Now, the only thing David could be certain of was that the Divine Clan woman had challenged him. Implicitly, it meant that the Divine Clan had already begun to target the human race.

But what puzzled David was why the Divine Clan didn’t take direct action? It was well known that the Divine Clan possessed much greater strength than the human and beast clans. They could easily control the human race at any time and place. So why choose this indirect approach?

After pondering for a moment, David felt that the only answer was that the Divine Clan seemed to fear something about him. Otherwise, two days ago, they would have decisively killed him to establish dominance over the human race. But what exactly did they fear about him? David couldn’t figure it out for the time being. He believed that he wouldn’t get the answers easily.

At the same time, David had also learned the function of the blood moon embedded in his body. It allowed him to control his entry into a hallucination. The reason he had suddenly entered the hallucination earlier was due to the intense burning sensation in his lungs. Now, David had found the only way to exit the hallucination—a staff called the “Staff of the Wasteland” standing nearby.

The reason he had quickly thought to use the Staff of the Wasteland to strike the ground was because it was the only method he could think of. The Staff of the Wasteland originated from the wasteland world, a world created by the Divine Clan’s Spirit Emperor. So, the Staff of the Wasteland was very likely a symbol of authority of the Divine Clan.

To David’s surprise, he had actually managed to break the hallucination by trying it out. This brought him back to reality. After this experience, David summarized several important pieces of information: the blood moon could control his entry into the hallucination, in the hallucination, he could still hear sounds from the outside world, the Divine Clan woman and other Divine Clan members could appear in the hallucination, and he became extremely aggressive in the hallucination.

Lastly, the Staff of the Wasteland could effectively alleviate the pain caused by the hallucination. These were all the pieces of information David had gathered to face the Divine Clan.

Seeing David return to normal, the group let out a sigh of relief. They had been truly frightened by his crazed state just moments ago. David had always been the core of their Embers squad and the lord of Dragon City and Phoenix City.

If something were to happen to David, they wouldn’t know what to do next. Seeing their worried expressions, David smiled faintly. “I’m fine, maybe I was just too nervous. Everyone, please leave, we have something to do later.”

Everyone nodded and left David’s room. Sally, however, remained by his side, looking at the spilled chicken soup and shattered porcelain bowl. David wore an embarrassed smile.

Just as he was about to bend down and pick up the pieces, Sally quickly supported him back to the bed. “Don’t move, I’ll clean it up,” she said, swiftly tidying up the fragments.

Then, Sally poured another bowl of chicken soup and handed it to David. “Drink up, you’re weak right now. It will help replenish your nutrients.”

David nodded with a smile, realizing that he indeed needed some nourishment. Without hesitation, he tilted his head and downed the entire bowl of chicken soup.

“Delicious!” David couldn’t help but give a thumbs-up to Sally as he felt the flavorful soup, a satisfied smile forming on his face.

Sally finally felt at ease. After David had consumed three large bowls of soup in succession, he finally felt satiated. Sally left to attend to the tasks he had entrusted to her.

Watching Sally’s retreating figure, David’s expression became complex. After a short rest, he remembered that the Staff of the Wasteland could be upgraded. He immediately called upon the system.

“System, upgrade the Staff of the Wasteland,” David said, and the system responded promptly. .

[Ding! Upgrading the Staff of the Wasteland. Please wait, Host!]

As soon as the system finished speaking, David saw the Staff of the Wasteland, which had been standing nearby, suddenly disappear into thin air. He carefully sensed it but couldn’t detect the presence of the Staff of the Wasteland even in the void.

This left David puzzled. However, he realized that the current Wasteland World was not the same as before. The rules of survival might have changed, and various things might have changed accordingly. After about five minutes, the system’s voice rang out once more.

[Ding! Congratulations, Host, on successfully upgrading the Staff of the Wasteland!]

David immediately became more alert. Now that the Space Blade and Alloy Short Sword had been broken by the Divine Clan woman, the only weapon he had left was the Staff of the Wasteland. He had been curious about what form it would take after the upgrade. More importantly, the Staff of the Wasteland was currently his only means of alleviating the effects of the hallucination.

[Ding! Congratulations, Host, on upgrading the Staff of the Wasteland to the Staff of the Starry River!]

“The Staff of the Starry River?” Following the system’s announcement, the air in the room seemed to be filled with a dazzling starry river in an instant. Every corner of the room dimmed, leaving only a radiant starry river in front of David. Gazing at this starry river, David felt an immense power, one that transcended time and shattered the heavens.

“So powerful!” David murmured. Just then, a dazzling light pillar over ten thousand meters tall suddenly appeared within the starry river. The moment this light pillar appeared, it absorbed all the stars in the starry river, making the light pillar even more dazzling.

Following that, the light pillar gradually shrank and eventually turned into a three-meter-long scepter, emitting pure white light all over. It was indeed the Staff of the Starry River, a staff that harnessed the power of the starry river, transcending the constraints of time.

David reached out and gripped the Staff of the Starry River in his hand. As soon as his palm made contact with it, he felt an endless power emanating from the cosmos. The radiance on the staff dissipated, leaving only three faintly visible stars.

David knew that the Staff of the Starry River he held now was far more powerful than the Staff of the Wasteland. With it, his own strength had greatly increased. Sensing the cosmic power within him, David clenched his fist in determination.

At this moment, he was no longer the David who had once ruled over the Wasteland World. His enemies had been eradicated, and new enemies, the Divine Clan, had emerged. To face them, David had to enhance his own strength. The Ancestral God level appeared to be inadequate when facing the Divine Clan woman.

David needed to break through the limits of his current level and reach a level that could truly rival the Divine Clan. With the guidance of the system, he gained a deeper understanding of his future levels.