Advanced Ability, Solitary Jealousy Flame

"I never expected you to kill two Bing-level enemies in one go, one of them even being a powerful Bing-level Upper Man-eating Demon. It looks like you’re a Reincarnator with great potential."

The armored female NPC from the Rank Management Office looked at Bai Cangshu and praised him sincerely.

In truth, Bai Cangshu still did not know whether the people running the various institutions in the Space were real Reincarnators or virtual creations of the Space. There were all kinds of theories within the Space.

However, because these people had never been replaced and their cycle of existence was completely different from the death-and-replacement cycle of ordinary Reincarnators, most people regarded them as NPCs.

The woman at the East District Rank Management Office was called Knight Sister by the Reincarnators, along with inexplicable titles such as "Shanzhai Quilt King" and "Space Knight King." She had never voiced any objection.

In contrast, the old alchemist at the Alchemy Institute was only ever called "Old Geezer."

"Both of these heads contain great power. They can become the foundation for your path toward becoming a stronger Reincarnator."

"However, you can still only choose one head as the material for your advancement."

Knight Sister was remarkably lively. Bai Cangshu was beginning to understand why she was fairly popular among the Reincarnators.

You have completed the advancement mission: Flesh of the Enemy, My Sustenance

Please select an advancement material

Bai Cangshu considered it. To find the best diviner in the East District, he had spent nearly 1,500 Dimensional Points. While he was at it, he had learned the details of advancement missions from the broker codenamed Black Butler.

Flesh of the Enemy, My Sustenance was a mission that Reincarnators were guaranteed to trigger when advancing from Paper-level to Bing-level.

If a Reincarnator killed any Bing-level enemy alone, they would obtain the enemy’s head and use the head of the powerful as a medium to achieve their own advancement.

Depending on the quality of the head used as the medium, a Reincarnator would receive three to five advancement options. The stronger and more special the enemy, the greater the chance of receiving rare and special options.

Moreover, the options provided by different Plot Characters would vary somewhat.

As far as was currently known, enhancements provided by the Human Race generally leaned toward skills. They could range from gaining a basic proficiency in a discipline, to acquiring a special talent, or even obtaining the qualifications to practice a certain special ability.

Non-Human Race monsters, on the other hand, tended toward basic attributes. It was possible to gain increases to certain attributes, special racial talents, or even unique racial abilities.

Overall, for Bing-level advancement mission materials, Non-Human Race improvements were generally better.

Bai Cangshu looked at the two heads in his hands. Man-eating Demons were actually a very unusual kind. They had once been Human Race and retained human skills, but their bodies had already completely departed from the realm of humanity.

Bai Cangshu picked up Doma’s head, and a string of options immediately appeared.

A: Ice Demon. Gain additional ice-element affinity. Frost-type abilities receive a small additional bonus. (Rare)

B: Evil Child. Gain additional pain reduction, slight damage immunity, and accelerated learning speed for religious-type abilities.

C: Heartless Puppet. The heart no longer becomes a vital point. After the heart is destroyed, the Reincarnator can still maintain blood circulation. (Rare)

D: Regeneration Power (Weak). Gain weak regeneration power. Injuries can recover more quickly with the replenishment of energy and nutrients.

E: Silent Meditation. Gain basic meditation proficiency. Spirit +2.

Doma’s head was clearly of decent quality. Not only had it produced five options, but both rare and uncommon-quality options had appeared. Heartless Puppet in particular made Bai Cangshu realize something.

There would probably be many things beyond common sense in future battles between Reincarnators.

If he chose that option, then even as a Bing-level Reincarnator, he would be able to keep fighting with a shattered heart. In actual combat, that was quite terrifying.

Bai Cangshu then lifted Kokushibo’s head.

A: Longevity Power. Cellular vitality increases, expected lifespan increases by 20%, Constitution +2. (Rare)

B: Sword Demon. Gain basic swordsmanship proficiency, and gain additional learning speed when practicing swordsmanship proficiency.

C: Regeneration Power (Moderate). Gain moderate regeneration power. Injuries heal at a noticeable rate, consuming additional stamina.

D: Moon Without Sun. At night, all physical abilities receive a 50% increase. (Cannot exceed the limit.) (Rare)

E: Solitary Jealousy Flame. Gain the special passive ability Solitary Jealousy Flame. When facing an enemy stronger than yourself, each injury has a chance to ignite jealousy flame, granting an additional stack of increased attributes. (All attributes +1, regeneration power slightly increased.) Stacks up to seven times. (Extremely Rare)

"Oh, an incredible option has appeared. Reincarnator, your luck is very good today."

Knight Sister seemed able to directly see the options Bai Cangshu was looking at.

Lowering his head, Bai Cangshu discovered the reason as well. Various lights flowed across Kokushibo’s head, which only had three eyes remaining. Among them, that streak of purple was especially conspicuous.

Bai Cangshu had learned from Black Butler that Reincarnators who normally obtained the heads of Bing-level Lower enemies would only receive three options, and there generally would not be any rare options. Bing-level Low enemies, however, could yield five options, with a small chance of rare and uncommon options appearing.

For Bing-level Middle enemies and above, a rare-grade option was almost guaranteed to appear.

Because this mission required the Reincarnator to complete the kill alone, only major factions had enough means to grant Reincarnators combat power beyond their rank.

For most Paper-level Reincarnators, winning a battle across an entire rank was quite difficult without saturation bombardment or traps.

Therefore, Bing-level Upper heads rarely appeared.

Bai Cangshu had indeed received an unexpected harvest today. Even Black Butler, a Reincarnator who seemed to have some standing among Information Brokers, had never seen an Extremely Rare option appear during advancement.

"I choose Solitary Jealousy Flame."

Knight Sister nodded as though it were only natural. She grabbed Kokushibo’s head, and blue-white light suddenly bloomed in her hand. The next moment, Kokushibo’s head melted away, its flesh and blood dissipating together with the multicolored radiance.

In the end, only that streak of purple radiance remained. Knight Sister abruptly reached out.

Bai Cangshu’s pupils contracted. His muscles twitched, but that hand was already pressed against his chest.

This Knight Sister was terrifyingly fast!

Your rank has increased. Current rank: Bing-level

You have obtained the rank ability: Solitary Jealousy Flame

Bai Cangshu felt an evil flame suddenly ignite within his body. It was not scorching; instead, it carried an eerie chill. He pulled open his robe and saw a scarlet flame mark appear on his chest before slowly fading away.

Tch. This didn’t seem like a particularly righteous ability either.

Ever since obtaining that Great Sin Card, Bai Cangshu felt that he had constantly been coming into contact with abilities that leaned toward the sinister side.

The one who taught him martial arts during the Special Trial had been Mercenary Tao, the World’s Number One Assassin. The special ability he gained in Demon Slayer had been the cursed mark of a being that was both god and demon. Now, during his advancement, he had obtained this kind of evil flame as well.

"Even though I’ve always obeyed the law."