Three million gold coins, a seemingly large sum, but it wasn't even a fraction of what was needed to enhance Ye Yun's talent. The game's exorbitant prices meant Ye Yun required a staggering 640 billion gold coins to improve his talent.
Thus, Ye Yun immediately spent three million gold coins to purchase 30 attribute points.
He allocated 20 points to attack and the remaining 10 to HP, significantly boosting his strength. Most importantly, his Life Beast's HP directly reached 300.
A property in a first-tier city traded for merely 30 free attribute points in the game, and it still didn't bring him a sense of security.
Ye Yun sighed deeply, glancing at the remaining cooldown of 'Gold Touch'.
"Congratulations player, for using your innate divine ability to upgrade your talent to X level. Skill cooldown time: 16h."
"System prompt: Congratulations to player Jie Ming for being the first to upgrade their talent to X level. Reward: 100 free attribute points! The system will make a server-wide announcement. Does the player wish to hide their name?"
"Hide!" Ye Yun reacted after a moment's pause.
At precisely 11 AM, the first server-wide announcement in the Heavenly Dao game echoed throughout the world.
"System Announcement: Chinese player:******, with unparalleled talent, is the first to upgrade their talent to X level. Reward: 100 free attribute points, given as encouragement."
...
Three consecutive red text and voice system announcements instantly ignited the emotions of every player in Heavenly Dao.
Most players hadn't recovered from Ye Yun's legendary post on the forum before being stunned by this news.
China:
"Damn it, did this guy rob a bank? But who can tell me which bank has that much money?"
"System, just tell me whose father this grandmaster is. My heart is strong, I can take it."
"Sigh, I spent ten years of savings and even secretly pawned my wedding ring to buy the lowest-tier game ring. My wife just asked me why I was kneeling and drooling over such an expensive ring. I was afraid my saliva would corrode the game ring."
"Come on, upstairs. Game rings cost less than ten yuan. Even saving one yuan of your private money per year would be enough."
Foreign Countries:
"Why isn't it us, America? We are the richest country in the world, aren't we? All the world's richest people are from America!"
"Dear America, I remember the top spot on the rich list seems to have Korean blood, just with a more foreign look, sseumnida."
"To my ally America, baka! Do you think an individual could have such massive funds to upgrade their talent to X level? It must be the Chinese national team, disregarding public welfare, that directly intervened."
"My India offers a minute of silence for the future refugees of China. I hope our army can guard our borders well!"
...
Social media platforms across various countries were instantly flooded with this topic.
Even the high-level military and political officials of each country convened emergency meetings. However, Heavenly Dao had slipped beyond their control, and they couldn't even trace the flow of funds within major financial systems.
Fortunately, they all knew that the first person to reach X-level talent was Chinese. This shifted everyone's attention to the numerous Chinese players, attempting to find any clues.
In Shanghai, China, on the terrace of a 68-story building covering over 30 mu, 120 young men in camouflage short-sleeved shirts looked solemnly at their leader.
These individuals were clearly soldiers. They wore no ranks or numbers, but their presence on the 50th floor of this skyscraper indicated their special status. This building had become the base for a national special department, the Dragon Palace Brigade!
"You've all heard the recent announcement in Heavenly Dao, I presume? You know better than I do what this signifies!"
"Yes! Each of you has five subordinate personnel. I want you to do everything possible to identify this person and make them one of us. Do you understand?"
"Understood!"
If Ye Yun knew this, he would be greatly surprised!
The Dragon Palace Brigade had 120 official members, with one captain and 600 reserve members dedicated to serving the official members. While the initial funds of the official members were unknown, the reserve members each started with 100 million yuan!
With reserve members receiving 100 million yuan each, one could imagine the wealth of the official members and their leader.
Most importantly, these funds were only their initial investment for the first month. Although it would decrease later, it wouldn't be significantly low!
These figures were from information released on the Ministry of Defense's official website in Ye Yun's past life. However, the initial funds for official members were kept secret. Ye Yun had no idea about the specifics, as he had been constantly fighting for his life in his previous existence.
However, even the total funds of the entire Dragon Palace in his past life couldn't reach the level of X-grade talent.
In his past life, there were only a handful of players worldwide who broke through to SSS and then X level talent, and each was nurtured with the full might of a major power.
Once talent reached X level, it granted 100 attribute points and a global announcement!
Even higher levels of talent were beyond the capabilities of China and the US. The cost was equivalent to their country's annual GDP. Mobilizing such vast sums would cripple the nation.
After all, a country doesn't just nurture one person.
However, there were rumors in the past that the two major empires were secretly accumulating even more colossal funds, aiming to break through to higher talent levels in the subsequent years.
The 100 free attribute points were like timely rain, giving Ye Yun more confidence in the first phase of the Divine City awakening quest. Coupled with the innate 320% hidden attack buff from his talent, he felt invincible.
Ye Yun did not use the free attribute points, intending to save them for use within the Cursed Realm, depending on the situation. While 100 attribute points seemed substantial, this was a legendary quest, and one could never be sure what they might encounter.
In his past life, there was no information about this quest; perhaps it was never triggered, or perhaps those who attempted it failed.
"Does the player confirm entry into the Cursed Realm? Special reminder: Players entering the realm cannot exit midway. Please confirm your choice."
"Enter!"
"System prompt: You have entered a special region. Gold coins in your inventory are locked and cannot be used to purchase attributes mid-game."
"System prompt: You have entered the first layer of the Cursed Realm! Threat Level: Dangerous!"
Ye Yun's vision suddenly darkened, and he found himself in a massive cavern.
"Summon Life Beast!"
Upon landing, Ye Yun immediately summoned the Black Ant. He then carefully surveyed his surroundings.
The cavern was nearly ten thousand square meters. The spot where he stood resembled an altar, occupying about twenty square meters in the center of the entire cavern. The cavern was vast, and a nauseating odor permeated the air.
"Hmm? Where are the monsters?"
"System prompt: Divine City quest officially begins. First wave of monsters appearing. Countdown starts. Time -4:59:59."
As soon as the system prompt faded, a horde of Pig Demons began to appear from the cavern's perimeter. They walked upright like humans. Though not tall, their muscular builds, gleaming meteor hammers, and terrifying tusks immediately signaled their formidable nature.
There were a thousand such creatures in the entire cavern.
Ye Yun stared blankly at the approaching Pig Demons, his scalp tingling and his legs trembling.
He was, to be precise, terrified by the names of these Pig Demons.
Well, more accurately, he was frightened by the color of the Pig Demons' names.