A blank white space.
Luo Shu found himself once again within the Divine Pantheon Reconstruction System, gazing at the featureless void.
Only upon entering this space did he receive clear feedback regarding system updates.
[First, functional enhancements:]
[The auxiliary Dream Simulation Chamber's performance has been upgraded, now capable of simulating Apostle-level entities and demonstrating authority effects.]
[New Crush Function added: can destroy Abyss Artefacts below Demigod Rank into pure Ability Crystals. These crystals serve as superior crafting materials, significantly reducing the post-production side effects of artefacts. Humans using Ability Crystals may also gain corresponding abilities.]
[Additionally, Sigil Function implemented.]
[By condensing Conceptual Power, a Divine Pantheon can manifest its unique Sigil, granting the Divine Pantheon Lord two special abilities.]
[First ability: Possession.]
[The Divine Pantheon Lord can temporarily possess Familia members, manifesting partial strength to confront enemies beyond their capability. Alternatively, they may bestow blessings that grant Calamity protection, mitigating certain conceptual damage.]
[Second ability: Reincarnation.]
[As long as the Sigil remains intact and unclaimed, any deceased Familia member can be resurrected beneath the Sigil at a points cost. Furthermore, qualified individuals who died without joining the Pantheon may also be revived through substantial points expenditure.]
[If the Divine Pantheon Lord dies, they can expend points to resurrect through their Familia.]
After perceiving these functions, Luo Shu couldn't help but laugh and curse:
"What a joke. Most features are welfare for Familia members. The only things I can use are the enhanced Dream Simulation Chamber and reincarnation as a survival skill?"
"System, have you finally remembered you're the Divine Pantheon Reconstruction System, not the Lone Wolf System?"
Faced with Luo Shu's teasing, the Divine Pantheon Reconstruction System remained silent, its initial intelligence seemingly having fallen into complete silence.
This didn't surprise Luo Shu. After advancing to Hero Rank and becoming a Calamity Priest, he distinctly felt his control over the system strengthening.
Under these circumstances, unless Luo Shu willed it otherwise, the system's intelligence could only remain dormant. Were he to grow stronger still, reaching the Demigod Rank, he could even eliminate the system's intelligence entirely, becoming the sole authority.
Yet, having gained such authority, Luo Shu found himself unconcerned about the system's intelligence.
With the power of life and death in his hands, he instead permitted the intelligence's continued existence, letting it remain dormant unless absolutely necessary to awaken it.
Firstly, his intuition suggested this system intelligence held special value for him. Secondly, he still couldn't fully master the system and needed a tool for control.
Thinking this, Luo Shu murmured:
"But once I become a Demigod, or even what's called beyond Demigod - an Apostle wielding Divine Authority, or an Angel below the gods but above Apostles..."
"By then, the system intelligence probably won't even have the strength to resist. Perhaps only then will I truly understand what all the system's functions represent."
Having this vague premonition, Luo Shu chose to trust it.
After all, he could now see the general contents of the Calamity Priest Class.
He clearly understood the advancement process and corresponding abilities.
From Common Rank Calamity Folk, to Excellent Rank Calamity Revealer, Elite Rank Calamity Bringer, Hero Rank Calamity Priest, and Demigod Rank Child of Apocalypse.
Though information beyond this remained hidden by the Divine Pantheon Reconstruction System, Luo Shu had pieced together the prerequisite abilities.
For example, the Excellent Rank Calamity Revealer's core ability, Revelation, resembled divine inspiration, similar to Hyper Intuition.
This Class's intuition often equated to fate's revelation, granting near-prophetic judgment about events' development.
It also possessed strong anti-divination capabilities, making all enemy divination attempts about oneself unclear or yielding incorrect conclusions.
The Class information gradually clarified Luo Shu's own advancement path for the Divine Rank Class Calamity Monarch:
"Common Rank begins with physical resistance enhancement, Excellent Rank gains crisis perception, and only reaching Elite Rank does one obtain the offensive core ability Calamity as a prerequisite."
"But this stage still focuses on survival, improving resistance and durability..."
"Only at Hero Rank Calamity Priest does it erupt, possessing the strongest offensive capabilities below Demigod Rank?"
"The Calamity Bringer's core ability refines encountered misfortunes and disasters - whether others' or one's own - into conceptual Calamity, thereby expanding one's capacity."
"Because I refined the Concept of Calamity, the effect of neutering a cat was fully manifested on Nue."
"The Calamity Bestowal wasn't actually making Nue suffer the pain of castration, but conceptually, he encountered the calamity of having his reproductive organs removed."
"In other words, my Calamity Bestowal doesn't merely inflict mental or physical harm, but grants conceptual true damage."
"This is essentially a weakened version of the Demigod's Concept Entanglement."
"Thanks to the foundation laid as a Calamity Bringer, after advancing to Calamity Priest, I could easily grasp Concept Entanglement and learn to wrap Calamity around my body to strike enemies temporarily."
"So, whether at the Calamity Bringer Rank or Calamity Priest Rank, it's all about exposing me to the Concept of Calamity and enabling me to wield it, right?"
At this thought, Luo Shu frowned slightly.
It wasn't that this method was bad—being able to master basic Demigod techniques at Hero Rank proved the superiority of the Calamity Priest Class.
Anyone who played games understood the role of level suppression.
"But cultivating this type of talent would be extremely difficult."
Even within the Familia, Luo Shu couldn't guarantee that each member would obtain their own Class, let alone powerful Classes like the Calamity Monarch system with level suppression.
Under these circumstances, the Familia's growth would be slow and far behind Luo Shu's.
This wasn't beneficial for the development of the Divine Pantheon.
"So, I need to find a way for the Familia to level up quickly?"
With this in mind, Luo Shu turned his gaze to the system AI.
Though he'd always been wary of this intelligence and rarely interacted with it, now, with the peculiar control over the Divine Pantheon Reconstruction System after his advancement, it was time to exploit the AI's labour.