Chapter 87: The Eighteenth Trait — Telekinetic Controller!
After learning the details of the battle, Wu Ming found himself both amused and speechless. He was astonished, yet at the same time a little at a loss.
“Do you really think I’m going to make you pay for those shops?”
A rookie Class User had not only won, but had even killed a level-60 King-class Fiend!
With that level of skill, with that kind of potential… Forget bringing down a few snack shops.
Even if Ye Ze had smashed the City Lord’s Mansion flat, Wu Ming would have personally led the applause!
Seeing the almost absurdly heated look in Wu Ming’s eyes, Ye Ze hurriedly explained, “It was mainly because my abilities happened to counter that Demon King pretty well, and its combat ability wasn’t among the very top tier...”
At those words, not just Wu Ming, but even the several fifth-rank experts he had brought with him could not help twitching at the corners of their mouths.
Did he think it was perfectly normal for a first-rank rookie to kill an “ordinary” Demon King?
For a moment, they genuinely could not tell whether he was being humble or arrogant...
At that point, Liu Anran, Luo Yao, and the others also descended from the magic dragon.
After hearing the detailed account from them, Wu Ming kept nodding and sighing in admiration.
“Heroes truly do emerge from the young!”
If they had not acted and killed the Demon King, the destruction caused by a Demon King entering the city this time would probably have been impossible to estimate!
And if Linyuan City had turned into a Contaminated Land...
the threat would have been even greater, because on Blue Star as it now stood, no method had yet been found to purify a Contaminated Land.
At that point, this major frontier city of China would likely have become a forward military base for the Abyss’s invasion.
Three people had almost single-handedly averted a Demon King crisis, and the one who had carried the main burden was, of all people, a first-rank Ye Ze.
Wu Ming let out a long breath, deeply moved.
“Don’t worry. You won’t have to pay for anything.”
“All losses in Linyuan City will be covered by East China Region. We’ll fund the full reconstruction!”
Hearing that, Ye Ze finally relaxed a little.
Because he genuinely did not have the money to pay for it!
Ever since forging his equipment, the balance in his bank card could practically be described as abject poverty.
Wu Ming went on, “And as for repelling the Demon King alone, the reward will be at least fifty thousand Military Merit.”
“On top of that, I’ll personally reward the three of you with another ten thousand Military Merit!”
Sixty thousand… When Liu Anran and Luo Yao heard that number, both of them were visibly astonished.
Even after spending time at headquarters, they had never seen that much Military Merit awarded all at once.
But the two of them knew perfectly well that the main credit belonged to Ye Ze.
Yet at that moment, Ye Ze instead said, “Let’s split the Military Merit three ways. Twenty thousand each.”
“But everything the Demon King dropped belongs to me. How about that?”
Liu Anran had just been about to refuse, but when she heard that the Demon King’s equipment would all go to Ye Ze, the arrangement suddenly felt much more reasonable.
For Ye Ze, Military Merit was comparatively easier to earn, so giving some away was not particularly painful.
But the things dropped by the Demon King—just the two three-star Legendary items and the six-star Epic alone—were already worth fifty thousand Military Merit.
At worst, they could still be fed to Panda and used to activate Equipment Shredder.
And then there was the unknown item, 【Origin Fragment - Mirage】.
Although Ye Ze still did not know how to use it, based on his experience from his previous life reading novels, he was certain that this thing was no ordinary item!
If such an ultra-rare item were traded to the state, it might well be worth even more than those three pieces of equipment.
Better to keep it for now. There might be a chance to use it in the future.
That also killed off any thoughts anyone else might have had about it.
After hearing Ye Ze’s proposed distribution, Liu Anran nodded. A smile appeared in her eyes as she agreed readily, “That’s fair.”
Luo Yao’s eyes lit up. “It really does feel wonderful to have a powerhouse to lean on!”
Even if the two of them only got to share a little, the reward was still better than what they could gain through long periods of hard work!
In terms of value, the things Ye Ze received were indeed worth more, but that was only proper.
The greater your contribution, the greater your reward!
At that moment, a bewildered Chu He finally came out in a timid manner... He had been hiding in a corner of the city ever since earlier.
A Painter without a painting felt especially unsafe.
The moment Ye Ze saw him, he smacked his forehead.
“I almost forgot. When the Demon King attacked just now, I summoned Panda away.”
“A Demon King?”
Chu He froze for a moment... Had he misheard?
At that point, Luo Yao, who was still beaming with delight over the twenty thousand Military Merit she had received, immediately confirmed it in the tone of a child showing off.
And then, in vivid detail, she described how the Demon King had been killed, making it sound as though she herself had personally beaten it to death.
At the end, she raised her chin proudly and said, “So? Weren’t the three of us amazing?”
Chu He stood there nearly petrified… In the time it had taken him to fail to finish a single painting, that much had happened?
A freshman of the same generation as him had killed a Demon King!?
And not long ago, he had actually thought he might be able to defeat an opponent like that?
At that moment, Chu He’s feelings were so complicated that they resembled an eternally tangled pair of earphones...
He did not even know whether he would still have the chance to borrow a summoned beast from Ye Ze again.
But Ye Ze proved himself very faithful to his word.
He still let Panda go back with Chu He to serve as a “model,” treating it as a kind of break.
That moved Chu He so much that he nearly burst into tears.
“Brother Ye, you really are righteous!”
From Luo Yao’s description, he had learned that this panda had been the main force in killing the Demon King!
And yet Ye Ze was still willing to lend out such an overwhelmingly powerful summoned beast.
This was truly a brother closer than blood!
“Brother Ye, don’t worry. I know your summoned beast can eat anything, but I’ll definitely feed it the best food possible!”
“I guarantee it’ll be full!”
The moment he heard the words “be full,” Ye Ze’s expression turned rather strange.
“That... really won’t be necessary...”
However, when Wu Ming saw the North China genius Chu He, he also felt that something about the situation was a little odd...
A Painter from North China had come all the way here to paint Ye Ze’s summoned beast?
If he really managed to paint it successfully, then the college entrance exam would gain yet another contender for the top spot.
But what Wu Ming found strange was this: was Ye Ze really not afraid of being surpassed?
He could not make sense of it!
At the same time, Liu Anran had the same thought and silently began guarding against any new painting Chu He might produce.
Aside from that, although repelling the Demon King was excellent news, there was one person who felt particularly miserable...Liu Boyan.
After the battlefield was cleaned up, it had already been confirmed that the Section Chief of the Investigation Division and the staff who had accompanied him had all died because of the Contaminated Land.
Only Liu Boyan remained.
But the work of the Abyss Investigation Division, as one of China’s important Abyss-related research projects, still had to continue.
Which meant that, for the time being, Liu Boyan would have to do the work of an entire division all by himself!
When Wu Ming announced this matter, Liu Boyan’s face froze, while Ye Ze and Liu Anran both struggled not to laugh.
Ye Ze said, “My condolences, Teacher.”
Liu Anran said, “My condolences, Dad.”
Liu Boyan said, “I...”
Of course, there was also one piece of good news: he had been promoted, becoming the Section Chief of the Investigation Division!
The bad news was... the entire division now consisted of him alone.
Even so, Liu Boyan was still more happy than not.
Because he had seen that Ye Ze and Liu Anran, the two children he cared about, were now both capable of standing on their own.
Even in the face of a sudden Fiend attack, they had displayed extremely high combat quality.
That gave Liu Boyan an especially profound sense of comfort and pride.
Aside from the casualties in the Investigation Division, the War Academy had also suffered heavy losses...
Vice Dean Zhou Wei had been killed by the Demon King, and Zhao Xuan had also died at the Demon King’s hands.
It was said that after Demon King Mirage returned disguised as the Section Chief of the Investigation Division, Vice Dean Zhou Wei had been the first to step forward and flatter him.
He had thought that some kind of achievement had been discovered, and that he might be able to ride along and gain some credit.
Instead, he had become Demon King Mirage’s very first victim.
As for Zhao Xuan, he had simply been a bit unlucky...Besides that, two teaching buildings at the War Academy had collapsed in succession as well.
Wu Ming immediately arranged for supplies to be transferred in from East China Region’s Logistics Department and began the “post-disaster reconstruction” of Linyuan City.
The academy, the shops, the residential buildings, and everything else would all be rebuilt with funding from East China Region headquarters.
At that moment, Wu Ming suddenly called out to Ye Ze.
“There’s one more piece of news... about the Myth-grade Secret Realm.”
“The Secret Realm is about to appear?”
That genuinely surprised Ye Ze. The seed of Myth Revival had only been planted not long ago, yet there was already news?
Wu Ming nodded firmly. “That’s right. We’re about to have a result!”
“So soon?”
Wu Ming nodded and explained in detail, “At the place where the seed was planted that day, a small sapling has grown...”
“But in reality, it’s the Secret Realm key!”
“It’s said that when the key fully takes shape, that will be the day the Secret Realm opens.”
“And right now, the key is taking shape very quickly. We estimate that it’ll happen within thirty-six hours at most!”
Within thirty-six hours, the Myth-grade Secret Realm would open?
Hearing that, Ye Ze could not help feeling a surge of anticipation.
The first Myth-grade existence in the entire world!
He had all kinds of expectations about Myth-grade items.
He just did not know what effect a Myth-grade, standing above Golden Legend, would ultimately have.
And if Myth Revival truly began, then would his Traits be able to synthesize into Myth-grade ones!?
Of course, that question was still a little far off.
Wu Ming then added with a smile, “With the achievements you’ve made, unless there’s a mandatory level restriction, a slot in the Secret Realm will definitely be reserved for you!”
Ye Ze nodded.
That was only to be expected.
Putting aside everything else, today’s record of killing a sixth-rank opponent alone was already enough to place him high on the list.
And as for a Myth-grade Secret Realm that stood above Legendary, if he had the chance, he truly wanted to see it with his own eyes!
With that thought in mind, Ye Ze decided to continue leveling up today. Ideally, he wanted to become even stronger before entering the Secret Realm!
Before that, Ye Ze went home first.
Because the whole restaurant street in Linyuan City had basically been destroyed, so if he wanted to eat, he would have to go home and make something himself.
From the moment he had been forcibly woken up that morning until now, Ye Ze had barely eaten anything...
Using Swap, he exchanged places with one of the squirrel Shadow Clones he had left at home, arriving there in an instant.
He took out a cup of instant noodles in spicy beef flavor.
And while he was at it, he decided to draw a Trait.
After covering the noodles, Ye Ze focused his thoughts, and a sea of golden Traits swirled around him.
Because killing Demon King Mirage had given him enough EXP to level up twice in succession, he now had enough for two Trait draws.
He reached out and drew one first.
The eighteenth Trait...
【You have obtained the Golden Legend-grade Trait: Telekinetic Controller!】
【Telekinetic Controller: Uses powerful spiritual force to manipulate objects and even affect enemies, changing the course of battle through sheer will!】
“Telekinesis?”
A trace of curiosity flashed through Ye Ze’s eyes. He was actually quite familiar with this type of ability.
Because among Class Users, there was a class called Spiritual Mentalist, and that was precisely how they cultivated.
By refining their spiritual power, they could manipulate objects, weapons, and even enemies... whether in battle or in support, the uses were immense.
But for a Spiritual Mentalist to reach that level, it required a very long time of training, whereas Telekinetic Controller seemed able to do it from the very beginning!
Ye Ze was instantly interested.
An ability focused primarily on spiritual power naturally suited the little fox.
【Trait “Telekinetic Controller” successfully assigned!】
【Summoned Beast: Three-Tailed Demon Fox (Legendary ☆) advanced → (Legendary ☆☆)!】
Aside from the increase of one star, it also raised her Spirit by a full fifty points!
It could definitely be considered a combat-type Trait.
Still, even among Golden Legend Traits, there were differences in quality.
For example, among the fox’s two spell-related Traits, Lord of Elements focused more on improving skill effects… while Telekinetic Controller gave a much more obvious increase to Spirit.
Of course, once Traits were synthesized and elevated into a higher-order Trait, they naturally fulfilled multiple conditions at once.
Take Martial Saint, for example. Experience, skills, attributes, and everything else—it had no shortcomings at all!
The only question was, what kind of effect would spell-type Traits have after being synthesized?
After the Trait had been assigned, there did not seem to be any visible change in the fox’s appearance… She was still that large cotton-ball-like three-tailed fox.
But she could clearly feel that she had gained a strange new power!
Ye Ze asked curiously, “What can you do now?”
The little fox revealed a sly smile, and violet light shimmered within her foxlike eyes.
The air around them seemed to ripple ever so slightly.
Suddenly, Ye Ze felt himself being surrounded by an invisible force, as though he had fallen into a bank of clouds, while his body seemed to lose all weight.
In the next instant, Ye Ze himself...slowly floated up into the air.
“What the hell?”
Then the little fox’s tails drifted lightly, sending out another wave of telekinetic force.
Ye Ze’s noodles floated up with him.
The lid opened automatically, and the wavy noodles flew straight into his mouth without spilling even a drop of soup.
Ye Ze chewed a few times... Hmm, they were not fully softened yet.
At that moment, what struck him most was how mysterious and impressive it all felt. On the fox’s skill panel, only a single new skill had appeared: 【Telekinesis lv.10】.
But the range of things she seemed able to do with it was enormous.
At max level, Telekinesis had basically reached a level of meticulous control, where even the slightest margin of error could be handled with ease.
And when the fox controlled Ye Ze, her telekinetic force was soft and gentle, almost like a cloud.
But when used on enemies, that might not be the case at all.
Aside from that, Ye Ze guessed that telekinesis could probably also be used to pull, push, and restrain targets.
It would simply consume a great deal of Spirit, most likely.
Just then, as Ye Ze floated in midair, he suddenly felt a chill run through his lower back.
“Little fox, if you suddenly drop me, I’m definitely going to spank you.”
The little fox laughed slyly, her voice clear and bright. “It’s fun~”
Fortunately, Ye Ze landed safely in the end.
Just as he was about to grab the fox and rub her all over, a message suddenly arrived on his phone.
It was a news alert.
And not just any news alert, but front-line news!
If this kind of news appeared, then unless the battlefield had suffered some major upheaval, it meant the front lines had achieved a glorious victory worth celebrating across all of China!
Interested, Ye Ze took a look:
“Hunter King and Spear King fought three against two at the Abyss Frontier battlefield. Wan Feipeng killed one Demon King and heavily wounded the other two...”
“Then pursued the Demon Kings for over a thousand li! Though he didn’t kill them again, he pushed the border line back several hundred li.”
“And in the process, they discovered a ‘wild’ Dungeon at the border!”