Chapter 137: Another Cross-Level Reward!

A blade’s gleam flashed through the void, leaving a bloody line beneath the neck of a Rank-One Silver giant-horned rhinoceros.

At first, the wound was no thicker than a strand of hair, almost impossible to discern with the naked eye. But moments later, blood gushed forth like a waterfall, and the wound was torn completely open.

The rhinoceros’s enormous body crashed to the ground, sending a cloud of dust billowing into the air.

“The tenth…”

Lin Huang sheathed his blade and stood not far from the beast’s corpse.

【The host has completed a kill across a major level. Reward: One Deception Card!】

【The host has completed a kill across a major level. Reward: One Quest Card!】

“Ten cross-level kills, and all twenty reward cards are finally mine…”

Lin Huang had taken less than five minutes to complete the ten cross-level kills. With the Reward Doubling Card in effect, he had obtained twenty reward cards.

After receiving all the cross-level rewards, he did not immediately leave the trial space. Instead, he called White over and continued slaughtering the Rank-One Silver monsters. By the time the Reward Doubling Card’s one-hour duration ended, he had accumulated more than six hundred fragments of Silver-level monsters.

By the time he emerged from the Trial Tower, it was already past eleven in the morning.

Since it was trial time and there was nowhere else to go, Lin Huang had no choice but to return to his room in the residential area.

Lying on the bed, Lin Huang took a modified Copper Sparrow 23 from his storage space. As he gently stroked the weapon, he secretly contacted Little Black.

“Little Black, inspect the twenty cross-level reward cards I just obtained.”

【The cross-level reward cards obtained by the host this time are as follows: One Skill Fusion Card, one Sealing Card, one Deception Card, two Advancement Cards, two Life Energy Storage Cards, two Reward Doubling Cards, two Healing Cards, two Temporary Transformation Cards, three Quest Cards, and four Item Cards.】

Upon discovering several new cards, Lin Huang immediately examined them.

【Skill Fusion Card】

【Function: Fuses similar skills possessed by the user. There is a certain chance that the fused skill will evolve into a higher-level skill.】

【Note: Consumable card. Each card can be used once and only once.】

“This card comes at exactly the right time. My monster skills are already full. Once some of them are fused, it will free up room for more skills.”

Lin Huang’s monster-skill slots had already been full for some time. If he wanted to acquire additional monster skills, he could only fuse existing skills or delete them. The Skill Fusion Card was precisely what he had dreamed of obtaining.

【Sealing Card】

【Function: Directly seals a monster whose rarity falls within the user’s authority and converts it into a Monster Card.】

【Note: The designated monster to be sealed must be within the user’s field of vision. Monsters whose rarity exceeds the user’s authority cannot be sealed. This is a consumable card. Each card can be used once and only once.】

“Little Black, this card can directly seal a monster and turn it into a Monster Card?!” Lin Huang asked, somewhat uncertain.

【Yes.】

“My rarity authority should be Epic, right? That means I can seal any Epic monster, regardless of its combat strength?”

Lin Huang immediately continued, “What if I encounter a demigod?”

【There is no restriction on the combat strength of sealable monsters; only their rarity is restricted. Even a demigod-level monster can be sealed, provided its rarity does not exceed the host’s authority. However, once converted into a card, the monster’s combat strength will be restricted by the host’s own combat strength.】

Little Black’s explanation made the corners of Lin Huang’s lips twitch upward. The effect of this card was simply outrageous.

Setting the Sealing Card aside, Lin Huang examined the last unfamiliar card.

【Deception Card】

【Function: Once activated, the user may fabricate a false event and make everyone else believe that it is real.】

【Warning: The chance of a successful deception is not one hundred percent. It depends on the credibility of the fabricated event.】

【Tip: It is best for the fabricated event to have a natural transition point connected to a real event.】

【Note: The user may freely designate the time at which the deception takes effect and the scope of its influence.】

The moment he saw this card, Lin Huang thought of using it during his escape. However, he was still unsure of exactly what the card could do, so he asked Little Black a great many questions about it.

After answering several times, Little Black finally summarized the card’s function in two sentences.

【Simply put, this card allows you to become a director for once, film an entire scene according to your own script, and then use that scene to conceal the truth. So whether the performance is convincing and how credible it appears depends entirely on you.】

This plain explanation finally allowed Lin Huang to understand the card’s exact function.

“Looks like I’ll have to think very carefully over the next few days about how this drama should be performed…”

After examining the three unfamiliar cards, Lin Huang glanced over the remaining ones. When he noticed that three more Quest Cards had appeared, his brows drew together slightly.

“Activate the two Life Energy Storage Cards.”

The moment he saw the Life Energy Storage Cards, Lin Huang activated them without hesitation.

【Life Energy Storage Cards activated.】

A moment later, two additional duplicate Life Wheels appeared within Lin Huang’s body. However, the life-energy gauges in both were completely empty—not even a single unit of life energy had been stored.

After inspecting the Life Wheels within him, Lin Huang shifted his gaze to the Skill Fusion Card, which had never appeared before. After a brief hesitation, he issued another command.

“Activate the Skill Fusion Card!”

【Skill Fusion Card activated.】

【Four skill-fusion options are available.】

【1. Fuse blade techniques: Great Desolation Blade Scripture, Thunderclap Blade, and Heavy Mountain Edge.】

【2. Fuse movement techniques: Snow-Treading Without a Trace and Drifting Cloud Step.】

【3. Fuse ocular skills: Demonic Eye Intimidation, Extreme Vision, and Replicating Eye.】

【4. Fuse disguise skills: Breath Concealment and Transformation.】

【Please select a fusion option.】

“Fuse Breath Concealment and Transformation.”

What Lin Huang needed most at present was a more powerful disguise ability, so he chose the fourth option without hesitation.

【Skill Fusion Card consumed. Monster skill Breath Concealment and monster skill Transformation consumed. Generating a new skill card…】

【Congratulations, host. You have obtained a new disguise card: Advanced Disguise.】

【Advanced Disguise: This skill can alter and disguise the user’s appearance, physique, and even aura. Beyond a certain range, it can even deceive Transcendents.】

【Note: Cannot disguise the user as anything other than a human.】

“This is exactly the skill I wanted.”

Lin Huang was very satisfied after reading the description. Although it was not as comprehensive as his previous Transformation disguise, the fact that it could even alter his aura was precisely the effect he had been seeking.

“Reorganize all the non-monster cards I currently have.”

Lin Huang had Little Black organize the cards once more.

【The host possesses a total of thirty non-monster cards, as follows: one Sealing Card, one Deception Card, one Minor Annihilation Card, two Flawless Cards, three Treasure Cards, three Advancement Cards, three Reward Doubling Cards, three Quest Cards, four Healing Cards, four Item Cards, and five Temporary Transformation Cards.】

Lin Huang’s gaze swept across the cards one by one before finally coming to rest on the Advancement Cards.

“Little Black, can an Advancement Card directly evolve the Substitute Life Seed into the Life-Substitution Secret Art?”

【No. It can only evolve into a higher-level Life Seed.】

“Then what will its effects be after advancement?”

【After one advancement, it becomes the Super Substitute Life Seed. Its substitute effect increases from three times a day to nine times a day.】

【After a second advancement, it becomes the Life-Substitution Life Seed, which can substitute for death once.】

“Then use the Advancement Cards on the Substitute Life Seed and advance it twice!”

Lin Huang spoke without the slightest hesitation.

【Three Advancement Cards consumed.】

【Advancing the Substitute Life Seed for the second time… Congratulations, host. You have obtained a new Life Seed Card—the Life-Substitution Life Seed.】

【Life Seed Name: Life-Substitution】

【Talent Effect: In the form of a substitute, bears one instance of the host’s misfortune, including but not limited to curses, control effects, and death. It can be used once and only once per year.】

【Method of Acquisition: Unknown.】

“This Life Seed Card is unbelievably powerful. It can bear not only death caused by physical attacks, but all kinds of other misfortune as well…”

Upon seeing his new Life Seed Card, Lin Huang’s eyes nearly bulged from their sockets.

“The only drawback is that it can be used so infrequently—just once a year…”

Although he had some complaints about its usage limit, Lin Huang was more satisfied with this card than any he had obtained before.

“I have the ability to fake my death now. Next comes the script. What kind of story would make it more believable?”

Lin Huang fell deep into thought.

~~~~~~

【I spent the entire day stuck on the card settings, and my brain nearly exploded. I started writing this chapter at nine this morning and only finished it now—no exaggeration whatsoever… If anyone has suggestions for useful cards, feel free to share them. I’ll make a pinned post in the book-review section later.】