Chapter 682: Chapter 682: After-effects of a Sudden Increase in Power

The vision in front of Song Jian blurred, and when it cleared, he realized he hadn’t returned to the Assessment Hall, but directly to his safehouse, in the Manor Castle.

No one noticed his appearance, nor cared about it. The existence of the City of Hope Alliance relied on Song Jian’s strength and his Manor Castle. But during its development process, Song Jian’s presence was largely overlooked.

For the rest of the Alliance, Song Jian being gone for several months was a common occurrence. Even the new players who had joined the Alliance loved to share stories with their friends about their mysterious and elusive Alliance leader.

In the end, it was the house steward George who predictably appeared before Song Jian.

“Master, welcome home!” George said, bowing respectfully.

Song Jian smiled faintly, “George, give me a report on how the territory has developed these past few months.”

“Yes, Master, in the three months and 27 days you were absent, the development of the territory went as follows…”

As George gave his report, Song Jian laid in a rocking chair, with his eyes half closed, attentively listening, but his mind was focused on other matters.

“I’ve completed my first rank battle power assessment mission, but why hasn’t my mission reward been given to me? It wasn’t swallowed by the system, was it?”

Song Jian had completed the double-S difficulty assessment, for which the reward included an increase of 45 attribute points, and 12 additional skill points, along with a skill book of at least legendary quality.

In addition, with the accumulated rewards from every stage, Song Jian was able to upgrade directly by 4 levels and gain 10 additional attribute points. Such a generous reward and yet, he had not received any system information after completing his assessment. This aroused his suspicion.

“Individuals with first rank battle power can completely overpower those who haven’t reached the first rank. Moreover, I completed a double-S difficulty assessment, so I should hold a crushing advantage over players who only have completed B or C ranked assessments. Yet, when will this reward be given?,” Song Jian thought, his brows furrowing slightly.

Just as Song Jian was feeling puzzled, a surge of enormous power erupted from within his body, and his body shot up from the chair, and hovered, floating in midair.

George, who was meticulously reporting, was startled by this scene. But soon, he was gently pushed away by an unseen, gentle force.

“George, you may leave,” Song Jian said, struggling to suppress his discomfort.

“Yes, Master,” George murmured, his lips moving as if he wanted to ask something, but in the end, he quietly shut the door and left the room.

“Damn it, is it necessary to make issuing a reward this painful?,” Song Jian gritted his teeth. He felt his body being compressed into a fine powder by a tremendous force, and then reformed bit by bit.

Despite being in enormous pain to the point of losing consciousness, every cell in his body was being shattered and reassembled, and Song Jian felt this process vividly.

Those 10 minutes felt like years to Song Jian. His overall attribute points increased by 45, transforming him entirely. Every single cell in his body was reshaped and optimised.

Song Jian lay on the floor, panting heavily. His armour was soaked with sweat, and although his complexion was rosy and he radiated vitality, a trace of untouchable fatigue swirled in his eyes.

At this point, his power had undergone a earth-shaking transformation. He felt capable of destroying the entire Manor Castle with a flick of his finger.

The feeling of being able to obliterate a planet with a single punch made Song Jian extremely cautious. He did not even dare to move a finger, and continued to lay on the floor, reflecting on the feeling.

A day passed in this manner. The last rays of the sun slowly disappeared from the window, and soon the moonlight shone into the room, illuminating Song Jian’s body.

Instinctively, the mark on Song Jian’s chest began to glow, slowly absorbing the essence of the moon. Fifteen minutes later, the moon was again hidden behind thick clouds, and the room returned to darkness.

After some time, Song Jian slowly stood up from the floor. His body was extremely light, as though a gust of wind could blow him away. He moved slowly to the bed, and once he lay down, the wooden bed made a crisp creaking sound. Soon thereafter, all was quiet, and Song Jian quickly fell into a deep sleep, his steady breathing the only sound that could be heard.

The night passed without incident.

The next day, Song Jian rolled over and sat up. After a day and night of adjustment, he could finally control his drastically increased power, at least enough to drink without crushing the cup and to sleep without collapsing the bed.

Wang Qi and others who knew about Song Jian’s return had come to the castle. Watching Song Jian eat his breakfast in slow motion, they exchanged glances. Li Ke’er even burst out laughing.

“Song Jian, what’s happened to you? Are you ill, or injured?” Asked Wang Qi, his brows furrowed.

The City of Hope Alliance was developing rapidly, but also facing increasing pressure and resistance. If it weren’t for Song Jian consistently holding the top spot on the Level Honor Board, the pressure on the Alliance would be even greater.

“It’s nothing. It’ll be fine after a while,” Song Jian said, not willing to explain too much, and asked, “So how’s the development of the Alliance recently?”

“We’ve actually constructed the Transmission Array, and have also gained access to other cities,” Wang Qi said excitedly, “Although right now, the only city willing to open access to us temporarily is the City of Sin.”

Song Jian was taken aback, but quickly understood. It seemed that in order to use the Transmission Array to reach other cities, not only did one need to construct their own Transmission Array, but they also needed to get permission from the other cities to connect to the Transmission Network.

However, for now, having a link between the City of Sin and Doomsday City via the Transmission Array was enough. If they wanted to go to other cities, they could just make a detour via the City of Sin.

“Also, the City of Sin has supplied us with a lot of upgrade materials, so we should be able to attempt to upgrade to a Level 1 City soon!” Wang Qi said excitedly.

Song Jian smiled slightly. Upgrading to a city was just a matter of time. He not only intended to upgrade his territory to a city, but also to expand until it included the entirety of Doomsday City.

“Considering the area of Doomsday City, we would need to upgrade to a Level 9 City at least, to incorporate it all,” Song Jian thought.

“By the way, has anyone left via the Transmission Array since it was built?” Song Jian asked.

“There are a few, but not many,” Wang Qi said. “Besides, some have left and then returned.”

Song Jian smiled slightly. Although the living environment of Doomsday City was harsh, it offered many opportunities and no restrictions. Other cities may be safer than Doomsday City, but fixed social hierarchies had already formed in these cities. For players to stand out in these cities, the difficulty would be much higher than that in Doomsday City.

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