52: Second Divine Ability [Divine Sense Resonance] Advancement

Shen Xiaochuan looked at the runes on the safe and tapped his fingertips twice. The scroll had long been locked inside, and he had no intention of opening it again.

X-07's voice came through the communicator: "Tracking signal interrupted. The opponent can no longer locate the Divine Kingdom's position."

"Good."

Shen Xiaochuan nodded slightly. "Continue monitoring the South Alliance network. Report any abnormalities immediately."

He turned to open the Faith Mall. The screen lit up, displaying his faith points: 682,430. The number was slowly increasing at a rate of one point per second.

He typed keywords into the search bar: "Mass Suppression Summoned Beast."

The System immediately popped up a prompt: [This item is limited to one purchase and cannot be exchanged repeatedly].

Shen Xiaochuan's brow furrowed slightly. As he had expected, these rare items were limited to a single exchange. The path of the Shadow Peacock was a dead end; he would have to find another way.

He switched categories and entered the "Support Equipment" page.

Numerous options appeared after the list refreshed. He browsed quickly, finally stopping at two items.

[daredevils horn]: Upon use, increases the army's morale and movement speed for ten minutes. Cooldown: two hours.

[shield of perseverance]: Generates a shield to protect the city walls and frontline troops, blocking damage for five seconds. Can be used three times daily.

Neither of these were offensive equipment, but they happened to compensate for the weak links in the defensive line. Skydome City was about to face a massive battle with enemy forces exceeding one million. There was no chance of victory relying on one person alone; they had to rely on overall coordination.

"Exchange for the daredevils horn."

[Consumed faith points: 50,000]

[Exchange Successful]

A small bronze-colored horn appeared in his inventory, its surface engraved with ancient patterns. He casually tucked it into his waist pouch.

"Exchange for the shield of perseverance as well."

[Consumed faith points: 70,000]

[Exchange Successful]

A semi-transparent disc-shaped item fell into his inventory. He checked its attributes and confirmed everything was correct.

He had about 560,000 faith points remaining. While not abundant, it was enough to support subsequent actions. He decided not to waste points on high-risk summons anymore, turning instead to focus on improving his own strength.

Returning to the training room, he took out a long-treasured slice of Wind Wolf heart. This was an Advanced cultivation ingredient that could significantly boost cultivation efficiency, which he had been saving for a critical moment.

As he ate, he pulled up his personal panel to check his combat power value.

Current combat power: 217 points.

He was still 5 points short of the 222 points required to open the Diamond Chest. The gap seemed small, but every point was hard-earned and could only be raised through actual combat or resource accumulation.

He stood up and walked toward the training ground.

For the next five days, he began training promptly at six o'clock every morning. His opponents were mechanical Puppets newly developed by the military engineering group, simulating the combat patterns of A-rank deities and continuously strengthening as they fought.

On the first day, he completed three matches. combat power +1.

On the second day, four matches. +1.

On the third day, under extreme conditions, he broke five Puppet cores in a row. Another +1.

On the evening of the fourth day, he performed a perfect dodge and counterattack. The System judged it as "Tactical Mastery," rewarding him 0.5 points.

In the early hours of the fifth day, he mastered a new rhythm during high-intensity combat. With a final strike, he shattered two Puppets. The combat power bar jumped suddenly and finally settled at 222 points.

"combat power goal reached."

He walked out of the training ground, sweat sliding down his temples, his clothes soaked, and his arms aching, yet his mind was exceptionally clear.

He immediately returned to the secret room and opened the safe to take out the Diamond Chest. This was a reward he had obtained years ago but had been unable to use because he hadn't met the requirements.

He placed his palm on the chest.

With a click, the latch opened.

A white light emanated from within, and a crystal-clear bead lay quietly inside, its surface flowing with faint golden patterns.

[Obtained Rare Awakening Bead ×1]

A prompt followed immediately:

[Detected that the holder has activated the basic Divine Ability: Divine Sense Resonance]

[Awakening Bead triggered an advancement reaction]

[Second Divine Ability Upgrade: Divine Sense Resonance (Advanced)]

Shen Xiaochuan's eyes narrowed. He knew this was no ordinary item.

He used the Awakening Bead immediately.

The moment the bead touched his palm, it turned into a stream of light and merged into his body. A scorching torrent rushed into his mind, and the roar of thousands of horses seemed to echo in his ears.

System prompts appeared one after another:

[Divine Sense Resonance advancement complete]

[Unlocked Trait 1: Heroic Spirit Possession duration extended (Original 30s → 90s)]

[Unlocked Trait 2: Supports multi-Heroic Spirit switching; Heroic Spirits can be changed during combat]

[New Ability: Can simultaneously carry the Battle Intent of two Heroic Spirits, enabling dual-Heroic Spirit coordinated combat]

He stood still, his muscles trembling slightly as if two forces were blending within his body.

He closed his eyes to look inward.

Two names emerged in the depths of his consciousness: Zhang Fei and Dian Wei.

He had summoned these two Heroic Spirits many times and knew their combat styles inside out. Now, not only did he not have to worry about the time limit, but he could also freely rotate them on the battlefield or even have them fight side-by-side to perform coordinated attacks.

He opened his eyes, his gaze suddenly sharp.

In this battle, victory was already assured.

Outside, the sky was not yet bright, and the city was still in the midst of intense preparations for war. Patrol teams changed shifts on time, the machinery in the armory roared incessantly, and guards on the city walls gripped their weapons, waiting for orders.

Shen Xiaochuan washed away his fatigue and changed into clean work clothes. He carefully wiped the bronze gear pendant hanging from his cuff, brushing away the dust.

Lilith and Lilia brought breakfast: a bowl of hot porridge, two fried eggs, and a piece of meat that was charred on the outside and tender on the inside.

He sat down to eat with steady movements. The two stood aside, not daring to speak much, only occasionally handing him utensils.

"Don't be nervous today," he said. "Everything that needs to be prepared is ready."

Lilith gave a soft response.

When he finished eating, he stood up and returned the tray.

"Go notify Anna to have the medical team on standby. Then tell Chen Yan that the Azure Dragon Legion is to enter a state of first-degree combat readiness."

The two left quickly.

Shen Xiaochuan paced to the window. Dawn was gradually breaking on the horizon, and the first ray of morning light fell on the tip of the flagpole atop the city tower as the national flag rose slowly.

He gazed for a few seconds before turning to take his tactical waist pouch off the wall.

The daredevils horn and shield of perseverance were in place, along with several spare skill scrolls and a bottle of recovery potion.

At that moment, X-07 sent a message: "Large-scale energy fluctuations detected in the direction of NATO. Estimated arrival at the battlefield area before twelve noon."

"Received," he replied briefly.

A moment later, the day grew bright.

He left the living area and walked toward the command center. He met several Artisans on the way; seeing him from a distance, they stopped and bowed.

He nodded in acknowledgment.

Just as he reached the door, his communicator vibrated.

It was a call from Chen Yan.

"Boss, the brothers are all ready."

"Good."

He responded, "Camp outside the city and wait for my command."

"Understood!"

He stepped into the main control room and reached out to press the start button. The System loaded quickly, sounding a crisp prompt.

Taking a deep breath, just as his finger was about to press the command release button, hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the door.

A messenger rushed in, his face pale, and reported loudly: "Report! An abnormal situation has been discovered at the North Gate watchtower!"