Chapter 139
“I’ll choose to repair my soul first.” Lu Chuan wasn’t in a rush to pick between the two; instead, he made his own request. “If I remember correctly, once you officially become a Master Ranking player, you get one chance to repair yourself at any time. I’ll use mine to repair the soul fragments stolen by a god.”
Originally, he had planned to try and get his soul back from Chen Ji’s side, but on second thought, why bother? Better to take it directly from the Main God System.
Especially since [God of Exchange] was already on his hunting list. There was no way he would pick Cang Jiu.
He knew very well which target was easier to bully.
[Repair complete.]
The Main God System restored Lu Chuan’s soul.
Or rather, it snatched part of Lu Chuan’s soul back from the [God of Exchange].
Having his soul whole again was no small matter.
For Lu Chuan, it felt like a soul-level spa treatment—very comfortable.
Hm?
Suddenly, he sensed a voice in his mind.
“Long time no see, Candidate of Wealth.”
Oh crap.
Cang Jiu.
“Throwing caution to the wind now?” Lu Chuan glanced around. He was still in the Main God’s space, yet the other party could directly send a message into his mind?
“It’s had its eye on you and me for a long time,” came Cang Jiu’s calm reply. “We are both targets to be hunted.”
Lu Chuan remained noncommittal.
Not necessarily.
“You’re on my list too. Aren’t you afraid I’ll choose you?” Lu Chuan asked curiously.
“You won’t.”
“So sure?”
“You may deceive others, but not your own desires.” Cang Jiu looked at the gold ingot. “Your desires know your choice better than you do.”
Lu Chuan fell silent.
Gods who controlled desire were really annoying!
“You came here just to say that?” Lu Chuan ground his teeth.
“No.” Cang Jiu’s reply was steady. “Congratulations on becoming a Master Ranking player. Welcome—to truly seeing this world as it is.”
Then he severed the connection.
[Host, pick him, pick him!] #888 fumed. Just now, it couldn’t even get a word in—only one voice could speak to the host’s mind at a time. That God of Desire definitely had ulterior motives!
“Relax, I’ll take a closer look first.” Lu Chuan rubbed his forehead. Was this really worth fighting over?
The Main God System provided not only the choices but also explanations.
Hunt Target 1: [God of Desire]
Detected to be in the process of revival.
Task: Reclaim or destroy all [God of Desire] seeds. Each destruction increases mission progress and forcibly upgrades your abilities.
Once the mission is complete, the player replaces this god, inherits its power, becomes immortal, and ascends as the new [God of Desire].
Related dungeon instances include…
Hunt Target 2: [God of Exchange]
This god already has its eyes on you, and your ties to it run deep.
Task: Eliminate this god and its followers. Each elimination increases mission progress and forcibly upgrades your abilities.
Once complete, the player replaces this god, inherits its power, becomes immortal, and ascends as the new [God of Exchange].
Related dungeon instances include…
The Main God System even thoughtfully supplied dungeon info for both options.
It also stated clearly: once you chose one and entered its related dungeon, you would start receiving direct intel about that god.
And god-related dungeons were almost always series-based.
Lu Chuan nearly rolled his eyes to the sky.
The Main God System had dropped the pretense completely—wasn’t this just sending him to his death? Even if he succeeded and became the God of Wealth, at best he’d only be on par with them.
He knew it! Only silly, naïve #888 thought it hadn’t been noticed.
This was obviously already exposed.
But the Main God System was either too powerful or too rational to care. It probably figured that a small system like #888 wouldn’t affect the big picture. Better to make use of it, turning it into an asset, so it turned a blind eye.
[Ho-ho-ho-host, have we been found out?] #888 finally caught on.
With these two gods as the only options, it was obvious the target was the Host.
No matter which god the Host killed, it would confirm his identity as the God of Wealth. Next time, someone else would be hunting him.
“More or less. You’ve definitely been discovered.” Lu Chuan waved a hand. “You’ve sent so many hosts into this world before. Sure, they all died early, but with that many attempts, the odds of not being noticed were slim. Now that I’ve made it onto the Master Ranking, it’s watching me even closer. Still, System, don’t panic. It knows about you but probably doesn’t take you seriously.”
#888 was on the verge of tears. How was that supposed to be a good thing?!
“So, which should I pick?” Lu Chuan pretended to hesitate.
#888 immediately snapped back to focus. [Host, actually the God of Desire is the easier target. He’s still reviving, so the difficulty is lower.]
That Cang Jiu was clearly bad news—he was just trying to steal the Host’s trust.
For once, #888’s attempt at slander felt satisfying.
“Then I’ll pick the [God of Exchange]. I already took his seed. Even if I don’t choose him, he won’t let me go.” Lu Chuan immediately tapped the [God of Exchange] option. “Besides, his authority overlaps with mine. I’d bet he’s already planning to deal with me.”
#888 was deeply regretful he didn’t choose [God of Desire].
But it quickly perked up again.
[Host, the God of Exchange can work too. If you can absorb him or seize his godhead, you’ll ascend as the God of Wealth immediately. Gods are like that—both opposing and submitting to each other. Since you haven’t yet become a god, the one serving as Wealth’s placeholder is the God of Exchange. Absorb him, and you’ll rise to godhood instantly.] #888 said eagerly. [By then, even if we face the Main God System directly, we won’t need to fear it. Worst case, we leave this world. There are plenty of parallel ones out there.]
#888’s fantasy was beautiful—if this world’s Main God System was too tough, they could just switch worlds.
After all, the Host wasn’t even from here, so there was nothing worth holding onto.
“Not that simple.” Lu Chuan chuckled. “Come on, let’s head back.”
In the real world.
Not only had Lu Chuan’s rank on the Master Ranking not dropped, it had actually risen by one.
That meant he had cleared the god challenge dungeon successfully and become a true Master Ranking player.
When the news reached the Star Guild, reactions were mixed.
Those close to Lu Chuan were overjoyed.
Shen Li was so excited he bought several bottles of wine to celebrate at home.
Starry Shasha and Edith also bought a pile of good food to share in celebration of this big day.
Lu Chuan had barely stepped out of the game space before Shen Li and the others pounced on him and dragged him home to feast.
In the [Exchange] dungeon, time flowed one-to-one with the outside world.
Though it hadn’t felt that long, he had actually spent five months inside.
Three to four of those months were spent developing his banking business.
Even if the bank hadn’t carried over, he at least gained real experience in bank management.
And the duke’s entire fortune was still sitting comfortably in his personal space.
So, overall, the trip had been worthwhile—Lu Chuan accepted it with satisfaction.
Meanwhile, the vice guildmaster of the guild received countless congratulatory calls from friends, making him feel younger by several years.
“So fast?” The vice guildmaster was shocked. He’d thought Lu Chuan would be stuck in the god challenge dungeon longer. When he heard that Starry Ming had entered alongside Lu Chuan, he’d even prepared for the possibility of Lu Chuan failing.
After all, Starry Ming wasn’t an easy opponent. If he sabotaged things enough to cause Lu Chuan’s failure, it wouldn’t have been impossible.
But to his surprise, Lu Chuan had pulled it off—even with Starry Ming causing trouble, he still cleared the challenge.
Now, Starry Ming must be furious, and would surely come at Lu Chuan with everything he had in the future.
The vice guildmaster sighed, but the smile wouldn’t leave his face.
He pulled out the emergency communicator the Guildmaster had given him before entering the dungeon, then drafted a message summarizing Lu Chuan’s situation and the guild’s current status, and sent it.
At the same time, the vice guildmaster also made it clear that he hoped to support Lu Chuan as the next guildmaster.
Since Lu Chuan had already become a Master-Rank player, his chances of encountering the current guildmaster in the future would increase greatly.
They couldn’t afford to meet in a dungeon and mistake each other for enemies.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the Star Guild—
Starry Ran looked at his brother’s grim face. The oppressive tension in the room was so heavy that he didn’t dare to speak.
The fact that his brother personally entered the same dungeon as Lu Chuan yet still failed to stop him from clearing it was already beyond his belief.
And yet—that was exactly what happened.
“Lu Chuan is not so easy to deal with. You all can stop with your little tricks,” Starry Ming said darkly. “He’s cunning and leaves no openings. If we want to deal with him, we must be prepared to strike in a single decisive blow. Otherwise, everything we do will just give him leverage to crush us.”
“Brother, is Lu Chuan really that hard to deal with?” Starry Ran asked in disbelief. Lu Chuan was still so young, and hadn’t even been a player for long. Even if he really had leveled up so fast, his foundation should still be shaky.
“He’s very hard to deal with. If he weren’t my enemy, I would already be considering him as my successor. That old fox, the vice guildmaster, really does have a sharp eye for people.” Starry Ming sneered. “No matter. Time is still on our side. As long as the guildmaster hasn’t passed his position to Lu Chuan, we still have a chance. For now, all of you keep your heads down. Don’t hand him leverage on a silver platter, understood?”
Starry Ming’s authority was undeniable.
With his warning, no one else dared to breathe too loudly, and they all hastily agreed.
When word spread to other Guilds, the reactions were naturally very different.
In the Abyss Guild—
[Shadow Demon] Wang Feng nearly fumed himself sick.
He already knew Lu Chuan was the one who had stolen his item, but now that Lu Chuan was a Master-Rank player, he couldn’t go picking trouble with him. He could only mutter a few curses under his breath and leave it at that.
“Major, the General is waiting for you.”
“Got it.” Wang Feng’s face was ugly, but he still followed his subordinates to see the general.
Within the Abyss Guild, members used military ranks internally; outsiders could call them whatever they liked.
But there were only a handful of generals, and the one summoning him now could only be Wen Zhi.
“Now that Lu Chuan is a true Master-Rank player, there’s no need for you to cause him trouble,” Wen Zhi advised. “Shen Li has also become a Master-Rank player, and you’re only one step away yourself. After one more dungeon, you should be able to squeeze into the rankings. What you need to do now is focus on improving your own strength.”
Wang Feng was displeased but knew the general was right, so he could only nod. “Don’t worry, General. I’ll work hard.”
“Without the [Cross of Godslaying], you’re short on offensive gear. Take this.” Wen Zhi produced an S-rank item and gestured for Wang Feng to accept it.
S-rank items were rare enough, but those with powerful offensive capabilities were rarer still.
Ever since Lu Chuan stole the [Cross of Godslaying], Wang Feng had been searching for another suitable S-rank item but never found one. He hadn’t expected the general to gift him one.
When Wang Feng saw the item clearly, his face changed. “This… this is… General, this is too precious. I can’t accept it.”
He knew full well—some time ago, the general had left specifically to collect Xi Jiangyuan’s legacy. This item was one of those relics. For the general, it carried deep sentimental value.
“An item left unused is meaningless,” Wen Zhi said with a faint smile. “Take it. I expect the next time I hear about you, it will be as a Master-Rank player.”
“Yes, General!” Wang Feng snapped a salute.
After Wang Feng left, Wen Zhi looked at the group photo of his former teammates on the desk and couldn’t help reaching out to wipe it gently.
So many people—and now, only he remained.
After enough years passed, Wen Zhi would come to understand: when everyone around you was gone, even your former rivals were among the very few who could still sit down and share a quiet conversation.
On the path of being a player, there was only forward, never back.
But the longer one advanced, the clearer it became—at the end, you stood alone.
In the Resurrection Guild—
“Sis, I made it into the Master-Rank list! And all on my own merit too. I cleared three S-rank dungeons in one go, each with top evaluation, and pushed past the two-hundredth rank by sheer strength. I didn’t even need a Divine Challenge!” Lilus swaggered out of the dungeon, proudly opening his player panel to show off his results to his sister.
Hmph.
He wasn’t one of those backdoor types.
Normally, to enter the Master-Rank list, a player only needed to surpass the lowest-ranked Master-Rank player in dungeon clears, evaluations, game points, and overall stats.
Those who got in by filling the gap when someone temporarily dropped out—that was backdoor entry.
Because they squeezed in that way, they needed to go through Divine Challenges.
“Lu Chuan has also cleared his dungeon. It took him quite a while though—five whole months.” Cynthia smiled. “Even [Greedy Wolf Star] Starry Ming went in, but still couldn’t stop Lu Chuan from becoming a Master-Rank player. That shows he can clear dungeons alone.”
“Sis, you’ll definitely be stronger than him in the future.” Lilus snorted.
“Admitting your own weakness isn’t shameful.” Cynthia shook her head with a wry smile. “Anyway, have you checked which god you’re assigned to hunt as a Master-Rank player?”
“I did.” Lilus frowned. “But it’s weird. The system says this god is still reviving, with no name yet. I have to wait until the name is set before I’ll be told. Sis, has this happened before?”
No sooner had he spoken than he noticed his sister’s expression turn grave.
“Sis, what’s wrong?” Lilus was startled. “Is something going to happen?”
“You said your hunting target is also unnamed?” Cynthia gripped his shoulder, urgently asking. “Does it have to do with wealth or money?”
“Yeah. Sis, how do you know?” Lilus blinked, then suddenly realized. “Wait, don’t tell me you also—”
Cynthia slowly nodded.
The two siblings had both been assigned the same god?
“I fear it’s not just us.” Cynthia forced herself to calm down. “The system wouldn’t assign the same god to multiple players without reason—unless at some point, we all had a deeper connection with that god than we realized. I’ll ask Messiah later. If I’m not mistaken, he should be about done with his Divine Challenge.”
For players in the newcomer top three, climbing into the Master-Rank list was always easier than for others.
In the Noah Guild—
Messiah had also squeezed into the Master-Rank list, though a bit earlier than Lilus.
With his physique, luring and slaying gods was easy. Though the gods he killed weren’t particularly high-level, the sheer number was enough to propel him upward quickly.
Now, looking at his Master-Rank task, he was utterly speechless.
What was going on?
Why was his hunting target also an unnamed god?
Author’s Note:
Lu Chuan: Well, guess it’s all aimed at me.
Cang Jiu: …Good thing you didn’t pick me.
