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 stood with her arms crossed and her back against a large tree, glaring at the old schemer crouching beneath a tree not far away. She cursed in displeasure.

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

"But I'm your teacher right now." Xia Yan's voice carried a trace of annoyance, as if she hated that iron couldn't become steel. "Besides, I'm already starting to think my decision was a mistake."

"That's fine by me. I'm not interested in joining your team anyway." Jiang Xiao frowned and carefully searched the woods ahead. Where was the White Ghost?

Is someone even sneakier than me?

"Up in the tree! The tree! At your eleven o'clock, in 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 covered in thick snow, he saw a pair of scarlet eyes silently watching him.

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

Since he had already been discovered, there was no point in talking about a sneak attack anymore.

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

I'm watching you, watching you, without blinking?

Jiang Xiao scratched his head. Was this thing mocking him? He carefully inspected his surroundings and confirmed several times that there were no other White Ghosts. He simply walked over and kicked the enormous pine tree.

A great sheet of thick snow came rustling down. Fortunately, Jiang Xiao ran quickly; otherwise, he would have been buried alive.

Xia Yan pressed one hand to her forehead and shouted, "Behind you! Behind you!"

As Jiang Xiao ran, a layer of green light appeared over his right hand. He abruptly spun around and smashed his fist backward!

Now that's more like it! However, Jiang Xiao slipped and fell backward onto the snow.

Whoosh! The White Ghost, its eyes gleaming viciously, shot over Jiang Xiao's head. It rolled several times across the ground, skillfully dispersing the force, then clung to the ground with all four limbs and slowly came to a stop.

"Hss..." Wisps of mist escaped the White Ghost's mouth. Its eyes were bloodshot as it glared fixedly at Jiang Xiao.

Jiang Xiao hurriedly got up as well, shook the snow from his body, and assumed a standard fighting stance. He slowly advanced, then stopped in an open space between several trees.

Now that looks a little better. Seeing the terrain Jiang Xiao had chosen, Xia Yan finally nodded.

The White Ghost seemed to understand Jiang Xiao's intention. Its pitch-black ghost face grew even more terrifying and savage, and it let out an instinctive roar as it crawled rapidly toward Jiang Xiao.

Take this! Jiang Xiao's right fist was covered in dense green light as he punched the leaping White Ghost.

From Xia Yan's perspective, the burly White Ghost pounced directly onto the frail Jiang Xiao. The two rolled around in the snow, streaks of Green Glow crisscrossing as they played to their hearts' content.

Xia Yan's heart tightened. She stepped forward and gripped the hilt of the blade at her back.

A fiery-red arc flashed. As the heavy greatsword slammed into the ground, a head rolled across the snow.

The two "children" frolicking and rolling in the snow finally ended with one dead and one injured, and the entire world fell silent.

This woman was truly powerful. The White Ghost had been straddling Jiang Xiao, their bodies so close together, yet after Xia Yan's slash, the White Ghost's head had been cut perfectly cleanly while Jiang Xiao, right beside it, hadn't suffered the slightest injury.

Such control over distance and timing was truly at the pinnacle.

"I thought you could last two rounds. At the very least, I expected some back-and-forth." Her deeply disappointed voice drifted over.

As the head of the White Ghost riding him hit the ground, Jiang Xiao struggled to push the headless corpse off his body. What met his eyes was Xia Yan's extreme disappointment.

Compared with that expression, Jiang Xiao would rather accept her loud abuse.

For someone like Jiang Xiao, attacks aimed at his pride could never hurt him. Even if someone pointed at his face and mocked him contemptuously, his mentality would not suffer the slightest setback.

To hurt Jiang Xiao, one had to attack his heart.

At that moment, Xia Yan's utterly disappointed gaze truly left Jiang Xiao at a loss.

"Take the Star Pearl. We're leaving. The smell of blood will attract a large number of White Ghosts." Xia Yan sheathed the long blade behind her, turned, and strode away, leaving Jiang Xiao with her back.

Jiang Xiao pursed his lips and struggled to stand. Feeling the bloodstains on his cheek and looking at his torn clothes, he quickly cast Blessing on himself.

Jiang Xiao hurried to the lonely head, only to see a pitch-black ghost face and a patch of snow already dyed red with blood.

This world was dark in tone. Against the dreamlike aurora, the black ghost face looked even more horrifying.

Jiang Xiao had never even killed a chicken before. How could he cut open the head of a "man-ape"?

Jiang Xiao took a dagger from the side pocket of his Marching Pack and extended his left hand. He first turned the White Ghost's head around and pressed its face into the ground.

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

Do you not make a sound when you walk?

How had Xia Yan managed to approach him without making a sound in this thick snow? Xia Yan shifted the blade behind her, crouched down, and drew a dagger from the side of her leg. She flourished it once in her hand, then pierced the White Ghost's skull from the back and expertly split it open.

Her fair fingers reached into the bloody, mangled skull and retrieved a Star Pearl.

Xia Yan tossed the Star Pearl directly to Jiang Xiao. She scooped up a handful of snow, rubbed it over her bloodstained palm, then stood and left.

Jiang Xiao sensed the earth-shattering change in Xia Yan's attitude. He secretly took a breath, grabbed the Star Pearl, and quickly followed her.

This was the first day the two of them had entered the Snowfield.

It was also the first White Ghost they had encountered.

Fifteen minutes later, when Xia Yan abruptly stopped, Jiang Xiao immediately dropped the Marching Pack from his back, drew his dagger, and warily looked around.

Xia Yan, however, slowly retreated and leaned against a large tree in almost the same posture, her arms crossed as she remained silent.

Jiang Xiao quickly searched his surroundings. Whether from tension or the cold, the hand gripping his dagger trembled slightly.

"Try to move the battlefield into an open area. Don't let them get close to any trees." Xia Yan finally spoke again.

Jiang Xiao nodded. He understood the reasoning. These human-ape-like Different Dimension Creatures were much stronger in the Deep Mountains and Old Forests, where their combat power would increase greatly.

However, they were already in a Snowy Forest. Even if they found an open space, it would be extremely small.

At last, Jiang Xiao found those scarlet eyes. His steps slowly shifted to the right.

Jiang Xiao could endure Xia Yan's mockery and curses, but he truly couldn't bear that disappointed look. Having put away his playful attitude, he was more serious than ever. He whistled toward the shadow behind the tree ahead. "Psst~"

The provocation seemed to work.

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

Close combat was imminent.

Just as the battle began, a piece of information suddenly appeared in Jiang Xiao's mind: "Basic Skill unlocked: Dagger Proficiency."

Thanks to Rexxxx for the ten-thousand-yuan tip. (),