Chapter 787 - 674: Saint?!!

Chapter 787: Chapter 674: Saint?!!

The end of the black thread was faintly tinged with a strange crimson color.

Very faint, very faint.....

However, Feng Mu was not a petty person. Since he had sown the seeds of a "Saint," it was only right to water and fertilize them.

The Lv2 Deputy’s Blessing could grant followers an additional 1-2 abilities.

What skill should be bestowed next?

Of course, not every entry or skill in his system panel could be granted.

Some abilities that were too core or too high level remained in an unselectable gray state.

Feng Mu hesitated slightly before carefully selecting two skills from the ones that could be granted.

He adjusted the inheritance level of these two skills to their selectable limit—99%.

This meant almost perfect replication of his current abilities in these two aspects.

"Since Chen Fengrui has been blessed, I might as well..."

Feng Mu’s thoughts became lively, and he decided to "upgrade" the existing deputies.

However, when he actually began operating, he suddenly discovered that it was far from as simple and easy as he had imagined.

Lv2 Deputy’s Blessing indeed empowered him to shape stronger deputies, enabling them to receive more complex ability combinations and higher inheritance levels.

But correspondingly, the burden imposed on his own mental layer increased geometrically.

Initially negligible, but when quantities piled up, the loss became perceptible.

Especially when he wanted to upgrade all deputies to 99% inheritance level, a glaring red warning panel suddenly popped up on the system interface:

[Warning—Your mental load is overloaded!]

[Forcing blessings will temporarily freeze your spirit attribute by 19 points!]

[Meanwhile, your pupil power value will be temporarily frozen by 1900 points!]

[Do you confirm to force execute?]

Feng Mu: "...."

He looked at the cold prompt text, speechless for a moment.

After a brief shock, he carefully reviewed the panel descriptions and related annotations, increasingly understanding the operational mechanism of Deputy’s Blessing.

This was roughly akin to having funds partially frozen in a bank account.

The ownership of the frozen spirit attribute and pupil power value still belonged to Feng Mu, but from the moment they were frozen, their usage rights were temporarily "loaned" to the deputies.

Before he reclaims the blessing or the deputies "repay" this power, he cannot utilize the frozen attributes himself.

Simply put, blessings are not a cost-free transaction. The strength he wishes to grant the deputies must first be backed by his own collateral of equal value!

Upon understanding this point, Feng Mu’s mood instantly soured.

Originally, as the master, he was generous with blessings to the deputies, as long as it was free for him.

It would showcase the master’s mercy and greatness while gaining a batch of free tools—why not?

But if it all required "payment," and he was the one "paying," it wasn’t impossible, just that he had to... do some strategic planning and carefully consider.

Even the master’s house doesn’t have excess grain.

Feng Mu had to adjust his mindset:

"Blessings cannot be distributed recklessly, yes, that’s correct. Things obtained for free are often not cherished.

Although the master does not need repayment, the master should be praised. Deputies must learn to please the master actively and prove their worth to earn more blessings!"

"That’s right, I’ll sow the seeds of competition among the deputies and then selectively bestow power."

Feng Mu soon had a clear plan on how to implement this specifically.

He didn’t need to talk to every deputy, as that would devalue the master.

He only needed to provide the deputies with a "platform" where they could communicate and see each other’s "achievements."

As long as they could communicate, naturally there would be comparisons; with comparisons, naturally, there would be a competitive spirit; then the smart and ambitious ones would naturally discover the "mysteries" within, striving to gain more favor from the "master" and naturally... engage in fierce competition!

Once Feng Mu clarified his mindset, he immediately took action, significantly reducing the coverage and intensity levels of this planned blessing.

Through his elaborate micro-manipulation and testing, he roughly understood the system’s current "free quota":

He found that without excessively using his attributes, he could "freely" support up to 5 deputies fully "maxed out."

The so-called "maxed out" refers to obtaining the maximum skill combination permitted by the current Lv2 level, with the highest 99% inheritance level.

These 5, for now, could be called "Saints," the focus of investment.

While the other deputies can only have about half selected for a secondary basic ability blessing, their inheritance level would stay at the minimum security line—50%.

Once trying to exceed this boundary, even just increasing by 1%, the system would immediately prompt the need to start freezing his spirit attribute.

"5 slots for Saints... Chen Fengrui can take one, his rebellious potential and fanaticism are worth investing in."

Feng Mu quickly allocated,

"Then select another performing best or with the most potential for the second spot, and the remaining three will temporarily be reserved for observing subsequent performances and used to incentivize latercomers."

"After all, Saints can act as the catfish in a fish tank; too few won’t be effective, but too many would appear cheap, undermining the master’s prestige and the value of blessings."

With the decision made, Feng Mu started his operation.

The first and foremost critical step was to establish the envisioned "communication platform."

This was the easiest part for him, as the foundation for this "platform" already existed. He could previously draw the consciousness of all connected deputies into his "Consciousness Space" at will.

However, the previous mode was one-way control; deputies couldn’t enter unless he opened the door.

Now he only needed to make minor adjustments, permanently stabilizing the "platform" and granting all deputies lateral entry access.

Once thought out, Feng Mu concentrated his mind, starting to "set and adjust" the platform.

Soon, a line of system prompts appeared first:

[Prompt: Solidifying and opening the "Consciousness Corridor," granting all deputies entry and exit permissions, establishing a stable channel will additionally freeze 5 points of spiritual attributes and 500 points of pupil power value.]

This "fee" was expected by Feng Mu.

He was increasingly familiar with the system’s dealings—any chance to extract a "middleman markup" or charge a "server maintenance fee" wouldn’t be overlooked.

Fortunately, the 5 attribute points and 500 pupil power were within Feng Mu’s bearable range, considering it a necessary preliminary investment for building the platform, which he believed would pay off in the future.

Without hesitation, he chose to agree.

[5 points of spirit attributes frozen.]

[500 points of pupil power value frozen.]

["Consciousness Corridor" solidified and opened, entry and exit permissions granted to all deputies.]

[Prompt: You may freely decorate your "Consciousness Corridor!"]

Seeing the prompts flash by, Feng Mu breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Luckily, the system this time behaved reasonably, without charging him an additional "decoration fee."

However, thinking about it, the "Consciousness Corridor" is essentially a creation of his own spiritual powers. Decoration naturally requires his own effort, so why should the system charge again?

Decoration is naturally something to be considered thoroughly.

Previously, the hollow, void, absolutely silent, and dark feeling was meant to create a mysterious atmosphere with high stature. Although effective, it was overly oppressive, hindering deputies from opening their hearts (competing openly) and friendly exchanges (fierce rivalry).

Without sufficient exchange, how can effective internal competition arise?

"So, it should be transformed like this, then like this, then like this..."

Mu did not think for long, a ready-made, market-verified plan emerged from his deep memory.

This was mainly thanks to a classic web novel he read in his previous life, whose depiction of a similar "online communication platform" greatly inspired and informed him.

....