Rusted Great Axe

Xiao Yang was now level eight. Defeating the Dungeon Guardian had given him a generous amount of experience. Leveling up was a good thing, but for some reason, the first thing he thought of was something rather strange.

Does that mean I won't get any experience from farming Prisoner Zombies anymore?

Not long after, Xiao Yang confirmed that was indeed the case.

Just like that, Xiao Yang was now the same level as the Prisoner Zombies that had once helped him level up so quickly. Killing them now would probably only give him single-digit experience. Perhaps this was one of the growing pains of getting stronger.

Xiao Yang had accumulated four Attribute Points, but he didn't intend to use them so soon. The Pot of Greed was already more than enough to push his attributes to their current limits. Saving those points would bring him greater benefits in the future.

The newly earned achievement hadn't given him any decent reward—or rather, the achievement itself was a kind of reward. Once he obtained it, Xiao Yang had automatically gained a slot for an attachable title. He could equip an achievement and gain all kinds of buffs from it.

Xiao Yang currently had two achievements.

First Supernatural Person and Elite Killer.

First Supernatural Person didn't provide any buffs. Equipping it as a title would probably look pretty impressive, but Elite Killer was another matter.

Elite Killer: If the enemy is at least five levels higher than the player, deal five points of True Damage that cannot be nullified or resisted!

Those five points of True Damage were quite appealing to Xiao Yang, so he chose to equip the Elite Killer achievement without hesitation.

Player: Screaming Emperor (Elite Killer)

Just like that, a title appeared after Xiao Yang's player name. It looked pretty embarrassing, so he chose to ignore it. In the end, it was all for the sake of combat strength.

Besides that, there was also the equipment dropped by the Dungeon Guardian.

There were three items in total: two materials and a weapon.

One of the materials was a purple Large Bone Club. Xiao Yang didn't really understand why a boss of the Dungeon Guardian's caliber would still drop a Large Bone Club, but it was an extra item Little Bone had picked up, so it was free. There was no point in making a fuss about it. Besides the Large Bone Club, there was also a Soul Remnant.

Soul Remnant

Quality: Excellent

Type: Rank-Up Material

Effect: Raises the level and rank of an undead creature

Description: A remnant left behind by a powerful undead being.

Xiao Yang used the Soul Remnant on Little Bone right away. After a hazy blue glow washed over it, Little Bone didn't seem to change much. The bones that made up its body just looked a little glossier and smoother.

Xiao Yang wasn't surprised. Little Bone was already Excellent rank, which was nearly the same as the Soul Remnant. It was normal for the upgrade to fail, but it wasn't a big deal. He could just give Little Bone a few more. After all, Xiao Yang was currently clearing the Skeleton Dungeon, so Soul Remnants shouldn't be in short supply.

Next came the main event: the weapon dropped by the Dungeon Guardian.

Rusted Great Axe

Quality: Epic

Type: Weapon, Heavy Weapon

Damage: 60

Requirement: 50 Strength to wield

Effect: While in a dungeon, ignores 60 Defense

Description: The passage of time buried the stories of the past and left everything covered in rust.

It was a brutally straightforward great axe, with high damage and a hefty amount of Defense bypass. It had just one requirement for wielding it—simple and powerful. Xiao Yang was thrilled when he saw it. In an instant, the Justice's Condolence in his hand didn't seem as appealing anymore. Unfortunately, he still didn't meet the requirements to wield it.

His attributes meant that even when Xiao Yang got his hands on Epic-grade weapons and equipment, it was hard for him to make use of them. The only exceptions were special items without requirements, like the Pot of Greed and the World Membrane Fragment.

That didn't stop him from putting the Rusted Great Axe away for later.

After he finished checking everything, there were only a few days left until the next Myriad Realms Trading session. Xiao Yang wasn't in a hurry to defeat the boss guarding the first level of the Skeleton Dungeon, the Skeleton Warrior. Instead, he cleared out the skeletons, Skeleton Warriors, and Prisoner Zombies that had gradually respawned.

Ever since Redbeard left, getting Spirit Coins hadn't been so easy for Xiao Yang. He had to set up a stall and sell things himself.

That meant he needed to be diligent about finding these suppliers and collecting their goods.

Of course, after opening up a route back, Xiao Yang was no longer living like a wild man. He now had a way out and a place where he could rest in peace. The change had left him feeling much better over the past few days. The only regret was that, because of the signal problem, Little Bone couldn't appear in this world.

I still need to make money!

There was only one day left until the Myriad Realms Trading session, so Xiao Yang set the day aside. He planned to take care of a few things, like getting a haircut in town, buying some clothes, and picking up something to eat.

When he came out of the dungeon, Xiao Yang realized his hair had grown long. It wasn't just long, either—it was as messy as a bird's nest. And it was pink!

That damned unstable Entangled Life Essence—how did it have this effect too? It had dyed Xiao Yang's hair pink, and there was no way he could stand that. He decided to go straight to the barber and get a buzz cut.

Early that morning, Xiao Yang climbed out of the Skeleton Dungeon, opened the front door of the house, and pushed out an old electric tricycle. He tried to start it. It worked, but the battery was nearly dead and needed to charge for a while.

While he waited, Xiao Yang stretched beneath the warm sun. Sunlight like this was a rare treasure in the dungeon!

Just then, a young woman came walking toward him with something in her hands.

She was Xiao Yang's unfamiliar childhood sweetheart.

From a distance, Lin Yingzhen spotted Xiao Yang and felt inexplicably awkward. Perhaps it was because of how coldly he had treated her a few days earlier.

Of course, Xiao Yang noticed Lin Yingzhen too, along with the things she was carrying.

They were a few links of Chinese sausage, and they immediately caught Xiao Yang's eye.

It was already December, after all—the season for making Chinese sausage. Xiao Yang wanted some.

After thinking it over, he realized he shouldn't be so cold, so he spoke to Lin Yingzhen first.

"Uh..."

But as soon as he spoke, he realized he was in an awkward situation: he seemed to have forgotten her name.

They stared at each other in silence for a moment. Xiao Yang couldn't bring himself to say her name, and Lin Yingzhen grew exasperated.

"'Uh' what? I'm Lin Yingzhen! I still remember your name!"

All right, that really was a bit rude.