Chapter 166: Chapter 166

『Skull of Continuation』

「Absorb: Absorbing the Skull of Continuation grants 50 Spirit Points and the “Fate of Continuation.” The more severe the damage you receive, the faster your recovery rate becomes. Upon receiving fatal damage, the recovery speed reaches its maximum, healing all injuries at ten times the original rate. Invalid after Foundation Establishment.」

「Inject: Injecting the Skull of Continuation into a Token strengthens its recovery authority.」

「Reforge: Reforging the Skull of Continuation with a Token allows players to acquire more desirable recovery authority.」

「Click to view combination options」

『Bodhisattva Jade Pendant』

「Grade: Third-Stage Precious」

「Equip Requirement: 15 Spirit Points」

「Equip Effect: +5 Spirit Points」

「Effect · Compassion: After activating Compassion, all damage received will be delayed by three seconds before taking effect, and will be reduced by 30% (up to a maximum of 300 true damage reduction). Activating Compassion consumes 50 Spirit Energy and drains 3 Spirit Energy per second. It ends when Spirit is depleted.」

「Effect · Blessing: If no defensive Token is equipped or the defensive Token lacks damage reduction, gain 15% base damage reduction. If the Token does have a damage reduction effect, gain an additional 5% stacking reduction, up to a max of 50%.」

「Evaluation: Witnesses the suffering of all beings, manifests to bring salvation.」

Loot from demons wasn't guaranteed—sometimes, with bad luck, only Spirit Jade would drop, which was quite normal. But with good luck, Yan Qing had once looted a Second-Stage Rare White Iron Straight Blade from Zheng Shan. After refining it into a Flame Pattern Long Blade, he gave it to Ye Si.

Although Earthfiend-grade items could appear in Third-Stage Secret Realms, the drop rate was only about 1–2%. It was impossible to encounter one without dozens of runs. As for Third-Stage Rare, that was the top-tier reward in those realms. Under normal circumstances, players would only get a Third-Stage Rare Token.

Yan Qing didn’t believe this was just luck. If he were truly lucky, he would’ve started as a chosen hero, blessed by four gods, or wielded world-altering power from his own home. At the very least, he’d be surrounded by a harem of sweet princesses, sexy generals, and adorable maids—living a blissful, carefree life.

Instead, he’d been thrown into the sunless Thieves’ House, scheming with bandits and running missions with them.

Though to be fair, that wasn’t entirely fair to Black Wolf and White Fox. They were reliable teammates—unlike someone else...

If Yan Qing was right, this big drop likely had nothing to do with luck, and everything to do with his sweat and effort.

Because after they depleted the Karmic Force of the Skull Tower to zero and killed it, the game displayed a message Yan Qing had never seen before. He hadn’t had time to read it earlier, but now he could analyze it properly:

「You have released a Sinner from the Unending Hell.」

「In this battle, you successfully released a Sinner from the Unending Hell who was over 10 levels higher than your own. Your total contribution was 36%, above the 25% threshold but below the 50% doubling threshold.」

「You absorbed 1 point of Calamity Karmic Force!」

「You have triggered the Calamity Milestone!」

「Calamity: You currently possess 1 point of Calamity Karmic Force. The auxiliary milestone【Disaster】has been unlocked. Accumulating more Calamity Karmic Force will unlock more auxiliary milestones.

Disaster: All your attacks deal True Damage equal to your Calamity Karmic Force. Currently: 1 point.」

Yan Qing noticed it didn’t say that the Bunny Heroine killed the Undying Skull Tower. It said she “released a Sinner from the Unending Hell.” Whatever that meant, “release” clearly wasn’t the same as “kill.” Death implied tragedy; release, on the other hand, suggested joy for the released—like saying, “I never have to come back again.”

If “release” meant completely erasing a demon from existence—even preventing its respawn in the Secret Realm—then the big drop made perfect sense.

After all, if the monster would never appear again, this was the only chance to make it drop something amazing. Why save it for some posthumous tribute at Qingming? Yan Qing could already imagine what the forum players would say.

The detailed battle report was also revealing. The Bunny Heroine only absorbed 1 point of Calamity Karmic Force because the Undying Skull Tower was over ten levels higher than her and her contribution exceeded 25%.

It required both an overleveled kill and major contribution—and the enemy wasn’t just a regular mob, but an elite. Such a condition was unreasonably strict. Among the five of them, probably only the Bunny Heroine met the criteria. Even Boreuo, whose damage was comparable, wouldn’t qualify—his level was likely higher than the Skull Tower’s.

ㄴ Despite the harsh challenge, no player would feel it wasn’t worth it.

One point of Calamity Karmic Force equaled one point of True Damage!

One point might not seem like much—but what about five points? Ten?

More importantly, there was no cooldown, no activation condition. It always applied!

In a game that featured many rapid-damage playstyles, Calamity Karmic Force could revolutionize those builds entirely!

And that was just the first effect of the Calamity Milestone. If the first was already this strong, the later ones must be insane. Yan Qing was already eager to unlock more. He had already confirmed through Ye Si that the Calamity Milestone applied account-wide.

This, Yan Qing thought, must be the core of the Calamity version.

Even just scratching the surface of the Calamity update, he could already feel its appeal. Google seaʀᴄh NoveI~Fire.net

Even without the Calamity Milestone, being able to “release” monsters for huge loot drops was enough to drive players wild—who wanted to grind dungeons endlessly? If there was a way to fish the pond dry, who’d care about sustainability?

And with monsters vanishing upon release, it would fuel fierce player competition. Previously, world-first kills didn’t grant much besides bragging rights. But now, being the first to “release” a boss meant you got everything, and the second place didn’t even get warm leftovers.

If you painstakingly cracked a boss’s release mechanism, only for someone else to beat you to it and flaunt their god-tier drop in world chat, tell me—wouldn’t you be tempted to gank them?

But both release and Calamity Karmic Force required a solid foundation. For example, releasing the Undying Skull Tower needed a Buddhist Token. Other monsters would need different Tokens—or even multiple types. Without the right tools, even the most skilled player was helpless.

Calamity Karmic Force demanded elite kills far above your level. Pre-Foundation was already hard; post-Foundation, even worse. Some players might think of power-leveling an alt to stockpile Calamity Force—but the Bunny Heroine’s ten-level-overkill earned her an instant level-up by four levels after unlocking a Secret Technique. Clearly, the devs anticipated this.

If Yan Qing had to guess, the first victims of the Calamity update would be low-level dungeons. Pro players would start alts and clear out all the bosses from low-level Secret Realms. Eventually, they’d move to Foundation-level dungeons. Suddenly, forgotten old content would become prime real estate...

When you thought about it, it was actually brilliant game design!

Impressive. As a fellow game planner, Yan Qing couldn’t help but applaud the lead dev of the Calamity version. Though he did have a faint sense something was off... but he couldn’t quite place it.

He quickly dismissed the minor details and turned back to the Earthfiend · Skull of Continuation and Third-Stage Rare · Bodhisattva Jade Pendant in his storage.

The Jade Pendant would naturally go to the Bunny Heroine. But what to do with the Earthfiend?

Yan Qing clicked on the Skull of Continuation’s icon to view combinations.

「Heaven’s Pole Reversal Yin-Yang + Earthfiend Skull → Path Foundation of Life-Death Chaos」

「Heaven’s Pole Patch-Heaven Sun-Bath + Earthfiend Skull → Path Foundation of Great Sun Spirit」

「Heaven’s Pole Fetal-Form Shapeshift + Earthfiend Skull → Path Foundation of Formless Transformation」

They actually implemented the foundation combination table into the game...

Yan Qing had seen many players on the forums protesting why Heaven’s Pole and Earthfiend combinations weren’t listed in-game. After all, not everyone checked guides. Some players just absorbed whatever they got—and by the time they learned better, it was too late to undo.

This was convenient for Yan Qing. He glanced through the list and didn’t see any T0 or T1 Path Foundations he’d seen on the forums, so he decided to let an alt absorb the Skull of Continuation. Which alt? Obviously, the one closest to Foundation Establishment.

Maybe Ye Si had a shot too?

He wasn’t in a rush to establish a Foundation. He could wait for the alt to do so first, then look for suitable Heaven’s Pole and Earthfiend matches. After all, Foundation was irreversible. Without a T0 or T1-level Path Foundation, ascending at Seventh-Stage would be nearly impossible.

Speaking of which, he could tip off Medicine Master Wen about which Heaven’s Poles to pair with the immobilizing Earthfiend, so he switched back to the Bunny Heroine’s account—only to find they were already asleep.

The Bunny Heroine was naturally seated cross-legged on the bed, keeping watch. Medicine Master Wen lay beside her in a thin robe, half-covered by a light blanket, which did little to hide the mountainous curves of her body. Her sleeping posture was absurd: one hand on the Bunny Heroine’s thigh, her right leg lifted as if to clamp something, drool trickling from the corner of her mouth, muttering incoherently.

Yan Qing hadn’t seen anyone in the Pingcheng Military Camp sleep worse than her. She was a noble’s daughter—seriously?

Still... after days together, this was the first time Yan Qing had seen her sleep so peacefully and relaxed. Was it because she was exhausted tonight? Or because she finally saw hope for Foundation? Or simply... because the Bunny Heroine was beside her?

“Goodnight,” Yan Qing whispered softly, then shut down the game, washed up, and went to sleep.

Not even he knew who that goodnight was meant for.