Chapter 77: The Seven Deadly Sins—Greed
Leaving the instance core where it was, Song Qi walked towards the king’s corpse.
Soon, amidst a pile of ruins, he found the second ring.
[Ring: Forsaken First Heart]
[Quality: Extraordinary]
[Required Level: None]
[Required Attributes: None]
[Strength: +300]
[Agility: +0]
[Constitution: +50]
[Spirit: +0]
[Effect 1: Summon two level 55 Ancient Kingdom Guards to fight for you.]
[Effect 2: Fusion.]
[Evaluation: The ancient kingdom’s savior has fallen into the abyss. He received a ritual array from the abyss, using the souls and flesh of his people to nourish his withering body. Yet, at the crucial moment, his beloved split his array in two, and together they fell into eternal slumber.]
…
At this, Song Qi largely understood the story behind this instance.
In simple terms, this was a land once ruled by a decaying nobility.
But then a hero—this very king—rose up, defeating the entire noble class.
A young and beautiful female knight with a pure heart fell deeply for him, and in the end, they married.
At first, the king may indeed have been a good ruler.
But as the years passed and his body withered, the shadow of death grew ever clearer. The once brave king succumbed to the abyss.
Seduced by the abyss, he set up a ritual, slaughtering his own people in exchange for a few more breaths of life.
In the end, it was the queen who intervened, destroying his array and saving the kingdom’s people.
Yet she, too, was infected by the abyss, becoming neither truly alive nor dead.
“In a certain sense, the queen did fulfill her promise in the end… to remain forever by the king’s side.”
Song Qi took out the first ring and examined it.
“Last time, the story was about a lovesick tree spirit, jealous of the flower spirit’s partner. The fusion produced ‘Envy’ from the Seven Deadly Sins.”
“This time, the story’s theme is the king’s yearning for life—greed, perhaps?”
“How interesting. Does each of the Seven Deadly Sins correspond to a story?”
“I wonder if these tales have real-world origins? Are they invented, or are they actual legends in this world?”
This world was unlike his own.
With the threat of extra-planar demons, schools placed little importance on cultural studies.
So Song Qi had no idea where these stories originated.
“Maybe I can ask Gongsun Wuyue.”
He still remembered that Gongsun Wuyue had deduced the origin of his Soul Link skill with just a glance.
Her knowledge and reasoning were truly outstanding.
If the Seven Deadly Sins were truly based on real stories…
“Then I could actively search out those hidden instances.”
The thought made Song Qi’s eyes light up.
What was torture for others was a windfall for him.
He could gain a huge amount of experience, obtain instance cores, and claim legendary treasures.
It couldn’t be better!
He chuckled foolishly to himself before regaining his composure.
“Well then, let’s see what this Sin’s effect is!”
With that, Song Qi knocked the two rings together—the rings sprang from his fingers—
“Fusion!”
A flash of white light—
Bang!
A heavy book thudded to the ground.
The cover, like Envy from the Seven Deadly Sins, was pure black, devoid of any script or ornamentation.
Simply lying there, the book radiated an unsettling aura.
Song Qi picked it up and checked its information.
[Treasure: Seven Deadly Sins – Greed]
[Quality: Legendary]
[Required Level: None]
[Required Attributes: None]
[Strength: +0]
[Agility: +0]
[Constitution: +0]
[Spirit: -1]
[Effect 1: Select a target; instantly reset the cooldown of a chosen skill. Cooldown: 24 hours.]
[Effect 2: Select a piece of equipment; instantly reset the cooldown of one of its effects. Cooldown: 24 hours.]
[Evaluation: A gift from the abyss. Collect all seven to open the gate to the abyss!]
...
“What the—? The treasure resets skill cooldowns?!”
Song Qi’s eyes nearly bulged out of his head.
“And the second effect can reset an equipment effect? Does that mean I can exploit a loophole and use Effect 1 endlessly?”
“No, wait…”
Looking closer, he realized Effect 2 could only reset one effect.
“So, no loophole… but it’s still amazing!”
Song Qi was well satisfied.
With [Greed] paired with [Envy], he could pull two people into a duel space in succession.
If he encountered another elite five-person team like today, taking out their backline would be much easier.
No need to sneak around.
And if he didn’t use the equipment effect, he could reset Lü Bu’s [Cunning] skill twice.
That would let Lü Bu unleash his skill three times in a row!
From a mere ten-minute burst, it would become a thirty-minute extended assault—an extraordinary leap in power.
Joyfully, Song Qi stored the treasure away.
Though its effect did little for bullying weaklings, it could instantly turn the tide against equal foes!
“Well, that’s everything here. Time to leave.”
With that, Song Qi turned to the instance core and stowed it in his backpack.
[Congratulations! You have obtained a special instance core.]
[Attention! The core of this instance has been claimed. All players will be forcibly ejected from this world in ten seconds.]
Ten seconds later…
Song Qi and his companions found themselves once more upon the snowy plains.
He checked his status panel.
[Triple Experience Card: 01:33:06]
“There’s an hour and a half left. Can’t waste it.”
Song Qi wasn’t in a hurry to find the city lord.
He understood his own abilities. He had potential, yes, but those high-level battles were not for him yet.
A city lord and a regiment leader—just the aftershocks of their fight could kill him outright.
Better to wait for the city lord to finish and come find him.
After a moment’s thought, Song Qi took out the skill book the city lord had given him and chose to use it.
[Ding! Congratulations, you have learned Qimen Dunjia: Heavenly Thrust.]
Then he compared his map for a bit and looked to his right.
“It’s not far from the snow wolves’ territory. Might as well try my luck.”
“Hopefully I can hunt another pack before time’s up.”
“It’ll be a good chance to test my skills, too.”
Putting away the map, he summoned a few sand steeds through Ying Zheng, loaded the twelve cultists, and rode off into the distance…