[Rewards being settled... Items/Equipment obtained: Tian-Shun Beast, Dragon Qi Amulet] [Experience points awarded: 18%] [Main storyline mission completed!] [Settlement complete! Will exit the Spiritual Realm ten minutes later...] Hmm, no character card rewards for the Magistrate of Magic? It seems the Magistrate's master items aren't numerous—perhaps the items retained on the card are limited. Fortunately, the副本 has granted two master items. The Tian-Shun Beast from the Grand Advisor is indeed a valuable asset—a defensive divine artifact. Sun-like divine power surges into Zhang Yuanqing's body, expanding his meridians and purifying his cells, enabling his physical form to absorb and contain more refined solar energy. Quite comfortable, yet still fatigued... Zhang Yuanqing's eyelids grow heavy, and he begins to drift off to sleep, not even checking the rewards, and then passes out completely. The Life Source Liquid heals physical injuries, but the cost of the Kuai Niu Drum is the consumption of spiritual energy. His spirit was already utterly drained, much like a young person who has stayed up for three days and three nights in a internet cafe—no matter how strong their will, sleepiness would eventually overwhelm them. Fu Qingyang, Xiao Yuan, and the Master of Zhishi Palace each felt the imprints of their respective professions emerging on their foreheads, sensing the infusion of spiritual energy, and within them arose a sense of calm relief, as though a great crisis had finally passed. In just a brief ten days, they had almost forgotten they were modern people, fully immersed in the world of the quest. When the quest finally concluded, they felt as though they had stepped into a completely different era. The "King of a Vanished Nation" quest had been more challenging than expected; though they had only served as supporting characters, Fu Qingyang and Yuan Shǐ Tian Zūn had borne the brunt of the pressure. Fu Qingyang had led an army of fifty thousand to defend a city, facing a nine-tiered Sovereign and an army of forty thousand, with a battle for survival every single day. Throughout this time, he had also been constantly arranging troop deployments, directing combat operations, formulating strategies, and analyzing his enemies. Another one was even worse—either betrayed by teammates or killed by enemies, constantly fleeing, either in flight or on the way, while simultaneously analyzing the enemies' schemes and extracting strategies from the details. In Zhi Sha Palace Master's view, the difficulty of a king who loses his nation is comparable to that of a S-tier boss encounter during the Dominance stage, as she has previously tackled other A-tier encounters in that stage and has never encountered anything as challenging as a "king who loses his nation." This might be due to the presence of Fu Qingyang, a swordsman of level 8 in the team; if all members were level 7, the difficulty might not have been so high. Upon seeing her useless younger brother unconscious, Lady Yin Yao hurried over to Xiao Yuan, eager to follow her into the dungeon. Fu Qingyang sat cross-legged, retrieving a sword from his inventory. The sword was golden throughout, forged like solid gold, with a dragon body on the hilt and a dragon head at the guard. The blade extended from the dragon's head, measuring about three feet in length, sharp and radiant. After reviewing the sword's attributes, the stern expression on his face softened into a smile. This sword was better than any sword he had ever seen, except Fu Qingxuan's sword—indeed, even the swords worn by the Sword Pavilion elders fell short of it. Of course, the elders of the Sword Pavilion were renowned for their unparalleled skill in controlling spirits, though their sword techniques were merely conventional, so they did not pursue the finest sword artifacts. 【Xie Lingxi: Wow, I've reached level 5! Level 5! The副本 reward gave me 82% experience—what a great achievement!】 【Queen: I've also reached level 5! I obtained a high-quality Saint's item—fortune favors the bold. Thank you, Master, I'll always love you.】 【Guan Ya: The experience reward is quite generous, but the item rewards are average—maybe the hidden points are too low?】 【Xie Lingxi: After all, you've been playing in the background for several days, Guan Ya, unlike me who've been fully supporting my brother, always helping him out.】 【Guan Ya: @Xie Lingxi, are you that confident now that you've reached level 5?】 【Hong Ji Brother: I've been the one accompanying my brother, solving his problems—wasn't that me?】 【Queen: No, it's Jingwei!】 【Tianxia Gui Huo: I've obtained a decent-quality item and have now reached mid-level 6. I'm planning to try the mid-year Assault Raid. Guan Ya, Hong Ji Brother, let's team up My reward item is top-tier, matching level six. Wow, that's a full-scale surprise! [Guan Ya: Red Chicken Brother has always been part of the dim ruler faction—unlike the Queen and Ling Xi, who've been steadily progressing through half the dungeon. Given that, one would expect the most substantial rewards. Yet, it sounds like he's quite dissatisfied.] [Red Chicken Brother: A defensive-type item.] [Guan Ya: That's quite good—like the Fire Specialist, high in offense, slightly weak in defense. It helps balance the strengths and weaknesses. Speaking of which, Yuan Shi hasn't woken up yet.] [Red Chicken Brother: It's called "The Loyal Subject of the Imperfect." The cost to use it is self-castration.] [Guan Ya: Ah, really?] [Xie Lingxi: Ah, such an interesting item!] [Heaven's Return of Fire: Perfect for you, @Red Chicken Brother!] [The Queen: Can women use it? How would a woman castrate herself? Does she remove her uterus?] [Red Chicken Brother: Women cannot use it—it's exclusively for eunuchs... Hmm, where's Xiahou A [Xia Hou Ao Tian: Calm down, I've challenged the elder at the ancestral gate—this old man has turned into a turtle, refusing to fight.] [Guan Ya: Be careful, don't think because you're a descendant you'll be overconfident.] [Xia Hou Ao Tian: A true man born between heaven and earth—how can he remain stagnant and die without glory?] [Hong Ji Brother: Is Xia Hou Ao Tian still here?] [Guan Ya: Done. It's cold now—let's bury him.] Xia Hou Ao Tian hasn't moved for half an hour—probably got displayed again on the drone, right before the ancestral gate! The ancestral figure of the Xia Hou family, a half-divine being, still gets angry—how humble Xia Hou Ao Tian must be! Zhang Yuanqing mumbles to himself. After posting, "I'm awake," he opened his character profile to check his experience points. —30% 12% from completing combat instances, and an additional 18% from the reward of the fallen emperor. "A high-difficulty Level 8 raid only grants 18% experience points—well, after ascending to the Master rank, the pace of leveling has significantly slowed," Zhang Yuanqing remarked. During the Transcendent stage, one S-tier raid was sufficient to gain a level; at the Saint stage, two S-tier raids were needed. By the Master stage, a raid of difficulty comparable to a Level 7 S-tier raid only yields 18% experience. That's why Fu Qingxuan takes a full year to advance from Master to Half-Deity. That's also why the elder has stopped emulating the senior leader after the first time. How can anyone endure consecutive high-intensity raids? "Two S-tier raids, or three A-tier raids, should be enough to reach Level 8," Zhang Yuanqing pressed his temple. "I wonder if we'll make it in time!" It's uncertain when the next 'Moral Points Collapse' event will occur. If it's in six months or a year, it might still be manageable. But if it happens then, the Evil faction will face the return of the Primordial Deity, the Dragon King. If there's a major crisis within the next six months... "The Lawful faction should have taken action already. If they continue to merely defend passively, they won't be worthy of victory! I'll keep an eye on the situation for a few days and then head back into the instance to assess the developments." Zhang Yuanqing thought to himself. Just the right time to rest a few days and monitor the evolving situation. Next, Zhang Yuanqing opened his inventory, retrieved the Heavens-Devouring Beast, and checked its attributes. [Name: Heavens-Devouring Beast] [Type: Weapon] [Function: Fusion] [Description: An ancient cultivator passed into stillness within a secluded cave deep in the mountains. Part of their power merged with the píxiu jade artifacts within the cave, transforming into a divine artifact. Once revived, this artifact will consume all surrounding spiritual energies. After being sufficiently nourished, it will activate a second phase fifteen minutes later, capable of consuming physical matter.] [Note 1: Feeding it is simple—once per day.] [Note 2: It will never stop until it is full.] [Note 3: When starved Zhang Yuanqing let out a sharp gasp—this thing was truly a juicer! With the combined efforts of the four Dominators and the energy from several set items, it had barely been fed. In his mind, he thought, with my slender frame, I’ll have to feed it every day. Within three days, I’ll be needing to lean on the walls just to stay upright. "The cost of this Dominator item is quite high," he remarked. Yet its quality is truly valuable, corresponding to the eighth-tier Dominator. With it, Zhang Yuanqing can now easily handle coordinated attacks from three or four Dominators—making it a true powerhouse in group battles. Additionally, the second phase of revival can consume matter—both enemies and items. Enemies and items consumed will be reduced to ash by the Sky-Devouring Beast. However, the second-phase consumption ability can only be activated once, with a 24-hour cooldown. "Good thing we managed to eliminate the Grand Master in time; otherwise, once the Sky-Devouring Beast activates its second phase, one of us four would surely perish," Zhang Yuanqing thought with a sense of relief. He placed the Sky-Devouring Beast atop his head, activated the item Then, retrieve the second reward item—the Dragon Qi Amulet! This is a golden shield-shaped amulet, engraved with dragon relief carvings. Hold it for a few seconds, and the item information appears: 【Name: Dragon Qi Amulet】 【Type: Accessory】 【Function: Curse】 【Description: An amulet forged from the collective will of the people and the nation's fortune. The dragon qi formed by the unity of the people's hearts can protect against venomous afflictions, curses, and vengeful spirits, with an inherent hidden effect. When attacking someone the amulet is worn by, there is a certain chance that the attacker will suffer the Five Decays of the Celestial and Human. The likelihood of this curse depends on the severity of the wearer's injury, the condition of the enemy, and the skills involved. If the wearer is killed, the Five Decays of the Celestial and Human are guaranteed to manifest.】 【Note 1: Drawn from the people, used for the people. Each time it is used, twenty acts of kindness must be performed.】 【Note 2: It makes the holder deeply concerned with politics and actively engaged in political discussions.】 "Killing the wearer will definitely trigger the curse of the Five Decays of the Celestial Human. If we add the next phrase—'unyielding, unmitigated'—then it would qualify as a rule-type item. Alas, alas," Zhang Yuanqing murmured with a restless, eager tone, fondly caressing the golden token. The functions of resisting venom, curses, and vengeful spirits overlap with the passive abilities of the Day-Wanderer, making them somewhat redundant, and the built-in secrecy also duplicates the companion spirit, Moon-Light. However, the negative status effects from the Five Decays are exceptionally effective. When the wearer is killed, the Five Decays are triggered. The wearer doesn't have to be the token's owner—Zhang could simply have a shade wear the amulet, ensuring that enemies are guaranteed to trigger the Five Decays. The only drawback is that this item is of medium quality, corresponding to a Level 7 Sovereign, rather than a Level 8. After all, receiving two Level 8 items as rewards from a single dungeon instance is rather unrealistic. Of course, this doesn't mean the "Five Declines of Heaven and Man" are ineffective against the Eight-Level Masters—the phrase "inevitably triggered" implies that even without special measures, the Eight-Level Masters will still suffer from the curse, effectively receiving a weakening buff. Setting down her dragon-energy amulet, Zhang Yuanqing picked up her phone and asked the Palace Master, Xiao Yuan, and the Mage-Eye King whether they had received any master-level items. The response from all three was unanimous: none! When she asked Fu Qingyang, she learned that her senior had obtained a divine weapon. "Master-level items are scarce—three items are typically produced per challenging raid, which is already impressive. This generous reward is likely due to the first successful raid," Zhang Yuanqing mused, placing the disordered oil painting into the clan warehouse and issuing a public announcement in the group chat. Originally, she had not shared master-level items. This item is stored in the clan warehouse primarily for use by Xiao Yuan and the Clan Master, especially Xiao Yuan, who has just been promoted to Sovereign and currently only has one piece of the Lost Treasure Coin accompanying her—neither particularly strong in offensive capabilities. With access to the Chaotic Oil Painting, she will have an added advantage when facing opponents of similar strength in the future. Long considered too difficult, the pause strategy was finally conquered by them today. A few minutes later, the group of white tiger soldiers began to exchange messages, producing a series of clear, rhythmic sounds.