Chapter 74: Shortcomings of the Life Soul Progression System (6th Update)

Chapter 74: Shortcomings of the Life Soul Progression System (6th Update)

“Don’t charge alone! All online bros, gather at the exit of Dizhong Village—we’ll storm out together!”

“I thought the Black Tide would be terrifying, but turns out it’s just this weak. We’ve turned it into Musou mode slaughter—this feels amazing!”

“Even though Guide said this is just the weakest Black Tide, with these Malevolent Spirits barely reaching Crescent Moon-tier strength, who cares? It’s still awesome!”

“Our squad needs more Dps to grind levels. No Tauntweavers or Life Soul tanks—just pure damage dealers!”

“If only we had some healing support Life Souls! We can dominate the Black Tide easily, but our sustainability can’t keep up. Once stamina or mental energy runs dry, we’re dead meat.”

…

The Black Tide had ravaged the Dizhong Mountain Range for an entire day.

Players originally planning to farm resurrection loops in Dizhong Village were now ecstatic. The enemies’ weakness exceeded all expectations.

The newly spawned low-tide Malevolent Spirits were practically experience-point piñatas, churning out Sacrificial Power with laughably low damage. Their sheer numbers only made them easier targets.

Fresh recruits who’d previously complained about facing Last Quarter Moon zones straight after creation had now flipped the script. They discovered they could massacre these low-tide Black Tide forces repeatedly with ease.

The euphoria of slaughtering Malevolent Spirits even made veteran players feel like the game itself had transformed.

Compared to the earlier grind of mining, forming parties to tackle high-tier hunting zones, and surviving in the Souls-like mode, the Black Tide had turned the game into an endless action-packed Musou spree.

The only frustration? Dismal sustainability—every glorious spree ended with an hour-long respawn timer.

Every exit from Dizhong Village became a one-way charge, with death inevitably sending them back to the village.

While players reveled in their newfound power, Di Nian’s Black Tide forces—responsible for this chaos—faced growing troubles.

From his high tower atop the Domain Node, Di Nian watched the Black Tide sweep across the mountains.

During this time, he discovered a grave issue: instead of growing stronger as it expanded, the Black Tide weakened when encountering these mysterious “players.”

To investigate this anomaly, he’d personally tracked them.

The results left him stunned.

This self-proclaimed “player” race weren’t native to this world. Like himself, they’d breached the Monster World’s barriers, invading from another realm.

In other words, the Player Clan were also invaders.

Yet their invasion method baffled him. They arrived sporadically—sometimes dozens at once, sometimes alone—without coordination or strategy.

When engaging his Black Tide forces, they fought recklessly, dying pointlessly.

This defied all logic for an invading faction. They operated like scattered individuals, not a unified army.

Yet this seemingly ineffectual force had become an unresolved threat.

The players possessed a rule-based trait even the Malevolent Eye couldn’t decipher: upon death, they vanished completely, unabsorbable by the Black Tide. Worse, Malevolent Spirits killed by players couldn’t rejoin the Black Tide.

The conflict had become a war of attrition.

Di Nian couldn’t gauge the Player Clan’s true reserves. At this rate, the Black Tide’s strength would only dwindle.

His first campaign in this world had hit an unexpected snag. The ambitious Di Nian fumed, lacking a perfect solution. His only recourse was to keep sacrificing resources to drain the Player Clan’s reserves gradually.

In a war of attrition, Di Nian considered the Black Tide invincible.

Previously, he’d conquered two minor worlds.

Initially, the invading Black Tide was weaker. During the dungeon world invasion, its commander barely reached sub-leader-tier strength, outmatched by the dungeon world’s strongest beings.

Yet over decades of relentless expansion, the dungeon world’s alliances steadily weakened, while the Black Tide’s power surged. By war’s end, the commander had ascended to king-tier, and Di Nian himself achieved general-tier strength.

The dungeon world ultimately fell in their final assault.

Thus, Di Nian viewed attrition as the Black Tide’s greatest weapon. With their rapid Malevolent Spirit regeneration, no force could withstand a prolonged conflict.

Even initial disadvantages or stalemates meant inevitable victory in his eyes.

…

Primordial Altar.

Qi Sheng reviewed Guide’s report on the players’ 29-hour campaign against the Black Tide:

After deducting resurrection costs, the Black Tide had netted 580,000 Sacrificial Power.

The influx was explosive.

At this rate, the Black Tide invasion would greatly enhance the Player Clan’s overall strength.

According to Guide, Di Nian had drained the Celestial Abyss Domain Node’s energy reserves and now borrowed power from other Black Tide nodes to create more Malevolent Spirits. To Qi Sheng, this was like his enemies taking loans to fund his own army’s upgrades.

What a “disaster”—more like a cash cow.

“After living frugally with scarce Sacrificial Power, sudden wealth feels incredible.”

A delighted emoji flickered across Guide’s water-orb form beside Qi Sheng as it continued:

“Remember when we nearly went bankrupt recruiting players? Now we’ve got hope—it’s paradise compared to those days.”

Guide’s words stirred Qi Sheng’s nostalgia.

Before finding Earth, he and Yan Ming had drifted through countless shattered worlds, watching their dwindling Sacrificial Power reserves shrink until they could barely hide Dizhong Village within the Monster World. They’d prepared to die when the village’s barriers collapsed.

Yan Ming had even suggested draining Dizhong Village’s last resources for a final battle, declaring he’d rather die fighting than waiting passively.

Thankfully, Qi Sheng had stopped him, choosing to spend their last reserves searching for unbroken worlds.

When that vast blue planet finally appeared in their consciousness… the joy had been overwhelming.

That moment’s euphoria still lingered in Qi Sheng’s soul.

Guide’s sentiment mirrored his own.

The players had proven his recruitment plan sound.

Though currently only battling the weakest Black Tide forces, far from the true main forces, their growth potential was evident.

Watching the player legion evolve felt wondrous—a parental pride in seeing their created children mature.

Meanwhile, his Imperial Omen body now housed 17 Primordial powers, multiplying his strength exponentially since the recruitment project began.

The most visible change? His Crimson Flames burned deeper, darker when shifting forms.

As Guide put it, everything was trending upward. The once-desperate end had become a bright new path forward.

Without hesitation, Qi Sheng shifted perspectives to view player feeds and forum updates.

A thread caught his eye:

“New sustainability build tested—Qi Devourer dual-wielding Stellar Vein combo in simulation tower!”

Streamer: Steel Arm.

Content:

“The Black Tide’s been fun, but we found a problem. A special Malevolent Spirit called ‘Shadow Strike’ exists in the swarm. Screenshots attached below.”

(Attached: Monster analysis details)

The creature resembled a ground-hugging shadow, formless and amorphous.

[Shadow Strike (Malevolent Spirit)]

Hunting Tier: 5

Description: Low-tier Malevolent Spirit born from the Black Tide. Resistant to minor physical damage. Can deal sustained damage through parasitic attachment.

Everyone's probably encountered this Malevolent Spirits creature - it's one of the most stubborn monsters in Black Tide. Once latched onto you, there's no dispelling it. You just endure worsening injuries. I noticed many players dying after being parasitized by Shadow Strike.

The low-damage physical attacks mentioned in descriptions can't one-shot this thing. Slicing it in half lets it regenerate instantly. In fact, I've shattered Shadow Strike multiple times only to watch it heal immediately. Only energy or elemental attacks deal real damage.

This problem frustrated me. Throughout my gaming life, I've loved melee builds and never liked mage classes. Same here - I started with Black-Scaled Serpent paired with Shattered Blade Life Soul. Both are melee-focused Life Souls.

Facing these disgusting monsters left me helpless. I headed to the Test Tower to simulate solutions. Eventually, I found an optimal combination among the existing 17 Life Souls.

Enough talk - here's the demonstration video.

(Qi Sheng's consciousness clicked the video, triggering a virtual scene in his mind.)

Player "Steel Arm" first displayed his four Life Souls: Shattered Blade, Malevolent Fury Axe, Bonefire, and Qi Devourer. He then explained his Stellar Vein build's combat logic.

"Stellar Vein Inlay demonstration finished. Now explaining my strategy."

"Knowing certain Malevolent Spirits take only energy or elemental damage, I wanted melee weapons with elemental capabilities - a martial-arcane hybrid build."

Steel Arm waved his hands, summoning two Spiritforged Weapons hovering at his sides. Left: Shattered Blade. Right: Malevolent Fury Axe. Bonefire activated, coating his body and weapons in black flames.

"Some wonder why dual-wield when Spiritforged Weapons can fuse into one? Like combining Shattered Blade and Malevolent Fury Axe to switch between sword or axe forms for shattered effects and damage boosts."

"But attack frequency matters. As a veteran melee player, dual-wielding significantly increases offense. Mastered properly - left hand breaks armor, right hand crits. Bonefire's Inkfire enchantment adds elemental damage to physical attacks."

"However, relying on Shattered Blade, Malevolent Fury Axe, and Bonefire had serious drawbacks. My Mental Energy drained completely within five minutes, causing incapacitating exhaustion."

"Since we focus on melee rather than arcane Life Souls, our weak Mental Energy prevents sustained Inkfire like Hawk-Headed Demon specialists. Hence adding Qi Devourer as my fourth Life Soul - crucial note: Qi Devourer suits more than just arcane players."

Qi Sheng understood immediately. Left-hand Shattered Blade applied armor-breaking marks, while Malevolent Fury Axe delivered heavy strikes. Bonefire's Inkfire enchanted both weapons, with Qi Devourer recovering Vital Qi and Mental Energy to sustain enchantments.

Demonstration complete, Steel Arm summoned test monsters. He carved through crowds with dual-wielding brilliance, constantly inhaling swirling white Qi currents.

The post gained massive upvotes and active comments:

Word Duck: Thanks for sharing this Stellar Vein build! Practical compared to those flashy "future tech" combos. I'll bookmark this real-playable strategy.

Tianming Protagonist: Appreciate your martial-arcane hybrid guide! My favorite combo style!

No Cash, Just Soul: Just solved my problem! I was stressing about countering Shadow Strike with melee. Saw your guide and decided to follow this build, though I'll fuse my Spiritforged Weapons rather than dual-wield (Donated 1 Sacrificial Power)

Nightfallapproach: Clever concept, but major flaw. After Body Forge Rank upgrades, Malevolent Fury Axe and Shattered Blade boost physical stats while Qi Devourer/Bonefire focus Mental Energy. Mixing these creates conflicting stat priorities. Pure melee builds with four physical Life Souls will outclass this flashy "elemental gimmick" build.

Steel Arm (OP): Wow, Nightfallapproach! You're right about stat conflicts. But fighting special monsters requires trade-offs. Any suggestions?

Browsing replies, Qi Sheng noticed previously overlooked mechanics. Nightfallapproach's critique made him reconsider Stellar Vein's systemic issues.

Currently, Evolution Points from monster hunts get evenly shared among all equipped Life Souls. If you kill a monster for 120 EP with three Life Souls, each gains 40. This prevents specialized builds.

Steel Arm's strategy exemplified this - Bonefire and Qi Devourer only needed minimal EP for Mental Energy recovery. Extra EP wasted there could've boosted Shattered Blade and Malevolent Fury Axe instead. As Stellar Vein builds evolved, this balanced distribution would become crippling.

Realizing this, Qi Sheng immediately sought solutions. Scanning comments, inspiration struck - add an Evolution Point "allocation regulator" for customizable distribution.

Without hesitation, Qi Sheng initiated testing. Summoning the Challenger System, cascading data streams surrounded him. His guide companion assisted in simulating the new Evolution Point distribution system.

Ten minutes later, a new interface materialized - "Evolution Point Allocation" emblazoned the top. Five Life Soul slots displayed beneath, each with draggable percentage bars (0-100% adjustable). A "Balance All" button set them to 20% automatically.

Testing connectivity with the Function Panel, Qi Sheng nodded. This system let players specialize - once Life Souls reached minimum required levels, distribution could be set to 0%, freeing EP for preferred upgrades.

Perfectly solving the over-balanced strengthening issue raised in forums. Completing tests, Qi Sheng prepared a system update. Every patch originated from player feedback - better experiences meant more Sacrificial Power gains. Achieving true Imperial Omen status meant championing player needs.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end