Free Web NovelChapter 441: Chapter 369: Dharma Artifact
"Is there a possibility that she stored the Glazed Dream Bead elsewhere?"
"Not ruled out, but not likely. We arrived at 1:45 PM; if it were evening or while she was bathing, she might have taken it out... However, I incline to believe that Ying Le always carries it with her, leaving no room for negligence we can exploit."
"The timing and target are truly awful," Pharmacist’s Wish frowned, "It’s practically forcing us to face Ying Le directly."
"Exactly," Shang Xinlei complained, crossing her arms over her chest, "The task difficulty is escalating too quickly. Ying Le is not An Guo Temple; we can storm into An Guo Temple at high noon and snatch what we need. Does Thief’s House expect us to rob Ying Le in broad daylight within the Imperial Palace?"
Yan Qing didn’t dare speak, because the difficulty curve of Thief’s House was set by him.
In his plan, apart from the first task meant for everyone to get familiar with the process and practice, the subsequent tasks were to escalate in intensity directly, since his target player group was the Foundation Establishment Messenger, and naturally, the task difficulty had to align with the Foundation Establishment Level. Even if everyone started as Mortal Messengers, after two or three tasks, with nearly a month’s gap in between, surely no one could still be a mortal by then even if they played slowly?
In his previous world, this thought posed no problem at all, but in this world, his idea was as absurd as expecting "that no matter how poor a person is, they should be able to live in a penthouse overlooking the Huangpu River, with a Benz to boot."
Pharmacist’s Wish, Shang Xinlei, and Ying Rushi were all noble ladies who had started practicing their vocations from a young age thanks to their well-developed physiques, but even as quick as Pharmacist’s Wish, it still took ten years to attain the Third Transformation—"Messenger" hasn’t even been around for ten years yet.
The fourth task offers no room for cleverness, it’s an implicit nudge from Thief’s House: You’re playing so slowly; maybe you don’t like this game? You will love it once you reach Foundation Establishment, so hurry up and achieve it!
However, achieving Foundation Establishment isn’t without its downsides. Once in school, surrounded by a bunch of plain mortals, as the only Foundation Establishment Zhenren in "Messenger" in your class, your eyes might often reflect a melancholy your peers cannot understand... So what are you waiting for? Let’s achieve Foundation Establishment and defeat Ying Le together!
"The good news is, besides the {Pillow of Red Dust}, Ying Le’s Dao Foundation Divine Techniques, {Heart of the Masses}, is not adept at combat, instead focusing on governance and support," Ying Rushi said, "Her strength lies not in herself but in the Baibao Guards."
"But it’s only ’not adept’ in combat," Yan Qing reminded, "When I... when my avatar went to challenge Ying Le, she was able to intimidate and control it using {Heart of the Masses}. Against mortals below Foundation Establishment, her {Heart of the Masses} is likely equivalent to control-type divine techniques like {Dragon-locking Well}."
"Apart from {Heart of the Masses} and {Pillow of Red Dust}, Ying Le’s tokens shouldn’t be underestimated either," Ying Rushi said, "Though I haven’t seen her use any of them over the years, with ten years to achieve Foundation Establishment and possessing the Divine Martial Legacy, it’s impossible that Ying Le doesn’t have a Fourth-Turn Token Guardian."
"Why is it that you bring up good news accompanied by so many bad ones?" Shang Xinlei grumbled.
"What does the reward of Magical Artifact: Glazed Bead mean?" Pharmacist’s Wish asked, "I’ve only heard of Dharma Artifacts, never Magical Artifacts... Could it be removing Emperor Divine Martial’s divine sense in the Glazed Dream Bead, allowing us to use the Great Zhenren’s magical treasure from back then?"
"Not exactly," Yan Qing could explain this part, "There’s a world of difference between a Magical Artifact and a Dharma Artifact. A Dharma Artifact is intrinsically connected to a Dao Foundation, growing in power as the messenger’s cultivation improves, and can enhance all divine techniques the messenger masters, not just the Dao Foundation Divine Techniques. However, a Magical Artifact is an external tool; it is what it is at the time of acquisition."
"But the key feature of a Magical Artifact is that it can manifest the power of divine techniques!"
Shang Xinlei widened her eyes, "So, whoever obtains the Glazed Bead can unleash Emperor Divine Martial’s divine techniques from within it?"
"There should still be some restrictions, such as at least needing to be a Foundation Establishment Messenger," Yan Qing was not entirely sure.
Yan Qing’s partial understanding of Magical Artifacts came from his time before transmigrating, where it was merely an internal concept in development, but he figured it would make a suitable reward for Thief’s House, so it was incorporated. After all, at the Foundation Establishment level, Thief’s House couldn’t continue to reward Legendary Tokens; other players would have to go to great lengths, tackling extreme and perilous dungeons to get their end-game gear, yet stealing a mere trinket would yield similar rewards, which would result not in players eagerly joining Thief’s House, but in them quitting the game altogether.
Players in the so-called "professional gutter" can endure since everyone can adjust; however, it’s too much if only a small number of people have rare encounters. We are here to play the game, not to be side characters in an online novel. Now you’re adding rare encounters; will the next step be to open up hidden professions for the protagonist to slaughter us like dogs?
Magical Artifacts are not nearly as important as Legendary Tokens, but they serve as a highly playable alternative reward. As Yan Qing said, they inherently provide divine technique effects, much like Yan Qing’s {Tombstone Inscription}, which sounds impressive, but in internal test servers had almost no impact on balance.
The strength of Foundation Establishment is the strength of the build, the chain reaction of divine techniques combined explosively with suitable tokens. To use {Tombstone Inscription} as an example, without a long-range attack token, Yan Qing can only use it on himself and allies—it’s just an ordinary life-saving divine technique. Yet, coupled with a long-range attack token, he can nullify foes or aid allies from afar, adding a decorative touch and highlighting the skill.
Magical Artifacts cannot be combined with tokens, sharply restricting their functionality. But players typically possess only three divine techniques; the likes of Yan Qing, who receive an extra divine technique, are extremely rare examples. Now that they can obtain divine technique Magical Artifacts, they are sure to flock to them, as it equates to gaining an additional skill of Foundation Establishment stature.
No one was too surprised by Yan Qing having extra information, with things like {Treasure Hunting Order}, {Disaster Organization}, {Mansu Forest Land}, {Demon Gathering Land}, not to mention Yan Qing’s loyal and genius alternate characters... This guy is like his face: underneath the mask there are more layers of bandages, mystery upon mystery."
"I will send someone to scout Nocturnal Heaven."
"No need," Ying Rushi immediately said, "I’m not far from Nocturnal Heaven now; it’s much simpler and more effective if I scout it... Rest assured, I’ll avoid Ying Le."
"Alright, it’s in your hands." Yan Qing thought for a moment, "You don’t have to worry too much about this task now; I also possess divine techniques and already have a Legendary Foundation Establishment Pill."
Pharmacist’s Wish and Shang Xinlei exchanged a glance, Shang Xinlei asked, "Did you say you want to eat boiled eggs?"
"It’s a Legendary Foundation Establishment Pill, with a 100% success rate for Foundation Establishment, guaranteed to achieve it if ingested," Yan Qing said calmly.
"Give it to me." Shang Xinlei casually reached out her hand.
"Give you my ass." Pharmacist’s Wish moved swiftly and slapped Shang Xinlei’s head. Shang Xinlei shrank her neck, pouting but not daring to retaliate. These twenty days of training had not only ingrained combat habits but also instilled respect towards Pharmacist’s Wish. During training, Pharmacist’s Wish was truly unsparing, sternly scolding with a frown, recalling the times Shang Xinlei was punished by her teacher as a child.
Shang Xinlei once thought it would suffice since her combat style wasn’t about close-quarters brawling, and many training exercises might not be practical. However, Pharmacist’s Wish frowned at her without scolding, but said calmly, "This is life-saving training; you can never learn too much."
As such, Shang Xinlei could only continue her grueling sessions, so much so that now when Pharmacist’s Wish frowned, her legs would tremble a little.
Haha, just kidding.
Yan Qing was also trembling.
"To take the Foundation Establishment Pill, you need Third Transformation Perfection, are you perfect that you want it?"
Pharmacist’s Wish looked toward Yan Qing, "There are still five days until the task begins, reaching perfection within these five days... I can help purchase a Secret Technique Mastery Manual from Qi Kingdom."
For a Third-Turn Messenger wanting to reach perfection, the simplest way is to acquire a large number of secret techniques, mastering around five could propel one to level 39 Great Perfection. However, this kind of perfection is the most opportunistic level-grinding; if it were for another profession it might do, but Yan Qing as a "Martial Extremes Messenger" would be wasting the final period of accumulation before Foundation Establishment by doing so.
"No need, I already have a rough plan," Yan Qing said, "That’s about it for today, let’s disperse."
"Disperse? Aren’t we having food?" Shang Xinlei rolled her eyes, "Today is the joyous day of White Fox joining our family!"
"Ah!?" Ying Rushi suddenly went stiff, stammering, "You all... are you all willing to accept me?"
"Actually, you joining us was a matter of sooner or later," Shang Xinlei spread her hands, "Since we’re all members of Thief’s House, seeing each other day and night, and that dog man has that personality... He’s often brought you up privately, there’s no way he’d pass you over."
"Let’s get along," Pharmacist’s Wish also smiled.
Ying Rushi’s eyes welled up, wiping at her eyes with her hand, "Thank you, I thought you’d definitely think I stole from you—"
"It hasn’t come to calling it theft, has it?" Shang Xinlei tilted her head, "Since the dog man invited you into the Disaster Organization, it shows there’s an empty spot there. If not for you, it’d be someone else. The Disaster Organization isn’t our personal thing."
"...Oh." Ying Rushi blinked, glancing quickly at Yan Qing, "Indeed... you guys are wonderful."
