299: Chapter 299 Unexpectedly, there were acquaintances among them.

Rumble—

The vibrations coming from deep within the crack caused the entire bronze base of the Cangxing Ruins to shake.

Red light flashed frantically within the abyss, the frequency so fast it made one's head spin.

Chen You gripped his yuhuang sword and stood at the edge of the crack, waiting patiently.

He wanted to see what kind of "hard currency" this bandage freak could produce.

“Yo! Yo! Check it out!”

The coarse voice rang out again, this time not only with a strong sense of rhythm but even carrying a sort of electronic synthesizer reverb effect.

Accompanied by a heavy bass beat, three light clusters slowly rose from the depths of the crack, floating before Chen You.

The light cluster on the left was a brilliant gold, the one in the middle flickered with silver, and the one on the right was dim and lusterless, appearing a dusty gray.

“Young Adventurer!” The underground entity's speech suddenly sped up, launching into a series of double-rhymed lines.

“Is it this Bling Bling gold basketball you want~”

“Or is it this Shining silver basketball~”

“Or is it this ordinary, plain, broken basketball? Skr~”

The red light at the bottom of the crack flashed violently with that “Skr,” as if applauding its own perfect performance.

Chen You looked at the three spheres floating before him, his mouth twitching violently.

A mythical ruin.

A three-thousand-year seal.

And the things brought out are... three basketballs?

“And they're gold and silver? Are you the River God?!” Chen You finally couldn't help himself, pointing at the three spheres and shouting his critique.

“You're a monster sealed underground, and you're using this to test an Adventurer?!”

“Besides, what do I want a basketball for? To go join a trainee idol audition?!”

“Ignorant mortal!” The underground entity's voice held a hint of annoyance.

“This is the supreme trial that I have distilled by combining the most popular symbols of your civilization!”

“Make your choice, mortal! Your fate depends on it!”

Chen You rubbed his temples, feeling that communicating with this guy was simply too exhausting.

Just as he was about to draw his sword, a system prompt suddenly popped up in the upper right corner of his vision.

[Ding! Triggered hidden trading event: Gift of the Star Sea]

[Please make your choice:]

[Option 1: Gold Basketball. Requires an additional payment of 2,000 gold coins. A certain probability of obtaining a Mythic-grade item.]

[Option 2: Silver Basketball. Requires an additional payment of 1,000 gold coins. A certain probability of obtaining a Legendary-grade item.]

[Option 3: Ordinary Basketball. Free. What more do you want, a bicycle?]

Chen You stared at the system prompt and fell silent.

After all that, this was just a Source Realm system skin for a Pay-to-Win gift pack!

“Good grief, so that's how it is,” Chen You sneered.

He was all too familiar with the system's routines.

On the surface, it gives you three choices, but in reality, it's testing the thickness of your wallet.

If you don't spend money, you only get the minimum guarantee; miracles only happen if you pay.

“I'll take the gold one.” Chen You raised his hand and pointed directly at the golden light cluster on the far left.

[Ding! 2,000 gold coins deducted.]

The moment the gold coins were deducted, the basketball shell on the surface of the golden light cluster shattered, turning into a shower of golden light particles.

An ancient jade book radiating the aura of ancient stars slowly descended from the light particles, hovering in Chen You's palm.

[Obtained Item: Indestructible Star Art(Upper Volume)]

[Grade: Mythic]

[Type: Body-Tempering Technique]

[Description: Created by an ancient powerhouse observing the birth and death of the universe. It draws upon the astral power of the heavens to temper the physical body. Those who reach mastery can traverse the void with their physical body, immune to all arts.]

Chen You opened the jade scroll, and rows of profound golden characters were directly imprinted into his mind.

The cultivation system values balance above all else.

Chen You had the Heaven-Breaking Sword Technique for attack power and the Divine Firmament Heavenly Thunder Orthodox Method for spells, but his physical defense had always been a weak point.

Now, with this Indestructible Star Art, the final piece of the puzzle was completely filled.

“Good stuff.” Chen You satisfiedly tucked the jade scroll into his system inventory.

The voice of the underground entity rang out again, this time with obvious urgency: “Kid, you've taken the goods! Now give the star soul to me!”

That thick red bandage poked its head out from the crack again, writhing anxiously in mid-air.

“Don't worry, I'm a man of my word in business.”

Chen You pulled out the star soul crystal radiating a faint blue light from his inventory.

Keeping this thing was just a quest item for him; exchanging it for a Mythic-grade technique was a massive profit.

He flicked his wrist, preparing to toss the star soul into the crack.

At the very moment the star soul was about to leave his hand.

A deafening roar suddenly came from the sky.

“Stop! Who dares to destroy the seal?!”

The sky above the Cangxing Mining Area trembled violently.

Endless shadow aura emerged out of thin air, instantly swallowing the surrounding faint blue starlight.

The temperature plummeted.

This wasn't the physical cold brought by wind and snow, but a bone-chilling killing intent that pierced straight to the soul.

A pitch-black spatial rift was forcibly torn open between Chen You and the bronze base.

Violent void lightning flickered at the edges of the rift.

A foot wearing a dark gold war boot stepped heavily out of the rift.

Immediately following, a tall and powerful figure radiating the terrifying pressure of a sovereign descended upon the base.

Black heavy armor, a crimson cloak fluttering in the wind, and a black greatsword in hand entwined with nether ghost fire.

The newcomer stood with his back to Chen You, facing the underground crack.

“Bold prisoner, how dare you act so presumptuously!”

The newcomer's voice was like rolling heavenly thunder, making the bronze structures of the entire mining area hum.

The red light of the underground entity suddenly shrank, and the bandage poking out of the crack retracted like it had been electrocuted.

“The aura of the Shadow Monarch?” The underground entity's voice was filled with unbelievable terror.

“How is that possible! That old fellow couldn't possibly come here! Who exactly are you?!”

Chen You maintained his posture of throwing the star soul, staring at the back of the figure before him.

This armor, this greatsword, and these extremely familiar chuunibyou lines.

“I am the Shadow Monarch Proxy!” Shadow Monarch Dai gripped the greatsword with both hands, the tip pointing directly at the underground crack as his aura reached its peak.

“Prisoner of the abyss, you dare to bewitch living beings and steal the star soul! Today, on behalf of the Shadow Royal Court, I shall grant you total destruction!”

The shadow domain on Shadow Monarch Dai's body expanded violently, pinning the red light emitted by the underground entity firmly to the edge of the crack.

The underground entity let out a furious roar, and the entire mining area shook.

Chen You silently pulled back his hand.

He looked at Shadow Monarch Dai's majestic back and sighed.

Chen You walked forward, reached out, and tugged at that flashy crimson cloak.

“Um, wait a second,” Chen You said.

Shadow Monarch Dai was just about to swing his sword down when he felt the movement behind him and frowned.

“Ignorant being, stand back! I will deal with you later for—”

As he spoke, he turned his head.

His eyes met Chen You's.

Chen You looked at him expressionlessly.

The shadow domain on Shadow Monarch Dai's body instantly collapsed.

The greatsword in his hand hit the bronze floor with a loud “Clang.”

“Ma... Majesty?”