My starting summon is a small skeleton
Chapter 416: 413 Upgraded System

Chapter 416: 413 Upgraded System

Extreme Cold Hell.

Endless energy surged through Lu Wu’s body.

From the extreme cold of Han,

From the mysterious majesty and utmost sharpness of the Heavenly Cluster Cloud Sword,

From the death and thunder of Little Skeleton,

From the dragon power of Little Flood Dragon,

Each stream of power was of epic caliber, each one enough to shape Lu Wu into an epic-level powerhouse.

Now, all four powers converged at once.

Adding to that was the inheritance left to Lu Wu by Yukawa Ryuzo.

The feedback and foundations now within Lu Wu were terrifyingly powerful.

The threshold of epic level was as thin as paper before Lu Wu.

Lu Wu instantly achieved breakthroughs from king-level to epic-level.

However, this breakthrough wasn’t an end for Lu Wu but a beginning.

He needed to digest and integrate these powers, lest they become a deadly poison threatening his life.

This is why others would only form contracts with one or two summoned beasts.

The difficulty of cultivation was one aspect; whether they could digest the feedback from the summoned beasts was another.

Fortunately, Lu Wu didn’t face this issue.

His forte was integration and absorption.

With “All Things” activated and Lu Family Swordsmanship employed, Lu Wu began to digest these five powers.

The power from Yukawa Ryuzo was the easiest to resolve.

For one, Lu Wu had witnessed his entire life’s memories and was very clear about the sources of his power, knowing how to assimilate it.

When Yukawa Ryuzo transferred his power, he also processed it, allowing Lu Wu to assimilate it quite easily.

Among the powers Yukawa Ryuzo transferred to Lu Wu, the most important part for Lu Wu was the last sword thrust at the Zero Leader.

To deliver that thrust, he had concentrated decades of regret and lived for decades in hell.

That extremity of refinement in the sword technique inspired Lu Wu greatly.

Using that move as a foundation, he combined it with All Things and conceptualized a new sword technique.

This new technique significantly helped Lu Wu in absorbing and transforming energy.

He first incorporated the feedback from the Heavenly Cluster Cloud Sword into this sword technique, and then gradually merged the powers of Han, Little Skeleton, and Little Flood Dragon.

Finally, he integrated his original sword techniques.

Everything from “Slaughter of Living Beings” to “Divine Sword Skill” was merged.

All fused sword techniques ultimately formed a multicolored longsword shackled by countless chains in Lu Wu’s energy space.

Thus, the initial integration of Lu Wu’s energy and sword techniques was completed, and Lu Wu officially completed his own breakthrough.

It all sounds slow, but it happened in an instant; to an outsider, it seemed Lu Wu had done it all in the blink of an eye.

As Lu Wu opened his eyes, three new attribute panels appeared in front of him.

…

Name: Ice Phoenix (Han)

Power: Epic 1 Star

Quality: Epic (Lower Quality) (Enhanced)

Epic Power: Undying Body (Enhanced),

Skill Talents: Omitted

…

Name: Heavenly Cluster Cloud Sword

Power: Epic 1 Star

Quality: Epic (Mid Quality) (Enhanced)

Epic Power: Divine Sword Power (Enhanced)

Skill Talents: Omitted

…

Name: Lu Wu

Power: Epic 1 Star

Summoned Beasts: Ice Phoenix (Han), Death Monarch (Little Skeleton), Five-Clawed Golden Dragon (Little Skeleton), Heavenly Cluster Cloud Sword

Epic Power: All Things (Enhanced)

Summoner Talent: Power of Inheritance (Enhanced)

Skills Omitted

…

The attribute panels were much simpler than before.

Skills and talents weren’t shown, though Lu Wu sensed they could be displayed if desired.

But it seemed the system deemed it unnecessary to display talents and skills.

This made Lu Wu realize, post-epic level, skills might not be as crucial anymore.

Well, that might be misleading—skills are still important, heavily relied upon for output.

But it seems that the core element should be Epic Power.

This probably directly correlates with the enhancement of strength.

Additionally, Lu Wu noticed that the “Enhancements” on his and his summoned beasts’ attributes seemed different from before.

Clearly, it was because Lu Wu’s strength had broken through to epic-level, prompting another system upgrade.

However, this time the system upgrade seemed a bit confusing to Lu Wu.

He tried using it the old way, only to find it didn’t work anymore.

“What’s going on? Did the strength enhancement mess up the system update, breaking it completely? This damn thing’s totally unusable now?”

Lu Wu was initially surprised, then thought it over.

His family’s crappy system seemed useless anyway, and a breakdown seemed no great loss.

Plus, now didn’t seem the time to delve into the system.

There were more important matters to study,

Like the memories of Yukawa Ryuzo, like the person who had appeared next to him at this moment.

With this thought, Lu Wu set aside the issues with the attribute panel and turned to look at the person who had just made their presence known but was now trying to hide.

Lu Wu’s sudden movement caused the person’s color to change, and instinctively, they tried to flee, but Lu Wu’s figure had mysteriously arrived in front of them.

The person was pinned in place.

Revealing their figure and face, which was one Lu Wu recognized quite well.

“It really is you.

Back at Elder Mountain, it was you who saved me, wasn’t it?

Should I say thanks?”

Lu Wu sized up the person who had stepped forward when Yukawa Ryuzo thrust his sword, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Although his lips curled upwards, there was no joy of an old friend’s reunion; it was more of a bone-chilling coldness.

“Lu… Lu Wu…”

The person in front of Lu Wu, despite a year or two passing and substantial improvements in power, still projected a demeanor as feeble as Dudu, so weak that even his goblin couldn’t bear to look.

The goblin burst out from its heart, standing in front of Lu Wu with a fierce demeanor, warning Lu Wu.

Telling Lu Wu to keep away from its master, claiming it was now much stronger than before, promising to knock Lu Wu’s head crooked if he dared to touch it or bully its master again.

All the while, it gestured threateningly at Lu Wu.

Seeing this suddenly emerging goblin still as silly as ever, the icy coldness and hidden murderous intent on Lu Wu’s face faded a bit, though not completely.

“About Dudu, about the gate, you owe me an explanation.

Don’t have one? Then you might as well stay here.”

Thanks to Yukawa Ryuzo’s blessing,

Lu Wu not only successfully broke through, but also shattered the shackles left by the leader, cured his headache, and now clearly remembered what happened before entering the Extreme Cold Hell.

He remembered how Dudu died in front of him, so his mood was anything but beautiful.

Not to mention, behind the sudden appearance of Dudu with the Gate Fragment at Elder Mountain, Lin Jianying clearly played a dubious role.

If it weren’t for Lu Wu having just viewed Yukawa Ryuzo’s memories, memories that spanned decades providing him a long time to buffer his emotions, he would have taken action already.

When confronted by Lu Wu, Lin Jianying opened his mouth, and after a while, said with a hint of resentment, “The Gate Fragment of Dudu wasn’t given by me!”

“If it wasn’t you, who else could it be?”

“It was Tie Xiong!”

“Hmm?” Lu Wu raised an eyebrow.

“Really, Tie Xiong’s real identity is the Third Messenger of the Zero Organization, and the fragment given to Dudu was from him!”

This statement made Lu Wu’s brow furrow.

Lu Wu’s first reaction was that Lin Jianying was spouting nonsense.

Tie Xiong is the Third Messenger of the Zero Organization?

Is that even possible, that guy an Evil Summoner?

Wait a second!

At that moment, Lu Wu suddenly recalled the last memory of Yukawa Ryuzo—Lu had seen a figure in a southern town.

If Lu Wu wasn’t mistaken, that figure should be his utterly despicable father.

If Yukawa Ryuzo’s memories were true, not tampered with, then it meant Lu Haikong was targeted by the leader of the Zero Organization long before he rose to power, about twenty or thirty years ago.

And according to what Lu Wu pointed out, Lu Haikong seemed to have started his rise only after that.

So now, his despicable dad might also have become a plaything or a pawn of that guy, just like Yukawa Ryuzo.

Considering that person’s last act,

It seems he was manipulating Yukawa Ryuzo his whole life aiming to refine the Gate Fragment.

Looking at it now, the incident with Dudu indeed appeared to bear his hallmark.

Speaking of Tie Xiong’s side,

That guy really was odd when you think about it.

Joining Lu Wu’s side was due to a misunderstanding, believing Lu Wu was Lu Haikong.

Although laughable, it was somewhat plausible.

However, the problem was that after joining, the guy never did any substantial work.

Yan Ruxue kidnapped Lu Wu, and he pretended not to see.

Feng Xiu messed with him previously, and he didn’t make a move, and during the episode with Dudu, he was nowhere to be seen.

Seeing these details, it seemed he indeed had issues.

This made Lu Wu suspect Tie Xiong.

Indeed, Dudu’s death had greatly shocked Lu Wu, and now, no matter who was involved in Dudu’s death, he intended to find out and investigate. If he found even a hint of foul play, he certainly wouldn’t hesitate to act.

“Explain, what’s going on?”

Just as Lin Jianying was about to speak, a weak voice came from the side.

“Uh, big brother, you forgot to clear the area.”

Lu Wu raised an eyebrow and turned to see a man in a military uniform weakly raising his hand.

His behavior made Eliya and Wang Yase glare fiercely.

Everyone was about to discuss secrets, why are you interrupting?

Pismi simply ignored the two fools.

Could such secrets be spread? If you knew, wouldn’t others be destroyed by divine retribution?

Better to request to leave before the secrets are spoken.

“Big brother, I have an eighty-year-old mother at home and a daughter who relies on me, could you perhaps let me go?

I still know the rules, see, I didn’t listen to anything that I shouldn’t have, right?”

“Also, the old man just now was brought over by me, so I’ve actually done you a huge favor, will you consider letting me go?”

Lu Wu turned his head to ask Lin Jianying.

“Who is this clown?”

“He is Pismi, the rising star from Technology Alliance’s District 2.

The other two, one is Wang Yase from the Holy Sect Alliance and the other is Eliya from the Dark Conference.

They’re both younger leaders, and they came here this time for you and the Gate Fragment.”

“Leaders? You’re kidding, right?”

Lu Wu looked at Pismi, who was acting cute and begging for mercy, and felt his reputation was not merited.

Oddly enough, he did seem to have some luck.

“Right, right, right, I got in through the back door, I’m actually not up to par at all.

Whatever I do turns out bad, whatever I eat leaves nothing leftover.”

“Okay, he’s pretty thick-skinned.

And speaking of the Gate Fragment, where is the fragment?”

Lu Wu suddenly shifted his focus by a sharp 180 degrees, and his gaze landed back on Lin Jianying, his hand reaching out.

“Give me that fragment!”

“This…”

Lin Jianying was startled, clutching the fragment, hesitating for a moment.

“What? You’re not going to give it?”

Lu Wu frowned slightly, his tone slightly deepening.

Lin Jianying shivered and hesitated for a moment, but ultimately took out a fragment from his chest.

As he took out the fragment, everyone held their breath, all eyes fixed on that fragment.

But when the fragment appeared, everyone’s expression turned off.

“No, not this one!”

Lu Wu recognized that Lin Jianying’s fragment was much smaller than the one Dudu had before; Dudu’s was the size of a basketball, while this one was only as big as an egg, and even the material was wrong.

Additionally, when Lu Wu saw the Gate Fragment, he noticed some things on it that he had not expected.

…

Item: Gate Fragment (Outer Door)

Quality: ???

State: Refinement in process (Lin Jianying)

Description: A fragment in the process of refinement cannot be absorbed by the system; refinement must be terminated or completed for system absorption.

Ps: Do not forcibly interrupt the refinement state; forcing it may cause the Gate Fragment to disappear and the refiner will be rebounded upon and die.

…

Lu Wu looked at this attribute panel, lost in thought.

This attribute panel revealed a lot of information, the most critical of which was that the system now seemed to have the ability to absorb Gate Fragments.

This was beyond Lu Wu’s expectations.

The help that his family’s broken system had provided him so far had been very limited.

Lu Wu had reached this point today, with the system accounting for only about one percent of the credit; the rest was all due to his own talents.

This system could be said to be the worst one Lu Wu had ever seen.

And now, Lu Wu suddenly discovered that the system seemed to have the energy to absorb Gate Fragments, which greatly pleased him.

Does this mean the system was going to become powerful?

Was he, Lu Wu, also going to rise?

Yet, Lu Wu thought of Dudu, and his mood plummeted again; what good was becoming powerful if it was too late?

“No, not right, the Gate Fragment seems to have the power to resurrect people!”

Suddenly, Lu Wu recollected Li Ruyu, and his gaze towards that fragment burst forth with an intense fiery light…