Star Super

Star II Super

The Skeleton Warhorse, pained, lowered its forelegs, raised its hind legs, and suddenly lashed out with a vicious kick!

Bai Pu's sternum visibly warped, sending vibrations through the bones of his entire body as though they were fluid. Two distinct hoofprints even bulged from his back!

The immense force sent Bai Pu flying backward, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. That kick was terrifyingly powerful, capable of dealing over a hundred points of blunt damage! Factoring in the Skeleton Warhorse's two-level advantage, it also received an additional 20% damage bonus against Bai Pu.

Fortunately, Bai Pu had switched to Fluid Skeleton in advance, which provided specialized damage reduction against blunt damage. Even so, he had lost more than 50 Health Points.

Taking 50 points of damage in a single hit was completely different from taking 50 points bit by bit. The greatest difference was that a single powerful blow could inflict additional crippling effects! Bai Pu clutched his chest and coughed.

Your sternum has suffered a fracture. This will affect your ability to exert force.

The Spirit Realm Will's message came through clearly.

Bai Pu straightened up. Though he had never undergone professional combat training, years of enduring illness had forged an exceptionally strong will in him. The pain of a fractured sternum was not enough to diminish his combat strength.

Having taken a Whirlwind Strike, the Skeleton Warhorse's foreleg had suffered an extremely high amount of slashing damage in one blow and was nearly broken. It tried to run, but it had lost the speed it had been so proud of, limping like a lame donkey.

The injury to its foreleg affected more than just its speed. The Skeleton Warhorse's trampling, side kicks, and other attack movements were all impaired, greatly reducing its threat.

The trouble was that the sounds of battle had drawn other monsters from the entrance to the third floor! Soul flames flickered to life one after another. Amid raspy cries of "Kah! Kah!" three to five shambling figures slowly approached.

The other monsters on the third floor were generally around Level 3. Most were still ordinary monsters with standard templates, but the proportion of elites had risen sharply. Reinforced Elite creatures had even appeared.

For instance, the Skeleton Warhorse before him was definitely not merely a Level 3 elite. It might have been a Level 3 Reinforced Elite! On par with Zweig Lieutenant.

Bai Pu stepped forward and blocked the narrow passage. He took a deep breath, switching Self-Adaptive Evolution from Fluid Skeleton to Keratinous Skin while activating Flesh Armor.

He had to hold back these newly awakened monsters and buy time for the Skeleton Warrior.

The Skeleton Warrior swung its greatsword, hacking at it again and again. Having lost one leg, the Skeleton Warhorse was extremely clumsy. Its kicks and side kicks had greatly weakened, leaving it only able to take the blows passively while occasionally letting out long, shrill neighs.

At the same time, Bai Pu ignored the newly awakened monsters behind him. He swung his bone mallet as well, hammering the Skeleton Warhorse again and again. With Bai Pu's durability, even without dodging, he could endure the monsters' encirclement for several minutes.

At last, the Skeleton Warhorse let out a long neigh and collapsed dead, the soul flame in its bony eye sockets extinguishing.

A Level 3 virtual treasure chest turned into light and merged into Bai Pu's body.

Just as Bai Pu was about to turn around and deal with the monsters behind him, an angry roar suddenly came from deep within the dungeon.

The roar was not in any known language, merely a peculiar rhythm, yet people could "hear" the meaning the roarer wished to convey, as though it were some kind of thought wave.

"Who dares lay a hand upon my beloved steed! I swear I shall tear you to pieces!"

Under the peculiar rhythm of that roar, the entire third-floor dungeon trembled. Skeleton monsters in slumber awakened one after another, brandishing their weapons as they charged toward Bai Pu at the cave entrance with murderous cries!

"Fuck."

Bai Pu cursed under his breath. He had not expected that Skeleton Warhorse to be the third-floor boss's mount—and the trigger for every monster on the third floor to riot! Once the warhorse was killed, the boss would fly into a rage, and every monster on the third floor would go berserk.

The Skeleton Warhorse must have been patrolling its territory on the third floor, and Bai Pu's luck had simply been terrible—he had encountered it the moment he entered! Bai Pu could only choose to end the trial. A flash of light passed, and his figure vanished.

The scenery before his eyes changed, and he arrived at the settlement screen.

The settlement screen's backdrop was the entrance to a grim and terrifying graveyard, where ghostly flames flickered faintly. This was likely the entrance to the first floor of the White Bone Dungeon.

Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish—

Virtual treasure chests lined up neatly. Three Level 1 chests and four Level 2 chests had already been opened, with their virtual rewards displayed behind the corresponding chests.

The final Level 3 chest remained unopened.

Bai Pu chose to open it.

Congratulations, newcomer (Bai Pu). You have received the reward: Unstable Shield Skill Book. Please collect it from the appropriate God Strategy Army branch.

"Unstable Shield?"

Bai Pu's eyes lit up. He had not seen this skill book on the exchange list at the God Strategy Army quartermaster's office.

What did that mean? This skill book was a scarce item beyond Bai Pu's current clearance level!

All the treasure chests vanished. The final reward turned into words and appeared before Bai Pu.

Congratulations, newcomer (Bai Pu). Based on your outstanding performance, you have obtained one opportunity to enter the Intersection Lands: Dead Bone Mountain Range. Please collect it from the appropriate God Strategy Army branch.

This was the reward Qilin had mentioned before—the qualification to enter a real "Intersection Lands"!

The White Bone Dungeon just now had only been a Virtual Dungeon designed based on the Intersection Lands. Inside, one could only train the proficiency of Combat Expertise and could not gain experience toward class levels. The rewards obtained were all virtual rewards and had to be redeemed through the God Strategy Army quartermaster after leaving.

The true Intersection Lands were secret spaces where the Spirit Realm and reality intersected—genuine lands of treasure!

When the settlement countdown ended, Bai Pu left the White Bone Dungeon instance. The scene before him changed again, and he had returned to the end of the underground passage, where the black iron gate stood.

The black iron gate was tightly shut. Bai Pu tried pushing it, but it did not budge.

It seemed that only after Bai Pu obtained the qualification to explore the White Bone Dungeon again would he be able to open the black iron gate.

"Holy shit, you're incredible!" Black Tiger's somewhat exaggerated voice rang out.

"I always thought Mad Dog was unbeatable among the second batch, but I didn't expect there to be a monster like you. Too bad you came a year late. You definitely still have a gap compared to Mad Dog now," Qilin said.

Su Xiaoxiao followed behind Qilin and Black Tiger.

The three had specifically rushed over from the tactical research room to welcome Bai Pu.

This was the radiating effect of strength. The Spirit Energy Era valued individual might, and the strong would be respected wherever they went.

"Little Bai Pu, Instructor Chou has temporarily rated your potential as S-rank. This is already the organization's highest classification for newcomers." As Su Xiaoxiao spoke, she handed over an exquisitely decorated watch. "Here, your personal information terminal has already been integrated into your identity card. From now on, you can directly check your merits, browse information within your clearance level, and exchange items through the quartermaster."

A personal information terminal had been called a "mobile phone" in the technological era before the Spirit Energy Era.

Of course, compared with a mobile phone, a personal information terminal offered greater security and a more comfortable user experience. For example, this "Star II Super" series personal information terminal issued to Bai Pu by the God Strategy Army was drop-resistant and shockproof, featured iris recognition, an Intelligent Assistant, Spirit Energy recording, and other powerful functions. It could also connect to Spirit Energy Particles signals, ensuring full signal strength even in the Intersection Lands and Wilderness Area.

Bai Pu did not stand on ceremony. After thanking her, he accepted the information terminal. To other Awakened, the cost of a high-end personal information terminal was nothing, but to Bai Pu, who currently had nothing at all, it was a timely gift.

"You look a little tired. Do you want to rest? We can redeem the virtual rewards for you later." Seeing Bai Pu's somewhat pale but handsome face, Su Xiaoxiao's hidden maternal instincts were stirred.

Thanks to Xia Li, Rising Power, Little White Bear, Old Book Friend, Red Dust Like Water Washing Tears, Sufang, and the two numerical username readers for the tips. I saw many familiar old faces—thank you!