[…]

[You step forward and touch The Book of Salvation. Your powerful soul resonates with the book…]

[Do you want to settle the chapter interpretation rating for Easter Egg Chapter, Chapter 326?]

[Settling interpretation rating…]

[Your total kills in this chapter’s Slaughter Mode reached 21. Interpretation rating rises…]

[In this chapter you assisted the story character Dan in defeating the Corrupting Blood Sun’s Judge, Sin Dragon Dagon. Interpretation rating rises…]

[In this chapter you assisted the story character Dan in defeating the Corrupting Blood Sun’s Watcher, Behemoth Progenitor Barton. Interpretation rating rises…]

[In this chapter you completed the hidden oath mission The Last Defender. Interpretation rating rises]…

[In this chapter you completed the final event Golden Blazing Sun’s Nightmare. Interpretation rating rises!]

[This chapter’s settlement is complete!]

[Congratulations! Mighty Apostle!]

[You obtained an SS interpretation rating!]

[This interpretation rating is the chapter’s second-highest rating! You will receive settlement rewards!]

[You obtained Sin Dragon Dagon’s Broken Horn (Material).]

[You obtained Sin Dragon Dagon’s Mottled Dragonscale (Epic+ Item)!]

[You obtained Dan the Giant’s Blazing Sun Ring (Legendary Accessory)!]

The Easter Egg chapter’s interpretation rating did not reach an SSS rating like the previous chapter Heavenly Demon Invasion.

The Nightmare Easter Egg chapter’s rewards also weren’t overly abundant, unable to compare with a Hell-difficulty chapter, of course that is if one ignores the Mythic+ weapon Scarlet King’s Sword.

Lin Xun guessed that perhaps because he let two hostile Apostles escape during the chapter’s Slaughter Mode, he failed to achieve a 100 percent kill count, thereby lowering the interpretation rating.

Or perhaps Dan’s early release from life caused the death of an important story character, so it failed to reach an SSS interpretation rating.

He inferred that an ordinary Apostle would have cleared the Easter Egg chapter the moment Dan was defeated by King’s Sword Itan, thus completing the final event.

A normal Shell’s death would also not respawn directly at the Peak of the Fading Afterglow to face Dan, who was resisting the Blood Sun’s corrosion.

Instead, like him, they would respawn at the place where he first entered the Easter Egg chapter, that is, the start of the dream, enduring one hour of Death Penalty as a wandering soul.

All because he previously obtained the highest rating in Chapter 323 and acquired Dan the Giant’s Blazing Sun Ring, which caused the flow of this Easter Egg chapter to change direction.

If he had not awakened Dan again at the starting point of the dream’s new cycle, perhaps Dan would have continued to struggle in the nightmare hundreds and thousands of times, until he could no longer resist the corruption and sank into becoming a Blood Sun monster.

When Lin Xun once again saw Golden Blazing Sun’s Nightmare displayed as the final event name in the cursed game, he finally realized that the Easter Egg chapter was not rewinding to a time node before Chapter 323.

Rather, everything in the Easter Egg chapter was Dan’s dream!

Because the map in this Easter Egg chapter was too contradictory, an Apostle who didn’t understand the situation might think it was a game BUG.

The Beastmen Giants’ Territory did not exist, and the treants in the shadowy forest did not exist. Before Lin Xun entered Saint Rance, these could still be explained as ‘ages long past, the Beastmen Giants and the treants had not yet migrated here.’

Or brushed off with ‘rewards obtained in Chapter 323 cannot be repeatedly acquired in other chapters.’

But once he entered Saint Rance, everything became contradictory!

If the time line of the Easter Egg chapter were extremely distant from Chapter 323, so distant that even the two races who had waged countless wars, the Beastmen Giants and the treants, had not yet migrated over, then how could the buildings in the town of Saint Rance appear exactly as seen in Chapter 323, still the ancient theater, church, marketplace, lord’s castle, sewers, with even the locations of the buildings identical.

If the two chapters were separated by countless years, Moonlight’s Hometown should have undergone earthshaking changes, not be exactly the same as Saint Rance in Chapter 323.

They even later encountered the very familiar Saint Rance roses Countess and Lord Fox, which could only mean the two chapters’ time nodes were not far apart.

But if the time nodes of the two chapters were close, then there was no way to explain the fact that the Beastmen Giants and the treants did not exist.

At that moment, a spark flashed in Lin Xun’s mind. Combining the Easter Egg chapter and the final event’s name, he finally realized everything was Dan’s dream.

In Chapter 323, Dan resisted the Blood Sun’s corrosion through endless sleep.

In Dan’s consciousness, Saint Rance was the battlefield of his last stand. He had not been to the shadowy forest or the Beastmen Giants’ Territory, so of course he did not know there were treants or Beastmen Giants there. Naturally, these beings would not appear in his dream.

And since Saint Rance was the battlefield of the last war, it had to exist in the dream.

After Dan descended upon the battlefield, all his attention was on the other three Solar Heroes. He would not carefully search the specific details within Saint Rance.

Because Lin Xun had previously obtained an SSS rating, it overlaid the process of this chapter. Thus the appearance of Saint Rance generated a dream battlefield according to what he had experienced.

Thinking of it this way, everything could be explained.

It even reasonably explained why the Easter Egg chapter could not drop item rewards or obtain a Shell.

Only after Lin Xun awakened Dan and escaped the dream’s cycle could he obtain a physical reward not in the dream, such as Scarlet King’s Sword.

Without his awakening of Dan, this only remaining Solar Hero of the blazing sun would very likely become a Blood Sun Hero in subsequent chapters, turning into a super big BOSS.

Lin Xun opened his Inventory to check the gains from this chapter.

With a double-S rating he obtained a material, a horn material from the demigod Solar Hero Sin Dragon Dagon.

There was not only the horn material but also a crimson dragonscale.

[Sin Dragon Dagon’s Mottled Dragonscale (Epic+ Item): A huge scale left behind after the death of the Judge among the Solar Heroes. It is one of Dan the Giant’s trophies. The bloodline power within the scale has been almost completely extinguished, leaving only a faint trace of draconic aura.]

[Using this item, at the cost of your Shell’s death, you will spew from your mouth a cataclysmic crimson dragonfire.]

Lin Xun froze. The description of this item felt familiar.

He recalled that in Chapter 323, after taking down the Subspecies Sea Dragon BOSS, he got Boiling Subspecies Dragon blood Essence. The functions of the two items were almost identical.

“Could it be that after Sin Dragon Dagon died, its spilled blood caused the creatures in Saint Rance’s moat to mutate and evolve, giving birth to the Subspecies Sea Dragon BOSS?”

Based on the information known earlier, one of the four Solar Heroes was killed by Dan…

It seems that without him, Dan alone bore the Sinking Shackles and staked his life to slay Sin Dragon Dagon in a life-for-life exchange.

Hence the chapter rating’s spoils included only rewards left after Sin Dragon Dagon’s death, and none for Behemoth Progenitor Barton.

The little dragonkin’s skill Hermit Bloodline flickered with light, and the cursed game lit up a familiar prompt again…

[The hermit power hidden deep in your bloodline gradually awakens. The withered bloodline is ravenously hungry and wants to devour all items containing residual dragon blood to strengthen itself.]

[Do you want to devour Sin Dragon Dagon’s Mottled Dragonscale (Epic+ Item)?]

Lin Xun thought for a moment. The power of an Epic+ item was decent, but at present he didn’t lack offensive means.

The Nine-Tailed Fox, under the state of Nine Tails Patrolling the Heavens, could already use Legendary+ lightning yokai arts. He didn’t need this attack item, so it was better to feed the item to the little dragonkin to raise the skill level.

[You open your maw full of fangs toward the mottled dragonscale. A wisp of golden bloodline within the scale turns into threads of flowing light and is inhaled into your body…]

[Devouring…]

[The horns on your skull grow even thicker, the fangs at your jaw sharper. The majesty of the Hermit lineage emanates from your Shell…]

[Devour successful!]

[This devouring is insufficient to upgrade the Shell Quality. Please choose a Shell Skill of this Shell for a quality enhancement…]

The little dragonkin’s Dark Dragonfire Breath and Hermit’s Descent had both been upgraded to Epic+.

Only Art of Qi Divination and Art of Transformation, these two support skills, could be promoted to Epic+ through the bloodline enhancement.

[Shell Skill Art of Qi Divination has been increased from Epic to Epic+!]

[Shell Skill Art of Transformation has been increased from Epic to Epic+!]

[You have become stronger!]

Lin Xun narrowed his eyes and immediately materialized the little dragonkin’s Shell in reality.

He then attempted to use the Art of Transformation, which had advanced from Rare+ to Epic+.

After using the Art of Transformation, the little dragonkin, whose appearance had been extremely grotesque, finally looked somewhat human.

How to describe it… a single word ‘ugly’ could not precisely capture it.

Although the little dragonkin now had a human nose and mouth and no longer displayed limbs like a dragon tail or claws, the cheekbones were high and protruding, the mouth jutted forward, the teeth were sharp, and both upper and lower jaws projected forward. It looked like a Peking Man who hadn’t fully evolved.

Moreover, the little dragonkin’s skin tone was neither white nor yellow. Its original scales were black. Now the skin had lightened somewhat, but it still carried a sooty blackness, barely describable as dark brown.

“…A mermaid being black is one thing, but why is the little dragonkin black as well?”

Lin Xun was at a loss for words. This appearance could pass for a human in the game, but in reality it would stand out wherever it went.

On the bright side, a PVE probing skill like Art of Qi Divination could now be used freely once the little dragonkin looked human.

Ugly as it was, it was at least human.

He could only hope that a future bloodline upgrade would make the little dragonkin more normal, at the very least return its skin color to normal.

By comparison, the Greedy Wolf Star Lord’s Shell looked more pleasing the longer he looked…

[Dan the Giant’s Blazing Sun Ring (Legendary Accessory): A true Titan Giant’s ring. The ring’s material is quite ordinary, nothing precious, but because the Solar Hero Dan always wore it, the ring became imbued with the aura of the blazing sun.]

[Because the Titan race can freely change the size of their bodies, this ring can also change to the most suitable size according to the Shell’s size.]

[Equipping this accessory greatly amplifies your Strength attribute.]

[While the Apostle maintains the oath of Golden Blazing Sun, a Strength-primary Shell will have a certain chance to trigger the Equipment Trait Titan’s Might during battle, inflicting Stun, Critical Hit, Knock-Up, Knockback, and other effects by crushing enemies with raw Strength!]

The appearance and name of this accessory were identical to the oath item he obtained, but the description was vastly different.

This accessory was undoubtedly very suitable for the Earth Giant.

It was just that due to the Earth Giant’s Shell Quality issues, its role had gradually shifted from damage dealer to front-row tank.

To maximize the accessory’s power, he either had to raise the Earth Giant’s Shell Quality, or find an even more valiant Strength-type Shell.

Lin Xun moved the accessory into the Earth Giant’s equipment slot.

Next, he checked the most important gain in the Easter Egg chapter, Scarlet King’s Sword!

[Scarlet King’s Sword (Mythic+ Weapon): A massive blood-colored greatsword with a blade as thick as a door plank. The edge is unsharpened. The entire greatsword is enormously heavy, and only those born with divine strength can wield it.]

[The blood-colored greatsword is the weapon of the Solar Hero King’s Sword Itan. After He ascended to godhood, a former half-artifact became far less important to Him…]

[When using this weapon, each time you deal damage to an enemy, you can convert part of that damage into your own HP, producing a lifesteal effect.]

[Each enemy killed accumulates Bloodshed Points for this weapon, used to activate the weapon’s built-in traits. Current Bloodshed Points: 0/100.]

[Weapon Trait – Sinking Shackles: Designate one enemy as an evil heretic, inflicting a strong Weakened negative status. Activating this skill consumes 20 Bloodshed Points.]

[Weapon Trait – Bloodthirsty Judgement: Transform into a blood-colored meteor, dealing devastating damage that ignores all defenses to the designated enemy. Activating this skill consumes 80 Bloodshed Points.]

[Weapon Trait – Fountain of Blood: Release the accumulated blood power within the weapon to maintain your own ‘survival’ state, becoming death-immune for a short duration. Activating this skill consumes 100 Bloodshed Points.]

Lin Xun was dumbfounded.

“Damn! A Mythic+ weapon really is broken!”

Come to think of it, would a weapon wielded by a demigod hero be weak?

The weapon combined lifesteal, weakening, damage, and survival into one. As long as Bloodshed Points were accumulated, this weapon could detach from the Shell and form a self-contained system. It was absurdly strong.

“A demigod’s weapon… truly terrifying!”

He hurriedly moved the weapon into the Greedy Wolf Star Lord’s equipment slot…

[You have not yet reached the demigod realm and cannot equip this weapon!]

[If forcibly equipped, the weapon’s effects and traits cannot be activated, and the weapon’s attack power will drop accordingly based on the equipped Shell!]

“Damn it!”

“Cursed game, I swear…”

In the cursed game there had always been restrictions when equipment or skill quality exceeded that of the Shell, but the restriction had never been as outrageous as this weapon.

For example, the Legendary weapon Shadowkiller Fist-Sword he forged for the female boss.

If Li Xingyue’s Shell were only Epic, she would not be able to fully exert the weapon’s power. Although she could still use the weapon traits, both the trait effects and the weapon’s power would be weakened accordingly.

Only when the Shell Quality reached Epic+ could the full power of Legendary equipment and skills be realized.

The cursed game’s mechanics set that equipment and skills could at most exceed the Shell Quality by half a tier while still functioning. If the gap widened further, the power would decay.

But this Mythic+ Scarlet King’s Sword imposed even stricter requirements.

Without reaching the demigod realm, you couldn’t use the weapon at all. Forcibly equipping it would not enable any of the weapon’s effects.

“Is the gap between demigods and mortals really that vast… If you haven’t stepped across the threshold of demigod, you can’t even use the related weapons.”

He calmed down and sank into thought.

What quality did demigod signify… Mythic, or Mythic+?

[Your Lower-Tier Seat Pass for the Disciple Sanctum issues a summons…]

[Please teleport to the Disciple Sanctum as soon as possible!]

Lin Xun started.

New World must have learned that the Easter Egg chapter had ended, and the male boss Amos was preparing to summon him.

He was the only winner of the Easter Egg chapter, so the position of the Twelfth Disciple was naturally in the bag!

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep