Basic Skill

Chapter 26: Basic Skill

Character: Jiang Xiao

1. Star Map: Big Dipper Nine Stars, Star Dust Stage Lv.3

2. Star Skills:

1. Blessing, Bronze Quality Lv.1

2. Decoy, Bronze Quality Lv.1

3. Green Glow, Bronze Quality Lv.5

4. Endurance, Bronze Quality Lv.5

3. Basic Skills:

1. Barehanded Combat, Bronze Quality Lv.5

2. Abundant Star Power, Bronze Quality Lv.2

4. Skill Points: 3

"Are you blind?" Xia Yan crossed her arms, leaning back against a large tree, and glared at the sneaky bastard crouching under a tree not far away, cursing in dissatisfaction.

"We'll be teammates in the future, Xia Yan. Be polite." Jiang Xiao carefully crouched behind the tree. He understood what Xia Yan meant—it meant the White Ghost had already entered his field of vision. But Jiang Xiao hadn't spotted it, which was pretty awkward.

"But right now, I'm your teacher." Xia Yan's voice carried a hint of irritation, a sense of frustration that iron wouldn't turn into steel. "Also, I'm starting to think my decision was a mistake."

"Good. I'm not exactly eager to join your team anyway." Jiang Xiao frowned, scanning the forest ahead intently. Where was the White Ghost?

Could there be someone sneakier than me?

"The tree! The tree! Your eleven o'clock, on the tree!" Xia Yan gritted her teeth. "It's been staring at you for ages!"

"Oh?" Jiang Xiao poked half his head out from behind the tree and looked up. On a branch thickly covered with snow, he spotted a pair of crimson eyes silently watching him.

Jiang Xiao stood up, walked straight out, and beckoned to the White Ghost on the branch.

Since he'd already been spotted, there was no point in sneaking around anymore.

Unexpectedly, the White Ghost completely ignored Jiang Xiao. It stayed hidden behind the snow-laden branch, staring straight at him.

I'm watching you, watching you, can't look away?

Jiang Xiao scratched his head. Was this thing mocking him? He carefully checked his surroundings, confirmed there were no other White Ghosts, and then strode over, kicking the massive pine tree hard.

A thick blanket of snow came crashing down with a rustle. Luckily, Jiang Xiao ran fast, or he'd have been buried alive.

Xia Yan slapped her forehead and shouted, "Behind you! Behind you!"

As he ran, Jiang Xiao's right hand glowed with a layer of green light. He spun around abruptly and swung his fist backward!

Time to make a move! But then, Jiang Xiao's foot slipped, and he fell backward onto the snowy ground.

Whoosh! The ferocious White Ghost shot right over Jiang Xiao's head, tumbled a few times on the ground, cleverly absorbed the momentum, and skidded to a halt on all fours.

"Hiss—" The White Ghost breathed out wisps of mist, its eyes bloodshot, locked onto Jiang Xiao.

Jiang Xiao scrambled up, shook off the snow, and assumed a standard fighting stance. He walked forward slowly but stopped in a relatively open space between the trees.

That's more like it. Xia Yan finally nodded as she watched Jiang Xiao choose his terrain.

The White Ghost seemed to understand Jiang Xiao's intent. Its pitch-black face twisted into an even more terrifying grimace, and it let out an instinctive roar before charging at Jiang Xiao.

Here we go~ Jiang Xiao's right hand was coated in dense green light as he punched at the leaping White Ghost.

But in Xia Yan's view, the burly White Ghost simply tackled the scrawny Jiang Xiao to the ground. The two of them rolled around in the snow, flashes of green light crisscrossing as they played merrily.

Xia Yan's heart tightened. She stepped forward, one hand gripping the hilt of the blade on her back.

A fiery red arc flashed. With the heavy blade hitting the ground, a head rolled off.

Of the two "kids" frolicking in the snow, one was dead, one was injured. The world fell silent.

This woman was truly strong. The White Ghost was right on top of Jiang Xiao, so close, yet when Xia Yan swung that blade, the White Ghost's head was severed cleanly, while Jiang Xiao, right there, wasn't even scratched.

Such control, such precision—it was masterful.

"I thought you'd last at least two exchanges, maybe even trade blows." A deeply disappointed voice came through.

As the White Ghost's head rolled off its body on top of him, Jiang Xiao struggled to shove the headless corpse aside. What met his eyes was Xia Yan's profoundly disappointed gaze.

Compared to that look, he'd rather have her yelling insults at him.

For someone like Jiang Xiao, attacks on his pride didn't faze him. Even if someone pointed at his face and mocked him with contempt, his mentality wouldn't waver.

To hurt Jiang Xiao, you had to strike at his heart.

Right now, Xia Yan's look of utter disappointment genuinely made Jiang Xiao uncomfortable.

"Take the Star Bead and let's go. The smell of blood will draw a lot of White Ghosts." Xia Yan slid the long blade back onto her back, turned, and walked away, leaving Jiang Xiao with her back.

Jiang Xiao pursed his lips, struggled to his feet, felt the scratches on his face, looked at his torn clothes, and quickly cast a "Blessing" on himself.

He hurried over to the lone head and saw a pitch-black ghost face, along with a patch of snow stained red with blood.

This world was cast in dark tones. Under the dreamlike, shifting aurora, the black ghost face looked even more horrifying.

Jiang Xiao, someone who had never even killed a chicken, was supposed to cut open the head of a "human-ape"?

Jiang Xiao pulled a dagger from the side pocket of his Marching Pack, reached out his left hand, turned the White Ghost's head away, and pressed its face against the ground.

"I'll only teach you once." A voice sounded from beside Jiang Xiao's ear, startling him.

Don't you women make any sound when you walk?

With this thick layer of snow, how did you manage to sneak up beside me without a sound? Xia Yan tilted the blade slanted across her back, crouched down, drew a dagger from her leg side with her left hand, twirled it in her hand, and stabbed it into the back of the White Ghost's skull, skillfully slicing open its head.

Her pale fingers probed into the bloody, mangled skull and retrieved a Star Pearl.

Xia Yan tossed the Star Pearl directly to Jiang Xiao, grabbed a handful of snow from the ground, rubbed her bloodstained hands clean, then stood up and walked away.

Jiang Xiao sensed the earth-shattering change in Xia Yan's attitude, took a quiet deep breath, clutched the Star Pearl, and quickly followed.

This was the first day the two entered the Snowfield.

This was also the first White Ghost they had encountered.

Fifteen minutes later, when Xia Yan's footsteps abruptly stopped, Jiang Xiao immediately dropped his Marching Pack from his back, drew his dagger, and warily scanned his surroundings.

Xia Yan, however, slowly retreated, leaning against a large tree in almost the same posture, arms crossed, silent and wordless.

Jiang Xiao rapidly searched the area. Whether from tension or the temperature, the hand gripping his dagger trembled slightly.

"Try to move the battlefield to open ground. Don't let them get close to any tree." Xia Yan finally spoke again.

Jiang Xiao nodded. He understood the logic—these Different Dimension Creatures, as agile as apes, would have their combat power greatly increased in the Deep Mountains and Old Forests.

But they were already in a Snowy Forest. Even if they found a patch of open ground, the area would be extremely small.

Finally, Jiang Xiao spotted the crimson Eyes. His footsteps slowly shifted to the right.

Jiang Xiao could endure Xia Yan's mockery and curses, but he really couldn't bear that look of disappointment. Setting aside his playful attitude, he was more serious than ever and whistled at the shadow behind the tree ahead: "Pssst~"

The provocation seemed to have worked.

The tall White Ghost understood Jiang Xiao's intent and walked toward him step by step.

Close combat was imminent, ready to erupt at any moment.

And just as the battle began, a piece of information suddenly surfaced in Jiang Xiao's mind: "Basic Skill activated: Dagger Proficiency."

Thank you for the ten-thousand reward, Rexxxx.