Nian Qi Cannon!
Zhao Mingwei's right palm glowed with radiant white energy.
He suddenly thrust his hand forward—condensed Nian Qi burst outward, forming a devastating sphere of light that shot toward the rebel commander in the distance.
[-142]
The damage floated above the rebel commander's head, blue arcs of electricity crackling across his body.
[Shock status inflicted! Incoming Light damage increased by 1.2x!]
It was now 10:00 a.m.
Zhao was helping Lin Xi complete his Cannoner advancement dungeon.
The mission: eliminate this rebel commander.
With help from Jiang Qiao's Fire Spirit and Water Spirit, the boss's HP was already down to a sliver.
Zhao gathered more pale blue Nian Qi in his palm.
Thunder rumbled in his hand.
Another blast of Nian Qi Wave tore through the air and exploded against the rebel commander's chest.
[-152]
The enemy dropped to his knees, revolvers falling from his hands onto the dusty sand.
Face twisted in unwilling defeat, he collapsed.
"Got him!"
Jiang Qiao watched as the illusionary dungeon around them began to disintegrate.
Most class advancement trials were illusions.
Moments later, he was back in the Gunner Class Hall.
Zhao didn't answer.
He was staring at his hands in a daze.
Using Nian Qi Cannon felt... incredible.
Nothing like VR games and pressing a button on a controller.
He could feel Qi building in his body, guided by will, erupting through his palm to cause real destruction!
[10:30 a.m. – Time for training, Xiao Ye.]
A private message popped up from Lin Xi.
The message broke his trance—playtime was over.
Lin Xi was reluctant to log out.
He'd just completed his advancement, didn't even get a chance to examine his new skills.
"Master, we've got work. That's all for today." Zhao relayed the message to Jiang Qiao.
"See you tomorrow."
Jiang Qiao waved as the two pro players logged off.
He checked the time—it was almost 10:30.
Then he opened a portal and stepped into the Observatory Tower—the highest point in Lionheart Castle.
"Oh great one…"
Four aged NPC astronomers were waiting for him.
They were part of the game's semi-sentient AI and already knew Jiang Qiao's identity.
"You may leave."
He stepped into the center of the tower.
At the altar, he placed down the Book of Systems.
It emitted a searing light.
Dozens of glowing spheres projected across the observatory's interior.
"The Demon Star draws near…"
One NPC gasped in horror as the astral projection darkened.
"Hailan, can you mute the NPCs?"
Jiang Qiao's AI creations were semi-intelligent.
They operated on set logic but could also evolve—eventually even developing emotions.
That evolution would take time, though.
With a wave of her hand, Hailan deactivated the NPCs like drained batteries.
She floated down beside Jiang Qiao, eyes fixed on the star chart.
"The invading plane will reach the main world in about 4 hours. Ready?"
She zoomed in on Blue Star's location.
A black sphere loomed dangerously close to the blue one—so close it was swallowing its light.
"Rather, are we ready?" Jiang Qiao corrected. "What should we offer as rewards for the Abyss Hunt this time?"
"Rewards? Just give them gear. Humans always crave power."
Hailan conjured phantom projections of gear—creations of Jiang Qiao's own design.
Gear ranged by rarity:
Gray – Broken
White – Common
Blue – Magic
Purple – Rare
Orange – Epic
Dark Gold – Legendary
Most items shown were Blue-tier, with a few Rare purples.
At level 25, players were mostly equipped with Magic gear. Rare items were already uncommon.
Epic? Extremely scarce.
"Level 25 is just a transition point. No matter how good the gear, the appeal is limited… Hmm. Mounts."
Jiang Qiao entered a search mode.
He browsed the thousands of mounts he'd created over time.
Since the mount system hadn't launched yet, he picked four classics:
Chocobo-like runner
Warhorse
Ghost Dragon
Griffin
He summoned four summoning items—reins, feathers, whistles, etc.—onto the observatory floor.
"We still need gear. Even if transitional, maybe… a growth equipment system?"
He opened his equipment editor and began working.
"What kind of growth gear?"
Hailan hovered behind him, watching as he modified a ring.
"Gear that levels with the player. Special red-tier rarity. Usable from level 0 to max."
Ring of Soul Devouring
Rarity: Special – Growth Equipment
Level Requirement: 0
Description: Absorbs nearby souls to grow in power. Once charged, unlocks 3 different self-enhancing skills.
Base Stats: None
Souls Collected: 0
Within 30 minutes, Jiang Qiao finished the ring.
Then he spent two more hours making dozens of other unique items.
Some were silly, even fit for an April Fool's event.
But in skilled hands, some would be priceless.
"Done."
He summoned a massive 'Indestructible Storage Bag' and stuffed it with gear—Rare and Epic 25-level equipment, summon items, and all 30+ unique growth items he'd made.
Each special item cost 50–300 points of Creation Energy.
In total, Jiang Qiao used ~1500 points—a significant chunk of his remaining 4600.
Thankfully, duplicating the items only cost 1/50 of that energy.
Special gear: highest energy cost
Legendary & Epic: very high
Blue/White: negligible
In the future, Epic and Legendary items would be prohibitively expensive.
This made Jiang realize how precious Creation Energy really was.
Also, increasing the level cap would soon become essential.
Right now, players were capped at level 50.
He knew Hailan devouring world fragments wouldn't be enough to push past it.
"Alright Hailan, it's your turn."
He tied up the oversized storage bag and handed it to her.
"My… turn?"
She looked nervously at the bag, taller than she was.
"You know Santa Claus? I haven't figured out how to implant loot into Abyss monsters yet.
So during the Abyss Hunt, you'll manually drop the loot."
"You mean… I have to fly around with this thing and hand out drops?!"
She instantly understood his plan.
"Is that a problem?" Jiang Qiao smiled mischievously.
Hailan wanted to argue—but the fear instilled by his Creator Mode made her sigh in defeat.
"I got it, I got it…"
"We've got two hours until the Abyss Rift opens.
Hailan, if you kill monsters, do we gain experience too?"
Jiang Qiao checked his remaining energy—around 3000 points.
Not low, but not high either.
The real problem: he had no way to recover energy…
…except slaughtering creatures from other planes.
"Creatures from other planes break the cycle of their own world when they enter ours.
When players kill them, their essence powers... me!"
Hailan declared, hand on her modest chest.
"Perfect."
Jiang Qiao looked up at the sky.
A black plane had already begun tearing through Blue Star's spatial barrier.
"Let the carnival begin…
Let's hope we end up invading them, not waiting helplessly for them to come to us."
He murmured as he gazed at his dwindling energy reserves.
(End of Chapter)