Throwing Shit Style, Mastered

After dealing with the guard at the entrance, Su Li took his loyal accessory deeper into the tomb.

Before he had gone far, another figure appeared ahead.

It was a skeleton several sizes larger than the previous one. With its back to Su Li, it stood in the middle of the passage, performing an extremely bizarre motion.

One step left, one step right, spin in a circle, pause for a second, then one step left again...

"That posture..." The Soul Fire in Su Li's eye sockets flickered.

"Good lord, was it doing a dance? Or had the terrain glitched it into spasming in place?"

Driven by some indescribable impulse, Su Li crept over, followed behind the skeleton, and then...

One step left, one step right, spin in a circle.

The large skeleton ahead seemed to notice the movement behind it and mechanically turned its head.

Its hollow eye sockets stared at Su Li, who was also dancing, then glanced at the Rotten Finger Bug scratching the back of its hand with a finger that may or may not have been its middle finger.

Assessment: Bones. Assessment passed.

The large skeleton casually turned its head back and continued its spasmodic dance steps.

"Sure enough, all skeletons under heaven are family." Su Li secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but then immediately came to his senses.

"No, wait! I'm here to grind levels and gain experience, not join some plaza-dancing troupe!"

Looking at the big guy who had completely exposed his back to him, Su Li's gaze sharpened.

"Bold demon, how dare you bewitch me with dancing! Take this!"

Using the same trick again, his sword traced an arc through the darkness and slammed heavily into the large skeleton's spine.

"Clang!!" This time, instead of a crisp crack of bone, there came a dull sound like metal striking metal.

The enormous recoil traveled through the hilt, making both of Su Li's arm bones tremble as though they were about to fall apart.

"WTF, it didn't break?!" Su Li was horrified.

The large skeleton did not collapse into a pile like the previous one. It merely staggered from the massive impact.

Then it abruptly turned around, and the ghostly blue flames in its eye sockets instantly turned red!

"Roar—!!"

The large skeleton seemed to let out a roar as it brought its heavy battle axe down toward Su Li's skull.

If that axe landed cleanly, Su Li would die on the spot.

"Watch me roll!!" At that critical moment, Su Li's seven points of Agility came through.

He instinctively performed an extremely standard roll, narrowly avoiding the axe blade.

"Boom!"

The battle axe smashed into the ground, sending broken stones flying.

"So fierce?! This thing definitely isn't an ordinary mob!"

Su Li did not dare take it head-on and quickly opened the distance, but he discovered that this Red-Eyed Skeleton was no slouch in speed either. It yanked out its battle axe and moved to pursue him.

A frontal clash was definitely impossible. His little frame could not take a second hit.

"No choice. I can only call for backup!"

Su Li pointed behind him and issued his first tactical command in this world:

"Pipi Finger, get it! Lock down its legs!"

Upon receiving the order, the Rotten Finger Bug immediately darted forward.

Just as the Red-Eyed Skeleton raised its axe to launch another attack, Pipi Finger's thick fingers tightly wrapped around both of its leg bones and yanked hard in opposite directions!

"Crack!" The Red-Eyed Skeleton lost its balance and lurched sideways.

"Perfect!" This was the opening Su Li had been waiting for.

Instead of retreating, he charged forward. The Corrupted Iron Sword in his hand struck like a venomous snake, targeting the skeleton's joints.

"I slash! I stab! I strike upward!"

"Clang clang clang clang!" Sparks flew everywhere.

Su Li frantically unleashed attacks around the mobility-restricted skeleton. Though each strike did little damage, he made up for it with sheer speed.

Finally, after enduring more than a dozen of Su Li's strikes...

"Die for me—!!"

Seizing the opportunity, Su Li stepped on Pipi Finger's back and used it as a springboard. His iron sword precisely pierced the large skeleton's cracked cervical vertebra.

"Crack!" Its skull rolled away, and the skeleton monster turned into a pile of Dry Bones.

[You killed Lv5 Elite Monster · Berserk Skeleton]

[Experience gained +30 (35/400)]

[Strength +1 (7 → 8)]

[Basic Swordsmanship proficiency +20]

"Phew... phew..." Su Li leaned on his sword. Though he no longer needed to breathe, the mental exhaustion was very real.

"No wonder it was so tough. It was a Lv5 Elite Monster! I nearly capsized."

He stepped forward and began the most enjoyable part: looting the corpse.

At the spot where the extinguished Soul Fire had been, something had not dispersed. Instead, it had condensed into a grayish-white crystal the size of a fingernail.

Su Li stepped forward and picked it up.

[Item obtained: Small Soul Stone]

[Description: A crystallization of an undead creature's power. Though incomplete, it still has value.]

At the same time, the [Inventory] icon in the lower-right corner of his vision finally unlocked.

With a thought from Su Li, the Soul Stone in his hand instantly vanished and appeared in a system slot.

There was also a small line of text below it: [System buyback price: 100 Copper Coin].

"Oh, oh, oh! I finally have money now!"

Overjoyed, Su Li looked at the battered two-handed battle axe on the ground.

[Inferior Two-Handed Battle Axe (Broken)]

[Buyback price: 10 Copper Coin]

"Even a mosquito leg is still meat. Recycle it!"

Su Li returned to the previous area and searched it thoroughly. The already empty tomb chamber was cleaned out completely by Su Li. Once he confirmed that nothing had been missed, he continued onward with Pipi Finger.

Before long, a fork in the road appeared ahead.

Following some mysterious intuition, Su Li chose the passage on the left.

At the end of the passage stood an ancient stone door carved with exquisite patterns.

At the center of the stone door was a circular Mechanism Lock Plate engraved with three animals: a bear, an owl, and a moth. In the very center was a uniquely shaped groove.

"..."

"This door... why does it look so familiar?"

"Isn't this that puzzle supposedly no one in All-Sky Province could solve, even though the answer was printed right on the back of the Golden Dragon Claw?!"

As an old Zhua Genbao veteran, Su Li could recite the order of those three animals even with his eyes closed.

But the problem was...

"I don't have the Golden Dragon Claw right now!"

Su Li scratched his skull and tried prying at the groove with a finger, but it did not budge.

"Looks like I need an item. Since the left side has the door, the key is probably on the right. Let's go take a look."

Su Li decisively turned around and headed into the passage on the right.

Sure enough, the right side led to a dead-end tomb chamber.

In the very center of the chamber sat a wooden treasure chest all by itself.

"A treasure chest ahead!" Su Li's eyes lit up. Just as he was about to rush over, his steps abruptly halted.

Years of being tormented by shady game design told him that whenever a treasure chest sat alone in the middle of the road with no monsters around...

"It's fucking ninety-nine percent a mimic!" Su Li took two steps back and waved his hand in an utterly cowardly manner.

"Pipi Finger, get it! Go open it!"

Pipi Finger was not very intelligent, but it was obedient.

It crawled over to the chest and fiddled with it using several fingers for quite a while. However, no mechanism was triggered, and it did not suddenly grow teeth and swallow Pipi Finger. It simply could not be opened because there was no keyhole.

"Not a mimic?" Only then did Su Li cautiously step forward and poke the lock with his sword tip.

"Click." The sharpness of the Corrupted Iron Sword directly cut through the rotten padlock.

The treasure chest slowly opened.

[Obtained: Silver Coin x100]

[Obtained: Gold Coin x1]

(Note: 1 Gold Coin = 100 Silver Coin = 1000 Copper Coin)

"My money!!!" Su Li cradled the Gold Coin and nearly wanted to kiss it.

Beneath the Gold Coin were several cracked clay pots.

[Obtained: Cracked Pot x5]

[Description: A magical container capable of self-repair. Though broken, it can still be used as a throwable vessel for all kinds of dangerous contents.]

When he saw them, Su Li's eyes shone even brighter than when he saw the Gold Coin.

"Cracked Pots?! These are good stuff!"

An incredibly bold plan instantly took shape in his mind.

"Just what I needed. With pots, plus the Corruption Pool, could I perhaps..."

After searching again, Su Li found no Golden Dragon Claw. Left with no choice, he headed back.

After a while, Su Li returned to the Corrupted Cave.

Looking at the Corruption Pool bubbling with red foam before him, he opened the [Crafting] panel.

According to Old Man Ring recipes, crafting a Corruption Pot required an Aeonian Butterfly, a mushroom, and a Chameleon Fallen Leaf Flower.

"Where am I supposed to find those out here in the wilderness?"

Su Li looked at the empty pot in his hand and hardened his resolve.

"Since I don't have refined materials, I'll use some pure, all-natural, additive-free ingredients!"

He crouched down, held a Cracked Pot to the thick Scarlet Rot Primordial Liquid in the pool, and forcefully filled it up!

Glug glug... Dark red venom filled the clay pot, and Su Li casually grabbed a handful of Rotten Moss beside it to seal the opening.

[Attempting independent synthesis...]

[Assessing...]

[Materials: Scarlet Rot Primordial Liquid + Cracked Pot + Rotten Moss]

[Congratulations! Successfully crafted item: Inferior Corrupted Pot]

[Blueprint obtained: Inferior Corrupted Pot]

[Inferior Corrupted Pot]

[Effect: Explodes upon being thrown, causing Scarlet Rot contamination in a small area. It may not be as powerful as the genuine version, but it wins through sheer quantity.]

Looking at the ominous jar in his hand, Su Li let out the sinister cackle only a great villain could make.

"It worked! From today onward, I am the founding father of Throwing Shit Style on the Aiseland Continent!"

Just then, another system notification popped up.

[Congratulations! You are the first player on the entire server to successfully independently develop and craft an item!]

[In recognition of your creativity, the system will issue you a special reward...]