The northern side of the Ancient Battlefield in the Emperor's Tomb Mountain Range.
"One, two, three... Petrification."
At Zhou Xiao's call, a layer of black material quickly coated his body. The Blood Corpse's claws struck his shoulder just then, making him sink under the blow but causing no real damage.
Seizing the gap in the Blood Corpse's attack, Zhou Xiao promptly deactivated Petrification and dodged its snapping jaws at close range. He twisted his hips to build momentum, then slammed a heavy punch into the Blood Corpse's neck.
"Crack!"
The sharp sound of breaking bones rang out, and the Blood Corpse crashed to the ground.
"I did it!"
The Blood Corpse wasn't completely dead yet, but its broken neck had left the corrosive core in its brain unable to control its lower body. Zhou Xiao immediately seized the opportunity and unleashed a flurry of punches at its head.
Several minutes later, Zhou Xiao stopped, panting as he slumped onto the ground.
The fallen Blood Corpse's flesh and blood energy was extracted, turning into black mist that merged with his body.
[Challenger Notice: Killed evil entity Blood Corpse. Received 118 Evolution Points and 23 points of Sacrificial Power.]
Half a day earlier, while browsing the forums, he'd come across a strategy post that mentioned a technique unique to the Stone Gargoyle Monster Soul: attack-canceling.
The video showed the battle from another player's perspective, filmed by the post's author.
In it, a player who'd chosen the Stone Gargoyle's initial form took advantage of the ability to activate and deactivate its skill at will, attacking during gaps in the Blood Corpse's strikes and successfully killing an enemy four levels higher.
The video had shocked Zhou Xiao.
He'd chosen the Stone Gargoyle too, but compared to the player in the video, they