Chapter 420: Chapter 257: Comprehensive Upgrade (2)

If Origin Power was the root of Fang Zhen’s Extraordinary Power, then Curse Seals were his current strongest form of skill.

Fang Zhen examined his Curse Seal.

He discovered that his Power Mountain Seal could be upgraded.

In the Demon Duke instance, Fang Zhen had used the Power Mountain Seal effectively many times. As a result, upgrading to the third-stage Power Mountain Seal now only required 145 Merit Points.

Without hesitation, Fang Zhen upgraded it, raising his second-stage Power Mountain Seal to the third stage.

The Power Mountain Seal advanced to the third stage.

"Power Mountain Seal Stage 3: Gangrou. A higher stage of the Power Mountain Seal that grants the Gangrou effect. The seal’s power is no longer purely forceful; instead, it has reached a new realm, balancing hardness and softness. At this level, the power generated from the Curse Seal and your physical strength will be extremely condensed, granting greater control and explosive force. Furthermore, the exertion of power is more subtle and profound, possessing a certain degree of concealment and penetration.

Activating the third-stage Power Mountain Seal requires not only the support of the Power of Curse Seal and physical strength, but also the coordination of one’s mind and Spirit.

Reaching this realm requires a minimum of 15 Constitution and 13 Spirit, as well as a high level of control over one’s own power."

Fang Zhen saw that his Power Mountain Seal had now reached Stage 3, and the next stage, Stage 4, could also be upgraded directly.

The fourth stage of the Power Mountain Seal was called "Li Shan Seal: Sky Splitting."

Fang Zhen, who now possessed the third-stage Li Shan: Gangrou, glanced at the cost to upgrade to Li Shan Seal: Sky Splitting. It required 1,091 Merit Points. ’That’s outrageously expensive,’ he thought.

But after thinking it over, Fang Zhen realized he didn’t have any other particularly powerful offensive skills. The Power Mountain Seal was a must-upgrade.

His Extrasensory Precognition could also be upgraded, but that was a powerful general-purpose or support skill. It wouldn’t improve the heavy-hitting power he needed. Upgrading it now would be a waste, so Fang Zhen decided to save his Merit Points. Besides, he might not have had enough anyway.

Ultimately, he went ahead and upgraded the Power Mountain Seal to Stage 4.

Li Shan Seal: Sky Splitting. A higher stage of the Power Mountain Seal that grants a sky-splitting attack effect. The seal no longer requires direct contact with an enemy to be used; instead, it can release mid-air shockwaves and destructive force.

The range of Li Shan: Sky Splitting’s power varies depending on the user’s Power of Curse Seal. It is characterized by extreme force, making it difficult to defend against. It also incorporates the special effects of the previous three stages of the Power Mountain Seal, giving it extremely high physical destructive capability against highly durable targets.

After upgrading the Power Mountain Seal to Stage 4, Fang Zhen finally felt a bit like an Extraordinary hero.

Moreover, the fourth-stage Power Mountain Seal had a training requirement: one must have at least 17 Constitution to practice it. According to the description, attempting to train it with less than 17 Constitution could result in harming both the user and others.

Having raised the Power Mountain Seal to this level, Fang Zhen felt a surge of confidence. He finally had a more formidable trump card to use against powerful enemies.

According to the Skill Tree, the Power Mountain Seal, just like the Gang Zan Seal, could be upgraded to a maximum of Stage 6. However, Fang Zhen’s current physical attributes didn’t meet the requirements for Stage 5 and Stage 6, so he couldn’t see how many Merit Points would be needed for future upgrades.

Fang Zhen felt a sense of anticipation.

’If I can obtain the complete set of fourth-level Curse Seal training techniques in the Curse Seal World, or even higher-level ones, I could definitely save a lot of Merit Points.’

’I wonder how powerful this set of Curse Seals will become when trained to Stage 6.’

He was also quite amazed. The Curse Seal World was, after all, just an ordinary-tier world, yet it was so much stronger than the Nameless World. The peak combat power it held was truly something to look forward to.

After upgrading the Power Mountain Seal to Stage 4, Fang Zhen had 767 Merit Points remaining.

He checked the Gang Zan Seal; upgrading it to Stage 4 required 1,301 Merit Points. He didn’t have enough.

His defense was more than sufficient for now, so there was no immediate need to upgrade the Gang Zan Seal to Stage 4.

As for his other skills, like those in the firearms Skill Tree, some could be upgraded, but doing so wouldn’t be very impactful.

He resisted the urge to upgrade his firearm skills.

With his remaining Merit Points, Fang Zhen chose to appraise some of his other items.

From the haul of Extraordinary Items he’d acquired, he selected two sets of equipment.

One set included an Extraordinary bracelet, the "Earth Ring," which restored stamina and Spiritual Power. As long as his feet were on the ground, his energy and Spirit would slowly recover. It was mainly intended for regular combat.

The other was a set of complementary Extraordinary Items designed for tough encounters.

This set covered defense, control, Spiritual Defense, energy recovery, and offensive power. It was the best selection he could put together from his Extraordinary Items.

This equipment set included a "Ring of Temptation" and a "Bracelet of Slowness."

In addition, Fang Zhen had obtained two Magic books. He used the system’s item-use function on one of them, spending 120 Merit Points to learn the "Spider Web Technique" Magic.

He did one other thing: he used "Yuancui" with the casting function to break down the battle-axe that originally belonged to Tarrenno back into its raw materials.

This was a new discovery. While using the instance’s casting system, Fang Zhen found that it couldn’t only forge items into equipment, but could also revert finished equipment back to its raw material state.

Of course, there was some material loss in the process.

Fang Zhen spent 104 points of "Yuancui" and 37 Merit Points to revert Tarrenno’s battle-axe back to its raw materials.

Surprisingly, the battle-axe’s material was exceptionally special. It was a substance called Pultu’s Iron. Fang Zhen had no idea about its origins, but the item’s grade was listed as a three-star Elite material.