Lin Qingyue still wore the puffed-up expression she had after reverting from her transformation, but the silent wail in her heart was about to pierce the heavens.
This was no ordinary sorrow.
This was the peak myocardial infarction of a diligent slacker employee who, after falling victim to a pixel-perfect cyber scam, had been left both penniless and empty-handed!
Over two hundred thousand Elation Value!
Not two hundred thousand Credits!
That was the blood-and-sweat money she had earned, brick by brick, with her face and integrity, while repeatedly dancing on the edge of social death and self-destruction.
Now it was all gone.
Scammed clean by a piece of ancient god trash that couldn't even make a proper PPT, using a crudely made bootleg gacha!
This was worse than just killing her.
If she were killed, she could at least watch a life review and reminisce about her past days of wealth.
But now? She could only watch with wide-eyed clarity as she plummeted from a rich woman back to poverty overnight, with nowhere to even report the crime!
The worst part was that the Elation System was her greatest trump card.
She couldn't even find anyone to complain to about this messy account, so she could only swallow her broken teeth and blood-tears.
It made her liver ache from the suppressed frustration.
In the eyes of others, this Priest powerhouse who had just formatted the Ancient God's Will with a single move was now staring deeply at the crystal ball in midair.
Her eyes were empty, as if she were pondering the ultimate philosophy of the universe's birth and death.
"Sis, don't scare me. Are you trying to look all deep and brooding?"
Lin Xiyue cautiously approached and nudged her with an elbow. "Why does the pressure you're giving off right now feel even scarier than when you transformed earlier?"
"I'm fine."
Lin Qingyue took a deep breath, forcing back the tears of poverty that were welling in her eyes.
Transform grief and indignation into gluttony... no, transform grief and indignation into pure destructive desire.
She grabbed the fist-sized, harmless-looking crystal ball.
It felt warm and smooth to the touch, with a slight squishiness, feeling exactly like a top-tier stress-relief squishy toy.
Lin Qingyue tightened her five fingers and squeezed hard.
Pujie.
The crystal ball didn't shatter. Instead, it indented like a high-grade silicone balloon.
The moment she let go, it snapped back instantly, emitting a mocking little sound.
The feel was surprisingly good, soft and chewy with a hint of resilience, and a cool sensation, ten thousand times more high-end than the stress toys from the convenience store.
No strange energy could be sensed inside it anymore, only life force as pure as a blank sheet of paper.
A wicked fire named "Poverty" instantly shot from her heart to the top of her head.
"You scammed my feelings and wasted my blood-and-sweat money, and you think you can just get away with it?"
Lin Qingyue ground her back molars viciously, her expression resembling a fierce bandit ready to tear up a ransom note.
"In your dreams!"
She tossed the crystal ball up and down in her hand, unilaterally announcing a final judgment to the debtor in the air.
"Even if this piece of junk isn't of much use, I'll still swipe it as compensation for spiritual damages."
"Black Tortoise keeps complaining about insomnia, doesn't she? With this size and elasticity, it would make the perfect pillow core for her."
"I guarantee she'll dive her head right into it and sleep until the universe reboots!"
Pfft—
Lin Xiyue was rendered completely silent by her sister's train of thought.
Taking the ultimate core of an Ancient God that tried to devour the world and using it as a pillow core for the laziest Celestial God?
This kind of postmodernist, magical-realist operation—looking across the entire Blue Planet—only her sister could pull it off.
Isn't she afraid that while Lord Black Tortoise is sleeping, her dreams will start looping Postpartum Care for Sows?
"Sis, isn't this... kind of a bad idea? What if there are side effects?"
Lin Xiyue looked conflicted.
Su Wan, however, walked forward with an earnest expression, instantly switching into a hardcore Magic Scholar's research mode.
She extended her slender fingers and tapped the surface of the crystal ball gently, creating a faint ripple of watery blue.
"Theoretically, this is completely viable."
The honor student mage gave her professional assessment.
"Its internal energy logic has been forcibly emptied, and it's now just a top-grade life crystal."
"The frequency it emits is extremely gentle, making it excellent for soothing the spirit, repairing soul damage, and providing superior physical sleep-aid effects."
Xia Lian, listening from the side, felt her jaw nearly drop to the ground.
Good lord, the Divine Equipment dropped after the Ultimate BOSS fight is a Legendary Grade piece of bedding?
They're using an Ancient God's remains as a pillow, and the Mage on the team can even provide a rigorous academic justification for it?
This team's mental state is beyond salvation.
Just as Lin Qingyue put away the "Ancient God Brand Pillow Core," preparing to use their poverty-stricken state as motivation to head back home.
A dazzlingly bright golden pillar of light suddenly descended from the cave's ceiling.
In front of the four people, their Class Panels simultaneously began spamming notifications!
[Ding! Congratulations! You have completed the Trial of Celestial God: Black Tortoise!]
[Ding! All Celestial God Trial Quests have been completed! Rewards are being calculated...]
[Evaluating your overall performance across the four trials... Evaluation complete!]
[Comprehensive Grade: SSS (Perfect)]
[Congratulations! You have obtained the Class Exclusive Set, "Echoes of the Celestial God" (Legendary Grade/Growth Type/Current Max Level LV.90)!]
[Congratulations! You have obtained the Squad Exclusive Title: "Heroes Who Rescued the Celestial God"!]
[Congratulations! You have obtained the Special Team Ability: "Advanced Elemental Theory"!]
As soon as the system notification fell, four pillars of Holy Light, each containing a different divine pressure, struck the four people with pinpoint accuracy.
Lin Qingyue felt a wave of warmth wash over her entire body.
The plain and unadorned Priest's robe she wore was directly reconstructed on the spot within the light.
A magnificent robe woven from pure white and pale gold draped over her, with starlight flowing across the fabric.
A pair of Holy Light tassels, resembling wings, now adorned her back, swaying gently with her breath and creating a built-in, ethereal lighting effect.
[Apocalyptic Rhapsody]!
"Wow!"
Lin Xiyue's eyes sparkled wildly as she looked at her older sister's completely renewed style.
Looking down at herself, her heavy Runic Plate Armor had also been thoroughly purified by a cyan glow.
The new armor's lines fit her figure perfectly, and the Dragon Scale patterns adorning the shoulders and chest fully captured the essence of Eastern aesthetics.
[Unfalling Bulwark]!
On the other side, Su Wan's deep blue Mage's robe was simultaneously enveloped in frost and raging fire.
Ultimately, it condensed into a peculiar red-and-blue interwoven gown.
One half was the dancing Magic Fire, and the other half was the Ice Runes that would never melt.
It fully displayed the contrast between the asceticism and the flamboyance of the fusion of ice and fire.
[Winter Sonata]!
Xia Lian's special effect was the most lively. As a gentle breeze blew past, her plain leather armor shattered into countless emerald-green leaves and silver stardust.
In the blink of an eye, a set of hunting soft armor, as if used by the Elven Royalty, perfectly fit her figure.
The trajectory of the wind faintly appeared on the soft armor, making her entire person so light that she seemed ready to soar on the wind at any time.
[Windrunner's Phantom Song]!
The four of them looked at each other, all stunned by each other's new looks.
Setting aside the explosive attributes attached to this Legendary Grade set, just for this high-fashion appearance alone, this wave was a huge win!
"This is the top-tier Divine Equipment that fierce girls should wear!"
Lin Xiyue stroked her brand new armor with great fondness, feeling a burst of security.
Xia Lian shyly tugged at her skirt, but the joy in her eyes could not be hidden at all.
This set of clothes perfectly hit her aesthetic points, and even that bit of social anxiety embarrassment was instantly thrown to the back of her mind.
Meanwhile, the top student Su Wan had no time to admire her own looks.
She was frowning, completely focused on studying the newly acquired team ability.
[Advanced Elemental Theory (Team Passive): When team members deal damage to the same target with at least two different elemental attacks within 3 seconds, an "Elemental Reaction" effect will be triggered based on the elemental combination.]
[Currently Unlocked Effects: Water + Fire = Vaporize (Single-hit damage amplification); Ice + Fire = Melt (Single-hit damage amplification); Lightning + Fire = Overloaded (Area of effect explosion damage); Ice + Lightning = Superconduct (Reduces physical resistance); Water + Wind = Swirl (Area of effect infusion and additional damage)...]