Chapter 33: Two Blows Awaken the Skeleton Soul

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Naturally, Lin Yingzhen was not very pleased with his attitude. All along the way, she kept bombarding Xiao Yang with questions until he finally lost patience and fobbed her off with a careless excuse.

“Nothing much. I just practiced martial arts for a few years. You know Mount Wudang, right? I trained there for several years in the art of lightness.”

His answer sent Lin Yingzhen into deep thought. Then, all at once, she realized something was wrong and jerked her head up.

Clearly, she had discovered that Xiao Yang was brushing her off.

Her lips immediately pushed into a pout. As for Xiao Yang, he was perfectly happy to let things remain that way throughout the journey.

After all, how else could he explain it? Was he supposed to tell Lin Yingzhen that he had spent the past few days inside a dungeon crawling with skeletons, frantically leveling up and killing monsters? That would sound even more ridiculous.

And so, silence prevailed.

After finishing all the shopping, not much time had passed. It was only two or three in the afternoon, and the sunlight was still pleasantly warm. Xiao Yang drove Lin Yingzhen along the narrow concrete road.

Far ahead, in the withered rice paddies on either side of the road, a group of children had gathered together, apparently playing.

Xiao Yang spotted them at a glance. They seemed to be roasting sweet potatoes in the dried-up fields.

Unfortunately, they were far too close to a stack of dry straw.

From a distance, Xiao Yang shouted loudly, “Don’t play with fire there! Go on, get out of here! I’ll tell your families when I get back!”

At his words, the boys scattered like startled birds, vanishing in a flash.

Lin Yingzhen giggled at the sight. Long ago, they had apparently encountered a similar situation themselves—no, the trouble they had caused back then had been much worse.

But what could she say? Someone had forgotten about it, even though she remembered everything perfectly.

At that thought, Lin Yingzhen, sitting in the rear compartment of the three-wheeled vehicle, shot a fierce sideways glance at Xiao Yang, who was driving the battered tricycle with an air of swagger.

Leaning against the railing, she stretched languidly. There was no denying that she had grown into a remarkably beautiful woman over the years. Her skin was fair, her features delicate, and her figure slender yet shapely. She also possessed the youthful vitality unique to a girl her age.

In truth, Xiao Yang had not completely forgotten his childhood companion. It was just that, after so many years, the gap between his memories and reality whenever they met felt far too unreal.

In Xiao Yang’s memories, his childhood playmate had been a dark, runny-nosed little boy who loved following him around like a younger brother.

There was no way to connect that image with the graceful and beautiful young woman before him now.

At that moment, Lin Yingzhen, leaning against the tricycle’s railing, suddenly smiled. Perhaps she had thought of something, because a faint blush crept across her cheeks.

Xiao Yang noticed, but pretended not to.

A month ago, this down-and-out university graduate would never have dared approach the dazzlingly beautiful Lin Yingzhen she had become. At that time, the two of them had simply been too far apart.

One was a dispirited, struggling university student; the other was a young, beautiful heiress.

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A month later, circumstances had changed somewhat, but one thing remained the same: the two of them were still unsuitable for each other.

He had already transcended the ordinary and could no longer afford to become entangled in romantic feelings. More importantly, too many problems were tied to him. For all he knew, he might die in a dungeon—or somewhere else—one day, and his body might never even be recovered.

There was no need to delay the life of a good woman.

…………

That evening, Xiao Yang stewed himself a large pot of mixed soup. This meal was far more sumptuous than usual, with meat, vegetables, and even some cured pork. After eating an entire pot, Xiao Yang was thoroughly satisfied.

Yet once he had finished, he suddenly found himself with nothing to do.

He glanced out the window. It was still fairly early. Since he had nothing else on his schedule, he might as well get some exercise.

Xiao Yang opened the door to his basement and strode deep into the shadowy corridor. With nothing better to do, he decided to kill a boss for entertainment.

He hacked his way to the Skeleton Warrior’s door as easily as slicing through vegetables, hardly needing any preparation or hesitation.

[Skeleton Warrior
Race: Bone-Type Undead
Rank: Common
Level: 14
Health: 40
Attack: 16
Defense: 8
Agility: 6
Traits: Skeletal Body, Undead Mind, Heavy Weapon Proficiency]

These were the Skeleton Warrior’s attributes.

[Player: Screaming Emperor (Elite Slayer)
Number: 1
Affiliation: Plane 33214
Race: Ordinary Human
Level: 8
Experience: 30/1000
Health: 200]

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Strength: 13
Defense: 12
Agility: 11
Unspent Attribute Points: 4
Talent: Dungeon Delver
Follower: Skeleton Pickpocket
Skill: Heavy Strike (Plus One)
Traits: Tough Skin, Abundant Vitality, Minor Fire Resistance
Evaluation: A powerful novice adventurer.]

These were Xiao Yang’s own statistics. How should one put it? His attributes were already not much inferior to those of the Skeleton Warrior. In terms of health especially, Xiao Yang had five times as much as the Skeleton Warrior. There was also a level difference of more than five levels between them, and Elite Slayer had been activated as well.

In this situation, it was genuinely hard to say which of them was the real boss.

Once Xiao Yang entered the boss room, the Skeleton Warrior, bound in iron chains, began to struggle. It seemed to be entering its cutscene—the perfect moment for players to prepare their potions, inspect their equipment, and apply their buffs.

But that applied only to ordinary novice players.

Their Dungeon King, Xiao Yang, did not care about any of that. He charged forward and delivered a fierce greeting of justice.

The strike had a base damage of eight points. The strength-conversion damage granted by the Blackstone Prison Armament Code added four more, for a total of twelve base damage. After being doubled by the Heavy Strike skill, his staff smashed into the Skeleton Warrior and produced a massive damage number of eight.

And it was not over yet. Elite Slayer added another five points of unavoidable damage.

Thirteen points of damage.

The blow landed with tremendous force, leaving the Skeleton Warrior, still struggling against its chains, completely stunned. Nearly a third of its health had vanished in an instant.

Worst of all, the Flinching status had been triggered.

It was not that the undead possessed no emotions. Their minds were simply dull and sluggish. But even the dullest creature would panic after taking a blow that nearly removed half its life, and some disturbance was bound to appear.

All right. It was over.

The effect of the Blackstone Prison Badge activated. In the next second, a terrifying damage number—forty—rose into the air, taking away the remaining two-thirds of the Skeleton Warrior’s health in one stroke.

The Skeleton Warrior died peacefully. It had not even managed to break free of the iron chains binding it before collapsing and meeting its end.

One could only say that people should avoid striking dramatic poses whenever possible. If not for the chain-breaking sequence, the Skeleton Warrior would at least not have died such a humiliating death.

Xiao Yang scooped up the green orb that had dropped from the Skeleton Warrior, shook his head, and struck a flamboyant pose as he declared,

“Nothing to write home about!”

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