Chapter 75

# Chapter 075: Dominating Fate

Time quickly arrived at noon.

"Ding——"

That notification sound, now deeply familiar to all trial participants, rang out punctually in everyone's mind:

[Congratulations on surviving seven full days in the Trial Ground. Your faction gains +1 Faction Point.]

[You receive +1 Faction Contribution.]

[The Faction Ranking and Personal Contribution Ranking have been refreshed.]

As the notification faded, countless trial participants instinctively pulled up the Trial Ground's Status Panel.

Their gazes swept in unison toward the string of numbers that would determine their faction's fate.

[First Place: Huaxia, Faction Points: 7,937,678,285]

[Second Place: United States, Faction Points: 317,278,723]

[Third Place: India, Faction Points: 278,383,676]

[Fourth Place: Brazil, Faction Points: 256,715,656]

[Fifth Place: Charlie Marvin, Faction Points: 213,677,673]

...

It was evident that the faction points of traditionally populous nations on the ranking had seen a clear recovery.

The rankings shifted accordingly.

India had surged back into the top three, while Brazil had climbed directly to fourth place.

Even Britain, which had once fallen out of the top hundred a few days ago, had quietly returned to the top twenty.

This was undoubtedly a clear signal.

It meant that for those factions that had suffered devastating blows on the third and fourth days, their most difficult phase had passed.

Those who survived had either adapted to the wilderness or were fortunate enough to find companions.

The sharp decline in elimination rates allowed faction points to begin growing positively once more.

Many breathed a sigh of relief.

At the very least, mentally, they no longer had to watch their faction points slide into the abyss of negative numbers every day.

Still, the name in fifth place remained an eyesore.

Charlie Marvin, with over two hundred million individual points, was forcibly pressing down on numerous nations.

This fact left trial participants from other factions with an indescribable sense of irritation.

As for the top-ranked Huaxia...

That string of nearly eight billion points had already rendered participants from other factions too exhausted to complain.

Even the initial hysterical "cheating accusations" were now almost never mentioned.

Because the Huaxia people might... probably... have actually cheated.

...

Within the Huaxia faction, however, the reaction was entirely different.

When the notification sounded, only a minority chose to open the Status Panel.

Even then, they merely glanced at the Faction Ranking, confirmed the faction points were growing normally, and didn't bother looking further.

For Huaxia trial participants, the Faction Ranking had lost its ability to excite.

A solid first place, a massive lead, with over a billion points increasing daily...

What was there to worry about?

It looked the same no matter when you checked!

What truly made their hearts race now was something else entirely.

The Supply Box.

This was the first chest opening since Good Fortune Coins officially went online.

Countless people had long been clutching their already-exchanged Good Fortune Coins, their eyes fixed on the refresh countdown.

At this moment, the notification sound was more like a bell reminding him that the treasure chest had refreshed.

Time to open chests!

...

In a corner of the Trial Ground.

Inside that warm and comfortable high-grade wooden cabin, upgraded with an Upgrade Card.

Yan Cang now stood before the supply box.

He reached out and touched the box, watching as it transformed into a dazzling golden treasure chest.

This was undoubtedly a Golden Chest, something countless trial participants could only dream of.

However, Yan Cang's face, full of youthful vitality, showed little fluctuation.

After all, to him, this was already a daily routine.

It was probably like how everyone had grown accustomed to the Huaxia Faction's overwhelming lead—he, too, had grown used to opening Golden Chests.

Staring at the chest, Yan Cang subconsciously began calculating in his mind what type of item he still needed.

And whether the energy required for subsequent refinement would be sufficient.

It should be enough, right?

After all, with the launch of Good Fortune Coins, everyone's desire to top up had surged. In less than a day, they had accumulated an amount equivalent to what would normally take two or three days.

Glancing at the current scale of the Energy Pool, Yan Cang estimated it should be about right.

But then, what should he get from the chest today?

He rested his chin in thought for a moment.

As for direction... considering that the Sword Nurturing Art wasn't comprehensive enough, he figured he should go for something to enhance himself.

At the same time, it would be best if it significantly boosted his Attributes and showed results quickly.

Cultivation Methods were too slow to practice—far less intuitive than the impact of Talents.

Originally, Yan Cang hadn't felt this way, but after seeing Qiao Yue's Attributes yesterday...

He was actually a bit bothered that, despite opening so many Golden Chests, his overall Attributes had been surpassed by Sister Qiao, who had only opened one.

So, Yan Cang decided he wouldn't pretend anymore.

He was coming clean—he was cheating.

This time, he planned to max out his Attributes all at once!

As long as he could leverage the advantages of the Fate Net or the Energy Pool, he should be able to pull it off.

Though he had tried a few days ago, the Golden Chest hadn't contained any Cultivation Method or ability that met such requirements.

But Mysterious Artifacts were a different story.

Now that Yan Cang had the Myriad Treasures Origin-Returning Art, he only needed to expend energy to refine one and trigger a Qualitative Change.

That should make his idea achievable.

He could even go a step further and hope for future growth potential, as well as adding some utility to the Fate Net.

The demands were high,

but in the end, he trusted the "Great Fate Art"!

After deciding, Yan Cang stood before the Golden Chest and activated his Fate Power.

Countless illusory future scenes unfolded before his eyes.

As his will settled, each one shattered and vanished like a fleeting dream.

Only the phantom of a chain-like object remained.

"Hey! There actually is something that perfectly meets the requirements!" Yan Cang exclaimed in surprise.

He had originally thought he was being a bit greedy, so he had prepared himself to accept it even if the item couldn't benefit the Fate Net, or if its growth potential was minimal or even nonexistent.

After all, the main goal was a massive Attribute boost.

This "massive" wasn't simply a matter of tens or hundreds of points.

It was thousands or even tens of thousands of attribute points.

With such a boost, it also maintained growth potential and had uses for the Fate Net...

So there was nothing more to say—Yan Cang naturally chose to take it directly.

With a "click," the Golden Chest was opened.

Eagerly pulling the chain out of the chest, he didn't even glance at the detailed information of this Mysterious Artifact before immediately activating the "Great Fate Art" again.

Fate revealed the subsequent steps to him: "Dominating Fate? Use Dominating Power to refine this chain, huh..."

"I understand!"

Thinking this, Yan Cang skillfully employed the refinement method of the Myriad Treasures Origin-Returning Art.

The pitch-black Dominating Power was stripped from the invisible, mighty force of Fate, then infused into the Mysterious Artifact before him.

The chain's originally bronze-like exterior began to stain with an unfathomable darkness, spreading like a contamination.

At the same time, a tremor came from the Fate Star Sea.

Yan Cang diverted his attention to check and found it was a private message from Teacher Qiao Yue on the Fate Net's chat channel.

Since he was very familiar with the refinement process, he immediately began to multitask and reply.

After a few casual exchanges, he realized Teacher Qiao Yue was probing his identity.

Yan Cang found it a bit speechless.

What was Sister Qiao still probing for? Hadn't he already made it so obvious before?

He muttered to himself, "Could it be she's not sure and wants me to admit it myself?"

"Does she want me to say I'm the Chief? Ew! That feels so embarrassing!"

So, the young man decisively played dumb.

[Yan Cang: I don't know anything! /Innocent]

[Qiao Yue: Fine! But Yan Cang, calling your name doesn't seem to work. The teacher has only been getting Black Iron Chests these past few days.]

[Yan Cang: Impossible! Absolutely impossible!]

[Yan Cang: It must be because Sister Qiao isn't devout enough!]

[Qiao Yue: Devout?]

[Yan Cang: Yes, your voice has to be devout, and it's best to add a title of respect after the name!]

After a few more random fabrications, the refinement of the chain Mysterious Artifact before him was successfully completed.

Seeing this, Yan Cang focused all his attention on it.

After staring for a few seconds, the appraisal information that appeared made his pupils dilate.

"This thing seems pretty powerful!"