"Life Skill Card"

"Life Skill Name: Army Attack Tactics"

"Rarity: Rare"

"Mastery Level: Level 8"

"Effect: 96% increment in the Life Power rotation speed. Increases attack power and defense power by 96% respectively."

"Remarks: With every upgrade, each of the Life Skill effects will be increased by 12%."

"Card Remarks: Usable"

Lin Huang looked at the description of his Life Skill Card and was stunned. He did not expect the effect of the Epiphany Card to be tremendous, allowing him to upgrade Army Attack Tactics to level eight. The increment of 96% of all effects his Life Power was the peak if it was an Ultimate Life Skill. Some people who had high-level Life Skills spent all their lives in training and the best they could do was level five. Only one in a million made it to level six. There was barely anyone who could make it to level seven and eight. Lin Huang had proven himself because he was able to upgrade to level eight in Epiphany mode in just one sitting!

He then checked the cards in his body, there was an addition Healing Card which was his reward for completing the mission.

"To activate or not to activate... A mission card is just a pain in the ass!" Lin Huang exclaimed.

If not for the Epiphany Card, he knew very well that he would never complete the mission no matter what. Fortunately, the effect of the Epiphany Card was incredible. Not only did he complete his mission on time, he even exceeded the expectation for the given task.

After 20 days of training, not only had he managed to upgrade Army Attack Tactics to level eight, he also stabilized his Life Power. He began to think about leveling up to bronze-level. Lin Xin was only left with 10 days of summer break and he planned to head out to kill and hunt monsters once Lin Xin started schooling again. He wanted to focus on choosing his Life Seed in the next few days. In the Life Seed encyclopedia, there were much more bronze-level monsters compared to iron-level monsters. Lin Huang was spoilt for choice.

He finally picked 11 Life Seeds but he still could not make up his mind as to which one he wanted. Initially, he planned to consult Yi Zheng but then he remembered that he had only broken through iron-level rank-2 after obtaining Army Attack Tactics just a month ago. It might make Yi Zheng skeptical if he consulted him about upgrading to bronze-level. He took a pass on that idea.

After some hesitation, Lin Huang sent Leng Yuexin a message.

"Ms. Leng, are you still traveling in Division3?"

"Yes, I’m still in Division3 right now but I’m going back within these few days. Is there anything you need?" Leng Yuexin replied promptly.

"I wanted to get your advice about which bronze-level Life Seed to pick. I still can’t make up my mind." Lin Huang hoped Leng Yuexin would help him but there was no guarantee there.

"Send them over and I’ll take a look." Leng Yuexin offered.

Lin Huang sent the 11 Life Seed pictures. Leng Yuexin had always kept his secrets and she never once questioned his intentions. Similarly now, she did not ask him for the reason he was looking for bronze-leveled Life Seeds so soon. Soon, Leng Yuexin initiated a video-call with him.

Leng Yuexin was wearing a white maxi dress, it matched her chilly aura while still maintaining her elegance.

"I’ve looked at the Life Seed you picked. Most of them belong to speed and defense categories, focusing mainly on upgrading your physique, which is unnecessary." Leng Yuexin did not even greet him when the call was connected.

"It’s unnecessary?" Lin Huang frowned, what Leng Yuexin said had crushed the plan that he had in mind.

"Your physique can be trained before you become a transcendent. There are movement skills to strengthen your power, to increase your defensive abilities and even more movement skills to increase your speed…"

"Moreover, before you level-up to a transcendent, your body will transform, causing your physical traits to deteriorate to the bare minimum, taking with it all your physique-based skills. That was why a lot of people who had an amazing physique would have to spend time and resources to cultivate their Life Seed after they become a transcendent."

"So it doesn’t matter even there are improvements in my physique increased now? Then wouldn’t my Sly Hands be useless by then?"

"Sly Hands would still be useful. After leveling up to a transcendent, Sly Hands would transform into a secret skill called Demonic Hands." Leng Yuexin explained patiently, "Demonic Hands is quite a useful secret skill."

"So, I do need to consider the things that would happen to my physique after I level up to transcendent in order to pick a suitable Life Seed?" Lin Huang had a new idea in his mind.

"That’s right, the best ones would be those with effects to protect your life or to help you in scoring critical hits in your battles. These two types of secret skills are the most useful ones when you become a transcendent." Leng Yuexin nodded.

"But I wouldn’t know which Life Seed will be the ones that will evolve into these secret skills. Is it possible to purchase such information from the Hunter Association?" Lin Huang was bummed.

"I’ll send you a copy later and you can take a look at the Life Seed encyclopedia." After Leng Yuexin said this, she hesitated and continued, "Actually, since you’re talking about bronze-level Life Seeds, I thought of a bronze-level monster that you could kill to get a special secret skill after you became a transcendent. I'm unsure if it’s suitable for you."

"Do tell!" That got Lin Huang excited.

"This monster is called a Vile Marionette. It’s not exactly powerful but it sure is tough as it has the ability to substitute its body with a faux body. After it is killed, you would get a Life Seed called Substitute, it belongs to the psychic element. Its powers are limited and can only be used three times a day to divert non-fatal attacks. It is less powerful than Life Seeds that come with recovery effects which is why most people shy away from choosing this Life Seed. However, once you have leveled up to a transcendent, it can be upgraded Scapegoat, a secret skill, which could help you escape death. It can be used nine times per day."

"Sounds great, I shall put this on my list." Lin Huang did not lack skills. Substitute was a great secret skill once he arrived at transcendent.

"I will send over information regarding secret skills, you can take a look at the rest and think about it."

Leng Yuexin sent over information on secret skills not long after she hung up the phone. Lin Huang sent her a thank you message and started reading. There were not much bronze-level Life Seeds that could evolve when he leveled up to transcendent. There were only 20 of them. Lin Huang flipped through the pages but he did not seem to find one he was satisfied with.

In the end, Scapegoat caught his attention.

"Secret Skill Name: Scapegoat"

"Secret Skill Effect: Substitute your body with a faux body to divert fatal attacks. Limited to nine uses per day."

"Obtaining Secret Skill: From evolving the Substitute Life Seed."

He compared the secret skill with the information he found in the Life Seed encyclopedia.

"Life Seed Name: Substitute"

"Skill Effect: Substitute your body with a faux body to divert fatal attacks. Limited to three uses per day."

"Obtaining Life Seed: By killing the Vile Marionette."

"This seems suitable. I'll pick this." Lin Huang decided on the Life Seed Leng Yuexin recommended.

After he closed the Life Seed encyclopedia and the information about secret skills, he began to read more about the Vile Marionette on the network.

"Vile Marionette, undead species, bronze-level rank-3, monsters living in groups…" He found the information shortly after, "Scattered in Fog Canyon, Forgotten Land, the first level of the Undying Black Abyss …

Lin Huang had heard of the Undying Black Abyss long time ago. It was forbidden land. Only transcendents dared to enter the first level and made it back after that. He had never heard of Fog Canyon and Forgotten Land and so, he did some research. He found out that Forgotten Land was a prohibited area in Division7. Many who discovered the area, transcendents included, would go missing. Those who made it back said there was nothing special about the place except the fact that it was a desert.

As for Fog Canyon, it was a level-4 wild zone.

Lin Huang picked Fog Canyon as his destination without thinking twice. He did not want to lose his life and he did not know much about this world. Even with the Goldfinger, he still needed a long time to learn and grow. After picking his destination, Lin Huang was completely relaxed for the coming days. He planned to leave after Lin Xin went back to school.

A week passed, it was a couple more days before Lin Xin’s school would reopen. Lin Huang’s communication device rang, it was Fatty, Yin Hangyi who requested a video-call. Lin Huang raised his eyebrow and picked up the call.

"Bro, what’s up?" Fatty’s big face occupied the entire screen.

"Same old, same old, but I think you have gained weight." Lin Huang had no idea where he picked up the habit of sticking his face so close to the screen even when he knew he had a big face.

"Would it kill you not to tell the truth?" Fatty snapped.

"Yes, I would suffer"

"Damn it, can’t you talk properly. Alright then, I will cut to the chase then. I’m in need of help."

"Tell me, what is it?" Lin Huang was slightly concerned.

"I’m leveling up to bronze-level, I need your help! You should be iron-level now, am I right?"

"When?" Lin Huang was surprised that Fatty was planning to level up the same time as him.

"Within the next three to five days, I need a couple of days to prepare myself."

Lin Huang frowned and Fatty noticed Lin Huang’s facial expression, "If you have something going on, I’ll get someone else to help me. Don’t worry about it."

"It's nothing, I can postpone my stuff. Which Life Seed did you pick, where is it located?" Lin Huang assured Fatty.

"The location is a level-4 wild zone called Fog Canyon. The Life Seed monster that I picked is the Vile Marionette. I bet you have never heard of it before right?" Lin Huang did not expect Fatty to pick the same Life Seed monster as he was going to.