“100,000 reputation points? Not bad, that’s within my expectations.”
Hearing the system’s response, Yan Qi did a quick calculation and found the cost of 10,000 reputation points per draw reasonable, so she didn’t say anything more.
Instead, she opened the system panel to examine the transformation card for the Dao Yan Empress.
[Six-Star Transformation Card: Dao Yan Empress
★ Star Rating: 3 Stars (560/100,000)
Skills: Truth-Seeking Eye, Dao Yan Sword Art, Samadhi True Flame
Talents: Sword Mastery (Top Tier), Daoist Arts (Top Tier)]
After glancing at the card’s illustration—a stunning beauty in a revealing blue ancient-style dress with white thigh-high stockings—Yan Qi quickly shifted her attention to the text below. Noticing the experience accumulation, she asked the system:
“System, how is the card’s experience calculated?”
The system promptly replied:
[Dear Host, the card’s experience is calculated based on the number and star rating of the Abyssal Beasts you eliminate.]
“Abyssal Beasts? You mean those monsters I encountered earlier inside that black barrier?”
Hearing an unfamiliar term, Yan Qi recalled the events from before and asked curiously.
[Correct.]
Getting the system’s confirmation, Yan Qi nodded with an “I knew it” expression before continuing:
“So those things were Abyssal Beasts… Then, System, do you know where they come from?”
[Abyssal Beasts originate from the Abyss, which is the reverse side of the reality in which the host currently lives.]
“The Abyss? The reverse side of reality? So this world actually has two layers? Hmm… System, why do these Abyssal Beasts come to our world?”
[To eradicate humanity.]
“Eradicate humanity? And nothing else?”
The system’s blunt answer made Yan Qi pause for a moment before she pressed further.
[Beyond that, they have no other purpose.]
“No other purpose…? Then, System, do you know how to completely destroy these Abyssal Beasts?”
Yan Qi asked cautiously.
[I do.]
Hearing this, Yan Qi immediately perked up.
“Then tell me! How do we wipe them out for good?”
But unlike before, the system didn’t answer directly. Instead, it said:
[Apologies, Host. Given your current low power level, the system cannot disclose the method to permanently eliminate Abyssal Beasts. Please understand.]
Feeling like she’d been doused in cold water, Yan Qi scowled.
“So what, System? Are you saying I’m too weak to know? Is that it?”
[Dear Host, that is not the system’s intention. Once your strength reaches a level where you can resolve the issue, the system will immediately provide the solution.]
Hearing this—and remembering that she had only just obtained the system and was still at the starting line—Yan Qi gradually cooled down.
“Fine. But when I am strong enough, you’d better tell me right away.”
[Understood.]
After taking a moment to collect her thoughts, Yan Qi circled back to her earlier question about experience calculation.
“System, you said the card’s experience is based on the number and star rating of Abyssal Beasts killed. How exactly is it calculated?”
[For example, earlier, the host used the Dao Yan Empress card to eliminate 56 one-star Abyssal Beasts. Since each one-star beast provides 10 EXP, the card gained a total of 560 EXP.]
“And how much do higher-ranked beasts give?”
[Two-star Abyssal Beasts grant 50 EXP, three-star grant 300, four-star grant 2,000, five-star grant 15,000, and six-star grant 100,000 EXP.]
*”A six-star beast gives 100,000 EXP?! That means if I kill just one six-star Abyssal Beast with the Dao Yan Empress, she’d level up instantly!”*
Learning the EXP values for each rank, Yan Qi couldn’t help but daydream.
Sensing her unrealistic expectations, the system interjected:
[Dear Host, please abandon such impractical fantasies. Even with your current strongest transformation card, Dao Yan Empress, your combat power is only equivalent to a three-star Abyssal Beast. You are incapable of defeating a six-star one.]
Doused in cold water again, Yan Qi snapped out of her reverie.
This time, however, she didn’t get angry—she had a much clearer grasp of her own strength now.
“I was just imagining things. Is that a crime? Oh, right, System… Will I ever run into those high-star Abyssal Beasts you mentioned—the ones stronger than my transformed self?”
Now aware that there were beasts far beyond her current capabilities, Yan Qi grew concerned for her future safety.
[Under normal circumstances, at this point in time, the host will not encounter Abyssal Beasts stronger than your transformed state. The barrier between reality and the Abyss remains stable, and the current fissures only permit low-star beasts to pass through.]
“‘Normal circumstances’? So there are exceptions?”
Picking up on the keyword, Yan Qi pressed further.
[Indeed, there are two special scenarios where the host may prematurely face high-star Abyssal Beasts.
1. The host actively enters the Abyss through a fissure in the barrier.
2. Someone forcibly expands a fissure by sacrificing a large number of human souls, allowing high-star beasts to pass into reality.]
“I see… Either entering the Abyss willingly, or someone performing mass human sacrifices to widen the fissures.”
As the system explained the two exceptions, Yan Qi’s expression turned thoughtful, and she silently mulled over the implications.