The level 6 Blue Silver Grass had taken quite a bit of effort from Xu Kun, but it had not delayed him for long!
Stationary targets were unlike living creatures. As long as he had a method to deal with them, he could handle them step by step!
Especially since Xu Kun had pulled off a clever move using the Viper Snake Gland!
With the previous experience as a lesson, Xu Kun became far more cautious when he entered the level 7 monster zone!
Who could guess what kind of race he would encounter next?
If he let down his guard just because the level 1–10 monsters in the novice trial were all F-grade races, then he would be irresponsible toward himself!
As the lowest-ranking races among the myriad races, F-grade races generally had very weak individual strength. However, these races shared one trait: their numbers were incredibly vast!
Even after eight hundred years of data collection, humanity had been unable to gather information on every F-grade race in the world!
Other than races like Blue Silver Grass, which could cause even high-level Talented Individuals to fail if they were careless, other F-grade races also had their own peculiar traits. Especially unknown races—underestimating them could lead to serious losses!
With the Myriad Races Bestiary, Xu Kun could investigate a race's information first before deciding what to do!
Besides that, he also had to watch out for possible racial bosses. Those were the beings that could truly threaten his life!
When Xu Kun saw the racial monsters in the level 7 monster zone, he let out a breath of relief!
This opponent was not troublesome!
The Myriad Races Bestiary went to work, and the illustration was completed in one smooth motion!
Taking advantage of the opening, Xu Kun carefully searched the area and did not spot any boss!
There was only a group of piglets, rooting up the ground until dust filled the air. Their snouts burrowed through the sand as if they were searching for something!
Sand Pig Talent: F-grade Burrowing (body sinks into the ground +5% damage reduction) Level: 7 Physical Attack: 80–90 Health: 780–800 Physical Defense: 66–70 Magic Defense: 66–70 Evasion: Unable to evade Kun's attacks Movement Speed: 1.2M/S Skill: Flying Sand and Rolling Stones: Kicks up sand with its powerful hind legs, blinding targets within a 3*3M area for 1–3S! Introduction: A low-level pig race with a timid nature and low intelligence. It feeds on insects buried in the sand. Upon encountering a powerful enemy, it instinctively kicks up dust to block the enemy's vision and attempt to flee. If it encounters an unbeatable foe, it will bury its head in the sand and hope the enemy cannot see it!
Xu Kun could not help but laugh when he saw those stats.
Its attributes were quite good. Whether it was attack power, defense, or Life Force, its overall stats indeed matched its status as a level 7 monster.
But its talent and skill made it seem rather useless, so it would not be too difficult to deal with!
Blindness was a form of crowd control. It most affected long-range magic classes that needed to accurately select targets to cast their skills. While blinded, not only could skills not be cast accurately, but one could also easily be ambushed by enemies!
However, judging from the introduction, even after blinding their targets, these Sand Pigs did not intend to ambush them. They wanted to flee instead!
But with the map restrictions, where could this group of pigs possibly run to?
Xu Kun could practically picture these pigs burrowing into the sand to protect themselves when they faced him!
Without any hesitation, he used an Explosive Fireball to claim the first kill, instantly killing a Sand Pig that was busily digging!
Ding! You killed 1 Sand Pig and gained 0.3% experience. Current experience pool: Level 6, 2.4%!
Xu Kun's teeth ached. The experience had dropped again. Even if he killed all two hundred pigs in front of him, it would not be enough to reach level 7!
No choice, then. He would quickly finish these Sand Pigs and go kill level 8 monsters!
The Explosive Fireball's effect was even better than Xu Kun had expected. After instantly killing one Sand Pig, it startled the other pigs that had been rooting around, sending them scattering like headless flies.
When Xu Kun, an enemy target, appeared, the Sand Pigs' instinctive response was not to call their companions and attack, but to scatter and flee!
"Where do you think you're going!"
Xu Kun checked Wrath of the Fire Dragon's cooldown. There were still a full twenty minutes left. The sandy area ahead was wide, and the Sand Pigs loved running around, making it unsuitable to clear them with Wrath of the Fire Dragon. Since the cooldown had not ended yet, he would personally send these Sand Pigs to the afterlife!
He cast Wildfire Scorches the Plains into the distance. Several Sand Pigs caught fire all over and were about to flee beyond its range, only to collapse weakly onto the ground in the end!
Xu Kun reacted swiftly and used Charge, locking onto a Sand Pig at the very edge of his range!
Stunned!
He then used Stomp, rooting several nearby Sand Pigs in place. With the splash effect, he swung his sword again and again, dealing AOE damage!
Very quickly, several Sand Pigs that had broken free of their rooted state were about to flee. Xu Kun gave them no chance—an Explosive Fireball took care of one, he turned and cut down another, then used Rapid Attack to close in on one that was about to get away, instantly completing a five-kill streak!
This effortless slaughter terrified the Sand Pigs even more. Some of them had already buried half their bodies in the sand, leaving only their backs exposed!
"Instead of learning something useful, you're copying ostriches!"
Xu Kun laughed at the sight. Rather than deliberately killing these terrified Sand Pigs, he first headed toward the ones scattering everywhere, taking care of several Sand Pigs that were lying motionless along the way!
When Xu Kun approached another Sand Pig with his sword in hand, it let out a gurgling roar and kicked its hind legs wildly, stirring up a cloud of dust!
Ding! You have been blinded!
But at the same moment he was blinded, Xu Kun used Charge, whose cooldown had already ended, to lock onto a distant Sand Pig and instantly escaped the dust-obscured area!
This was the expert technique Xu Kun had learned from the forum before!
Using Charge to escape the effects of area-based skills!
The Sand Pigs' Flying Sand and Rolling Stones was not hard crowd control, but rather soft control. It showed clear signs before it was used. Xu Kun wanted to kill monsters quickly, so whenever he saw a Sand Pig preparing to use Flying Sand and Rolling Stones, he either used Charge to lock onto another target or raised his sword and interrupted the cast, sending it on its way!
However, when several Sand Pigs used their skills at the same time and Charge was on cooldown, Xu Kun could not avoid getting caught sometimes. At such moments, he barely relied on his high movement speed to avoid the larger area of control, only suffering a small portion of the blinding effect!
As he swung his sword and slaughtered freely, apart from a few Sand Pigs that tried to resist, the rest buried themselves in the sand one after another!
The 5% damage reduction was indeed a major problem for some people whose attack power was on par with the Sand Pigs' defense. Even a small defense boost could be the difference between breaking through defenses and being forced to deal -1 damage!
But for Xu Kun, it was not much of a problem. On the contrary, once these motionless Sand Pigs stopped using Flying Sand and Rolling Stones, they became easier for him to kill quickly!
His two fire-element skills could harvest lives with absolute certainty. As for his physical attacks, though their damage was reduced by 5%, it did not affect Xu Kun's killing efficiency in the slightest!
It did not take much effort before Xu Kun slaughtered every pig waiting to be butchered!
Ding! You killed 200 Sand Pigs and gained 60% experience. Current experience pool: Level 6, 62.1%! Ding! Your novice trial completion rate has increased by 6%. Current: 42%! Ding! Congratulations on killing 100 F-grade Sand Pigs. The Myriad Races Bestiary has taken effect. Congratulations, you have obtained the F-grade skill Flying Sand and Rolling Stones! Flying Sand and Rolling Stones Grade: F-grade Group Control Skill Effect: Swing your weapon to create a sandstorm barrier in a 3*3M area ahead. Hostile targets that enter it are blinded for 1–3S! Stamina Cost: 30 Cooldown: 60S
It was a fairly decent skill. Against racial monsters that liked charging right up to him, if used properly, it could easily stop their advance!
The ground was covered in Sand Pig corpses. Xu Kun had now entered an out-of-combat state, and with his mana nearly depleted, he began collecting loot while waiting for it to recover naturally!
In the end, he obtained 120 pieces of Succulent Earth-Cleaving Pig Meat and 80 jin of Earth-Cleaving Pig Lard.
Succulent Earth-Cleaving Pig Meat Grade: E-grade Introduction: The finest part of an E-grade Earth-Splitting Pig. It is an extremely popular ingredient! Earth-Cleaving Pig Lard Grade: E-grade Introduction: A single E-grade Earth-Splitting Pig can only render one jin of this premium lard. Used for cooking, it is absolutely top-quality oil!
"Hehe, looks like I'm in for a treat!"
That was the good thing about pig-type racial monsters. The meat on every one of them was countless times more delicious than pork raised by humans. Although Xu Kun had never eaten Earth-Splitting Pig meat or dishes cooked with Earth-Cleaving Pig Lard, thanks to Hao Jian's parents, he had been fortunate enough to taste ingredients from other pig races!
That flavor remained unforgettable to Xu Kun even now. Unfortunately, he had been young at the time, and Hao Jian's parents and his own mother had not allowed him to eat much. He had only tasted a few pieces, yet just thinking about that flavor made his mouth water!
His status had fully recovered. After organizing his backpack, Xu Kun continued onward!
The level 8 monster zone consisted of small hills, and the area had become much larger!
The moment Xu Kun entered this level zone, waves of wolf howls rose and fell. They were warnings directed at this unwelcome guest!
Before Xu Kun could even investigate, he saw wolf-type racial monsters gathering atop a distant hill, staring at him with predatory eyes!
Wind Wolf Talent: F-grade Wind Treading (+5% movement speed) Level: 8 Physical Attack: 120–130 Health: 600–620 Physical Defense: 55–58 Magic Defense: 55–58 Wind Attribute Attack: 30 Evasion: Unable to evade Kun's attacks Movement Speed: 2.4M/S Skill: Shadow Dash: Enter brief invisibility! Introduction: A low-level pack-dwelling wolf race. When facing invading enemies, they will tear everything apart with their sharp claws!
An elemental racial monster!
Xu Kun's expression darkened. He had not expected the level 8 monster zone to contain such troublesome monsters as Wind Wolves!
He knew a bit about these monsters, because many humans who had participated in Mist Island trials in the past had suffered greatly at the hands of Wind Wolves!
As elemental monsters, there was one point their status panel did not show: their normal attacks combined physical damage with Wind Attribute damage!
The Wind Wolves' physical attack of 120–130 alone was not enough to break Xu Kun's 140 physical defense. But with an additional 30 Wind Attribute attack, Xu Kun, whose Wind Resistance was currently 0, would directly suffer 30 points of elemental damage!
And that was only the damage a single Wind Wolf could deal. The terrifying thing was that Wind Wolves never acted alone. When they encountered an enemy, they swarmed forward and tore their prey apart!
Moreover, it was said that a Wind Wolf pack could easily produce an alpha wolf—a racial boss...
Yet after Xu Kun carefully searched the area, he did not find a boss. He did not know whether that counted as good luck!
Because if an alpha wolf was present, the already troublesome Wind Wolves would become even harder to handle!
With an alpha wolf coordinating and commanding them, a Wind Wolf pack could execute tactics!
On the Myriad Races Battlefield, the Wind Wolf race was absolutely one of the types to charge at the forefront. Wind Wolf groups numbering in the tens of thousands, led by over a hundred alpha wolves, had caused humanity to suffer more than once or twice!
"Good thing there isn't an alpha wolf!"
Xu Kun relaxed slightly. If there had been an alpha wolf, he would have needed to be much more careful!
Wind Wolves were fearless warriors when charging forward, but after getting close, they were also assassins that killed without a trace!
Although Shadow Dash did not provide any attribute bonuses, it allowed Wind Wolves to enter brief invisibility. During that short time, no one could tell from which direction a Wind Wolf's next attack would come!
Xu Kun gripped the Flame Spirit Sword and readied himself. When he saw the Wind Wolves had gathered and were rushing toward him in a vast mass, he did not show the slightest fear!
All of his confidence naturally came from Wrath of the Fire Dragon, whose cooldown had already ended!
The Wind Wolves' habitat was huge, with several small hills. Wrath of the Fire Dragon's coverage was not enough to decide the battle!
If there had been an alpha wolf commanding them now, Xu Kun would definitely have changed his tactics. But without an alpha wolf's command, these ordinary Wind Wolves had limited intelligence!
With the Wind Wolves' movement speed of 2.4M/S, it did not take long for them to rush down from the hills. On the horizon, Xu Kun's gaze met that of the Wind Wolves' vanguard!
Xu Kun clenched something in his left hand and silently counted in his heart. When the distance was about right, he immediately used the newly acquired Flying Sand and Rolling Stones skill!
Dust rose into the air, separating Xu Kun from the Wind Wolves!
But that was not all. Xu Kun swung his left hand forward, scattering a large handful of seeds. They were Blue Silver Parasites!
"Wildfire Scorches the Plains!"
This time, Xu Kun did not cast his AOE attack toward the Wind Wolves. Instead, he aimed it at the Blue Silver Parasites that had just fallen to the ground!
After receiving the energy baptism of Wildfire Scorches the Plains, Blue Silver Grass quickly burst from the ground, forming a natural barrier!
The dust had already settled. The newly grown Blue Silver Grass was instantly torn to pieces by countless wolf jaws, but it successfully halted the Wind Wolf pack's advance!
The vanguard was briefly obstructed, while the Wind Wolves following behind continued charging forward, crowding together in a mass!
Seeing Wind Wolves beginning to bite through the Blue Silver Grass blocking their path, while several more tried to squeeze out from the sides, Xu Kun did not hesitate and swung his sword forward!
The familiar fire dragon leaped forth, sweeping toward its targets!
Through Xu Kun's successive maneuvers, the Wind Wolf pack's range of movement had been drastically reduced. This was also the safest way for Xu Kun to deal with these troublesome Wind Wolves!
The fire dragon roared. Not a single Wind Wolf could withstand 5,000 Fire Attribute damage per second!
And so, before the two hundred Wind Wolves could even display their claws, Xu Kun had calculated them to death!
A series of pleasant, urgent notifications rang out rapidly. Soon, in front of the Blue Silver Grass that had turned to ash, the Wind Wolves became charred corpses scattered across the ground!
Xu Kun looked over the notifications and only let out a long breath after confirming that not a single wolf had escaped!
Ding! You killed 95 Wind Wolves and gained 47.9% experience. Congratulations, you have reached Level 7. Current experience pool: Level 7, 0%! Ding! The God of Strength's pity...
Ding! You killed 105 Wind Wolves and gained 31.5% experience. Current experience pool: Level 7, 31.5%! Ding! Your novice trial completion rate has increased by 6%. Current: 48%! Ding! Congratulations on killing 100 F-grade Wind Wolves. The Myriad Races Bestiary has taken effect. Congratulations, you have obtained the F-grade skill Shadow Dash! Shadow Dash Grade: F-grade Active Skill Effect: Enter an invisible state. Movement speed -30%. Attacking or being attacked will interrupt the invisible state. Duration: 3S! Stamina Cost: 10 Cooldown: 60S
Although it only lasted three seconds and reduced movement speed with various other restrictions, as long as it was used well, it was absolutely a foundational god-tier skill!
Out of habit, Xu Kun reached toward the charred Wind Wolf corpses. This Wrath of the Fire Dragon had roasted them far too thoroughly. After touching a handful of scorched wolf fur, Xu Kun rubbed his nose in disappointment and lost interest in the burnt corpses before him!
With his sword in hand, Xu Kun strode forward. After crossing the hills where the Wind Wolves had lived, he faintly saw a towering structure amid the swirling mist!
"That... should be the center of Mist Island, the Desolate Shrine!"
Just as Xu Kun was lost in thought, a clear birdcall interrupted him.
"Chirp~"
Before you continue