Volume Two, Devil Game Chapter Twenty-Eight: Sharing the Rewards, Investing

Lu Yi glanced back at Shen Yixue and found her staring at him with a strange expression. At once, he understood: she could not see these rewards.

He reached out a hand and, as expected, felt it pass through a membrane like soap bubbles.

Lu Yi took out everything inside. Without hesitation, he kept the Three-Phase Flying Dagger Box for himself, then said to Shen Yixue, "This is the reward I got for completing the achievement just now. You should pick one for yourself too."

"Black Phosphor: What am I seeing? A Demonic Soil Essence Crystal? According to what the host said, is this really the item they're going to hand out to us?"

"Phoenix: It should be that one. The only question is whether the selection round will even reach this item."

"Camel-Gold Bearer: If even the Demonic Soil Essence Crystal doesn't make it, just how amazing are the rewards!"

"Black Sand City - Luo Liufeng: Blade Intent Fragment. It's actually a Blade Intent Fragment. It must be from the same source as the Warden's. Even if it can't be upgraded again, just this one piece alone can raise my understanding by a few notches!"

"Black Horn Chieftain: Blade intent? They actually gave that away as a reward? Damn it, I want a Warden like that too."

"Black Phosphor: The Blade Intent Fragment is good and all, but if it isn't placed in my family's illusion domain, its effect is only so-so."

"I'm a Husky: Black Phosphor, you're actually from there!"

"Warmhearted Man: Little butterfly demon, bring out some local specialties."

"Black Sand City - Luo Liufeng: You're actually from that faction. If I were lucky enough to obtain a Blade Intent Fragment, I wonder whether I could borrow your family's illusion formation for a while."

"Black Phosphor: I can't decide that. I'm only a peripheral member."

"Sweetheart Yiyi: Then what's the deal with the thing the streamer picked out?"

"Wolf in the Poison Miasma Valley: It just looks like a concealed-weapon case."

"Delicate Fairy: That's right. The case doesn't do much to improve the user directly, but its strength is that it can provide an immediate boost, which suits the streamer's situation. Besides, a special formation has clearly been embedded in it, further increasing its power while also limiting its future growth."

"Ink-Stirring Minister: As the fairy said, yes. Still, this formation isn't low-grade; it has some value for study. And if this item were selected, it would be fitted with an even higher-tier formation."

"Handsome Guy, You Are Such a Rebel: If you put it that way, I'm actually interested in the case."

Hearing the constant stream of comments in his earpiece, Lu Yi realized that the quality of the two items was actually quite high.

"Sweetheart Yiyi: Then what's the significance of that bracelet?"

"Phoenix: A little odd. It doesn't seem very powerful."

"Ink-Stirring Minister: The workmanship is quite refined, but the maker doesn't seem to have intended it as a weapon."

"Sweetheart Yiyi: What do you mean?"

"Ink-Stirring Minister: The bracelet is clearly engraved with many non-offensive patterns. It feels more like something for entertainment than for combat."

By then, Shen Yixue had also recovered from her astonishment. Still uncertain, she asked, "You're really giving me a share of the reward?"

"Of course." Lu Yi smiled. "Without your cooperation, I couldn't have killed the Warden, and that snare you used on me helped a great deal too."

When Lu Yi first encountered that Warden and used Demon-Hunter to block its attack, he had noticed the dark aura concealed beneath its armor, and Demon-Hunter had reacted as well.

After bringing the Warden down, Lu Yi planned a whole chain of moves, nearly suffering a disastrous reversal before Shen Yixue pulled him back from the brink. Now that the goal had been achieved, he naturally would not begrudge her a little reward.

Hearing this, Shen Yixue no longer refused. She looked around, then finally picked up the Demonic Soil Essence Crystal with delight. "I want this one."

After receiving Lu Yi's nod, Shen Yixue immediately activated the crystal. The gemstone emitted a pale violet glow, then slowly softened, quickly turning into a pool of liquid. Tilting her head back, she drank it down in one gulp.

Seeing this, Lu Yi became even more certain of his earlier guess. He also began to suspect that Shen Yixue's energy-conversion ability might consume different amounts of power depending on the attribute being transformed.

Before long, Shen Yixue's face turned bright red, and her body trembled faintly all over. After a moment, she opened her eyes and clenched her fist in excitement.

"How is it?" Lu Yi asked, only then realizing that the question was a little sensitive.

But Shen Yixue did not mind. She grabbed Lu Yi's hand, thrilled. "Thank you so much. You don't know how expensive it is for me to convert into temporary strength and constitution attributes. With this crystal, I won't need to do that as often for a while, maybe not at all."

"Congratulations." Lu Yi was genuinely happy for her. After all, they were partners. If her strength improved, she would also be able to help him face future Wardens. "I think we can form a temporary team. What do you think?"

Shen Yixue quickly glanced at the Blade Intent Fragment, which was wider than half of Lu Yi himself and also rather long, then smiled. "Of course there's no problem."

Just then, the bushes beside them rustled. Lu Yi quickly hung the Three-Phase Flying Dagger Box at his waist and set it not to display itself. He then swiftly put away some of the smaller items. The two of them hurriedly turned around.

The bushes rustled again, and then a figure backed out from within, shielding something in its arms.

Lu Yi looked surprised, because the person was actually Jade Toad.

Jade Toad turned carefully around. In her arms was a great heap of food, clearly because she was worried it might fall.

She swallowed the food in her mouth, then turned fully and saw Lu Yi. Immediately, she gave him a pure, radiant smile. "Good person, so it was you."

After speaking, Jade Toad looked around, then glanced behind Lu Yi.

Lu Yi and Shen Yixue both shifted slightly, while Jade Toad kept staring at Lu Yi.

Lu Yi looked faintly astonished, because the Blade Qi Fragment was hidden behind him. Neither he nor Shen Yixue had sensed any unusual fluctuation from it, yet from Jade Toad's reaction, she very likely could perceive it.

Jade Toad's face took on a troubled look, and then she seemed to make a difficult decision. "Good person, could you give me the thing behind you? I'll trade you food for it."

Lu Yi glanced at the food in Jade Toad's hands. The description was simple enough: delicious and filling. Oh, and there was one more thing to add—items from the trial world could not be taken out of the trial world.

"Uh?" Shen Yixue looked displeased. Then again, if a stranger came out of nowhere and immediately asked for something in exchange for something so cheap, nobody would be pleased.

Besides, Shen Yixue had already planned to leverage Lu Yi's popularity, so she certainly did not like seeing such a losing deal.

"Sure. I can give you this right now. I don't want your food, but you'll have to help me with something." Lu Yi said to Jade Toad with a faint smile.

"Ah?" Shen Yixue looked utterly incredulous.

"Black Phosphor: No way, streamer, that's a huge loss for you."

"Warmhearted Man: Streamer, this girl clearly doesn't have much ability, and she seems foolish too. She's not worth investing in."

"Sweetheart Yiyi: Exactly, streamer. Even if you like her, that valuation is way too high."

Lu Yi could only smile at the earlier remarks, but Sweetheart Yiyi's comment instantly sent his face dark.

He liked Jade Toad?

No, that wasn't quite right. He really did like her.

But this liking was not that kind of liking. Lu Yi still remembered the scene when Jade Toad had turned her back on the Warden and managed to evade its attack with uncanny precision.

Now Jade Toad appeared to have been drawn here by the Blade Qi Fragment. All of this made Lu Yi feel that she might possess some strange ability. A rare treasure. No, someone worth investing in.

Saying this, Lu Yi simply walked up to Jade Toad with the Blade Qi Fragment in hand.

"Good person, you want me to help you?" Jade Toad said with delight. Then she smiled brightly. "Mm, mm, I'll definitely help you properly."

She took the Blade Qi Fragment from him and sat cross-legged, placing it on her lap.

"Lu Yi, I think..." Shen Yixue was about to say something, but the next instant both she and Lu Yi froze on the spot.

Jade Toad closed her eyes and lightly rested her right hand on the Blade Qi Fragment. At once, a violet energy shrouded the shattered blade. A tremendous blade intent erupted outward, and the ground around them cracked instantly. Yet as quickly as it came, it vanished just as fast. That blade intent soon disappeared without a trace.

"That's it? Used up already?" Lu Yi said in shock.

He had thought that, given how highly the viewers valued the Blade Intent Fragment, it should have been usable several times at least. To vanish after a single use—shouldn't there have been a note saying it turns into crafting material afterward?

As Lu Yi was thinking this, Jade Toad slowly stood up with her eyes still closed. Holding the blade shard aloft, she suddenly released a fierce aura from her body. It was actually rather similar to the Warden's One-Blade Severance, and Lu Yi was startled.

His defensive item was still on cooldown. If Jade Toad went off-script, he would not be able to withstand it. Thinking that, he placed a hand on the Three-Phase Flying Dagger Box at his waist, ready to respond quickly if anything went wrong.

Jade Toad frowned slightly, her body trembling uncontrollably. It seemed that unleashing this attack was quite difficult for her.

The aura around her kept changing, now violent, now restrained. Gradually, she seemed to grasp some key point. The ferocious aura vanished completely, and instead an incomparably sharp breath began to radiate from within her.

Jade Toad turned, swung the broken blade, and struck downward. The blade shard plunged straight into the ground, and only then did she open her eyes.

Lu Yi and Shen Yixue exchanged a look. What was going on?

Just then, the direction Jade Toad had struck suddenly burst upward with a spray of earth more than ten feet high, and the blade shard itself shattered with a thunderous crack.

Lu Yi took a rough look. The mark stretched no less than twenty meters, and its depth was only slightly shallower than one made by the Warden itself.

"Black Phosphor: What is this? A genius!"

"Black Sand City - Luo Liufeng: To awaken all the blade intent so quickly and comprehend it on the spot, and not only comprehend it but transform it into her own power. A true genius."

"Sweetheart Yiyi: Did this girl put all her points into insight and none into intellect?"

Lu Yi looked delighted. This time, they might truly have discovered a talent.