The damn Ember Zone didn’t explain the return rules in advance.
Xia Lin was new to the Ember Zone and had no idea what the return light looked like.
A series of mishaps led to a sudden turn of events, leaving Xia Lin in an extremely awkward situation!
From Li Peipei’s expression earlier, it was clear that her claim about the return wasn’t false.
Li Peipei had returned.
She was waiting for him at the entrance to the Ember Zone in the Tieyu Base.
Xia Lin was now covered in nearly 100 attributes, but once he left the Ember Zone, they would vanish, and he’d revert to the ordinary guy with a vitality of 6 points that he had been before.
His death was imminent?
Xia Lin sat cross-legged on the ground and slowly closed his eyes.
He recalled everything that had just happened.
In particular, he remembered the system prompt that had sounded in his ears when he swallowed the Divine Source Essence.
After a moment, he suddenly opened his eyes and gave a grim smile.
“It’s not necessarily certain that I’ll die.”
He silently recited the word “return” in his heart, and the system prompt sounded in his ears.
[Main Mission: Hunt!]
[Completed. You are permitted to return.]
Xia Lin had already met the requirement of killing ten monsters.
The light of return appeared above him, and Xia Lin waited quietly.
Ten seconds later, accompanied by a slight sense of disorientation, Xia Lin’s vision flashed, and he saw a dazzling starry sky.
[Welcome to the Settlement Space.]
After every Ember Zone, there is a settlement session, which takes place in the Settlement Space.
[Settlement Begins:]
[Main Mission: Hunt! Completed.]
[You have earned 100 Ember Zone points.]
And then?
There was no “then.”
No side missions, no unexpected rewards. Xia Lin’s first trip to the Ember Zone had only completed a main mission and earned 100 Ember Zone points.
However, Xia Lin wasn’t disappointed. He waited silently. Soon, he saw a small white light rising from within him, eventually disappearing as if it had merged into the Settlement Space.
[You have been detected as having obtained a Divine Source Essence. Random reward generation is in progress...]
[Generation complete.]
[Reward Item: Profession!]
Xia Lin let out a sigh of relief.
The key to survival was within.
He had to find a way out of the Tieyu Base through his profession; otherwise, he’d face a fate worse than death.
“But this life was originally a gift, so what harm is there in taking another gamble?”
He had arrived in a deadly situation from the start, with almost no room to maneuver.
Fortunately, the talent of Unstable Mutation had saved Xia Lin’s life.
As he reviewed everything he had just done, Xia Lin had no regrets.
There was nothing wrong with his actions.
From the very beginning, he and Li Peipei’s group had no option of reconciliation. It was a fight to the death!
Without the talent, Xia Lin would have become a Flesh Bomb—a disposable consumable.
With the talent, he would inevitably be coveted. He didn’t believe that an SS-level talent wouldn’t attract people like Li Peipei, nor that they wouldn’t find a way to exploit him. He trusted their character even less.
Combined with the return rules Li Peipei had mentioned:
Run, and you can’t escape.
Kill, and you don’t kill.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
At this point, the fault didn’t lie with Xia Lin—only in the tight timing and poor situation. The Ember Zone had also screwed him over...
“So, give me a way out, big brother!”
He prayed to the Ember Zone, and the Ember Zone responded.
[You can choose one of the following seven professions.]
Good news: there were seven options.
This greatly improved the odds of winning the bet.
However, the second sentence from the Ember Zone system left Xia Lin confused.
[Note: Your choice will determine your faction preference, so please choose carefully.]
What did that mean?
He didn’t know.
Was this a prompt every Ember Zone traveler received when choosing a profession, or was it special treatment just for him?
He didn’t know that either.
The Ember Zone presented the options.
[1: Monk.]
Practice, refine equipment, and transform the way of heaven. We monks can do anything, from heaven to earth!
Note: After choosing this profession, your stance naturally leans toward one of the Six Pillars: the Creator of the Heavens.
The first profession left Xia Lin dumbfounded.
Monk?
Immortal cultivator?
Wasn’t this the cultivator from the xianxia novels of his previous life?
And what were the Six Pillars?
Who was the Creator of the Heavens?
There were too many questions, so Xia Lin gave up thinking and moved on.
Because it was useless.
Based on his experience with online literature in his previous life, choosing to become a cultivator required a long period of training before gaining powerful strength. That wouldn’t help him in his current predicament.
He didn’t need to think about the future right now—he needed to survive Li Peipei first.
[2: Soul Master.]
“Accompanied by a soul beast, one level, one soul, ten levels, a hundred skills—who can compete with you!”
Note: After choosing this profession, your stance naturally leans toward one of the Six Pillars: the Demon Emperor of Soul Control.
Still one of the Six Pillars.
But it still didn’t fit.
Let’s look at the next option.
[3: The Limit Breaker.]
Attribute is power, and value is truth!
Note: After choosing this profession, your stance naturally leans toward one of the Six Pillars: the Old Ruler.
“Value is truth...”
Xia Lin muttered softly, repeating the profession description, feeling a little excited.
Who wouldn’t love superb attributes?
Unfortunately, it still didn’t meet his needs.
[4: Lord of the Armies.]
I came, I saw, I conquered!
Note: After choosing this profession, your stance naturally leans toward one of the Six Pillars: King of Kings.
Still not what he needed...
Xia Lin’s heart grew heavier.
He realized that what he needed right now wasn’t a profession that sounded impressive—it was skills.
But it seemed that professions in the Ember Zone didn’t directly provide skills...
[5: God of War.]
Martial arts rule the heavens!
Note: After choosing this profession, your stance naturally leans toward one of the Six Pillars: Super Star.
[6: Divine Sin.]
Ooooh (you don’t have enough points).
Note: After choosing this profession, your stance naturally leans toward one of the Six Pillars: Primordial Dark Side.
No, no, no—still not what he needed!
Despair began to creep in.
Then the seventh option appeared.
[7: Shadow of Indeterminacy.]
A profession customized according to your talents.
Note: After choosing this profession, your position will not lean toward any of the Six Pillars. This may be a good thing, but it could also be a disaster. Life without a powerful backer will not be easy, whether in the Ember Zone or in reality.
...
The Ember Zone system presented all the options, leaving Xia Lin in a dilemma.
He knew what he needed most was escape skills, yet none of the professions offered that.
The system didn’t rush him, and it wasn’t until much later that Xia Lin let out a sigh.
“Choose seven.”
Without Unstable Mutation, he would have died long ago from the Flesh Bomb.
Given the situation, Xia Lin would rather place his hopes in a customized profession than gamble on the so-called “hugging of thighs.”
[Selection complete!]
[Shadow of Indeterminacy—Job Change Begins!]
When the roaring prompt entered his ears, Xia Lin saw countless lights shining from the Settlement Space.
The light was indeterminate, its colors flickering and changing without any consistency.
Soon, the space began to distort, and countless kaleidoscopes of different colors and sizes appeared and disappeared. After a while, Xia Lin felt dizzy just from looking at them.
He closed his eyes, not daring to look further, when suddenly he sensed a strange energy seeping into his body from outside.
Then, a sense of drowsiness overcame him.
A snore escaped him, and he fell asleep.
The transformation continued.
