[…]

[You descend on your sword and gaze at the lush forest before you…]

Lin Xun spent a long time circling the shadowy forest to scout. Strangely, he not only failed to find traces of the Ancient Treants, he did not see even a single little treant.

That mysterious lake of life had also vanished, along with the sapling of the Tree of Life.

The shadowy forest was no different from an ordinary forest, with only birds, beasts, insects, and plants, showing no sign of treants.

He suddenly recalled the hint the hellish game gave when he entered the chapter.

“Because you previously obtained an SSS rating in the canonical chapter of this Easter Egg Chapter, relevant story characters and events in this chapter will use your chapter progression as a baseline and will to a certain extent alter the course of the plot!”

“So even if I traverse back to an earlier timeline chapter, I cannot claim rewards I already obtained before?”

Lin Xun felt this was very likely. To that end, the hellish game directly erased the existence of the relevant rewards.

No one knew how much time separated canonical Chapter 323 and Easter Egg Chapter 326. Using terrain changes of ‘seas turning into mulberry fields’ to justify the erasure of rewards was the hellish game’s explanation to Apostles.

After confirming that previously claimed rewards no longer existed, he had to go to Saint Rance immediately.

During the time he spent searching for rewards, the twenty-four candidates had already been reduced to eighteen.

Each fallen candidate died the same way as before: not long after revival, they died consecutively in the wandering soul state, causing the Apostle’s soul to be annihilated.

According to Amos’s intel, the Easter Egg Chapter for the Disciple selection had always been brief in process.

In previous Disciple selections, the longest took only three to four days, while the shortest decided the winner in a single day.

In Slaughter Mode, hiding from other Apostles like a turtle was not the optimal choice. Only by actively seeking out and defeating other Apostles could one have a chance to be the final victor.

After an Apostle defeated a certain number of competitors, the hellish game would grant a Slaughter buff to strengthen the Apostle.

If one chose to hide in a corner, the gap with other competitors would only grow wider.

At the end of the Easter Egg Chapter, the hellish game would also force all surviving Apostles to participate in the final event.

If a competitor hid in a corner from the start and never obtained even a single Slaughter buff, then when the final event arrived, his ending would be utterly miserable.

[…]

[You reach the edge of the shadowy forest and gaze into the distance. There is a grand and bustling town.]

[On the road to Saint Rance, the cemetery that left such an impression on you is nowhere to be seen. The road is smooth and open…]

Lin Xun did not choose to travel by sword, but switched to the Ninja Master Shell to move under stealth.

[…]

[You gradually approach Moonlight’s Hometown – Saint Rance…]

[The moat outside Saint Rance runs clear, glittering in the sunlight.]

[On the leveled metal drawbridge, there are many passers-by. You even see quite a few merchants driving horse-drawn carts piled with melons and fruits into the town…]

[At the gate, the most eye-catching sight is a line of lightly armored city guards. The lord’s soldiers collect entry tax one by one.]

[You remain in stealth and blend into the crowd to enter the town…]

[Suddenly, you see a figure flickering with red light also trying to slip into the crowd to enter the town.]

[You have discovered Unknown Apostle No. 23!]

[The figure wore an azure embroidered robe, long hair over his shoulders, and a sharp sword at his waist, clearly dressed very differently from common folk.]

[Several soldiers stopped Unknown Apostle No. 23 to collect the entry fee. The red-lit figure drew his sword without hesitation!]

[The longsword stabbed in rapid succession. Blood splattered as the soldiers fell one after another.]

[Ignoring the surrounding people who screamed and scattered, Unknown Apostle No. 23 forced his way through the gate and was about to vanish from your sight after a few quick flashes…]

[Will you immediately give chase, or pretend not to see?]

Lin Xun narrowed his eyes.

He decisively pressed the chase option.

[You remain in stealth, tap the ground with your toes, and Qi surges within you as you pursue the enemy.]

[The distance between you and Unknown Apostle No. 23 closes rapidly. You are about to catch up…]

[In the crowd on the street, an ordinary-looking farmer suddenly explodes into motion, his whole body emanating conspicuous red light!]

[In a flash, the ‘farmer’ appears behind Unknown Apostle No. 23, and a dim-blue short dagger drives hard into his back!]

[Unknown Apostle No. 23 stiffens. Dim-blue markings become visible across his face.]

[Unknown Apostle No. 23 collapses feebly. His Shell dissolves into motes of starlight and vanishes…]

[The ‘farmer’ succeeds with a single strike, then darts into the crowd. With a shake of his body, he becomes a ‘merchant.’ The red light around him extinguishes, and he looks no different from the surrounding pedestrians.]

[The ‘merchant’ feigns fleeing with the frightened crowd…]

Lin Xun saw the Slaughter option flash again.

Needless to say, it was the notification of Unknown Apostle No. 23’s demise.

“Damn. Kill-stealer.”

The kill-stealing ‘farmer’ was clearly another Disciple candidate.

Amos’s intel included information on this Apostle.

This candidate was an outstanding Apostle among those of the fifth difficulty. He had a very unique Disguise skill that could temporarily alter his appearance and blend into the environment.

Combined with his soul talent, he could even conceal the red light flickering on his body, that is, hide the ‘invader glow.’ It was quite a good PvP ambush skill.

[As Unknown Apostle No. 23’s body dissipates, the street gradually returns to calm.]

[Passers-by hurry along as if they do not care at all about the bloody scene from earlier.]

[You look back. The commotion at the gate has subsided, and the bodies of several soldiers have also disappeared…]

Lin Xun frowned secretly.

This Easter Egg Chapter was truly stingy. It was one thing to withhold extra rewards, but after the free Shell given at the start, he could not obtain Shells by killing monsters either.

[Still in stealth, you try to find the ‘merchant,’ but perhaps because he changed his appearance again, after searching for a long time you fail to locate the same ‘merchant’ from just now…]

[Will you continue deeper into the town, or remain here?]

Lin Xun was bold because of his skill. Not only did he choose to remain, he even canceled the Ninja Master’s stealth and exposed his Shell in broad daylight.

Note that if other Apostles did not have a stealth-piercing skill, they could not detect the Ninja Master in stealth.

If they could not even see the Shell, there was no need to mention the invader glow.

“Camping the gate to fish for bites, huh?”

“I wonder if you can swallow this bait.”

[You cancel stealth and expose your Shell on the street. With your bamboo hat and tight ninja garb, you are quite conspicuous…]

[Suddenly, you sense a strange aura rapidly approaching…]

[You whip out the Dragon Sword Masamune at your waist and turn to block!]

[With a clang, the dim-blue short dagger clashes with the famed divine blade of Sakura Falls…]

[Before the astonished eyes of Unknown Apostle No. 16, the dim-blue dagger snaps on the spot!]

[A flash of pitch-black Karmic Fire vanishes in an instant. A gorgeously dazzling sword light streaks past like drifting cherry blossom petals…]

[A fine head flies skyward. Blood jets from the severed neck like a fountain!]

[As the head thuds to the ground, you exhale and slowly sheathe your blade. The Apostle’s Shell behind you dissolves into motes of starlight and vanishes…]

[You have defeated Unknown Apostle No. 16!]

[Because your invasion permissions are high, you may plunder one piece of loot from this Apostle.]

[Please choose the loot category you wish to plunder…]

The Dragon Sword Masamune’s Trait activated during battle, achieving a blade-breaking effect and directly damaging the enemy Apostle’s weapon.

Lin Xun chose to draw from the equipment category. Whether it was good luck or bad, he actually pulled out that broken dim-blue dagger.

The Epic+ dagger had innate poison damage. Although it was in a damaged state, once he brought it back to the library and bought a few repair materials, the Imperial Swordsmith could repair it for free, and he could sell it for a good price.

“A fifth-difficulty Apostle is still too weak. Not worth using the fate-changing artifact to draw the drop…”

This was not showing off. Using the Sakura Falls Yasaka Curved Jewel consumed the luck value within the item.

The luck value recovered extremely slowly. If he wasted luck on a rookie Apostle, and later, after taking down a sixth-difficulty candidate, he lacked luck to draw equipment, he would be crying without tears.

[Unknown Apostle No. 16 has died!]

[Because Unknown Apostle No. 16 possessed the Slaughter Feast buff, you have inherited the relevant buff from this Apostle.]

[You have obtained the buff Slaughter Feast!]

[Slaughter Feast: This buff increases all your attributes by 20 percent and will last until this Easter Egg Chapter ends!]

[This buff can stack indefinitely with no upper limit!]

“An all-attributes twenty percent increase, and it stacks without limit.”

Lin Xun’s eyes widened.

He felt this buff was far too broken. Compared to Relic boosts that could not be fully stacked or even half-stacked, the Slaughter Feast bonus was simply too strong.

If he could stack Slaughter Feast a few times, he could multiply the overall strength of his Shells several times over.

No wonder this buff only took effect within this chapter. If Slaughter Feast could be taken out of the Easter Egg Chapter, it would ruin the game’s balance.

Unknown Apostle No. 16’s gate-camping inspired Lin Xun.

Since this Easter Egg Chapter was Slaughter Mode and there were not many extra rewards anyway, he might as well fish at the city gate to stack Slaughter Feast.

[From the far end of the street, a squad of Guardian Knights hurries over. Among the dozen or so, a black-robed priest is particularly eye-catching.]

[On the priest’s black robe, there is a silver-white crescent emblem on the chest, the mark of the Radiant Crescent.]

[You turn lightly. Before the knights and the priest notice you, you use an escape art again and vanish into stealth.]

[The Guardian Knights cluster around the black-robed priest and head straight to garrison the gate. It seems the earlier disturbance drew the attention of the White Moon Church.]

Lin Xun remembered that when he first entered the Blood Sun world, among the rookie Shells the hellish game gave were Guardian Knight and priest.

The combat power of both was very poor, only slightly stronger than ordinary Corrupted Blood Sun Cultists.

[Saint Rance is called Moonlight’s Hometown. It is not like the royal capital, which is under the control of the blazing sun faction.]

[All churches in the kingdom belong to the Church of Divine Light, except that the churches in the royal capital and Saint Rance are named after the Blazing Sun and White Moon…]

He frowned, feeling vaguely that something was off.

After thinking for a long time, he still could not say what was wrong.

He sensed a strange unfamiliar air in this Easter Egg Chapter, yet he could not describe precisely what was eerie.

After the church forces moved away, Lin Xun remained in stealth at the must-pass place by the city gate, silently fishing.

Because it was Slaughter Mode, as long as an Apostle did not activate a stealth skill, a conspicuous invader glow would appear around the body.

Seeing red light flickering on someone entering the city meant that person was a hostile Apostle.

—

Shang Xiaoyuan was one of the few fourth-difficulty Apostles among the candidates for the Twelfth Disciple.

It was not that he was incapable of advancing to the fifth difficulty. He had just entered the game too late, and clearing the fourth difficulty before the Disciple selection was already his limit.

If given another month or two, Shang Xiaoyuan believed that with his talent, he would surely conquer the fifth difficulty.

His talent was called Absolute Luck. This almost cheat-like talent manifested not only in monster drop rates, but also in opening blind boxes, and even in the options the game presented.

With the wholehearted support of big brother Fisherman and Lord Bashir, the level of his soul talent had already been upgraded to +5.

Each time he killed lesser monsters, the highest-quality items and equipment those monsters could drop would fall.

Only when fighting bosses, because his talent was not yet maxed out, did the drop rate decrease somewhat.

But this did not affect Shang Xiaoyuan’s rocket-like leveling speed at all.

Because Absolute Luck also manifested in the game’s options, he could always use methods like coin tosses or dice rolls to choose the most suitable option.

He could even inadvertently trigger many hidden plots and hidden maps, thereby obtaining unusually generous rewards.

The last chapter he cleared was a Nightmare chapter of the fourth difficulty. With his Absolute Luck soul talent, he achieved a double S rating.

According to Fisherman, a double S rating in a Nightmare chapter was difficult even for Lord Bashir to accomplish…

To obtain a double S rating in a fourth-difficulty Nightmare chapter, his strength had already surpassed ordinary fifth-difficulty Apostles by a large margin.

Fisherman told him that in the Easter Egg Chapter of the Disciple selection, the only thing he needed to be careful about was the several Apostles of the sixth difficulty.

Among those Apostles, two already possessed the strength to advance to the seventh difficulty, yet remained at the sixth and even did not join the Elders Council, all to compete for the last Disciple slot.

Fisherman treated him better than a real younger brother, so Shang Xiaoyuan naturally obeyed Fisherman’s every word.

Thus he was especially cautious after entering the Easter Egg Chapter. He explored for a long time in the region called the shadowy forest and even succeeded in killing a fifth-difficulty Apostle.

However, something seemed wrong with this Easter Egg Chapter.

Any Apostle whose Shell died would die consecutively during the Death Penalty, causing soul annihilation.

Shang Xiaoyuan immediately reported this to Lord Bashir.

As a result, he saw Lord Bashir lose composure for the first time.

Lord Bashir said the original plan was that it would be best if he could obtain the Disciple position.

If he did not get the highest kill count, it did not matter if his Shell died several times. As long as he survived the final event of the Easter Egg Chapter, he could retreat intact. He would not become the Twelfth Disciple, but he could join the Elders Council ahead of time.

But the Easter Egg Bookmark provided by the Master seemed to have a problem. Once a candidate Apostle’s Shell died, his soul would be annihilated indiscriminately.

Lord Bashir had already reported the situation to the Master, but there was still no reply.

In such a situation, Lord Bashir could only contact various parties to seek the rare Escape Bookmark.

With an Escape Bookmark, he could leave the Easter Egg Chapter at the instant his Shell died and preserve his life.

However, there were many candidate Apostles, and most had the backing of the Elders Council or other Disciples.

With so many candidates all needing the rare Escape Bookmark, how could Lord Bashir obtain one for him?

Shang Xiaoyuan was flipping a coin for the third time.

On the coin’s head he had written ‘Yes’ in black marker, and on the reverse, ‘No.’

All three tosses had landed on ‘No.’

The option he faced was precisely [Do you wish to enter Moonlight’s Hometown – Saint Rance?]

Watching the steadily shrinking number of candidates, Shang Xiaoyuan knew that if he did not enter Saint Rance soon, he would miss the Twelfth Disciple position.

Lord Bashir said that not becoming the Twelfth Disciple was no big deal. So long as he could enter the Elders Council, with his talent, he would rise sooner or later.

But if he did not fight for the Disciple position, how could he face the hopeful gaze of Fisherman…

Shang Xiaoyuan took a deep breath. For the first time, he went against his talent’s choice, pressed ‘Yes,’ and entered Saint Rance.

He believed the goddess of luck still stood with him.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep