134: Chapter 134 The Troubles of Happiness
Lin Fan stared at the dense list of fifty-four evolution paths in his field of vision, the corners of his mouth slowly curling upward.
Tongtong had truly transformed into the extremely rare Dream attribute, just as he had expected.
It was deeper and more bizarre than the Illusion attribute.
He re-examined Tongtong's four Armor Spirit skills, and the information regarding the left eye appeared in his vision one by one.
The Eye of Phantom Dream served as the foundation; it strengthened the previously existing abilities, significantly increased the perception range, and enhanced resistance to illusion-type skills.
Dream-Weaving Rhapsody was a crowd control skill that caused enemies to lose the ability to distinguish between friend and foe.
This meant that on the battlefield, Tongtong could make enemies attack each other, unable to even recognize their own teammates.
Nightmare Weaver was a single-target lock-on skill that customized nightmares based on the deepest traumas within the enemy's heart, forcing them into a state of Absolute Fear.
The Absolute Fear state was a mandatory skill that ignored gaps in Rank and quality; even if you were an Armor Saint or an Armor Emperor, you would still fall into a state of fear.
Of course, the duration of the control wasn't guaranteed, but even 0.01 seconds could determine life and death on the battlefield.
What intrigued Lin Fan the most, however, was the fourth skill—Dream-Weaving Era.
It provided immunity to all physical attacks.
This meant that while Dream-Weaving Era was active, he would not be hit by any physical means after Armorization.
He could traverse between different dimensions—between dreams and reality.
He could freely travel between all enemies' dreams—this meant he could create fear in one enemy's nightmare, then instantly jump into another enemy's dream to continue spreading fear.
The enemies' dreams were his battlefield, and within their own dreams, the enemies were completely powerless.
The pity was that this Armor Spirit skill consumed too much spiritual energy; if he used this move, he wouldn't last long before he collapsed himself.
Tongtong landed on his shoulder, its wings folding, those deep purple compound eyes half-closed, scattering specks of light onto his eyelashes.
Lin Fan reached out and stroked its wings.
"With this skill of yours, I wouldn't even dare to use it during a fight. It's either them dying or me perishing."
Tongtong rubbed against his finger and let out a soft, high-pitched cry.
Lin Fan looked back at the fifty-four evolution paths.
As he went through them one by one, he felt dizzy.
Illusory Dream Emperor Butterfly, Glazed Light Butterfly, Illusory Sky Mantis, Dream Tapir, Eternal Sleep Messenger, Nightmare Incarnation, Dream Butterfly Emperor...
Each path had its own characteristics, and each corresponded to a different combat style.
His gaze finally rested on two of the paths.
[Sleeping Dream Empress] (King Spirit Upper Rank)
Rank Requirement: Rank 48
Materials to consume: 10x Illusory Divine Stone, 5x Dream Fragment, 3x Flower of Eternal Rest, 1x Sleeping Dream Grass, 1x Empress Butterfly Pupa.
Evaluation: An Empress form focused on "Sleep" and "Eternal Rest." It abandons direct damage in favor of making enemies "sleep forever." It is the most powerful control and support core in a team.
[Nightmare Spider Butterfly] (King Spirit Upper Rank)
Rank Requirement: Rank 49
Materials to consume: 10x Nightmare Source, 10x Illusory Divine Stone, 5x Shadow Essence, 5x Nightmare Spider Silk, 1x Spider Emperor Heart, 1x Illusory Butterfly Emperor Powder.
Evaluation: A Spider Butterfly form focused on "Spider Webs" and "Contagion." It excels at positional warfare and team disruption; it is a schemer on the battlefield.
Lin Fan stared at these two paths, his brows furrowed. The Sleeping Dream Empress followed the "Eternal Rest" path, causing enemies to fall into an eternal slumber.
Its skills leaned towards control and support, which was of great value to a team.
The image of the Sleeping Dream Empress appeared in his mind.
It was one he had once seen in an ancient illustrated guide from President Ye Wenyuan's collection.
The Sleeping Dream Empress was half-human, half-butterfly; her upper body was humanoid, her face serene, with eyes gently closed, as if forever immersed in the deepest dream.
Her skin was translucent, porcelain white, and one could faintly see pale golden light patterns flowing beneath it.
Her lower body was a butterfly abdomen, round and plump, with fine, dense fluff on the surface that emitted a soft silver glow. The butterfly wings on her back were huge, with a wingspan of five meters.
Countless serene faces were depicted on her wings, each with closed eyes and a faint, subtle smile on their lips.
She hovered in mid-air, surrounded by tiny, floating specks of light; wherever she passed, the air became lazy.
Legend had it that the Sleeping Dream Empress never attacked proactively, but in the area where she existed, all living creatures would involuntarily fall into a slumber, never to wake up again.
The Nightmare Spider Butterfly, on the other hand, was half-butterfly, half-spider. Its upper body was butterfly-shaped, with slender antennae and colorful butterfly wings, and dark purple spider web patterns were drawn on the wings, with twisted faces faintly visible between the webs.
Its lower body was a spider abdomen, with eight long, thin spider legs extending from it.
Its abdomen could spin invisible dream spider silk; the silk was as thin as hair and almost invisible to the naked eye, but anyone who touched it would be instantly pulled into their deepest nightmare.
The Nightmare Spider Butterfly never fought head-on; it liked to weave webs on the edge of the battlefield, waiting for prey to run into them.
Enemies targeted by it often died inexplicably, with expressions of fear still on their faces.
It followed the "Contagion" path, letting fear spread like a plague.
Its skills leaned towards disruption and chaos, forcing enemies to kill each other and turning them into its own Puppets. However, the disadvantage was that it required time to set up, making it unsuitable for fast-paced battles.
Although both were only King Spirit-level Armor Spirits, they were legendary existences that had long since gone extinct.
He hadn't expected Tongtong to have both evolution paths; could this be considered a happy trouble...
"One is an Empress, the other is a Spider-Butterfly."
Lin Fan muttered.
"One makes people sleep peacefully, the other makes people die in madness."
Tongtong tilted its head, those deep purple compound eyes staring at him, as if asking, "Which one to choose?"
Lin Fan reached out and stroked its head.
"No rush. You're still Rank 42; you're far from evolving. We'll think about it slowly."
He glanced at the source energy count on the back of his hand, then looked at the material requirements for those two paths.
"And these Materials, they're harder to find one after another. Empress Butterfly Pupa, Spider Emperor Heart... just hearing about them makes my head hurt."
He lifted Tongtong from his shoulder and placed it on the pillow.
The little guy folded its wings, curling into a pale golden ball of fluff, its deep purple compound eyes half-closed.
Xiao Zhuang slid down from his wrist, coiled beside Tongtong, fixed its vertical pupils on it, and flicked its tongue.
Little Rabbit hopped over from the edge of the pillow, squatted between the two Armor Spirits, tilted its head to look at one and then the other, and let out a soft cry.
Lin Fan lay back on the bed, staring at the ceiling.
"Sleeping Dream Empress, Nightmare Spider Butterfly... which one should I choose?"
He closed his eyes, and the two images appeared alternately in his mind.
One, a serene, sleeping Empress; the other, a bizarre and cold Spider-Butterfly.
He shook his head. "Forget it, I'll decide when the time comes."
When the boat reaches the bridge, it will naturally go straight.