Chapter 58 Gu Yunqing: My Special Ability is a Guild Ability

The stone house was silent, save for the steady breathing of a few people and the occasional, faint, distant roars of monsters that were blocked out by the thick stone walls.

Gu Yunqing wasn't actually fully asleep; he could feel the gaze upon him, filled with inquiry and complex emotions.

He chuckled inwardly, but maintained his calm, sleeping breathing on his face.

Jun Xiangbei's reaction was exactly what he had expected.

Over the next two days, the pace of the dungeon accelerated dramatically.

The nighttime attacks grew increasingly fierce, and the daytime mission competition became increasingly intense.

The next morning, an urgent task appeared on the bulletin board:

[Clear the Ancient Ruins Guardian]: An anomaly has occurred at the ancient ruins northeast of the town. A dormant giant stone golem has been activated and is indiscriminately attacking any creature that approaches. Defeat the golem and restore peace to the ruins.

[A reward of 1000 RMB will be given to each member of the team. Warning: The golem has extremely high defense, immense strength, and can summon small stone elementals to assist in battle.]

The reward attracted the attention of all the remaining players.

The remaining players teamed up again and headed to the ancient ruins.

Deep within the ruins, a colossal stone golem, five meters tall, stands like a small mountain. Its entire body is composed of unknown black rock, with dim magical runes embedded in its joints, and its eyes emit an ominous red light.

With each step it took, the ground trembled.

The battle escalated rapidly from the very beginning.

The golem's power was terrifying; with a single punch, it created a deep crater in the ground.

It continuously sheds fragments of stone, which transform into small stone elementals that fearlessly charge towards the players, disrupting their attacks.

Elena's holy light was not very effective against pure stone elementals, so she focused on healing and dispelling the earth-based slowing magic that the golem occasionally cast.

Jun Xiangbei's sword energy swept across the land, but it could only leave shallow white marks on the golem's hard rock shell, making it inefficient.

Ji Changyu's short blade felt like a mere tickle.

Wu Jueji once again took the lead.

His "50/50" superpower was surprisingly effective against this purely strength-based opponent.

He could steadily block the golem's powerful punches. He could narrowly avoid the core impact of the heavy stomp.

He's like an unshakeable leech, firmly drawing the golem's main aggro and creating a valuable opportunity for others to deal damage.

However, the golem's defenses were too thick, and the group's attacks were like scraping a scalp. At this rate, once Wu Jueji's physical or mental strength was exhausted, the team would inevitably collapse.

Just then, the silent monk who had been standing quietly at the back, with his hands clasped together and his eyes vacant, suddenly spoke.

His voice wasn't loud, yet it strangely pierced through the clamor of the battle, reaching everyone's ears clearly:

"The energy core... is located at the third joint on the back. An attack... can paralyze it."

His words carried a certainty, as if he had already seen through everything.

Everyone was taken aback.

The third joint in the back?

It looked no different from the rocks in other parts of the area.

But trusting in Wuyan's occasional accurate hints and given the current stalemate, Jun Xiangbei was the first to react.

His sword stance changed, and his movements were like a ghost as he circled around to the side and rear of the demon statue, his gaze locking onto the location Wuyan had indicated.

"Clang!"

With eighty percent of Jun Xiangbei's power, the sword pierced fiercely into that rock!

Sparks flew everywhere!

This time, it wasn't just a shallow white mark; the tip of the sword had actually pierced in by more than an inch!

"roar--!"

The golem let out a roar filled with pain and rage. Its massive body trembled violently, its movements became noticeably sluggish, and the dark red light flowing around it dimmed for a moment.

efficient!

Everyone's spirits were greatly lifted.

Elena immediately ordered her followers to concentrate their attack on that spot.

Ji Changyu, like a shark smelling blood, waited for his chance to strike.

Under the combined onslaught of everyone's concentrated firepower, the rock that served as the energy core finally succumbed to the pressure and shattered with a "crack".

The red light in the golem's eyes went out instantly, and its massive body, like a puppet with its strings cut, crashed to the ground, turning into a pile of real rubble.

The battle ended uneventfully.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, their gazes towards the silent monk filled with surprise and gratitude.

Gu Yunqing looked at him thoughtfully without saying a word.

The mission was completed, and the generous reward increased everyone's funds significantly.

The atmosphere was much more relaxed on the way back.

After enduring continuous high-intensity combat and survival pressure, this brief period of peace is all the more precious.

Gu Yunqing deliberately slowed down and walked side by side with the silent monk who was also walking a little behind in the group.

Wu Jueji followed lazily behind, while Wang Hu tactfully walked a little ahead.

“Master Wuyan,” Gu Yunqing said with a gentle smile and casual tone, “I am very grateful to you for seeing through the golem’s weakness at a glance. Such insight is truly admirable.”

The silent monk turned his head, glanced at Gu Yunqing with empty eyes, seemed to think for a moment, and then slowly answered in a flat tone:

"Hmm...this humble monk can see it."

He seemed unaccustomed to talking to people; he paused, then added, as if explaining, yet also as if talking to himself:

“I have always been able to see it. The weaknesses of those things... will surface on their own.”

Gu Yunqing's heart skipped a beat, and she asked, "You can always see it? Wouldn't that mean you're invincible?"

Silently, he shook his head, a simple and honest expression on his face that seemed out of place with his vacant demeanor, tinged with helplessness: "Before... it didn't work. Even if this humble monk saw it... it wouldn't have made a difference."

Even Wu Jueji, who was following behind, lifted his eyelids, seemingly showing some interest.

Gu Yunqing showed a puzzled expression at just the right moment.

Wu Yan seemed to think that Gu Yunqing wasn't a bad person, or perhaps he was simply simple-minded and didn't see it as a secret that needed to be hidden, so he continued in his slow, deliberate tone:

"I don't recognize those characters. The system's hints... use characters I can't understand."

He gestured, as if describing the emerging characters: "Wavy...like tadpoles."

Gu Yunqing understood instantly.

The Silent Ability is the ability to directly "see" the weaknesses of monsters or targets, and the system will provide feedback to him in the form of text prompts.

However, Wu Yan was illiterate, and the system used a foreign language, which was like a foreign language to an illiterate person.

It's like having a treasure right in front of you, but being unable to open it because you don't have the key.

"Later, this humble monk met Xiang Bei." When Wu Yan mentioned Jun Xiang Bei's name, there seemed to be a hint of dependence in his empty eyes.

"This humble monk... believes in him." His words were concise and to the point, but Gu Yunqing, combining the information he already possessed, immediately deduced what would follow—

Jun Xiangbei's ability to suppress others requires that others have a trust level of over 60%.

Wu Yan reached the threshold of trust with Jun Xiangbei, so Jun Xiangbei suppressed his ability to see through monster weaknesses.

Through the replicated ability, Jun Xiangbei naturally understood the essence of the Silent One's ability and also saw the text that the system prompted. Jun Xiangbei was obviously familiar with that minor language.

"Heading north... to teach this humble monk to read." As he said this, a hint of... pride crept into his voice.

"I was taught those crooked characters. Now I can understand them."

An illiterate monk with powerful auxiliary abilities encounters Jun Xiangbei, a learned man who can replicate abilities. After trust is established, one is responsible for "observing" while the other is responsible for "solving the mystery" and "teaching," ultimately allowing this powerful ability to truly come into play.

This wonderful combination made Gu Yunqing sigh inwardly at the arrangement of fate.

The live stream chat was flooded with astonished comments:

"Holy crap, I remember that. The two of them went into a dungeon back then."

"The God of Kings saved him, and then the God of Kings activated his superpowers and obtained his superpowers. He asked him incredulously why, with such powerful superpowers, he could still live such a miserable life."

"And then, and then what?"

Then, without a word, he clasped his hands together and sighed, "Benefactor, this humble monk is illiterate."

"This is hilarious! The God of War is actually in charge of literacy education?"

Wu Yan seemed to have opened a floodgate of conversation. He glanced at Gu Yunqing, then at the languid Wu Jueji beside him, his eyes filled with pure curiosity, and naturally asked:

"What...what are your special abilities?"

A warning bell rang in Gu Yunqing's mind.

He never expected that this seemingly simple and naive monk would suddenly "get information out of him," and so naturally and so subtly.

Wu Jueji's "50/50 split" is not a big deal. Although it is special, it is not a big problem to reveal it. It can even have a deterrent effect.

However, his own "identity-playing system" is an absolute core secret that must never be exposed.

In a flash, Gu Yunqing's mind raced.

He saw that Wu Yan was talking about Jun Xiangbei's supernatural ability without any hesitation, clearly trusting Jun Xiangbei and considering them "teammates" now, so information sharing was a matter of course.

So……

With a mysterious and helpless smile on her face, Gu Yunqing spoke:

"My ability... is somewhat similar to Mr. Jun's replication ability. I'd say it's... a guild ability."

Jun Xiangbei's special ability is known to almost all players of the Infinite Flow genre.

Gu Yunqing paused deliberately, observing Wu Yan's reaction.

He remained silent, his expression blank, as if trying to understand.

Gu Yunqing continued to explain: "It allows you to use the abilities of other members within the guild."

He didn't specify which members, nor did he mention the conditions and restrictions for use; he simply offered a vague concept.

This explains why he sometimes exhibits different ability tendencies, and it also attributes everything to a fictitious "guild," perfectly concealing the truth of the disguise system.

Several more exclamation-filled comments flashed across Gu Yunqing's live stream screen:

"A guild ability?! This feels like another very powerful ability."

"Using other members' abilities? That sounds even more overpowered than copying abilities."

"All he needs to do is join a powerful guild, and since his special ability is known to various guilds, he will inevitably join a powerful one."

"This ability is amazing. Why is mine time-stopping? I'm not having it."

"If you keep bragging next door, I'll find your ID and go beat you up."

Almost as soon as Gu Yunqing finished speaking, Wu Jueji interjected in a somewhat impatient tone:

"I'm '50/50'. I don't care if it's a bunch or just one, I can fight it out until the end of time. Neither of us can do anything to the other. It's boring."

The silent monk listened, blinking as if processing the information.

He seemed to have some difficulty understanding the complex concept of "guild ability," but he quickly accepted Wu Jueji's simple and straightforward "50/50" approach, nodding and saying in a simple and honest way, "Oh... well... he's very resilient."

Having received the answer, he stopped asking questions and returned to his blank state, as if the conversation had just been mentioned casually.

Gu Yunqing secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but her face remained expressionless.

That was close.

This monk looked simple and honest, but I never expected him to have such a clever trick up his sleeve. I almost got all my secrets out of him.

However, this also served as a reminder to him.

Gu Yunqing glanced at the figure walking not far ahead, her eyes narrowing slightly.

Jun Xiangbei... It seems you have just as many secrets as I do.