Chapter 45: Skill Upgrading!
Mo Xuanyu first chose Cold Weapon Mastery.
After the wolf died, the swordsmanship specialization he had replicated also vanished, dealing a significant blow to his overall combat capability.
Therefore, Mo Xuanyu decided to max out this skill first.
[Do you wish to upgrade Cold Weapon Mastery to Lv.20? Each level up will consume 500 points.]
"Max it out."
Mo Xuanyu felt like a nouveau riche at this moment.
[Your Cold Weapon Mastery has been upgraded to Lv.30. Do you wish to continue upgrading? Each level will consume 600 points.]
It actually had a tiered pricing system...
Mo Xuanyu blew two bubbles in frustration.
"Continue upgrading, take it straight to Lv.50." Mo Xuanyu said, closing his eyes and pretending he didn't see his points draining away rapidly.
Otherwise, it would be too heartbreaking...
During the upgrade process, Mo Xuanyu felt his body temperature gradually rising. No wonder ice cubes were added to the assistance pod.
Aside from that, Mo Xuanyu didn't feel any discomfort.
[Your Cold Weapon Mastery has been upgraded to Lv.50. If you wish to advance to the specialized tier, please use the corresponding specialization scroll or comprehend it yourself.]
[Current remaining points: 65,000.]
Cold Weapon Mastery: Lv.50 (Passive skill)
Special bonus: Instant burst power +50%, neural reflex speed +50%.
[Sacred Geometry: Please select the skill you wish to upgrade.]
Mo Xuanyu flipped through his personal interface and then selected "Blade of Slaughter."
The noble true damage naturally took higher priority.
[Do you wish to upgrade Blade of Slaughter to Lv.1? Each level up will currently consume 1 Soul Crystal.]
[Total current Soul Crystals: 26.]
"Upgrade to Lv.10." Mo Xuanyu decided to test it out first.
[Consuming 9 Soul Crystals, upgrading begins.]
Thump, thump, thump!
To Mo Xuanyu's surprise, during this upgrade process, Sacred Geometry actually dumped the 9 Soul Crystals directly into the assistance pod like little yellow ducks.
Bang, bang, bang!
The Soul Crystals shattered one after another, and the essences and energies contained within them gradually integrated into Mo Xuanyu's body with the aid of the assistance pod.
[Upgrade complete!]
Blade of Slaughter: Lv.10 (Active skill)
Skill effect: Blood Soul will deal 100% true damage to the enemy. This damage ignores all armor and defense, with every 1 point of Blood Soul dealing 1 point of true damage.
Current Blood Soul points: (0/150)
Compared to before, the upper limit of Blood Soul points for Blade of Slaughter had now been massively increased—that was a full 150 points of true damage.
[Do you wish to continue upgrading "Blade of Slaughter"?]
"Upgrade to Lv.20." Mo Xuanyu did not hesitate.
Bang, bang, bang!
Another 10 Soul Crystals shattered within the assistance pod.
Blade of Slaughter: Lv.20
Blood Soul points: (0/200)
[Do you wish to continue upgrading "Blade of Slaughter"? Each level will now consume 2 Soul Crystals.]
[Current Soul Crystals: 7.]
"So expensive."
Mo Xuanyu chose to decline, turning his attention instead to his class skill.
Body of Slaying Gods: Lv.1 (Passive skill).
[Do you wish to upgrade the class skill: Body of Slaying Gods? Each level up from 1 to 30 will consume 1,000 points.]
"Upgrade to Lv.30."
The attribute bonuses provided by Body of Slaying Gods had an extremely high cost-performance ratio, so Mo Xuanyu spent the points without hesitation.
Body of Slaying Gods: Lv.30 (Passive skill)
Skill effect one: All four primary attributes are increased to 110% of their base values.
Skill effect two: Your cellular activity increases by 30%, neural reflex speed increases by 30%, abnormal resistance increases by 30%, and soul resistance increases by 30%.
Mo Xuanyu then selected the class skill "Eye of the Moon," upgrading it to Lv.30 as well.
Eye of the Moon: Lv.30 (Active skill).
Skill effect: When activated, both eyes transform into the Eye of the Moon, neural reflex speed +30%, mental strength +30%.
Grants immunity to illusion control of twice your own attribute value or lower, while making it easier for you to catch flaws in others' moves.
[Because your Eye of the Moon has reached Level 30, you have acquired an additional skill effect.]
"Hypnosis": Automatically comprehended upon reaching level thirty. Through eye contact with the Eye of the Moon, you can instill your mental strength into the opponent's brain to achieve a hypnotic effect.
Note: This skill cannot affect targets with mental strength higher than yours, and the hypnosis process will continuously consume your mental strength. Once mental strength is depleted, the hypnotic state is automatically lifted.
[Current remaining points: 7,000]
Mo Xuanyu intended to keep the remaining 7,000 points as reserve funds for now.
Click~~
The assistance pod gradually opened, and swirling steam filled the small room.
Mo Xuanyu sat up from the assistance pod, leaning over the edge to breathe in the fresh air.
His entire body was soaked, his pure white shirt clinging to his fair skin as droplets of water slid down his collar onto the floor.
Mo Xuanyu rubbed his cheeks. Without looking, he knew his face must be flushed, and his legs felt somewhat weak when he tried to stand up.
Upgrading too many skills at once was a bit much; he needed to rest for a moment.
After resting by the edge of the assistance pod for nearly two minutes, he finally digested the floating, unreal sensation brought by his soaring strength.
No wonder Chosen Ones always came here first after completing a mission world.
If the pleasure index brought by tasting delicious food was ten, and kissing a lover was twenty, then the pleasure index brought by leveling up was one thousand!
The upgrade room came with a small private bathroom. Mo Xuanyu went inside to wipe away the water droplets on his body, then changed into a fresh set of clothes and shoes.
The shirt came with a self-cleaning function, though Mo Xuanyu had forgotten to buy a few extra ones in the store.
Fortunately, Sacred Geometry very thoughtfully provided a basic style in pure white, suitable for both men and women.
Dressed neatly, with his hair dried and his "Angel Hair Ribbon" tied securely, he finally pushed open the door and left the room.
After Mo Xuanyu's departure, the upgrade room automatically underwent a spacetime reset, returning to its initial state to await the next visit from a Chosen One.
Mo Xuanyu returned to his personal space and stood before the mirror, attempting to activate the Eye of the Moon.
Following a thought in his mind, faint, imperceptible white micro-lights gradually emerged within his originally azure pupils.
This made his eyes look exceptionally brilliant and dazzling.
The moment Mo Xuanyu activated the Eye of the Moon, a spacetime rift suddenly tore open beside him, and an antique book was spat out from the crack.
Mo Xuanyu was slightly stunned, then reached out and caught the antique book.
"Thank you?"
The rift slowly closed.
[You have obtained the legacy book left behind within Sacred Geometry by the second-generation Nightmare Moon.]
Mo Xuanyu looked at the book's cover: 《Eye of the Moon — The Eye That Pierces Illusions》
This seemed to be... a newbie tutorial?
Mo Xuanyu went to the study and carefully perused the book.
Foreword: When you read this book, how much time has passed? Do you truly understand the essence of this world?
Author: "Moon of Illusion" — Qian Jue
As Mo Xuanyu opened the first chapter of the book, those ancient characters gradually transformed into a language he could understand, complete with a built-in translation function.
The author first introduced the origin of the Nightmare Moon to his successors.
The first-generation Nightmare Moon was born in the primal era of the universe, which was the most prosperous and flourishing period in cosmic history.
Gods, stellar spirits, demons, angels, machine intellects, myriads of spirits, extraterrestrials, zerg swarms, the abyss... countless races fought among themselves, intending to become the true overlords of the universe.
As conflicts continuously escalated, an era known as the "Blood War of Myriads" unfolded.
In this great slaughter, weak races either attached themselves to powerful ones or perished.
The outbreak of every war led to the destruction and rebirth of countless stars, with bloodshed and gunpowder spreading across the constellations.
It was also during this period that a name suddenly and frequently appeared on the battlefields of the myriad races.
He belonged to no race, nor to any faction; he simply slaughtered every living creature in sight, casting a crimson blood moon over the world.
Every campaign he participated in left no survivors, making no distinction between friend or foe, good or evil.
Whether you were an invader or a rebel, you would ultimately die at his hands. He treated every life equally.
Wherever there was war, there he was.
He called himself... the Nightmare Moon.
Gradually, the myriad races began to fear this name, even uniting to launch a crusade against the Nightmare Moon, but in the end, without exception, all of them died.
Relying on his own strength, the Nightmare Moon brought the Blood War of Myriads to an end, gradually quieting this great slaughter that had engulfed the entire universe.
"War brings no winners, only death."
After the Blood War of Myriads concluded, the first Nightmare Moon vanished without a trace.
As for the second-generation Nightmare Moon, he was born in a cosmic era called the "Celestial Realm"—namely, Qian Jue, the author of this book.
The cosmic overlord of the Celestial Realm era was the angel race, and their supreme ruler was referred to by the angels as "God" or "the Creator."
Then where did Qian Jue come from?
According to the records in the book, Qian Jue was initially just a shepherd in a low-level world, living under the governance of the Celestial Empire.
One day, as he was driving his flock as usual, a violent storm suddenly swept in.
An angelic army descended upon this world, and under the pretext of eradicating heretics hidden within it, they declared the annihilation of all living creatures in this world.
Qian Jue knelt on the ground, powerless.
And at that exact moment, a deep red full moon gradually rose before his eyes.
When Qian Jue came to his senses, his hands were already stained with blood, holding a long blade in his left hand and carrying the head of an angel in his right, standing quietly amidst a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.
Thus, the "Moon of Illusion" — Qian Jue was born.
The story ended here.
Deeply shaken, Mo Xuanyu curiously asked Sacred Geometry, "What was the end of the Celestial Realm?"
[Sacred Geometry Prompt: The Celestial Realm has been destroyed, and the ancient angel race has also gone extinct. The one who destroyed them was none other than the second Nightmare Moon, Qian Jue.]
[The angel race established after this has no connection whatsoever with the Celestial Realm era, which is why they have survived to this day.]
Mo Xuanyu continued to flip through the book in his hands.
Qian Jue did not boast about his own great achievements to his successors; instead, he stopped at a fitting point and began introducing the legacy of the Eye of the Moon to his successor.
The Eye of the Moon was a skill created by Qian Jue in imitation of the blood moon.
Because he himself did not possess the immensely powerful and invincible strength of the first Nightmare Moon, he could only compensate through other aspects.