A-rank rift, A-rank rewards!

A flicker of rare excitement flashed in Chen Qi’s eyes.

He knew that even for a fifth-tier Saint, getting an A-minus score in an A-rank rift was extremely difficult.

It usually required completing hidden tasks.

A-minus rewards were lavish—treasures among treasures!

Many small clans’ heirlooms were drops from a single A-rank rift!

And in the treasure-hunting legends of the Witch Sea, countless lost world-class treasures were often born from A-rank rifts!

Chen Qi suppressed the urge to shout, and continued checking.

[This chest will definitely draw one Goblet-affinity skill card. Forbidden cards 30%, others 70%.]

[This chest will also perform one additional draw.

Probability: Forbidden Ice-affinity weapon 10%;

Forbidden Goblet-affinity weapon 10%;

Forbidden Ice-affinity card 10%;

Forbidden Goblet-affinity card 10%;

Forbidden Phantom-affinity card 10%;

other forbidden rewards 40%;

other rewards 10%.]

[Due to Palu’s passive skill “Ring of the Goddess of Luck,” your chance to draw the rarest forbidden weapon is increased by 2%.]

[Due to Ice Witch Angela’s passive skill “I am the Rift, I am Fate,” your chance to draw Lamp-affinity and Ice-affinity items is increased by 5%.]

Chen Qi looked at the two notifications.

Palu, as a rare Dice-affinity prodigy in the Witch Sea, was not only a capable supporter but also possessed several very useful passives.

But even the Ice Witch had related passives.

When reaching the fourth tier, some high-tier Transcendents gained special passive skills that could alter final outcomes.

However, skills that could directly affect rifts were extremely rare.

Chen Qi considered the final result.

High-tier rifts often shared a common rule: their top rewards were usually related to the rift’s own affinity.

The Great Sea Coffin centered on Ice and Goblet affinities.

In other words, the best rewards would naturally be Goblet- and Ice-affinity rewards!

And the higher the item’s tier, the stricter its usage conditions.

To obtain rewards that matched one’s own system, beyond relying on a specific rift, it often required a large-scale trade.

So the key to these rewards wasn’t rarity but whether they fit his style!

If it could be used, that was enough!

Chen Qi prayed earnestly for a few seconds.

Then, trembling with excitement, he began to draw.

[You are drawing a Goblet-affinity skill card――]

[Boom! Boom! Boom!]

A roar erupted in Chen Qi’s ears like a volcanic eruption!

The next moment, a card burst into being at his fingertips, roaring in flames.

On the back of the card was a bleeding chalice;

above the chalice a sea of congealed blood;

and within that blood-sea, countless twisted, merged chimera beasts writhed together…

The creatures in the cup pursued the most primal instincts, devouring one another, seeking evolution.

That “chimera back” signified this was a forbidden card.

This was one of the A-rank rift’s highest rewards—something even a fifth-tier card crafter could not replicate!

Chen Qi held the blistering card and turned it over.

On the front, ink as hot as lava depicted a completely naked man.

His back rose like a mountain of armor;

hard, rocky ridges bulged up, monstrously thick.

The grotesque muscle patterns on his back were exaggerated into a terrifying dragon face, as if in the next instant it could burst from the card and devour the world!

Chen Qi’s heart pounded.

He had pulled a thirty-percent forbidden!

A forbidden card from an A-rank rift!

This was his first time seeing a top-rarity card in the New Sun World.

A burning notification leapt before his eyes.

[You have obtained the Forbidden Skill Card “Dragon-Furnace Body”!]

[Dragon-Furnace Body:

Affinity: Goblet, Hammer

Description: I envision the sovereign that soars the skies—using dragon blood as fire, my body as the furnace, the world as the hammer;

forge my body, transcend the Transcendent into the Saint!

Learning requirements: Constitution reach 300 points;

mastery of Goblet spiritual energy sublimation;

possess high-level Goblet insight, or possess 30% purity of Dragon King bloodline.

Note: When researching this skill, it is best to have a doctor perform a massive bloodletting operation.

Note: After studying this skill, you will step into a new realm and glimpse the world of the Dragon Sovereign!]

Chen Qi took a deep breath.

A forbidden-level Body Forging Technique!

No—strictly speaking, this was no longer just a Body Forging Technique, but a method to elevate the body—a path of bodily sublimation!

However…

Chen Qi’s elation from pulling a forbidden card cooled instantly.

This forbidden card did not fit him.

First, his current constitution was 200 points—far from the required 300.

His main ways to raise constitution were the Lamp-Sea elixir made by the Flower Witch and Little Crow’s flesh-and-blood surgery.

After reaching Legendary, he hadn’t pursued higher Body Forging Techniques;

instead he poured himself into mastering Release.

But no matter how he trained his body, the final upper limit was fixed.

Even if he studied an advanced Body Forging Technique now, his ultimate cap would be around 250—hardly reaching 300.

Not to mention the requirement of either 30% purity Dragon King bloodline or high-level Goblet insight.

As for high-level Goblet insight, that belonged exclusively to fourth-tier Goblet Transcendents.

In short, only the top fourth-tier Goblet Transcendents were qualified to cultivate this skill!

The more powerful the skill, the more complicated the conditions to master it!

“What a pity…”

Chen Qi sighed.

After reaching the fourth tier, generic skill cards were mostly weak.

This card might only serve as a “commodity” to trade later for a forbidden card that fitted him…

After the A-rank Great Sea Coffin, there should be many A-rank Shell-affinity rifts appearing.

But who would he sell this to? Chen Qi thought silently.

If someone were to buy it, it would surely be someone desperate to gain a dragon body!

His first thought went to Burry, who wanted to marry a mecha and a dragon.

He glanced at Burry, who hadn’t even upgraded his mechanical arm in order to afford a mecha.

Obviously, Burry couldn’t afford it.

Or…

Or perhaps the buyer would be the dragon itself!

Chen Qi’s eyes lit up.

Why not give the skill card straight to a dragon?

No matter how pure human dragon blood was, it could never match a true dragon’s lineage purity!

Skill cards usually functioned by imparting knowledge and injecting Transcendent power to help rapid cultivation!

But not every card provided knowledge.

Chen Qi touched it carefully.

The Dragon-Furnace Goblet skill card provided little instructional knowledge and focused more on Transcendent might.

It behaved more like a hammer striking the body.

If he could use some techniques to increase the nearby Coastal Apex Predator’s insight—solving the “knowledge infusion” problem—then the Coastal Apex Predator’s body might surpass Goblet-affinity Legendary and become a catastrophe capable of destroying cities at sea!

A bold idea… Chen Qi felt exhilarated.

He inhaled deeply, steadied himself, tucked away the daring thought, and continued to the next draw.

This draw might yield a forbidden weapon—much more thrilling!

Same rule:

If it can be used, that’s what matters!

Chen Qi prayed briefly, then drew immediately.

Swipe!

A screech like glass across a chalkboard tore at his ears.

The sound was like a banshee’s wail, sending shivers through him!

Chen Qi watched his palm, waiting for the result.

Unexpectedly, nothing appeared in his hand.

No card? Chen Qi blinked and clenched and unclenched his fingers.

Could he have drawn the legendary “air”?

Rift resources were massive but finite;

when a rift ran low, it could yield air.

No… Chen Qi opened his hand.

Suddenly, he noticed that the center of his right palm now bore a dagger-shaped imprint—when had that appeared?

A plain blue dagger mark.

A dagger? Chen Qi’s pupils constricted.

He had drawn a forbidden weapon.

At that moment, an utterly chilling notification flashed through his mind.

Chen Qi shivered all over.

[You have obtained the Great Sea Coffin exclusive weapon—Rift Blade!]

[Rift Blade

Weapon type: Enchantment-type. (Requires connection to another powerful long-blade weapon.)

Affinities: Ice, Lamp

Description: We were born free;

let us slowly tear—tear the wounds of the world to glimpse another world’s scenery.

Usage method: Inject massive spiritual energy;

any long blade in your right hand will ignite with cold fire and be enchanted into a “Rift Blade”!

After enchanting a weapon, it will burn with cold fire and gain massive power enhancement.

Additionally, this weapon links to a rift, granting special augmentations.

Currently linked rift: Great Sea Coffin.

Skills:

Rend. Another World: You can, by tearing the rift, let the Great Sea Coffin’s coldness affect the world!

Note: This weapon’s linked rift can be changed through certain methods.

Rend. Spatial Collapse: You can consume huge spiritual energy to enchant your moves, adding massive damage while tearing a terrifying wound at the border of a rift, domain, or barrier.

Note: This move can forcibly break the boundaries of B-rank and lower rifts;

you can ignore any condition to enter or leave a rift.

Note: This move can break the boundaries of most domains and barriers below the fifth tier.

Note: Using this weapon will rapidly consume your spiritual energy, and you have a very high chance of contracting the Ice Congealment mutation. (This mutation will greatly increase your resistance to cold!)]

Chen Qi’s pupils constricted.

A blade that could slash open rift borders!

He recalled the origin story of the Great Sea Coffin.

The Great Sea Coffin itself stemmed from a princess who used a dagger to cut open the world’s rift, letting otherworldly powers flood into the world.

Undoubtedly, this reward was one of those daggers.

Chen Qi analyzed carefully.

As an enchanted weapon, its most basic use was to strengthen his Flesh Cleaver Bone Breaker.

Secondly, its greatest power was its ability to rip open rifts.

In short, it allowed bypassing rank restrictions to enter lower-tier rifts.

This function was extremely powerful.

It could let someone easily complete rift hidden tasks.

Also, freely entering rifts gave him possibilities beyond his profession—some capacity to contain rifts.

Moreover, according to its description, it could damage domain borders.

Many perfect domains had an unbreachable boundary.

For example, once you were inside Palu’s D20 domain, you couldn’t leave until the domain ended!

That was one of the domain’s strengths.

So the more powerful the combatants, the greater this weapon’s value.

Additionally, it could help him practice many skills…

At the fourth tier, many high-tier skills essentially relied on borrowing power from other worlds through certain practices.

For example, his Abyssal Hand and Rift Slash both depended on contact with other worlds.

An absolutely formidable forbidden weapon…

This was an A-rank reward!

Chen Qi could not hide his excitement. He pulled out a small dagger, gripped the hilt with his right hand, and injected spiritual energy.

Instantly, his arm’s spiritual energy was drawn away and a faint layer of ice crystals formed on the dagger!

What a huge spiritual energy drain… Chen Qi immediately stopped injecting energy.

Crucially, besides requiring massive spiritual energy and risking the Ice Congealment side effect, as a forbidden weapon it had almost no constraints.

And for Chen Qi, this weapon would greatly boost his cold resistance!

He stared at his palm, unable to describe his joy.

This is why A-rank rifts, even to the many green “newbie” players who traverse heaven and earth, are the true key to starting out.

This is also why the Black Blood Empire, despite offending Beiguo, colluded with the Blackfin Crew to push into the Witch Sea!

A-rank rifts were dangerous, but they were endless treasure troves.

One A-rank rift could create an endlessly prosperous clan, an infinite source of power!

“Not bad luck…”

Chen Qi turned to look at the others.

Time to show off a little!

Aside from him, most people were drunk on harvest joy.

“Ah! Witch bless us!”

“I—I saw the Goddess of Luck’s butt suddenly sit on my face!”

A third-tier fist master blurted out.

His luck had exploded—he had, against extreme odds, drawn a legendary General Blade profession card.

He went completely wild with excitement.

Others had drawn Witch-grade Breathing Technique skill cards, or legendary ascetic staff techniques, and so on.

Because the A-rank rift itself had been generous, every person on the ship—even the captured Blackfin Crew prisoners—had drawn decent rewards.

Everyone did well… Chen Qi cleared his throat twice and hurriedly glanced toward the Ice Witch, ready to see what rewards the others had won.

Ice Witch Angela and Palu had also finished drawing.

Palu’s dog-luck was exhausted;

he only drew a normal legendary skill card.

Ice Witch’s expression revealed nothing about her draw.

Probably something mediocre… Chen Qi rubbed his chin.

Suddenly, he saw a mischievous little face.

“Qi, Doctor Crow, what did you two draw?”

Fen grinned wickedly, hiding the card behind her back as she stood between them.

The grin on her mouth was about to split her face.

This was her luckiest moment!

She was going to show off hard, then watch Qi’s admiring, jealous look for the Witch Lady!

Wait until this witch is envied! The little yellow flowers dancing atop Fen’s head bobbed wildly.

Cough cough, not bad—luck’s average. That’ll do… Chen Qi’s mouth curved into a small smile, preparing to build his showmanship.

At that moment, Little Crow murmured:

“My rating is C-plus… I drew a forbidden Phantom-affinity skill card…”

“???”

Chen Qi and Fen’s triumphant expressions vanished instantly.

You…

You drew what?

Chen Qi and Fen both turned to Little Crow.

The Great Sea Coffin—wasn’t it an Ice- and Goblet-affinity rift?

Phantom affinity? Chen Qi’s eyes widened in confusion.

Forbidden? Fen’s eyes bulged with bewilderment.

C-plus rating? The Ice Demon Pirates all gaped, completely puzzled.