Chapter 381: Chapter 381: River of History and Destiny, Molok’s Means, Cyan Moon’s First Stage

After finishing his discussion with Bazzer about the next steps and disconnecting, Lance felt a surge of motivation.

However, the excitement was short-lived. A few seconds later, the thought of what he had to do that night was like a bucket of cold water dumped over his head, snapping him back to reality.

What good was money if you weren’t alive to spend it?

There was still a Sword of Damocles hanging over his head.

Lance sat up in bed, pulled up the system panel, and took a look.

[General Experience Points: 25,000]

Without any hesitation, he immediately allocated 10,000 points to [Jhin, the Virtuoso].

"Deep Blue, level me up!"

As the experience points flowed in, Lance felt his consciousness being lifted into the Star Realm.

He then saw two great rivers, rushing ceaselessly through a deeper dimension of the Star Realm, spanning its entire breadth.

One of them, an amber river, flowed ceaselessly from the past into the future.

The moment he saw it, Lance understood. This was the "River of History," which carried the world’s past and future.

And above this River of History flowed another, its companion, yet utterly different.

That river was formed from countless, multicolored streams of light, all interwoven. Within the river’s channel, these streams constantly collided, entangled, shattered, and reformed, filled with infinite possibilities.

That was the "River of Fate."

History is the foundation, and Fate is the variable. The two are fundamentally an inseparable whole.

The essence of the Jhin, the Virtuoso Profession was to attempt, with a mortal body, to leap out of these great rivers, stand upon the bank, and meddle with the preordained currents.

This was the first time he truly grasped the sheer scope of this Profession. He could hardly believe how powerful the Mad King, the Profession’s creator, must have been.

[Your Heroic Profession, ’Jhin, the Virtuoso,’ has been upgraded to Level 2]

[As a Profession advancement reward, you may choose one ability to enhance.]

The Lantern Carrier’s teachings surfaced in Lance’s mind: ’Before Level 3, a Jhin, the Virtuoso’s abilities of concealment and transference can only be applied to oneself. Investing resources to enhance them now offers little benefit.’

Meanwhile, the Plunder and deception abilities were too advanced and complex, completely out of his reach for now. That made "Cropping" the most practical choice.

"Enhance Cropping."

Lance made his decision quickly.

Then, the Power of Jhin, the Virtuoso fused with his soul. Lance’s consciousness descended from that higher-dimensional perspective and returned to his body.

He opened his eyes, eagerly activating his Fated Perspective.

The room’s furnishings faded, the world around him turning into a grayscale space.

He could now see countless fate threads of varying thickness extending from an unseen void to entwine his body.

Most of the threads were blurry, representing the infinite possibilities and variables of his future.

Limited by his current Level as a Jhin, the Virtuoso, he could only clearly see the threads representing the most probable future events.

Among these threads, only two were distinct.

One was the "Rending Death Thread," and the other was a dark red thread, coiled around Lance’s neck like a noose.

Lance still couldn’t see the end of this fate thread or where it led.

This noose was the fate Molok had ordained for him.

Lance gazed at the noose around his neck, his heart heavy.

He could guess at his enemy’s power—likely an expert of the Legendary Tier—and his own current abilities were not yet strong enough to perceive the full extent of their plan.

However, he could still use Cropping to continuously grow stronger and gain the power to resist his fate.

’An invisible hand might be guiding me toward this death noose, but just because I can’t Crop it now doesn’t mean I never will.’

’As long as my abilities as a Jhin, the Virtuoso grow, as long as I can see this noose clearly, I will one day Crop it completely!’

Lance set aside his worries about the distant future and looked at his right hand.

A pale gray thread of fate was coiled around his index finger, representing the "Cyan Moon’s Return Home" branch of fate he had already begun to Crop.

He finally had the power to see what lay behind this thread of fate.

As he activated his Jhin, the Virtuoso ability, a vision began to form. The first thing to reach Lance’s ears was a voice, tinged with laughter:

"When the Cyan Moon weeps blood... the Sovereignty of Nine Heads... the crown..."

A complete prophecy now echoed in Lance’s ears. This was the prophecy Molok had set in motion for Ella.

Then, an image materialized.

It was the night of a full moon. In the vision, Ella was covered in wounds.

A figure in black then clamped a metal, rune-covered collar around her neck. He dragged her like an animal, throwing her violently into a cage-like carriage.

In the dim recesses of the carriage, Lance saw several other collared Sub-humans, huddled in a corner.

[Cyan Moon’s Return Home (Phase One)]

[Cropping Method: Personally craft a ’Concealing Potion’ within seven days to block bloodline tracking.]

[Reward: 15,000 General Experience Points, Rare Bloodline Extraction]

’So this is the first time I’m seeing the methods of that old fox, Molok. He uses prophecies to lock onto his prey?’

At this thought, Lance broke out in a cold sweat.

If he hadn’t been flush with cash today and upgraded his Jhin, the Virtuoso Level, he never would have discovered that the crisis was approaching so rapidly!

After seven days, Ella’s whereabouts would be completely exposed.

However, even with a clear objective, the pressure on Lance didn’t lessen in the slightest.

’I have to create a specific Alchemy Potion within seven days.’

Lance’s brow furrowed.

’First of all, I have no idea what level of Alchemy the "Concealing Potion" requires, nor do I know the recipe.’

Besides, his knowledge of Alchemy was superficial at best, and the quest required him to craft it personally, which meant the shortcut of hiring someone else was off the table.

’Why do I have to make it myself?’

Lance didn’t quite understand.

However, he needed to become an Alchemist anyway to support the development of his Biological Research ability.

He had already planned to take the old Chef’s letter of recommendation to the Seven Rings tomorrow, find that Alchemist, and learn some Skills to hasten his advancement to the Excellence Tier.

’I guess that’s a happy coincidence; the goals align perfectly.’

Lance consoled himself.

But the surprises that came with reaching Level 2 didn’t end there.

Lance dismissed the panel, pushed open his bedroom door, and walked into the living room.

He saw Necros, still wearing his reading glasses, sitting on the sofa. By the light of a Magic Crystal Lamp, he was tinkering with the old Brass Receiver.

"Still not fixed?"

Lance walked over to his side and asked casually.

"A part inside is probably broken."

Necros set down his tools and took off his reading glasses.

"It’s a memento from a friend, from several years ago. I can’t bear to throw it out. Looks like I’ll have to make a trip to an Alchemy Workshop in the Seven Rings tomorrow and find a proper craftsman to fix it."

An idea sparked in Lance’s mind as he listened to Necros.

He activated his Cropping ability, and in an instant, his vision shifted back to that grayscale space.

This time, he saw a thin, gray fate thread extending from Necros.

Lance projected his consciousness into it. In the brief vision that followed, he saw the old man leaving the next morning, only to slip on the bluestone steps of Hai Feng Street and tumble violently down.

The old man in the vision struggled to his feet, enduring immense pain. He silently gathered the scattered parts of the Receiver, then limped off alone in the direction of the Alchemy Workshop.

A pang of sorrow struck Lance as he watched the scene.

’So this is the twilight of a Hero.’

So he reached out. The gray thread of misfortune fell into his hand, and he clenched his fist around it.

"Crop!"

[Cropping Commission: Substitution]

[Quest Objective: Tomorrow morning, you will go out in Necros’s place and head to the Alchemy Workshop in the Seven Rings to repair the Receiver.]

[Reward: 500 General Experience Points]

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