Entry Promotion, Bond

"Wait!"

Shen Qing let out a sharp shout to interrupt Xie Chong, his gaze locked firmly onto the Karma Cutting Value displayed before him.

"57+5+10, still thirty short. I hope the standard logic holds."

A ruthless glint flashed in his eyes as he clumsily rolled to dodge the Walking Corpse's attack, a "swish" sounding as a gash was torn into his shoulder.

Ignoring the pain radiating from his shoulder, Shen Qing yelled, "Help me dig out the other coffins!"

"?"

Xie Chong was instantly bewildered, staring at Shen Qing with wide eyes. One wasn't enough? Was he trying to get them killed even faster?

"If you don't want to die, trust me!"

Shen Qing roared, his voice laced with a desperate, all-or-nothing resolve.

He refused to believe that every single one of these Walking Corpses would be stronger than the last. Since they were going to die anyway, he might as well gamble; there was no difference between facing one or a whole group.

Before he could finish his sentence, a moment of carelessness led to the Walking Corpse grazing him, sending him flying backward to slam heavily into a cement mixer, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

He landed unsteadily, dropping to one knee.

Shen Qing wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, gasping for air. He knew clearly that if he took two more hits like that, he would truly die here.

"Damn it."

Xie Chong cursed in his anxiety, but he had no time to think. He pressed his hands to the ground, manipulating the soil to churn and smash into a newly unearthed coffin.

The coffin shattered into pieces, but inside, there was nothing but a foul-smelling black sludge.

"Empty?"

He paused for a second before continuing to manipulate the soil to churn out another coffin and smashing it.

Three in a row were empty, but when the fourth coffin was smashed, a similarly rotten corpse suddenly opened its eyes and lunged at him.

Xie Chong reacted instinctively, easily swatting the Walking Corpse away, sending it rolling across the ground several times before it came to a stop.

"F-rank?"

He turned his head and shouted at Shen Qing, "And then what?"

Shen Qing glanced over, a flash of joy in his eyes. As expected, it was impossible for all these Walking Corpses to be that powerful.

"Not enough, keep going! And—don't finish them off!"

The last coffin was smashed open, and two Walking Corpses began chasing Xie Chong.

"Help me pin it down for a second!"

Shen Qing led the ferocious Walking Corpse toward Xie Chong, using the Swallow in Flight ability to instantly widen the distance before sprinting toward the other two Walking Corpses.

"I can't hold out for more than a few seconds!"

Seeing this, Xie Chong had no choice but to grit his teeth and step up. Several Treasure Talismans flew out, instantly transforming into a cage to trap the Walking Corpse.

The Walking Corpse roared, shattering the cage with a single punch, but just as it was about to break free, a new cage formed.

By now, only a few seconds had passed, and Shen Qing had already grabbed the heads of the two Ninth-Grade Walking Corpses. With a "bang," he slammed the two highly decomposed heads together with all his might.

Black blood and bone fragments splattered everywhere.

72+5+10+5+10

As the Karma Cutting Value increased, the entry for Stone Lock Strength finally changed.

[Entry]: Stone Lock Strength (White · Mortal+)

"Got it!"

Shen Qing felt a surge of excitement. As his mind stirred, the Karma Cutting Value dropped by one hundred.

[Stone Lock Strength (White · Mortal) -> Burden of a Thousand Catties (Green · Strange Tale)]

[Burden of a Thousand Catties: A thousand catties on your back, walking as if unburdened. Strength +50%, can carry heavy objects without feeling encumbered, stamina greatly increased, arm strength becomes thick and powerful. Hint: Bond achieved...]

An indescribable sensation welled up from within his body.

Shen Qing had no time to study the entry. Scanning with his peripheral vision, he saw the trapped Walking Corpse swing its arms, causing the stone wall to collapse instantly.

A thirty-centimeter-wide rock smashed into Xie Chong, sending him tumbling and grimacing in pain.

"Damn it, that hurts like hell!"

As Xie Chong struggled to get up, the Walking Corpse lunged at him, seemingly intent on finishing off this nuisance first.

"I'm done for!"

He widened his eyes, his heart hammering against his ribs as if it were about to burst out of his chest.

At the critical moment, a loud "bang!" echoed out. A figure appeared with fierce momentum—Shen Qing stood before him, colliding head-on with the Walking Corpse.

A powerful gust of wind erupted from the center of the man and the corpse, blowing away the surrounding debris.

But in an instant, Shen Qing still couldn't fully withstand the creature's power and was sent flying backward again. Fortunately, this time he used the momentum to glide through the air, suffering no significant injuries.

Xie Chong also took the opportunity to roll away, putting some distance between them.

"Still not enough."

After landing, Shen Qing's expression tightened as he flexed his numb arm.

The gap between him and the Walking Corpse was simply too vast; even with his innate abilities enhanced, it still wasn't enough. However, there was still a chance.

[Name]: Shen Qing
[Cultivation]: Ninth Grade Late Stage (Body Tempering)
[Traits]: Burden of a Thousand Catties (Green), Soul Stabilization (Green), Spirit-Absorbing Root (Green), Black Armor (Green), Archery: Yang Youji (White), Cinnabar Blood (Green)
[Karma Cutting Value]: 2
[Bond Composition]: [Black Armor] + [Burden of a Thousand Catties] = [Weight as Lightness (Green/Legendary)]
[Weight as Lightness: With Black Armor equipped, a thousand catties rest upon the arms. When clad in armor, strength receives a temporary boost based on the weight of the armor, up to a maximum of 1.5 times, though movement will be affected by the weight.
The heavier the armor, the greater the strength; the greater the strength, the lighter the armor feels.
Ancient generals could wear heavy armor without altering their stride, carrying a thousand catties without losing their might. By combining the two, one uses the armor to cultivate strength, and strength to lighten the armor.]

"Xie Chong, cover me in a layer of Stone Armor, the heavier the better!"

Xie Chong, who had just scrambled to his feet, looked bewildered, but he didn't ask questions and immediately complied.

"Fossil to Weapon!"

Exhausting the vast majority of the power within his body, Xie Chong caused the earth to churn, creeping up Shen Qing's legs.

A suit of stone armor weighing over a hundred kilograms appeared on Shen Qing's body.

"Good!"

His body sank abruptly. Shen Qing could feel a strength boost of approximately 1.3 times, which was already his limit.

Any heavier and he wouldn't be able to bear it; even now, his movements were somewhat sluggish.

"Boom!"

Facing the lunging Walking Corpse, man and corpse collided fists once more like a muffled thunderclap. The Walking Corpse retreated two steps, while Shen Qing was pushed back five.

Although he was still at a disadvantage, he could finally hold his own.

In particular, when the Walking Corpse collided with Shen Qing's blood-stained fist, the rotting flesh on its hand immediately hissed with white smoke, though the creature felt no pain and was barely affected.

"The blood is still effective."

When the Walking Corpse lunged again, Shen Qing didn't hesitate; he bit the tip of his tongue and spat out a mouthful of essence blood, the mist spraying across its face.

Though the Walking Corpse couldn't feel pain, the essence blood blinded its murky eyes instantly.

It went berserk, flailing its arms wildly.

Taking advantage of this opening, Shen Qing finally gained a slight edge, his blood-stained fists landing repeatedly on the Walking Corpse.

However, the Stone Armor would shatter, and even as it regenerated, Shen Qing would sustain injuries during the gaps when his movement was hindered.

Another mouthful of blood sprayed out, causing white smoke to rise continuously from the Walking Corpse, its rotting flesh becoming pitted and scarred.

It seemed to be a contest of who could hold out longer.

"Get out of the way!"

Suddenly, a rumbling sound echoed through the air.

"Holy crap!"

Shen Qing glanced out of the corner of his eye to see that Xie Chong had somehow managed to start the cement mixer, which was now barreling toward them.

He scrambled to dodge out of the way.

Although most of the cement had already leaked from the drum and the truck wasn't moving very fast, it still carried the force of dozens of tons.

The Walking Corpse, pinned down by Shen Qing, couldn't dodge in time and was sent flying like a cannonball, crashing into a pile of bricks and becoming buried under the rubble.