"Water Curse!"
After the excitement, Bai Ye threw a Taoist talisman, and then water appeared, enveloping Bai Ye's body, helping him recover his stamina and to some extent heal his injuries.
Taking advantage of this interval, Bai Ye sat on the ground to rest. It was then that he discovered that after Situ Chicheng's death, he had left him three fragments of God Stones.
Bai Ye's eyes lit up; he had made a profit!
Moreover, continuous bouts with powerful opponents had another benefit.
Spirit Gathering was complete!
Five Spirits Plate, Spirit Gathering (200/200)
"You have completed Spirit Gathering cultivation. Your Strength, Speed, Stamina, and Spirit stats have increased by 3 points."
"You have completed Spirit Gathering cultivation. Your Five Spirits Curses have been enhanced."
"Due to the enhancement of your Five Spirits Curses, Thunder Curse has evolved into Shocking Thunder Flash."
Bai Ye completed Spirit Gathering cultivation, his physical attributes improving once more. Even more surprisingly, after the Five Spirits Curses were further enhanced, Thunder Curse, one of the five Taoist arts, had evolved into Shocking Thunder Flash.
However, there weren't many significant changes in his attributes; only the power had increased, and the paralyzing effect had also been amplified.
Bai Ye was not surprised. Thunder attribute was a purely offensive Taoist art. Generally, no matter how it was enhanced, the primary improvement was in its power.
After completing the second Spirit Gathering, the Spirit Gathering of the Five Spirits Plate had also seen a leap, directly becoming 0/500.
After a short rest, Bai Ye stood up and began to head towards the radio and television tower, then took the elevator all the way to the top floor.
"Welcome, Chen Long!"
The old man Bai Ye had seen before stood in the hall, looking at Bai Ye as he exited the elevator.
Bai Ye said, "You don't look very happy?"
"Of course. If you had died on your way here, there would be no winner in this Twelve Great Battles," the old man said. "Otherwise, why insist on the victor coming here to receive their reward?"
"Uh..."
Bai Ye was speechless. So that was the meaning behind this rule?
"Just kidding," the old man laughed heartily, then continued, "Regardless, you are the victor of this Twelve Great Battles. According to the rules, you are entitled to a Wish Mission. However, you are not the one who triggered the Wish Mission, so you do not have the right to make a wish. You can only inherit the right to choose the wish. Do you understand?"
Bai Ye nodded. "I understand."
This explanation was indeed a bit difficult to grasp, but Bai Ye had participated in Wish Mission battles in his previous life, so he understood the meaning. Simply put, the wish had already been fulfilled when the Wish Mission was triggered. Bai Ye could only choose his desired reward based on the direction of the original wish.
The old man continued, "Wish Missions have five tiers, from the lowest one-star to the highest five-star. This time, a two-star Wish Mission was triggered. The reward is the ability to wish for anything below Black quality. Furthermore, the participant who triggered the Wish Mission has already made their wish. Their wish target was 'Abilities,' so you can choose any ability below Black quality as your reward."
After speaking, the old man waved his hand forward.
In the next instant, countless screens appeared around Bai Ye, forming a circle and slowly rotating around him.
The old man said, "There are a total of 117 abilities below Black quality, all of them are here. There are no time restrictions. You can review them in detail and then tell me your choice."
"No need to look," Bai Ye said. "I choose Phoenix."
The old man was stunned upon hearing this. After a long while, he said, "That is not an ability below Black quality. It is a Gold ability..."
"No, that is a Blue ability," Bai Ye countered. "Phoenix ability starts as Blue, and it can evolve into Gold. Therefore, in its initial state, it complies with the rules."
The old man was silent for a moment, then said, "Growth and evolutionary abilities are not among the choices."
Bai Ye replied, "You did not mention this clause when you explained the rules."
The old man said, "The rules are just like that..."
"No, the rules are not like that," Bai Ye spread his hands. "Of course, you are the one who made the rules. If you say you've added a rule temporarily, then I'll admit defeat. However, I must remind you that rules exist for the sake of order. If the rule-maker does not abide by the rules, then the so-called rules are a joke."
The old man fell silent again, then said, "Congratulations, you have obtained the Phoenix ability!"
The old man waved his hand again, and all the screens around him disappeared, leaving only one.
Phoenix (Ability) (Blue): An ability bestowed by the legendary phoenix, capable of burning everything with flames. If one obtains Phoenix Feathers, Phoenix Flames, and Phoenix Perch Bodhi Wood, the ability can grow and evolve. Effect: Phoenix Flame (Burns targets with flames).
Bai Ye looked at the introduction of the Phoenix ability displayed on the screen and nodded with satisfaction. When the old man mentioned "Abilities," Bai Ye immediately thought of this ability and made no other choice.
The old man asked curiously, "Can you tell me how you know about the Phoenix ability?"
How did he know?
Of course, it was because he had drawn it from a gacha in his previous life!
At that time, Bai Ye was extremely puzzled. Why did he get a Blue ability from a Golden gacha? It didn't even match the Golden quality, let alone being a high-level ability.
Later, Bai Ye realized that Phoenix was a growth and evolutionary type of ability. Its initial quality was Blue, and it could continuously grow to become Gold.
Of course, this type of ability should not be limited to just Phoenix, but Bai Ye only knew about Phoenix. Since that was the case, he naturally chose it.
Bai Ye looked at the old man and asked, "Is this something I must answer?"
"Of course not," the old man smiled. "I just hoped you could satisfy the curiosity of an old man like me."
Bai Ye replied, "I'm very sorry, I do not intend to do so."
"What a pity. You are a person without sympathy, unable to fulfill even such a small wish of an old man like me," the old man smiled, then continued, "In ten seconds, you will be returned to the place you left."
"10, 9, 8, 7, 6..."
After the old man finished speaking, Bai Ye heard the countdown. And the moment it reached "0"...
Bai Ye found the scenery around him shifting. Soon, the surroundings became blurry, but after only about half a minute, everything began to clear up again. Immediately, Bai Ye found himself back in the marketplace of Rukongai.
Then...
Bai Ye glanced in front of him and couldn't help but show disappointment.
The stall owner was indeed no longer there.
...