Making money as a Class Holder really is easy. The thought surfaced once again in Gu Chen's mind. In his memory, he had suffered poverty his entire life growing up. Even after later joining the Gu family, he was met only with disdain. During his month in Gubei City, although he lived in the Gu family mansion, its wealth and splendor had nothing to do with him. The only comfort was not having to worry about his next meal. Thinking of the Gu family, a cold glint flashed in Gu Chen's eyes. Yesterday, Gu Qingfeng had determined he failed his class advancement and, in front of Qin Yun and all the family servants, had denigrated him as worthless, even viewing him as a disgrace. Today, he was a Summoner with a God-level talent and limitless potential. War King of the North? Sacred Sword Berserker? Strongest in the Empire? Heh! Before a God-level talent, such titles meant nothing. One day, he would become someone Gu Qingfeng could only look up to. And that day wouldn't be too far off.

Putting the Steel Platemail into his storage space, Gu Chen examined the other loot. [Healing Potion] [Quality: Superior] [Effect: Consuming grants resistance to Gray Mist Curse for 10 minutes.]

The Blood Progeny Overlord's attributes were all over 100; the Gray Mist Curse had minimal effect on it. Gu Chen's own attributes were far beyond others of his level, meaning he was only slightly affected, and besides, he wasn't participating directly in combat. Therefore, the Healing Potions weren't particularly useful to him personally. However, that was only from his perspective. For other Class Holders, these potions were undoubtedly precious treasures. A single dose could negate the Gray Mist Curse for ten minutes, completely dispelling the debilitating weakness. Carrying one was like having a portable purification spell. This would be absolutely crucial during boss fights. Gu Chen was certain these would fetch a high price on the trading platform.

He stored the three Healing Potions. By this time, the Blood Progeny Overlord had finished clearing all the guards at the temple entrance.

[Level Up!] [Level: LV.7 (32/2680)] [Strength: 187] [Agility: 186] [Constitution: 188] [Spirit: 189] [Summons: Blood Progeny Overlord LV.7 [Legendary ★], Nightmare Sovereign LV.7 [Epic]] [Talent—You can now obtain one Dark Bloodline.]

Level 7! If word of this leveling speed got out, countless people would die of envy. Thanks to the attribute feedback, Gu Chen's own stats were now approaching 200 across the board, more than double that of typical Class Holders at his level! This was getting seriously powerful! If he went into the arena for 1v1 duels now, even without relying on his summons, he could likely sweep aside any opponent of the same level.

Next, Gu Chen activated his talent to acquire the new Dark Bloodline. Crimson light bloomed before him. Hopefully, it's a Royal Bloodline. If he got another Royal Bloodline, both his summons could become Legendary-tier, making the Hell Mode dungeon practically a sure thing.

[You have obtained: Dark Bloodline · Descendant]

Ah well! Guess I was hoping for too much. It seemed Royal Bloodlines weren't that easy to come by, which made sense, given they could promote an Epic summon to Legendary. In the entire Shenxia Empire, there were only about a dozen known Legendary-tier summons. Rarity was one factor, but another was simply that not many people chose the Summoner class.

[Dark Bloodline · Descendant: Can grant a Progenitor Dark Creature one Bloodline Awakening, or can grant a Royal Bloodline Dark Creature one Attribute Enhancement.]

No need to think twice. Attribute Enhancement wouldn't mean much for the Blood Progeny Overlord, but a Bloodline Awakening could grant the Nightmare Sovereign a new talent or skill. Gu Chen immediately infused the Descendant Bloodline into the Nightmare Sovereign.

[Dark Bloodline · Descendant Fusion Successful!] [Summon Bloodline Awakening!]

[Level: LV.7] [HP: 7950] [Attributes: Strength 99, Agility 106, Constitution 105, Spirit 110] [New Talent Added: Sweet Dreams Come True [Epic]] [Sweet Dreams Come True: Reduces Nightmare Sovereign's skill cooldowns by 50%. Reduces skill costs, stamina consumption, and negative effect durations by 80%.]

This talent really was 'Sweet Dreams Come True'! Cooldown reduction by half was already amazing, but reducing all costs and negative effects by 80%? Not even Legendary summons typically had effects this exaggerated. This was likely only possible because the Nightmare Sovereign was an energy-based entity; other types of summons probably wouldn't get such a benefit.

With the upgrades complete, the Blood Progeny Overlord entered the temple proper, Gu Chen and the others following close behind. The moment they stepped across the threshold into the temple plaza, a much denser gray mist instantly enveloped them. Everyone's expression changed. The effects of the Gray Mist Curse intensified dramatically, the feeling of weakness doubling. Gu Chen frowned; his attributes were well over 100, giving him far higher resistance than others, but even he felt his stats decrease by about 25% under the influence of this amplified curse. As for Lin Yuan and the others, their faces were deathly pale, following sluggishly as if half their life force had been drained.

Just then, Su Ran, walking beside Lin Qingqing, showed a pained expression. Apparently unable to withstand the intensified curse any longer, her eyes rolled back, and her slender figure crumpled, collapsing unconscious. "Su Ran!" Lin Qingqing quickly rushed to support her, only to find she had fainted. Gu Chen came over and checked Su Ran's condition. Constitution too low. He knew Assassins were fragile, but he hadn't expected Su Ran's Constitution to be this weak. The sudden surge in the curse's intensity had overwhelmed her. At this moment, the true difficulty of Hell Mode was starkly presented. The pervasive Gray Mist Curse was terrifying. If a challenger's Constitution wasn't high enough, they could die just from walking around, without even encountering a monster. No wonder no rookie team had ever cleared Hell Mode in all these years. How could newcomers possibly withstand this?

What should they do? In any other team, someone in Su Ran's condition would have to be sent out using a teleport scroll, as she was incapacitated. If the curse intensity increased further, she could potentially die here.

"Expert Gu Chen," Lin Qingqing pleaded, "I can carry Su Ran. Can you please let her stay with us?" She and Su Ran had borrowed 100,000 coins each just for this Hell Mode run. One hundred thousand! For high school graduates from common backgrounds, that was an astronomical sum. If Su Ran dropped out now, her only future path would likely be factory work, screwing bolts for years just to repay the debt.

"Sigh, what a hassle..." Gu Chen sighed. Seeing his reaction, Lin Qingqing's face fell. However, the next second, Gu Chen raised his hand, and a phantom-like figure of black mist materialized beside him. The Nightmare Sovereign! The Sovereign reached out towards Su Ran. With a flicker, the space before it seemed to shatter like a mirror, and Su Ran's unconscious form was pulled through the spatial rift to the other side. The Dreamscape! The Nightmare Sovereign could traverse dreams at will! By pulling Su Ran into the dreamscape, she would naturally be shielded from the Gray Mist Curse.