Outside the Dungeon, at the Points Race Monitoring Center.
At that very moment, the image on the giant main screen switched, locking onto the stone hall where the Lin Family Sisters were.
The intense battle was displayed in high-definition before all the examiners.
The next second, the priest girl on screen erupted in a brilliant bronze-gold light without any warning.
Intricate and majestic ancient imperial robes instantly replaced her simple priest's vestments.
A cry, suppressed with trembling and shame yet still clearly audible, echoed through the entire center via the audio capture devices.
"Gather!"
The entire Monitoring Center fell so silent you could hear a pin drop.
Every staff member, including the veteran examiners who had seen it all, froze in place.
On the screen, the "Ancient Costume Empress," whose style clashed jarringly with the entire Dungeon, stood with a majestic posture and a look of utter despair.
The details on her robes were breathtakingly exquisite, yet they belonged to no known civilization's records.
The faint, ancient, and profound background music, resonating with the clang of metal and stone, made everyone's ears perk up.
The dead silence lasted only three seconds.
"Pfft—"
A young monitor lost his composure, spraying a mouthful of nutrient solution all over the control console in front of him.
This was like lighting a fuse.
The entire Monitoring Center was instantly flooded with waves of laughter—stifled at first, but ultimately uncontrollable.
"Is... is that Lin Qingyue? Her Heroic Spirit Summoning? Again?"
"What is it this time? An ancient emperor? Those robes... there's no match in the database! Tech team! Zoom in on all the details!"
"The aura is top-tier, but that expression... Hahahaha! Is she about to cry? Sorry, I really can't help it!"
"The music! Record this BGM! This melody is incredible, it has a 'surveying the millennia' feel! We must analyze it!"
The Chief Examiner's expression was so stern it was contorted, but the wildly twitching corners of his mouth betrayed him.
He slammed his hand on the table and issued his commands.
"Recorder! Log it immediately! New form! Ability Assessment: Super-Tier Barrier Shield with an Area-of-Effect All-Attribute Debuff Aura! Effect Level... assessed as Extremely High!"
-
At the same moment, in the central plaza of Yicheng.
The clamor before the public broadcast screen fell into a bizarre silence as the feed switched.
Then, a tidal wave of pandemonium erupted!
"Holy shit! Look! It's that Priest girl who does the costume changes!"
"She transformed again! My god! Is that an Empress?! Those robes are so damn cool!"
"What the hell is that shield? Those slimes are exploding like fireworks, and it's not even scratched!"
"What did she yell? 'Gather'? How did she shout such a badass line with an expression like she's about to pass out? Hahahaha!"
"Lin Qingyue! From this day on, you're my internet goddess! This is pure gold! I'm a fan! A die-hard fan!"
The live broadcast faithfully captured everything. A new trending topic was already guaranteed.
[Shocking! Ancient Costume Empress Appears in Martial Arts Exam Dungeon, Wielding Pink Staff to Shield Against an Army!]
[The Ultimate Form of a Support Class: From Socially Awkward Girl to Mysterious Empress]
-
Inside the Stone Hall.
The last Rock-Shell Slime shattered under Lin Xiyue's fully powered [Crusader Strike].
The crisis was over.
Lin Xiyue was about to cheer but noticed her sister hadn't dismissed the "Emperor's Battle Robe" that made her squirm with unease.
Lin Qingyue, now the "Geo Archon (Social Death Version)," maintained her majestic yet utterly lifeless expression as she slowly turned.
Her gaze fell upon the deep fissure from which the slimes had emerged.
Unstable spatial fluctuations and chaotic elemental currents still roiled within the rift.
This was merely a temporary fix.
"Sis?" Lin Xiyue asked, confused.
The Earth Spirits and Cave Dwellers watched her with awe, not daring to speak.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone present (and the entire internet), Lin Qingyue strode toward the fissure with a regal gait (Inner monologue: Oh crap, I'm walking like a robot, arm and leg on the same side!).
Her face remained impassive, but her mind screamed: Please! Let me finish this in one go and clock out immediately! Every extra second in this outfit is mental torture!
She reached the edge of the rift and looked down.
Below, a fist-sized, constantly twisting and rotating purple spatial rift was the true culprit.
Lin Qingyue took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing the urge to dig a hole and crawl into it, and slowly raised a hand.
An incredibly cool, overwhelmingly powerful, and world-destroying skill name flashed through her mind.
As the majestic BGM swelled to another crescendo, she intoned in a solemn voice, as if delivering a eulogy:
"I will have order!"
As the words fell, brownish-gold Geo energy condensed intensely above her palm. Instead of forming a sky-blotting giant rock spear, it coalesced into... a basketball-sized stone sphere. Its surface was covered in ancient, intricate patterns, making it look as delicate as a collectible figurine.
This "Mini Heavenly Star" trailed a magnificent tail of light as it plunged into the depths of the rift with a terrifying force utterly disproportionate to its size!
Thud!
A muffled impact echoed from deep underground, causing the entire Stone Hall to tremble slightly.
The raging spatial fluctuations and chaotic elemental currents within the rift instantly subsided.
The source had been physically plugged.
After all that, Lin Qingyue looked as if all her energy and spirit had been completely drained.
The brownish-gold light suddenly vanished, and the Archon Attire that had made her feel like she was sitting on pins and needles disappeared without a trace.
She reverted to being Lin Qingyue in her ordinary Priest's robes.
Only her face was flushed crimson, her eyes vacant, screaming, "Just destroy this world already."
Her first action was to glance down at her wrist.
The Exam Wristband's screen was lit up, the points counter spinning wildly.
Everything seemed... normal?
But she had a terrible premonition.
"Sis! You're so strong!"
Lin Xiyue rushed over excitedly, grabbing her arm, her eyes sparkling with adoration.
"That 'Emperor Heroic Spirit' just now was invincible! The shield was ridiculously thick, and it even made the monsters brittle! It's just... the outfit was a bit... overly retro and formal?"
She chose her words carefully, afraid of pushing her already petrified sister over the edge.
Lin Qingyue stared blankly at her sister, her voice dry. "The wristband... it has a recording function, right?"
Lin Xiyue froze, glancing at her own wrist.
"Yeah, it's always had that, right? It records combat data and some video footage for scoring and... playback analysis?"
Her voice trailed off as she spoke.
She saw it.
She saw the light in her sister's eyes completely extinguish, leaving only two black voids leading to despair.
The realization hit her too.
Both sisters' wristbands had been active the entire time!
That meant the entire process of Lin Qingyue transforming into the "Ancient Costume Empress" and shouting "Gather!" and "I will have order!"...
...had been recorded in crystal-clear detail!
Lin Qingyue's vision went black.
She felt that after this Dungeon Competition, she might genuinely need to consider... moving to another planet.
[Ding! Successfully triggered a high-level social death scenario (Female Archon + Wristband Recording + Suspected Live Broadcast). A grand, dimension-spanning elation has been generated. Elation Value +666!]
[Special Notice: The intensity of Aeon 'Aha's' gaze has increased.]
The System's notification sound, at this moment, sounded like a demon's whisper.
Lin Qingyue silently raised her head, staring at the cold stone ceiling of the hall, with only one thought in her mind:
"Aha… I've got some 'praise' for your entire damn family…"
-
The remains of the slimes dissolved into motes of light, leaving the air filled with the scent of elemental embers and that stubborn, lingering, peculiar fragrance of strawberry and jasmine.
The Earth Spirit Craftsmen began silently cleaning the battlefield, while the Cave Dwellers poked their heads out from their hovels, emitting squeaks of post-disaster relief.
Stonebeard the Earth Spirit walked toward the sisters with heavy steps.
His rock-hewn face showed no expression, but his deep eyes overflowed with gratitude and solemnity.
He inclined his head slightly, his voice like grinding stones echoing through the vast Stone Hall.
"Strange and powerful ones, thank you for your aid."
"If not for you—especially this Reverend Priest who can summon the power of the 'Earth Lord'—the Foundation Hall would have suffered severe damage."
"We Earth Spirits always honor our word."
His gaze swept over the pink staff in Lin Qingyue's hand, then settled on Lin Xiyue's dull kite shield and standard-issue sword.
"We excel in forging and stonework. Tell us, what kind of weapons or armor do you require? We will craft them for you with our finest materials, tailored to your needs."
At these words, Lin Xiyue's eyes instantly lit up like stars. She immediately hugged her shield and sword, turning to Lin Qingyue with unrestrained excitement.
"Sis! We can get custom gear! My shield and sword are just standard-issue—I've been wanting to replace them for ages!"
Lin Qingyue looked at her sister's expectant gaze, which was practically burning with anticipation, and forcibly dragged a shred of reason from the abyss of her mortification.
Her own Black Tassel was a System-provided weapon; its traits were practical, and she was already used to its feel. The Favonius Greatsword was also sitting in her System Space, ready for use if needed. Plus, the System's gacha might drop another... unknown type of weapon at any moment.
She didn't need a new weapon for now.
But her sister was the team's main tank. Upgrading her equipment directly impacted the entire party's survivability.
"We would like a shield and a sword," Lin Qingyue said to Stonebeard the Earth Spirit, her tone serious. "Suitable for my sister's Paladin class. Prioritize sturdiness and durability. If they could be enchanted with enhanced defense or Holy Light affinity, that would be even better."
Lin Xiyue nodded vigorously beside her, adding loudly, "The shield needs to be big and thick! And the sword has to be sharp enough to pierce armor!"
Stonebeard carefully assessed Lin Xiyue's physique and current equipment, then slowly nodded.
"Understood. The Shield of Protection and the Foe-Shattering Sword. Our material repository contains 'Obsidian Iron Core' and 'White Quartz,' both nurtured over time by the Ley Lines. Their properties are stable and dense, and they resonate well with the Power of Holy Light. We will forge them to the best of our ability."
"And you, Reverend Priest? Your staff... it seems rather peculiar."
Its gaze lingered for a moment on Lin Qingyue's pink staff, and its eyebrows—formed from two jagged rocks—seemed to twitch ever so slightly.
"I don't need anything for now," Lin Qingyue said, shaking her head. "My equipment is... rather special."
The Stonebeard Earth Spirit didn't press further, merely nodding.
"In that case, we will focus our efforts on forging the shield and sword. This will take some time. Please wait here, or you may rest in the safe area just outside the hall."