.
Now, Zhi Xi had already reached a certain level in the paths of Awakener (planning to be a martial monk), Tamer, Chef, and Swordsman. The highest progress was in being a Chef, close to 2-tier... This made Lu Ping’an feel subtle, as she seemed to be more and more interested in cooking.
The focus has always been not on the present but on accompanying her growth, she will make up for Lu Ping’an’s shortcomings in various ways.
Lu Ping’an is a Runner, the Awakener profession that he couldn’t take was chosen by Zhi Xi for specialization, and her spiritual power is her basic characteristic. This kind of self-repairing "spiritual attack resistant" armor can greatly make up for Lu Ping’an’s natural weakness.
Zhi Xi even tried to advance as a Moon Goddess Knight, but because the Moon Goddess Knight was not an official path on Earth yet, without corresponding rituals and inheritance, relying solely on available information to self-cultivate meant slow progress.
At first, Zhi Xi’s combat power couldn’t even compare to Little Flame, but now she has become Lu Ping’an’s most powerful support and comrade in arms in various respects...
"... If I don’t eat stir-fried Animated Armor, how about Ghost Sand jelly..."
It’s just that sometimes this "partner" can be a bit troublesome.
"Let me off, at least give me something a human can eat..." Lu Ping’an felt helpless, he didn’t want to suddenly disintegrate and burst his clothes while fighting well.
For the convenience of operating Zhi Xi and for his own "insignia" to better bless the armor, he indeed wore very light clothing.
"Well, Super Burning (Spicy) Hellfire Hotpot for three, I have a discount voucher here." Hearing this, Lu Ping’an sighed with relief, at least it was food.
But the next moment, he froze again; he understood!
"\"...You didn’t just want to have a hellfire hotpot from the beginning, did you?\"
\"Hee hee.\"
\"Hee hee your ass...\" Lu Ping’an became increasingly helpless. How could this guy get more and more cunning? Who taught him that?
With Lu Ping’an’s promise, Zhi Xi became noticeably more serious.
Even if Lu Ping’an didn’t control her, she could still help him advance, although her strength was not as strong... That was no longer a problem when she took out her lance.
For Lu Ping’an at this point, the lower levels were no longer a problem. He moved upwards, using this low-intensity battlefield to constantly hone his control.
A twentieth-floor multiple elite module with third-tier magic monsters? The combination of a Minotaur, an Animated Armor, a Ghost, and a Puppet creature was given to Lu Ping’an as a challenging threshold BOSS group.
But there was no difference from before... Even at this moment, Lu Ping’an still hadn’t tried to figure out the upper limit of his current equipment’s hardness.
Zhi Xi’s Turning Stone into Iron was quite average, and Lu Ping’an’s \"Soul-snatching Mark\" lacked nourishment from resentful-spirits, so both their abilities were still growing... However, the combined armor was there, and the \"basic strength\" above Decree-level was like a fortress wall that made the opponent desperate.
Even with the Knight’s profession module, the third-tier elite magic monster couldn’t even make a dent with their full-strength battle axes. The Ghost’s spiritual attack was directly rebounded and exploded their head, and Lu Ping’an crushed the unfortunate Animated Armor. The following several level opponents were also unable to stop him.
The Secret-realm’s intensity was there, and the pinnacle of mass production was these third-tier elite magic monsters. The fourth-tier Decree-level breakthrough was too difficult, and their numbers were destined to be limited.
Lu Ping’an proceeded with reckless abandon and was approaching the endpoint of the Secret Realm - the thirtieth level he worked so hard to reach last time.
Familiar scenery and familiar opponents, coupled with entirely different experiences, made it hard for Lu Ping’an not to reminisce about the past.
\"When my abilities weren’t fully formed, it was really tough to fight... Ah, it was at this twenty-seventh level that I discovered the weakness of my dispersed abilities and professions. I then made a determined effort to integrate all my abilities. That’s right, it was also then that I decided to create Zhi Xi.\"
Thinking about it this way, the Knight’s Secret Realm was truly a blessed land for Lu Ping’an.
When his abilities were not yet formed, he had to throw bombs to control magic plants and hack his way through to barely advance... Later on, he had to release Little Flame and rely on the power of companions to barely kill his way to the thirtieth level.
Now, with Zhi Xi replacing Little Flame and with all his abilities having been reorganized as expected, he easily reached the top level.
Increase in opponents’ strength? He didn’t feel it as the fights seemed almost the same as before.
When he really stepped into the thirtieth level, he saw that familiar opponent and felt as if he had been separated in another world, giving him a sense of fate.
It was a piece of Animated Armor with obvious fourth-tier aura, but with a familiar appearance.
\"Heroic Spirit Knight? Or perhaps, it’s one of the previous ones.\"
The familiar armor design, wave-like patterns of the battleaxe, and the combination of one-handed axe and shield that reminded him of himself... they seemed like a mirror image of each other.
By now, Lu Ping’an wielded an axe (lance) and shield, his large armor and height barely surpassing his opponent.
At this moment, Lu Ping’an felt a little dazed.
Perhaps it was the first time he had encountered a powerful opponent who clearly overwhelmed him. Perhaps, in that moment, he defined this opponent as a powerful avatar within his heart.
Maybe it was because of that difficult trial that he finally decided to pursue this strength and confidence to face everything.
Perhaps it was this thirst for power that turned into Zhi Xi’s current form, which ultimately built Lu Ping’an’s battle system... He felt that this form might be the strongest.
Perhaps it was because of his inner admiration that led to the present Lu Ping’an and the armored knight facing each other, looking like reflections in a mirror, and like brothers of the same school...
The Animated Armor moved, with the familiar knightly etiquette and the even more familiar attack.
Therefore, at that moment, Lu Ping’an smiled contentedly.
— End of Chapter 623 —