Game World: I Can Share Talents

Chapter 84: Flawless Face

[You have earned the admiration and praise of the Celestial God "Radiant Holy Tree"]

[Your erudition, resourcefulness, and courage have earned the Celestial God’s recognition]

[Such an accomplishment can serve as a stepping stone for promotion]

Westheid felt a kind of "limit"—or perhaps a "lock"—shatter within his body, bringing a cathartic release, like thirty years of abstinence culminating in a single moment.

An unparalleled sense of liberation spread to every nerve ending. Amidst the throes of pain, there was also a warm, tingling pleasure.

This was completely different from the blood sacrifice ritual. That had simply infused his body with vast Magic Power, allowing Westheid to jump higher, run faster, become stronger, and have keener senses—a simple inflation of his stats.

Promoting his Tier, however, was a sublimation of his very being. The two couldn’t even be compared.

It wasn’t just a difference of a few numbers, but a leap in his fundamental nature and capabilities.

For one thing, every promotion unlocked more Specialty slots. And for those with special bloodlines, it could even awaken new Talents.

A blank slate of stats was just too far behind.

[Your Tier has been promoted from "Elite" to "Prominent"]

[You have received a blessing from the "Radiant Holy Tree"]

[Your Tier has been promoted from "Prominent" to "Exemplar"]

[You have awakened a new Talent from the "Purity Forest Bloodline"]

’As expected. It is the True Blood of a Pure Holy Spirit, after all. Let’s see what kind of Talent I’ve awakened.’

[Flawless Face]

[The Pure Holy Spirit desires beauty, embraces beauty, and bestows pure loveliness upon her children. May they love what is lovable and beautify what is beautiful; may the scions of Qinghui be fruitful and prosperous.]

[Charm is greatly increased. Your sexual appeal to the opposite sex is greatly enhanced. The probability of producing higher-quality offspring is increased.]

’What in the world was I expecting!’

"Hah... haha..."

Westheid suddenly laughed, relieved. He was laughing at his own naive foolishness.

’I was wrong. It was my mistake to get my hopes up. I should’ve known the Qinghui Bloodline was a total wash.’

If this useless Talent was all he’d gotten from his promotion, Westheid would have been furious. But since he’d already managed to snag Reiya’s Talent for free, he wasn’t angry at all.

’Whatever, my own Talent is fine. I’ll just consider it a tool to speed up my conquests. It’s better than nothing.’

After his promotion, Westheid looked around. Reiya and Yolanda had undoubtedly been promoted as well. The Silver-haired Dragon Lady, like him, had shot straight to the Exemplar Tier.

This wasn’t an exaggeration. With Reiya’s bloodline and Talent, she would have automatically become an Exemplar upon adulthood if she weren’t suppressed. Just making it through the Radiant Holy Tree’s "Path of Life and Death" was already an incredible accomplishment in itself.

As for Yolanda, she had been stuck at the peak of the Prominent Tier for some time, just waiting for the right accomplishment to break through to Exemplar. Now was her time to shine!

Many of the other Trial Takers were also promoted on the spot, but most only went from Prominent to Exemplar.

As for why the Trial Takers who were already Exemplars didn’t get promoted to Hero?

Well, Westheid had to admit, his team had completely monopolized all the resources and credit in the entire instance. Not only did they not leave a single scrap for anyone else, but they also brazenly eliminated more than half of their competitors.

’That was rather shameless of us... No, that’s not right!’

Westheid slowly stood up, calmly meeting the subtle glances cast in his direction and returning a nod to each one.

’A Secret Realm Trial is all about strength. Who cares about the methods used?’

The only thing Westheid found regrettable was...

"Still, it was a bit of a waste..."

The "admiration and favor of a Celestial God" was an extremely high-quality accomplishment. It was enough to promote someone to the Hero Tier, yet he had used it to reach the measly Exemplar Tier.

But that kind of waste was a minor issue. The key was to first climb up from the lower Tiers. With two T0-level growth Talents in hand, did he really need to fear getting stuck at a certain Tier?

’To even worry about that would be a little too unconfident.’

Those who were worthy of the Radiant Holy Tree’s admiration all received blessings to some degree. After the rewards were distributed, the Trial Takers began to leave the square one after another.

Normally, this would be the time for the successful Trial Takers to stand tall and receive the cheers of their families and friends.

But this Secret Realm Trial didn’t have as much cheering. All the glory was focused on Westheid’s three-person team.

Many of the noble scions who had achieved nothing and earned no merit slinked away from the square. Andre, after standing stunned for a moment, even covered his face and fled.

Burlington, meanwhile, led a group of War Knights to Prince Yaligong. They all knelt in unison and choked out:

"Your Highness... we are truly sorry... Please punish us!"

Not only had they failed the mission given to them by their lord, but they had also been thoroughly humiliated by the enemy. Their honor had been trampled, and by extension, Prince Yaligong had lost face as well.

’I don’t want to live anymore.’

Just as Burlington and the other War Knights were anxiously awaiting the Prince’s thunderous wrath, they heard only a sigh.

"Sigh... Get up. This isn’t your fault."

Yaligong was not some rabid dog that could only bark in anger. He had indeed lost his composure when facing his enemies, but that was only when he held an absolute advantage.

But after watching the Secret Realm’s projections for several days, Yaligong’s mentality had undergone a subtle shift.

Although the Radiant Holy Tree wouldn’t broadcast every single second for all to see, it would at least show the cause and effect of major events.

And as an observer, he could clearly see how much courage and determination Reiya’s team possessed. The final gamble to slay the Legendary Demon Dragon, in particular... was an astonishing miracle.

"Duke Qinghui is simply too ruthless. Being matched against him, one can only blame their own misfortune."

Yaligong hesitated again and again, but in the end, he couldn’t bring himself to praise Reiya’s performance. He could only blame everything on Westheid.

At least praising a member of the Branch of Prosperity was far better than praising his enemy... even though Yaligong knew full well that Reiya was, in fact, relatively innocent.

But if he didn’t hate the living, was he supposed to hate the dead?

Hatred is just that irrational.

"That said, compared to your failure, the achievements of Duke Qinghui’s team in the Trial might attract the Divine Ancestor’s..."

Yaligong’s brow furrowed. Before he could finish his sentence, he saw the Holy Tree Illusion once again burst forth with brilliant, dazzling light. Great, shimmering branches extended downward, and at the same time...

All noise ceased.

Everyone felt a sudden jolt in their minds, and their scalps tingled.

An indescribable melody resounded in everyone’s consciousness, and their thoughts fell into a brief state of Chaos.

In an instant, inside their minds, everything—the Holy Tree Palace, the surrounding crowd, even the world itself—seemed to lose its sense of existence.

Because a presence that transcended all else—an absolute "Presence"—had appeared.