---
Deep inside the Temple of Faith.
"Three hours... with my speed, it should be enough."
Yang Shung moved confidently. In his past life, this temple was nearly impossible to clear without dying dozens of times.
But now, he had the experience and could summon silver-level "devout believers" to scout ahead. Failure wasn't an option.
---
He arrived at a passage glowing with star-blue light, turning it into a dazzling starlit avenue.
The devout believer crawled ahead, with Yang Shung following closely.
At the end of the passage, an ancient bronze door loomed before them.
"Open the door," he commanded.
The devout believer pushed hard, but the door didn't budge.
Yang Shung scanned the surroundings and found no immediate danger.
He stepped forward, placing his hand on the door. To his surprise, it began to open slowly.
As the heavy door creaked open, Yang Shung retreated, ready for combat.
Inside was a starlit hall.
At its center stood an altar, and beside it, a woman in a white robe with a headscarf, obscuring her face.
The woman knelt by the altar, hands crossed over her chest, bowing slightly.
When the door opened fully, she turned slowly. Her slender figure was graceful, yet mysterious.
To Yang Shung's shock, she dropped to one knee, lowering her head in respect.
Her lips moved silently, and the starlight in her hands shimmered.
Moments later, her entire body dissolved into starlight, vanishing into the air.
"...Gone?"
Yang Shung frowned, then shifted his focus to the altar.
A brilliant golden treasure chest shimmered in the center, radiating intense light.
"A bright golden chest? That guarantees an epic item!"
His eyes lit up, but he remained cautious.
"Devout believer, open it," he ordered.
The silver-level summon approached the altar.
It opened the chest without incident and retrieved a skill book, handing it to Yang Shung.
"This skill book is..."
"An assassin's magic skill!"
---
[Gift of Liberation (Epic): Assassin skill book. Passive effect: Weakness hit correction +100%, weak attack multiplier doubled.]
[Throat Cutting: Active. The next attack applies a 'throat-cutting' effect, causing 100% damage per second for 3 seconds. Cooldown: 60→44.4 seconds.]
---
Yang Shung's eyes narrowed.
"Amazing. The passive effect makes weak point attacks far easier to land, even against monsters with hard-to-hit weak spots."
He thought of enemies without heads, with tiny glowing weak points. This skill would make hitting those weaknesses effortless.
"As for 'Throat Cutting,' it's ridiculous. Three seconds of bleeding? That's triple the damage of a single attack!"
He imagined using Shadow Slash with its nine slashes counting as one attack.
"If the throat-cutting effect stacks, the damage output would skyrocket..."
A smirk spread across his face.
"This epic skill alone can change everything. And with just 10 evolution points, I can push it to legendary!"
But for now, he had only 3 evolution points.
---
The underground maze was oddly devoid of monsters, disappointing Yang Shung.
In the past, it had been filled with devout believers and fanatics, powerful foes blocking progress.
"This must be tied to my Eye of Judgment..."
Shaking his head, he decided not to dwell on it. If he met the mysterious woman again, he would try to communicate.
For now, he had the Gift of Liberation. His burst damage had skyrocketed.
"If I faced that level 5 gold ghost ship again, I'd destroy it instantly!"
---
Minutes later.
Yang Shung stepped onto a round stone plate at the center of the hall. It lifted him high into the air.
After rising several hundred meters, he emerged back on the surface.
The stone plate vanished, leaving only scorched earth behind.
"It's been hours. Wang Tao and the others should be online by now."
His backpack was nearly full, so selling his loot was his next move.
But when he contacted Lin Xiyu, she shared unexpected news.
"Yang Xiaoyou?"
Yang Shung frowned deeply.