Welcome to Ability Store-Chapter 78 - 77: The King’s Commission

After sending Liu Shuyue back to the Liu Family, Lin Qing gave him a thumbs up.

"Well done!"

Chen Xuan crossed his arms and remained unimpressed, "Are you also eyeing Hot Pepper Village?"

"I’m thinking of the both of us. After the battle in Jiufeng City, I made an important discovery: cultivators are really, quite useful!" Lin Qing said excitedly, "Don’t think they became powerful just because of upgrading weapons; I dare say these people are naturally the best weapon carriers. They run faster than ordinary people, have more developed neural responses, and their hand-eye coordination is impeccable! Without augmentation, they’ve already reached the level of prosthetics in some metrics. If we could get some entry-level military prosthetics and combine them with their high compliance, it would be equivalent to the shop having a professional army."

No wonder she suggested installing a cognitive assistance chip for Liu Shuyue—if the latter could adapt well to augmentation, it would signal that this expansion plan is feasible.

"But she once said you modified too much, rendering your Three Souls and Seven Spirits incomplete, preventing her from practicing spells."

"Perhaps, but the shop owner hasn’t modified anything; can he learn their spells without trading?" Lin Qing retorted.

Chen Xuan was speechless.

While wandering in Hot Pepper Village, he occasionally observed how villagers cultivated, and when interested, he would mimic their moves. His conclusion was that Qi sensing cultivation was basically out of his reach.

"I don’t think there’s any direct restraint between the two. As for what she said about incomplete souls, I believe it’s essentially a deformity in the brain rather than a lack in the soul." She continued, "If too many prosthetics are implanted, it can indeed lead to significant mental problems—madness, frenzy, loss of humanity... These are the side effects of high-level prostheticization. So in our place, only those with exceptional talent can become rebel warriors."

"However, using entry-level prosthetics is still very manageable, like artificial eyes, cognitive assistance chips, and neuron decoders... It’s akin to wearing glasses, affecting less than some surgical procedures requiring artificial joint implants." Lin Qing added at last.

Chen Xuan realized her ability "Mental Fortress" might be the representation of such talents.

"Why are you so interested in an army? Does the Dimensional Limit Mechanism need an army to counter?"

Lin Qing sighed, "Not right now, but in a few years, they will become a new dominant power. And in the era I’m familiar with... they possessed countless advanced weapons, from nuclear missiles to aerospace carriers, performing better than most countries’. You’ve seen that they can even construct a Crystal Palace above everyone’s heads comparable to a city."

She paused here, her expression invigorated again, "Luckily, the era has been altered by you. I believe this time the mechanism won’t be as prosperous as it once was."

You do have faith in me.

Chen Xuan shrugged, "Alright, but the premise is that we can find such a concealed infiltration point... Or wait for a visitor to come knocking themselves; it’s not a viable option to invite trouble at the mechanism-controlled infiltration point actively."

According to Lin Qing, the Dimensional Limit Mechanism doesn’t treat every infiltration point with a ban.

Especially those worlds with significant utilitarian value.

Allowing ordinary people to traverse doesn’t necessarily expand the erosion, so there are exploration and development teams within the mechanism specifically obtaining resources from other worlds. Given the mechanism and the company behind it’s high emphasis on science and technology, such future-oriented infiltration points must be heavily guarded; going there blindly equates to walking into a trap.

Lin Qing also agreed with this judgement, as hiding underwater is their biggest advantage right now.

Having settled the major affair with the Yunzhou Liu Family, Chen Xuan finally had time to inventory his stocks.

One sentence summary is there were quite a few gains, but not as plentiful as expected.

Liu Shuyue acquired thirty-four abilities through strong robbery, of which only eight could be traded into his hands. The reason is simple; many spells used by loose cultivators are derivatives of the Lotus Cloud Sect, with grades remaining in gray and white, resulting in them all being restricted by the "similar abilities trading rule" and unable to enter inventory.

Fortunately, among them weren’t lacking in combat spells like Spirit Sword Technique, Chen Xuan generously transferred them all to the villagers of Hot Pepper Village.

The remaining eight abilities eligible for inventory are:

"Law Decree True Words" LV2, green.

—Your words nurture laws, but confined to one word. If you also learn a high-level language expressing complex meanings with one word, its rating can be raised by two grades.

"Spiritual Energy Shield" LV5, white.

—The amount of Spiritual Qi determines its strength, if lacking, it’s better to wear more clothes.

"Indifferent" LV1, green.

—Indifference is no longer weakness, but your firm mental defense. Note: All psychological defenses can stack.

"Weak and Ill" LV1, gray.

—Living well is a kind of luxury. A component of the Living Dead.

"God Summoning Technique" LV6, white.

—Imbuing objects with souls, a divine envoy’s skill.

"Bone-Eroding Heart-Burning Curse" LV5, white.

—Pain, immense pain, pain so intense it cuts to the heart! Not you, it’s your spell target.

"Linguistics" LV1, blue.

—A genius in language learning, your understanding of language has surpassed cross-species barriers, if someone is willing to teach you, you will undoubtedly master it.

"Breathing Technique" LV9, white.

—A Heart Method mimicking demon beasts swallowing Spiritual Qi for cultivation with limited benefits. If confused, perhaps testing a demon’s lung capacity might help.

Looking at these abilities, Chen Xuan found them hard to evaluate. They also highlighted a prominent drawback of "Strong Robbery": it can only randomly steal one ability from the target, like Weak and Ill, which he encountered as an obviously negative ability for the first time. Forcefully embedding it through secret trading into an enemy? The problem is illness also takes time and doesn’t work right away; if they really get sick, it can be treated. Besides occupying inventory, Chen Xuan temporarily couldn’t think of other uses.

Additionally, he didn’t expect Liu Shuyue had taken down a loose cultivator with great linguistic talent; if this person hadn’t cultivated but pursued a normal career, their achievements might be higher now.

Furthermore, Chen Xuan extorted six abilities from Liu Zhidong, four of which were loose cultivator equivalents, all evidently low potential by name peripheral spells, and he gave them all to the villagers. The two high-level spells were surprisingly delightful.

"Celestial Thunder Order" LV5, purple.

—Gathering the Power of Thunder onto weapons, more powerful than Spirit Sword Technique. Rest assured, these electric lights are all embodied by Spiritual Qi, so you don’t need to worry about insulation issues.

"Demon-Slaying True Sword" LV1, gold.

—A sword technique consuming life, born for Demon Fiends. Its principle can reference the "Analysis on the Impact of Spiritual Qi Disturbance’s Demonic Incapacity Influence," so please do not use it on humans.

He hadn’t seen the former on Liu Shuyue, but he was very familiar with the latter. When facing the Cyan Dragon Vortex, she used this move to kill it and even cleave the sky.

No matter its practicality, it’s definitely maxed out in coolness.

If conditions allow, Chen Xuan would like to cosplay it too.

Just then, the light outside the window suddenly dimmed.

"Shop Owner, look!" Lin Qing exclaimed while arranging goods on the shelves.

She was surprised to see that what was once a peaceful neighborhood street was now surrounded by high walls. The stone walls embedded with iron high windows made of colorful stained glass panels. Light passing through projected onto the ground, scattering into exquisite images.

Did it scare you? It’s just a guest arriving.

For such changes, he was long accustomed.

Soon, a familiar figure walked into the shop, "Divine Envoy, you indeed responded to my call."

Who else but Joan?

However, compared to the last time he saw her, this time Joan seemed much older, perhaps nearing forty.

She was no longer dressed as a shepherdess but donned new armor, her once coiled golden hair now cut short, combined with the sword hanging at her waist, she resembled a knight about to go to war, solemnly saluting Chen Xuan with her chest bared.

Chen Xuan drew a cross out of courtesy, "You’ve returned?"

"Yes, that was two years ago." Joan replied, "The British came back and even brought allies from Deep Sea Hell. My taint was also cleansed by His Majesty, so now I have the opportunity to fight for France again."

So that’s how it is.

There’s an uncanny resemblance to history here; Joan got vindicated shortly after and transformed from a wicked witch into a hero praised by the French. Yet, the greatest difference being, the historical Joan was dead, whereas this world’s Joan was still alive.

She persisted until the day her honor was restored.

"Sit down for a chat, want coffee or tea?" Chen Xuan said with a smile.

But Joan shook her head, "It’s not me who wants to see you, others are waiting in the cathedral’s main hall."

Chen Xuan paused, "Who is he?"

"My King, His Majesty Charlie."