Chapter 1 Planning the Apostle

Zhou Jing had plans for the development of the Eternal Apostle.

In his view, the Eternal Apostle's main goals when walking in the Star Realm were twofold.

One was naturally to continue developing, constantly increasing the upper limit of their strength, learning new skills, and providing the main body with a richer ability library.

The other was to earn resources, such as grinding achievements and earning Star Realm Points and Information State Particles.

Because the Eternal Apostle had no pressure to clear the game and no life goals to guide them, they could only exercise their subjective initiative and decide for themselves what career to pursue.

Jason's "life goal" had been completed, and now if he wanted to obtain Information State Particles, he could only actively seek out events to intervene in—and the undercurrents of the alien beast world's empire splitting and tribal independence were obviously major events affecting the entire civilization's progress. Since he had a certain amount of intelligence, intervening in them should create a significant impact effect.

As for what role to play in this turmoil... Zhou Jing decided to play it by ear and act when the opportunity arose.

The opposing factions were the Empire and the various tribal lords. He currently leaned slightly towards the Terra Empire... mainly due to Luth's influence, which made him not have much goodwill towards the tribal lords.

——Killing alien lifeforms also seemed to be a way to obtain Information State Particles, but the risk was too great, and he couldn't find anyone else, so Zhou Jing didn't consider it for the time being.

Regarding the overall career plan, Zhou Jing still intended to let Jason develop along the alien beast hunter route. On the one hand, being a hunter allowed him to justifiably enjoy priority access to various extraordinary resources, making it easier to carry out subsequent alien blood enhancements.

On the other hand, he wanted to try to complete the previously triggered milestone, [True·Alien Beast Hunter].

Currently, he was still two goals away from completing this milestone: hunting a deadly-level alien beast and the King of Alien Beasts.

Zhou Jing had thought it over. If Jason could break Raven's enhancement limit or become the first person to kill the King of Alien Beasts, then it would likely make history. In that case, it would definitely cause a sensational impact effect, generating a large wave of Information State Particles.

There was also the possibility of failure, but the Eternal Apostle was not afraid of death. Setting a challenging goal would provide more motivation.

——Of course, before Jason reached the limit of alien blood enhancement, Zhou Jing wouldn't consider using the King of Alien Beasts to improve his strength. Besides, no one knew the whereabouts of the King of Alien Beasts.

"First, set a small goal, become a legendary hunter first."

Zhou Jing secretly made a plan.

White Plains City was located in the northern part of the Empire. From here, it would take about twenty days to reach the royal capital by walking. His endurance was sufficient to significantly shorten this time.

However, Zhou Jing didn't plan to go straight to the royal capital. He wanted to meander along the way to open up the map… and also explore the world's full appearance and learn more about the local customs.

The larger the known map, the more areas could be designated for deployment, which was crucial for subsequent Star Realm Apostle deployments.

Zhou Jing planned to wait until he had opened up a large area of the map and Jason had gained a foothold in the royal capital before expanding the apostle slots to generate new Star Realm Apostles. This would save a lot of energy. Moreover, with a deeper understanding of this world, he would have more ideas for planning the new apostles.

Because his main body had become a superpower user and completed the original plan faster than expected, and he had also decided to immigrate, Zhou Jing wasn't in such a hurry since it would still be a month and a half before he boarded the spaceship in the main world.

He was relaxed and planned to explore the alien beast world thoroughly and develop his apostles.

"Regarding alien lifeforms... I'll investigate slowly when I get to the royal capital. As long as I keep playing the role of an alien beast hunter and don't show any words or deeds that exceed this era, it won't be easy for people to suspect me."

Zhou Jing didn't forget this matter. As a "dead man," he didn't swagger and leave his name when he kidnapped Luth, so generally no one would suspect him… the hidden danger was being recognized by someone who had seen him, but as long as he left the north, the probability should be small.

It was a pity that the Eternal Apostle couldn't adjust their appearance, otherwise he would have wanted to fine-tune his appearance during deployment.

"I have more than 1,400 Terra silver coins on hand, which is definitely enough for travel expenses, and there's still a lot of extra money to exchange for equipment and directly purchase alien blood potions... In that case, if I encounter good equipment or good potions in the hunter workshops of other towns, I can directly buy them on the spot."

Zhou Jing stroked his chin and couldn't help but think of Maggi.

Many good alien blood potions had been reserved by someone, and he didn't have hunter certification in other towns. If he went to other towns to buy potions, he might be cut in line by local hunters like Maggi.

Thinking like this, it was better to pay attention to the alien beast subjugation missions in various towns. If he personally hunted powerful alien beasts, he would definitely have a share of the alien blood potions produced.

He didn't want to break the rules of workshops prioritizing local hunters. If he couldn't buy it with money, then he would do it himself and be self-sufficient.

After turning over the subsequent plans in his mind, Zhou Jing calmed his mind, opened the achievement warehouse on the panel, and counted the inventory.

He had been storing the achievement rewards triggered earlier. Currently, he had [Aptitude Improvement - Physique (Small)] x3, [Attribute Improvement - Physique (Slight)] x2, [Aptitude Improvement - Resistance (Small)] x2, [Aptitude Improvement - Comprehensive (Small)] x1.

There was quite a lot in stock.

Using achievement rewards for new apostles could make them stronger faster at the beginning, accelerate their growth, and facilitate clearing the game, but there was a risk of loss... so Zhou Jing had been saving the rewards.

Using them for the Eternal Apostle would archive the enhancement results. It might not play a key role, but it would definitely not be a loss.

"Speaking of which, kidnapping Luth didn't give me any achievements. This person is still a lord, so he has no presence."

Zhou Jing slandered.

He thought for a while and clicked on a [Aptitude Improvement - Physique (Small)] to use for Jason.

[Usage complete]

[Physique aptitude slightly improved]

Zhou Jing blinked, looking at Jason's still "deep green" physique aptitude.

This… was it improved?

It's still green.

He used another one, and this time the familiar prompt popped up.

[Physique aptitude change: [Deep Green] → [Light Blue]!]

It seemed that in the blue level, it took two [Aptitude Improvement (Small)] to improve by one small level… Zhou Jing recorded it.

He looked at the remaining aptitude improvement rewards, which seemed to be able to raise the resistance aptitude by one more level… He didn't hesitate and directly spent two [Aptitude Improvement - Resistance (Small)].

[Resistance [Light Blue] → [Blue]]

Zhou Jing took a deep breath, feeling as if his body was different, but he couldn't tell where the change had occurred. He inexplicably felt a sense of "connection."

The remaining aptitude improvement rewards included one physique (small) and one comprehensive (small). Although they could also raise the physique by one more level, Zhou Jing didn't plan to use them.

The reward for comprehensive aptitude improvement came from the unique achievement [Entering the Extraordinary], which was more valuable and had a low drop rate.

He didn't plan to use it to improve his physique aptitude. He felt that this thing was used to improve some unique aptitudes that were difficult to get targeted rewards for, such as some systems with abundant cultivation knowledge and routes—giving it to muscleheads who relied purely on their bodies felt like a waste.

In addition to these, the achievement rewards that could be used also included two [Attribute Improvement - Physique (Slight)].

"I wonder if I can break the first-order attribute limit..."

Zhou Jing muttered to himself and tried to use one.

[Usage complete]

[Physique attribute +1]

[Current physique: 40(+4) (First-Order Ax)]

[Order bonus has reached 10% of the current attribute]

[Physique can break through to Second-Order]

"So that's how it is." Zhou Jing's eyes lit up, and he understood the mechanism.

When an attribute in a field reached a bottleneck, subsequent improvements would not officially increase the attribute, but would become something called an "order bonus"—expressed on the panel attribute as "+" in parentheses.

This directly reflected the accumulation progress of the bottleneck period, recording improvements that were not counted in the official attributes... This part only counted improvements from skills or extraordinary systems. Adding points during character creation could not increase the order bonus.

The order bonus exceeded a certain percentage of the current attribute to advance... From a commoner's perspective, it meant accumulating strength over time and breaking through bottlenecks with years of training.

To break through the first-order, the order bonus had to reach 10% of the attribute, that is, a progress of (+4).

Zhou Jing saw the "Can Advance" option appear after the physique attribute and immediately clicked on it.

[(+4) Order bonus has been consumed]

[Physique has been improved to Second-Order]

[Please choose a new trait from the following three options]

[Note: A trait means being better at one direction of this attribute and having a special advantage]

[1. Savage Physique - You possess extraordinary brute force and are better at strength]

[2. Agile Figure - You possess outstanding agility, faster than ordinary people]

[3. Lasting Endurance - You have amazing stamina and rarely feel tired]

"So advancing is not just about breaking through the numerical limit, but also getting an extra bonus..."

Zhou Jing's spirit was lifted.

Attributes were comprehensive summaries, containing a large number of qualities. The same physique also had differences, with some people having great strength and others having fast speed.

Jason was taking the agility route, so he didn't hesitate for long and quickly chose the second option.

Strength and speed seemed to be separated on paper, but based on his actual usage experience... speed was power, giving him an advantage in combat.

[Selection complete, trait has been generated]

[Current physique attribute: 40 (Second-Order)]

[Physique trait: [Agile Figure]]

Zhou Jing shuddered all over, as if he had broken some physical boundary in the dark. Blood flowed quickly, bringing a burst of fullness.

His body suddenly became lighter, as if he could float into the air like a balloon as long as his feet left the ground.

He made a dodging action in place, leaving afterimages almost instantly. The speed was much faster than before.

Although the physique was still 40 points, the increase in trait was quite obvious. He roughly estimated that it was about one or two tenths faster than before… which was quite amazing in practical terms.

"According to this range, the limit of the second order should be 80 points... Well, Jason's resistance is already 31 points, so I can prioritize breaking through the resistance to the first order."

Zhou Jing was in a good mood.

His main body had not yet advanced, so now was a good time to let Jason test the effect of the trait. When the main body chose a route, he would know what to do.

He conveniently used another attribute improvement, raising his physique to 41 points before closing the panel.

Zhou Jing had Ross deal with Luth's body while he looked in the direction of Frostwood Village, his heart moved.

"I'm afraid I won't be back again. Before I leave, let me take a look at the village..."

…

Morning, Frostwood Village.

A group of villagers stood at the entrance of the village, divided into two groups, saying goodbye to each other.

Today, several more villagers planned to move into White Plains City, and the village chief and other villagers came to see them off.

Several villagers said goodbye to everyone, leading oxcarts and bringing their families on the dirt road leaving the village.

"Another one is gone..."

Griff pulled Leiner and stood in the crowd seeing them off, sighing softly.

Compared to half a year ago, the already remote Frostwood Village was even more deserted. Although it had not been attacked by alien beasts during this period, more and more villagers decided to move and hide in White Plains City.

One of the reasons was that White Plains City was unable to protect the surrounding villages.

But the most direct reason was that Barron had left Frostwood Village.

A few months ago, the Empire investigation team declared Luth innocent and did not remove him from his position as lord. Barron was furious and wanted to attack the lord, but in the end, he was persuaded by Webber and others.

However, because he could not accept this, Barron did not want to stay in the White Plains City area and simply left with Weiss.

From a stationed hunter, he became a free hunter again.

Just like he had said, there was a home only after experiencing the journey... He once thought he had found a home, but in the end, he found that the home was just a journey.

Before leaving, Barron summoned all the villagers and announced his decision. No matter how the villagers tried to persuade him, or even tried to morally kidnap him, he did not waver.

He had been stationed in Frostwood Village for several years, and the villagers were used to Barron's existence, but Barron did not owe the village anything, and leaving would not be unfair to anyone. When it was time to go, he was not soft-hearted and did not feel that he would be tied to this place for the rest of his life just because he had protected the village for several years.

But Barron still worried about the safety of the villagers. Before leaving, he gave a suggestion, advising the villagers to move to White Plains City.

Without the protection of the alien beast hunter, Frostwood Village had no shelter. Many villagers accepted this suggestion and went to live in safer towns.

Even Griff himself planned to take his family to White Plains City.

After seeing off this group of people, Griff took Leiner to the cemetery, habitually wiping clean the graves of Will and Jason, and then stepped back, staring at the tombstones of the Wood brothers for a long time.

After a long time, he sighed deeply.

"Alas... I don't know when I will come back."

Leiner turned his head to look at him, blinking his eyes: "Are we moving?"

"Yes, we'll leave in a few days." Griff rubbed his head.

Leiner lowered his head, covering his excitement.

——He yearned for the outside world and had long been unwilling to continue staying in the village.

At the same time, on the hill not far from the village, the forest where Gemma's apothecary hut used to be.

Zhou Jing stood on the hill, looking at the village from afar.

He had hurried back day and night, and had already explored the village's situation without the villagers knowing, discovering that Barron had left.

But even if Barron hadn't left, Zhou Jing didn't plan to appear in front of everyone.

As long as the villagers were fine, it didn't matter where they lived.

Luth had been killed by him, and the situation in White Plains City would slowly improve. This area would return to its former safety after a while.

After a long time, Zhou Jing withdrew his gaze and patted Ross, who was standing guard beside him.

"Let's go."

He turned and left, gradually disappearing into the distance.