Upon hearing this, Chen Shu fell into deep thought, seemingly touched by Dali's words.
After a long pause, he asked with a serious expression:
"Does this count as a question?"
"???"
Dali was stunned and said, "The international situation is chaotic right now, but we still need to maintain our image..."
"Only those with strength are masters!"
Chen Shu pouted and said, "As long as I'm promoted to Legend now, I'll be a heroic figure!"
"..."
Dali was speechless for a moment, unable to find a retort.
Chen Shu patted his shoulder and said, "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
"You?"
Dali shook his head and said, "What 'knowing what you're doing'?"
"No, I really do..."
Chen Shu shrugged and said, "I'm mainly targeting fierce beasts and two criminal organizations."
"Really?"
Dali's eyes showed a hint of doubt. "We'd best not mess with existing national powers of humanity."
"??"
Chen Shu was slightly taken aback, then said with a strange expression, "Do you think I'm crazy?"
"I thought you intended to deal with them..."
"If I dared to do that, the old man would chase me with a knife for eighteen streets!"
Chen Shu's mouth twitched, and he said,
"Besides, they've held out for so long against the fierce beasts, how many of them are truly innocent? And if they are breached, it will be China's turn next. Wouldn't I be digging my own grave..."
"That's good then."
Dali nodded, he really thought Chen Shu had gone mad...
"Let's go! We need to go back to the country first!"
Chen Shu waved his hand, already imagining the scene of gold falling from the sky.
Despite the current crises everywhere, wealth was also abundant, otherwise, there wouldn't be so many desperate individuals acting as black marketeers.
A day later,
The two returned to the capital of China,
"You didn't find it?"
Chen Qinghai frowned slightly, expecting Chen Shu to complete the mission perfectly, as this guy had never disappointed him.
"Then your reward might not be much."
"What do you mean? Aren't there rewards for everything?"
"One is for bringing back the Frenzied Star Leaf, and the other is for returning empty-handed. The mission completion is different, so how can the rewards be the same?"
"..."
Chen Shu's eyes widened and he said, "You didn't mention that back then."
"But don't worry."
Chen Qinghai said, "I estimate there will at least be the treasure to upgrade a divine skill, but there might not be any additional rewards."
"Having that treasure is enough."
Chen Shu shrugged and said, "I'm going to see the old man."
With that, he teleported away with Dali, heading straight for [Dragon Abyss].
Ten minutes later,
Dragon Abyss City,
Chen Shu shouted, "Old man, it's me, the Southern River Ruffian, hand over the money!"
Bang!
Chen Shu, who had just rushed into the pavilion, was flung out at the same speed, crashing heavily against a high wall. The impact was so great that it even left a human-shaped indentation in the wall...
"..."
The surrounding people quickly moved away, not wanting to be associated with this suicidal fellow,
"Cough, cough..."
Chen Shu clutched his chest and muttered, "Is it necessary to be so brutal..."
He tidied his clothes and entered the pavilion again.
"Old man, I was wrong."
Looking at the old man in front of him, Chen Shu lowered his head, seemingly about to reflect.
"You know that now?"
The old man glanced at him and said, "Where did you go wrong?"
Chen Shu mumbled, "I should have worn armor to come in..."
"??"
The old man's expression froze, and he felt like kicking Chen Shu again...
A hint of helplessness appeared in his eyes, and he then threw out a strange stone,
"Take this and leave!"
Chen Shu caught it with a flash of excitement in his eyes. "How is this used?"
"Let your contracted spirit swallow it. Its inherent divine skill will level up by one. If it has more than one divine skill, one will be randomly upgraded."
"It's that simple?"
Chen Shu muttered, carefully tucking the stone away,
Then, he seemed to recall something and said, "Old man, is there a possibility that this thing can be excreted? Then if it's swallowed again, can it be upgraded again?"
"???"
The old man's forehead was covered in black lines. "Can't you not exploit such a monstrous bug?!"
"..."
Chen Shu sighed and said, "It can't be helped. There's only one stone, and my contracted spirits aren't enough to share. I suffer from inequality, not scarcity..."
With that, he stared at the old man with expectant eyes, already hinting at his intentions.
"Don't even think about it!"
The old man said plainly, "If you had brought back that batch of Frenzied Star Leaves, I could have given you another one, but you came back with nothing, and one divine stone is already quite good."
"Also, don't think about your monstrous bug. Once a divine stone enters the body, it will be digested."
"..."
Chen Shu drooped his head and tentatively said, "Can I put it on your tab..."
"Get lost!"
The old man pointed at the door of the pavilion, his intention quite clear.
"Alas..."
Chen Shu shook his head and was about to leave when he was called back,
Hope flared in his eyes. Could the old man be preparing to add more rewards?
A hint of doubt appeared in the old man's eyes as he looked Chen Shu up and down. "You brat didn't perhaps find that batch of goods and intentionally hide it, did you?"
"..."
Chen Shu was instantly stunned, then said excitedly, "Old man, you can doubt my character, but you can't doubt my strength!"
"Hmm?"
"Uh... it all means the same thing!"
Chen Shu said with heartfelt pain, "To find those goods, I searched for nearly a month and experienced multiple life-or-death crises, only to be met with your suspicion?"
"..."
The old man glanced at him and said, "Alright, alright, no need to act, tone down the drama. I was just asking casually."
If it were anyone else, they might have been deceived by Chen Shu, but he could see through it at a glance.
Chen Shu's expression froze, then he said, "Can I get some compensation to soothe my wounded heart?"
Whoosh!
Instantly, the old man's figure disappeared, directly expressing his thoughts through action.
"..."
Chen Shu glanced at the second floor of the pavilion, a flicker of interest in his eyes, but ultimately left in resignation.
Blue Star, Capital,
"So this is the thing that can upgrade divine skills..."
He touched the purple stone in his hand, feeling a slight warmth. The specific material could not be analyzed at all.
"Who should I give it to?"
Chen Shu murmured, his mind constantly pondering.
He first excluded the little sprite. Its [Death Revival] could grant a creature a second life, but it wasn't often needed, as he was very steady and rarely put himself in danger.
"It would be a waste to give it to the rabbit too..."
The Spatial Rabbit, due to its talent [Space Beneficiary], had no skill level to speak of. If it were to swallow it, it would most likely convert to spatial attribute.
"Little Yellow or Husky, perhaps..."
Currently, Little Yellow's Giantization was Lv10, capable of increasing its size by twenty times, while Husky's [Cloning] had already reached Lv8 after the last bloodline evolution.
"Will a third clone appear?"
Chen Shu licked his lips. This was where the greatest improvement would be.
If there were three clones, Husky's strength would have the potential to reach King-level when fully unleashed.
However, the second clone had appeared at Lv6. Chen Shu guessed that the skill would undergo a qualitative change at Lv11.
"Adding the little sprite's [Level Boost], it would be at most Lv10."
Chen Shu was momentarily conflicted. If he gave it to Little Yellow, it would be a solid improvement, but for Husky, it could only be described as promising for the future...
In the end, he chose to nurture Husky.
To challenge King-level opponents while being under-leveled, Husky was an indispensable main force. Little Yellow's larger size would have little significant effect...