World’s End: My Keyword is One More Than Others

Gao Ming's Two Skills

His first skill is mostly for disruption, at best adding some credibility to his boasts, but it's practically useless against experts.

However, his second skill is truly formidable.

Often, the human brain is its own worst enemy.

For instance, when standing by a ledge, the brain might occasionally urge you to jump. While driving, you might get the impulse to crash into the car ahead. Most of the time, rationality stops these thoughts...

The more active the brain, the more such thoughts arise.

When Gao Ming's skill can turn these thoughts into reality, it becomes terrifying. Moreover, in crowded places, it can cause collateral damage.

So.

Gao Ming will likely end up being seen as a demon, just like Xiang Li and Ge Zong.

The synergy of his two skills is incredibly satisfying.

"Old Gao, how did you awaken your second skill?" Du Ge was still bitter about not awakening his second skill.

"I went to Qinglan Sword Sect to apprentice under the Sword Saint. After a few days of training, I saw your message and decided to come down the mountain to help you. But the Sword Saint stopped me, insisting I comprehend the Grandmaster's path before letting me leave.

At the time, I was desperate to understand the Grandmaster's path, so during my cultivation, I kept boasting about being a peerless genius, non-stop. As a result, when I finally comprehended the Grandmaster's path, I also awakened my second skill."

Gao Ming scratched his head, "To this day, I don't know if I awakened the second skill first or comprehended the Grandmaster's path first."

He chuckled, "But I owe the Sword Saint for this. If I had come down the mountain prematurely, I would have been a half-baked novice and might not have been able to help you."

"..." Du Ge pondered.

"Du Ge, you haven't awakened your second skill yet?" Gao Ming asked.

"No." Du Ge glanced at him and shook his head, "I'm still troubled by it!"

Damn!

Gao Ming's eyes widened, and he swore, "You only awakened one skill and still became the world's number one, building such a huge enterprise. You're the real genius!"

Actually, I have two keywords, but I can't tell you that!

Du Ge muttered to himself, not answering. But thinking about his outstanding performance this time, he worried about explaining it to Bai Long if asked, making his teeth ache.

Gao Ming asked, "Du Ge, what's your keyword?"

"Loyalty," Du Ge replied.

He had nothing to hide from Gao Ming. After all, Gao Ming had been completely open with him, even revealing his most secret skill. In front of Du Ge, he was an open book. If a person guards against everyone, life becomes too exhausting.

"Loyalty?" Gao Ming's eyes widened, "Luo Shuang? You became number one in the world with such a useless keyword?"

"Yes." Du Ge nodded, "I helped a worthless princess achieve her current position of power. In the most critical moments, I never abandoned her. Isn't that loyalty?"

"It is." Gao Ming looked at Du Ge in shock and asked, "But what's with the zodiac? Does it have anything to do with loyalty? I thought your keyword was related to divination. When I was at Qinglan Sword Sect, I cultivated based on your zodiac fortunes and broke through to the Grandmaster's realm. What skill did you awaken that connects the zodiac with loyalty?"

"Leading by example. My actions influence those under me to follow suit." Du Ge glanced at him and came up with an explanation, "However, the zodiac fortunes have nothing to do with my skill. It should be related to destiny. The imperial teacher told me that the brightest Demon Star in the sky represents me, overshadowing the emperor stars. So, the fortunes should be related to destiny. You know, each world's rules are different..."

"That's true. Maybe this world really has its own will. Princess Luo Shuang's restoration of her kingdom might be the main storyline of this Alien Star Battlefield. Du Ge, your luck is incredible..." Gao Ming nodded, not thinking too deeply.

After all.

Zodiac culture seems made up. Otherwise, how could their zodiacs always bring good luck, with the fortunes rarely changing?

If there had to be an explanation, it could only be that the heavens were helping Luo Shuang.

There are many such children of destiny on the Alien Star Battlefield, causing significant casualties among the Alien Star warriors. Their luck is truly unbeatable...

Gao Ming's eyes lit up, "Du Ge, with destiny on our side, we're sure to win this time!"

"Absolutely!" Du Ge smiled and nodded, "But don't reveal my keyword and skill. Otherwise, if someone targets Luo Shuang, my attributes might drop significantly."

"Got it." Gao Ming nodded firmly, "If anyone threatens Luo Shuang, I'll protect her with my life."

"Let's go. With you joining us, our chances of winning are even greater."

Du Ge smiled and sighed inwardly. He wasn't worried about losing attributes if Luo Shuang died.

What he truly feared was if Luo Shuang died and his attributes didn't drop, it would be hard to explain. The synergy of the two skills this time was a bit forced, entirely driven by the second keyword.

As soon as Du Ge finished speaking, he felt his mental power surge again. He was stunned, seeing his mental power skyrocketing once more.

The mental power value increased from three hundred to five hundred, and in no time, it soared to over 420,000.

He was stunned. What's going on?

Is Bai Long secretly helping him by placing a heavy bet on him, fearing he wouldn't get first place?

Is blatant cheating really okay?

"Du Ge, what are you looking at? The rankings?" Gao Ming also opened his personal interface, smiling as he saw his rank rise to seventh.

"Yeah, checking who moved up after Miao Buqi's death." Du Ge said, glancing at the tenth position, where a new name appeared—Fei Zhu, a guerrilla general from the Kingdom Chu.

Judging by his identity, he must have accomplished something significant during the recent invasion of Chongming Kingdom.

Gao Ming also saw the new tenth place and asked in surprise, "Xiang Li and Ge Zong didn't make it into the top ten?"

"Almost." Du Ge said, "They've only fought a few battles, so their influence on the world isn't big enough yet. After defeating Lin Qing and spreading the word, they should make it into the top ten."

He scrutinized Gao Ming, "Old Gao, how did you manage to stay in the top ten for so many days?"

Gao Ming grinned, "Qinglan Sword Sect has many princes and princesses from various countries training there. Now, they're all my underlings. This time, they came down the mountain with me. I had them promote zodiac culture in their respective countries. Once our influence grows, these guys will openly support us. That should count as my influence, right?"

"It does." Du Ge gave Gao Ming a curious look, muttering to himself, well, the combination of 'a single move affects the whole situation' and zodiac culture is really powerful. It's truly pushing him towards the path of a child of destiny!

At this moment, he even felt that having a second skill didn't matter anymore.

With such overwhelming advantages, he couldn't possibly lose!

...

Meanwhile.

The executives at Pan-Universal Entertainment Company were closely monitoring Du Ge, watching his mental power surge as gamblers showered him with gifts.

Several executives remained expressionless.

One of them asked, "Has the tech department found any issues?"

"Everything is normal," the head of the tech department replied, "Du Ge's keyword and attribute growth trend are perfectly fine. Miao Buqi's exposure and Yunyao's timely support align with their character trajectories, with no anomalies."

"Could it really be destiny?" The executive frowned, asking, "Who chose this world?"

"I did." A senior technician raised his hand.

"Does that planet have a world will?" the executive asked.

"This time, we were in a hurry. We locked onto the planet and chose it without investigating further," the technician said sheepishly, "But the planet is high in martial arts, so the likelihood of a world will is low."

"Next time, make sure to investigate thoroughly. Don't make such a rookie mistake again." The executive glanced at him and then looked at another person, asking, "What about the casino?"

"People are furious. After the destiny theory came out, all bets on other contestants stopped. Everyone is betting on Du Ge. If this continues, the company will lose a lot of money," the casino manager said, "Should we stop taking bets on Du Ge?"

"No need."

The executive shook his head decisively.

He chuckled, satisfied as he looked at Du Ge on the screen, saying, "Open new betting pools, excluding people from Qi Yuan Star. Set up bets on who from other planets will survive under Du Ge's dominance and who will remain in the top ten.

If we dare to run a casino, we're not afraid to lose. The money we lose on Du Ge will eventually be earned back from him. He's a real treasure..."