The first piece of loot was the reward he had snatched from the Starvault Tower.

[Precious Memory of the Starry Sky (Item): … Using this item will raise your Knowledge cap by 30,000 points.]

The Starvault Tower existed to tempt Scholars with Knowledge, gradually inclining them toward the radiant stars faction.

This extra 30,000 Knowledge cap for clearing the Starvault Tower was originally meant to be obtained only after defecting to the Oath of the Radiant Stars.

Lin Xun had not cared about any of that. Relying on his own oath faction’s overwhelming power and the fact that he was currently inside the Direct Vision Association, he had simply taken the reward by force.

No wonder that Starborn Spirit Progenitor had been so enraged, descending two projections in a row to hunt him down.

[You use Precious Memory of the Starry Sky!]

[Your Knowledge cap increases by 30,000! Current Knowledge: 41,500/90,800.]

After several boosts, his Knowledge cap had now skyrocketed to ninety thousand points. For the time being, he no longer had to worry about the embarrassing situation of his cap being too low and his head constantly exploding.

Raising the Knowledge cap also enhanced the effects and damage of related Knowledge-type spells.

However, Lin Xun still had yet to acquire a powerful Scholar shell…

He turned his attention to the other item, the one dropped when the Starborn Spirit Progenitor’s projection died.

[Heart of the Starborn Spirit (Special item): One of the primordial elements for nurturing starborn spirits, it contains a faint genetic sequence of the beginning of life. When you carry this item, all your starborn spirit-type summoned creatures have all attributes increased by 20%, and temporarily gain +30 levels.]

[When you possess items or equipment that can summon creatures from the radiant stars faction, you may attempt to fuse them with this item. Unexpected reactions may occur.]

In the fourth chapter, there had been an opportunity to obtain starborn spirit-type summoned creatures, but only on the condition of joining the Oath of the Radiant Stars.

This item’s function was to strengthen summoned creatures. Lin Xun had no starborn spirit-type summons, so naturally he had no use for it.

“I thought it was going to be something amazing, and it’s just this?”

Perhaps because his contribution in the battle had been too low, the god projection had dropped only a single item on death, and it was a pretty useless one at that.

“Wait, I actually do have something that can summon starborn spirits.”

Lin Xun opened his Inventory. After rummaging around for a bit, his gaze locked onto a special piece of equipment that had been gathering dust for a long time.

[Ring of the Radiant Stars (Special Equipment): … While wearing this equipment, you will attract the attention of the Oath of the Radiant Stars faction. There is a certain chance you may be summoned by creatures of this faction, or they may descend directly upon you.]

The Ring of the Radiant Stars was a special equipment item he had obtained in the fourth chapter.

Because Lin Xun had broken his oath to the stars, his hatred value with that side was far too high. If he wore this item, he would immediately draw the radiant stars faction’s pursuit.

Back in Hidden Canyon during the fourth chapter, he had used this ring to make the stars send down starborn spirits to hunt him…

Aside from innate summons, all temporary summons in the game, whether brought forth by skills, items, or equipment, could be roughly divided into two categories.

The first kind was real summoning. The summoned creature truly existed in some chapter world. This kind of summoning could not cross the barrier between chapter worlds. Even between chapter worlds in the same major volume, if the time node did not match, the summon would be blocked by restrictions.

The second kind was false summoning. The summoned creature was not a real, preexisting entity, but a temporary being formed purely from skill power or item power.

For example, the Corrupted Calamity Lich’s summon skeleton skill belonged to the second type.

Even if there was not a single bone underground, a necromancer could still form skeletal summons through spell power alone.

It was just that compared to scenarios where actual bones and corpses were available, the mana cost would be drastically higher, and the summoned skeletons would not be as strong as ones built upon real bones.

The Ring of the Radiant Stars was a first-type summoning item. It could not be used in other chapter worlds and only functioned within the World of Omniscience.

Lin Xun tried clicking Heart of the Starborn Spirit, then clicking the Ring of the Radiant Stars.

[Do you want to fuse Heart of the Starborn Spirit with Ring of the Radiant Stars?]

[Warning: This fusion is irreversible. The outcome of the fusion is unknown. Please choose carefully.]

“So it can fuse after all!”

After only a brief moment of hesitation, Lin Xun pressed ‘Confirm.’

He was in the Direct Vision Association right now. Even if some accident occurred, there were taller shoulders to carry the weight of the sky. He did not need to be overly cautious and timid.

[Heart of the Starborn Spirit liquefies into a soft fluid and envelops Ring of the Radiant Stars…]

[Fusing…]

[…]

[Fusion successful!]

[You have obtained Ring of Shining Stars (Special Equipment)!]

[Ring of Shining Stars (Special Equipment): A special ring that has fused with Heart of the Starborn Spirit. A tiny crystal is mounted on the ring. If you examine it up close, it is as if countless starborn spirit creatures are baring their fangs and claws within, roaring and posturing.]

[While wearing this equipment, you will draw the attention of the Oath of the Radiant Stars faction.]

[The higher your reputation and favorability within this oath faction, the greater the chance that high-ranking beings of the faction will summon you, and the better the divine favor rewards you will receive.]

[The higher your hatred and enmity within this oath faction, the greater the chance that high-ranking beings of the faction will descend to hunt you, and the better the rewards you will obtain from killing the hunters.]

Lin Xun carefully read through the item description.

“If used properly, this thing might net me a huge pile of rewards…”

He was not thinking about grinding experience from killing monsters, but about the loot that would drop after he destroyed the pursuers.

Since he was inside the Direct Vision Association, as long as he wore the equipment and summoned radiant stars monsters, he would not need to lift a finger. The Scholars of the association would take care of the invading star monsters for him.

Just like when the Starborn Spirit Progenitor had chased him earlier and the Scholars of the Direct Vision Association had taken the monster down.

The reward from the Starborn Spirit Progenitor’s death just now had not been very good, but this ring came with clear, explicit text. Even if his battle contribution was minimal, he should still be able to obtain decent rewards.

Lin Xun could not help recalling how many games had town safe zones. Some players who could not beat a monster would exploit bugs to lure the monster to the town so that guards and NPCs would help them kill high-level monsters they themselves could not handle…

Of course, there were also cautionary tales. In one game, hostile players had lured a boss into their own faction’s base, where the guards and NPCs could not beat it, resulting in the boss rampaging through the city and slaughtering everyone.

The Omniscient Oath faction that Lin Xun belonged to was in a position of overwhelming advantage, able to hoist the radiant stars faction up and beat it bloody.

Even if the Starborn Spirit Progenitor was infuriated, it did not dare have its true body descend to the world, only its projections.

If that Starborn Spirit Progenitor dared appear in person, it would probably be instantly suppressed on the spot by the Servant of Knowledge and dragged away as a reserve battery.

Even without showing its true body, just for sending down projections, the Scholars were still planning to analyze and reverse-deduce the true hiding place of the Starborn Spirit Progenitor based on the residual aura of its projections.

If the Scholars learned the coordinates of its lair, the Starborn Spirit Progenitor’s fate would go without saying.