Ye Chui’s iPad magibook suddenly displayed a prompt: iPad upgrade detected, and this upgrade cannot be stopped.
The iPad had undergone two upgrades before. Each one had vastly increased his power and unlocked many new abilities. In terms of ordinary magician realms, the two upgrades had elevated him to intermediate magician and then senior magician level.
Ye Chui predicted that another upgrade would allow him to enter the Saint Magician realm. Yet for so long the iPad had shown no sign of upgrading. Now, on the Divine Sin Continent, at this precise moment, the prompt appeared.
And it was unstoppable.
Joy surged in Ye Chui’s heart. It must be because they had unexpectedly triggered the [Spacetime Afterimage], causing the iPad to upgrade. This was a fragment of a divine domain. Perhaps the spacetime that appeared in the Stan World coincided exactly with the location of the Eternal Doomsday all those years ago.
But after the initial joy, a strong sense of unease gripped him. His face changed dramatically. “This is bad.”
“What is it, President?” Green asked curiously upon hearing Ye Chui.
Almost as Green spoke, the iPad screen suddenly dimmed, then a slowly advancing progress bar appeared.
The upgrade had begun.
It could not be halted. The iPad was currently linked to the divine artefact. The artefact’s normal operation depended entirely on the iPad. If the iPad stopped functioning, would the artefact not shut down completely?
The next moment, the glowing divine artefact light curtain flickered and went dark. A heavy sensation suddenly pressed upon Ye Chui. Not only him, but every person in the Stan World felt it.
Under the divine artefact’s enhancement, everyone’s physical qualities had been greatly improved. The sudden loss of that boost made bodies feel much heavier.
“Why has the divine artefact shut down?”
“My skin, why has it become so poor again?”
Cries of alarm rang out inside the temple.
The once agile bodies lost their grace. The smooth, oily skin lost its sheen. Everyone turned to Ye Chui.
“My magibook is experiencing an issue. It is upgrading and needs to be offline for a while,” Ye Chui said, his face anxious. He glanced at the sky outside. The Stan World had only just ascended to the middle-layer world. Who knew if other divine domain worlds there would attempt invasion. With the artefact active, Ye Chui had felt no fear. Now it had shut down unexpectedly. They would have no chance against attacks from other divine domains.
“This is terrible…” Kas suddenly exclaimed, clutching his forehead. “I sense several divine domains probing us. Their probes are filled with hostility. My perception is much weaker now, but I can feel it. Those divine domains may attempt to invade us.”
“Quick, have everyone in the Stan World prepare for battle,” Ye Chui urgently told Kas.
Kas agreed and hurried away.
An ordinary lower-layer fragment world ascending to the middle layer might not provoke hostility. But the Stan World had evolved into a divine domain before ascending. Barely arrived, an accident had crippled the artefact’s performance. This instantly drew the greed of countless divine domain worlds.
The value of a divine artefact was enough to make them risk everything.
Ye Chui felt an immense crisis descending.
Yet in that moment of extreme tension, a “beep beep beep” sound rang in his ears like heavenly music. It was the artefact’s signal. Ye Chui looked over in delight and found, to his surprise, that the light curtain was restoring its glow.
The iPad could still operate the artefact during upgrade.
Ye Chui was overjoyed, but moments later his expression grew troubled again.
The artefact had indeed resumed operation, but the interface this time was extremely simple, as though a computer running in safe mode.
Many functions were restricted. Only the most basic ones remained.
At the same time, the ladder light pillar radiated light that once more enveloped every citizen of the Stan World. Ye Chui felt his body lighten. The powerful physique granted by the divine domain blessing seemed restored. Yet when he looked at his companions, his expression grew awkward.
The oily world theme package clearly could not be restored. The current safe mode appeared to be a backup program the iPad ran after unexpected shutdown. It only partially restored the artefact’s effects, and the theme package was not among them.
Under the simplified divine order, everyone’s appearance even looked slightly worse than original. Ye Chui gazed at his companions and felt as though he were looking at unmodded characters from an ancient Elder Scrolls game.
His companions could not remain calm either.
Going from oily senior sisters to Elder Scrolls style overnight was a drop too steep to accept.
“Why has my skin suddenly become so rough? It looks covered in grime. I need to wash my face. Aaaah, do not look at me…” Xiles, the most beauty-conscious among them, cried out and fled.
Resa, Green, and the others also struggled to accept their new medieval wilderness aesthetic.
“Power has been partially restored, but returning to our previous appearance will probably take a while longer,” Ye Chui quickly reassured everyone.
“How long?” Resa pressed.
“Hm…”
Ye Chui glanced at the progress bar on his iPad magibook and estimated. “Probably about a day?”
The previous iPad upgrade had taken four or five days. This major update completing in just one day was already quite fast.
“So long…” Everyone found it hard to accept.
“I think this look is pretty good. I feel I have become much handsomer,” the orc Dulong said, peering into Green’s small mirror. After the Elder Scrolls transformation, he appeared even more rugged. The texture of his skin was clearer. As an orc, he liked this style. This was true handsomeness.
Of course, no one else could agree.
Ye Chui calmed himself, stepped out of the temple, and looked at Debbie, Guni, and Salome wrapped in golden cocoons.
They were undergoing metamorphosis. Perhaps when they emerged, they would possess immense power. He only wondered how long the process would take.
Most importantly, they had fused with the Wealth Goddess’s soul and body. When they broke free, would they still be the same girls?
Would they no longer remember everything they had shared with Ye Chui?
At that thought, Ye Chui’s heart grew heavier again.
…
Other divine domain worlds continuously probed the Stan World.
Some requested permission to descend, but Kas refused them all. Many carried hostile intent. Until they understood the Stan World’s situation, they would not launch reckless invasion. Yet if they did attack, with the Stan World’s artefact greatly weakened, resistance would likely last only moments.
Ye Chui only hoped the standoff could hold for one day.
The sun and moon of the Stan World continued their cycles. Midnight arrived.
The iPad upgrade had reached halfway.
Tension filled every corner of the world.
Ye Chui and his group guarded before the temple, pacing anxiously. In such circumstances, even their bold hearts could not sleep peacefully.
The three golden cocoons constantly emitted soft golden light, illuminating the square. Streams of light occasionally passed between the cocoons, as though engaged in some mystical exchange. The power the three girls received originated from the same person. Connection between the cocoons was not hard to understand.
Baby lay in Ye Chui’s arms, curiously watching the cocoon around Debbie, lost in thought.
After the divine domain’s performance dropped, Baby, Dragon Baby, and Turtle Baby had also changed appearance. Yet the three bizarre creatures did not become as rough as the others. They simply looked more like ordinary children.
“Baby, what are you looking at?” Ye Chui asked casually.
“Daddy, they are playing cards,” Baby said, pointing at the three cocoons.
“Play… playing cards?” Ye Chui chuckled, ruffled Baby’s hair, and smiled. She had clearly enjoyed cards lately. Such a child…
“Daddy, they really are playing cards. Just now Mummy played a pair of twos, and Sister Guni used a bomb that knocked Sister Salome out…” Baby described vividly.
Ye Chui smiled wryly. Children had such rich imaginations.
At that moment, a point of starlight in the dark sky suddenly burst like fireworks.
The fireworks turned into streaks of meteors that rained down continuously, falling across the Stan World.
“Invasion has begun,” Kas cried in alarm, standing and warning everyone. He drew his greatsword from his back.
“Other divine domain worlds could not hold back after all,” Ye Chui said grimly, setting Baby down. He picked up a shotgun. “Everyone, prepare for battle.”
Ye Chui had long deployed orc warriors and Dragon Fang troops to patrol the Stan World. Upon invasion, these strongest fighters immediately mobilised, heading automatically towards the meteor impacts to engage the enemy.
Ye Chui’s group remained to guard the temple.
The most vital asset of any divine domain was its divine artefact.
The invaders’ primary target would surely be the artefact inside the temple.
“Mayor Kas, can you sense which world the invaders come from?” Green asked worriedly, one hand holding his frying pan, the other cradling a Gatling.
“It is a very cold world… When they invaded, I faintly sensed their divine domain. It seemed a world completely frozen,” Kas described.
“Could it be the inheritance of the Ice Goddess?” Celty, cradled in Turtle Baby’s arms, spoke at once. No one knew the gods’ clan better than her. She explained, “Bosli’s Ice Queen series spells were created by the Ice Goddess. She is the goddess of ice, a mid-rank deity. Her divine citizens wield the power of frost.”
As if confirming the Ice Divine Domain’s invasion, a chilling cold descended upon the Stan World.
Soon, lush plants frosted over. Rivers began to freeze. Ye Chui and the others felt bone-piercing cold. Ye Chui sent Baby and Turtle Baby with Celty into the temple and gave Dragon Baby a large stack of magic scrolls.
Dragon Baby’s dragon flame should deal massive damage to ice divine citizens.
Soon, warriors with blue skin appeared around the temple, advancing with cold expressions.
They were the warriors of the Ice Divine Domain.
An orc warrior charged from the dense forest, swinging his battle axe at one.
The foe merely waved a hand. Ice rose from the ground into spikes that pierced the orc’s body, lifting and suspending him in mid-air.
“This divine domain’s artefact is indeed impaired. Excellent. Everything here will belong to our Ice and Snow Divine Domain,” one ice warrior said coldly. As he spoke, icy mist puffed from his mouth.
This divine domain, inheriting the Ice Goddess, was named the Ice and Snow Divine Domain.
“I will not let you succeed,” Kas roared, gripping his greatsword tightly.
“A crippled artefact grants you negligible blessings. What qualification do you have to oppose us?” the ice warrior sneered. His laugh was as cold as his skin.
“Dragon Baby,” Ye Chui glanced at him.
“Got it.”
Dragon Baby nodded. “Roar…”
A terrifying black-flame dragon soared into the sky, spewing fearsome dragon flames at the ice warriors below.
This clearly caught them off guard. They scattered in disarray.
Some dodged the flames and charged towards Ye Chui’s group.
A fierce battle was about to erupt.
Yet at that moment, Debbie’s voice suddenly rang out.
“A mere inheritance of the Ice Goddess dares to swagger before me?”
As she spoke, golden light flared brilliantly.
The next instant, an ice warrior rushing towards Ye Chui was hurled backwards. Blue blood bloomed across his blue skin.
“Debbie?” Ye Chui’s face lit with joy. He turned to the three cocoons.
The cocoons were shedding. The three transformed girls reappeared before everyone.
Golden radiance wound around their bodies, lending them noble and commanding presence.
“Debbie, are you… alright?” Ye Chui asked quickly.
“Feeling pretty good. I feel filled with power… Sorry, the fusion finished long ago, but staying inside the cocoons was fun. The three of us could link through them to play cards. We got carried away and lost track of time…” Debbie explained apologetically.
Ye Chui stood stunned. “Play… playing cards?”
Bloody hell, everything Baby saw was real.
