Thanks to Green Kitea for the kofis. Enjoy the bonus chapters!

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“Thud—!”

A long spear was hurled at the air wall—a special weapon Shanhai had obtained earlier in the dungeon.

The spear plunged into the air wall, creating massive ripples across its vast surface; nearly the entire wall trembled, a testament to the immense strength of the thrower.

But even so, it couldn’t tear a hole in it.

Shanhai’s expression darkened, his eyes flashing with a rare mix of aggression and frustration. He’d tried every possible method… but he still couldn’t get in!

【Ding!】

Just then, Shanhai heard a notification sound from his system.

【【Savior】 has used the Heroic Spirit Battle Talisman to summon a thousand troops. Do you wish to join the Heroic Spirits in combat training?】

Hmm…?

In the previous Shengqi Mountain Barracks mini-dungeon, Jian Xingyi, who possessed the Savior system, had unlocked the Battle Talisman to summon Heroic Spirits, and Shanhai had also gained a special benefit. He didn’t have the system, but since he had reached maximum combat power and beyond, he gained the opportunity to learn from the Spirit Warriors—essentially acquiring an additional combat skill. Every player at maximum combat power has a special skill, but when it comes to these skills… can you ever have too many?

This was a rather strange reward—or perhaps a tremendous boon—but likely only someone with Shanhai’s high combat power could truly reap its practical benefits.

After all, this “learning” process… was truly extreme.

To learn a Hero’s combat style, one must first become a Hero. But how could a human possibly be the same as a Hero? Thus, Shanhai had to adjust himself, entering a state of nothingness—light and ethereal, yet still possessing his core strength. This was no feat for the average person.

But Shanhai managed it. Although he’s still at Level 1, he’s already learned quite a bit.

Now the system has invited him to participate in actual combat—meaning he’ll fight alongside other Level 1 Spirit Heroes. Presumably, he’ll gain more experience after the battle.

But now is not the time for that. Jian Xingyi is still here…

Wait a minute?

Shanhai paused.

The Heroic Spirit Battle Talisman shouldn’t be something just anyone can use. Judging by the System’s implication, this talisman seems to belong exclusively to the Savior.

Isn’t the Savior…

Oh my god!

……

……

On the other side, within the air barrier, Jian Xingyi activated the Battle Talisman.

【Player 【Xinghe】 used the Heroic Spirit Battle Talisman to summon a thousand troops! Talisman Level: 1, Summonable Heroes: 100 Foot Soldiers】

Jian Xingyi was somewhat surprised. Does this mean that as the talisman’s level increases, he’ll be able to summon even more troops in the future? And since it mentions “foot soldiers,” could there possibly be even more powerful units?

Thinking back to the previous zombie tide, Jian Xingyi wondered to himself, “Could he actually summon a general later on?”

As he issued the command, strange clouds suddenly appeared in the sky.

Ever since they were trapped in this game, they had never seen a normal sky again—no sun, only a crimson sky and red sunset glow. And since the zombie tide, even the red glow had vanished, leaving only pitch-Heiye.

But now, when Jian Xingyi looked up, he saw white mist appearing in the sky. The mist gradually formed into a spinning disk, and thick smoke began to swirl around it.

Everything took on a surreal, otherworldly quality. Then, within the white mist, Jian Xingyi caught a fleeting glimpse of white figures—similar to the ones that had startled everyone on Thousand Bells Snow Mountain, only these were much taller and held weapons in their hands.

Since they were merely white silhouettes, Jian Xingyi could only roughly guess whether they were holding spears, swords, or guns based on their outlines; the details remained unclear.

Are these… the Heroic Spirits?

The thick fog never dissipated, shrouding the surrounding area—including the sky—in a hazy veil. Jian Xingyi saw the Heroic Spirits standing motionless within it.

Then how was he supposed to issue orders to them?

【Please issue your command, Savior!】

【Player 【Xinghe】 may clench the Battle Talisman and focus your thoughts to issue a command!】

Jian Xingyi took a deep breath, wrapped the koi necklace around his wrist, and gripped it along with the battle talisman. With his other hand holding the rifle, he pressed the talisman firmly with his thumb.

—Cover me, charge toward the black hole!

In the next instant, these ethereal white figures solidified into tangible beings and began grappling with the zombies.

Jian Xingyi couldn’t tell if there were truly a hundred of them, but the white figures spread out in front of him, completely engulfing the zombies. Their numbers seemed substantial, and their combat prowess was impressive!

At least they’d be more than a match for the zombies at Peace Mountain.

They surrounded Jian Xingyi and used their weapons to cut down the zombies charging toward them.

Jian Xingyi looked around and saw that these heroic spirits had formed a circular barrier with him at the center. Holding his gun, Jian Xingyi cautiously moved forward, and the heroic spirits followed his every step.

It was as if he were moving forward within a protective barrier, slowly breaking through the zombies’ encirclement.

The black hole before him was getting closer and closer…!

With the spirits’ help, Jian Xingyi actually touched the black hole, and then everything went black.

When he opened his eyes again, Jian Xingyi found himself back at the edge of the air wall.

Jian Xingyi cautiously surveyed his surroundings.

The familiar air wall, the familiar horde of zombies wandering nearby, the familiar land, and the plot of land he had purchased.

But the thick fog around him hadn’t dissipated yet. Jian Xingyi saw the white mist swirling around him, transforming back into insubstantial fog that drifted everywhere; if he looked closely, he could occasionally make out human shapes within it.

—After completing the mission, the Heroic Spirits had once again become insubstantial.

Jian Xingyi blinked and opened the system’s introduction to Battle Charms to read.

So,o once he summoned the Heroic Spirits, as long as he didn’t issue a command to make them disappear, they would stay?

【Heroic Spirits act according to orders; unless the Savior issues a retreat command, they will not leave.】

【Heroic Spirits cannot maintain their form for long; their duration depends on their rank. Current Rank: 1, Duration: 1 hour】

I see…

It’s only been half an hour so far, so these Heroic Spirits can stay a little longer.

Jian Xingyi thought to himself, why not just have these Heroic Spirits take him and Shanhai away together? Wouldn’t that be easier? Might as well take advantage of it!

But… what about Shanhai?

Jian Xingyi opened his terminal and sent a message to Shanhai.

Yet Shanhai, who had previously replied instantly and kept asking about his condition and confirming his safety, was now completely silent.

This was highly unusual.

Jian Xingyi thought to himself: knowing Shanhai as he did, Shanhai wouldn’t ignore his message, especially in a situation like this.

So it must be that he couldn’t reply.

But why couldn’t he reply? Could it be… he’s in danger?!

No, that shouldn’t be possible… There shouldn’t be anything around here that could threaten Shanhai.

Jian Xingyi was getting anxious and was about to look around the area when a white figure drifted in front of him.

“……?”

Jian Xingyi blinked.

The white figure transformed into mist, gently wrapping itself around the koi necklace on his wrist.

The white mist was gentle and lingering, as if trying to take Jian Xingyi’s hand, and the jade koi pendant jingled in response to the movement, its sound crisp and clear.

Jian Xingyi paused.

He suddenly realized something, but… could that be possible?

But since he could already summon spirits, anything was possible, wasn’t it…

Jian Xingyi said, “If you’re Shanhai, leave my hand.”

The next moment, the white mist slowly withdrew.

It was clearly just a wisp of white mist, yet Jian Xingyi sensed a hint of resentment.

“Pfft…”

Jian Xingyi smiled, but he still asked nervously, “Are you okay? Will this have any consequences? Were you trapped here, or did you choose to be here?”

The white mist crawled soothingly across the back of Jian Xingyi’s hand, making him feel at ease.

Jian Xingyi let out a sigh of relief and said with a smile, “Well… if you agree to let me use a Heroic Spirit to leave this place, ring the bell twice.”

Bai Wu swiftly wrapped itself around him, and the koi bell rang twice with a “ding-dong.”

Jian Xingyi smiled even more brightly.

So cute…

Jian Xingyi gently shook his hand. “Then you’d better get out of here quickly—the battle is about to begin.”

Jian Xingyi took a deep breath, pressed his thumb against the battle talisman once more, and said solemnly, “Heroic Spirit, please fight for me. Please protect me as I leave this place.”

After Jian Xingyi learned that Shanhai might have been incorporated into the Heroic Spirits’ legion due to some system, he suddenly wondered: Could the Heroic Spirits have once been living people?

Even if not, surely they were NPCs from the map? Soldiers from before Shengqi Mountain—could they possess their own consciousness?

The battle talisman could control the Heroic Spirits; they were powerless to resist. Yet Jian Xingyi suddenly felt he could not take this lightly, and his heart was filled with gratitude.

“Thank you all. Once you’ve led me out of here, you may withdraw.”

Whoosh—!

All the heroic spirits materialized and circled around Jian Xingyi, just as they had done before.

Protected by the heroic spirits, Jian Xingyi made his way through the sea of corpses.

Once he reached a safe place, the white mist gradually dissipated.

Perhaps sensing Jian Xingyi’s goodwill and respect, the white mist circled around him a few times before dispersing, as if bidding him farewell.

Jian Xingyi chuckled softly, “Hello, everyone. I look forward to a pleasant collaboration in the future!”

Once the white mist had completely dissipated, Jian Xingyi received a notification from the system.

【Hero Combat Experience +100】

【Hero Level Up to 2!】

As he tapped to view the details, before he could even process it, someone tapped him on the shoulder.

“……!”

Who?!

Jian Xingyi jumped in surprise. He turned around, gun raised in defense, only to find Shanhai standing there.

“Shuixi…!” Jian Xingyi immediately broke into a huge smile, both shocked and delighted. “You’re back! What was that all about just now? Did you really become a Spirit Hero? How…”

Before he could finish, Shanhai pulled him forcefully into his arms.

……!

Jian Xingyi’s eyes widened.

Resting his head on Shanhai’s shoulder, he felt the firmness of his embrace and asked nervously, “Wh-what’s wrong?”

“Could it be some side effect of being a Spirit Hero?”

Seeing that Shanhai didn’t respond, Jian Xingyi asked again, “Ahhh, could it be that the Spirit Hero showed you some disturbing footage, or that the footage affected you?”

“Or are you hurt? Ah, let go so I can take a look!”

Jian Xingyi pushed Shanhai away and examined him carefully, only to find that he was fine.

Shanhai lowered his gaze and said, “I’m fine. I’m not injured, and there are no side effects.”

Shanhai briefly explained his Spirit System to Jian Xingyi, distracting her.

“I see…” Jian Xingyi clapped his hands. “That makes sense! The Spirit I can use is also Level 1, and it’s currently at Level 2!”

Shanhai furrowed his brow.

That meant if Jian Xingyi used a Battle Rune next time, he’d have to train himself up to Level 2 if he wanted to join the fight.

So, he’d have to find time to practice harder.

Jian Xingyi asked curiously, “So how do you train?”

“When you click ‘Train,’ you enter a void space where you spar with the Heroic Spirits.”

“Huh? No teacher, no tutorial—just pure combat?” Jian Xingyi’s eyes widened. No wonder you need full combat power to unlock it—most people couldn’t handle that, could they?

Jian Xingyi asked, “Won’t you get hurt at first?”

“Of course.” When Shanhai first went in, he had no idea how the Heroic Spirits fought. He could only learn by taking hits and counterattacking. But he didn’t want to say much more to Jian Xingyi, so he simply brushed it off: “Yes. But that’s just how combat works.”

Jian Xingyi blinked and reached out to gently squeeze Shanhai’s wrist.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing…” Jian Xingyi smiled. “Don’t be so tense.”

Shanhai paused.

He wanted to hug Jian Xingyi one more time.

But since they weren’t exactly a couple yet, he was afraid Jian Xingyi might take offense, so he had to let it go.

The two rested briefly under the tree, mainly because Jian Xingyi wanted to check his mail.

Now that his Spirit Rank had been upgraded to Level 2, the system had sent him a new tutorial detailing the experience points required for each level, along with some additional instructions.

Level 1: 1 hour of remaining time, can summon 100 foot soldiers

Level 2: 3 hours of remaining time, can summon 300 foot soldiers

Level 3: 1 day of remaining time, can summon 300 foot soldiers and 50 vanguards

Level 4: Agony duration of 3 days; can summon 500 foot soldiers and 100 vanguards

Level 5: Agony duration of 3 days; can summon 500 foot soldiers, 100 vanguards, and 1 general

Jian Xingyi: “……”

Interestingly, the codenames for these spirits were the same as those for the zombies during the previous zombie tide.

But sure enough, as he levels up, he can indeed summon increasingly powerful spirits!

Although he can only use it once a week, if he plans his timing well, then during the zombie tide… he can put it to use!

Jian Xingyi stroked his chin, thinking to himself that if he summoned these spirits during the zombie tide, it would truly be like adding wings to a tiger! Not only could they protect him, but wouldn’t this also make up for the lack of combat power in their guild?

Jian Xingyi was overjoyed; he hadn’t expected the Battle Talisman to be this useful.

This Savior System is just too good!

The only downside is that, for now, it seems the only way to level up the Heroic Spirits is through combat, but since it can only be used once a week, leveling up will likely be quite slow.

But having it at all is a blessing. Currently, Jian Xingyi can summon 300 foot soldiers, and they can last for three hours—that’s already pretty impressive.

After finishing his inspection, Jian Xingyi headed down the mountain with Shanhai.

“Oh, right…!”

Jian Xingyi pulled out some potato chips and a can of Coke from his backpack to share with Shanhai. “Look what goodies I got!”

Shanhai munched as he listened to Jian Xingyi recount his experiences inside.

This is just too strange. I’ll have to tell the folks at the Liberation Project when I get back.

As they talked, Jian Xingyi’s eyes widened. “Hey… I just had a brilliant idea! This place is a veritable treasure trove!”

Shanhai couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the same time. “Huh?”

It seemed Jian Xingyi’s business-savvy mind had started working overtime again.