Chapter 409: Transcendent-Class Professional
The moment Zhou Ning chose "Yes," a wave of unease surged through him — his heart raced, and he could feel subtle changes occurring deep within his body. A burning current erupted from within, spreading through every vein, bringing with it a pain so sharp it was almost unbearable.
If a mage or sorcerer skilled in spiritual perception had been present, they would have seen Zhou Ning's very lifeform slowly ascending, step by step, to a higher plane—only stopping once it reached the level of a true transcendent-class professional.
"Huff…" Zhou Ning exhaled softly, wiping the sweat from his brow. Advancing from a Boss Template to a Transcendent Template was the first—and most crucial—step toward forming a mythic-level existence. At last, he had completed it.
The system notifications resumed:
[You have advanced to the Transcendent-Class Professional Template. Your rank has risen! Your attributes have slightly increased. Your resistance to abnormal statuses has improved. When fighting beings of a lower rank than yourself, you exert a minor suppression effect. Your protagonist aura effectiveness increases by an additional 10%.]
[Please select your specialization path.]
[Will Type] / [Agility Type] / [Spirit Type]
This was one of Apocalypse's core mechanics: every 10 levels, players could choose one of their main attributes to specialize in, granting significant boosts. It was also a special reward for achieving transcendence.
"Spirit Type!" Zhou Ning decided instantly.
His Agility could be strengthened through the God Training Method, but his Spirit had always been one of his weaker stats — especially since he had paid 20 Spirit points as "interest" to his future self, a debt that had yet to be replenished.
[You have gained +18 Spirit and +2 Will.]
In an instant, Zhou Ning's mind cleared, his senses sharpening. His Spirit stat rose to 167—the highest it had ever been since his first traversal. His combat power climbed accordingly.
Looking at the panel made it clear just how much stronger he'd become. Before, his combat power had been 24,050. After completing his new profession, it reached 36,720. Now, after upgrading his template, it had risen to 40,960—a nearly 50% increase.
At the very least, Zhou Ning now felt confident that even against the strongest transcendent-class professionals, he wouldn't fall behind. His greatest advantage lay in versatility and overwhelming offensive potential, along with the sheer number of mysterious items and abilities at his disposal. Against most opponents, he could easily "teach them a lesson."
In fact, if he were bold enough, even some newly ascended—or weaker—demigods might not be beyond his reach.
After completing his third-tier transfer, there was still one more possible advancement—his fourth transfer. However, that could only be unlocked upon reaching Demigod rank, which required a total level of at least 90, five Legendary Specialties, and two or more Divine Specialties. It would be a long and arduous road.
Now that the job changes were finally complete, Zhou Ning could at last take a breather and check the new maps available to him. After earning the Creator Milestone, he now had access to two worlds.
To his surprise, one of them was the very world he had just designed himself — City of Sin 2 — priced at a record-high 220 traversal coins, marked as a double-reward "Plus" map. The second was called Storm of the Ninja Village. From the name alone, he could tell it was clearly modeled after Naruto. It was priced at 180 traversal coins and was also a "Plus" map—likely another stroke of luck courtesy of the Lucky Clover.
For now, though, he wasn't in the mood for another traversal. Zhou Ning pulled out his pocket watch and glanced at the time.
It was close to 3 a.m. The Lucky Clover's effects would last much longer, but he didn't want to tempt fate by gambling again during a potential streak of bad luck. After rinsing his clothes with stored fresh water, he quickly went to bed.
If nothing unexpected happened, there'd be a tough battle waiting tomorrow.
——
The next morning, Zhou Ning woke around 7:40. Their scheduled departure was at 9 a.m.—almost time to set sail.
When he got up, he noticed his cabin window had been left slightly ajar. The sea breeze must have pushed it open further sometime during the night. On the window ledge, a large golden-scaled fish was flapping furiously.
It was a Golden Wolf Fish — a specialty of Temple Port, a prized member of the wolffish family. Its meat was delicious, and its swim bladder could be used to make underwater breathing potions. Due to overfishing, they were now quite rare. A specimen this size would be worth over 1,200 Vecktas, enough to feed three or four people.
"Is this nature's gift… or my last supper?" Zhou Ning muttered wryly, half-covering his face.
From past experience, he knew that after a lucky event, avoiding further temptation was wise. He dressed, washed up quickly, then grabbed the fish by its tail and stepped out of his cabin.
Richie Burke hadn't returned yet—his cabin door still hung with a "Vacant" sign. The other person Zhou Ning was tasked with protecting, the craftsman Ignatius Woods, was the complete opposite—he hadn't left his room once since boarding, taking all his meals inside.
As Zhou Ning stepped onto the deck, several sailors glanced at him. They were running their routine maintenance checks, ensuring everything was in order before setting sail. A few others stood in small groups, holding newspapers and chatting about "Batman" and a "Ghost Ship."
"Batman?" Zhou Ning, intrigued, walked over and took a paper. The front page featured bold headlines about exactly that.
It was the Temple Sailor's Gazette, and somehow, it had already caught wind of his battle with Saroyan, the King of Lavides. The coverage was extensive, the headlines sensational:
"Breaking News! A New Pirate King-Level Power Emerges — Batman and His Ghost Ship!"
"Lavides King Saroyan Defeated at the Entrance of the Misty Sea!"
So the news had spread already… Zhou Ning immediately thought of the middle-aged pirate who'd witnessed the entire fight last night. It was probably him who'd leaked it.
"I saw that Ghost Ship too," said Red-Haired Robinson as he came aboard with a grin. "It sailed right past the Wings of Freedom." His gaze then shifted to Zhou Ning's hand. "Wait… is that a Golden Wolf Fish?"
"Yeah. It jumped into my room last night," Zhou Ning said dryly, raising the fish slightly before tossing it back into the sea.
Moments later, the same fish leapt out of the water again, landing on the deck and flopping wildly at his feet. Without hesitation, Zhou Ning picked it up and threw it back into the sea once more.
"…Lucky, huh."
Robinson smirked. Encounters like this weren't rare at sea. The Codex of the Extraordinary even had a saying: All gifts of fate come with a hidden price. So rejecting good fortune wasn't always a bad idea.
Not long after, Richie Burke returned from port, dark circles under his eyes. He greeted Zhou Ning vaguely before staggering back to his cabin — clearly not in any condition to work today.
As the clock struck nine, the Wings of Freedom departed port once again, sailing into the boundless Misty Sea at over sixteen knots.
Wanting to keep a close watch on any potential misfortune, Zhou Ning chose to remain on deck, arms crossed, leaning against the rail as he breathed in the salty ocean air.
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