Volume 1, Chapter 60: A Blessing in Disguise, the Arrival of a Super-God-Tier Talent!

When Lin Yu opened his eyes once again, a wave of profound bewilderment washed over him.

Before his eyes was not the familiar resurrection altar of the main city, but a scene of utter desolation.

Indeed, he was still lingering right here in Novice Village 331.

"What the hell? Am I really unable to resurrect at the altar anymore?"

A sudden realization struck Lin Yu, causing his expression to turn grim.

He only now remembered that he had been cursed by the Temple Alliance, stripping him of the ability to resurrect at altars or recover his health.

Yet, another question quickly arose in his mind.

Since resurrection at the altar was no longer an option for him, how on earth was he still alive and standing here?

According to the established rules of the Gods and Demons Continent, players could only return to life through resurrection altars.

For instance, in his past life, when the Blue Planet merged with the Gods and Demons Continent, the resurrection altars were repurposed to maintain the stability of the merging realms, which was why players had lost the ability to respawn once those altars became unavailable.

Now, without access to a resurrection altar, he shouldn't have been able to revive at all.

Much like the NPCs of this world, death should have meant permanent erasure.

So what was going on right now?

This left Lin Yu utterly astounded.

Despite his extreme shock, Lin Yu quickly regained his composure. Regardless of the reason behind this bizarre phenomenon, he had to figure out the cause of his resurrection.

Because having destroyed the resurrection altar, he had fundamentally lost his conventional means of revival.

If he failed to find the underlying reason, he might vanish forever upon his next death.

"There must be some secret hidden within this."

Lin Yu instantly fell into deep thought, desperately raking his memory for every single detail of what had just transpired, unwilling to let even a second slip away.

Because once he discovered the mechanism behind this resurrection, he would be able to return from the dead even when the apocalypse finally arrived.

This was practically a game-breaking bug!

"No, wait. I remember a massive surge of golden light bursting forth all around me the exact moment I was blown up. Could that be the reason?" Lin Yu frowned as a sudden thought struck him.

Right before his demise, he had clearly witnessed a dazzling golden radiance, which he had initially assumed was merely a byproduct of the explosion.

However, upon reflection, that seemed unlikely. Had it truly been caused by the blast, the color should have been crimson, never a blinding gold.

Furthermore, the light wouldn't have erupted directly from his own body.

This meant there was definitely a hidden factor at play here that he had yet to comprehend.

Could it be the Undead Refining Technique?!

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration crossed Lin Yu's mind, and a specific term popped into his head.

Yet, just as quickly, Lin Yu shook his head and dismissed the possibility.

Setting aside the fact that he hadn't even had the chance to learn that skill yet, Modeste hadn't even managed to develop the undead resurrection technique back then anyway.

"Then what on earth was the reason?"

Lin Yu furrowed his brow. He simply had to track down the cause now.

This concerned his own life in the future, after all.

However, after pondering for a long time, Lin Yu still could not pinpoint the crucial factor.

Clearly, it was exceedingly difficult to find a clue based solely on that single flash of golden light.

With no other options left, Lin Yu opened his attribute interface, as it was his only remaining place to seek answers.

Yet, the moment Lin Yu pulled up his character sheet and gazed at Absolute Defense, he was struck dumb with astonishment.

He discovered that his Absolute Defense had somehow unconsciously evolved into a Super-God-tier talent!

[Absolute Defense (Talent Skill, Super-God Tier) Lv 3:

Effect 1 (Ultimate Defense): Permanently increases defense by 0.05 per second (triggers only while existing within the world of the Gods and Demons Continent).

Effect 2 (Damage Reflection): When activated, reflects damage back to attackers upon being hit, dealing true damage equal to 30% of your maximum defense value. Activation and deactivation cost nothing (Status: Deactivated).

Effect 3 (Health Sublimation): Grants bonus health points equal to 200% of your maximum defense value.

Effect 4 (Nirvana Rebirth): Upon suffering fatal damage, consumes 50% of your current maximum defense value to grant a chance of resurrection, restoring 10% of your maximum health. Cooldown: 100 days.

Proficiency: 70,250/200,000.]

"Hiss... Super-God tier? It even grants a chance at a Nirvana Rebirth?"

Gazing at the description of Absolute Defense before him, it took Lin Yu a long while to snap out of his daze.

Then, an irrepressible surge of wild joy flooded his eyes.

It was safe to say that the Super-God-tier Absolute Defense had been enhanced by far more than just a notch or two.

"Could it be that the explosion pushed me to the brink of death and back, thereby triggering the evolution of Absolute Defense?"

Muttering to himself, Lin Yu latched onto a sudden hypothesis.

The evolution of Absolute Defense couldn't possibly have happened without a catalyst.

Aside from this explanation, he simply could not fathom any other reason.

Astonished as he was, Lin Yu quickly recovered and began examining the brand-new effects of Absolute Defense.

Effects 1 and 2 showed no noticeable changes.

However, Effect 3's attribute bonus had practically doubled, jumping from the original 100% all the way to 200%!

Of course, to Lin Yu, the most crucial addition by far was Effect 4: Nirvana Rebirth.

This meant that even when the great catastrophe descended, he still possessed a method to return to life!

Although it required sacrificing 50% of his maximum defense value, that drawback was entirely negligible compared to gaining a fresh lease on life.

After all, once a person was dead, no amount of high attributes could save them.

Moreover, the cooldown was a mere one hundred days, meaning he could resurrect up to three times a year.

While this fell far short of the infinite resurrections provided by a resurrection altar, this was an effect that could be utilized even after the apocalyptic disaster had struck!

Without a doubt, Lin Yu could truly be said to have turned misfortune into a blessing this time.

"With this Super-God-tier Absolute Defense, I am destined to stand at the absolute pinnacle of the Gods and Demons Continent."

A gleam of excitement suddenly flashed in Lin Yu's eyes, and he clenched his fists tightly.

After all, he had never even heard of anyone else possessing a Super-God-tier talent.

Most importantly, possessing the ability to resurrect was something currently entirely impossible anywhere on the Gods and Demons Continent!

However, just as Lin Yu was feeling deeply moved and looking forward to making a grand splash in the future, a chilly breeze swept past, causing him to shiver involuntarily.

Immediately afterward, he realized a gravely serious problem.

"What the hell? Where are my clothes?"

At this moment, he was stark naked, completely bare from head to toe.

Clearly, all of his equipment had been completely pulverized in the explosion moments ago.

Seeing this, Lin Yu hurriedly retrieved a spare set of garments from his storage inventory and quickly dressed.

Fortunately, he had made preparations prior to destroying the novice village; otherwise, he would have found himself in a truly mortifying predicament.

Where on earth would he have found clothes amidst this barren wasteland?

He couldn't possibly have walked all the way to the main city baring his backside, could he?

"What a pity. The gear I managed to secure just yesterday is simply gone like that?"

Recovering his wits, Lin Yu felt a sharp pang of regret.

Setting aside the Crimson Blade, which currently ranked as the number one Silver-tier weapon, the entire Spirit Turtle armor set alone could be considered a divine-grade defensive suit during the novice stage.

For it to vanish just like that was genuinely lamentable.

Even so, Lin Yu did not dwell on it for long; after all, every gain came with a loss.

Had it not been for that explosion, his Absolute Defense would never have evolved into the Super-God tier.

Therefore, compared to a Super-God-tier talent, the loss of this mere equipment was unquestionably worth it.

Yet, a smile soon crept onto Lin Yu's face once more.

Because right there inside his inventory, the Golden-tier equipment—the Battle Will Amplification Necklace—was resting quietly, waiting for his "favor"!