Obtaining a Special Skill Book: Ghost Stone Hell!

"Smoked meat will need a little time before it's ready to eat."

"Let's open a Treasure Chest first."

Xu Fan muttered to himself as he took out the Treasure Chest he had obtained after killing the Nugel Worm King.

With a "click," Xu Fan opened the Treasure Chest with one hand.

A dazzling white light burst from inside the chest.

It startled the Female Snow Wolf.

"Awwooo!"

The Female Snow Wolf jumped backward, lowered its body, and growled at the Treasure Chest.

It couldn't make sense of this sudden turn of events.

"Hahaha, you're a D-Rank Beast. How can you be so timid?" Xu Fan remarked casually when he saw this.

The next second.

The Mysterious Voice rang in his ear.

[Congratulations to Yan Kingdom contestant Xu Fan for obtaining a special Skill Book from a C-grade Treasure Chest: Ghost Stone Hell!]

[Skill description: Activate by grabbing a target. Once you hit an enemy, you can harden your body into stone, encasing and restraining them!]

[Note: You can only restrain one enemy at a time!]

Hearing this, Xu Fan blinked.

He couldn't help wondering if he'd heard something wrong.

The Wrist Strength Enhancement reward alone had been enough to astonish people.

He hadn't expected a Skill Book to appear this time!

And judging by the skill description, it could harden his body into stone.

That meant changing the structure of his body, didn't it?

A genuine...

supernatural power!

Still, Xu Fan was merely surprised.

He wasn't delighted.

Because this skill was practically useless to him.

It even seemed a little pointless.

However...

Xu Fan's Live Stream Room was in an uproar.

Because Xu Fan had previously obtained Wrist Strength Enhancement from a Treasure Chest, people in Yan Kingdom and abroad were eager to find out what kind of rewards could be found in a C-grade Treasure Chest.

When they saw Xu Fan resolve to open it,

every viewer online held their breath and stared intently at the chest.

Many of them even frantically posted to their social media feeds.

[Live Stream Room xxxxx! Our contestant Xu Fan is about to open a C-grade Treasure Chest. Hurry and come witness a miracle!]

In no time, countless people stopped working, pulled out their phones, and gathered in front of their screens.

Soon, Xu Fan opened the C-grade Treasure Chest.

The announcement appeared in every contestant's Live Stream Room.

When people read the announcement,

their pupils slowly widened.

Their mouths fell open in an "O."

Even though they had prepared themselves, they still hadn't expected this.

What had contestant Xu Fan obtained?

A Skill Book!

Ghost Stone Hell!

And judging by the skill description,

this was beyond anything science could explain.

It was a genuine supernatural power!

Every viewer in Yan Kingdom was incredibly excited in that moment!

After all, their fortunes were bound to Xu Fan's.

The stronger contestant Xu Fan became, the safer they would feel!

Most importantly...

If Wrist Strength Enhancement had merely given contestant Xu Fan an edge over the others,

then...

this Skill Book

had left everyone else far, far behind!

It wasn't even an exaggeration to say that this Forbidden Land reward had completely upended their understanding of the world.

After all, there were no superpowers on Blue Star.

"My goodness, I can't believe the Forbidden Land has something like this. It's incredible."

"After learning this skill, does that mean contestant Xu Fan is Superman?"

"Superman? I think contestant Xu Fan is already Superman. This skill just makes him even more formidable."

"Hahaha, contestants from other countries can see the announcement too, right? I bet they're green with envy!"

"Forget the contestants. I'm already green with envy!"

"If only the rewards contestant Xu Fan gets could appear in the real world too."

Yan Kingdom was in an uproar.

The Live Stream Room's host, Xiao Ying, and the guests were so shocked they couldn't speak.

Especially Director Zhang.

He had always been a staunch materialist.

He had assumed the rewards from Treasure Chests would be limited to things like enhanced physical abilities and supplies.

He never expected...

a reward like this!

It completely shattered his worldview!

"Holy crap..."

Even Xiao Ying, the beautiful host who usually took great care with her image, couldn't hold back her excitement and swore.

Fortunately, Xiao Ying quickly came to her senses and covered it with a cough.

She tried to suppress her excitement.

"I never imagined contestant Xu Fan would obtain such an astonishing reward."

"And judging by the skill description, contestant Xu Fan can make his body as hard as rock. It's both an offensive and defensive ability."

Good heavens.

Xiao Ying couldn't help thinking, Good heavens.

"Not only that."

Director Zhang took a deep breath and began explaining his thoughts.

Although he was now in his seventies or eighties, he had a young outlook and was often quicker to accept new things than some young people.

Even though his long-held worldview had been overturned,

when he thought about it carefully, this

wasn't necessarily a bad thing for all of humanity.

"This reward contestant Xu Fan received is only the beginning."

"Based on what we've seen so far, D-Rank Chests contain physical enhancements, while C-grade Treasure Chests contain Skill Books."

"What about the ranks above them? B-Rank Chests, A-Rank Chests... what kind of rewards will those contain?"

"Most importantly, now that the Forbidden Land's rewards involve supernatural powers..."

"Then..."

"Could the creatures in the Forbidden Land also possess special abilities?"

"Perhaps Treasure Chest rewards can't manifest in the real world, but the Creature Remains of the Wolf Ancestor have appeared within Yan Kingdom!"

His words caused an uproar!

The Wolf Ancestor's remains were suddenly shrouded in mystery!

"Now that you mention it, Xu Fan really has done us a great service," Xiao Ying said excitedly.

She herself loved Yan Kingdom.

This beautiful, bountiful land.

The increasingly severe problem of resource shortages

had sometimes made her feel pessimistic.

But now, it seemed...

the appearance of the mysterious Forbidden Land

was nothing short of a massive transformation.

"That's right," Warrior King Chen chimed in. "The arrival of the mysterious Forbidden Land surpasses every transformation in human history."

"I even have a feeling that a true new era has quietly begun!"

"Everything the contestants in the Forbidden Land do..."

"will affect the fate of the hundreds of billions of people on Blue Star!"

What would it look like if a mysterious power, the kind found only in novels, truly descended upon the real world?

It was impossible to imagine.

However...

some people couldn't help wondering:

Why had this mysterious Forbidden Land suddenly appeared?

And why was the government's response so much calmer than expected?

Especially the live broadcasts, which were being shown to everyone on Blue Star.

Just how...

were they being run?