Invincible: I Level Up In My Sleep

The Breakthrough

The inner courtyard of the Desolate Outpost had transformed into a graveyard of shattered bones and decaying flesh.

Yan Zheng stood in the center of the obsidian cobblestones, his massive midnight-steel broadsword resting on his shoulder. The sapphire-blue flames behind his visor flickered calmly as the green miasma from the defeated monsters slowly evaporated into the violet sky. Beside him, his Shadow-Guard materialized out of thin air, its smoky trench sword slick with dark fluid, before returning to its stance half a step behind him.

[You and your summon have cleared the Inner Courtyard!]

[Total EXP Gained: 510]

[You have leveled up!]

[Current Level: 3 (420/800 EXP)]

[Gained +2 Unallocated Stat Points.]

[Gained 15 Silver Coins.]

[Bonus Reward Unlocked: 1x Rare Tier 1 Equipment Box (Processing...)]

Yan Zheng felt a violent surge of pure physical power erupt within his Dread Knight avatar. His muscles tightened, his bones felt as dense as iron ore, and his perception of the world sharpened significantly.

Without a moment's hesitation, he opened his status menu and dumped both of his new unallocated stat points directly into Strength.

[Stats Updated: Strength 12 -> 14]

A heavy, visible wave of dark aura rippled out from his armor, shattering a loose piece of masonry nearby. At fourteen points of Strength, Yan Zheng felt confident that he could drop an elephant with a casual backhand punch in the real world.

"Now, let's see what the loot box gives me," Yan Zheng rumbled.

He focused his mind on the glowing inventory screen. A heavy, ornate iron box wrapped in thick steel chains materialized before him, floating gently in the air. With a sharp metallic snap, the chains shattered, and the lid burst open, releasing a pillar of blinding silver light.

[Opening Rare Tier 1 Equipment Box...]

[Congratulations! You have received: 1x Ring of the Shadow Commander (Tier 1 Rare Accessory).]

A heavy, dark silver band set with a polished, midnight-black gemstone dropped into his massive metal gauntlet.

[Ring of the Shadow Commander]

Quality: Rare (Tier 1)

Effect 1: Increases the wearer's maximum Shadow-Guard summon capacity by +3 units.

Effect 2: Grants the passive skill [Shadow Sync] – The wearer can see through the senses of any active Shadow-Guard within a 5-kilometer radius.

Note: Can be manifested in the real world.

Yan Zheng's eyes flared with an intense blue fire beneath his helm. "An accessory that increases my summon limit? And it lets me see through their eyes? This isn't just an item; this is a tactical radar."

With a Chieftain leading ten thousand warriors toward his gates, information was more valuable than gold. This ring completely solved his scouting problem. He slipped the silver band onto his armored finger, feeling a cold, spiritual thread instantly connect his mind to the system's summoning pool.

Suddenly, the twin emerald moons in the sky began to spin rapidly. The obsidian floor turned into a swirling vortex of black ink, and the familiar, violent pull of reality began to tug at his consciousness.

[Warning: Eight hours of Sleep-State have elapsed. Initiating real-world awakening sequence...]

"Perfect timing," Yan Zheng smiled grimly as his vision went entirely white.

Inside the royal bedchamber of Ironcliff Castle, Yan Zheng’s eyes snapped open.

The morning sun was just beginning to peek through the heavy velvet curtains, casting long, golden beams across the stone floor. He sat up smoothly, noting that the sticky, exhausting fatigue that usually plagued his morning routine was entirely gone. His real-world body was adapting rapidly to the system's growth.

He looked down at his right hand. On his index finger sat the heavy, dark silver Ring of the Shadow Commander, its midnight-black gemstone glinting in the morning light.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

A sharp, rhythmic pounding echoed from the heavy oak doors of his chamber, followed by a clear, determined voice.

"Your Highness, the sun has risen," Fan Changyu called out from the hallway. "The three hundred city guards have been assembled in the courtyard. The weapons and armor from Ba Tu’s vanguard have been distributed. We await your command."

Yan Zheng stood up, walking over to the mirror. He threw on a simple, flexible black tunic and tied a dark leather belt around his waist. He looked completely different from the frail prince of yesterday; his eyes were piercing, his jawline firm, and his posture carried an undeniable, quiet dominance.

He walked over to the door and pulled it open.

Fan Changyu stood at attention, her iron sword resting against her hip. However, the moment her eyes locked onto Yan Zheng, her breath caught in her throat. She took a half-step back instinctively, her hand twitching toward her weapon.

"Your Highness... your cultivation..." she stammered, her almond eyes wide with utter shock.

As a martial artist who had trained under her general father, she was highly sensitive to the spiritual aura of others. Yesterday, Yan Zheng had no Qi, but he possessed the raw, dense physical power of a body-tempering expert. But today? The air around him felt heavy. Every time he took a breath, the ambient spiritual energy in the hallway seemed to ripple toward him.

He hadn't just stabilized his power; he had advanced. To her, it felt as though he had leaped straight into the upper echelons of the Qi Refinement Realm overnight.

"I told you, Changyu, the inheritance left by my father is profound," Yan Zheng said calmly, stepping past her into the corridor. "The stabilization was successful. My physical foundation is now unlocked."

"Congratulations, Your Highness!" Fan Changyu quickly dropped to one knee, her heart hammering with a mixture of awe and profound relief. If the prince could grow this fast, Ironcliff actually stood a chance. "With your current strength, the morale of the men will skyrocket."

"Good. Because we are not going to sit behind these walls and wait to be starved out," Yan Zheng said, his voice echoing down the stone corridor as he walked toward the main courtyard. "We are marching to the Black Wolf Pass today."

He casually turned the dark silver ring on his finger, communicating with the system internally.

System, deploy all available units.

Deep within the long shadows cast by the palace pillars, the darkness began to churn. Four separate pools of pitch-black ink expanded across the stone floor. Silently, efficiently, four towering figures clad in midnight-iron and tattered black linen rose to their knees, their sapphire-blue eyes burning behind their faceless visors.

Four Level 3 Qi Refinement Shadow Vanguards stood at his back.

Fan Changyu looked at the three new dark entities appearing seamlessly from the shadows, her mind completely reeling. A secret guard of four Qi Refinement masters who could teleport through shadows?

She finally understood. Prince Yan Zheng wasn't a trash prince playing king. He was a tiger who had been biding his time in the dark, and he was finally ready to show his claws to the world.