I will eventually become a divine being through accumulating constantly

Since he was no longer going, he took advantage of the early hour while it was still dark and there was still time, to make another round at Divine Relic Shelter 1052 to scrape up some Divinity!

Upgrading Shadow Flame to Lv10 and activating Divine Incarnation were just within reach, about to be achieved.

Maybe after the upgrade, or perhaps after obtaining the Divine Incarnation, he would find a way to figure out how to get into the 1097th layer?

He raced back the way he had come, already familiar with the path from his previous exploration, his speed was much faster than when he had come, and it took him less than twenty minutes to return to the 1052th layer.

By then, the sky had begun to brighten slightly.

But the researchers at Xu's Biology hadn't started their shift yet.

Xue Jing hurried, immediately starting as before, choosing a compartment that stored Divine Relics, and covertly sneaking in through a hole made by Dark Flame.

"[GOD-1285·Palm of the Hand]..."

"[GOD-1573·Halloween Pumpkin]..."

Xue Jing, who had memorized most of the Divine Relic information, could basically recognize the serial numbers and names of the Divine Relics he touched.

"These are relics not only with late serial numbers but also with abilities that aren't too useful, with collection value exceeding practical value."

"No wonder they're displayed here as exhibition pieces instead of being used..."

"But for me it doesn't matter, what are high and low, precious and humble among Divine Relics, there's only a difference in the amount of Divinity..."

Watching the quantity of Divinity in his panel surge, Xue Jing was in a very good mood.

Twenty minutes later, inside a transparent compartment, hidden in the shadows, a hand reaching out from the shadow like a ghost touched a pair of scissors; Xue Jing suddenly perked his ears.

With the practice of Yellow Grannie Skill and the deepening of his proficiency in the Five Major Practices, his senses had become increasingly strong; his keen hearing had already picked up the faint sound of footsteps from far away.

It seemed that the workers of Xu's Biology were beginning their shifts.

He waited another dozen seconds, until the panel popped up a prompt that [Divine Absorption Complete], Xue Jing withdrew his hand.

While quickly exiting through the hole he had made, he glanced at the current amount of Divinity.

[Holding Divinity: 10037]!

It broke ten thousand!

This was the first time since activating the panel that the amount of Divinity held had reached five digits!

It was also the biggest haul of Divinity he had ever achieved, and it was almost effortless!

"Awesome!"

Xue Jing was secretly thrilled, even wanting to take the risk and continue, but reason told him that the best choice right now was to make a quick getaway.

Reluctantly taking one last look at the remaining Divine Relic compartments, Xue Jing lurked in the shadows and quickly departed.

During his exit, he 'brushed past' a middle-aged male researcher in a white lab coat and glasses.

It wasn't until he had run far away that he faintly heard a furious shout coming from the shelter.

"How is there a hole here!? Wait, here too!?"

"Who was in charge of the night shift yesterday!?"

...

Before Xu's Biology went into lockdown, Xue Jing quickly returned to the 1002nd layer, squeezed out from a gap in the steel gate, and arrived outside the Sky Center.

It was just dawn, but there were several flying vehicles around; Xue Jing was extremely cautious and did not reveal himself but maintained his Shadow Lurk and Aura Blockade, slowly moving in the blind spots that were easily overlooked, and slowly climbed down the outside of the Sky Center.

It took him just over an hour to reach the ground.

Since the vehicles going to and from the Sky Center mostly used flying vehicles, there were few drivers, so it was actually easier for him on the ground.

Along the way, whenever he saw vehicles or people, he avoided them from a distance; Xue Jing quickly left the Sky Center behind and entered a secluded forest outside.

He emerged from the shadows wearing the Shadowflame Wrap Armor, his figure dark and relieved.

"...Shadow Lurk is consuming too much, Lv9 Shadow Flame can't maintain it for such a long duration either, the Blue Bar is going to run out soon."

Xue Jing sat on a large tree for a while, opened the panel, and looked at the Divine Skill column.

The bar labeled [Shadow Flame Lv9] was dim with only a tiny, nearly imperceptible flash of golden light.

"Let's upgrade Shadow Flame to Lv10 first, otherwise the current mana won't allow a discreet return to Zhige Base, daytime hiding is not on the same level as at night..."

[Shadow Flame Lv9 (10037/6000)]

Xue Jing tapped to upgrade.

[Shadow Flame Lv10 (4037/8000)]

[Divine Incarnation: Unlocked (Unlock Conditions: Reach Level 10, Divinity 4037/2000)]

[Shadowflame Divine Incarnation unlock conditions have been met, do you wish to unlock?]

[Yes/No]

Xue Jing clicked no.

He was very eager to find out what exactly the Divine Incarnation was, but he decided to first return to a safe place before attempting the unlock, to thoroughly examine it.

"Indeed, Divine Skill Lv10 is not the maximum level, it can still be upgraded further."

Xue Jing nodded upon seeing the (4037/8000) behind Shadowflame Lv10, not surprised by this.

After all, his specialized skill Hidden Dragon Wishful Strength had also gone beyond Lv10 and was not capped at that level.

The upper limit of Divine Skills, which are clearly superior to specialized skills, naturally could not be lower than that of specialized skills.

"Hmm? The Blue Bar is full?"

Xue Jing, seeing the panel display Shadowflame glowing brightly with restored golden light, was slightly startled.

So, upgrading Divine Skills would directly replenish the Blue Bar?

It was his first time upgrading a Divine Skill while the Blue Bar was empty, and only now did he discover this mechanism.

"Feels like a game..."

Xue Jing nodded in satisfaction, recognizing that this mechanism was a covert boost to his combat prowess.

As long as he had enough Divinity to upgrade skills, it was akin to having two Blue Bars for that skill, significantly enhancing endurance.

He stood up, kicked his leg vigorously, and with a powerful force, he burst through the branches, propelling himself forward towards Yuan City.
Stay updated through empire

Because he lacked the cover of night on his return, he specifically chose concealed terrains like forests for his route, and where there was no cover, he opted for Shadow Lurk, moving forward in the shadows to keep satellites from capturing him.

Consequently, it took him much longer to return to Yuan City than it had to leave.

Xue Jing used Shadow Leap around the faint blue light membrane enveloping Yuan City to enter, slowly making his way to Zhige Base.

It was close to noon when Xue Jing finally made it back to the villa at Zhige Base.

Inside the room, a shadow seeped in from the window and moved across the floor, then Xue Jing, adopting the Terminator's kneeling pose, slowly rose from the shadows.

"Not naked, lacking a certain flair."

Xue Jing shook his head, looking towards the little maid Yun Qin, who was cleaning the room and seemed a bit startled by his appearance.

"Master..."

The little girl, dressed in a black and white classic maid outfit, upon seeing Xue Jing, quickly folded her hands in front of her belly and bowed to him.

Xue Jing slightly stiffened, stood up, and with a smile, patted Yun Qin's head, reluctantly saying,

"I've said not to call me master, it feels odd; if you really want to play that role, just call me 'young master.'"

That title 'master' was Miao Miao's perverse request.

Yun Qin seemed to really enjoy Xue Jing's head pats, showing a content expression like that of a cat, and muttered softly, "But Sect Leader said you actually like it, you just won't admit it..."

Xue Jing's mouth twitched, "Don't listen to her nonsense, that's not true."

After a pause, he continued, "Just don't call me that when others are around."

The little girl scratched her head, "Yun Qin understands."

"Alright, no need to clean the room now, you can go out, I have some matters to handle."

"Yes."

After letting the little girl out and closing the room door, Xue Jing took a deep breath, opened the panel, and looked towards Shadowflame.

[Shadowflame Divine Incarnation unlock conditions have been met, do you wish to unlock?]

[Yes/No]

He clicked 'Yes'.

[Unlock successful]

[Divine Incarnation acquired: Nonexistent Beast]

[Description: A monster not existing in this world, its shadow entirely devoured, a symbol of absolute 'nothingness']

[Summon Word Spirit: Ankh Geb Ptah (World, forget me)]

...

(Passed through Little Western Heaven, this map really tortures... but the final BOSS fight against Huang Mei was really cool, stuck for two hours, but very happy.)