Shadowstep

Sitting in the tent, Xu Jiang was deeply conflicted over the extra skill points he had gained after leveling up.

"Do either of you need skill points to level up your skills?"

Qianji replied, "Reporting to the General, training brings me joy. If I do not train, my life as a mech loses its meaning. I hope to improve through training and do not need skill points."

Desert Eagle said, "Sigh~~ I'm too useless. I've only comprehended one skill so far. How could I have the nerve to waste the General's skill points?"

Alright, both of his great generals had refused his goodwill.

But he could not use them himself either!

His talent could not be upgraded, and his only skill was Basic Repair, which did not seem very useful for the time being. He might as well save the points for now.

He had heard that Spirit Domain rewards had a chance of including Skill Stones. Hopefully, he could obtain a powerful skill and use the skill points then.

Having made his plans, Xu Jiang closed the manual, pulled up his blanket, and fell asleep peacefully.

There was probably no one but Xu Jiang who treated the Spirit Domain like a vacation. Tonight, no one in the Black White Forest could sleep peacefully.

"Quick! Take all the parts apart and assemble them. Our mission is urgent, so nobody sleeps tonight."

"Understood. I'll keep watch around the area. The rest of you, chop some wood for backup."

"Let me finish this bite of biscuit. I'll be done soon."

Busy voices rose and fell in front of a cave. Their leader was the student of Old Man Mo, the old man who had argued with Grandpa Lei.

More than a dozen people had already gathered outside the cave. There were Elementalists, Paladins, Swordsmen, and Shadow Dancers. The team's composition was exceptionally complete.

Several Mech Warriors followed behind them, though they were not combat classes. Instead, they used their powerful carrying capacity to help transport supplies.

Parts were taken one after another from mechanical backpacks and assembled on the ground. Everyone moved with great proficiency, as though they had rehearsed it many times beforehand.

"Young Master Pang, the machinery has begun installation, and our people are gathering here as well. We will definitely make it in time," a young woman holding a spellbook reported to a young man.

Pang Shi was a Swordsman. From the moment he was born, he had possessed an S-rank talent: Wealthy.

Whenever someone entered a Spirit Domain for the first time, achieving an S-rank rating would grant additional skill points on top of the normal rewards.

An S-rank reward gave one point, while an SS-rank reward gave two. That was precious power that money could not buy.

Thus, the Pang Family had gathered vast manpower and resources, hired the most professional instructors, and devised the most perfect plan, all to help Pang Shi obtain the highest rating.

"This time, we will definitely succeed." Pang Shi watched everything proceed in orderly fashion and clenched his fist with confidence.

As dawn broke, the blazing white sun once again hung in the sky, baking the scorched black earth.

Xu Jiang crawled out of his little tent, still bleary-eyed. Seeing the dozen or so trees around him that had been broken, he could not help rolling his eyes.

To be honest, he had not slept well last night.

He was already sleeping in a terrifying forest, so his rest had not been very peaceful. Then there had been constant sounds of "Bang! Bang! Bang!" nearby. Who could stand that?

Qianji had been kicking trees all night and had already snapped more than a dozen of them.

"When I have money someday, I'm definitely buying a villa with a training ground and installing the most advanced soundproofing materials."

After grumbling, Xu Jiang got up and stretched, extinguished the fire, merged with Qianji once more, and began a new day's journey south.

The second day's journey was not as simple as he had imagined.

Spirit Domain ratings rose gradually. A C-rank evaluation was easy, but anything above B-rank required defeating stronger monsters, such as the sturdy Minotaur standing before Xu Jiang.

It stood over two meters tall, wearing a grass skirt and exposing its solid chest muscles. With an axe in its hand, it looked immensely imposing.

Three Ya Ya People stood around it. The four monsters sat in a circle on the ground, seemingly studying a metal box.

There were cries of "ya ya" on one side and roars of "moo moo~" on the other. Xu Jiang truly had no idea how they communicated.

"Three small ones and one big one. Can we handle them?" Xu Jiang assessed both sides' combat strength and asked Qianji for her opinion.

"The enemy is in the open while we are concealed. I believe it is worth trying. Go, General."

Xu Jiang nodded. He thought they could give it a try as well, and the source of his confidence was the small cliff-like slope not far away.

He quietly circled around, crouched at the edge of the cliff, and aimed his gun at the distant Ya Ya People.

"We'll kill the three small ones first, then deal with the big one."

"Understood, General!"

With the plan arranged, Xu Jiang pulled the trigger.

Bang!

The first shot startled the four monsters in the distance.

No, there were only three now. Xu Jiang had carefully aimed his first shot, and the bullet hit one of them with precision, killing it instantly with a headshot.

"Moo!!!"

Seeing its companion die, the Minotaur's eyes turned red with rage. It let out a furious roar and charged over with its axe.

Perhaps because their big brother had taken the lead, the remaining two Ya Ya People actually gave up their brainless pondering and followed it into the charge, filled with fighting spirit.

Xu Jiang hesitated no longer. His finger repeatedly squeezed the trigger, sending bullets flying wildly.

Moving targets were harder to hit.

Fortunately, he had Trajectory Correction. A burst of bullets proved fairly effective, and the Ya Ya People all fell before reaching him.

The final Minotaur was somewhat troublesome. It was strong and incredibly fast, but fortunately, Xu Jiang was rather cunning and had secured his position in advance.

The broken slope where he stood was nearly four meters high. That bull was not getting up here.

It could only scratch its head in frustration below and take a detour up the gentlest slope, giving Xu Jiang time to reload.

After inserting a fresh magazine, Xu Jiang unleashed a barrage of shots at the Minotaur, but the result made his heart sink.

Even with Trajectory Correction, he had only landed five of seven shots on the rapidly moving target, and none had struck a fatal weak point.

The bloody holes in its body failed to bring down the Minotaur. Instead, it seemed to fly into an even greater rage, charging forward with bloodshot eyes.

"So tanky!" Xu Jiang sensed trouble.

As he frantically began changing magazines, he nervously judged the timing. If the enemy truly got close, his only offensive skill left would be Knee Strike.

He could only hope the force of Knee Strike could withstand the Minotaur's charge. Otherwise, he would really be knocked off the slope.

At that critical moment, Qianji shone once again.

"The enemy is strong while we are weak. We must not confront it head-on."

Congratulations. Admiral Qianji had a flash of insight, grasped the essence of military strategy, and comprehended the skill: Shadowstep Lv1

Shadowstep Lv1: Leaves a shadow in place while the user enters a state of invisibility and high-speed movement for 1 second. Attacking or using a skill reveals the user. Cooldown: 5 minutes.