Chapter 327: Spirit Candle Promotion: Flame

‘A Palu should just act like a Palu! If you want to be the lead Palu, you have to work even harder!’

“Oh… I get it. The cost increases incrementally, right?” Li Miao accepted it relatively quickly, since many games have similar limitations.

The Spirit Candle already gave players a decent number of Skills, and the Candle Spirits themselves were quite powerful.

At least it wouldn’t lead to the ridiculous situation where you get completely stuck just because you can’t jump over a slightly higher ledge…

“Huh? I thought I could learn another Radiant Sword…” Shore said, a little disappointed.

But he quickly had an idea and didn’t bother hiding it, looking directly at the others right in front of Luo Ge.

“Hey? If one person could get all the current Spirit Candle’s Blessings and use them all on himself, wouldn’t that mean…”

As soon as he finished speaking,

Black Mountain Little Demon shot him a surprised look.

‘How did he know I was planning to just spend a ton of money to buy all the other Spirit Candle’s Blessings?’

“Heh.”

In response, Luo Ge just chuckled. He didn’t answer Shore’s question, but simply said to Li Miao,

“Save up your War Contribution. You’ll need it soon.”

With that, he left.

Hearing this, Li Miao scratched his head and looked at the others in confusion. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“‘Save up your War Contribution…'” Skyrim mused, stroking his chin. “I feel like there must be some special item that you can only redeem with War Contribution…”

“Ah, forget about that for now.” Shore was extremely curious. He nudged Li Miao with his elbow and urged, “Give me your Spirit Candle’s Blessing.”

Hearing that, Li Miao immediately clutched at his waist warily. “What for?”

“Let me try using two Spirit Candle’s Blessings and see if they stack.”

“Bullshit. It’d be more like it if you gave me yours to try.”

“Come on, don’t you want to know if the Spirit Candle’s Blessings can be stacked indefinitely?”

“Sure, then just let me use yours, right?”

“Fuck, giving it to a front-line Tank like you would be a waste, wouldn’t it? I’m a T0 Mage, okay? Once I upgrade my Magic slots, I’ll carry you so hard.”

“Hah. It’s bad enough that you’re ugly, but you dream big, too. I’d rather let Faraway try it. You…”

Just as the two were trading their usual insults,

Brother Mangzi suddenly spoke up. “You two, stop arguing. The Spirit Candle’s Blessing can’t be used more than once.”

Handing Bu Long’s Spirit Candle’s Blessing back, Brother Mangzi spread his hands, having clearly already tried to use it himself.

“You can only use one Spirit Candle’s Blessing of the same level. To open a second slot, you’d probably need one of a higher level…”

Seeing this, Black Mountain Little Demon shook his head, a look of disappointment on his face.

Li Miao and Shore also stopped, looked at each other, and sighed in unison.

“Sigh… pearls before swine!” (x2)

After chatting for a little while longer, the players were surprised to see an official notification.

[Server Maintenance and Update Announcement…]

“Holy crap, another update? And it looks like a major one?” Black Mountain Little Demon said in surprise.

“Of course. The Spirit Candle already hinted that this Broken Core thing is really important and would advance the plot. A major update makes perfect sense,” Niuniu said with a shrug.

“Looks like we’ll have to wait a long time for this one… Nooo, how am I supposed to live without Spirit Candle to play…”

Brother Mangzi began to wail in despair.

…

[Spirit Candle]

[Tier: Scorching Charcoal (Promotion Requirement: 500,000 Wax Oil, 1 Broken Core)]

[Remaining Wax Oil: 1,367,841]

[Spirit Candle Buildings: Spirit Fire Port (Tier Three), Sin Furnace (Tier Two), Demon-Harboring Cottage (Tier Two), Candle Spirit Tree (Initial Stage)]

[Anchored Islands: Candle Island, Exile Island, Jinghai Islands, Seaside Town…]

[Summoned Candle Spirits: 8,741]

Luo Ge first reviewed the current status of the Spirit Candle. It was pretty good.

The trip to find the Broken Core had used a lot of Wax Oil, so there was just over a million left.

The number of players was now approaching ten thousand and still growing. On average, each player generated around one hundred and fifty Wax Oil for him per day.

Among them, the “grinder” players had worked tirelessly and made great contributions, adding a significant amount to the “GDP.”

However, a large number of players naturally meant increased consumption.

First, there were player deaths and Resurrections. While some of the more High Level players could bear the cost themselves, most new players needed an adaptation period, which resulted in significant consumption.

It was like training a qualified Soldier—the initial costs were bound to be high. Luo Ge had also gradually rolled back some of his earlier measures.

Furthermore, the various functions of the Spirit Candle required a certain amount of Wax Oil to operate, and Luo Ge himself also needed to spend Wax Oil to craft equipment.

Of course, Luo Ge had already brought these expenses under control within a reasonable range, balancing his income and outgoings with a considerable surplus.

After checking the Spirit Candle’s status, Luo Ge turned his attention to the Broken Core enveloped in the Power of the Spirit Candle. Instead of using it to Promote immediately, he began to investigate it.

A moment later, Luo Ge was lost in thought.

Sensing that most of the players had logged off, Luo Ge took a deep breath.

“Let’s begin.”

It was time for the Spirit Candle to ascend to the next Tier.

And this time, with the addition of the Broken Core, one of the Curiosities, the change was destined to be different.

[Wax Oil required for Tier Promotion: 500,000 Wax Oil, Broken Core x1. Consume…?]

[Spirit Candle Tier Promotion in progress…]

…

On Candle Island, Noxia stood before the entrance to the cave. Xiaoluo was perched on her pale white finger, cupping its little face as it looked around curiously.

“Nuonuo, where did all those strange guys go?”

“The Warriors have gone back to rest now,” Noxia said with a smile, gently stroking Xiaoluo’s little head with her finger.

At that moment, a soft, azure ripple suddenly emanated from the Reef Cave behind her, spreading out into the sky and across the surroundings.

As this power spread, Noxia felt as if her very Soul had become more at ease.

She wasn’t the only one who sensed it; Burton Mage, Navor, and the Sea Star Race did as well.

RUMBLE…

A huge tremor reverberated through the area. Burton Mage seemed to sense something and looked toward the source of the sound.

He saw layers of rock rise from the seabed. Stones rose and fell away as massive pillars shot up from the depths…

“What an incredible change… Your Excellency, Luo Ge…”

Burton murmured to himself, tilting his head back.

The members of the Sea Star Race were even more immersed in this miraculous display of power, completely captivated. Some even cried out to their god, prostrating themselves in excitement.

…

[Spirit Candle Tier Promotion complete.]

[Power of the Spirit Candle has undergone a Qualitative Change.]

[New Candle Spirit Buildings unlocked: Candle Spirit Tree (Middle Tier, requires 50,000 Wax Oil), Sin Furnace (Tier Three, requires 30,000 Wax Oil)]

[Candle Spirits can now perform the “Fire Worship Ceremony” to activate the “Power of Fire.”]

[Maximum Candle Spirit Ignition Point has been raised to Flame!]

[Maximum Candle Spirit Temperature limit has been increased!]

[Spirit Candle]

[Tier: Flame (Promotion Requirement: 2,500,000 Wax Oil, Broken Core x2)]

[Remaining Wax Oil: 867,841]

[Spirit Candle Buildings: Spirit Fire Port (Tier Three), Sin Furnace (Tier Two), Demon-Harboring Cottage (Tier Two), Candle Spirit Tree (Initial Stage, can be promoted)]

[Anchored Islands: Candle Island, Exile Island, Jinghai Islands, Seaside Town…]

[Summoned Candle Spirits: 8,741]

After the Spirit Candle completed its promotion, Luo Ge didn’t immediately focus on other matters, instead concentrating his energy on one thing.

This promotion was indeed a huge leap. The Flame Tier seemed to be a watershed for mastering Extraordinary Power for the creatures of this world.

And after crossing this watershed, the Spirit Candle also obtained a very practical and powerful ability.

The ability to transform anchored regions.

As the saying goes, the shorter the description, the more significant the matter—and the more powerful the ability.

Behind the nine words in the notification—”Power of the Spirit Candle has undergone a Qualitative Change”—was the fact that Luo Ge could now perfectly control the entire Candle Island region.

By simply consuming Spirit Candle Power, he could reshape the entire region according to his own will!

And Candle Island, as the very first seat of the Spirit Candle’s power… was starting to look a little inadequate.

So… it was time for a major overhaul!

RUUUUMBLE—

A tremendous rumbling echoed throughout the entire anchored region, and the Ocean itself began to tremble.