Chapter 19: S-Class Item Upgraded to Level Five

Chapter 19: S-rank Item Upgraded to Level Five

Wu Yue grabbed Wu Chong’s arm. "Wu Chong, take all the crystals and leave now. I’ll hold off the spectral Three-legged Golden Crow."

Wu Chong refused outright. "No way in hell. Not a chance. I, Wu Chong, would never let a girl cover my retreat.

Besides, I told you when we came in—even if it costs me my life, I’ll help you secure these crystals."

Wu Yue was desperate. Right now, she could give a damn about the crystals—she just wanted Wu Chong to avoid repeating the tragedy of the original timeline!

From the words of the Blaze members earlier, Wu Yue had already gotten how deeply the Wu Clan adored Wu Chong.

In her past life, if Wu Chong ever regained his memories and learned that he had unwittingly invited disaster, leading to the deaths of the entire Wu Clan and the elders who loved him most...

Given Wu Chong’s personality, he would be broken beyond repair!!

As the two stood locked in their standoff, the Three-legged Golden Crow's killer intent flared.

Clearly, as a predator, it had completely lost patience with its prey.

And just then—

The two Blaze members keeping watch at the entrance suddenly yelled in alarm:

"Wu Chong! Wu Yue! A large group is approaching from the direction of the dungeon exit—it might be Chen Yuanlang!"

When it rains, it pours. Now, Wu Yue and Wu Chong were caught between hammer and anvil.

Damn it! Wu Yue hauled Wu Chong back. "You have to go!"

Otherwise, the situation might spiral beyond her control.

Wu Chong jutted his chin defiantly. "Why should I? Who wins in the end is still anyone's game.

I’ve been in this game for years, and I’ve never lost."

And that’s exactly why you’ll eat your biggest loss here today!!

At such a critical moment, there was no time to explain her rebirth to Wu Chong.

She asked him again, "So you’re really not leaving?"

Wu Chong nodded firmly. "That’s right!"

Wu Yue let out a frustrated breath. "Fine! Then we’ll go all in on this play!"

If they won, it would prove that the timeline could truly be changed.

If they lost—well, having someone like Wu Chong, who treated her with sincerity and was willing to risk his life for her, made this life worth it!

Wu Yue directed Wu Chong, "From now on, you keep the Three-legged Golden Crow occupied. I’ll dump every last resource into powering up my Doll Wind Chime."

His eyes lit up. He perked up,

"You’re betting on what battle ability the Doll Wind Chime will awaken?"

Wu Yue replied, "Yes, but I’m not sure if the crystals here are enough to power it up to five stars."

After nimbly weaving past the Three-legged Golden Crow’s first attack, Wu Chong took in the crystal cavern, a frown creeping across his face.

"It might be cutting it close."

Wu Yue's heart leaped into her throat, her expression turning gravely serious.

"But..."

Wu Chong's lips twisted into a wicked grin. "With what I just added to the inventory, it should... just be enough!"

As he spoke, facing the furious Three-legged Golden Crow, Wu Chong suddenly drew the staff he carried and charged straight at it.

"Wu Yue! Hurry up!!"

Wu Yue nodded. "Got it!!"

Seeing Wu Chong and Wu Yue each busy with their tasks, the Blaze members didn't sit idle either. All four of them gathered at the entrance of the crystal cave, striving to buy Wu Yue and the others more time.

While Wu Chong fought the Three-legged Golden Crow, Wu Yue ran like hell, her legs pumping.

Her hands moved lightning-fast, leaving no trace.

Dungeon items couldn't be bound mid-run, but resources as part of the supply could be fed directly to the items.

As Wu Yue scrambled, the star rating of the Doll Wind Chime rapidly climbed.

In her mind, system alerts kept pinging:

"Congratulations! You have successfully lit the Doll Wind Chime's third star.

Star Bonus:

Danger Sense—When a human harbors killing intent toward you, receive a warning. Level 1 (Skill Proficiency: 0/5)."

"Congratulations! You have successfully lit the Doll Wind Chime's fourth star.

Star Bonus:

Chime Shield—Attaches a protective barrier around you, with a 20% block chance against one fatal strike. Level 1 (Skill Proficiency: 0/5)."

.....

For most items, even S-rank ones, it was extremely rare to unlock a new skill with every star lit.

In her past life, even Su Mo, with her main character plot armor, had only five skill unlocks on her most prized S-rank, 8-star item.

Because of this, her squad wouldn't shut up about how Su Mo was a lucky charm—that as long as you stayed by her side, you could dodge bullets.

Later, it even got to the point where rich guys would camp next to Su Mo when upgrading their gear, calling it "riding her luck wave."

But now, holy shit! Wu Yue's S-rank, 10-star item had already unlocked five skills after lighting just four stars.

As the crystals dwindled, the XP bar for lighting the next star started crawling significantly.

Remember—for S-rank items, the crystal cost between stars wasn’t just doubled, but times ten!

A straight-up 10x jump!

Even burning these gold crystals, reaching five stars was a hell of a grind.

You do the math—just how insane the crystal cost would be to fully light all ten stars!

Seeing the progress of the starlight experience bar slow down and the crystals in the cave nearly depleted, a sheen of sweat broke out on Wu Yue's forehead.

Just at this moment,

"Ugh..."

Hearing Wu Chong's pained groan, Wu Yue froze. She turned to see that Wu Chong, battling the Three-legged Golden Crow, was now losing ground.

Wu Yue quickly called out, "Wu Chong, how bad is it?"

Wu Chong coughed up blood, spattering the ground. "This Golden Crow is terrifyingly strong. It doesn’t feel like a lingering spirit at all—more like a true avatar of the primordial Three-legged Golden Crow!"

Hearing this, Wu Yue suddenly realized:

Wu Chong was a Wu Clan sorcerer. If even he said so, it was likely true!

Indeed,

If it were merely a lingering spirit, even with the entire Wu Clan's power, summoning a real Three-legged Golden Crow would be impossible.

Watching Wu Chong accumulate more and more injuries under the Golden Crow's attacks, Wu Yue's stomach twisted with worry.

Her movements became even faster than before—so fast that her actions were invisible, and the crystals on the ground were gone in a blink.

Unbeknownst to her, the Three-legged Golden Crow guarding the yellow crystals, witnessing Wu Yue's actions, went berserk.

Daring to steal right under its nose, the Golden Crow abandoned its attacks on Wu Chong and swooped down in a rage toward Wu Yue.

Its ferocious, merciless stance made it clear—it intended to rip Wu Yue's throat out and pierce her skull.

Recognizing the Golden Crow's intent, Wu Chong bellowed:

"Wu Yue! Run!"

Yet, to his horror, Wu Yue—having just collected the last golden crystal in the cave—suddenly turned and stepped up to meet it.

She didn’t dodge. Instead, she faced the Golden Crow head-on, stepping forward as if to challenge it.

Seeing this up close, the Golden Crow, infuriated, put everything into its strike.

Human!

You're dead!!

The moment the Golden Crow bore down on her, Wu Chong let out a raw scream:

"Wu Yue!!"

Then a voice rang out:

"Congratulations! You have successfully lit the fifth star of the **Doll Wind Chime**.

Starlight Insight:

100% chance to negate a killing blow and return 120% damage to the attacker. Level 1 (Mastery: 0/5).

Cooldown: One hour."

As the Golden Crow bore down on her, Wu Yue wore a grin that said she'd already won.