《Awakening The Weakest Talent: I Level Up Alone》 Chapter 1 Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation Chapter 1 Awakening Talent and the Path of Evolution ¡°I¡¯m going to awaken soon. I¡¯m so excited!!¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to being able to awaken an awesome talent. If that¡¯s the case, I will be part of the upper class!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t expect much. Just give me a B-grade talent and that will do!¡± ¡°That¡¯s still being greedy. My demand isn¡¯t high, just a D-grade talent will do¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± The students were all discussing it excitedly in senior high Class Two at Riverdale City High School. Among the students, there were feelings of excitement, fear, anticipation, and worry. The Awakening Point at the age of eighteen would definitely be the most crucial event in their lives. Awakening a high-level talent would mean that the person was destined to be an extraordinary person in their lifetime. However, if one were to awaken a low-level talent, that person would be destined to be part of the lower class, getting menial jobs like cleaning the streets. Without a doubt, the fate of these students would be decided today. That was why some of them were afraid. Once the talent they awakened was terrible, they would be useless for life. Everyone wants to be someone extraordinary. They all wanted nothing more than to be someone at the top of society, but the reality was often cruel¡­ Suddenly, the class teacher walked in and stood in front of the podium. He looked at everyone with a solemn expression. ¡°Today is the most important day for all of you!¡± ¡°This is a world where talent determines everything. Everyone¡¯s strength comes from their talent!¡± ¡°There are ten levels to grade a talent. The lowest and most common talent is unrated.¡± ¡°Then there is the division from F level to SSS level.¡± When the students heard this, their expressions hardened. They started to fear what would happen if they were to awaken an unrated talent. What would they do in the future then? ¡°An unrated talent is the lowest level of talent. Those who awaken to this talent level are no different from ordinary people. In the future, they can only do some of the most ordinary jobs.¡± ¡°Because of the large number of unrated talents, F, E, and D-level talents are considered medium-level talents.¡± ¡°The use of medium-level talents is usually in the life skills professions, doing logistics and support work.¡± ¡°C, B, and A-level talent; these three are the high-level talent.¡± Following that, the teacher¡¯s tone became excited. ¡°Those who can awaken high-level talent will be the elites of the future society, the pillars of the country!¡± ¡°In society, such people can obtain endless wealth!¡± These words aroused the curiosity of the students. They all began to look forward to being the person who would awaken a high-level talent. ¡°Finally, there¡¯s the talent from S to SSS. This kind of person is one in a million. Once they appear, they will definitely be the country and society¡¯s treasure!¡± ¡°Such a genius will definitely be supported with countless resources, granting them a fast track to the very top of society!¡± The students present were all excited. Some began fantasizing about them awakening their SSS grade talent, while others imagined the scene of them being at the top of society. At this moment, Lu Yu raised his right hand. The form teacher looked over and said with a smile, ¡°Student Lu Yu, if you have any questions, just ask.¡± As one of the more gifted students in the class, Lu Yu had always been favored by the homeroom teacher. Lu Yu stood up and asked, ¡°Teacher, is there any possibility of evolution to a person¡¯s talent after it awakens? If a person¡¯s original talent is inferior, does it really mean that he will be useless for the rest of his life?¡± This question instantly attracted the interest of the entire class. The homeroom teacher nodded slightly, ¡°A good question. There is indeed a possibility of an evolution of a person¡¯s talent. However, it does not evolve from F to E-level.¡± ¡°Currently, there are about ten known evolution paths, such as great strength, extreme speed, ice, fire, and so on¡­¡± ¡°This path developed by our predecessors was at the cost of their own lives, and it cannot be tread lightly. Otherwise, the consequences will be severe.¡± ¡°Not only that, if you want to evolve, you will need the corresponding materials for it. You will need to refine the materials into medicine and consume them before completing your evolution.¡± ¡°However, these materials are either very precious or grown in dangerous areas. It is extremely difficult to obtain them.¡± The students¡¯ faces turned grim when they heard the warning. They initially thought that if their talent was too poor, they would still have a chance to remedy it. But now, it seems that this path was a difficult one. Then, the class teacher continued with a grave expression. ¡°Finding the materials is only the beginning!¡± ¡°The refining process is the most crucial part. If you can¡¯t control the dosage and formula accurately, taking it may cripple you for life and damage your talent!¡± The students gasped in shock when they heard the consequences. The ramification was even worse than awakening an unrated talent! The homeroom teacher glanced at the students and said, ¡°I know you all have the will to become stronger.¡± ¡°But you have to do everything within your ability. If you awaken an unrated talent, then accept your fate. If you recklessly choose to evolve, I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll destroy yourself and ruin your family.¡± The homeroom teacher¡¯s words were engraved in everyone¡¯s hearts. However, the homeroom teacher knew that there were people who refused to admit their defeat every year. These people were always determined to change their own fate. In the end, each of them ended worse than the last. At that moment, Lu Yu sat down. He was very calm for someone that was about to undergo an awakening. He was not from this world. He transmigrated here. Therefore, his awakened talent shouldn¡¯t be too bad as a transmigrated person, right? Lu Yu was very young when he transmigrated to this world. In this world, Lu Yu¡¯s parents had passed away long ago. His aunt¡¯s family had brought him up. As Lu Yu got older, his aunt, who had worked so hard, fell seriously ill. Lu Yu had been working part-time jobs outside of school to help with his aunt¡¯s medical bills. Despite that, his aunt¡¯s illness worsened while his income remained unchanged. If this continued, the high medical bills would crush his family. But now, Lu Yu had hope. As long as he awakened an excellent talent, everything would not be a problem! Even if it were a mediocre talent, it would allow him to earn more at work. Right now, Lu Yu was just like the other students, looking forward to the awakening. Just at that moment, the homeroom teacher received a notice. He stood up and looked at the students. ¡°Students, the previous class has completed their awakening. Next, it¡¯s our turn. Everyone line up and do the awakening in an orderly manner!¡± The homeroom teacher¡¯s words made the students present to stand up excitedly and line up. Now would be the time to decide on their future lives! Chapter 2 Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation Chapter 2 Awakening Begins, Unexpected Ability The awakening ceremony begins. The homeroom teacher organized the students and walked out of the classroom to the school square. Everyone saw a large and majestic array formation when they arrived at the square. Specialized array formation mages created the unique ceremony array formation. With the help of the array formation¡¯s power, the students would carry out the awakening ceremony. The students lined up and waited expectantly for the awakening ceremony to begin. A middle-aged man walked out of the array. He stood in front of the group and swept his gaze over them. ¡°Hello, everyone. I am the host of this awakening ceremony. Please line up in an orderly manner and wait for the activation of the array!¡± The students were deeply excited and looked fervently at the array¡¯s center. ¡°I¡¯m so nervous, the awakening is about to begin!¡± ¡°I hope that the heavens will bless me with a slightly better talent!¡± ¡°I heard that being the host of the awakening ceremony is extremely profitable!¡± ¡°Of course, such an important matter like the awakening ceremony isn¡¯t something that just anyone can host.¡± ¡°I wonder what level of talent this host has.¡± ¡°Someone who can host such a ceremony must have a high-level talent!¡± Lu Yu waited quietly in the crowd, ignoring the chattering around him. At the same time, he was also very curious about what level of talent this host had. When Lu Yu looked at the host, he was surprised that a floating panel appeared beside the host. What¡­ was going on? The panel showed detailed information about the host, including his talent level! As Lu Yu noticed that his classmates were still guessing the host¡¯s talent level, it seemed that only he could see this panel! Could it be that he had accidentally awakened at this instant, allowing him to see things others could not? Lu Yu didn¡¯t think much and scrutinized the host on stage. [ Name: Xu Qiang ] [ Talent: Array Mastery ] [ Talent level: C-level ] The host¡¯s name was indeed Xu Qiang. His talent seemed to be C-level, which was indeed a high-level talent! Moreover, it happened to be an Array Mastery talent, which was perfect for the awakening ceremony. Lu Yu quickly looked at a classmate beside him to verify his ability. A panel appeared beside this student and recorded his personal information very soon. [ Name: Zhang Cheng ] [ Talent: Surface Petrification. Petrification of skin. Greatly enhanced defense, granting a slight increase in strength and speed ] [ Talent level: F-level (to be awakened) ] Lu Yu was surprised. He didn¡¯t expect to be able to see the talent and level of an unawakened person! With this ability, he would probably be able to earn a lot of admiration by just acting as a prophet! Lu Yu looked at the next student and saw the same panel information. [ Name: Xu Hua ] [ Talent: Violent Force. Temporarily activating violent force will greatly increase speed and attack ] [ Talent level: F-level (to be awakened) ] Lu Yu continued to look at the next one. The same panel was displayed. Lu Yu roughly scanned through the students one by one. As expected, most of them had F-level talent or unrated talent. Those with high-grade talent could be said to be few and far between. Most importantly, some did not have any talent at all. These people¡¯s future would be miserable¡­ At this moment, the host said, ¡°It seems that everyone is very curious about my talent.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll tell everyone. My talent level is C, and I¡¯m proficient in array formations. That¡¯s why I¡¯m qualified to be a host.¡± ¡°Everyone, if you can awaken a C-level talent, you¡¯ll be a pillar of society like me.¡± The host¡¯s words made the students extremely enthusiastic. So it turns out that one only needs C-level talent to become a successful person. They would be placed in a high position to enjoy their desired wealth! For a moment, they were filled with anticipation. The declaration made by the host, Xu Qiang, gave Lu Yu the confirmation that his eyes weren¡¯t hallucinating. It seemed that he had activated a talent that allowed him to see the talent and level of others! The awakening ceremony begins. The students went on stage one after another to carry out the awakening ceremony. Very soon, one person walked out of the group and attracted the attention of everyone present. She was the school belle of senior year Class Two, Su Qing. She wore a white one-piece dress, and her long, black and luscious hair fluttered in the wind. Her snowy-white skin tempted endless thoughts, and her gorgeous facial features intoxicated everyone present. Under everyone¡¯s gaze, Su Qing walked into the array. When the awakening ceremony began, the students were all discussing her spiritedly. ¡°Su Qing is so beautiful. If only she were my wife.¡± ¡°What are you thinking about? Not only is she from a wealthy family, with a beautiful appearance and figure, even her academic and sports results are top-notch!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Since she is so outstanding, I reckon that we won¡¯t have a chance.¡± ¡°That might not be the case. What if she awakens an unrated talent? Won¡¯t we have a chance then?¡± ¡°Tsk, you impudent toad!¡± Very soon, Su Qing walked out of the array formation. Su Qing¡¯s expression was unperturbed. It wasn¡¯t possible to tell if the outcome was good or bad. Following that, the host announced loudly. ¡°Awakened, Su Qing. The awakened talent is the Holy Light of Healing. The talent level is an A!¡± The moment these words were said, the entire place was in an uproar! ¡°Whoa, an actual A-level talent! This is too ridiculous!¡± ¡°An A-level talent? There aren¡¯t many in the entire school! Her future IS BRIGHT!¡± ¡°Sheesh, I¡¯ve given up completely. It¡¯s impossible for us to have a chance anymore.¡± ¡°I¡¯m so envious. An A-level talent will most definitely be society¡¯s ace in the future, an existence that everyone looks up to!¡± ¡°Why am I only F-level? Why!¡± Some of the students below the stage were envious, some jealous, and some regretful. When Su Qing walked down from the stage, they all revealed plastered smiles and congratulated her. ¡°Congratulations, congratulations.¡± ¡°As expected of the school Belle, she will definitely achieve great things in the future!¡± ¡°Congratulations, Su Qing, for awakening an A-level talent. When you become rich in the future, don¡¯t forget us old classmates.¡± Su Qing ignored them and returned to her seat. Lu Yu looked at Su Qing and frowned slightly. The panel beside Su Qing showed that it was not an A-level talent! [ Name: Su Qing ] [ Talent: Light Affinity ] [ Talent level: S ] The host reported that she awakened the Holy Light of Healing, an A-level talent. But, what he saw was another talent! Although it was somewhat similar, it was indeed two different talents. Moreover, it was a scarce S-grade talent! Could it be that the host made a mistake in his report? Or perhaps they were all wrong and did not accurately identify Su Qing¡¯s talent. It seemed that his keen eyes¡¯ ability was still beneficial¡­ Just as Lu Yu was deep in thought, the awakening ceremony ended. It was the last student¡¯s turn. Finally, it was Lu Yu¡¯s turn. Everyone¡¯s eyes were on Lu Yu, waiting for him to step onto the stage and awaken his innate talent! Lu Yu walked towards the array formation nervously. He had to awaken a high-level talent to repay his aunt¡¯s kindness in raising him adequately! Chapter 3 Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation Chapter 3 Letdown, The Weakest Weapon Possible At the end of the awakening ceremony, it was finally Lu Yu¡¯s turn to go on stage. Lu Yu stepped forward and walked toward the stage. Everyone¡¯s attention was focused on him, and there was a heated discussion. Lu Yu had always been among the best in his class in terms of cultural studies, with his sports results also excellent. Not only that, Lu Yu was handsome and mature. Everyone knew him as that one excellent student. ¡°It¡¯s finally Lu Yu¡¯s turn. He¡¯s so outstanding in every aspect; his awakened talent shouldn¡¯t be bad!¡± ¡°Of course that¡¯s the case. Su Qing has already awakened an A-level talent, so Lu Yu should at least be a B-leve!¡± ¡°I¡¯m so envious. If only I was so outstanding.¡± ¡°It seems that in this class, the only one who can match up to Su Qing is Lu Yu.¡± After that, everyone fell silent, not willing to say anything more. While the crowd was discussing this, Lu Yu had already arrived at the center of the array formation. The array mages controlled the energy in their hands and began the ritual. When they activated the array formation, the array mages closed their eyes to sense the energy. However, they quickly frowned. They couldn¡¯t feel any energy fluctuation in Lu Yu¡¯s body! Logically speaking, this shouldn¡¯t be the case! The array mages opened their eyes. After exchanging glances, they continued the activation of the array formation. They rhythmically gestured with their hands, and the energy flowed throughout the surroundings. Lu Yu noticed the array mages frowning and couldn¡¯t help but be even more nervous. If the talent he had awakened was terrible, what should he do then¡­ At that moment, an array mage opened his eyes and stopped moving his hands. He frowned and let out a long sigh. Then, he took out an ancient book, which recorded all the talent ever awakened in the past. Soon, he found Lu Yu¡¯s talent. Because it was discreet, he had to flip through the book for a long time before finding it. [ Claw Attack: You can swing your sharp claws to attack the enemy. ] This was Lu Yu¡¯s talent. Its introduction was short and also ordinary. His talent level was only an F. In the ranking of more than a thousand talents, the Claw Attack¡¯s strength was ranked 999th. It could be said to be the lowest and most trashy talent! It was even given a nickname, [ The Weakest Weapon Possible ] This talent was useless. It¡¯s weak in battle and was also not useful enough to use for any job-related applications. After the host received the results, he faced everyone and announced Lu Yu¡¯s talent. Everyone looked at the host anxiously, curious about Lu Yu¡¯s talent. ¡°Lu Yu¡¯s talent is Claw Attack, and his talent is F-level!¡± Once these words were said, the entire hall fell silent. Some students knew the talent of being crowned with the title of the weakest weapon possible. Before the awakening ceremony, they had spent all their time and energy rummaging through the books that recorded all possible talents. They would find a talent they liked and fantasize about the days after they awakened this talent. Never in their wildest dreams did they expect that Lu Yu would awaken such a trash talent! ¡°Is this for real? It¡¯s actually the talent Claw Attack? This is too unlucky!¡± ¡°I¡¯m feeling much better now. I also have a F-level talent.¡± ¡°As expected, most people have F-level talent.¡± ¡°He¡¯s still stronger than me. I don¡¯t have any talent at all¡­¡± Lu Yu clenched his fists in the center of the ceremony array. He did not expect that he would awaken such a weak talent. This was really a hell-mode difficulty beginning¡­ It seemed that if he wanted to advance in the future, he had no choice but to evolve. However, evolution was not something that an ordinary person like him could undergo¡­ The current Lu Yu could only take things one step at a time. He stood up and prepared to walk down the awakening ceremony stage. ¡°Wait¡­¡± An array mage suddenly called out to Lu Yu. Vaguely, the array mage seemed to have noticed a difference in Lu Yu¡¯s talent. He seemed to have seen another unknown talent with an SSS rank in that instant! He did not realize Lu Yu¡¯s talent was Claw Attack until the ceremony ended. It wasn¡¯t that he had forgotten about its existence. Lu Yu¡¯s talent was indeed different from the normal Claw Attack. The array mage rubbed his eyes and looked at Lu Yu again, but found nothing. It seemed like it was indeed Claw Attack. He must have seen it wrongly. With this thought in mind, the array mage waved his hand and said, ¡°It¡¯s nothing. You can go back now¡­¡± Lu Yu shrugged and didn¡¯t say anything else. He walked back into the crowd. The students¡¯ lively atmosphere from before became awkward and cold. They all knew Lu Yu¡¯s family background. Lu Yu¡¯s life would be even more difficult in the future if he didn¡¯t awaken a good talent. They all wanted to comfort Lu Yu, but they didn¡¯t know what to say. Lu Yu¡¯s F-level talent made them lament the gap between the two gifted students in their school. Fate is certainly a cruel mistress. The homeroom teacher looked at Lu Yu, shook his head slightly, and sighed. Su Qing and Lu Yu were the two students he had been looking forward to the most. Although Su Qing had shocked him, Lu Yu¡¯s talent was a regretful one. Before the awakening ceremony, he had always thought that Lu Yu, outstanding in all aspects, would awaken a good talent. But reality slapped him in the face. Class Two¡¯s awakening ceremony ended, and the results were reported to the school quickly. In the principal¡¯s office, the principal couldn¡¯t help but sigh after reading the awakening records. Before the awakening ceremony, they had taken note of the gifted students, and among them, Lu Yu attracted his attention. The school had planned to allocate more resources to these gifted students in the future. And Lu Yu was a talent that they cared about. Now that the results were out, he felt somewhat helpless about the situation. He had no choice but to distribute the resources to other outstanding students. After the ceremony ended, people would come over to comfort Lu Yu on the way back to class. ¡°Lu Yu, don¡¯t be discouraged. F-level is fine. Most of us are at this level.¡± ¡°Although you have put in a lot of effort, the talent you awake is something that no one could predict.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Lu Yu. I have a C-level talent. From now on, I¡¯ll take care of you!¡± Although Lu Yu knew they were here to comfort him, this pitiful look made him very uncomfortable. There were so many people who had awakened F-level talents. Why were they just coming to console him? ¡°Thank you for your kind intentions.¡± The others did not say anything else and began to research their own talents. Returning to the class, Lu Yu suddenly remembered the ability he had obtained by accident. Since he could really see the talents of others, could he also see his own? Hence, when he looked down, he found that a panel had appeared in front of him! The panel still displayed the talent Claw Attack. However, there was no level effect below. Instead, there were five evolutionary paths. [ Talent, Claw Attack, Five evolution paths ] [ Cat Claw Path ][ Bear Paw Path ][ Eagle Strike Path ][ Snake Tooth Path ][ Dragon Claw Path ] [ Cat Claw evolution effect: Greatly increases agility. Increases stealth, speed, and strength in the dark ] [ Bear Paw evolution effect: Greatly increases strength ] [ Eagle Strike evolution effect: Greatly increases attack power, armor-piercing ability, grip power ] [ Snake Tooth evolution effect: Attacks carry venom. Shoot out poisonous fangs, a long-range attacks ] [ Dragon Claw evolution effect (Special Route): temporarily unknown effect¡­ temporarily unknown number of times it can grow¡­ ] Following that, a series of materials needed for evolution were presented. Chapter 4 Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation Chapter 4 Awakening Comes to an End, College Exams Preparations Begin The panel in front of him displayed five evolutionary paths. Lu Yu looked at them and was immediately piqued. Among the five evolutionary paths, only the Dragon Claw was the most elusive. Without a doubt, the Dragon Claw evolutionary path was the most powerful among the five evolutionary paths and the one with the greatest potential in the future. Then, Lu Yu clicked on the panel and opened up the synthetic materials needed. The first thing he saw was four kinds of synthetic materials for the Dragon Claw. Moreover, each material was very rare and quite difficult to obtain. [ Materials needed for the evolution of the Dragon Claw: Giant Rock Python Blood Essence, Green Sky Goshawk Bones, Red Flame Violent Bear Fur, and Shadow Cat Demon Fingernails ] After seeing these materials, Lu Yu thought carefully. Don¡¯t these four materials seem like they correspond to the other four evolution paths? Giant Rock Python Blood Essence corresponded to Snake Tooth Path, Green Sky Goshawk Bones corresponded to Eagle Claw Path, Red Flame Violent Bear Fur corresponded to Bear Paw Path, and Shadow Cat Demon Fingernails corresponded to Cat Claw Path. The four materials needed for Dragon Claw evolution were also the materials required for the other four evolution paths. There was no need to think too much about it. This Dragon Claw was definitely the strongest evolution path! However, these materials were not ordinary, and obtaining them would not be easy. Although his talent was poor, his future growth would be immeasurable with this Dragon Claw¡¯s evolution path. Thinking of this, Lu Yu heaved a sigh of relief. As long as he gathered the materials, his talent might not necessarily be the weakest in the world! The students all returned to the class one by one. The homeroom teacher followed them in. ¡°Everyone, since the awakening has been completed, let¡¯s rearrange the seats.¡± ¡°According to tradition, those with outstanding talent will sit in the front row. Those with poor talent will sit in the last row. Those with extremely poor talent will have no seats and will stand at the back.¡± Then, the homeroom teacher took out the seating order that had just been set and read out the names of the students one by one. This was a way to motivate the students. A clear division of grades would encourage the students to climb the ladder. As the homeroom teacher read out the names, the seats were re-allocated. The students standing in the last row lowered their heads, their faces full of shame. Without a doubt, Lu Yu was also assigned to stand in the last row. Generally speaking, those standing in the last row were people who had not even awakened their talent. However, Lu Yu¡¯s F-level talent was the weakest Claw Attack, not much stronger than those who did not have talent, so he was also assigned to stand in the last row by the homeroom teacher. As for Su Qing, without a doubt, she sat in the first row beside the podium. After all, her A-level talent was the best in the entire school. In their class, she was obviously ranked first. Everyone could only look on with envy. After a short semester, Su Qing was now completely different from them. The homeroom teacher stood in front of the podium, cleared his throat, and announced loudly, ¡°There¡¯s only one month left until the college entrance exam!¡± ¡°The school will allocate resources of different levels to the awakened ones!¡± ¡°These resources will be the key for you all to try and get into an Awakeners University, understand?¡± Everyone nodded one after another, with an invisible pressure weighing on them. The pressure of the college entrance examination was no less than the awakening ceremony. If they didn¡¯t raise their strength enough before the college entrance examination, then they really had no chance of turning things around in this lifetime! And there was only a month before the college entrance examination. This one month would prove to be the most crucial time in their lives! The homeroom teacher continued, ¡°The college entrance examination mainly tests on two aspects. One is fighting, and the other is battling.¡± ¡°Fighting would pit you against ferocious beasts, and battling would place you face-to-face against cultivators.¡± ¡°When you are training normally, you must go for more actual combat training so that you can get as good a result as possible.¡± ¡°In next month¡¯s plan, you will be free to explore and train for the first three weeks.¡± ¡°In the last week of training, I will lead you to increase your strength as fast as possible!¡± After the homeroom teacher finished speaking, the class started discussing enthusiastically. ¡°Just one month is too short!¡± ¡°We still have to fight with ferocious beasts. Isn¡¯t this too dangerous!¡± ¡°Where can I find a ferocious beast to train and fight?¡± ¡°With my talent, I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll die from the ferocious beast in the exam if I¡¯m not careful.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s be buddies. From now on, we can look after each other and train together.¡± ¡°It would be great if we could train with Su Qing¡­¡± Everyone looked at Su Qing and had their own little thoughts. If they could pull an A-level powerhouse like Su Qing into their team, their future training approach would be much easier. The class was discussing their future plans enthusiastically. Almost everyone ignored the students who were standing at the back. Everyone was realistic. They all knew that those who stood at the back would be the lowest class in society in the future. They would be engaged in the most laborious work. They were destined not to be from the same world, so they would not have too many interactions. Lu Yu did not communicate with the others. Instead, he was thinking that if he had the chance to evolve for the first time, which one would be the better choice? Soon, the bell rang. The students stood up and prepared to move freely. At that time, the homeroom teacher took out a stack of exchange vouchers. ¡°Everyone, don¡¯t be in a hurry to leave. I have the exchange vouchers for the [ Basic Cultivation Stone Tablet ]. Everyone, take these exchange vouchers and go to the library to exchange.¡± ¡°Everyone, take one. line up to take it.¡± When everyone heard this, they all smiled happily. ¡°Cultivation Stone Tablet! This is a good thing! It¡¯s being given out for free right from the start!¡± ¡°That¡¯s great! With this thing, our cultivation speed will become faster.¡± ¡°Thank you, school! Thank you, teacher!¡± Everyone lined up and went up to receive the vouchers one by one. Lu Yu was at the end of the line and followed suit. The voucher was given to each person. Other than those who did not awaken their talent, everyone had one. This was the school¡¯s rule. Even if Lu Yu¡¯s talent was the weakest, he was still qualified to receive one voucher. Very quickly, the line reached Lu Yu. Lu Yu received a voucher from the homeroom teacher. The homeroom teacher looked at Lu Yu and sighed regretfully, ¡°Sigh, I hope you can exchange it for something good. Although you have F-level talent, your future will be bright as long as you continue to work hard.¡± Lu Yu did not care much about the homeroom teacher¡¯s encouragement. He took the voucher, thanked him, and left the classroom. After the other students had left the classroom, they headed toward the library. Lu Yu followed the flow of people and arrived at the library together. When they arrived at the library hall, everyone found the librarian, and they conducted the exchange there. At that moment, someone asked, ¡°Can you tell us what exactly is the purpose of this Basic Cultivation Stone Tablet?¡± Everyone looked at the librarian earnestly. The librarian cleared his throat and began to explain. Chapter 5 Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation Chapter 5 The Most Suitable Basic Cultivation Stone Tablets In the magnificent library, the students of senior year Class Two gathered around the librarian and listened to him explain the concept of the Basic Cultivation Stone Tablets. ¡°These stone tablets are the experiences left behind by the previous cultivators. They have spent their whole life trying to carve their cultivation experience onto the stone tablets.¡± ¡°Therefore, we, the descendants, can learn from the experiences of our predecessors through these stone tablets.¡± ¡°Next, I will remove the restriction on the stone tablets. After you get the stone tablets, you only need to touch them, and you will feel it.¡± ¡°As for how much experience you can feel and absorb, that will depend on your adaptability.¡± The librarian, who was wearing a gray-white robe, glanced around and asked, ¡°Does anyone have any questions?¡± ¡°Mr. Librarian, if I get an unsuitable stone tablet, can I change it?¡± The librarian shook his head slightly. ¡°That is not allowed. Whatever kind of cultivation stone tablet you get will be the same.¡± Everyone was a little disappointed. The librarian continued, ¡°However, you don¡¯t get the stone tablet randomly. You can choose it yourself.¡± ¡°Once you choose them, you can¡¯t change them.¡± Hearing this, the students became excited. ¡°We can choose by ourselves? That¡¯s great!¡± ¡°I have to choose carefully. This is related to my future!¡± ¡°The beginning is very important. You have to be careful.¡± Everyone followed the librarian and came to a big door. There were bold words engraved on the plaque above the door. It had ¡°Basic Cultivation Stone Tablets¡± written on it. Different levels of cultivation stone tablets seemed to be divided into other rooms. The door opened, and everyone rushed in. The internal structure of the room was just like a standard library. However, the bookshelves here were seven to eight meters tall. Some stone tablets could only be obtained by climbing a ladder. After the students entered, they were instantly attracted by the dazzling collections of cultivation stone tablets. There were countless cultivation tablets, each representing the painstaking efforts of their predecessors. Although they were just basic cultivation tablets, to those before them, it was their life¡¯s work. ¡°So many cultivation tablets. It seems that our predecessors have left us many good things.¡± ¡°So many. I don¡¯t know which one to choose.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a cultivation tablet called Agility. After learning it, you can increase your movement speed and agility.¡± ¡°This [ Brute Force ] suits me quite well. It can increase my strength.¡± ¡°I choose this [ Hardened Skin ]. My defense is a little weak¡­¡± The students began to choose one after another. Some of them quickly found the cultivation tablets they needed. However, some went back and forth for a long time, not finding anything they liked. Lu Yu also began to look for a cultivation tablet. The stone tablets here were the most basic ones, and the improvement in his strength was almost the same. Therefore, he chose to focus on compatibility. Selecting a suitable cultivation method could make his future path a lot easier. At this moment, Lu Yu remembered his Eye of Truth, which could see through everything. Hence, he scrutinised the dazzling stone tablets in front of him. As expected, a panel appeared next to the stone tablets. [ Name: Body Strengthening ] [ Effect: Increases stamina and prolongs combat time. ] [ Compatibility: 30% ] Lu Yu did not pay much attention to the first two introductions. He could read these two pieces of information from the stone tablets themselves. The key was the third one, compatibility. He could actually see the degree of compatibility! In this way, wouldn¡¯t he be able to choose the one that was most suitable for him easily? 30% was too low. It seemed that he still needed to continue searching. Hence, Lu Yu quickly swept his gaze over and checked the information on every single stone tablet. However, after looking at dozens of them, not a single one of them had a compatibility of more than 50. ¡°Looks like it¡¯s really not easy to find a suitable one for myself.¡± Lu Yu could only continue searching. After a short while, Lu Yu¡¯s gaze was attracted by a stone tablet. He immediately noticed the compatibility value. ¡°90%!¡± ¡°So high!¡± Lu Yu quickly walked over and picked up the stone tablet. [ Armor Penetration ] [Effect: Able to bypass some defenses and penetrate the skin, causing internal damage.] [ Compatibility: 90% ] 90% compatibility. This was the highest compatibility he had ever seen! Lu Yu did not look for any other stone tablets anymore. He immediately confirmed that he wanted this! He reached out to touch the stone tablets and sensed the cultivation technique contained within. He quickly finished absorbing it and mastered the Armor Penetration ability! After confirming the absorption of the cultivation technique, a system interface appeared in front of Lu Yu. The interface displayed Lu Yu¡¯s personal information, including five attributes. [ Attack: 60 ] [ Speed: 57 ] [ Health: 96 ] [ Mana: 89 ] [ Defense: 45 ] Every awakened cultivator had an average attack speed and defense of around 50, and their health and Mana were about 100. Lu Yu¡¯s attack and speed were higher than ordinary people¡¯s, but his defense was slightly lower. Lu Yu saw today¡¯s quest on the interface. [ Daily quest: Long-distance running (0/10km), long jump (0/100), climbing (0/2km), swinging claws (0/100). Choose one to complete. ] The system¡¯s four missions were not too difficult, but the reward was key. Then, Lu Yu saw the mission reward at the bottom of the mission notification. [ You will receive the following reward for completing the daily mission. Choose one of the three. ] [ 1. Obtained 5 free attribute points. ] [ 2. Obtained 1 free skill point. ] [ 3. Obtained random treasure chest. ] [ Other than the daily quest, there are also achievement quests and random quests that provide even more generous rewards. ] After seeing these rewards, Lu Yu smiled. The prizes were not bad. It seemed that he would have to prioritize completing today¡¯s daily quest when he returned. After dismissing the panel, Lu Yu walked to the room¡¯s door. The door would only open after everyone had gotten the stone tablets. Lu Yu waited for a while; everyone else had finally gotten their own cultivation technique. The librarian opened the door, and the students left one after another. Lu Yu followed the flow of people and walked out alone. In the past, Lu Yu was such an outstanding student in class that he barely had any friends. Thus, he often traveled alone. Lu Yu was still planning to leave alone to level up. It was too troublesome to form a team. At that moment, a group gathered nearby attracted Lu Yu¡¯s attention. He looked over and found a group of people surrounding Su Qing. ¡°Su Qing, form a team with me. I¡¯ll give you all the good things I get!¡± ¡°Form a team with us. We¡¯re all very strong.¡± ¡°Miss Su Qing, join my team. My dad is very rich!¡± The noise from the crowd made Su Qing frown slightly. Then, she saw Lu Yu standing next to her. In the past, the outstanding Lu Yu gave her a good impression in school. Moreover, Lu Yu¡¯s personality was more mature than the people around her. He was neither jittery nor irritable. If they were teammates, they were still very suitable for each other, even if he was a little weaker. Thus, Su Qing walked toward Lu Yu. ¡°Lu Yu, I want to form a team with you. Is that okay?¡± Su Qing walked over with a smile. For a moment, everyone around Su Qing was stunned on the spot. Their minds went blank. ¡°I don¡¯t understand. Why is Su Qing looking for Lu Yu to be her teammate?¡± They all had the same thought. Chapter 6 Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation Chapter 6 Going To The Black Market Su Qing sent over an invitation to Lu Yu, causing everyone to be puzzled. ¡°Is this for real? Su Qing actually went to invite Lu Yu!¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t he awaken the weakest talent? One of them is the weakest, while the other is the strongest. How can they possibly go well together?¡± ¡°Bloody hell, that kid Lu Yu is sure lucky. Why can¡¯t such a good thing happen to me?¡± ¡°No way. What¡¯s so good about him that Su Qing actually took a liking to him?¡± ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because he¡¯s more handsome.¡± ¡°Damn, I¡¯m not bad looking either!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Just as everyone was puzzled, Lu Yu gave his answer to her invitation. Although Su Qing was publicly recognized as the school belle with her superior family background and strong talent, Lu Yu was already used to cultivating alone. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I prefer to cultivate alone. I¡¯ve never considered forming a team or anything like that.¡± Everyone was stunned after hearing this. The school belle with an A-level talent took the initiative to invite someone to form a team, but she was rejected! No one would believe it if this kind of rumour was made up! Moreover, she was rejected by a person who was publicly acknowledged to have the most useless talent! ¡°What¡¯s going on? Has Lu Yu gone crazy? Why did he reject her!¡± ¡°You are actually rejecting such a good opportunity? Give it to me if you don¡¯t want it!¡± ¡°Goddess, he doesn¡¯t want to form a team with you. I¡¯m willing! Form a team with me!¡± ¡°Su Qing, it¡¯s useless to be just handsome in this world. I have B-level talent. Come with me!¡± At this moment, Lu Yu ignored the dumbfounded Su Qing and turned around to leave. Su Qing looked at Lu Yu¡¯s back and was surprised. She had never thought that her invitation would be rejected. Looking at the group of simps behind her, Su Qing revealed a disgusted expression and left the place. Lu Yu quickly rushed out of the crowd and left the library. Next, he planned to visit his aunt first. At the same time, he would report the results of his awakening. Although the results were unsatisfactory, Lu Yu did not plan to hide them. It was about 10 kilometers from the school to the hospital in the city¡¯s center. While visiting his aunt, he could complete his daily quest. Thus, Lu Yu did not take a taxi and just ran along the street. Soon, after passing through a crowd, Lu Yu saw the hospital in the city¡¯s center. At that moment, a notification appeared in front of his eyes. [ Congratulations on completing the daily quest. Please choose your reward. ] [ 1. Obtained 5 free attribute points. ] [ 2. Obtained 1 free skill point. ] [ 3. Obtained random treasure chest. ] Lu Yu pressed on the panel and selected 5 free attribute points. [ Congratulations on obtaining 5 free attribute points. Please distribute them yourselves. ] After that, Lu Yu¡¯s personal attribute panel appeared before him. He was still in his initial stage and had no actual combat experience, so he did not know which attribute was more suitable for him. Lu Yu felt that he should distribute them evenly. [ Attribute points have been distributed. ] [ Attack: 61 ] [ Speed: 58 ] [ Health: 97 ] [ Mana: 90 ] [ Defense: 46 ] When the attribute points were allocated, Lu Yu felt a surge of energy welling inside him. After absorbing it, he felt refreshed and renewed. The tiredness he felt after finishing his run here was gone entirely. After distributing the attribute points, Lu Yu walked into the hospital and went to his aunt¡¯s ward. There was a middle-aged woman with silvery hair on the white hospital bed. She was Lu Yu¡¯s aunt, Liu Yi. She was only in her forties, but because of her illness, she looked like she was in her fifties or sixties. Lu Yu walked over and held her hand. Although her illness made her look extremely weathered, one could tell from her overall character that she was a peerless beauty when she was young. ¡°Aunt, do you feel better?¡± Lu Yu asked softly. Liu Yi nodded slightly. ¡°Much better.¡± ¡°By the way, today is your day of awakening. How did it go?¡± Liu Yi¡¯s eyes were filled with hope. She had placed all her hopes in Lu Yu. Lu Yu smiled faintly. ¡°My awakened talent is outstanding. It suits me very well.¡± ¡°With my talent, I can earn even more money. I will definitely cure you!¡± Liu Yi nodded slightly, her face full of relief. Lu Yu saw her tired expression and said, ¡°You go ahead and rest well. I¡¯ll come back to visit in two days.¡± Liu Yi nodded slightly and closed her eyes sleepily. Lu Yu walked out of the ward and went to the payment counter. He planned to use his salary to pay for the medical expenses. However, when he saw the bill, Lu Yu frowned. It was twice as expensive as usual! Lu Yu gritted his teeth and paid the bill with the entirety of his salary. Lu Yu went to the attending physician¡¯s office with the bill in his hand. ¡°Hello, doctor. I¡¯m here to understand my aunt¡¯s condition.¡± Lu Yu walked in, and the doctor recognized him with just a glance. Due to Liu Yi¡¯s strange condition, the doctor had a deep impression of both Liu Yi and Lu Yu. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s you.¡± he answered, ¡°come and sit.¡± After Lu Yu sat down, the doctor continued, ¡°Your aunt¡¯s illness is very special. It has never been seen before in our entire medical history.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve consulted many hospitals and held a meeting with all of them, but they could not provide anything useful about this illness.¡± ¡°At the moment, the only thing I can do is prescribe some drugs to suppress the illness.¡± Hearing the doctor¡¯s words, Lu Yu was a little bewildered. His aunt¡¯s illness was so unique that several hospitals collectively could not find a solution! ¡°In her current situation, she could only stay in the hospital and continue using medicine to maintain her body¡¯s function.¡± Lu Yu could only helplessly nod his head. ¡°Alright then. If there¡¯s a solution, you must let me know.¡± The doctor nodded his head. ¡°Of course.¡± After walking out of the hospital, Lu Yu stood on the street and rummaged through his pockets. He was penniless now and had to go to work quickly. However, as he had already awakened his talent, he did not have to do the labour-intensive work he always did. Lu Yu immediately thought about the notion of going to the fighting ring in the black market. Although it was dangerous, the profits were much higher. He needed to earn more money, or else his aunt would be unable to hold on much longer. It was already late today, so Lu Yu went home to rest. The next day, when the sky brightened, Lu Yu got up early and was ready to head out. He opened the map on his phone and found the location of the black market. Although everyone called it the black market, in reality, this was the Awakeners¡¯ trading center. Most of the Awakeners would gather here to trade or carry out quests. Then, Lu Yu opened the daily quest panel. The quests on it were exactly the same as yesterday. Lu Yu chose to complete today¡¯s quest with the same long run. It just so happened that the distance between his home and the black market was more than 10 kilometers. As long as he ran there, he would complete the daily quest! Thus, Lu Yu ran along the empty streets in the early morning towards the black market. After running about three-quarters of the way, Lu Yu saw a notification pop up. [ Congratulations on completing the daily quest. Please choose your reward. ] The reward was exactly the same as yesterday. However, this time, Lu Yu chose a free skill point. Chapter 7 Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation Chapter 7 Dark Forest Lu Yu jogged to the black market and completed today¡¯s daily quest. He exchanged it for 1 free skill point. Since he only had one skill, he could only use this skill for Armor Penetration. After some fiddling, Lu Yu heard a notification sound. [ Congratulations on completing the enhancement. Armor Penetration skill is Lv2. ] [ Armor Penetration Lv2: This enhancement has increased the effect of penetrating the skin, causing internal damage to increase by 5% ] As Lu Yu had not engaged in actual combat yet, he was not clear about the actual effect of this enhancement. Nevertheless, in the path of cultivation, there would be no lack of opportunities for actual combat. Lu Yu looked at the Awakeners trading center in front of him. It¡¯s a large location, but it¡¯s only two stories high. As soon as he reached the door, Lu Yu could hear the noise inside. Because the Awakeners were a complicated group, a portion of the law didn¡¯t apply to them. It was due to these unique privileges that the Awakeners had that this uncontrolled black market was formed! Lu Yu walked through the black market¡¯s entrance. As soon as he entered, he saw a crowd of people before him. Everyone was walking in a hurry, trying to find something to strengthen themselves. The place was surrounded by a circle of shops, with many notice boards placed in the middle of the area. Some of them had trade offers written on them, while others had requests written on them. In this place, where there were no rules, anything could be traded. As long as there was money, anything could be bought. As for those without money, they could only sell their labor to earn money. The most common quest was to offer to fight for others. Helping wealthy individuals hunt ferocious beasts, obtain materials, and sell them. Needless to say, the use of these materials was for evolution! Lu Yu looked around and found that almost half of the quests here were of this type. Moreover, the quest reward was pretty bountiful! He silently noted down a few suitable quest and then quietly walked to a corner where no one was around. In the corner, Lu Yu took out a black jacket and pants from his backpack. After putting them on, Lu Yu took out a black face cloth to cover his face before walking out again. He was a newbie who had just awoken. Generally speaking, it was tough for newbies to receive quests. If people saw that Lu Yu was still a student preparing for his college entrance examination, he would probably return empty-handed today. It was easy for rookies to mess up, and no one was willing to waste time on rookies. Although Lu Yu covered his face, it did not affect his ability to accept quests in the black market. There were many people dressed as Lu Yu here. Some did not want to attract attention, and others feared being caught for their crimes. Therefore, even though Lu Yu walked around dressed entirely in black, no one even noticed him. He came to the quest area and stood at the side for a short observation. He carefully observed how others accepted quests. After memorizing it, he began to act. It would be awkward if anything happened during the process of accepting a quest and it was revealed that he was a newbie. Lu Yu scrutinized the process for some time and came to a conclusion. One type of quest was a quest that was written on the notice board. Under normal circumstances, the quest giver would be unwilling to show their faces. Another type of quest was to receive them from a merchant. To replenish their inventory, merchants would issue many quests and request the help of Awakeners to collect materials. There were plenty of quests to go around, but knowing which region the quests could be completed in was critical. There were some regions that ordinary cultivators couldn¡¯t handle. Lu Yu opened the map on his phone and looked up the dungeon region. Many areas were suitable for newcomers. But in the end, Lu Yu chose the Dark Forest. This area was a newbie area. But at the same time, there was one of the materials needed for the evolution of the Dragon Claw, the Shadow Cat Demon Fingernails. ¡°This is it. I hope I can get the materials!¡± After dimming the screen on his phone, Lu Yu walked toward the merchant¡¯s location. Lu Yu had his eyes on a shop and walked over. At that moment, Lu Yu¡¯s phone rang. He took it out and saw that it was a call from his homeroom teacher. ¡°Lu Yu, why aren¡¯t you at school today? The school is giving a basic item to the students today, and it would be a pity if you weren¡¯t here to collect it,¡± the homeroom teacher asked. ¡°I have something to do here. I¡¯ll be there right away.¡± ¡°Alright, although you students have the first three weeks as free activities, it¡¯s best to do them within the school. There are many training grounds available in the school, and you have to work hard to have the chance to catch up.¡± ¡°I got it. I¡¯ll be back in a while.¡± ¡°Alright, don¡¯t run around blindly with your situation. Train obediently, and at least you won¡¯t be left far behind by others.¡± After saying that, he hung up the phone. Lu Yu smiled helplessly. If he were to train in school, he would definitely end up useless. Only by evolving into the Dragon Claw would he have a future! Lu Yu walked along the streets of the black market. He looked at the shops beside him and found they all looked extravagant. However, Lu Yu only wanted to take on a beginner-level quest. Soon, he saw a shop with simple decorations. He quickly walked in and saw the quest information posted on the door. ¡°Quest Target: collect 100 [ Eye of the Cat Demon ].¡± ¡°This quest is good. It¡¯s just right for me.¡± Lu Yu¡¯s first target was to head to the Dark Forest to collect the Shadow Cat Demon Fingernails. It would be much more convenient if he took on collecting the Eye of the Cat Demon as his secondary goal. Hence, Lu Yu walked in. The owner of the shop was a fat man wearing overalls. When he saw Lu Yu walking in, he walked over with a smile. ¡°Hello, are you here to buy something or accept a quest?¡± He asked with a big smile. Lu Yu pointed at the door and said, ¡°I just saw a quest to collect 100 Eyes of the Cat Demon. I want to accept that quest.¡± ¡°No problem, this is the quest¡¯s information.¡± The owner gave him a piece of paper, and Lu Yu took it. ¡°The quest area is in the Dark Forest, but it¡¯s Challenger level.¡± The boss nodded, ¡°That¡¯s right, only Challenger level will drop this material.¡± Lu Yu thought for a moment and decided to accept the quest. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll accept this quest. What about the reward?¡± ¡°Regarding the reward, I¡¯ll settle it after completing the quest. The way we do so will be up to you.¡± Lu Yu nodded slightly. Generally speaking, the quest¡¯s reward would be linked to the difficulty, and there was a set of rules in the market regarding it, so Lu Yu did not need to worry about this. After completing the quest, he could either settle for money or convert his reward into other materials or equipment. Lu Yu roughly estimated that this quest¡¯s money reward would be at least tens of thousands of dollars. ¡°Take this. This specific teleportation scroll can teleport you to the quest location at any time.¡± A sheepskin scroll appeared in the boss¡¯s hand, and it was filled with an ancient yet plain aura. Lu Yu reached out and took it. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll take my leave then.¡± ¡°No problem. I¡¯ll be waiting for your good news.¡± Lu Yu turned around and left the shop. He was not in a hurry to complete the quest. Therefore, he returned to school first. Although earning money was very important, he should not fall behind in his homework. He needed to return to class and learn the knowledge of this world. Previously, Lu Yu had been running back and forth between the school, his work, and the hospital. But even so, he did not fall behind in any of them. Although it was tough and tiring, he had to do it for his aunt. Chapter 8 Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation Chapter 8 Quest Begins, Turning The Tide Of The Battle At RiverdaleCity High School, Lu Yu was heading toward his class. After returning to his class, Lu Yu received a bottle of basic recovery medicine from his homeroom teacher and returned to his seat. Many students were surprised that Lu Yu was late for the first time in history, and this was something unbelievable to them. After all, in their eyes, Lu Yu used to be the most hardworking person in the class. He was the kind of person who would not be late even once a year. After completing a day of school, Lu Yu went home to rest and prepare for tomorrow¡¯s quest. The next morning. Lu Yu sat on the bed early and took out the ancient scroll. He slowly pulled and opened the scroll. The next moment, a ray of light flashed and enveloped Lu Yu. With a swoosh, Lu Yu disappeared. When Lu Yu reappeared, he had already arrived at the entrance of a dungeon. He was in a dense forest, and a towering tree at the dungeon¡¯s entrance was right in front of Lu Yu! The tree was over a hundred meters tall, and its towering trunk was filled with an ancient aura. With a long history, this ancient tree had a huge dark hole with soldiers guarding theentrance. Lu Yu walked over and stood in front of the soldier. ¡°I want to be teleported to the Difficult level, Dark Forest.¡± The soldier pointed at an array formation not far ahead and said, ¡°Stand inside the array formation and wait for a few seconds, and you will be teleported in.¡± Lu Yu nodded slightly and began to do as he was told. He went to the center of the array formation and waited for a moment. Then, a dazzling light flashed before him. The light flickered, and Lu Yu¡¯s figure disappeared. The next moment, Lu Yu opened his eyes and saw that he was in a dense jungle. He looked up and saw countless intersecting tree branches covering the sky. His surroundings were damp and dark, and he could hear strange cries around him from time to time. It seemed that he had arrived at the Dark Forest. From now on, Lu Yu had to be careful. He, who had never fought before, was about to start his first battle. Suddenly, Lu Yu saw an afterimage from the corner of his eye. With a swoosh, two Cat Demons suddenly attacked Lu Yu. These two Cat Demons were about the size of a bobcat, but their claws were thin, long and sharp. Those claws flashed with a cold glint as they slashed at Lu Yu. The Cat Demons in front of him were the most common monsters in the dungeon of the Dark Forest, and their specialty was their fast movement. However, in Lu Yu¡¯s eyes, these Cat Demons were just a piece of material delivering itself right onto his doorstep! Lu Yu stretched out his hands, and sharp claws grew out of each of his ten fingers. He slashed his claws with all his might and attacked the Cat Demons! This was the first time Lu Yu used his sharp claws to attack. His attack was very choppy, and it seemed like he was waving his hands randomly. The Cat Demon was not to be trifled with. In their state of constant battle in the dungeon, their combat experience was definitely much richer than Lu Yu¡¯s. A Cat Demon hopped around and found an opening to swish its claws a few times at Lu Yu. Lu Yu¡¯s clothes were instantly torn open, and blood oozed from the scratches. Then, another Cat Demon quickly attacked as well. Lu Yu did not have time to think and hastily attacked with his claws. However, Lu Yu¡¯s speed was slightly slower than the Cat Demon. The Cat Demon dodged sideways and swung two more attacks. For a moment, the battle turned badly for Lu Yu. His body was already riddled with many wounds, his blood staining a large area of his clothes. The current situation was that Lu Yu could not kill the two Cat Demons and couldn¡¯t outrun them even if he wanted to escape. All Lu Yu could do was hold on and find another way. The battle was getting more and more intense. Lu Yu started retreating as he fought, his forehead covered in sweat. Just as Lu Yu was overwhelmed with anxiety, a notification suddenly appeared in front of his eyes. [ Congratulations on completing the daily quest, Swipe your claws (100/100) ] [ Please choose your reward ] Lu Yu was overjoyed. He did not expect that he had already swung his claws a hundred times! However, this daily reward could not help him out of his predicament. Adding five attribute points or strengthening Armor Penetration would not be able to get him out of this battle. Very quickly, Lu Yu thought of the third reward, the random treasure chest! If the treasure chest could give him a good item, he would have a chance to turn the tide of the battle! Lu Yu quickly exchanged it for a random treasure chest. [ Congratulations, you have obtained a bronze treasure chest ] A bronze treasure chest immediately appeared before Lu Yu¡¯s eyes. The next wave of attacks from the two Cat Demons immediately came. Lu Yu didn¡¯t hesitate and quickly opened the treasure chest. [ Congratulations, you have obtained the Shadow Brass Knuckles. Do you want to equip it? ] ¡°Equip!¡± Lu Yu did not have time to look at the skill description and quickly equipped the brass knuckles! A pair of brass knuckles immediately appeared on Lu Yu¡¯s hands. He cast a glance at the effect of the equipment. [ Shadow Brass Knuckles: Increases attack power by 10%, increases attack speed by 10% ] Lu Yu was overjoyed. What he lacked was attack speed! In the beginning, Lu Yu had little experience in fighting and was much slower than the Cat Demons. Lu Yu slowly became more proficient throughout the battle, and his speed also caught up. With the Shadow Brass Knuckles, Lu Yu¡¯s speed wasn¡¯t inferior to the two ordinary Cat Demons anymore! ¡°Die!¡± The pain all over his body made Lu Yu furious. He punched out with both fists, and the sudden increase in the speed of his fist caused the Cat Demons to be unable to react in time. His fists smashed into the Cat Demons¡¯ heads, shattering their skulls and sending blood flying everywhere. The two Cat Demons wailed and fell to the ground, dead. Lu Yu took two deep breaths and was about to retrieve the materials when a notification appeared. [ Congratulations on completing your first kill. Reward: Skill Stone Tablet [ Double Jump ] ] A tablet floated before Lu Yu. After a moment of joy, Lu Yu reached out and took the tablet. [ Skill effect: After completing a jump, you can jump again in the air and reach a higher place ] ¡°This skill isn¡¯t bad.¡± This skill could help Lu Yu reach a height he could not reach before and make it easier for him to fight. If a sneak attack happened again like the one just now, Lu Yu could use the double jump to distance himself from them quickly. In short, it was a movement skill. Lu Yu put his hand on the stone tablet and began to feel the energy inside. Soon, he opened his eyes and had wholly learned the double jump. Lu Yu squatted before the Cat Demon¡¯s corpse, took out a dagger and began to dissect its corpse. After cutting off its fingernails and eyeballs, he put them into his backpack. After collecting the spoils of war, Lu Yu did not stop. He began to look for other Cat Demons. The pain and wounds on his body severely affected Lu Yu¡¯s movements. Therefore, Lu Yu took out the basic recovery medicine he received yesterday and drank it in one gulp. After drinking it, Lu Yu felt a sense of relief. The pain was instantly swept away. Moreover, all the wounds on his body stopped bleeding instantly, and they even began to scab. After recovering, Lu Yu felt refreshed. He immediately stretched his claws and continued to search for Cat Demons to fight! Lu Yu continued to fight without a moment¡¯s rest. Just like that, Lu Yu fought till late in the night before he finally stopped. Chapter 9 Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation Chapter 9 Co-existence Of Danger And Opportunity After a day of battle, Lu Yu killed about a dozen Cat Demons and obtained more than twenty eyeballs. After a day of battle, Lu Yu¡¯s mastery of the Armor Penetration skill had reached perfection. He was also familiar with his double jump, which he didn¡¯t use frequently. After battling for the entire day, the damage he took was less than he took during the battle of the first two Cat Demons at the beginning! Lu Yu scanned his surroundings. In the dark environment, many eyes were staring at him. It seemed that it would not work if he wanted to spend the night here. He had to find a safe place to spend the night as soon as possible. Lu Yu packed his things and prepared to look around for a safe place. He began to walk around and observe his surroundings. What gave him a headache was that this area was filled with Cat Demons, and these monsters were too agile and could go anywhere. Moreover, their sense of smell was very sensitive, which gave Lu Yu trouble. At that moment, two dim lights appeared in front of Lu Yu¡¯s eyes. One was red, and the other was green. He immediately knew this was a hint given by his Eyes of Truth. The red light had the word ¡°Danger¡± written on it, and the green light had the word ¡°Opportunity¡± written on it. It was obvious that as long as Lu Yu followed the green light, he would be able to find a safe place. Following the hint, Lu Yu continued to move forward until he finally arrived at the place where the green light stopped. There were quite a few withered tree roots here. Lu Yu scratched his head and saw another notification. [ This hollow withered tree root is your shelter. Rest here for a night, and you will have the chance to obtain some unexpected gains. ] He looked around and soon saw the hollow tree root aforementioned. It could just nice fit a person in it. He pondered for a moment and decided to follow the notification. He went straight in. After entering, Lu Yu was surprised to find that the place was actually quite comfortable. There was also a refreshing fragrance to it. This place was like a different world compared to the outside, and it did not seem to be one with the rotten-smelling forest. Lu Yu checked around and did not find anything. However, as this was a good place, he chose to sleep there. The next morning. Lu Yu woke up early. He did not encounter any danger last night and slept comfortably. The morning sun shone through the leaves and illuminated his surroundings. The morning air in the forest was very fresh, giving Lu Yu the urge to take a few deep breaths. Lu Yu stood up and prepared to continue his quest for the day. At that moment, he suddenly remembered the hint given by his eyes. There was an opportunity to be found here. It seemed that he needed to search carefully to find the so-called opportunity. It should be impossible that this opportunity was as simple as just giving him a good night¡¯s sleep¡­ With this thought in mind, Lu Yu began to search around. However, he did not find anything after looking around for a long time. The strangest thing was that it seemed he did not encounter any Cat Demons? Could it be that this place was naturally isolated from the Cat Demons? Just as Lu Yu was puzzled, he suddenly smelled a light fragrance. He sniffed carefully and headed toward where the fragrance was. Slowly, he walked to the root of the tree. When he took a closer look, he felt something strange. Why was there suddenly a pleasant fragrance coming from here? He squatted in front of the root and looked inside with caution. At that moment, a dazzling fruit attracted Lu Yu¡¯s attention. There was a fruit lying quietly inside. The fragrance was emitted from this fruit! Lu Yu could tell at a glance that this fruit was not ordinary, so he quickly used his Eye of Truth to look at it. [ Cleansing Fruit: A precious item. It bears fruit once every ten years. After consuming it, it can calm the mind and significantly increase the user¡¯s skill level. ] After reading its description, Lu Yu was overjoyed. He had known about this item, which was definitely a world treasure. In RiverdaleCity, many upper-echelon people were looking for this Cleansing Fruit. After consuming a Cleansing Fruit, one¡¯s skill level would increase rapidly, which would, in turn, increase one¡¯s strength. In this world where strength reigned supreme, a treasure that could rapidly increase one¡¯s power would be sought after by countless people. Lu Yu carefully stretched out his hand, wanting to take this fruit. His skill level was relatively low right now, so his strength would also increase considerably after eating it. He could also sell it for a reasonable price if he decided to sell it. No matter how he dealt with it, he would definitely make a profit. He had struck gold. Just as Lu Yu was about to touch the fruit, a series of notifications appeared before his eyes. [ Opportunities and dangers coexist. Please think twice before picking it up. Do be prepared at the same time. ] Lu Yu looked at this notification and fell into deep thought. Obviously, picking this fruit would bring danger. He was not sure yet what the danger was. For a moment, Lu Yu paused. What if he could not deal with the danger? After hesitating for a short moment, Lu Yu made up his mind and picked the fruit! He wouldn¡¯t lack the chance to encounter such an opportunity. If he were afraid of danger every time he met a similar event in the future, he would never be able to become someone strong in his lifetime! Therefore, he had to get this fruit! What Lu Yu needed most now was to improve his strength. This fruit came to him at the right moment! He reached out and picked the fruit. After inspecting the crystal clear light yellow fruit, Lu Yu put it into his backpack. Then, he squatted on the spot and carefully sensed the movements around him, waiting for danger to come. After waiting for a long time, Lu Yu noticed there wasn¡¯t any danger coming to him. Just as he was about to get up and leave, he suddenly felt a chill on his back! Lu Yu¡¯s entire body froze. At that moment, he sensed a hint of danger. He slowly turned his head and saw a giant Cat Demon. This! This was the Shadow Cat Demon! Its dark purple fur, sharp claws, and the muscles on its body indicated that this monster wasn¡¯t to be trifled with. The Shadow Cat Demon, which was about the same size as a lion, began approaching Lu Yu. Lu Yu soon realized he was in the Shadow Cat Demon¡¯s territory. And this Cleansing Fruit was the fruit that the Shadow Cat Demon was guarding. With the fruit snatched away, the Cat Demon was extremely angry, and it bared its fangs at Lu Yu and growled. The Shadow Cat Demon was several times stronger than ordinary Cat Demons. If Lu Yu were to fight it alone, he had to be very careful! Lu Yu had read up about the Shadow Cat Demon in school. It was called the Shadow Cat Demon because it was swift and could teleport. Ordinary attacks could only hit the shadow of its afterimage, hence the name Shadow Cat Demon. Lu Yu wasn¡¯t sure if his speed could catch up to it. But now, he had no way out. The Cat Demon stretched its claws and slowly closed in on Lu Yu. Lu Yu slowly retreated, not daring to look back. For felines, they would pounce on enemies with their backs facing them. For now, Lu Yu slowly retreated. At the same time, he unsheathed his claws and prepared for battle. The next moment, with a swoosh, the Shadow Cat Demon flashed into an afterimage and rushed towards Lu Yu. Lu Yu widened his eyes. The Shadow Cat Demon was indeed fast! He did not have time to hesitate. He immediately jumped into the air and followed up with a double jump, barely dodging the Shadow Cat Demon¡¯s first attack. Chapter 10 Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation Chapter 10 Split Claws, Killing the Shadow Cat Demon The first attack of the Shadow Cat Demon was an eye-opener for Lu Yu. Its speed was so fast that Lu Yu almost couldn¡¯t react in time. Lu Yu landed lightly on the ground after his double jump. The Shadow Cat Demon didn¡¯t give Lu Yu a chance to catch his breath. It immediately rushed over again and slashed its claws at Lu Yu. Its claws carried a sharp aura as it attacked Lu Yu. Lu Yu hurriedly jumped backwards. After jumping into the air, he followed up with a double jump and jumped backwards again! He barely dodged the Cat Demon¡¯s attack with the backwards double jump. However, what gave Lu Yu the biggest trouble was that although he could dodge the Cat Demon¡¯s attack, he could not attack it at all. Firstly, it was difficult for him to get close to the Shadow Cat Demon. Secondly, even if he got close, the Shadow Cat Demon would immediately flash away and flee before he could unleash his attacks. The ridiculous thing about his situation was that the Shadow Cat Demon could create more than one afterimage, and Lu Yu could not tell which was the Shadow Cat Demon¡¯s actual body. If he relied on blind guesses, it would easily spell the end for him. The Shadow Cat Demon attacked again, and it did not give him any chance to catch his breath and kept slashing its claws. Lu Yu kept retreating, dodging, and releasing his skills continuously, causing him to sweat profusely. Right now, all Lu Yu could do was skirt around the Shadow Cat Demon and use his double jump to dodge its attacks. If he ran, he would definitely not be able to outrun the Shadow Cat Demon. If he chose to attack, he would not be able to land his attack regardless. At that moment, Lu Yu felt a sense of powerlessness. If this continued, he would end up dead sooner or later! If he had known of this earlier, he would not have taken that fruit! After dodging continuously, a notification suddenly appeared in front of Lu Yu¡¯s eyes. [ Congratulations for completing the daily quest, long jump (100/100) ] [ Please choose your reward ] [1. Obtained 5 free attribute points ] [2. Obtained 1 free skill point ] [3. Obtained random treasure chest ] Lu Yu was delighted. Today¡¯s daily reward finally arrived! This time, Lu Yu chose the random treasure chest again. [ Congratulations on the bronze treasure chest. Do you want to open it? ] ¡°Open it!¡± Lu Yu hurriedly shouted. The treasure chest opened, and a skill stone tablet floated out. Lu Yu quickly checked and exclaimed, ¡°The skill is Split Claw!¡± ¡°Wave your claws and damage enemies within five meters of you!¡± ¡°An AOE group damage skill!¡± If he learns this skill, could it mean he doesn¡¯t have to care about the afterimages created by the Shadow Cat Demon? No matter how many afterimages it makes, as long as he used Split Claw to attack, all of it would be attacked as long as it¡¯s in that range! Lu Yu was delighted. With this skill, he could launch a counterattack! The moment Lu Yu took the stone tablet, the Shadow Cat Demon attacked again and slashed at Lu Yu with its claws. Lu Yu quickly retreated and used a double jump to jump onto a tree branch. Then, Lu Yu placed his hand on the stone tablet and began to feel it with his heart. A wave of energy surged into Lu Yu¡¯s body. He had successfully learned the Split Claw skill. Lu Yu looked at his claws and waved them gently twice. His claws stirred up the surrounding airflow. ¡°Alright, all I have is this Split Claw skill now. Whether I live or die, it all depends on this!¡± Lu Yu jumped down from the tree branch and rushed towards the Shadow Cat Demon¡¯s position. The Shadow Cat Demon saw Lu Yu jumping down while brandishing his claws. The Cat Demon was cautious and created two afterimages to cover itself fighting, and dodging Lu Yu¡¯s attack. This time, Lu Yu completely ignored the afterimages and directly waved his claws with all his might! Buzz! After a series of buzzing sounds, Lu Yu¡¯s claws slashed out several sharp air blades forward! Kii! The Split Claws struck the Shadow Cat Demon¡¯s body, and it cut through its fur and skin, causing blood to flow out instantly. The Shadow Cat Demon was in pain and roared out. ¡°Now, you die!¡± Lu Yu raised his claws and prepared to strike again. Seeing the situation it was in, the Shadow Cat Demon hurriedly retreated, trying to dodge Lu Yu¡¯s attack. The attack just now has caused it immense pain. It did not have the intention of fighting any further. However, Lu Yu had already set his eyes on the materials that the Shadow Cat Demon would drop. He had to kill it here! Seeing that the Shadow Cat Demon wanted to retreat, Lu Yu did not hesitate to jump over. He then released a double jump in the air, instantly pulling himself closer to the Shadow Cat Demon! The next moment, Lu Yu swung his claws and slashed at the Shadow Cat Demon! Swoosh!!! The sharp slash shot out once again and hit the Shadow Cat Demon heavily, tearing into its skin and flesh. Blood instantly spurted out. The Shadow Cat Demon was in pain and immediately laid on the ground, wailing. Lu Yu landed on the ground and walked toward the Shadow Cat Demon. Lu Yu did not intend to show any mercy to the Shadow Cat Demon rolling on the ground. Next, Lu Yu¡¯s right claw pierced through the Shadow Cat Demon¡¯s chest. Then, Lu Yu crushed the Shadow Cat Demon¡¯s heart. At this point, the Shadow Cat Demon had completely lost its life. Lu Yu squatted beside the Shadow Cat Demon¡¯s corpse and took out a dagger, cutting off the Shadow Cat Demon¡¯s fingernails. This was one of the materials needed for his Dragon Claw evolution! He was one step closer to evolving into his Dragon Claw. Of course, Lu Yu could instead head down the path of the Cat Claw. But for the sake of his future path, it was better to save up and choose the path of the Dragon Claw. [ Congratulations on obtaining the Shadow Cat Demon Fingernail. Do you want to evolve the path of Cat Claw? ] A system notification appeared. Lu Yu did not hesitate and directly chose ¡®No¡¯. Lu Yu continued to take off the Shadow Cat Demon¡¯s eyeballs. After he was done, he checked his backpack. There were about thirty Cat Demon eyeballs. He was still far from a hundred. Now that he had learned the Split Claw, it would be much easier for him to kill those Cat Demons. Therefore, Lu Yu continued his quest after resting for a while. Lu Yu continued to wander around the Dark Forest, looking for Cat Demons to kill. This time, his hunting speed was much faster than yesterday. To increase his efficiency, Lu Yu would attract five to six Cat Demons at a time and then use Split Claw to kill them all in one go. The attributes of these little Cat Demons were only half of Lu Yu¡¯s, and the only thing that was half decent was their speed. After Lu Yu hunted, the entire Dark Forest became much quieter. There was also a faint smell of blood in the air. Many Cat Demons were scared out of their wits when they saw Lu Yu. They fled the moment they saw him. Lu Yu¡¯s massacre made him the devil in the eyes of these Cat Demons! After almost a day, Lu Yu finally collected the remaining eyeballs he needed. At dusk, Lu Yu finished collecting the last eyeball. After cleaning up the blood stains on his body, he was ready to leave the dungeon. He went to the entrance and returned to the position of the array formation. With a flash of light, Lu Yu was teleported out. As soon as he left, Lu Yu saw the notification in front of him. [ Congratulations on completing an achievement ] [ Congratulations on clearing a Difficult level dungeon for the first time ] [ Congratulations on killing a dungeon boss for the first time ] [ Three items are rewarded. Please choose¡­ ] Chapter 11 Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation Chapter 11 Shadow Series, Continue Questing Lu Yu saw a notification that he could receive three rewards after completing his first quest. Lu Yu was filled with anticipation as he clicked on the panel, and the first item appeared. [ Shadow Inner Armor: Green, increases defense, absorbs damage. ] [ Defense increased by 15 points ] After Lu Yu received it, a dark inner armor appeared before him. Lu Yu quickly picked it up and felt it thoroughly. He could feel the coldness emanating from the armor. He put it on immediately, and the defense attribute in his personal attributes interface increased by 15 points. The most important thing was that this equipment could absorb and counteract the damage. However, this effect was not as intuitive as a defense buff; this effect could only be seen during a battle. Lu Yu clicked on the interface again and received the second piece of equipment. [ Shadow Necklace: Green, increases health ] [ Increases health by 35 points ] Lu Yu picked up the necklace in front of him and quickly put it on, and the health attribute on his personal attribute panel increased by 35 points. Following this, Lu Yu received the last reward. [ Shadow Scroll: Green, can convert an existing piece of equipment into part of the Shadow Series. ] Lu Yu did not expect all three rewards to be from the same Shadow Series. If he were to equip all the equipment from the Shadow Series, would an additional upgrade to his attributes be added? Suddenly, Lu Yu remembered the equipment he had obtained from opening the bronze treasure chest, the Shadow Brass Knuckles! It was also a piece of equipment from the Shadow Series. This way, he would have four pieces of shadow series equipment! At that moment, a panel appeared before Lu Yu¡¯s eyes. [ Collect five pieces of Shadow equipment. You can raise the grade of the equipment to Blue and synthesize all of them into a Shadow set ] [ Exclusive skill of the Shadow set: Shadow Substitute. Obtain a chance to substitute your death. ] Seeing this description, Lu Yu was excited. This set¡¯s exclusive skill was all too suitable for him! Previously, when he was in the dungeon, there were several situations where he had narrowly escaped death. If he had this skill, his chances of survival would be much higher. It seemed that he needed to find the last piece of Shadow equipment as soon as possible. After equipping the two pieces of equipment, Lu Yu took the shadow scroll and left the dungeon, returning to Riverdale City. On the way back, Lu Yu opened his personal attributes interface and checked his current attributes. [ Attack: 71] [ Speed: 58] [ Health: 132] [ Mana: 90] [ Defense: 61] In addition to the Shadow Inner Armor and the Shadow Necklace that increased his defense and health, the Shadow Brass Knuckles also increased his attack power by 10 points. His current attributes were increasing at a fast rate. If Lu Yu had obediently stayed in school and trained hard, his strength would definitely not have increased so quickly. On the way back, Lu Yu opened the class group chat, planning to check if anything new happened in class today. Most of the people were basically talking about their respective training situations. ¡°I stayed in the gym for the whole day today, and my health points only increased by 1 point. Could you believe that?¡± ¡°You definitely didn¡¯t train hard enough. I increased mine by 3 points.¡± ¡°Which one of you went to an actual combat zone? I heard that there was a rookie who was so fearless that he went to an actual combat zone, fighting a ferocious beast. But it seems that he ended up crippled!¡± ¡°Forget it. A rookie who has just awakened should train for a week before considering actual combat. Otherwise, he would just be sent to an early grave!¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. Let¡¯s just continue training¡­¡± The class chat group was bustling with discussion, with everyone sharing their training experiences. However, there was no doubt that they were afraid of actual combat. Unless they were fighting those beasts that were basically harmless, or else they wouldn¡¯t dare make a move. Lu Yu flipped through the chat logs for a short while before turning off his phone out of boredom. The environment you are in shapes you. It seemed that he had made the right choice to go to the dungeon to do a quest. Since that was the case, he would be better off continuing to accept quests and enter dungeons! Lu Yu returned to Riverdale City and went straight to the black market. After squeezing through the crowd, Lu Yu arrived at the shop entrance where he had accepted the quest. When the merchant saw that Lu Yu had returned, he immediately greeted him with a smile. Although Lu Yu had changed into another black outfit, the merchant still recognized him at a glance. This merchant seemed to have a good memory of the people he met. ¡°Hey, you¡¯re back so soon. Has the quest been completed?¡± Lu Yu nodded and took out 100 Cat Demon eyes from his backpack. After the boss counted them one by one, he said with a smile, ¡°Well done, precisely 100 of them.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll settle the quest according to the market price of these materials.¡± He took out his phone and used the computer to calculate. Then he said, with a smile, ¡°A total of 70,000 bucks. How about it?¡± Lu Yu nodded slightly. ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°Very good. I¡¯ll transfer 70,000 to you now.¡± He tinkered with his phone and transferred the reward for this quest to Lu Yu. Lu Yu took out his phone and checked it to confirm it was the correct amount. 70,000 was not a tiny amount for Lu Yu. If he continued his previous part-time job, he would probably need two months to get this same amount. But now, he could get 70,000 bucks for just completing a quest! The money for this quest was enough to cover his aunt¡¯s medical expenses for a month. Lu Yu could not help but heave a sigh of relief. His financial ability had finally risen. ¡°Boss, are there any new quests? I want to continue!¡± Lu Yu continued to ask. He planned to continue taking up more quests. His talent was average, so he had to rely on hard work to make up for it! Seeing this, the merchant chuckled, ¡°You sure are diligent.¡± ¡°Most people who accepted quests would rest for a long time after completing one. It¡¯s rare to see someone like you accept another immediately after completing one.¡± ¡°How about this? Since you¡¯re so reliable, I¡¯ll take you to see the manager of the Chamber of Commerce. She has more quests there, and I guarantee you will never run out of quests to accept!¡± ¡°Take me to see the manager? I¡¯ve only completed one quest with you.¡± The boss laughed and said, ¡°The manager¡¯s daily job is to issue high-quality quests.¡± ¡°Since you¡¯re this diligent, you¡¯re naturally more suitable for those high-quality quests. Those quests are unlike mine, which can only give you tens of thousands of dollars for completing a quest. The reward I give isn¡¯t that good, after all.¡± Hearing this, Lu Yu was secretly delighted. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I thank you in advance.¡± ¡°Follow me.¡± The merchant took the lead and headed toward the second floor of the black market. After reaching the second floor, Lu Yu saw a huge golden double door from afar with four well-built bodyguards in black standing before the door. The merchant pushed open the door and walked in with Lu Yu. ¡°Go on in. Tell them that you¡¯re here to accept a quest.¡± Lu Yu nodded slightly and walked in. The interior of the office was simple yet elegant. Lu Yu walked on the red carpet and came up to a desk. He saw the manager of the Chamber of Commerce sitting there. The manager of the Chamber of Commerce was a woman of an enchanting figure, wearing a tight white dress. Under her long wavy hair was a gorgeous petite face. ¡°Hello, I¡¯m here to accept a quest.¡± Chapter 12 Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation Chapter 12 Black Market Manager, Grappling Skill Lu Yu arrived at the manager¡¯s office in the Chamber of Commerce and explained that he was here to accept a quest. The manager looked at him with her charming eyes, which made Lu Yu¡¯s whole body stiffen. ¡°You¡¯re quite the young one, aren¡¯t you?¡± Lu Yu was shocked. He was covered in black, but this woman still saw through him with a glance. ¡°I am young, but I am confident in my strength.¡± ¡°Is that so? The equipment you have is only Green-quality. It looks like you are half a rookie.¡± Lu Yu panicked and asked, ¡°You mean¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I still have a lot of beginner-level quests here.¡± After the manager spoke in a drawling tone, she took out a stack of papers. Lu Yu heaved a sigh of relief and continued, ¡°I will work hard to complete the quest!¡± ¡°Here, take this quest. The difficulty isn¡¯t too high, and there is a possibility of obtaining an immense reward.¡± As she spoke, she took a stack of paper containing the quest¡¯s information and placed it before Lu Yu. Lu Yu walked over and stretched out his hand to take it to read. ¡°Half Mountain Cave, Tricky level.¡± ¡°This ordeal is slightly less tough than Difficult level, but there is a boss entrenched here.¡± ¡°Quest target: Kill 50 Rock Worm Beasts.¡± After reading the quest introduction, Lu Yu did not hesitate to accept the quest. ¡°I¡¯ve accepted this quest. I can go and carry it out now.¡± The manager asked, ¡°It¡¯s already late. Are you sure you want to go now? Why don¡¯t you start tomorrow?¡± Lu Yu shook his head, ¡°I will head over there now. If I can¡¯t complete the quest today, I¡¯ll find a place there to sleep.¡± The manager smiled with admiration. ¡°No wonder you were recommended. Alright, you can go now. I look forward to working with you more in the future.¡± As she spoke, she took out a scroll and a bracelet and placed them in front of Lu Yu. ¡°This is a storage bracelet. It can store a hundred items, a gift for our meeting. Take it.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Lu Yu reached forward and took the teleportation scroll. At the same time, he saw her business card on her desk. The manager¡¯s name was Qin Ya. After Lu Yu memorized it, she turned around and left. Lu Yu headed to a corner of the black market and opened the scroll. The scroll emanated a bright light, wrapping Lu Yu and teleporting him out of the black market! The next moment, Lu Yu appeared at the foot of a mountain. He looked up and saw a cave halfway up the mountain. The cave¡¯s entrance was huge, and it was pitch black inside. Faint sounds came from inside the cave, making him feel a chill down his spine. As soon as Lu Yu was teleported here, he noticed many people around him. He felt strange. Why were so many people gathered before this dungeon? Could it be that the rewards for killing monsters in this dungeon were excellent? Lu Yu walked along the mountain path toward the entrance of the cave. Vaguely, Lu Yu heard the conversation between the two people before him. ¡°I heard that the boss here is in a weakened state. Is that true?¡± ¡°So many people are here. How could the news be fake?¡± ¡°This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If it were any other time, we wouldn¡¯t have had the chance to kill such a boss!¡± ¡°It¡¯s hard to say. Rumors mention that it¡¯s a weakened state, but who knows what¡¯s the actual situation.¡± ¡°Who cares? We can¡¯t miss this opportunity! We have to take down this boss!¡± The two hyped each other, encouraging each other so they could kill the legendary boss in this dungeon. Lu Yu heard the conversation, and his interest was piqued. The situation seems like there was a weakened dungeon boss here. This was also an opportunity for Lu Yu! He would first assess the situation after entering the dungeon, and if he were to encounter that boss, he would definitely try his best to take it down! The reward given by a boss-level monster was undoubtedly attractive. It would definitely increase his strength significantly! Lu Yu arrived at the entrance of the cave very soon. Many people were entering the cave, and Lu Yu followed them inside. After entering, they all turned on their flashlights to illuminate their surroundings. Fortunately, Lu Yu had made preparations in advance. Thus, he also took out a flashlight to illuminate his path. As they slowly walked along the cave wall, Lu Yu suddenly felt some movement in front of him, so he quickly shone the light over. To his surprise, he discovered that a Rock Worm Beast was facing him! This was a four-legged monster. Its entire body was covered in a layer of rock carapace. The creature¡¯s mouthpart was like an insect¡¯s, but its body structure was like that of an ordinary beast. After the Rock Worm Beast discovered Lu Yu, it instantly jumped over and pounced on Lu Yu. Lu Yu did not hesitate at all. He unsheathed his claws and slashed toward the Rock Worm Beast! Clang! After a clang sounded out, the Rock Worm Beast was sent flying and fell heavily to the ground. However, Lu Yu¡¯s attack only managed to slash through the Rock Worm Beast¡¯s carapace. Lu Yu hurriedly used his Eye of Truth to look at it. This creature¡¯s defense was shockingly as high as 75! No wonder he could not do any damage to it! This creature¡¯s defense was higher than his own attack, although not much. But, it was enough to neutralise Lu Yu¡¯s attack. It seemed that he had to first break through its armor before he could deal any damage. Lu Yu unfurled his claws again and released his skill, Armor Penetration! The Rock Worm Beast pounced at Lu Yu again. This time, Lu Yu swung his sharp claws and slashed at the Rock Worm Beast in the chest! Crack! Crack! The hard shell broke into countless pieces under Lu Yu¡¯s claws, revealing the muscle beneath it. Lu Yu quickly swung his second claw. When his attack hit, blood immediately spurted out! With a splurting sound, blood gushed out. Lu Yu¡¯s right claw pierced itself into the Rock Worm Beast¡¯s chest. With the experience of killing the first Rock Worm Beast, the rest was much more manageable. Lu Yu found a second Rock Worm Beast, then the third one, followed by the fourth¡­ Suddenly, a stone tablet dropped from one of the Rock Worm Beasts¡¯ corpses. Lu Yu squatted down and picked it up. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a skill stone tablet! [ Grappling: Upon activating the skill, it will show the enemy¡¯s weak points and joints. Double damage upon striking them ] Lu Yu had heard of the skill, Grappling, before. This martial skill uses the enemy¡¯s weak points and joints to deal a lot of damage. This skill could undoubtedly significantly increase Lu Yu¡¯s attack power! Lu Yu placed his right hand on the stone tablet and began to feel the skill inside. Soon after, he learned the Grappling skill. He stood up and looked at a Rock Worm Beast not far away. The very next moment, he activated the Grappling skill, and the positions of the weak joints on the Rock Worm Beast¡¯s body appeared in his eyes. Following that, Lu Yu stepped forward, and his right claw heavily struck the Rock Worm Beast¡¯s left shoulder joint! This attack directly cut off the Rock Worm Beast¡¯s entire left arm, and fresh blood instantly spurted out. Lu Yu used another claw attack to kill the Rock Worm Beast. This skill was indeed valuable. Even if it didn¡¯t have Armor Penetration, it could still identify the weak point in an enemy and then attack it. Lu Yu took out the Rock Worm Beast¡¯s heart and placed it into his storage bracelet. After carefully counting, he had only killed a dozen or so. There was still a long way to go. Lu Yu didn¡¯t stop and prepared to continue killing more Rock Worm Beast. Chapter 13 Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation Chapter 13 Chaotic Cavern, Red Flame Violent Bear Just as Lu Yu was about to continue killing the monsters, he suddenly encountered two people. ¡°Oh no, didn¡¯t we just walk past this place?¡± ¡°Damn it. We seem to have lost our way.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t we hurry up and teleport out? We can¡¯t find our way out anyway.¡± ¡°Sigh, this is the only way¡­¡± The two of them realized they had lost their way and helplessly took out the return scroll. Then, the two of them were teleported out at the same time. At that moment, Lu Yu realized that he couldn¡¯t find his way out either, and the problem was that he didn¡¯t have a teleportation scroll. If he really lost his way here, he would be in danger. Right now, Lu Yu could only hope for his Eye of Truth. Since his Eye of Truth could see where dangers and opportunities were, it must be able to know a path to the outside, right? With this thought in mind, Lu Yu activated his Eye of Truth and looked around. When he looked at one of the cave holes, a notification appeared hovering before the hole, ¡°Inside¡±. When he looked at the other cave hole, he received the notification, ¡°Outside¡±. Lu Yu quickly understood the meaning behind the notification. Walking toward the ¡°Inside¡± would allow him to reach the cave¡¯s center. If he walked towards the ¡°outside¡± notification, he would be able to reach the outside of the cave. Lu Yu heaved a sigh of relief in his heart. Luckily, his Eye of Truth could see which path he needed to take. Otherwise, without the scroll, it would be a dead end for him. If Lu Yu was lucky, he might meet a kind-hearted person who would sell him a teleportation scroll. However, he shouldn¡¯t place his hopes on others in the first place. At that moment, two more people walked to the cave where Lu Yu was. Both were girls. They looked at the Lu Yu¡¯s cave hole and frowned. ¡°It¡¯s over. We can¡¯t find the exit.¡± One of them said. ¡°Looks like we can only teleport out like the others.¡± The two girls nodded and took out their teleportation scrolls. Then, one of them noticed Lu Yu. ¡°Are you lost too?¡± she asked. ¡°No. I can find a way out,¡± Lu Yu answered indifferently. The two girls looked at each other and smiled. ¡°You¡¯re lying to us, right? The path here is disorganized. How would you be able to find a way out? If you want to get out, I have extra teleportation scrolls here. I can sell them to you.¡± Lu Yu shook his head slightly, ¡°No need. Keep the scrolls for yourself. My goal is to kill the boss.¡± The two girls pursed their lips, assuming that Lu Yu was bragging. They did not say anything else, opened the scroll and left. After everyone else had left, Lu Yu continued to move forward. He chose the entrance marked ¡°Inside¡± and went there. This way, he could reach the center of the cave. Lu Yu believed the legendary boss would be at the cave¡¯s center! He continued to move forward, killing all the Rock Worm Beast mercilessly whenever he encountered them. Gradually, Lu Yu¡¯s quest target was getting close to completion. Moreover, the number of Rock Worm Beasts around him was also decreasing. Lu Yu knew that he was about to reach the Boss¡¯ lair, which was why there were fewer monsters around him. From then on, Lu Yu was much more careful heading forward. As Lu Yu passed through another tunnel and entered the next cave, he smelled a hint of blood. Such a fresh scent of blood made Lu Yu frown. It seemed that he was almost there! He lowered the flashlight¡¯s brightness and hunched his posture, quietly moving forward. Finally, he came to the last tunnel. Through this, he could reach the center of the cave. Lu Yu passed through the tunnel. Through the weak light, he could vaguely see the situation in the cave before him. A giant monster was curled up on the ground as if it was sleeping, and the smell of blood was coming from this monster. Lu Yu turned up the brightness of his flashlight and looked over it carefully. Soon, Lu Yu saw that it was a giant bear curled up on the ground. It had red fur all over it, with muscles bulging all over its burly-looking body. Its chest rose and fell, and it even released a loud snore. Lu Yu used his Eye of Truth to look at the boss and saw the information about the Red Flame Violent Bear. [ Red Flame Violent Bear ] [ Attack: 80 ] [ Speed: 62 ] [ Health: 200 ] [ Mana: 50 ] [ Defense: 120 ] [ Current status: Postpartum ] [ Status effect: Health reduced by 10%, speed reduced by 30%, attack increased by 15% ] Reading the status effect, Lu Yu realized that this boss was in a weakened state because it had just given birth. Just a 30% reduction in movement speed alone was fatal for it. Its speed was not fast, to begin with. With this reduction, it was utterly weakened. However, its defense was still frighteningly high. With 120 points in defense, Lu Yu would probably need to break through its defense twice before he could deal any damage to it. His speed was his only advantage. Using this advantage to break through its defense twice would not be difficult. Of course, if he really wanted to deal more damage, he would need to break through its defense thrice. Lu Yu took a deep breath. If he were to receive an attack by the boss, he would suffer severe damage. It seemed that if he wanted to kill this violent bear, he had to be careful. At that moment, Lu Yu did not plan to retreat anymore. He had to take down the boss! After all, one of the evolution materials for the Dragon Claw was from this boss! Lu Yu quietly stood before the Red Flame Violent Bear. Using the time when the violent red bear was still sleeping, he could break through its defense for the first time! After gathering his strength, Lu Yu suddenly swung his claws! The sharp claws struck the Red Flame Violent Bear¡¯s body. It did not even mark its skin, only cutting off a layer of red fur! However, the Red Flame Violent Bear still felt some pain. It immediately woke up and let out a howl. ¡°Roar!!!¡± The Red Flame Violent Bear roared out in pain. It quickly stood up and looked at Lu Yu. Its body was about two meters tall, with its entire body filled with muscles. The Red Flame Violent Bear¡¯s bloodshot eyes stared at Lu Yu. Then, it struck out with a heavy palm. Lu Yu was secretly delighted when he saw the bear¡¯s paw coming toward him. The bear¡¯s speed had indeed decreased by a lot! Even if he delayed for half a second before dodging it, he could still easily escape it. After taking a few steps back, Lu Yu quickly sidestepped the Red Flame Violent Bear¡¯s attack. The Red Flame Violent Bear was enraged. It landed on all fours and charged toward Lu Yu! Lu Yu didn¡¯t act cocky this time and quickly dodged the attack. Being rammed into a wall by a violent giant bear would probably kill him. After dodging its attack, the Red Flame Violent Bear rammed its head into a wall and was stunned. Lu Yu took advantage of this opening and quickly rushed forward, slashing down with his claws again! The second time he slashed with his Armor Penetration skill, it cut off a large piece of fur! There were a few deep marks left on its thick skin this time. The Red Flame Violent Bear felt a sharp pain and quickly turned around, charging toward Lu Yu once again! Lu Yu hurriedly leapt into the air and followed up with a double jump to increase the distance between them. The Red Flame Violent Bear turned around, charged and rammed into the wall once again. With a boom, the entire cave shook. At that moment, Lu Yu fell from the sky and slashed down with his claws again! The third time the Armor Penetration strike landed, it sliced off a large piece of the Red Flame Violent Bear¡¯s flesh! Chapter 14 Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation Chapter 14 Kill! Beast Familiar Egg Lu Yu successfully used Armor Penetration three times, reducing the Red Flame Violent Bear¡¯s defense to 51. Lu Yu only needed to launch four or five more attacks to kill the Red Flame Violent Bear quickly! After its defense was broken, the Red Flame Violent Bear immediately became cranky. It stood up and pounded its chest with both of its palms, letting out an intense roar simultaneously! ¡°Roar!!!¡± Even as an ear-piercing sound wave came, Lu Yu did not care about covering his ears as he charged toward the Red Flame Violent Bear again! This time, Lu Yu activated his Grappling skill! In an instant, the flaws and weaknesses of the Red Flame Violent Bear¡¯s entire body were revealed. Lu Yu fanned out his pair of sharp claws and attacked the Red Flame Violent Bear¡¯s entire body in a frenzy. Squelch! Fresh blood spurted out and dyed the entire cave red. Intense pain racked the Red Flame Violent Bear¡¯s brain. The Red Flame Violent Bear went completely mad and swiped its paws around crazily! Lu Yu dodged them and continued to attack! Finally, the Red Flame Violent Bear¡¯s health was getting low. Lu Yu reached out with his claws and directly slashed off the Red Flame Violent Bear¡¯s ribs! With another claw attack, the Red Flame Violent Bear¡¯s internal organs were all devastated! The Red Flame Violent Bear fell heavily to the ground with a smash. Lu Yu wiped the fresh blood off his body and unsheathed the sharp claws in his hands. He squatted on the ground, took out a dagger, and cut off the Red Flame Violent Bear¡¯s fur. [ Congratulations on obtaining the Red Flame Violent Bear Fur. ] [ Currently, you can evolve the Bear Paw path. Do you want to evolve? ] Lu Yu chose ¡°No¡± again. The Dragon Claw was his ultimate goal. Now that he had obtained the Red Flame Violent Bear Fur, he had acquired two needed materials. He was still two short of evolving the Dragon Claw. At that moment, Lu Yu looked at the place where the Red Flame Violent Bear had been sleeping. There was a crystal clear egg there. Lu Yu immediately realized that this was a beast¡¯s egg and that it could be hatched. Although the Red Flame Violent Bear was a mammal, all ferocious beasts lay eggs in this world. Lu Yu picked up the beast egg and put it into his storage bracelet. After he hatched the egg, he would have his own familiar. When the time comes, it will be much easier for him to carry out his quest together with his beast familiar. As he thought about it, Lu Yu felt a wave of sleepiness sweep over him. It was already late, and it was time to sleep. Lu Yu decided to lie down and sleep. This was the boss¡¯s lair and was supposed to be isolated from small monsters. Other cultivators couldn¡¯t find this place either. Therefore, it was good to rest here. Lu Yu lay on the ground and slowly fell asleep while enduring the smell of blood all around him. One night later, Lu Yu woke up in the dark cave the following day. The first thing he did when he woke up was to turn on his flashlight. After packing his things, Lu Yu followed the tunnel and prepared to leave this place. He checked his storage bracelet and found that he had only killed more than thirty Rock Worm Beasts. However, he would definitely encounter the remaining Rock Worm Beasts he needed along the way and make up for the dozen he was lacking. Lu Yu followed the tunnel and arrived at the cave before him. Lu Yu seemed to hear faint footsteps in front of him. Lu Yu slowly walked forward and shone the flashlight. As expected, a figure appeared in front of him. ¡°Oh, has someone already arrived here?¡± That person used his hand to block the light and asked in surprise. ¡°Who are you?¡± Lu Yu asked. ¡°My Name Is Ho Qiang. I¡¯m an information merchant. I was the one that provided the information that the boss here had weakened.¡± ¡°I walked all night and eliminated all the wrong answers. It took me a lot of effort just to get here.¡± He sized up Lu Yu from head to toe with a face full of regret. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to kill that boss already. What a pity.¡± Lu Yu looked at Ho Qiang. Ho Qiang was fully equipped with Blue-quality equipment. He was definitely much stronger than Lu Yu. Moreover, this was the deep part of the cave, with few people. If Ho Qiang wanted to kill Lu Yu and take his treasure, there wouldn¡¯t be a problem. Lu Yu felt a sense of danger, realizing his situation. Lu Yu should be careful even if the person in front of him had a smile on his face and didn¡¯t seem like a bad person. ¡°You¡¯re also an information merchant? What a coincidence! I¡¯m the same.¡± Ho Qiang looked at Lu Yu curiously, ¡°Really? You too?¡± ¡°Of course, but I¡¯ve only joined for a short period of time. The reason I¡¯m here is that Ireceived some information from my seniors.¡± Ho Qiang sized up Lu Yu and saw that Lu Yu was indeed a newbie. He couldn¡¯t help but nod. ¡°No wonder a rookie like you could find the boss faster than me. It looks like you¡¯re one of us.¡± Ho Qiang realized that Lu Yu might be related to some big shot in the organization to obtain information and find this place so quickly. Hence, he was all smiles as he handed over his contact information with both hands. ¡°Hey Bro, this is my contact information. If you need anything in the future, feel free to contact me.¡± Lu Yu smiled slightly, took Ho Qiang¡¯s business card, and handed over his. After Ho Qiang took it, he said with a smile, ¡°If there¡¯s new information in the future, I¡¯ll definitely contact you immediately. Don¡¯t worry!¡± He accepted the business card with a smile and turned around to leave. Lu Yu also left the cave with this ¡°colleague¡± of his. On the way out, Ho Qiang could not help but ask, ¡°Bro, who was the boss inside? I wasn¡¯t sure who it was.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the Red Flame Violent Bear. It has just given birth.¡± ¡°Oh, Red Flame Violent Bear. I heard that the material of this beast is precious.¡± ¡°Yeah, I plan to use it to evolve my talent.¡± ¡°How enviable. If only I could have come here earlier.¡± Ho Qiang looked sullen. He felt it was a pity that he had wasted an entire night! After passing through a few caves, Lu Yu once again discovered the Rock Worm Beasts. ¡°You go on ahead. I want to hunt some more Rock Worm Beasts.¡± Ho Qiang nodded. ¡°Alright, then I¡¯ll go first¡­¡± He headed to the next cave while Lu Yu stayed where he was. There were Rock Worm Beasts in this cave, and Lu Yu killed them one by one. After killing them, he headed to the next cave. Lu Yu remembered that his quest for today had not been completed. In this cave, it would be hard to do his daily quest, whether choosing a long run or a long jump. Therefore, completing the claw-waving quest was the easiest. Thus, Lu Yu began continuously swooping his claws around, killing Rock Worm Beasts. Finally, Lu Yu had almost finished hunting 50 Rock Worm Beasts and waved his claws about 70 to 80 times. Lu Yu slowed down, killing the remaining two by slashing them more than 10 times each, leaving bloody wounds all over their bodies. Both Rock Worm Beasts died a horrible death. [ Congratulations for completing the daily quest, swing your claws (100/100) ] [ Obtained daily reward ] After completing the daily quest, his quest to kill 50 Rock Worm Beasts was also completed. ¡°Let¡¯s strengthen my skills.¡± Lu Yu decided to exchange his daily quest¡¯s reward for strengthening his skills. In order to complete future quests faster, he decided to enhance the Split Claw skill. If he strengthened Split Claw, his efficiency would be much faster if he encountered such quests that needed him to kill small monsters in the future. After strengthening his skill, Lu Yu walked out of the cave. When he walked out of the cave, Lu Yu saw a notification before him. [ Congratulations on clearing a tricky-level dungeon: Half Mountain Cave. ] [ Obtained two rewards¡­ ] Chapter 15 Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation Chapter 15 Blue Equipment, Information Merchant After clearing the Half Mountain Cave Dungeon, Lu Yu received two rewards. Lu Yu received the two pieces of equipment by clicking on the system¡¯s panel. [ Rock Armor: Blue quality, increases defense, increases defense by 40 points, reduces armor penetration effect ] [ Rock Helmet: Blue quality, increases defense, increases defense by 10 points, increases mana by 40 points ] Lu Yu was overjoyed. It was two pieces of Blue quality equipment. Once these two pieces of equipment were equipped, it immediately increased his defense by 50 points! Lu Yu quickly equipped the two pieces of equipment and opened the interface. [ Attack: 71 ] [ Speed: 58 ] [ Health: 132 ] [ Mana: 130 ] [ Defense: 111 ] His defense instantly soared to over 100 points. Even if all his classmates attacked him in one go, they would not be able to break through his defense! Even if he stood still and let them attack him, he would not be hurt at all. The increase in his mana was a great help to Lu Yu as well. For skills such as [ Split Claw ] and [ Grappling ], each activation costs 10 mana points. Also, he would need 5 mana points every time he used double jump. If he upgrades his skills, those upgraded skills might need to expend more mana points. Hence, mana points were a crucial factor. Once his mana was used up, his combat power would be reduced by at least half. Moreover, Lu Yu¡¯s skills were crucial to him; losing any one of them would be detrimental. Lu Yu looked at his attribute panel and switched to the skill panel. [ Skills: Armor Penetration Lv2, Split Claw Lv2, Grappling Lv1, Double Jump Lv1 ] Armor Penetration¡¯s enhancement effect would increase armor penetration ability by 5%. It¡¯s currently at 15%. Split Claw¡¯s enhancement effect would increase AOE damage by 5%, and its basic damage would be equivalent to Lu Yu¡¯s attack stats. As his skills increased, the number of skills that needed to be upgraded also increased. It seemed that he would need to exchange for more skill points in the future. After Lu Yu left the cave, he began to return to Riverdale City, which took him more than half a day. He first returned to the black market and then went to the office on the second floor. As soon as he entered the office, Lu Yu saw that the office was filled with people. They were all here to collect rewards for their quest. Their quest seemed to be the same as Lu Yu¡¯s, killing Rock Worm Beasts in the cave dungeon. Qin Ya stood up, looked at everyone, and asked, ¡°When you guys went over, you should have heard about the cave boss, right?¡± Everyone nodded. ¡°Then, did any of you find the boss and kill it?¡± Everyone looked at each other and shook their heads. Qin Ya shook her head slightly, ¡°It seems that the boss hasn¡¯t been killed yet. I¡¯d better issue a quest. Otherwise, when that guy recovers, it will be even harder to kill.¡± Just as Qin Ya sat back in her seat and prepared to issue a new quest, Lu Yu walked out. ¡°I killed the boss.¡± As soon as he said that, everyone looked over. Qin Ya¡¯s movements froze. She raised her head and looked at Lu Yu. ¡°You killed the boss?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I killed it. The boss is a Red Flame Violent Bear.¡± Everyone was stunned. They couldn¡¯t even find the boss¡¯s position, and Lu Yu killed it? Qin Ya was in disbelief as well. ¡°That can¡¯t be right. You¡¯re just a rookie. How could you kill a dungeon boss in such a hidden location? Are you sure you¡¯re not joking?¡± When everyone heard this, they started discussing it amongst themselves. ¡°He¡¯s a newbie!¡± ¡°Forget it. I have a year¡¯s worth of questing experience, but I still can¡¯t find the boss¡¯s location. So how could a newbie like him find the boss?¡± ¡°He¡¯s probably bragging.¡± ¡°I think so too¡­¡± Lu Yu didn¡¯t bother listening to the crowd¡¯s murmurings. ¡°Miss Qin, the boss did indeed die at my hands.¡± Lu Yu didn¡¯t plan to show off his spoils of war to prevent others from becoming jealous. ¡°I understand that you must be very confused as to why I was able to find the boss¡¯s hidden location.¡± Everyone looked at Lu Yu curiously. At that moment, Qin Ya¡¯s phone rang. She answered the call and raised her hand to signal everyone to pause. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Oh, I see.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯m hanging up¡­¡± Qin Ya hung up the phone and looked at everyone. ¡°We just received news that the boss in the cave has indeed been killed.¡± As soon as these words were said, everyone present was dumbfounded. They looked at Lu Yu in disbelief. Lu Yu looked at Qin Ya and asked, ¡°The person who called you just now was an information merchant, right?¡± Qin Ya nodded slightly. ¡°To tell you the truth, one of my identities is an information merchant.¡± At that moment, everyone¡¯s interest in Lu Yu was piqued. The profession of an information merchant was somewhat mysterious. Most people would either glorify an information merchant or be the information merchant¡¯s lackey. The reason was straightforward. Any random piece of information from an information merchant would be a great opportunity for an ordinary person! It was the kind of opportunity that could change a person¡¯s life. Lu Yu continued, ¡°That¡¯s why I know how to get to the boss¡¯s lair.¡± Everyone was convinced after hearing his reply. At the same time, they were more respectful in their behaviour towards Lu Yu, even if he was just a newbie. Qin Ya looked at Lu Yu with a puzzled look. ¡°Does intelligence organization accept newbies?¡± ¡°Of course. The person who called you just now should be an information merchant named Ho Qiang, right?¡± Lu Yu asked. The corner of Qin Ya¡¯s mouth twitched. The person who called her just now was indeed Ho Qiang. Now, she had no reason to doubt him. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I shouldn¡¯t have doubted you.¡± Qin Ya hurriedly apologized. The others all looked up at Lu Yu, treating him like a celebrity. Lu Yu walked forward and handed over the spoils of war he had collected. ¡°Fifty Rock Worm Beasts have been killed. Do count them.¡± ¡°I believe you. I¡¯ll give you the reward now.¡± Qin Ya transferred 100,000 bucks into Lu Yu¡¯s account and accepted the loot. After Lu Yu received the money, the first thing he did was to buy the last piece of Shadow equipment he needed. Gathering five Shadow equipment could provide him with additional skills, which was very important to Lu Yu. Therefore, Lu Yu planned to buy the last piece of Shadow equipment before the next quest. ¡°Miss Qin, I would like to ask where I can buy Green equipment?¡± Qin Ya said, ¡°The beginner¡¯s equipment shop is on the first floor. There is Green equipment there.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± Lu Yu turned around and walked out of the office. The other people hurriedly followed him out, wanting to request Lu Yu¡¯s contact information. However, Lu Yu quickly disappeared into the crowd outside. Arriving on the first floor, Lu Yu walked into the equipment shop and browsed through the equipment displayed. Soon, his eyes locked onto a pair of pants. ¡°Shadow pants, I¡¯ve finally found it.¡± Lu Yu walked over, picked up the equipment, and looked at the shop owner. ¡°Boss, how much is this equipment?¡± ¡°This, 50,000.¡± Lu Yu looked at the long pants in his hand and frowned. This Green equipment cost 50,000. It was almost equivalent to the reward of his quest completion! However, for the Shadow Substitute skill, Lu Yu could only buy it. ¡°This is it!¡± Chapter 16 Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation Chapter 16 Shadow Substitute, Loot Crate Lu Yu successfully bought the Shadow Pants. He spent 50,000 and was left with 120,000 bucks. After getting the equipment, the first thing he did was to check the attributes. [ Shadow Pants: Green quality, increases speed by 25 and defense by 10 ] Lu Yu put on the equipment and opened his personal interface to check. [ Attack: 71 ] [ Movement Speed: 83 ] [ Health: 132 ] [ Mana: 130 ] [ Defense: 121 ] [ Current equipment: Green Quality: Shadow Brass Knuckles, Shadow Inner Armor, Shadow Pants, Shadow Necklace ] [ Blue Quality: Rock Armor, Rock Helmet ] He was still one Shadow equipment short of combining them into a Shadow Series equipment set and obtaining the skill ¡°Shadow Substitute¡±. It seemed he still needed to buy another piece of equipment and use the Shadow Scroll to complete the fifth piece. However, Lu Yu felt he could just pick up a small piece of equipment for the fifth piece. After all, the Shadow Series equipment was all of Green quality. As his strength increased, he would have to give up on Green quality equipment sooner or later. Therefore, if he bought an ordinary piece of equipment and upgraded it to Green quality instead, he would feel less of a waste if he had to change it in the future. After confirming his needs, Lu Yu continued to pick out his equipment. Scanning his surroundings, Lu Yu¡¯s gaze landed on the rings stored inside the counter. These were all storage rings; some were low-grade, and some were high-grade. The most important thing was that he could equip ten rings at once, but he could only equip one for the other types of equipment on his body. Lu Yu decided to pick a similar storage ring to what he had currently and convert it into the Shadow Series. Moreover, the storage ring¡¯s biggest function was storage. He could keep the ring for its basic function, even if he grows out of his other types of equipment. After thinking about it, Lu Yu pointed to one of the rings. ¡°Boss, I want this.¡± The boss took out an emerald ring from the counter and said with a smile, ¡°This is a Green quality storage ring. The storage space is 100 items.¡± ¡°It¡¯s very suitable for newbies to use for quests and dungeons. The price is not expensive either. Around 10,000.¡± Lu Yu took it and looked at it carefully. He found that it was almost the same as the one he wore. The storage space for 100 items was not a lot. Lu Yu might need more than 100 items for just one quest alone. For example, his first quest, gathering the Eye of the Cat Demon, was exactly 100 items. However, as he was buying this ring to complete the Shadow Series, there was no need to buy something too expensive. ¡°This is it.¡± After saying that, Lu Yu paid and put on the ring. Once he wore the ring, Lu Yu walked out of the shop and took out the Shadow Scroll. He slowly opened the scroll. A light flashed, and a series of notifications appeared before his eyes. [ Please choose the equipment that needs to be transformed. ] ¡°Green Ring.¡± [ Successfully transformed. Obtained Shadow storage ring. Green quality. ] [ Storage space increased by 50. The current total is 150. ] [ Shadow Ring skill: Conceals aura. It reduces the probability of being discovered by wild beasts. Able to use once every three minutes. ] Lu Yu was a little surprised. He did not expect that after being strengthened into the Shadow Series, he would be able to increase his storage capacity by a little. Moreover, he had added a new skill that could conceal his aura. This way, he would have another life-saving skill on a quest! Lu Yu¡¯s storage capacity has reached 250 items now. This number was not exactly ideal, but Lu Yu did not care much about that. This storage capacity was enough for him to complete all sorts of quests and collect other materials simultaneously. At that moment, Lu Yu saw another notification appear. [ Congratulations, you have successfully completed the Shadow set. You have successfully obtained a set skill, Shadow Substitute ] [ Shadow Substitute: A substitute will automatically appear when your health is below 25%. At the same time, your true body will become invisible. When activated, your movement speed will be increased by 30% ] Seeing the description of this skill, Lu Yu was delighted. With this life-saving skill, the risks he could take in dungeons would greatly increase! He planned to hurry and accept another quest. Now that his strength has increased quite a bit, he should be able to accept higher-level quests, right? As he was about to accept a quest, he suddenly heard a commotion. He looked over and found that a crowd had gathered at the entrance of a shop. Driven by curiosity, Lu Yu squeezed into the crowd, wanting to find out what was happening. ¡°The latest batch of loot crates are out. Those who want them, please buy them as soon as possible. If you¡¯re late, there won¡¯t be any left.¡± A young man shouted with all his might. Lu Yu glanced at the crates placed in front of him. They were all very ordinary ceramic crates. ¡°What are these crates for sale?¡± Lu Yu muttered curiously. When the person beside him heard this, he sized up Lu Yu. ¡°Young man, you should be new here, right? You don¡¯t even know about betting on loot crates?¡± Lu Yu shook his head slightly. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of it. It¡¯s a black market thing, right?¡± ¡°Of course. Since you don¡¯t know, I¡¯ll explain it to you.¡± ¡°Awakeners like us will all accept quests here, and most of the quests are extremely dangerous.¡± ¡°It can be said that quite a number of people are risking their lives constantly just to complete their quests.¡± ¡°With the risks this high, the death rate is naturally high too.¡± ¡°But the quest¡¯s rewards are indeed tempting. Awakeners will continue to accept quests even at the risk of death.¡± ¡°Therefore, these people will cooperate with the black market officials. Once they die in a dungeon, the officials will send someone to retrieve their bodies. At the same time, the deceased¡¯s family will be given a legacy in monetary value and a will.¡± ¡°As for the deceased¡¯s inheritance, it will be auctioned off. Some inheritances will have more, while others will have less. But the officials will always set a uniform price.¡± Lu Yu looked at the crates. The crates were filled with white powder. ¡°What¡¯s in those crates? Could it be the ashes of the deceased?¡± That person smiled in surprise. ¡°It¡¯s great that you are catching up. That¡¯s right. It¡¯s their ashes.¡± ¡°Those are the ashes of the deceased. If you buy the crate, it¡¯s equivalent to choosing this person¡¯s inheritance, giving you the right to take all of them away.¡± ¡°Buying the crate could be considered gambling. Young man, try not to get addicted.¡± Lu Yu glanced at him. ¡°You don¡¯t have to tell me this.¡± However, that person only put on an understanding look and shook his head with a faint smile. He had seen many young people who had come into contact with loot crates for the first time. With the mentality of striking gold, they crazily bought as many loot crates as they could until they had spent all their savings. How strong would the deceased be anyway if they died while doing quests in the wild? Therefore, the rewards given by these crates were quite ordinary. The crowd here was mainly here to watch the show. ¡°Young man, just buy one or two, and you should stop. I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll go overboard and spend all your savings.¡± However, Lu Yu replied indifferently, ¡°I¡¯ll only buy one. I won¡¯t buy too many.¡± That person chuckled, ¡°Many young people said that in the past but ended up spending all their money. They always get sucked in by their gambler¡¯s fallacy.¡± The surrounding people nodded, ¡°Young man, don¡¯t go overboard. We¡¯re all saying this for your own good.¡± ¡°It¡¯s good to play around with these things, just don¡¯t get carried away. No one can save you if you get addicted.¡± ¡°I was one of them. I¡¯ve bought more than ten crates, and they all turned out to be rubbish.¡± The others tried to persuade Lu Yu, but Lu Yu was confident. This was because his Eye of Truth had seen through all the crates placed there! Out of the dozens of crates there, only one represented the existence of an opportunity! Chapter 17 Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation Chapter 17 New Quest, Double Boss Lu Yu walked through the crowd to the front of the stall. He glanced at the crates placed here. Under the prompt given by his Eye of Truth, only one of them was marked as an opportunity. ¡°Boss, I¡¯d like to purchase loot crates.¡± Lu Yu looked at the young owner of the stall. ¡°Okay, which one do you want?¡± ¡°This one,¡± Lu Yu said without hesitation. The boss was stunned for a moment and asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to take some time to choose?¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t all your crates exactly the same?¡± Lu Yu asked, a little dumbfounded. ¡°Does it make a difference if I take the time to pick and choose?¡± However, Lu Yu then noticed that the few people beside him were standing in front of the crates, doing a ritual and praying. They were still hesitating with their choices, even after choosing them. Lu Yu shook his head helplessly. ¡°This is it. How much is it?¡± ¡°50,000.¡± 50,000 bucks. It was really expensive. He only had 110,000 bucks left. After buying one crate, he would be left with 60,000 bucks. Nevertheless, it was not easy to come across an opportunity. How could he possibly let it go? ¡°Alright, this is it.¡± As he said this, Lu Yu paid the 50,000. When the others saw how casually Lu Yu bought a crate, they all felt he was wasting money. ¡°I bet that this crate won¡¯t yield any good items.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that obvious? There are only a few crates that yield good items.¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be wiser to spend this money on equipment?¡± While the others debated his decision, Lu Yu had already finished the payment. The merchant took out a ring according to the number on the crate. ¡°Your items are all in here. Take them.¡± Lu Yu took the ring and sent his consciousness into it. After checking it, he smiled. [ Intermediate recovery potion: 10 bottles of this potion will immediately restore 50 health ] [ Intermediate mana potion: 5 bottles of this potion will immediately restore 50 mana ] [ Advanced speed potion: 1 bottle will increase 75 speed for 1 minute ] These potions alone were worth more than 50,000 bucks! Lu Yu continued reading. [ Enhanced Attack Jade: Combine it with a piece of equipment and permanently increases the attack by 5 points. Quantity: 3 pieces ] [ Enhanced Defense Jade: Combine it with a piece of equipment and permanently increases the defense by 5 points. Quantity: 5 pieces ] There were strengthening materials in this crate, and just the defense jade alone could increase his defense by 25 points! This purchase was definitely worth it. Even if Lu Yu sold them off, he could instantly profit by tens of thousands of dollars! After transferring all the items in the ring into his own ring, Lu Yu returned the merchant¡¯s ring to him. Everyone looked over curiously. They started muttering amongst themselves when they saw Lu Yu¡¯s delighted expression. ¡°Look at how happy he is. Could it be that he has obtained something good?¡± ¡°I think so. Everyone else looked sullen after opening their crate.¡± ¡°Shit, what did you open? Tell us about it!¡± Everyone looked over curiously. Lu Yu only smiled faintly and answered casually, ¡°The things I got aren¡¯t that good. However, I estimate that I can profit by about 100,000 in total if these things are sold.¡± When these words were said, everyone present was dumbfounded. ¡°Are you for real? That¡¯s so valuable!¡± ¡°I¡¯m shocked. Isn¡¯t this your first time buying them?¡± ¡°Bloody hell, beginner¡¯s luck? I can¡¯t believe you got such a good crate right from the start.¡± ¡°Being lucky is so awesome. I¡¯ll never be able to open such a crate in my life¡­¡± A wave of jealousy surged in the surroundings. Lu Yu hurriedly left the crowd and prepared himself to continue accepting quests. After the recent improvement in his prowess, Lu Yu felt he could take on higher-level quests. Thus, he went back to the manager, Qin Ya¡¯s, office. ¡°Miss Qin, I¡¯m here again.¡± Lu Yu knocked on the door and walked in. ¡°Welcome, welcome. Please come in.¡± After learning that Lu Yu might be an information merchant, Qin Ya¡¯s attitude toward him became much gentler. ¡°Is it about taking a new quest?¡± Qin Ya asked. Lu Yu nodded. ¡°I want to take on a quest that is even more challenging than the Tricky level one.¡± Qin Ya smiled faintly. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to be so diligent. After Tricky level, one above that would be Dangerous level quests.¡± ¡°The biggest difference between the two is that the Tricky level one will have one difficult boss while the Dangerous level quests will contain two bosses.¡± Lu Yu was slightly worried when he heard that there would be two bosses. He had to be extremely careful, as the last one he dealt with was merely a boss in its weakened state. If he were to encounter two bosses simultaneously during this quest, it would most likely be too difficult for him to complete the quest. However, now that he had many different life-saving techniques, it would be cowardly if he did not dare to challenge a higher difficulty level. ¡°I accept it. Where is the location of the quest?¡± Qin Ya nodded slightly and took out a scroll. ¡°The location is in Sky Hall. The quest target is pretty easy, collect fifty white spirit flowers.¡± ¡°However, there are two bosses around there. Therefore, it will not be easy even if your quest target is just collecting plants.¡± ¡°No problem, I accept.¡± Lu Yu reached out his hand and took the teleportation scroll. Without hesitation, he opened the scroll, and a flash of light teleported him away. The next moment, a dazzling light washed over Lu Yu¡¯s eyes. An unending sea of clouds welcomed him upon opening his eyes. The sunlight bounced off the clouds, making them appear spectacular. The Sky Hall was built at the top of a very tall mountain. It has a large overall area that was well-nourished with Reiki. As a result, the plants here grow extraordinarily well. Many people had gathered at the entrance of the place. They were all discussing heatedly, yet no one dared to enter. ¡°I heard that there are a lot of rare materials here.¡± ¡°Of course, there are all kinds of rare ores and rare plants. However, it¡¯s too dangerous here.¡± ¡°I heard that as long as you enter, you will only have a slim chance of survival. It¡¯s a little scary.¡± ¡°No shit. The surroundings are full of cliffs. If you encounter an enemy you can¡¯t defeat, you can¡¯t even run!¡± ¡°Should I go in? I just accepted a quest here.¡± ¡°Bro, you must be well-prepared before you go in. This place isn¡¯t a place where an ordinary person could come. You must have at least two or three life-saving skills.¡± The discussions of the crowd dispelled many people¡¯s plans to enter the dungeon. At this moment, someone saw Lu Yu and recognized him at the same time. ¡°Is that not Lu Yu? I¡¯ve seen him in Qin Ya¡¯s office before.¡± ¡°Is he very powerful?¡± ¡°He single-handedly killed the Red Flame Violent Bear. What do you think?¡± ¡°Sheesh, to be able to kill that boss alone, his strength must be extraordinary.¡± ¡°Do you guys think that after he enters, he can kill those two big bosses?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so¡­¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t we make a bet? Let¡¯s bet on whether he can kill those two bosses!¡± Many people eagerly place their wagers. Most of them, though, were betting that Lu Yu would not be able to defeat them. Only a few people felt that Lu Yu would be able to prevail, even though Lu Yu had already defeated two bosses! As for Lu Yu, he did not bother himself with their discussion even after hearing them. He did not care about the bets set up by those people at all. Instead, he walked straight into the Sky Hall which was veiled in clouds. Chapter 18 Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation Chapter 18 The Yin And Yang Twin Flowers, Enemies Attack Many people had gathered here at the entrance of the Sky Hall. After they saw Lu Yu enter, they all opened their bets and placed wagers on whether Lu Yu could pass through the Sky Hall dungeon. Those who had initially feared the Sky Hall were now attracted to staying behind, betting some money for fun. Lu Yu was not interested in their bets at all. He walked straight into the dungeon and began to collect materials. The entire Sky Hall was divided into two parts, the east and the west. A cliff separated the middle two. Lu Yu opened the Eye of Truth and scanned his surroundings. When he looked to the east, a notification appeared. [ Area of the Giant Rock Python ] When he looked to the west, another notification appeared. [ Are of the Green Sky Goshawk ] After reading the two notifications, Lu Yu was overjoyed. Weren¡¯t these two bosses part of the materials he needed to evolve his Dragon Claw? As long as he could kill these two bosses, he would be able to gather the materials and complete the evolution! At that time, his strength would increase substantially! Lu Yu got a little excited thinking of that! This quest absolutely must not fail. It had to be completed! Just in case, Lu Yu took out the Cleasing Fruit he had obtained previously so that he could increase his skill level after eating this. Lu Yu did not hesitate. He took a bite and finished the fruit in another few bites. Very soon, a string of notifications appeared before him. [ Cleansing Fruit used, obtained 5 free skill points ] With 5 skill points, he could upgrade all of his skills. Lu Yu looked at his skill panel. [ Skills: Armor Penetration Lv2, Split Claw Lv2, Grappling Lv1, Double Jump Lv1 ] At the moment, the skill that needed to be upgraded the most was Armor Penetration. This was the skill that could improve his damage output the most. Split Claw would not be that useful when dealing with bosses. However, Grappling and Double Jump were also very important. Therefore, Lu Yu decided to upgrade his Armor Penetration skill by three levels directly. Grappling and Double Jump would each be upgraded by one level! [ Congratulations on upgrading the Armor Penetration skill. Current skill is at Lv5 ] [ Current effect: Reduces the target¡¯s defense by 30% ] It could reduce the target¡¯s defense by one-third at a time. As long as the target¡¯s defense was penetrated twice, the enemy would basically have no defense left. [ Congratulations on upgrading the Grappling skill. Current skill is at Lv2 ] [ Current effect: Damage increased by 15% when attacking weak point ] [ Congratulations on upgrading the Double Jump skill. Current skill is at Lv2 ] [ Current effect: Double Jump distance is 5 meters ] After leveling his skills up, Lu Yu felt much more at ease. He was considering whether or not he should use the equipment strengthening materials he had just obtained. After all, 25 points of defense would be quite a bit of an increase. Moreover, it would also increase his attack power. However, on second thought, he felt he should save it for the future to strengthen new equipment instead. After he finished leveling up his skills, Lu Yu began collecting the needed quest materials. The White Spirit Flower was a ubiquitous material. It was mainly used to create manarecovery potions. In Sky Hall, White Spirit Flowers grew in abundance. Therefore, many people came here to collect these flowers. Soon, Lu Yu saw the first flower. He hurried over, picked it up, and continued searching for more. He stayed in the middle area and did not approach the two sides. After all, that was the location of the bosses. Lu Yu felt he should first collect the White Spirit Flowers needed before challenging the boss. Otherwise, he would be too exhausted after a battle to continue collecting materials. He continued to search, and soon, a notification appeared in front of him. [ Rare materials detected ] Seeing this, Lu Yu was overjoyed. There were actually rare materials here. He followed the notification¡¯s direction and began to walk toward the location of the materials. Soon, he saw a crack in the middle of the cliff. A flower grew out tenaciously from between the cracks. This flower looked special. Half of its petals were white, and the other half were black! Lu Yu quickly used his Eye of Truth to look at it, trying to see what information the flower gave. [ Yin and Yang Twin Flower: After consuming it, it can revive a dying person to full health ] Lu Yu was exhilarated when he saw the short description. He didn¡¯t expect this flower to have an effect, such as reviving the dead. It was too awesome! If this life-saving item were revealed to the public, there would be a chaotic uproar over it. It would not be a problem to sell it for hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars! Those wealthy individuals that cherished their lives more than anything would not mind keeping as much of these materials as possible. After Lu Yu was done being excited, he began to think about how he was going to pick this flower. The flower was located in the middle of the cliff. The surrounding cold wind was freezing cold, making him feel a bone-chilling chill. Lu Yu withstood the airflow and climbed onto the cliff, slowly approaching the flower. Slowly but surely, he closed the distance between him and the flower. Then, Lu Yu reached out and plucked the flower. Just as he reached out to the flower, Lu Yu felt an unprecedented surge of vitality from it. It¡¯s no wonder this flower can survive in this place. Lu Yu reached out and plucked the flower, conveniently storing it in his storage ring. Then, he leapt into the air and returned to the ground. This trip was not in vain. It was definitely worth it to be able to obtain such a rare item. As for how to deal with this flower, Lu Yu would have to assess the situation. He would eat it if he encountered circumstances where he was on the verge of death. On the other hand, it wouldn¡¯t be bad to consider selling it if he didn¡¯t have to. After all, he could instantly get a large sum of money after selling it. Lu Yu kept the flower and prepared to continue collecting quest materials. At that moment, he heard an eagle¡¯s cry from high up in the sky, and the cry reverberated in the surrounding area. Lu Yu looked up and saw a large goshawk hovering in the sky. Then, it swooped down toward Lu Yu. It seemed that this was the Green Sky Goshawk. He guessed it just by looking at its greenish-blue feathers at the end of its wings. Lu Yu quickly activated the skill of the Shadow Ring to conceal his aura. After concealing his aura, Lu Yu hunched by the side and quietly observed the situation. At that moment, he noticed a giant, inconspicuous python wriggling around. Its entire body was covered in rock-like scales, allowing it to blend with its surroundings perfectly. Then, the goshawk in the sky descended. The first thing the two boss monsters did after coming down was to look toward the place where Lu Yu had just picked the flower. When they noticed the flower had disappeared, they began to be wary of the other party. Lu Yu immediately realized that these two big guys were guarding the flower. Coincidentally, the flower bloomed when he arrived, attracting these two guys. However, when they saw that the flower was gone, they probably thought the other party had snatched it in advance. Hence, after the Green Sky Goshawk and the Giant Rock Python sized up each other, both sides clashed furiously! Lu Yu was secretly pleased. Luckily, he had picked the flower at the right time. If he were found hanging on the cliff by these two bosses, he would be dead by now. The goshawk and the python began to fight each other. For the moment, it was hard to tell who had the upper hand. Chapter 19 Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation Chapter 19 Entanglement, Dangerous Situation Lu Yu witnessed the fight between the Green Sky Goshawk and the Giant Rock Python with his own eyes. The Green Sky Goshawk grabbed the python¡¯s body with both of its claws while the python whipped its tail, trying to crush the Green Sky Goshawk. The Green Sky Goshawk flapped its wings, swinging the python up and down, continuously smashing the python to the ground. The Giant Rock Python felt that it was at a disadvantage, so it twisted its body lightning-fast and wrapped itself around the Green Sky Goshawk. The Green Sky Goshawk was smart. It flapped its wings in time, flying up to dodge the Giant Rock Python¡¯s fast attack. Lu Yu was shocked by the attacks and counterattacks of both sides. If he were to fight these two guys simultaneously, he would definitely be in danger. He would be better off leaving the scene and waiting for both sides to be injured before returning to reap the benefits. Lu Yu planned to leave first. However, before he goes, he should probably take a look at the two bosses¡¯ attributes. He used his Eye of Truth to take a look and obtain the attributes of both sides. [ Green Sky Goshawk ] [ Attack: 170 ] [ Speed: 110 ] [ Health: 230 ] [ Mana: 130 ] [ Defense: 100 ] The Green Sky Goshawk¡¯s attack power was relatively high. Moreover, its attack had an armor penetration effect; getting scratched by it would not be good. Its defense and health were considered average. If Lu Yu manages to break through its defense three or four times, he would be able to deal a lot of damage. Following that, he looked at the Giant Rock Python. [ Giant Rock Python ] [ Attack: 80 ] [ Speed: 89 ] [ Health: 320 ] [ Mana: 130 ] [ Defense: 180 ] The Giant Rock Python¡¯s defense and health were much higher than Lu Yu¡¯s, especially true for its defense. If Lu Yu reduced its defense by 30% at a time, which was 54 points of defense, he could break through its defense with four attacks at most. As for the Green Sky Goshawk, Lu Yu only needed to activate armor break three times to reduce its defense to 10 points. If he were to face these two monsters at the same time, one of them would act as a tank while the other would act as a damage dealer. It would be difficult to deal with them at the same time. After reading their stats, Lu Yu felt he could not stay here any longer. Any longer, and it would be hard for him to leave if he were to attract their attention. He slowly retreated and prepared to stay away from the two monsters. However, at that moment, Lu Yu saw a notification in front of him. [ The aura concealment effect has ended. The next activation time will be three minutes later. ] Lu Yu¡¯s heart tightened when he saw the notification. Without this effect, wouldn¡¯t he be exposed? He raised his head and looked at the Green Sky Goshawk and the Giant Rock Python. Sure enough, these two guys stopped moving. Then, the two of them turned and looked at Lu Yu. The sharp eyes of the Green Sky Goshawk and the venomous eyes of the Giant Rock Python made the hair on Lu Yu¡¯s neck stand. ¡°It¡¯s over. It looks like I have no choice but to fight!¡± The next moment, the Green Sky Goshawk flapped its wings and charged toward Lu Yu. It raised its strong claws to grab Lu Yu. Lu Yu did not hesitate and quickly jumped to the side to dodge. The Green Sky Goshawk missed, but the Giant Rock Python opened its bloodstained mouth the next moment and launched itself toward Lu Yu! Lu Yu leaped into the air again and landed on a rock beside him, dodging the attack of the Giant Rock Python. At that moment, his forehead was covered in sweat. He was already in serious danger after just the first two attacks. It seemed that it would not be easy for him to fight back. He had to escape first! Just as Lu Yu was about to move, the Green Sky Goshawk charged toward him again. Lu Yu had no choice but to dodge first. The Green Sky Goshawk¡¯s speed was faster than the Giant Rock Python¡¯s. Lu Yu activated his double jump just in time to dodge the Green Sky Goshawk¡¯s attack. As for the Giant Rock Python, Lu Yu only needed to accelerate a little, and he would be able to dodge its attack. After skirting around the two bosses a few times, Lu Yu sensed that he was in danger. It seemed that he was about to be driven off the cliff¡¯s edge. Lu Yu looked at the bottomless cliff behind him and swallowed. Could it be that there was no way out? At this moment, the Giant Rock Python snaked its body and moved towards Lu Yu. Lu Yu decided to give it a try and immediately activated his skill, Armor Penetration! His sharp claws were then covered with a layer of effect. As he faced the gaping jaws of the python, he used all his strength to swing his claws down and heavily hack at the scales of the Giant Rock Python. Bang! Clang! The scales of the Giant Rock Python shattered into pieces. The Giant Rock Python was injured and let out an ear-piercing hiss. This was just the first Armor Penetration. Lu Yu would still need a few more hits before he could deal any substantial damage. At that moment, Lu Yu noticed that a part of the scales on the Giant Rock Python¡¯s body had already been damaged. It seemed that the Green Sky Goshawk had broken through the defense during the battle. However, this little bit of damage would not help Lu Yu at all! Feeling helpless, Lu Yu could only raise his head and look at the mountain peak above him. He could not stay on land any longer, and it was impossible for him to jump off the cliff. He had one choice, and that was to continue to climb up. After all, this was his only way out! He easily jumped onto the mountain peak, continuing to climb upwards. Behind him, the Giant Rock Python chased him closely, following Lu Yu¡¯s trail and climbing upwards. The Green Sky Goshawk hovered in the air, looking for an opportunity to launch a sneak attack. Suddenly, the Green Sky Goshawk swooped toward Lu Yu, outstretching its claws at Lu Yu. Lu Yu jumped into the air, dodging it easily. Then, he activated Armor Penetration and slashed at the Green Sky Goshawk¡¯s feet with his own claws. The hard outer shell of the Green Sky Goshawk¡¯s claws broke into countless pieces after receiving Lu Yu¡¯s Armor Penetration attack. The Green Sky Goshawk felt the pain and flapped its wings to attack Lu Yu. Lu Yu, hovering in the air, used his double jump to land back on the mountain peak. The Green Sky Goshawk missed and flapped its wings to leave. Just as Lu Yu landed on the rocky surface, the Giant Rock Python immediately took the opportunity to attack. It opened its bloodstained mouth and bit Lu Yu¡¯s thigh. Psssh! Lu Yu¡¯s fresh blood spurted out, and a sharp pain pounded him, making him sweat. The Python¡¯s fangs pierced through his thigh, and he was going to be dragged down by this guy! Lu Yu¡¯s hands tightly clenched into the cracks in the rock until his fingertips were bleeding. ¡°It¡¯s over! There¡¯s no way for me to escape!¡± At that moment, the Green Sky Goshawk that was circling once again attacked Lu Yu. The current Lu Yu had no way of dodging it. He could only allow the Green Sky Goshawk to attack him. It seemed like he had to use that skill here. The Green Sky Goshawk attacked and clawed at Lu Yu¡¯s back with its claws. Lu Yu¡¯s back was torn apart, and blood gushed out. At that very moment, Lu Yu activated the Shadow Substitute skill. Lu Yu shed his skin like a snake shedding its skin. He shed out of his body and left behind a body double. Lu Yu shed his body and continued climbing the mountain. He looked down and saw that the pair of giant claws had clawed his body double into a pile of waste. He was completely invisible for now and was ignored by the two bosses. Lu Yu¡¯s wounds were still there. His body was covered in blood, and his health was extremely low. He was so weak that he almost lost the strength to grab the rocky mountain. Below him, the two ferocious beasts were still eyeing each other and searching for the Yin and Yang Twin Flower. Lu Yu was literally stuck between a rock and a hard place right now. It would be nearly impossible for him to get out of this situation! Chapter 20 - Materials Collected, Dragon Claw Evolution! Chapter 20 Materials Collected, Dragon Claw Evolution! Lu Yu was forced up the mountain peak and forced to trigger Shadow Substitute to avoid jeopardy temporarily. The Green Sky Goshawk had killed his fake body. The Giant Rock Python and the goshawk both thought that Lu Yu was already dead. They kept searching around his fake corpse as if they were trying to find the Yin and Yang Twin Flower. But after searching for a long time, they could not find anything. Soon, the two of them started fighting yet another heated battle. Lu Yu looked at the battle below and suddenly had a bold idea. He probably got a chance to kill these two bosses simultaneously! He would have a chance if they fought for a little longer! Lu Yu was looking forward to it. At the same time, he took out a bottle of recovery potion and drank it. Soon, the wounds on his body began to heal and no longer bled. When he had almost recovered, Lu Yu climbed down a little. At that moment, a notification appeared before Lu Yu¡¯s eyes. [ Congratulations on completing the daily quest, climbing (2km/2km) ] [ Please choose a reward ] Lu Yu was overjoyed. He did not expect that he would have completed the climbing quest. ¡°I choose the treasure chest!¡± [ Congratulations! You have obtained a bronze treasure chest. Do you wish to open it?] ¡°Open it immediately!¡± [ Congratulations, you have obtained a skill stone tablet, Strong Wall ] [ Strong Wall: Double-clawed skill. Place both claws in front of you, forming the shape of a fortress. Obtain temporary invincibility, unable to be knocked back and 90% damage reduction simultaneously. Lasts for 1 second] Lu Yu was overjoyed after reading the description of this skill! This skill came at the perfect time! Lu Yu currently lacks defensive skills. Although his defense was not exactly low, the armor-penetrating capabilities of the Green Sky Goshawk below him were just too ridiculous! If he learns this skill, he will be able to receive a 90% damage reduction. He would not be afraid of its armor-penetrating ability anymore. Of course, although the damage reduction was insane, the duration was overly short. It only lasts for 1 second. It seemed that increasing the skill¡¯s level would not increase the damage reduction but increase its duration instead. Lu Yu held the stone tablet in his right hand and started absorbing the information inside. Soon, he learned the Strong Wall skill. He looked down again. At that moment, the Green Sky Goshawk and the Giant Rock Python were already covered in blood from their battle. There were almost no unharmed scales on the Giant Rock Python¡¯s body, and its entire body was covered in blood. On the other hand, a large portion of the Green Sky Goshawk¡¯s feathers had been torn off. A finger on its right claw was broken, and its left wing was fractured. It was now unable to fly. Both sides had bloodshot eyes, fighting each other to the death. In this state, it was inevitable that this would be a fight to the end, with a victor emerging from its opponent¡¯s dead body! §Ö There was no possibility of both sides taking a step back. Lu Yu was basically certain that these two monsters would be dead sooner or later. Even if he jumped down now, Lu Yu still had the strength to kill these two bosses in a one-on-two fight. After observing for a while, Lu Yu felt that the time was right, so he jumped down immediately. With a smash, Lu Yu landed on the ground, attracting the attention of the Green Sky Goshawk and the Giant Rock Python. They were enraged when they found out that Lu Yu was still alive! The feeling of being toyed with, even as an inhuman creature, would not be pleasant. Moreover, they were played like a fiddle. Initially, they thought Lu Yu was dead, and the flower had fallen somewhere. Thus, they started fighting after assuming the other party had hidden it. Now seeing Lu Yu¡¯s appearance, they were livid! The Green Sky Goshawk let out an ear-piercing screech and then used its beak to stab at Lu Yu! Its sharp beak could pierce through even rocks. Lu Yu did not dodge the oncoming attack. He wanted to test out his new skill. He used both hands to block in front of him, and an invisible barrier appeared. The beak stabbed forward strongly. Following that, there was a cracking sound. It seemed that the Green Sky Goshawk¡¯s beak cracked! The Green Sky Goshawk¡¯s beak broke into countless pieces with fresh blood spurting out! Lu Yu took this opportunity to slash his claws at the Green Sky Goshawk¡¯s chest, breaking its chest open. After that, he dug his claw and crushed the Green Sky Goshawk¡¯s heart. After finishing the Green Sky Goshawk cleanly, Lu Yu looked at the Giant Rock Python beside him. The Giant Rock Python opened its bloodstained mouth, coiled its body crazily and charged toward Lu Yu. Lu Yu did not dodge. He stood on the spot and activated his skill, Grappling. In the next moment, the accurate position of the Giant Rock Python¡¯s heart appeared in front of Lu Yu¡¯s eyes. Lu Yu leapt into the air and used a double jump to adjust his position. He aimed his attack at the heart of the Giant Rock Python. He descended from the air and slashed down with his pair of sharp claws towards the Giant Rock Python¡¯s heart! His pair of sharp claws sliced open the skin of the Giant Rock Python and carved into the flesh below. Fresh blood spurted out, and the Giant Rock Python began to struggle crazily. Lu Yu did not hesitate and did not give it a chance. He swung his claws again and forcefully cut the Giant Rock Python into two halves from where its heart was! At that point, the two bosses were both dead. Lu Yu panted heavily. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that he had barely scraped by using his Shadow Substitute skill, he would have died today. Lu Yu rested for a while, then got up and began to harvest the materials. He removed the heart of the Giant Rock Python and took the precious blood essence from the center of the heart. After filling it into the container, he stored it in his storage ring. Then, he went to the body of the Green Sky Goshawk, cut off its flesh and skin, and collected the bones of the Green Sky Goshawk. He stored the bones in his ring. At that point, Lu Yu had collected all four materials he needed. After resting for another short while, Lu Yu started to collect the remaining White Spirit Flowers. Once the two bosses were dead, Lu Yu¡¯s movement area became much larger. In a short while, he had collected all 50 White Spirit Flowers. Now that everything was ready, Lu Yu could leave the dungeon. Lu Yu, curious about the Dragon Claw effect, could not wait to evolve. He opened his storage ring and took out the four materials. At that moment, a notification appeared before his eyes. ( Four materials have been detected. You can evolve into the Dragon Claw path. Do you want to evolve?] ¡°Evolve!¡± Lu Yu excitedly chose to evolve. The next moment, the four materials in front of him were reduced into four blobs of light and flew into Lu Yu¡¯s body. In an instant, Lu Yu felt a majestic power welling inside his body. This power surprised and delighted Lu Yu. It seemed that a terrifying power was brewing in his body. Lu Yu raised his hands and carefully looked at the changes in his hands. His ten claws became sharper and stronger. At this moment, Lu Yu¡¯s limbs and bones were filled with limitless power. He bathed in the light and enjoyed the feeling of power brought by evolution. Gradually, not only did his two claws change, but his two arms began to grow dragon-like scales as well. At the same time, the muscles in his arms bulged like real dragon claws! The light flashed and then disappeared. [ Congratulations on completing the evolution of the Dragon Claws! ] Lu Yu was extremely excited when he saw the notification! He had finally completed his evolution! However, this would only be the beginning¡­ Chapter 21 - New Paths Of The Dragon Claw, Water And Fire Wrist Guards Chapter 21 New Paths Of The Dragon Claw, Water And Fire Wrist Guards After the evolution of the Dragon Claw, Lu Yu felt an unprecedented amount of power surge in his body. His arms were like the sharp claws of a giant dragon, covered with scales and flickering with a cold glint. His pair of claws were even sharper and longer than before. Lu Yu waved his right arm and struck a massive rock on the side. With a loud crack, the huge rock exploded into countless pieces. This increase in his attack power was too terrifying! Lu Yu was overjoyed and quickly opened his attribute panel! [ Attack: 230 ] [ Speed: 150 ] ( Health: 300 ] [ Mana: 150 ] [ Defense: 200 ] Lu Yu looked at the interface and was highly excited. His attributes had all increased significantly! With more than 200 attack power, this attack value was enough for him to kill a beginner-level boss instantly! As expected, the evolution of the Dragon Claw route was the correct decision, and this was just the beginning. Lu Yu had just entered the Dragon Claw path, and he would continue to evolve based on this in the future. At that moment, another notification appeared in front of him. ( Notification: During the evolution process, you have automatically completed the absorption and fusion of your equipment¡¯s attributes into you. Even if you change your equipment in the future, your attributes will not be reduced ] Lu Yu quickly understood what the notification meant. In other words, even if he took off his equipment, it would not reduce his current attributes. However, the critical skills that his pieces of equipment provided would still disappear. Therefore, Lu Yu still needed to continue wearing his equipment, at least for now. Otherwise, he would be unable to use the Shadow Substitute and aura concealment skills. He had finished collecting the materials and had successfully killed the dungeon boss. He had also evolved into the Dragon Claw path and obtained a rare item. He really made a huge profit this time! After Lu Yu packed his things, he began preparing himself to leave the dungeon. When he arrived at the entrance of the Sky Hall, Lu Yu saw a notification. [ Do you wish to leave the dungeon? ] Lu Yu chose yes. At that moment, another notification popped up. [ Congratulations on completing a Dangerous level dungeon. Achievement: First clear on a Dangerous level dungeon. ) [ Achievement reward obtained. Do you wish to open it? ] ¡°Open it!¡± Soon, two rays of light flashed before Lu Yu¡¯s eyes, and he saw two pieces of equipment appear before him. These two pieces of equipment were both wrist guards. He looked at the first wrist guard. [ Water Wrist Guard: Blue quality, increases 30 health and 20 defense. Equipment effect: It has a certain probability of triggering water elemental attacks ] It was a piece of water-type equipment, and it was also defense-type. A water elemental attack would be good. It would have an excellent effect if he encountered enemies that were weak to such elements. Lu Yu continued to look at the next wrist guard. ( Fire Wrist Guard: Blue quality, increases 10 attack and 40 speed. Equipment Effect: It has a certain probability of triggering fire elemental attacks ] as It was a fire elemental equipment. What was going on, one fire while the other was water? Lu Yu initially assumed that this pair of wrist guards would give the same attribute. However, it was fine. One more element, one more variation in his battles. Moreover, the increase in attributes it gave was not bad, as the equipment could also slightly increase his strength. Thus, Lu Yu picked up the two wrist guards and equipped them on his body. Then, he opened his personal attributes panel. [ Attack: 240 ] [ Speed: 190 ] [ Health: 330 ] ( Mana: 150 ) [ Defense: 220 ] After this upgrade, he had made up for many of his shortcomings in terms of speed. man Increasing his attributes in all aspects was the best plan, as having any shortcoming would be fatal. After putting on the new equipment, Lu Yu saw a series of notifications again. [ Congratulations on the four symbols set effect! ] Lu Yu was shocked. What the hell were the four symbols set effect? [ The Shadow set is wind, the Rock set is earth, and the two bracers represent water and fire, respectively. ] [ The four symbols condition has been met. The four symbols effect has been triggered. ] Lu Yu was immediately curious and asked, ¡°What is the use of this effect?¡± ( Four symbols effect is a combo skill. In other words, wearing this set of equipment can obtain a combo effect. Skills can be seamlessly linked together. ] This description was ordinary, but Lu Yu could see the beauty in it. Now, when he releases a skill, he cannot immediately release the next skill. He had a short cooldown to charge his next skill when he released a skill. Therefore, after he finished a skill, he could only dodge and look for another opportunity to release the next skill. However, with this combo effect, he could easily combine four skills and cast them in an instant. He could first cast the Armor Penetration skill, then Grappling to expose weaknesses, attack from a distance with his Split Claws, and finally, use Strong Wall to block any counterattack. All of these could be cast in an instant. This effect would be a game-changer in actual combat, greatly enhancing Lu Yu¡¯s combat capabilities. Of course, his mana had to be able to keep up. Otherwise, if he released them too quickly, it would be problematic if his mana recovery could not keep up. Lu Yu opened his personal interface. His mana was only 150, which allowed him to release about 15 skills. Factoring in his mana recovery in a fight, he should be able to release about 20 skills. Of course, if he had prepared sufficient mana recovery potions in advance, he would not have to worry about mana consumption. At that moment, Lu Yu looked at his evolution path. It seemed to have been updated. He quickly tapped in and saw a series of evolution paths! Lu Yu was dazzled and excited. ( Flaming Dragon Claw ] ¨C [ Explosive Dragon Claw ] The first Dragon Claw evolution was the fire attribute path. First, it would evolve into the Flaming Dragon Claw, and then it would evolve into the Explosive Dragon Claw. It sounded strong, but it was hard to say how the real thing would turn out. Lu Yu continued to look down and was mesmerized by the evolution path below. [ Flowing Water Dragon Claw ] ¨C [ Ice Dragon Claw ) [ Gale Dragon Claw ] ¨C [ Thunder Dragon Claw ] ( Rock Crushing Dragon Claw ] ¨C [ Diamond Dragon Claw ] [ Light Dragon Claw ] ¨C [ Holy Dragon Claw ] [ Dark Dragon Claw ] ¨C [ Undead Dragon Claw ) [ ¡­ ]-[ ¡­ ] Lu Yu was a little amazed. There were so many evolution paths. What should he choose? He scratched his head and was at a loss for a moment. With so many choices, he was in a dilemma. He did not know which evolutionary path had the greatest potential, although it looked like each one was pretty good. He closed the interface, took a deep breath, and walked out of the dungeon. At that moment, dozens of people gathered at the dungeon¡¯s entrance. They were all people who had just placed bets on whether Lu Yu could kill the two bosses, sitting on the ground and looking at the entrance with great anticipation. ¡°Do you guys think Lu Yu would perish if he couldn¡¯t kill the boss?¡± ¡°It¡¯s possible. This dungeon is full of cliffs. If he couldn¡¯t win, he would not be able to run away.¡± ¡°Shit, if Lu Yu dies in there, won¡¯t we have waited for nothing?¡± ¡°That¡¯s true. If he dies in there, we won¡¯t be able to know the end result even if we waste our entire lives waiting.¡± ¡°Hey, let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go¡­¡± At that moment, someone pointed at the entrance and shouted, ¡°Someone is here!¡± Chapter 22 - Worshipped, Value Rising Chapter 22 Worshipped, Value Rising A black figure walked out slowly from the entrance of the Sky Hall. Lu Yu, dressed in black, walked out of the dungeon. Everyone recognized him at a glance and was all astonished. ¡°He came out of the dungeon!¡± ¡°Mr. Lu Yu, did you clear it?¡± ¡°Could it be that he escaped, and he never fought the bosses?¡± Many people were betting that Lu Yu could not win, so they hoped that the answer was that Lu Yu had escaped. However, on second thought, escaping from two bosses was not something an ordinary person could do either. Everyone looked at Lu Yu excitedly, waiting to hear his answer. Lu Yu looked at everyone and answered calmly, ¡°I have already killed two bosses. There are no more bosses in the dungeon now, and everyone can go on in.¡± Hearing that, some people cheered loudly. ¡°Hell yeah, I¡¯m going to be rich!¡± ¡°Lu Yu actually killed the bosses! I didn¡¯t misjudge him!¡± ¡°Fortunately, I bet on you. I¡¯m getting rich!¡± Some people were extremely excited, while the other group of people were saddened. However, they quickly regained their spirits, even though they had lost some money. Now that they could enter the dungeon safely, they could successfully complete their quest. It was not a bad trade¡­ Lu Yu walked past the crowd and left the place. Everyone looked at Lu Yu¡¯s silhouette and sighed. ¡°This person, Lu Yu, will definitely be a big shot in the future!¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that obvious?¡± ¡°Although we know that his name is Lu Yu, there are too many people who are named Lu Yu as well. We don¡¯t know who this particular Lu Yu is.¡± ¡°He¡¯s dressed in black. I can¡¯t tell¡­¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t we change the way we address him? Let¡¯s remember this future bigshot!¡± ¡°Sure, I¡¯m good at giving nicknames.¡± Lu Yu had already returned to Riverdale City. After resting for a night, he went back to the black market. When he arrived at the entrance of the black market, Lu Yu felt the strange gazes of the people there. They seemed to be staring at Lu Yu. Lu Yu felt that it was strange, but he still walked in. However, he instantly attracted everyone¡¯s attention when he stepped into the black market. Lu Yu was utterly dumbfounded. He was dressed in black, so why was he attracting unwanted attention? At that moment, a beautiful young girl ran in front of Lu Yu and looked at Lu Yu with worship. ¡°Wow, you must be Erebus! I admire you so much!¡± Lu Yu was confused and quickly asked, ¡°You have the wrong person. My name is not Erebus.¡± The girl took a photo, looked at Lu Yu carefully, and answered, ¡°You are. Stop pretending. I can recognize you.¡± Lu Yu shook his head helplessly and continued to walk forward. ¡°Isn¡¯t that the big boss, Erebus? Is he here to accept a quest?¡± ¡°Big boss. If you need anything, just let me know!¡± Everyone greeted him, which made Lu Yu a little confused. ¡°Everyone, I¡¯m really not this Erebus you speak of. You¡¯ve got the wrong person!¡± Lu Yu thought they might have mistaken him for another big shot dressed entirely in black. However, someone stood up at that moment and explained, ¡°We are addressing you. ¡®Erebus¡¯ is an endearing nickname we came up with for you.¡± ¡°We have seen your prowess at the Sky Hall. It is truly shocking, a feat that deserves to have us compare you to a god.¡± Lu Yu was stunned, realizing they were mentioning his feat in Sky Hall. It seemed that they were indeed talking about him. He had not expected that this battle would make him well-known in the black market, making him somewhat of a celebrity now. It seemed that he had also gained some admirers. ¡°Big Boss, the black market has reserved a large number of quests for you. You can take on any quest you wish.¡± Lu Yu nodded slightly and prepared to continue on his questing adventures. At that moment, a young man ran out and shouted, ¡°An auction is about to be held. Everyone, do come and support us!¡± Someone asked curiously, ¡°What auction is it?¡± ¡°Many big factions will be participating in this auction!¡± ¡°And the item being auctioned is the opportunity to collaborate with Mr. Erebus himself!¡± Everyone was in an uproar. They did not expect that they would need to bid through an auction if they wanted to collaborate with the God of the night, Erebus himself! Lu Yu was a little speechless when he noticed what was going on. How did an opportunity to collaborate with him get auctioned off by the authorities? He didn¡¯t expect that he was this valuable, that an auction would be needed to set up just to get an opportunity to collaborate with him. ¡°Hey, I¡¯m the Erebus that you¡¯re talking about. Why don¡¯t I know about this auction?¡± ¡°You¡¯re auctioning an opportunity to cooperate with me, right? As the party involved, don¡¯t I have the right to know what¡¯s happening?¡± Lu Yu demanded, somewhat unhappily. That person looked at Lu Yu and hurriedly ran over with an embarrassed smile. ¡°Lord Erebus, I¡¯m really sorry. I didn¡¯t know you were here.¡± ¡°Um, it¡¯s actually Miss Qin Ya who organized the auction. Why don¡¯t you go and talk to her?¡± Lu Yu didn¡¯t say anything but turned around and went to the second floor. Then, he knocked on a door and entered Qin Ya¡¯s office. ¡°Miss Qin, did you organize the auction downstairs?¡± Qin Ya, who was busy, smiled when she saw Lu Yu enter. ¡°Yes, this will help you maximize your benefits.¡± ¡°But it seems you didn¡¯t inform me in advance?¡± She pouted slightly. ¡°Well, I¡¯m guessing that you won¡¯t refuse such a good thing, right?¡± Lu Yu sat in front of her. ¡°Alright, since the auction has already started, I won¡¯t refuse it.¡± Qin Ya pushed a display on the table toward Lu Yu. ¡°There are cameras on it. You can take a look at the auction going on.¡± Lu Yu looked at the screen and realized that the stage for the auction had been set up, and all the participants had arrived. The auction started very quickly, and people began to bid continuously. The prices went from 50,000 to 100,000 to 150,000 and continued to rise. In a short time, the price went up to 500,000. Lu Yu was a little surprised, but on second thought, his feat was definitely worth 500,000. Then, a middle-aged man wearing a black suit with a noble temperament walked in. When Qin Ya saw this person, her interest was instantly piqued. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that this auction would be able to attract this person!¡± Seeing how excited she was, Lu Yu asked curiously, ¡°Who is he?¡± ¡°This is Hu Yan, a member of the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets.¡± ¡°And the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets is one of the top intelligence agencies in the entire Sola region.¡± ¡°To be able to attract this agency to attend your auction, you are sure charming¡­¡± Lu Yu did not say anything more and continued to look at the screen. Hu Yan immediately raised his panel and shouted, ¡°I offer a gold skill stone tablet!¡± ¡°And this is only a deposit!¡± Once these words were said, the entire venue fell silent. A gold skill stone tablet was way beyond what anyone offered. After this bid, no one raised their panel anymore. The auction winner was none other than the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets! Lu Yu was curious as to why the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets was so interested in him. Also, what was a gold skill stone tablet? Chapter 23 - Auction, Pavilion Of Heavenly Secrets Chapter 23 Auction, Pavilion Of Heavenly Secrets Once Hu Yan of the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets made his move, no one continued bidding After three confirmations, the auctioneer affirmed that the auction¡¯s winner was Hu Yan! ¡°The winner of this auction is Mr. Hu Yan of the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets!¡± ¡°Next, let¡¯s give Mr. Hu Yan a round of applause!¡± The applause was thunderous. Hu Yan had some prestige in the crowd as a member of the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets. Everyone stood up and congratulated Hu Yan with a respectful attitude. Hu Yan didn¡¯t pay much attention to them. He went directly to the second floor and walked toward Qin Ya¡¯s office. At that moment, Lu Yu was sitting opposite Qin Ya in the office, taking out the 50 White Spirit Flowers. ¡°I¡¯ve completed the previous quest.¡± Qin Ya counted them all, smiled, and said, ¡°Not bad. I¡¯ve accounted for everything. I¡¯ll transfer the 100,000 to your account immediately.¡± Lu Yu nodded slightly. He had a total of 160,000 bucks, with the newly received 100,000. The office door was pushed open, and Hu Yan walked in. ¡°Miss Qin, I won the auction.¡± He stated this with a smile and then saw Lu Yu. ¡°He¡­ is Erebus?¡± Qin Ya quickly answered, ¡°Yes, he is Erebus. His real name is Lu Yu.¡± Hu Yan looked at Lu Yu and asked seriously, ¡°Mr. Erebus, the golden skill stone tablet is only a deposit for a chance to collaborate with you. If you work with us in the future, more will come.¡± ¡°So, are you willing to work with me?¡± Hu Yan knew that Qin Ya had organized this auction, so he still needed to seek Lu Yu¡¯s opinion. Lu Yu pondered for a moment. This opportunity to work with Hu Yan had a lot of benefits for him. The Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets was one of the top intelligence agencies. They have the information to access all kinds of rare treasures in the wild. If he could build a relationship with the Pavilion, that would be great. Moreover, the reward was handsome. A golden skill tablet was indeed something else. ¡°I think there¡¯s every reason to cooperate with you. I am out here, accepting quests to increase my strength, after all.¡± Lu Yu answered with a smile. ¡°Nice, nice. Is it convenient for me to invite you over to the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets now?¡± Lu Yu nodded. ¡°No problem.¡± ¡°Alright, follow me.¡± Hu Yan turned around and walked out of the office. Lu Yu stood up and was about to follow when Qin Ya smiled and suddenly spoke out, ¡°How is it? My auction isn¡¯t all bad, right?¡± ¡°Sure¡­¡± Lu Yu followed Hu Yan out after saying that. The two of them walked to the black market¡¯s parking lot and stopped at a car there. ¡°Get in the car. I will bring you to the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets. It isn¡¯t a place everyone can enter willy-nilly.¡± Hu Yan opened the car door and sat in the driver¡¯s seat. Lu Yu got into the car too and sat in the passenger seat. ¡°I can see that you guys really want to work with me. Am I that appealing to you guys?¡± Hu Yan smiled faintly, ¡°The Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets values talents very much. We have seen your quest¡¯s records.¡± ¡°You accepted a total of three quests, with your strength increasing rapidly after each one. You even managed to defeat the two bosses in Sky Hall.¡± ¡°That is why our organization has unanimously decided that you have great growth potential.¡± ¡°It is because of this that I have received a quest to try and recruit a talent like you.¡± Lu Yu nodded slightly as he understood the other party¡¯s intentions. Soon, the car arrived at an office building in Riverdale City. This was the local branch of the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets. As it was an intelligence agency, the office building looked simple, no different from other commercial buildings. ¡°We¡¯re here. Let¡¯s head in.¡± Hu Yan took the lead in getting out of the car, and Lu Yu followed closely behind. After entering the building, Hu Yan began to introduce the organization. ¡°In the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets, the most basic employees are the intelligence agents. We have a hierarchy system divided into 1-star to 9-star intelligence agents.¡± ¡°As their intelligence points increase, their star levels will also increase, and they will gain more power.¡± ¡°If you were to become an intelligence agent in the future, you would get a lot of information regarding various dungeons.¡± ¡°At that time, it will greatly increase your efficiency in completing quests.¡± Lu Yu¡¯s interest was immediately piqued after hearing Hu Yan¡¯s introduction. Joining this organization would definitely be of great help to his cultivation in the future. Even just the rare intelligence alone would be of great help to him. Hu Yan brought Lu Yu to the entrance of the intelligence room. ¡°Here is where all the information collected by intelligence agents is stored.¡± ¡°You can check on some basic intelligence inside there.¡± Lu Yu nodded slightly. Hu Yan brought Lu Yu to the quest center. ¡°Just like the black market, we can also accept quests here.¡± ¡°But it¡¯s not as unrestricted as the black market. Only those who are invited have the right to accept quests.¡± ¡°And as we invited you, you can accept the quests here as you please.¡± Lu Yu glanced at the people accepting quests around him and asked, ¡°Compared to the black market, who has more quests?¡± Hu Yan smiled confidently, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the number of quests is definitely more, if not equal to the black market. Moreover, there are many challenging quests here.¡± ¡°The most important quests here are usually intelligence-gathering quests. Many intelligence agents rely on this kind of quest to raise their star level.¡± Lu Yu looked around and found many intelligence agents in uniform busily walking around, accepting many different quests. ¡°Of course, there are also many battling and material collection quests here.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you go and take a look first? If there¡¯s a suitable one, you can accept it.¡± Lu Yu nodded slightly. ¡°No problem. As long as the reward is suitable, it doesn¡¯t matter where I accept quests.¡± Hu Yan continued, ¡°But I suggest you accept an intelligence quest first. That way, you can officially become an intelligence agent.¡± ¡°There are a ton of benefits after becoming an intelligence agent.¡± Lu Yu pondered for a moment. ¡°I could try to do an intelligence-gathering quest.¡± ¡°Alright! But let me remind you. Intelligence gathering quests usually take a long time. Some quests can last for weeks at a time.¡± ¡°Moreover, it is not always possible to collect the necessary information in one go, so the risk of quest failure is also high.¡± Lu Yu hesitated after hearing that. These intelligence-gathering quests were too time-consuming! Any random quest might last for a week or more, and it might even be impossible to complete! He still had to take his college entrance examination. The school¡¯s group training was also about to start, and he would need to return to school then. If he were to do an intelligence quest now, he definitely wouldn¡¯t have enough time. ¡°Mr. Hu, I probably won¡¯t be able to accept any intelligence quests for the time being.¡± Hu Yan was puzzled. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because I still have to prepare for my college entrance exam and the school¡¯s group training session is starting soon, I won¡¯t have time to participate in a quest.¡± Hu Yan was stunned for quite some time after hearing Lu Yu¡¯s reply. Then, he asked, in disbelief, ¡®You mentioned you¡¯re going to take the college entrance exam?¡± ¡°Really? Are you still a student?!¡± Hu Yan was greatly shocked. He didn¡¯t expect someone who had achieved these remarkable feats to be still a student; what a peerless genius! Chapter 24 - Gold Skill, Uppercut Chapter 24 Gold Skill, Uppercut Hu Yan looked at Lu Yu in surprise. ¡°Are you really a student?¡± Lu Yu shrugged. ¡°Do I need to lie about this?¡± Hu Yan rubbed his forehead and let out a long breath of air. He realized that he had met a genius. The talent of this Erebus person was definitely terrifying! He sighed with relief. He appeared to have made the right decision in the auction! Then, he revealed a brilliant smile. ¡°Mr. Erebus, follow me. I¡¯ll bring you to take the golden skill stone tablet.¡± Without another word, Lu Yu followed him. Hu Yan brought Lu Yu to an ancient stone door. A futuristic scanner was unexpectedly installed on the thick and heavy stone door. After scanning Hu Yan, the heavy stone door began to open. Then, a brilliant golden light was projected out of the room. ¡°Go in and pick a skill that you like.¡± Lu Yu walked in, and the golden light gradually faded. After entering, Lu Yu saw that his surroundings were all tall display cabinets. Inside the cabinets were all kinds of skill tablets, and each one was made of gold. Lu Yu looked at them individually, suddenly overwhelmed and not knowing which one to choose. He started to consider the kinds of abilities he¡¯d need moving forward. Very soon, he realized that he lacked control skills. Thus, he saw a control skill that was very suitable for him, ( Uppercut ] This was a knockback skill with a pretty good control effect. He was able to perform a string of attacks because of the power of the four symbols. However, he needed one skill to be an initiator. This Uppercut skill was undoubtedly the most suitable skill to start his combo with. He would Uppercut the opponent, and then follow up with a barrage of devastating abilities! Lu Yu reached out and took down the golden stone tablet, sensing the skills within it. Very soon, a surge of energy gushed into Lu Yu¡¯s body, allowing him to quickly learn the skill, Uppercut! After making his choice, Lu Yu walked out of the room. ¡°I¡¯ve already made my choice.¡± Hu Yan smiled and nodded, ¡°Very well. Then, what are your plans next? Do you want to accept a quest?¡± Lu Yu shook his head, ¡°I¡¯ve already taken too long undertaking the previous few quests. It¡¯s time for me to return to school and prepare for my college entrance examination.¡± Hu Yan nodded and did not say anything else. As a result of his rapid strength growth, Lu Yu stopped taking on new quests. He needed to get used to his newfound strength and train his combos. Lu Yu left the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets after saying goodbye to Hu Yan. After getting home, Lu Yu started working on his combos again. Lu Yu now had several effective skill combinations at his disposal after learning this new ability. Over the next few days, he practiced his combos and familiarized himself with the evolved Dragon Claw. Soon, the last week of training time was up. The students of Class Two gathered at school and waited for their homeroom teacher¡¯s order. The classroom was as rowdy as usual. As the homeroom teacher entered, the noise finally quieted down. ¡°Students, the college entrance examination is about to begin. I believe that everyone is very nervous.¡± ¡°This college entrance examination will no longer be held after the last week of training. The exam will officially begin in the afternoon!¡± The students immediately began to discuss amongst themselves after this was mentioned. ¡°What¡¯s going on? It¡¯s about to begin?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t say that I¡¯m prepared just yet.¡± ¡°It¡¯s too fast, but it¡¯s still fine. The longer we drag it out, those with good talent will become even stronger.¡± ¡°Whether holding it now or later shouldn¡¯t have much difference¡­¡± After the homeroom teacher announced it, the students began sharing their training results. ¡°After entering a dungeon for the first time two days ago, I was terrified. It¡¯s too terrifying to be around those vicious beasts.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been down in the dungeon once, too. Given that my actual combat abilities will be greatly diminished if I don¡¯t enter a dungeon, it seems foolish not to do so.¡± ¡°Heh, I specialize in defense. My defense is in the seventies now. Your attacks would just tickle me.¡± ¡°Tsk, I specialize in armor-penetration. My speciality is countering someone like you!¡± ¡°Speed is the best. My speed is already at a hundred. You guys are finished!¡± ¡°I wonder what Su Qing¡¯s attributes are at. She will definitely crush us.¡± ¡°With the Goddess¡¯s talent, isn¡¯t it given that she will crush us?¡± ¡°Oh right, where¡¯s Lu Yu?¡± At that moment, everyone looked at each other and realized that everyone was here except for Lu Yu. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Didn¡¯t anyone inform him?¡± ¡°I did. Why didn¡¯t he come?¡± Everyone was perplexed, but someone quickly revealed an understanding look. ¡°Oh, I get it. Lu Yu probably couldn¡¯t take the blow and give up on himself.¡± ¡°That¡¯s possible. If I were in his position, I couldn¡¯t handle it either.¡± ¡°How sad. He worked so hard¡­¡± At that moment, the homeroom teacher stood up. ¡°Everyone, it¡¯s almost time. I¡¯ll finalize the name list and pass it to the examiner.¡± While he was talking, he whipped out a list of everyone¡¯s names in the class and started reading them off. Very soon, Lu Yu was called out. ¡°Lu Yu!¡± ¡°Is Lu Yu around?¡± The homeroom teacher asked someone, and he shook his head helplessly. It looks like Lu Yu has given up. Since that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll cross his name off.¡± Just as the homeroom teacher was about to cross Lu Yu¡¯s name off, Su Qing stood up. ¡°Teacher, Lu Yu will definitely come over. He¡¯s not that kind of person.¡± The homeroom teacher looked at Su Qing and asked, ¡°Do you know him well?¡± Su Qing nodded slightly. ¡°No, but I¡¯m familiar with the circumstances surrounding his family.¡± ¡°His aunt raised him since he was young and had a difficult upbringing.¡± ¡°Because his aunt is so sick, the entire family is counting on Lu Yu to support them financially.¡± ¡°Lu Yu is a very filial person.¡± ¡°Given his circumstances, he wouldn¡¯t give up!¡± She had faith in Lu Yu because she knew he would keep fighting for his aunt. Otherwise, he would have failed to live up to his upbringing When Su Qing¡¯s homeroom teacher witnessed her firm stance, he nodded for the sake of her reputation as a top student. ¡°Okay, then I¡¯ll wait a little longer.¡± Everyone fell into silence and began to wait quietly. The college entrance exam was about to begin, and the homeroom teacher was so anxious that his forehead was covered in sweat. ¡°I think he won¡¯t be coming. The time is almost up.¡± The homeroom teacher glanced at his watch. Su Qing frowned slightly, but she was still confident. She believed that Lu Yu would definitely come. Finally, the time was up¡­ The homeroom teacher stood up and picked up the name list. ¡°Alright, everyone, get ready for the college entrance exam. Everyone, brace yourselves. There has never been a more important time in your life than right now!¡± The entire place was silent. Su Qing was a little flustered. She did not expect that Lu Yu would actually be absent! She let out a long sigh and could only console herself that she had misjudged a person. Everyone stood up and prepared to gather for the exam. At this precise moment, the door to the classroom was pushed open, and a familiar face filled the room. The homeroom teacher looked over and heaved a sigh of relief. ¡°Lu Yu! Why are you only here now! You kept us waiting for a very long time!¡± Chapter 25 - Exams Begins, The Weakest One Chapter 25 Exams Begins, The Weakest One Lu Yu arrived last and arrived just in time for the exams. The homeroom teacher looked at Lu Yu and heaved a sigh of relief, ¡°Just get ready for the exams, since your capabilities are limited. You must work extra hard during the exams!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry,worry teacher, I have already made preparations.¡± Lu Yu nodded and entered the classroom. ¡°Lu Yu, you can do it!¡± ¡°Although your talent is average, your hard work is obvious to all of us. You can do it!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t give up. Some of us don¡¯t even have talent and are still insisting on going through the process.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Even if we go to a bad university, there are still opportunities for future development.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. There have been cases where the weak have made a comeback.¡± Many students gathered to console Lu Yu. Lu Yu smiled and replied, ¡°Everyone, let¡¯s work hard for a good result.¡± ¡°Next, I¡¯ll present you with the rules,¡± the homeroom teacher said as he cleared his throat. ¡°Our country has two major divisions. One is the Ministry of War, and the other is the Ministry of Culture.¡± ¡°Education was previously overseen by the Ministry of Culture. However, as ferocious beasts proliferated, the Ministry of War appointed a new leader in the Ministry of Literature.¡± ¡°In the current situation, we require strength. As a result, the Ministry of Culture¡¯s education field must also include the Ministry of War¡¯s ideology.¡± ¡°The new head who took over the education field is a young military officer named Wan Guliu.¡± ¡°It is rumored that he has an unruly personality and is a cold-blooded war machine. He has numerous military accomplishments.¡± ¡°The new head started to revamp the education sector after taking over, and he changed the previous college entrance exam system!¡± ¡°In addition, he will personally come to Riverdale City to supervise our exam!¡± The students were a little nervous after hearing this. Being supervised by the Minister of Education would not be a good thing. The homeroom teacher continued, ¡°In the past, the rules were to fight monsters first, then spar against your peers.¡± ¡°But this year, it will be the other way around.¡± ¡°This year, we will allow you to form teams and compete against one another three times to determine the winner. Only about an eighth of you will be left.¡± ¡°Then we¡¯ll move on to the next stage. I also have no idea what the next round will be.¡± ¡°We will first complete the three rounds, and then we will decide based on the situation.¡± As he said that, the homeroom teacher frowned. ¡°I¡¯m confused, and even the school board as well. What¡¯s with all the secrecy?¡± ¡°If they had told us sooner, we would have made preparations earlier.¡± ¡°With them messing around like this, we don¡¯t even know what to do!¡± ¡°Sign, I¡¯m not sure if this newcomer taking over the Ministry of Culture is right or wrong¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, can¡¯t he announce it earlier?¡± complained the students below. ¡°Why are they being so mysterious? It¡¯s just adding to our difficulties for no reason.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, that¡¯s right!¡± ¡°From what I can tell, that new guy just wants to show off!¡± ¡°Why can¡¯t he just obediently return to the Ministry of War instead of tormenting us!¡± Amongst the crowd, only Lu Yu remained calm. Wan Guliu was the one who made the rules, and it appeared that everyone had to follow the rules of those in power. What was the point of complaining in this situation? Unless you were stronger than them, you could only obediently abide by their orders. Lu Yu might as well take a short nap instead of wasting his energy complaining. Lu Yu couldn¡¯t be bothered by the commotion on the side and began to close his eyes to rest. After complaining about the rules, the students began to pray that the opponents they faced were the weaker ones. ¡°I hope I can face off against a weaker opponent so that I can get a better ranking.¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t pit me against Su Qing. I don¡¯t want to be eliminated in the first round.¡± ¡°Yo, didn¡¯t you want to train with Su Qing earlier?¡± ¡°Hey, which guy in class doesn¡¯t want to spar with Su Qing? The point is, now is not the time for that!¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t ordinary sparring; the outcome of this exam will determine the rest of our lives!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be in big trouble if I face Su Qing¡­¡± ¡°I hope I get Lu Yu. That way, it¡¯ll be an easier battle.¡± ¡°I hope I get Lu Yu too. After all, he would be eliminated in the first round. Why can¡¯t he do me a favor?¡± ¡°Lu Yu, if I get picked as your opponent, I¡¯ll definitely give you a big gift after this is over!¡± that person said as he looked at Lu Yu excitedly. Lu Yu was feeling a little annoyed. He had not previously formed a team with his classmates, so no one was aware of his current prowess. However, Lu Yu did not plan to say anything. After all, no one would believe him. These people would naturally see the difference when the battle starts. Lu Yu looked at Su Qing, and he was a little curious. What were Su Qing¡¯s current attributes? [ Attack: 140 ] [ Speed: 130 ] [ Health: 230 ] [ Mana: 150 ] [ Defense: 150 ) Her attributes were not bad. Although it was significantly worse than his, it was sufficient for her to be the best in the class when compared to the other students. Most importantly, her pieces of equipment were pretty good. There were a few pieces of Blue quality equipment. This was the advantage of coming from a decent family background. He only managed to obtain the same level of equipment by clearing dungeons continuously. Moreover, most of his were of Green quality¡­ Lu Yu opened his personal panel. The reward for the daily quests he completed over the past few days was exchanged for attribute points. It totalled up to about 30 points and was not distributed yet. After tinkering with his personal attributes, Lu Yu finally completed allocating all his points. [ Attack: 260 ] [ Speed: 190 ] [ Health: 330 ] [ Mana: 160 ] [ Defense: 220 ] Lu Yu allocated another 20 points to his attack. Most of the students in his class had 60 to 70 defense, and their health did not exceed 200 points. Now, just an attack from Lu Yu¡¯s could instantly kill them! At this moment, the homeroom teacher shouted, ¡°Everyone, the exam is starting!¡± Under the homeroom teacher¡¯s lead, everyone walked out of the classroom and arrived at a field outside. On the field, dozens of array mages had already set up their arrays and organized the competition grounds. A tall and majestic figure stood at the center of the array. Everyone turned to see that it was none other than Wan Guliu! Scars of varying sizes covered his stern face. His pair of sharp eyes seemed to be able to pierce through everyone. He exuded a pressuring aura with his hands behind his back, making everyone nervous. ¡°Hello, everyone.¡± ¡°The sparring match will begin immediately. However, the matches this time will be different from the previous ones!¡± Wan Guliu¡¯s deep voice boomed throughout the field. He crushed the ballot from which he would draw the names and scattered it in the air. ¡°By now, everyone should understand. The matches will no longer be decided by drawing lots to determine your opponent.¡± ¡°Next, you will choose your own team and also choose the opponent you want to fight!¡± All the students revealed shocked expressions, expressing disbelief. This new rule was too ridiculous. Choosing their opponent themselves? Everyone would definitely go for the weakest one! They couldn¡¯t help but look at Lu Yu. Without a doubt, Lu Yu was recognized as the weakest one here! Chapter 26 - Your Attacks Are Ineffective, My Turn Chapter 26 Your Attacks Are Ineffective, My Turn Wan Guliu, in the centre of the formation, swept his gaze across everyone and yelled, ¡°Start now! Find your respective opponents! I will only give you one minute!¡± Following that, more than half of the male students in Class Two locked their gaze on Lu Yu. They then trod simultaneously toward Lu Yu. Someone dashed toward Lu Yu and yelled, ¡°Lu Yu! Allow me to be your opponent!¡± The others panicked when they heard that. They all wanted to face off against Lu Yu, and they didn¡¯t expect this guy to cut the queue. Everyone rushed toward Lu Yu the next moment. ¡°Lu Yu, come and fight me. I will be very gentle!¡± ¡°Lu Yu, we used to be friends. Let me have this opportunity!¡± ¡°Give me this chance and I will definitely make it up to you!¡± Everyone rushed toward Lu Yu at the same time. It was an odd scene. Lu Yu only gave a faint smile. He realized the irony and ridiculousness as he remembered how they had just comforted him in class. Their hypocrisy seemed to emerge quickly in the face of temptation. At that moment, one of the students with quick feet arrived in front of Lu Yu. ¡°I¡¯m the first to arrive. I¡¯m Lu Yu¡¯s opponent. You¡¯re all too late!¡± That person turned his head and proudly announced it. He was confident that his match ranking would rise by one level quickly. When everyone saw that, they all came to a halt, their faces filled with regret. ¡°This guy sure runs fast!¡± ¡°I missed it. What a pity¡­¡± ¡°Sigh, I hope the person I¡¯m up against is a wimp like Lu Yu¡­¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t let me fight with Su Qing, Please¡­¡± ¡°Also the class president, he has a B-level talent. He is definitely not someone to be trifled with.¡± Everyone sighed and began to choose their respective opponents seriously. The student who took the lead and ran in front of Lu Yu looked at Lu Yu with an embarrassed smile. ers ¡°Lu Yu, I¡¯m really sorry. My dream ever since I was young was to go to a decent Awakeners university.I would be grateful if you could assist me in quickly moving up a level in this exam.¡± Lu Yu only chuckled. This guy¡¯s dream was about to be destroyed, yet he was still rejoicing. The people around Lu Yu and that person were staring at them. Some of them looked envious, while others looked worried. The homeroom teacher sighed as he looked at Lu Yu. ¡°Being eliminated from the start would be devastating for him.¡± Su Qing looked at Lu Yu with apprehension. ¡°If he is eliminated in the first round, he will have no chance of even getting into a bad university¡­¡± Su Qing glanced at the homeroom teacher. She wanted to plead with the homeroom teacher to change Lu Yu¡¯s opponent, even if it was only to win the first round. However, she knew in her heart that with Wan Guliu personally supervising the examination, he would not allow the rules he had established to be broken. Lu Yu used the Eye of Truth to look at the opponent in front of him seriously and obtain his attributes. [ Cai Heng ] [ Attack: 90 ] [ Speed: 160 ] ( Health: 130 ] [ Mana: 120 ] [ Defense: 70 ] Among all his attributes, only his speed was decent-looking This was also why he could get ahead of the rest. Lu Yu continued reading and saw his talent. [ Lightning Spirit, C-level talent: A body that¡¯s enshrouded with lightning, granting swift movement speed ] With his attributes this low, despite C-level talent, he was definitely considered average. Even his most outstanding attribute, speed, was inferior to Lu Yu¡¯. His attack and defense stats were even more laughable. His attacks couldn¡¯t even break through Lu Yu¡¯s defenses. If Cai Heng had no means to break through his defenses, it wouldn¡¯t matter even if Lu Yu stood there and let Cai Heng hit him. Lu Yu looked at him and said, ¡°You dream of going to a good university, but you want to use me as a stepping stone. Then, you have made a wrong decision.¡± ¡°Your decision will ruin your chances of even getting into a university!!¡± Everyone was taken aback by Lu Yu¡¯s words. Cai Heng had C-level talent and was a very hard-working person. He stayed and trained at the school¡¯s training ground from morning to night. How could someone with the lowest F-level talent say such a thing? Cai Heng chuckled. ¡°Are you kidding me? Where is your confidence coming from?¡± Lu Yu persuaded him further. ¡°There¡¯s still hope. You¡¯d better find someone else if you want to win.¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t, you¡¯ll lose badly.¡± This was the ultimatum issued by Lu Yu. Cai Heng burst out laughing when he heard this. ¡°You really know how to make me laugh, hahaha.¡± Who here doesn¡¯t know you have the worst F-level talent?¡± ¡°Even if I let you train for another month, you wouldn¡¯t be a match for me with your weakest talent!¡± ¡°Now, you¡¯re still saying such things, even in such a position. Oh, I understand. You¡¯re trying to keep your cool one more time before I make a fool of you. I can¡¯t say I blame you. I do sympathize with your situation.¡± In the next moment, crackling electricity emitted from Cai Heng¡¯s body. Lu Yu was too lazy to reply. If this boy before him would not cherish his last chance, then Lu Yu could not be held responsible for what happened next. ¡°Alright, since that¡¯s the case, I will defeat you without suffering.¡± Lu Yu stated. ¡°Stop pretending!¡± yelled Cai Heng. He flashed and rushed towards Lu Yu at an extremely fast speed, leaving afterimages behind him. The other students found their opponents and began their battles as well. Lu Yu, on the other hand, stood perfectly still. He did not attempt to avoid or defend himself. ¡°Flash Shadow Step!¡± exclaimed Cai Heng. After that, he would leave an extra afterimage every time he accelerated, making it impossible for others to distinguish the real him. However, in Lu Yu¡¯s opinion, this was just a normal speed. ¡°Can you keep up with my speed?¡± Cai Heng boasted arrogantly. ¡°Can you even tell which of us is the real me? It doesn¡¯t matter; I will play with you more and let you face reality!¡± Following that, he charged directly at Lu Yu, saying, ¡°Haha, and that¡¯s a lie. I¡¯m too tired to keep up with this farce of a battle!¡± He raised his fists and threw them at Lu Yu¡¯s chest after a loud laugh. Lu Yu remained motionless, not even bothering to look at the person in front of him. Bang, Wham, Slam! After a series of muffled loud slams, the initially arrogant Cai Heng raised his head and looked at Lu Yu with widened eyes. He was shocked when he saw Lu Yu¡¯s calm and composed demeanor. ¡°What¡¯s going on? My attacks¡­ why aren¡¯t they doing anything?¡± He thought he was hallucinating and quickly swung his fists again, aiming for Lu Yu¡¯s abdomen! Lu Yu calmly placed his hands behind his back. Cai Heng was panting heavily after a series of attacks. He was completely taken aback when he looked up at Lu Yu. Lu Yu¡¯s body was as tough as a steel plate. No matter how he struck, it was ineffective. He couldn¡¯t stop himself from swallowing. He realised Lu Yu¡¯s defence was much higher than his attack power! But¡­ that was impossible! Lu Yu looked down at the terrified Cai Heng and asked calmly, ¡°Are you done? My turn.¡± Chapter 27 - B-level Talent, Blood Vampir Chapter 27 B-level Talent, Blood Vampir Cai Heng was taken aback by Lu Yu¡¯s words. He hastily withdrew, putting distance between himself and Lu Yu. ¡°Damn it, why aren¡¯t my attacks working?¡± After pondering for a moment, he consoled himself, ¡°You must be focusing on defense. That must be the case.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then you must be very weak in other aspects. Your attack, speed, and health are definitely worse than mine.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then I¡¯ll slowly break through your defense!¡± Cai Heng revealed a confident expression once again. He believes that he could slowly shave Lu Yu¡¯s defense away with his fast speed. At that moment, Lu Yu¡¯s figure suddenly flickered and disappeared! Swish! In an instant, Lu Yu arrived before Cai Heng. Cai Heng¡¯s eyes widened as he watched Lu Yu suddenly appear before him. His mouth was gaping open. Lu Yu¡¯s speed was faster than his! Lu Yu raised his right hand, and his entire arm transformed into a dragon claw. The muscles on his arm expanded explosively, with scales protruding out. The five sharp claws buzzed, and their razor-sharp tips glinted coldly. Cai Heng was dumbfounded by what he was seeing. How was such a fierce-looking dragon claw classified as the weakest F-level talent, Claw Attack? He swallowed his throat and hurriedly explained, ¡°Bro, I am sorry. I shouldn¡¯t have said those just now¡­¡± Lu Yu calmly said, ¡°I said, I will defeat you without you suffering.¡± Cai Heng¡¯s entire body trembled as he nodded. He accepted his fate at that point. He was well aware that he was no longer a match for Lu Yu. His dream of attending a good university had naturally been dashed. If he had to blame someone, he could only blame his own decision for choosing to face someone this strong. The next moment, Lu Yu raised his right hand and backhanded Cai Heng. The back of his hand smashed heavily onto Cai Heng¡¯s body, and the tremendous force shook Cai Heng¡¯s entire body so hard that it was seemingly about to fall apart. Cai Heng fell to the ground and fainted as a result of this attack. Lu Yu exhaled a sigh. He had knocked him unconscious with a simple slap before he could even use his full strength, so Cai Heng shouldn¡¯t have experienced any pain with that blow. Fortunately, Lu Yu didn¡¯t attack with the front of his hand. Otherwise, Cai Heng might have lost his life. At that time, the other students¡¯ matches were coming to an end one after the other. Many people noticed Lu Yu and began talking about him. ¡°Am I seeing things? Lu Yu won?¡± ¡°Why is Cai Heng lying down? Wasn¡¯t he very pretentious just now?¡± ¡°Bloody hell, he can¡¯t even seize an opportunity when it¡¯s handed to him on a silver platter.¡± ¡°Is this guy here to make a joke?¡± ¡°What exactly is Lu Yu¡¯s strength? When Cai Heng is actually no match for him.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not right. Doesn¡¯t Lu Yu have the weakest talent?¡± Everyone falls into deep thought. Very soon, someone made a bold guess. ¡°I recall Cai Heng having a good relationship with Lu Yu when he was in school.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, they frequently went out to work together.¡± ¡°I see. Could it be¡­¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t this Cai Heng pretending to be unconscious in order to allow his friend to enter a university? It must be difficult for him.¡± ¡°Looks like that¡¯s the case. The weakest F-level talent would never be able to beat a C-level talent.¡± They came to a new conclusion after some deliberation. Hence, another large group of people came up to Lu Yu. ¡°Lu Yu, fight me in the second round!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s compete. I don¡¯t believe that you really beat Cai Heng!¡± ¡°Lu Yu, let me see your true strength!¡± Everyone walked over and tried to get Lu Yu to fight them. At that moment, an arrogant voice attracted everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°Everyone, get out of the way. Let me fight him next!¡± After everyone looked over, they all made way for him. Following that, a figure in a black suit emerged. ¡°It¡¯s Chen Ying. This is going to be a good show.¡± ¡°I heard that he has been displeased with Lu Yu for a long time.¡± ¡°Yeah, he is Su Qing¡¯s pursuer, and Su Qing was always kind to Lu Yu. He must be angry because of that.¡± ¡°It¡¯s going to be hard for Lu Yu. Chen Ying seems to have B-level talent. The higher the level, the greater the gap. The strength of a B-level talent is enough to easily crush someone with a C-level talent.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s the case, wouldn¡¯t Lu Yu¡¯s be even more doomed with his F-level talent?¡± At that moment, someone spoke out, ¡°Chen Ying, there¡¯s too much of a difference in strength between the two of you. What if you inadvertently slipped your hand?¡± Chen Ying chuckled, ¡°That would be easy then. I already contacted the cemetery in advance.¡± Everyone was silent. They were helpless in the face of Chen Ying¡¯s arrogance. They were all concerned about Lu Yu at the same time. This match was bound to end in disaster. ¡°Lu Yu, why don¡¯t you forfeit?¡± someone suggested to Lu Yu. ¡°You¡¯re not going to beat him.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, hurry up and leave. If you really take this fight, you¡¯ll definitely leave in bad shape!¡± ¡°This person wants to take this opportunity to kill you. This exam is less important than staying alive!¡± Lu Yu turned to face Chen Ying. This guy had a cold expression on his face and a cold glint in his eyes. He appeared to be very aggressive. Most importantly, this guy¡¯s face was a little pale, as if he was malnourished. ¡°Since you want to fight with me, then come. I won¡¯t run away.¡± Chen Ying gave a cold smile. ¡°Heh, you have the guts, but you will regret it!¡± The atmosphere hardened. Both parties stared at each other, neither giving way to the other. Lu Yu activated his Eye of Truth and looked at Chen Ying. He quickly received Chen Ying¡¯s information. [ Chen Ying ] ( Talent: Blood Vampir, B-level ] ( Attack: 110 ] [ Speed: 100 ] ( Health: 270 ] [ Mana: 230 ] [ Defense: 120 ) Lu Yu took a quick look and noticed his health and mana were of somewhat decent values. Chen Ying¡¯s mana was probably exceptional because he possessed a skill-based talent, and his Blood Vampir talent most likely contributed to his exceptional health stats. However, even with these attributes, it was still far inferior to Lu Yu. Lu Yu¡¯s attack was 260, while Chen Ying¡¯s defense was only 120. Even if Lu Yu does not use his Armor Penetration skill, just two attacks would be enough to cripple Chen Ying. As for speed, the difference between them was astronomical. It seemed that this guy was also a joke, Lu Yu thought to himself as he prepared himself for the battle. Chen Ying took a step forward and raised his hands. A surge of blood-colored energy surged from the centre of his palms. Following that, bats flew out of his palms. ¡°I really want to taste the fresh blood in your body. Come.¡± He licked his lips, and over a dozen vampire bats flew out of his palms. The bats encircled and engulfed Lu Yu. Lu Yu¡¯s arms had transformed into Dragon Claws at that point. As his sharp claws flashed out, his muscles expanded explosively. Everyone was a little surprised when they saw this. ¡°¡®Is this really the F-level Claw Attack? It looks so fierce!¡± ¡°Damn, it looks just like a dragon¡¯s claws. Did it evolve?¡± ¡°Are you kidding? It¡¯s only been a few days since he awakened. How can he evolve so soon?¡± While everyone was talking, Chen Ying waved his hand, and a dozen bats flew toward Lu Yu. Lu Yu raised his hands, ready to unleash his abilities. Everyone was excited. The battle between the two of them has finally begun! Lu Yu¡¯s arms charged for a split second before he swung both claws! The razor-sharp claws swung out, followed by several air blades. Lu Yu used Split Claw! Chapter 28 - A-level Talent, Knight Chapter 28 A-level Talent, Knight Lu Yu activated his Split Claw skill, and after unleashing it, he directly shattered over a dozen vampire bats in the air! Everyone was stunned when they saw the scene unfolding before them. ¡°What¡¯s going on? In just a split second, did all those vampire bats die?¡± ¡°This strength doesn¡¯t seem to be the strength of an F-level.¡± ¡°These bats are Chen Ying¡¯s strongest attack, and Lu Yu blew right through them!¡± Not only did the others feel that it was ridiculous, but even Chen Ying himself thought it was absurd. After training for so long, he naturally knew the might of his vampire bats. Unless the attack value were extremely high, regular attacks would not even be able to shave off half of their health. Chen Ying cast a glance at Lu Yu and began to speculate on Lu Yu¡¯s attack power. He couldn¡¯t help but gulp when he saw Lu Yu¡¯s razor-sharp claws. He realized that he might not be Lu Yu¡¯s match¡­ After all, his vampire bats could not be summoned continuously¡­ Lu Yu didn¡¯t want to waste any more time on this guy, so he charged at him. Noticing Lu Yu charging toward him, Chen Ying had an inkling of a thought to run away. He quickly retreated, trying to increase the distance between him and Lu Yu. However, Lu Yu appeared before him in the blink of an eye! ¡°Damn it. He¡¯s too quick!¡± Chen Ying cried out in shock! ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you helped me find a grave?¡± Lu Yu asked coldly. ¡°You are dead!¡± All of Chen Ying¡¯s flaws and weaknesses appeared in front of Lu Yu the next moment. Lu Yu swung one of his claws over and activated Armor Penetration! His right claw struck out, slicing open Chen Ying¡¯s chest. He then activated his Grappling skill for the second time and struck at Chen Ying¡¯s weak point! Swish! Swoosh! Chen Ying¡¯s entire body was covered in blood after a few slashes. ¡°Hiss! Arghh!¡± Chen Ying hissed out in such agony that it caused everyone present to feel bad for him. Then, with a plop, Chen Ying fell to the ground. He did not have the strength to stand further. ¡°Chen Ying is now crippled.¡± Lu Yu looked at everyone calmly and said, ¡°This is the price he has to pay!¡± Everyone took a few steps back when they saw Chen Ying¡¯s miserable state and did not dare approach Lu Yu. Nobody wanted to face Lu Yu at that point. They now had a clear understanding of what Lu Yu was capable of. Lu Yu¡¯s two consecutive victories proved his strength to everyone. They were all wrong. Lu Yu¡¯s talent was not the weakest! They could not understand how Lu Yu¡¯s F-level talent could be this strong! But no one dared to say anything at the time. In the beginning, everyone wanted to fight Lu Yu. But now, no one dared to be Lu Yu¡¯s opponent. The difference between the two scenes was only around ten minutes. A figure emerged from the crowd at that precise moment. That person dashed through the crowd and landed in front of Lu Yu. Lu Yu took a closer look and discovered that the person was Chen Chao, the class president of Class Three next door! ¡°Aren¡¯t you from Class Three? What are you doing here?¡± Lu Yu asked. Chen Chao remained silent. Instead, he turned to face Chen Ying, who was covered in blood and wounds on the ground. Then, the sound of horse hooves rang out. A tall and dark figure slowly galloped from the crowd. A black stallion held its head high and puffed out its chest. It trod through the crowd with light steps and arrived behind Chen Chao. The black horse¡¯s body was muscular, and its coat was shiny. Everyone could tell it was a strong horse just by looking at it! as a When everyone saw the black stallion, they were all a little surprised. At that moment, someone explained, ¡°So this is Chen Chao¡¯s horse. It looks so impressive.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard Chen Chao, like Su Qing, has A-level talent. What exactly is he doing here?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. Is he looking for Lu Yu?¡± Lu Yu turned to face Chen Chao. He was dressed in silver armor and appeared tall and muscular. Lu Yu saw Chen Chao¡¯s personal attributes with his Eye of Truth. [ Chen Chao ] ( Talent: Knight, A-level. Greatly increases attack, defense, and health ] [ Attack: 160 ) [ Speed: 120 ] ( Health: 290 ] [ Mana: 150 ) [ Defense: 180 ] His stats were decent, but he was still inferior to Lu Yu in every way. However, Chen Chao should be much harder to defeat compared to the previous two. At that moment, Chen Chao turned to face Chen Ying on the ground and yelled, ¡°You bastard, how dare you do such a vicious thing to my brother!¡± ¡°You are dead!¡± Chen Chao¡¯s ferocious roar terrified the people around him. Chen Chao¡¯s voice was husky and deep. When he roared, he was also extremely intimidating. ¡°This guy was the one who tried to kill me first. He¡¯s lucky I didn¡¯t kill him,¡± Lu Yu said unhappily. ¡°Stop talking nonsense with me,¡± Chen Chao said as he stepped forward. ¡°I¡¯ll pay you back double for what you did to my brother!¡± ¡°At first, I intended to come and spar with Su Qing. But now, I¡¯d like to take out a small fry.¡± Chen Chao said as he approached Lu Yu. Lu Yu was speechless. This fellow was so vindictive that Lu Yu could no longer communicate with him. Since that was the case, Lu Yu could only teach him a lesson! Lu Yu flashed his claws once more, ready to fight! After a tense pause, the two of them faced each other and were about to fight. At that precise moment, a figure appeared and drew everyone¡¯s attention. Su Qing walked through the crowd toward the two of them. She wore white sportswear to the exams today, but it couldn¡¯t hide her alluring figure. Chen Chao looked over as she approached, and the anger on his face subsided. Su Qing, the school belle, was naturally the goddess he wished to date. Su Qing walked over to Lu Yu¡¯s side without looking at him. ¡°Lu Yu, this person is far too powerful. You¡¯re not on the same level as him, so let me handle it. I also have A-level talent, and only I can compete with him.¡± Su Qing¡¯s persuasion made everyone present jealous. Their goddess wanted to fight for Lu Yu. What kind of situation was this! ¡°Damn, Lu Yu is too charming. I hope that Su Qing can protect me like this.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to watch anymore. Lu Yu has already won.¡± When Chen Chao saw this, he became even angrier. He turned his hatred toward Lu Yu. However, Lu Yu was unimpressed by Su Qing¡¯s appearance. Chen Chao in front of him had high defense and health stats. He would be a perfect sandbag for Lu Yu to practice his combos. The first two guys were too weak. They did not even give Lu Yu the chance to use his combos. ¡°Su Qing, just stand by and watch. Let me handle this guy.¡± Su Qing frowned slightly. ¡°Are you really that confident? What if something unexpected happens?¡± Lu Yu smiled calmly. ¡°Nothing of the sort will happen. Just watch!¡± As he said that, Lu Yu walked toward Chen Chao. The onlookers gave Lu Yu a thumbs up. They admired him from the bottom of their hearts. Those who had awakened F-level talent would almost certainly never fight against those with an A-level talent in their entire lives! A large crowd surrounded Lu Yu and Chen Chao just as they were about to start fighting. Class Two and Class Three students had finished their matches and came over to watch the battle. Chapter 29 - Lu Yu, First Place, Night Spirit Horse Chapter 29 Lu Yu, First Place, Night Spirit Horse Students from both classes came over, livening up the place. Lu Yu turned to face Chen Chao and said, ¡°The rules of the exam require me to agree to the first two matches. If I win, I have the option to decline the next match.¡± ¡°At the same time, I have the right to choose who I want to fight.¡± Chen Chao asked, frowning, ¡°Do you mean you¡¯re rejecting my challenge? You are a coward!¡± Lu Yu took a look behind Chen Chao at the black horse. Lu Yu was able to see the horse¡¯s characteristics thanks to the Eye of Truth. ( Night Spirit Horse ] [ Attack: 40 ) [ Speed: 700 ] ( Health: 930 ] [ Mana: 100 ] ( Defense: 200 ) As a mount, its speed and health were pretty good. His future travels would be much easier and more convenient if he could take this horse as his own. Although there were cars in this world, they were far less valuable than these rare mounts. Lu Yu thought it would be wonderful if he could get this horse. ¡°Chen Chao, if you want to fight me, you must place a bet.¡± ¡°I get your horse if I win!¡± Chen Chao clenched his teeth. This horse was his prized possession. How could he let go so easily? But, on second thought, wouldn¡¯t he have an easy time beating this F-level talent? Even if he agreed, it appears that there were no actual consequences. ¡°No problem, but what if you lose?¡± Lu Yu chuckled, ¡°If I lose, you won¡¯t hold back anyway. Right?¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, I can¡¯t wait for you to become a cripple when you lose!¡± sneered Chen Chao as he looked at the injured Chen Ying. He turned around and mounted his horse after saying that. Everyone became excited when they saw that the two of them were about to start fighting. ¡°Let¡¯s go! A duel between the strong! What a treat!¡± ¡°We better watch and learn. These are all valuable experiences!¡± ¡°I believe Chen Chao is the stronger one. Didn¡¯t Lu Yu awaken the weakest talent?¡± A person from Class Three asked, puzzled. ¡°Are you a moron? What do you think happened to Chen Ying?¡± ¡°What?! He really managed to get stronger? This guy is sure of something else!¡± The crowd formed a circle around them, giving them room to fight. Sitting on the back of his horse, Chen Chao pulled out a long sword from his waist and pointed it at Lu Yu. ¡°You¡¯re going to lose for sure!¡± Then he yanked hard on the horse¡¯s reins and charged toward Lu Yu. The horse trotted, and it appeared before Lu Yu in the blink of an eye. Chen Chao swung his long sword and slashed at Lu Yu. Lu Yu remained calm throughout. He used his strength to propel himself into the air! He followed the first jump with a double jump to get closer to Chen Chao. When Chen Chao saw how agile Lu Yu was in mid-air, he panicked. He retracted his sword quickly and stabbed Lu Yu. Lu Yu used Grappling, and Chen Chao¡¯s weaknesses appeared before him. Lu Yu then reached out his right claw and grabbed Chen Chao¡¯s left arm! His sharp claws tore through the armor on Chen Chao¡¯s arm! Chen Chao thrust his sword forward again, but Lu Yu used his left claw to block and activate Strong Wall. Clang! Following the sound of metal colliding, sparks flew. Lu Yu easily blocked Chen Chao¡¯s full-power attack. Everyone was taken aback. They had not anticipated Chen Chao¡¯s attack being ineffective against Lu Yu! Lu Yu quickly activated his Uppercut skill after blocking Chen Chao¡¯s attack. His two claws swiped upwards and sent Chen Chao flying from his saddle. Chen Chao was completely flustered at the time. He wouldn¡¯t be able to move as quickly now that he¡¯d been separated from his steed. Furthermore, he was helpless in mid-air, unable to do anything! Lu Yu did not give him the opportunity to land! He used his first Armor Penetration right away, resulting in a 30% armour reduction! Chen Chao only had 180 defense points. The first Armor Penetration had deducted 54 defense points from his stats! Lu Yu then used two more Armor Penetration attacks, leaving Chen Chao with only 18 defense points. Chen Chao felt despair as he looked at his shattered armor. The defense that he was so proud of had been broken this quickly¡­ Lu Yu¡¯s attack speed was incredible. After breaking through Chen Chao¡¯s armor three times, he continued attacking with his razor-sharp claws. Lu Yu¡¯s attack was 260, while Chen Chao¡¯s total health was only 290! Lu Yu¡¯s ordinary attack directly gauged several wounds on Chen Chao¡¯s body after he had lost his defense, causing blood to spurt out instantly! Chen Chao¡¯s health quickly deteriorated, and his life was hanging by a thread. He crashed onto the ground and spat out a large mouthful of blood. Lu Yu¡¯s short combo instantly crippled Chen Chao! This brief exchange determined the outcome, and Lu Yu¡¯s crushing victory stunned everyone. Chen Chao, lying on the ground covered in blood, no longer had the arrogance and haughtiness from before. Su Qing, who was standing to the side, widened her eyes and stared at Lu Yu, perplexed. Chen Chao, like her, possessed A-level talent! She had originally thought that someone with an A-level talent would be the strongest in their school. But it was clear that Lu Yu had defeated someone with A-level talent with his F-level talent. This was a little surreal for her. Lu Yu was shrouded in mystery in her eyes. At that moment, Lu Yu approached Chen Chao and said, ¡°With you losing the fight, I¡¯ll accept this fine horse of yours.¡± Chen Chao was too weak to say anything else and could only obediently nod his head. Lu Yu approached the Night Spirit Horse and extended his hand to stroke it. [ Congratulations on obtaining Night Spirit Horse ] [ Night Spirit Horse¡¯s Skill: Charge, Enemy Tracking ] [ Charge: Perform a short sprint, a dash skill ] ( Enemy Tracking: Can track a targeted enemy ] Lu Yu nodded his head in satisfaction. The effects of these two skills were not bad. The people around Lu Yu were staring at him. They were taken aback and envious. They did not expect Lu Yu to win, and even less so that he would obtain this horse. At that moment, Wan Guliu walked out of the array. ¡°Students, the first stage of the college entrance exam is over!¡± ¡°The points you earn from battles are recorded as a result of the array¡¯s effect.¡± ¡°Those who defeat those with high talent will gain more points.¡± ¡°Next, I will announce the ranking of points!¡± Wan Guliu then began reading the top 50 rankings, beginning with number 50. Everyone paid close attention as Wan Guliu read out the names. They were hoping that their name would be among those on the list ¡°Please have my name on it¡­¡± ¡°To get on this list, you can basically pick any university you want!¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t he say that lower ranks would get more points if they beat a higher rank? Wouldn¡¯t it be Lu Yu¡­¡± ¡°Damn, that¡¯s right! Lu Yu¡¯s points must be crazy high!¡± ¡°I never dreamed that Lu Yu would be this year¡¯s dark horse.¡± Even the homeroom teacher was still in a daze. Soon, Wan Guliu began to announce the top three. ¡°Third place, ¡­¡± ¡°Second place, ¡­¡± ¡°First place, Lu Yu!¡± Chapter 30 - Renowned Universities, Attracting Him Chapter 30 Renowned Universities, Attracting Him When Wan Guliu announced that Lu Yu had gotten first place, the entire room fell silent. They thought they had heard the results incorrectly, but after recalling Lu Yu¡¯s performance, they realized they shouldn¡¯t have been surprised. All the students in Class Two started to cheer collectively. ¡°Lu Yu is awesome!¡± ¡°Lu Yu is the pride of us F-level talent!¡± ¡°Awesome, he¡¯s number one in the entire state. Lu Yu created a miracle!¡± One after the other, the group of people exclaimed happily! The students in the other classes noticed this and were filled with mixed emotions. The fact that the top student in the entire state was from someone else¡¯s class did not make them feel good. ¡°We will now begin the halftime break to prepare for the second stage of the exam!¡± Wan Guliu said after announcing the rankings. After he finished speaking, the array mages stopped their array formations and began resting While waiting for the second stage of the examination, the students returned to their respective classrooms to rest. Lu Yu also returned to his class and began to rest. Many people approached Lu Yu on the way back and inquired about his strength improvement. ¡°Lu Yu, tell us, how did you get so strong?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, I can¡¯t believe an F-level talent can actually improve so quickly. Do you have any tricks for us?¡± ¡°I understand that Lu Yu comes from a low-income family, so he shouldn¡¯t be able to afford good equipment and potions. He is truly extraordinary to have improved his strength so quickly under such difficult circumstances.¡± ¡°I¡¯m only a C-level, yet my strength is inferior to an F-level. This is sure a weird world we are in.¡± Lu Yu did not answer their question. Instead, he replied casually, ¡°If you work hard by entering more dungeons and accepting more quests, you can quickly increase your strength.¡± He sat back down in his seat as he said this. The people around him were speechless when they heard this. They would have entered dungeons if they had the guts to do so. ¡°Sigh, looks like we¡¯re still being timid. If we took the risk and entered dungeons, we might be able to increase our strength by quite a bit¡­¡± Everyone sighed and began to rest quietly, preparing for their next exam. At that moment, someone realized that the homeroom teacher had not returned. ¡°Where did the teacher go?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, maybe he¡¯s busy¡­¡± However, just as they finished speculating, the homeroom teacher walked in hurriedly. ¡°Lu Yu, come with me.¡± He waved at Lu Yu. Lu Yu didn¡¯t ask any questions. He got up and followed the teacher out. ¡°Teacher, where are you taking me?¡± ¡°Waiting area of the VIP room. Someone is waiting for you!¡± The homeroom teacher strode quickly. Soon, they arrived at a luxuriously decorated VIP room. There were a total of four middle-aged men and women sitting in the room. They all seemed like scholars. When the four saw Lu Yu enter, they all stood up and walked toward Lu Yu. ¡°He¡¯s Lu Yu, right?¡± One of them asked. The homeroom teacher nodded repeatedly. ¡°That¡¯s right, so enjoy your chat with him.¡± He turned and sat on the sofa in the corner as he said this. Lu Yu looked at the middle-aged man and asked, ¡°You¡¯re looking for me?¡± The man pushed his glasses up and smiled sheepishly as he asked, ¡°Lu Yu, do you know anything about the five renowned universities in the country?¡± Lu Yu nodded slightly. ¡°Of course I do. Does it have anything to do with you guys?¡±. ¡°Of course, we¡¯re the admissions officers for those universities.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re all from those five prestigious universities, why are there only four people here?¡± Lu Yu inquired. That person gave an awkward smile. ¡°Clanorth University is the country¡¯s number one university. They do not, according to tradition, arrange for admissions officers to travel to other states and cities to recruit students.¡± ¡°Hello, my name is Yan Cheng. I work as an admissions officer at the country¡¯s second-ranked university.¡± ¡°Have you made up your mind about which university you want to attend, student Lu Yu?¡± Lu Yu shrugged. ¡°I haven¡¯t finished my exams yet. Isn¡¯t it too early to ask this now? At least wait until I finish my exams in the second half before asking?¡± ¡°Not early, not at all. Just scoring first place in the first half alone is enough for us to make an exception for you!¡± The other officers followed suit. ¡°That¡¯s correct. Your score is significantly higher than that of second place. We¡¯re willing to make an exception for you.¡± ¡°Join our university. You¡¯ll be treated very well in all aspects!¡± Yan Cheng became ecstatic right away. ¡°Come to our university, student Lu Yu.¡± We¡¯ll give you 500,000 dollars right away to cover your daily expenses as you prepare for our admissions day. What do you think?¡± ¡°That money is nothing. Student Lu Yu, come to our university and I will waive all of your school fees. Be it accommodation, meals, or necessities for cultivation, everything will be free!¡± ¡°That¡¯s so low. How can you recruit new students like this? That¡¯s so embarrassing!¡± ¡°Come to our school and we will give you two skill stone tablets. After that, we will provide you with any other equipment you need to ensure that you will quickly improve your strength!¡± ¡°Come to our Southern Awakeners University. We¡¯ll offer all the same things they offer ! We will spare no expense in nurturing you!¡± Lu Yu turned his gaze to the people arguing in front of him. He stroked his chin and went into deep thought, looking around at the people eagerly offering him freebies. These things, however, were unnecessary for Lu Yu. Lu Yu could clear dungeons and complete quests to obtain skill tablets, equipment, or money. Why would he need to take those from them? That would be ridiculous if it were just to save him some time. Going to university was more than just for the resources. Is more At that time, one of the admission officers said confidently, ¡°Student Lu Yu, come to our Holy Light Awakeners University. We¡¯ll also give you everything they offer!¡± ¡°Apart from that, we¡¯ll also give you a spirit animal. What do you think of that?¡± After hearing that, Lu Yu became intrigued. Spirit animals were extremely rare. Yan Cheng was unhappy when he heard this. ¡°Good fellow, do you always need to hog all the talents just because you have more resources in your academy?¡± That person was also disgruntled. ¡°Didn¡¯t you also nab our talents just like this in the beginning? You all were even worse than us, taking our talents away with just a little money!¡± ¡°You really are a piece of work. Is your teaching environment even better than ours?¡± ¡°Heh, our university has the best location and the richest resources around. Lu Yu coming to our university is the best choice!¡± The few people in charge of the university¡¯s admissions began arguing immediately, creating a lively scene. I When the homeroom teacher noticed this, he rushed over. ¡°Lu Yu, hurry up and make your decision. Just say which school you want to attend!¡± The few people in charge calmed down and looked at Lu Yu in unison. ¡°I thank all of you who have travelled all the way here and offered me so many tempting conditions,¡± Lu Yu said calmly. ¡°Thank you for your good intentions, but I want to try to enter Clanorth University, the first ranked university!¡± Everyone fell silent after these words were spoken. Lu Yu had deliberated for some time before settling on this goal. Why shouldn¡¯t he try to get into the best school in the country, given his talent and strength? The other admissions officers were all flustered and quickly tried to dissuade him. ¡°Do you want to reconsider?¡± ¡°Clanorth University didn¡¯t even send anyone to personally invite you. There¡¯s no sincerity from them.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, that¡¯s right¡­¡± Regardless of what they said, Lu Yu had already made up his mind. Chapter 31 - Dragon Skill, Dragon Scale Chapter 31 Dragon Skill, Dragon Scale The four admissions officers were flustered by Lu Yu¡¯s firm response and quickly tried to dissuade him. ¡°Student Lu Yu, you have to think it through. Clanorth University doesn¡¯t lack talent, and they won¡¯t treasure you like us.¡± ¡°Come to our university, and you will have a brighter future. At Clanorth University, you will only become someone mundane.¡± The four of them moved closer to Lu Yu and looked at him eagerly. Lu Yu paused for a moment before shaking his head slightly. ¡°No, I¡¯ve already made my decision. I have to enroll at Clanorth University. Thank you for attending. Please return.¡± After saying this, the few people in charge of enrollment at their respective universities looked at each other and gave up their futile efforts. They could tell that Lu Yu had a strong mind. Lu Yu would become even more opposed to their invitations if they continued to discourage him. ¡°We¡¯ll be leaving first. You should think about it more.¡± ¡°The benefits I mentioned just now will always be there. As long as you come to us, those benefits will be ready for you anytime.¡± ¡°If you change your mind, contact me.¡± Those admissions officers walked out of the VIP room one after another. When the homeroom teacher saw them leaving, he instantly panicked. ¡°Lu Yu, these few schools are already the best in the country. Can¡¯t you choose one?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine if you insist on going to Clanorth University, but what if you can¡¯t get in? What will you do then?¡± ¡°When the time comes, you¡¯ve got to go to a university you rejected. How awkward would that be?¡± Lu Yu looked at his homeroom teacher and said calmly but firmly, ¡°For me, once I¡¯ve decided what I want to do, I must do my best!¡± ¡°It¡¯s the same with picking a university.¡± ¡°Why not try my hardest to get into Clanorth University now that I have the ability and the opportunity?¡± Lu Yu¡¯s retort left the homeroom teacher speechless. ¡°Alright, then I won¡¯t say anything more¡­¡± The fact that Lu Yu had won first place in the entire state had already made the homeroom teacher proud. He did not have the right to ask for anything more. Lu Yu turned around and walked out of the VIP room. At the same time, the class was in chaos. Many people were discussing Lu Yu animatedly. Some guessed why Lu Yu was called out, while others speculated why Lu Yu was so strong. A student who had sneaked out ran in at that moment. ¡°Everyone, I just witnessed an incredible scene!¡± Everyone went silent as they looked at that student. ¡°I noticed a few luxury cars at the school gate and then crept up to the VIP room. Can you guess who I saw?¡± ¡°It¡¯s admissions officers from the country¡¯s top five universities! The officer from Clanorth University isn¡¯t here, but the other four are!¡± ¡°They must be attempting to entice Lu Yu to enrol!¡± There was an uproar the moment these words were spoken. ¡°Shit, are you for real? The top four universities are sending people to get Lu Yu to enroll. What kind of treatment is this?¡± ¡°Lu Yu is too amazing to have so many prestigious universities vying for him!¡± ¡°I¡¯m so jealous. Why is it that even though we both have F-level talent, I¡¯m so lacking?¡± ¡°I really wish that someone from a famous university would come and beg me!¡± ¡°Oh right, did Lu Yu agree? Which university did he agree to?¡± Everyone expected Lu Yu to accept a place at one of these universities. After all, receiving an invitation from one of the top four universities was already very satisfying for an F-level Awakener. There was no reason to reject them, in their opinion. However, the student who broke the news had a bitter expression on his face because he didn¡¯t know where to begin. ¡°I accidentally overheard the conversation of a few admissions officers. Lu Yu¡­ didn¡¯t enroll in any of their universities!¡± The students were all taken aback when they heard this response. ¡°What? Not a single one?¡± ¡°What kind of joke is this? Is Lu Yu crazy? Why isn¡¯t he cherishing such a good opportunity?¡± ¡°This¡­ This is such a waste! If I had such a good opportunity, I would definitely go!¡± ¡°If four top universities invited me, I would probably laugh in my sleep!¡± ¡°What happened after that? What was Lu Yu thinking?¡± The person continued, ¡°I heard their conversation and found out why Lu Yu didn¡¯t go. It¡¯s because he wanted to attend Clanorth University.¡± ¡°What? Clanorth University?¡± ¡°Is he serious? Clanorth University is extremely strict in recruiting new students. Although he is the best in the state, there is still the second half of exams.¡± ¡°His ranking is excellent, but his F-level talent alone ensured that he would not be admitted to Clanorth University. Those who can gain admission to the best universities in the country have at least B-level talent!¡± ¡°Sigh¡­ it appears that he has inflated his ego solely because of his good results. It¡¯s quite common.¡± Many others sighed as well. They thought Lu Yu had changed into someone with an inflated ego. Lu Yu, on the other hand, had always been this way. They were the ones who never understood him. Lu Yu left the campus and prepared to return home after exiting the VIP room. The second stage of the examinations was scheduled for tomorrow. Lu Yu still had time to prepare today. Coincidentally, he had not completed his daily mission today. He ran all the way home. When he reached home, the daily mission was completed and a notification popped up. [ Congratulations on completing the daily mission. (10km/10km) ] [ Please choose your reward ] Lu Yu selected the Treasure Chest and saw a notification. [ Congratulations on obtaining a gold treasure chest! ] Lu Yu was a little excited when he saw the notification. He had previously obtained a bronze treasure chest and was finally getting lucky to obtain a higher-tier treasure chest. Lu Yu opened the treasure chest. [ Congratulations on obtaining the Dragon Skill: Dragon Scale! ] [ Dragon Scale: A strengthened dragon scale will cover both of your arms. It greatly reduces the damage from water and fire elements. As you level up, you will gain resistance to other elemental damage. ] It appeared to be a defensive skill. It meant that at least half of the damage could be mitigated by greatly reducing the damage. It¡¯s a pretty impressive skill. The dragon skill from the Golden Treasure Chest became a bright light and entered Lu Yu¡¯s body. After a burst of energy, Lu Yu mastered the dragon skill. This dragon skill appeared to be unique to him, as it did not appear on a stone tablet. Lu Yu intended to test the Dragon Scale skill¡¯s effect after learning it because he could cast fire and water elemental attacks on his own. After all, Lu Yu had the Water and Fire Wrist Guard. Hence, flames engulfed his right fist when Lu Yu raised it. The next moment, Lu Yu activated his skill, Dragon Scale. Lu Yu¡¯s arms were instantly covered in a layer of black and hard dragon scales. Then, Lu Yu¡¯s right fist punched onto his left wrist along with the flames on it. Bang! The fire elemental attack was instantly activated when he punched with his right fist. The flames engulfed his left wrist and began to burn. But very quickly, the scales absorbed the flames, dissolved and disappeared. Lu Yu was overjoyed. This Dragon Scale skill effectively mitigated water and fire elemental attacks! Then, Lu Yu used his left fist and punched his right wrist. The situation was the same as the first time. It was quickly dissolved and absorbed. After Lu Yu finished casting the Dragon Scale skill, he realized that if the beast he would be pitted against in the next match was of a fire or water type, he could take first place again! Chapter 32 - Harsh Examinations, Battle Royale Chapter 32 Harsh Examinations, Battle Royale The following day, Lu Yu woke up early and went to school. As soon as he entered the classroom, Lu Yu saw that his classmates were looking at him strangely. As soon as Lu Yu entered the classroom, someone asked, ¡°Lu Yu, do you really plan to attend Clanorth University?¡± ¡°Is that true? Wouldn¡¯t it be awkward if you didn¡¯t get in? Aren¡¯t you afraid of that?¡± At that moment, Su Qing also cast a curious gaze. Even she wasn¡¯t confident that she would be able to attend Clanorth University. She didn¡¯t get it. Where was Lu Yu getting his confidence from? Lu Yu looked at the class and explained, ¡°I¡¯ve already made up my mind. My goal is Clanorth University. Since I¡¯m going to enter a university, I might as well try to enter the best.¡± The class did not ask any further questions after hearing Lu Yu¡¯s response, despite the fact that they did not believe Lu Yu would be admitted to Clanorth University. The homeroom teacher walked in and said to everyone, ¡°Students, come out and get ready for today¡¯s exam!¡± The students stood up one after another and walked towards the school field. Wan Guliu and the array mages were already ready in the middle of the field. Mysterious patterns were formed and condensed into a mysterious space as a result of the array mages¡¯ energy manipulation. Wa Guliu stood in front of the podium and looked at the crowd. ¡°I will pick the top 100 from the rankings determined yesterday.¡± ¡°Hundreds of high-level array mages have formed a new space and simulated a large plain.¡± ¡°Everyone should know the previous examination rules, right?¡± Everyone nodded. ¡°The old rules are that each person will fight with a ferocious beast, and the score will be based on the battle.¡± ¡°But in actual combat, it¡¯s impossible for a ferocious beast to fight with you in a well-controlled arena. Therefore, in this exam, all of you will enter the enchantment array and kill ferocious beasts in the simulated plain!¡± Hearing this, all the students started panicking ¡°Eh? How did the rules change to this?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve always been training in the training ground, and never been in the wild.¡± ¡°We are going to have actual combat in the wild? That¡¯s not good. What if there¡¯s an accident?¡± ¡°Damn, my training in the training grounds has been in vain. If I had known, I would have gone to the wild to have a few actual combat sessions.¡± ¡°It¡¯s over. It¡¯s over. The results will definitely be terrible this time¡­¡± Su Qing frowned slightly in the crowd. She, too, was a little nervous. She had been training in her own training grounds and had not participated in any actual battles. Most people were not pleased with this rule change. When Lu Yu heard this new rule, he smiled faintly. Ever since he awakened, he had never been to the training ground. He had only experienced actual combat. Therefore, the rule change meant nothing to Lu Yu. ¡°A hundred ferocious beasts will be released into the array,¡± Wan Guliu continued. The ferocious beasts will be distributed at random across the plains. The strength of the ferocious beasts will increase as the number of people inside the simulation decreases!¡± ¡°In other words, when all but one of the students are gone, the remaining ferocious beasts will be at their most powerful state!¡± Hearing the word ¡®eliminated¡¯, the students were a little flustered. ¡°Eliminated? Did the exam become an elimination system this time?¡± ¡°Wasn¡¯t it 1v1 in the past? I thought it would be the same this time.¡± ¡°Could it be that we¡¯re all going to be thrown in? This is just pitting us against each other!¡± Some people could already foresee the situation where they would sabotage each other to increase their ranking. Wan Guliu explained, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you won¡¯t have the chance to fight. Just dealing with those ferocious beasts is something you can all already barely handle.¡± Many people gulped, becoming even more fearful. ¡°This barrier will shrink as time goes by. In the end, you will be gathered together to complete the exam!¡± ¡°If you are not in the circle when the barrier shrinks, you will be automatically eliminated.¡± After Wan Guliu finished speaking, the rules¡¯ introduction was over. The students began to discuss amongst themselves. ¡°This is ridiculous. This elimination system is too harsh.¡± ¡°When the circle shrinks to the end, won¡¯t we have to fight each other?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got to be unearthly to come out first in such an examination!¡± Some were sad, some were worried, and some were excited. Lu Yu, on the other hand, was still very calm. No matter what the rules were, he could quickly adapt. ¡°Next, everyone please enter the barrier. From now on, the exam begins!¡± Following Wan Guliu¡¯s command, everyone began walking toward the array¡¯s center. Class One took the initiative and entered the array. They vanished after entering the ball of light. Soon after, Lu Yu¡¯s class, Class Two, began moving forward and entering the enchantment barrier. Lu Yu looked at the ball of light in front of him and slowly walked in. Only a dozen people from Class Two were chosen for the second stage of the exams, and Su Qing was one of them. ¡°Lu Yu, after entering, let¡¯s band together,¡± one of them said as he approached Lu Yu¡¯s side. ¡°We can look after each other this way.¡± When the others heard this suggestion, they immediately came over as well. From the first match yesterday, Lu Yu¡¯s strength was undoubtedly the strongest here. If they could rely on him, they could at least enter the top 50, maybe even the top 30 in the rankings. When Su Qing heard this, she also looked at Lu Yu. ¡°We¡¯re all in the same class. It¡¯s better for us to take care of each other.¡± ¡°It depends on the situation,¡± Lu Yu said, nodding slightly. ¡°There¡¯s a good chance we¡¯ll be teleported at random.¡± Hearing Lu Yu¡¯s words, the few of them realised that they would not be teleported in as a class. Otherwise, the exam wouldn¡¯t be much of an individual assessment. ¡°What a pity, oh well¡­¡± ¡°I hope we can meet Lu Yu as soon as we enter¡­¡± ¡°Good luck, everyone. I hope we can all get a good ranking¡­¡± A few of them stepped into the ball of light and disappeared on the spot. The few remaining classes entered one after another. Soon, the initially crowded square became empty. At that moment, a few luxury cars drove in. The four admissions officers who came to visit yesterday took the lead in getting out of their cars. Other luxury cars followed closely behind, and admissions officers from various universities emerged. After they arrived, they found the seats for the audience and sat down in them. A large holographic screen appeared above the array formation in the sky and was projected in front of everyone¡¯s eyes at that moment. They could see what was going on inside the array formation as well as the students¡¯ performance on this screen. Everyone could see a few large areas that had been divided on this large screen. Weaker vicious beasts were located in the outermost area and were easier to deal with. Students would be less in danger if they were teleported to the outside area. They would, however, be at a slight disadvantage if they were teleported to the outer area. They¡¯d have to sprint to the centre of the circle. The ferocious beasts were more dangerous and stronger in the center area. The advantages were the polar opposite of those in the surrounding area. They had no reason to rush into the circle. Everyone could see when someone had chosen their teleportation point and entered the plains on the screen. Meanwhile, Lu Yu was making his decision. His selection was also the one that the admissions officers were most interested in. Chapter 33 - The Center, The Peak, The Most Dangerous Position Chapter 33 The Center, The Peak, The Most Dangerous Position Outside the simulation, dozens of admissions officers stared intently at the holographic screen. Their hands appeared to be taking notes as if they were rating the students. ¡°I heard that this year¡¯s dark horse is called Lu Yu. Is that true?¡± ¡°Of course. The four great universities personally tried to invite him over. That¡¯s enough to state the importance of Lu Yu.¡± ¡°I heard that Lu Yu rejected the four great universities in one go!¡± ¡°Damn, wouldn¡¯t our universities have even less hope of recruiting him?¡± ¡°Who knows what the situation is like. I heard that Lu Yu only has F-level talent!¡± The people in charge of recruitment were all taken aback. They couldn¡¯t understand how someone with an F-level talent could achieve such high results and attract competition from four prestigious universities. It appears that Lu Yu was definitely not an ordinary person! Everyone saw the teleportation point that Lu Yu had chosen at that moment. The location was just right in the middle. ¡°Wait a minute, he¡¯s the only one out of a hundred people who chose to land in the middle!¡± ¡°Is he that sure of himself? The center area would be the most difficult, with ferocious beasts all around. He won¡¯t be able to handle it on his own!¡± ¡°He should follow the flow and choose somewhere closer to the edge. This is too reckless!¡± ¡°Sigh, it wouldn¡¯t be strange even if he got killed by accident.¡± ¡°The center area is the mountain range. The resources available there are many times more than the edge area!¡± ¡°However, the strength of the ferocious beasts there is also many times stronger. The risk is too high!¡± The majority of the admissions officers were not impressed with Lu Yu. They don¡¯t expect that he would be able to survive in the central area. Lu Yu was enveloped in light after making his decision. When the light around him dispersed, he was already in a simulated world. Lush trees surround the surrounding mountains. The fresh air in the forest made Lu Yu feel at ease. He was surprised by how realistic the world created by those array mages was. It was exactly like the real world. Lu Yu knew the rules. He knew that he was in the center and that danger lurked everywhere. Therefore, Lu Yu carefully observed his surroundings. He decided first to understand the situation around him and figure out the strength of the surrounding ferocious beasts. At that moment, outside the arena, the admissions officers had already noticed Lu Yu¡¯s actions. ¡°In this simulated world, the danger at the center of the circle is no less than that of a Difficult level dungeon.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, that¡¯s right. A Difficult level dungeon will only have one boss who is quite powerful. However, there will be more than one boss in this vast plain!¡± ¡°Lu Yu has only awakened for a few days, right? I reckon he hasn¡¯t even seen a boss before. What a reckless person.¡± ¡°I reckon he thinks that the boss is about as strong as those small monsters. Most likely, he¡¯s going to lose his first place in the entire state rankings.¡± The admissions officers communicated with one another and were confident that Lu Yu¡¯s results would be poor this time. On the other hand, Lu Yu had already begun his search for bosses in the simulated array world. The ordinary monsters in this place were no longer worthy of his attention. Lu Yu looked around the surrounding mountains and finally focused on the mountain peak at the center. At the top of the mountain peak, waves of red light flashed. Lu Yu examined the situation with his Eye of Truth and immediately received the information. [ Fire Spirit Crystal, rare material ] It was a scarce material! Lu Yu was ecstatic. Furthermore, he appeared to have an impression of this material. He quickly opened his personal interface to check his evolution path. He soon came across the Flaming Dragon Claw on the Dragon Claw Evolution Path, and this Fire Spirit Crystal was a rare material that would allow him to evolve into the Flaming Dragon Claw! Lu Yu was immediately motivated after seeing this. He needed to climb up and retrieve the Fire Spirit Crystal. However, his previous experience had taught him that a powerful boss usually guarded this type of rare material. Hence, Lu Yu began to rush toward the top of the mountain. At first, Lu Yu could sprint toward the top of the mountain. But gradually, it was getting more difficult to continue running, and his pace became slower as the slope became steeper. Hence, he used his Double Jump skill and started to jump up quickly. Soon, he was close to the top of the mountain. This mountain peak was unusually hot. Typically, the peak of a mountain would be icy and covered in snow. The peak of the mountain before Lu Yu was extremely hot. After climbing for a while, he was covered in sweat. Gradually, he arrived near the peak of the mountain and jumped up. This mountain¡¯s peak was not a sharp point but a flat one. Lu Yu could easily overlook the distance from the peak. The surrounding hot air was flowing, and a bright red crystal was in the middle of the area. It seemed that this was the Fire Spirit Crystal. This Fire Spirit Crystal most likely caused the high temperature in this area. Lu Yu moved slowly toward the Fire Spirit Crystal, keeping an eye on his surroundings. Everyone saw him approaching the Fire Spirit Crystal outside the simulated world. ¡°This red crystal looks special. It must be a rare material.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s the case, there will be a good show. Usually, this kind of rare material is guarded by a boss.¡± ¡°Sigh, looks like this Lu Yu is too greedy. This kind of thing is not something he could easily take.¡± ¡°A boss will appear soon, and it seems like he lacks actual combat experience. Even if he has the capabilities, he will be easily killed.¡± ¡°What a shame¡­¡± ¡°This year¡¯s dark horse is going to be gone just like that. What a pity¡­¡± Based on their experience, everyone assumed that Lu Yu was going to die here. Not only them, even the homeroom teacher thought so too. It was one thing for Lu Yu to choose to land in the center position of the map, but he didn¡¯t pick small monsters to fight. Instead, he went straight to the boss! Wasn¡¯t he just trying to kill himself? According to the homeroom teacher¡¯s experience, they could only kill a boss if their entire class banded together. At that moment, Lu Yu carefully approached the crystal. Lu Yu¡¯s keen senses detected that the surroundings were trembling when he was only five meters away. The rumbling tremors continued as cracks appeared on the rocky ground beneath his feet. Lu Yu frowned and started to get his act together. As expected, a boss was protecting this place! A huge pitch-black figure drilled out from under the rocky surface the next moment! What appeared before Lu Yu was a giant lizard. Its body was about ten meters long, and its entire body was covered in bulging muscles and hard scales. There were several cracks on its spine, and lava was pouring out of it! The moment the enemy appeared in front of him, the temperature in the room rose to a new high. Lu Yu quickly examined the situation with his Eye of Truth. [ Giant Flame Lizard ] [ Attack: 160 ] [ Speed: 110 ] ( Health: 260 ] [ Mana: 120 ] ( Defense: 120 ] These attributes weren¡¯t anything special to Lu Yu. However, just 120 points in defense were enough to render the other students powerless! After all, the majority of the students had fewer than 100 attack points, and very few had Armor Penetration skills. Chapter 34 - Shocking Audience, Easy Kill Chapter 34 Shocking Audience, Easy Kill The people outside the simulated world saw the flame lizard that appeared in front of Lu Yu. When they saw this lizard, they immediately concluded that Lu Yu would never be able to defeat it! ¡°He provoked a monster that he shouldn¡¯t have. Lu Yu is probably going to die.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. He definitely can¡¯t beat this lizard. I¡¯m afraid he¡¯ll shout to stop the examination and have the array mages send him out in a short while.¡± ¡°He shouldn¡¯t have sent himself to the center from the start. He shouldn¡¯t have been so greedy in his pursuit of the rare materials. Sigh¡­¡± Everyone repeatedly sighed, feeling sorry for Lu Yu. At the same time, Lu Yu and the Giant Flame Lizard were in a confrontation. The flame lizard opened its mouth and spat out a bunch of hot flames, burning the plants in front of it into ashes. The high temperature surged over instantly and made Lu Yu clench his fists. The next moment, Lu Yu rushed towards the flame lizard. The flame lizard roared and rushed toward Lu Yu too. Lu Yu leaped into the air over the flaming lizard, charging toward the Fire Spirit Crystal just as they were about to collide! When the flaming lizard saw Lu Yu leap over its head, it turned around and chased him down. Lu Yu, who was in mid-air at the time, followed up with a double jump, completely distancing himself from the flaming lizard. Lu Yu was now nearly ten meters above the ground! When the crowd saw that Lu Yu could jump so high, they were all surprised. ¡°Lu Yu can jump so high. Was he specially trained before?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you see? He jumped again in mid-air. It¡¯s obvious that this is a double jump!¡± It looks like he used this skill pretty well. He sure can jump high¡­¡± Lu Yu soared into the air at the same time, heading straight for the Fire Spirit Crystal. Lu Yu used his Dragon Scale skill to cover his arms in a thick layer of dark black dragon scales! Lu Yu then fell head first, landing vertically toward the Fire Spirit Crystal. At the same time, he pointed to the Fire Spirit Crystal on the ground with his finger! The point of impact for Lu Yu¡¯s landing was a single finger. When his index finger touched the Fire Spirit Crystal, it transformed into a ray of light and vanished into his storage ring. Lu Yu supported himself on the ground with his single finger. Then he pushed off, somersaulting and landing back on his feet. This series of moves was shown to the crowd outside the arena. ¡°What did he do? Acrobatics?¡±. ¡°Whoa, he got the Fire Spirit Crystal so easily. Pretty decent.¡± ¡°Wow, he uses a single finger to support himself on the ground. He¡¯s pretty strong.¡± ¡°Yeah, I can see that he is an outstanding student. If he can be recruited into our school, it will be an addition to our university¡¯s talent.¡± ¡°No wonder he was invited by the four famous universities. This kid is not ordinary.¡± Everyone complimented him. They were astounded by Lu Yu¡¯s efforts to steal the Fire Spirit Crystal However, they still did not think Lu Yu could defeat the Giant Flame Lizard. Lu Yu obtained the materials with his graceful movements. If he could escape, this trip would have been worthwhile. He would, however, be in over his head if he attempted to kill the Giant Flame Lizard. Lu Yu walked in the opposite direction just as everyone thought he was about to leave after obtaining the materials. Everyone looked around and saw Lu Yu approaching the Giant Fire Lizard. ¡°Is he crazy? He has the material. Why isn¡¯t he leaving?¡± ¡°He was going to make a profit, but now he¡¯s going to get himself killed.¡± ¡°Does he really think that he¡¯s a match for the boss?¡± Everyone was perplexed. They believed that Lu Yu was not acting rationally and that such a person was doomed to fail. The admissions officers sighed and shook their heads. Lu Yu¡¯s decision let them down. On the other hand, Lu Yu was not afraid of the Giant Fire Lizard in front of him. When the treasure it was guarding was stolen, the Giant Fire Lizard became enraged. It rushed toward Lu Yu and opened its bloodstained mouth simultaneously. A high-temperature flame was brewing from it once again. Fwoosh! A ball of dazzling orange-red flame shot out from the giant lizard¡¯s mouth! Lu Yu quickly dodged when he saw this! Then he stretched his hands, and sharp claws sprouted from his fingers! His arms were covered in dragon scales, and his claws were sharp enough to make anyone shudder. No one would ever want to fight those sharp claws. er wa When the admissions officers saw Lu Yu¡¯s razor-sharp claws, they began to speculate. ¡°That is the F-level talent, Claw Attack?¡± ¡°What kind of joke is this? No matter how you look at it, it doesn¡¯t look like an F-level talent!¡± ¡°This¡­ This is clearly a dragon claw!¡± ¡°What? It¡¯s a Dragon Claw?¡± Everyone cried out in surprise. Dragons were uncommon in this world. The majority of them had never seen a dragon claw before. However, they were all aware that anything related to dragons was not to be taken lightly. ¡°This pair of sharp claws looks extremely terrifying¡­¡± Lu Yu unsheathed his claws and charged toward the Giant Fire Lizard. He burst out at full speed, and in the blink of an eye, Lu Yu was in front of the Giant Fire Lizard! Lu Yu then swung his right hand and ruthlessly clawed down! The Giant Fire Lizard retreated and began to prepare its mouth for the next flame breath. However, in Lu Yu¡¯s opinion, its speed was no different than that of a slow-motion movie! Swoosh! Lu Yu slashed down with his claws, severing a large chunk of the Giant Fire Lizard¡¯s flesh! Squelch! Fresh blood spurted forth, forming a bloody mist in an instant. ¡°Hiss!!!¡± The Giant Flame Lizard cried out in agony, spitting flames from its mouth once more! Lu Yu moved in close, denying it the opportunity to use its flame attack any further. Swish! Swoosh! Lu Yu split open the Giant Flame Lizard¡¯s chest with two more claw attacks! Its ribs broke, revealing the Giant Fire Lizard¡¯s heart. Lu Yu reached his claw over without hesitation, grabbing the Giant Fire Lizard¡¯s heart and severing it from its body. Without its heart, the Giant Fire Lizard fell to the ground, dead. Suddenly, a notification appeared in front of Lu Yu¡¯s eyes. [ Congratulations on killing the Giant Fire Lizard, Dragon Scale Skill has been upgraded, enhanced effect: 100% fire damage immunity ] Lu Yu was overjoyed when he saw the notification. He was now completely immune to fire damage! In the future, he could basically be able to fight any enemy that had fire damage and come out unharmed! Since fire damage was ineffective, the enemy would only be able to use physical attacks at most. Lu Yu was excited. He opened the evolution panel and wanted to see what materials he needed. His feat was broadcast to the audience outside at the same time. In the audience stands, the admissions officers from various renowned universities were dumbfounded. The entire place was silent. ¡°Just like that¡­ It¡¯s over?¡± ¡°He only attacked the lizard a few times. It¡¯s over in a flash.¡± ¡°This¡­ seems like a one-sided fight¡­¡± ¡°Am I dreaming? Is this real?¡± ¡°What kind of anomaly has appeared in this batch of rookies?¡± ¡°I can only describe him with the word ¡®crazy¡¯. What kind of strength does he have?¡± ¡°My understanding has already collapsed. I don¡¯t understand how an F-level talent can outperform a large group of A-level talents.¡± ¡°What¡­ What is he doing now? This is too crazy!¡± Everyone stared at the screen in shock! Chapter 35 - Evolution, Flaming Dragon Claw Chapter 35 Evolution, Flaming Dragon Claw All the admissions officers looked at the screen again. They were all perplexed after seeing what Lu Yu was going to do. Lu Yu was sitting on the ground on the screen, surrounded by dancing flames. When the Giant Flame Lizard died, its blood splattered on the ground, igniting the ground around it. Lu Yu was immune to fire damage, so he wasn¡¯t affected. After killing the Giant Flame Lizard, Lu Yu looked at his evolution panel. Only one evolution material was needed for the Flame Dragon Claw, and that was the exclusive Evolution Potion. Powder from a Fire Spirit Crystal was one of the ingredients used to make this potion. According to the description, the other material was the blood essence of a massive fire elemental beast. This Giant Flame Lizard in front of Lu Yu was a massive fire elemental beast. This way, he could evolve into the Flame Dragon Claw! Lu Yu was a little excited. He did not hesitate and decided to evolve directly. After all, he was trying to get into Clanorth University. It was best to build up his strength as much as possible before the entrance exam. This way, the chances of getting in would be higher. Thus, Lu Yu took out a dagger and cut off the heart of the flame lizard. Lu Yu carefully extracted a drop of blood essence from the artery of the Giant Flame Lizard. The pure red essence fell into a bottle. The surrounding temperature weakened a lot after the bottle was capped. Everyone outside the arena looked at the holographic screen and began talking about it. ¡°Lu Yu got the blood essence from the flame lizard¡¯s corpse?¡± ¡°How did he manage to do this so skillfully?¡± ¡°Why do I feel like he has killed quite a number of bosses before this??¡± ¡°This is unusual. It¡¯s impossible for him to be so skilled if this is his first time killing a boss!¡± Everyone was confused. They were well aware that this was not his first time assassinating a boss! ¡°Looks like Lu Yu must have killed quite a number of bosses before.¡± ¡°That¡¯s impossible. This is simply impossible. How could he have the ability to kill a dungeon boss?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure. There might be different reasons, but this is definitely not his first time.¡± ¡°What did this Lu Yu go through before the exam?¡± Everyone was staring at the screen, waiting to see what Lu Yu would do next. The vast screen above the square had a live feed of 100 students. But at this moment, Lu Yu¡¯s camera coverage was getting bigger. In the scene, Lu Yu stood up after receiving the blood essence. He needed to brew his own evolution medicine, which was not as simple as mixing two materials together. Concocting this type of potion had a high failure rate. He needed to find a place where the fire element was dense if he wanted to reduce the failure rate. Lu Yu stood up and began to sense the fire element in the surroundings. Very soon, he fumbled to the center of the mountain peak. There was a small pit where the Fire Spirit Crystal was just now. Lu Yu could sense that the fire element was the densest here. It¡¯s no surprise that this location could produce such a pure Fire Spirit Crystal. Just as Lu Yu walked over, he heard a boom, and flames four to five meters tall shot out from the hole! Lu Yu was frightened by the sudden fire and took a few steps back. But then, he walked back over. What was he afraid of when he was already immune to fire damage? So, Lu Yu directly walked to the side of the flame geyser and sat down close to it. Then, he began to prepare his evolution medicine. Thus, when the admissions officers saw this, they were all stunned. ¡°He¡¯s sitting right next to a dangerous flame geyser?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t this suicide?¡± ¡°He¡¯ll probably be burned to a crisp the next time the flame spouts out.¡± ¡°If he doesn¡¯t leave that place quickly, it¡¯ll be too late!¡± ¡°A place that can nurture Fire Spirit Crystals, the flames that shoot out from there will definitely be extremely dangerous. He¡¯s so reckless!¡± Everyone was worrying about Lu Yu, but he did not care. He sat in front of the flame geyser, took the glass bottle, and set it to the side. Then, he began to grind the Fire Spirit Crystal. After the Fire Spirit Crystal powder was ground, Lu Yu carefully poured the powder into the bottle and mixed it with the blood essence. After pouring it all in, he shook it slightly and felt the mighty power in the bottle. ( Evolution Potion is in the process of merging¡­ ] [ Hint: When concocting a fire-attribute potion, the possibility of an accident is high. It might cause an explosion. ] As Lu Yu continued to shake the bottle, a notification appeared in front of his eyes. [ Congratulations on successfully merging the Evolution Potion! ] Lu Yu quickly took up the bottle and examined it. He discovered that the red liquid contained within had become extremely pure! He would be able to evolve his talent into a Flaming Dragon Claw as long as he drank this! Lu Yu opened the bottle cap without hesitation. At that moment, flames shot out from the geyser toward Lu Yu with a bang. He was almost in the middle of the flames, but he was unharmed. He didn¡¯t even get a tinge of a burn. When the admissions officers outside saw this, they realized why Lu Yu wasn¡¯t afraid of the flames at all. He was immune to the flame¡¯s damage! At that moment, Lu Yu picked up the Evolution Potion and poured it into his stomach. The moment the Evolution Potion that contained boundless energy entered his mouth, it brought intense abdominal pain to Lu Yu. ¡°Ouch! It Hurts!¡± Lu Yu sucked in a breath of cold air. The terrifying energy began to rampage in all directions as soon as it entered his body. He felt an intense burning sensation in his stomach. He looked down and saw that his chest had turned red! It was turning a bright orange color! Lu Yu panted heavily, attempting to control the energy in his body. All of a sudden, this energy surged into Lu Yu¡¯s arms. During the process, Lu Yu could see that his dense blood vessels lit up, filling with hot lava! Lu Yu¡¯s expression was agonizing. He clenched his teeth and began absorbing this energy with all of his strength. The rampaging energy would reshape Lu Yu¡¯s entire body. The evolution of the Flaming Dragon Claw would also be completed in this process! Everyone outside the arena was concerned about Lu Yu¡¯s current situation. ¡°He looks like he¡¯s in a lot of pain.¡± ¡°What did he drink the potion for? Could it be¡­¡± ¡°Obviously, it must be used for evolution. Such a rare material must be used for evolution!¡± ¡°Hm, looks like Lu Yu has chosen an evolution path. It¡¯s very likely to be a fire-attributed evolution path.¡± ¡°Whoa, his future potential is limitless to be able to evolve so quickly as a rookie!¡± ¡°Heh, do you think this is his first evolution? Don¡¯t you think this might be his second or third evolution?¡± Everyone fell silent after these words were spoken. In their eyes, Lu Yu was shrouded in mystery. Chapter 36 - Third Evolution, Multiple Evolution Paths Chapter 36 Third Evolution, Multiple Evolution Paths Lu Yu finally suppressed and absorbed the energy after a brief agony. His entire body had been reshaped, and he had successfully evolved the Flaming Dragon Claw! [ Congratulations on completing the evolution of the Flaming Dragon Claw! ] Due to the high temperature of his claws, the air that flowed between them became distorted. Air flowed between the claws and became distorted due to the high temperature of his claws. Lu Yu continued to browse the evolution panel, intending to see what materials were needed for the Exploding Dragon Claw. However, when he looked at the panel, he was surprised to find that there was almost no change in the evolution path! ( Exploding Dragon Claw ] [ Flowing Water Dragon Claw ] ¨C [ Ice Dragon Claw ] [ Gale Dragon Claw ] ¨C [ Thunder Dragon Claw ) [ Rock Crushing Dragon Claw ] ¨C [ Diamond Dragon Claw ] [ Light Dragon Claw ] ¨C [ Holy Dragon Claw ] [ Dark Dragon Claw ] ¨C [ Undead Dragon Claw ) [ ¡­ ] ¨C [¡­] Besides the disappearance of the Fire Dragon Claw, it appears that the other five evolution paths remained? It also showed that there were more evolution paths to be unlocked. Lu Yu frowned slightly. He was confused. When he tried to click on one of the evolution routes, he found that he could click on it! Moreover, it showed the required materials and the evolution effects. In other words, Lu Yu could still choose to evolve along these evolutionary routes! Lu Yu was ecstatic. This was far too powerful. His path of evolution was not one of six! It could be two out of six or more! After all, dragons have more than one claw! Lu Yu couldn¡¯t keep his excitement in check and burst out laughing. He, too, had initially felt it was wasteful to choose only one of the many evolution paths! But he did not expect his second evolution to be able to evolve into more than one path! Lu Yu hurriedly raised his right claw and swung it forward. With a whoosh, a dazzling flame streaked across. The sharp claws struck the ground, leaving five indents. Flames erupted from the dents and burned indefinitely. Lu Yu immediately guessed the effect of his Flaming Dragon Claw when he noticed that. The increased fire damage was the result of the enhanced attack! Even if Lu Yu only attacked an inorganic hard rock, his attack would still leave behind a vigorous flame. If this attack hit a human or a beast, wouldn¡¯t their entire bodies burst into flames? This increase in flame damage was definitely something special! Lu Yu opened his personal attributes panel to see if there had been any changes to his attributes. ( Attack: 300 ] [ Speed: 200 ] [ Health: 350 ] [ Mana: 200 ] [ Defense: 220 ] Apart from defense, the other four attributes all increased slightly. His attack increased the most out of all of them. The Flaming Dragon Claw appeared to be biased toward offense. Lu Yu looked down and was surprised to see he had a new fire damage attribute. ( Fire Attack Effect: After releasing fire elemental damage, it will cause 5% damage per second to the enemy. ] Lu Yu was a little surprised by this effect. This fire damage was calculated as a percentage, making this skill insanely strong! One second would deal 5% damage, implying that 20 seconds of burning would be sufficient to kill the enemy. However, in a real battle, Lu Yu should be unable to burn the enemy for 20 seconds continuously. It should, however, be quite effective against enemies with high health and defense. Lu Yu remained on the mountain¡¯s peak, adapting his battle style to his new Flaming Dragon Claws. After some time, Lu Yu stopped his training and looked around. A blue circular wall of light stretching from the ground to the heavens began to shrink in the distance. Lu Yu estimated the distance and speed. In about an hour, the circle would be near to him. 16 He gauged that the other students should be close by now. Lu Yu remained at the summit of the mountain. This was the focal point. The other students would eventually show up. This was the benefit of Lu Yu selecting this teleportation point. At the foot of the mountain. A small team of elites who had been teleported to the edge of the circle was discussing countermeasures. ¡°From now on, it¡¯s the most critical part of the exam. We can¡¯t split up anymore. We have to form a team!¡± The most powerful of them was a young man in sportswear with a solemn expression. He pointed at the mountain¡¯s peak not far away and said, ¡°We got the news that someone has already reached the peak of the mountain at the center. That person is Lu Yu!¡± ¡°The peak is simple to defend but difficult to attack. Moreover, it¡¯s at the center of the mountain. With the continuous shrinking of the circle, we will have to climb that mountain sooner or later!¡± ¡°Therefore, we will form a team in advance and go up the mountain together. We will first eliminate Lu Yu!¡± The few of them looked at each other and nodded in agreement. ¡°That¡¯s right. We will discuss what to do next after eliminating Lu Yu!¡± ¡°We are all talents above C-level. It will be easy for us to eliminate Lu Yu.¡± ¡°Even if he is this year¡¯s dark horse, he will not be able to compete with us if we go up together!¡± ¡°It¡¯s time to let him experience some hardship.¡± At that moment, on the mountain peak, Lu Yu was sitting cross-legged on the ground. He had completely adapted to the Flaming Dragon Claw. [ Congratulations on completing your third evolution. Obtained an achievement reward. ] Lu Yu was a little surprised. There was a reward after completing his third evolution. He quickly clicked on the panel in front of him and looked at the reward. [ Skill: Flaming Claw ] ( Effect: Causes AOE fire-type splash damage, with a continuous burning effect. ] A second AOE skill! Lu Yu had always wanted more AOE skills, and here it was! The effect of this skill seemed to be pretty good. The large AOE splash damage with a burning effect was the best way to clear mobs. Just as Lu Yu was satisfied and happy, the second reward appeared. [ Dragon Skill: Dragon Fist ] [ Special Dragon Skill requires the consumption of dragon power to use. Current Dragon Power: 1 point, can be used once ] This second dragon skill of his requires the consumption of dragon power. His previous dragon skill did not need to consume this dragon power. Furthermore, he only had one point in dragon power right now, so he could only use this skill once. Most importantly, he was not even given a description of the skill, so he had no idea what the effect was¡­ Lu Yu was somewhat speechless. He couldn¡¯t use this skill right now because he didn¡¯t know how to obtain dragon power. In that case, Lu Yu had no idea what the Dragon Fist would do unless it were used in a real battle. When Lu Yu was receiving his reward, the elite team at the foot of the mountain had already gathered and were climbing up the mountain. There were only five people in this team, but the division of roles was apparent. The leader was a strong-looking man wearing heavy armor. Obviously, this person was the tank. Next to him was a man holding a dagger in a tight grey bodysuit. He was the vanguard, which could also be considered an assassin. Behind him stood a mage wielding magical weapons, an archer carrying bows on their backs, and a female healer. As they approached the mountain¡¯s summit, they looked up to see a dazzling flame rising from the summit! ¡°It looks like Lu Yu is fighting with the ferocious beasts on the top of the mountain. This is our chance. Let¡¯s go up quickly!¡± ¡°Haha! We¡¯re going to reap his reward!¡± ¡°Charge! Take down Lu Yu and the ferocious beasts!¡± Chapter 37 - Dragon Skill, Dragon Fists Terrifying Power Chapter 37 Dragon Skill, Dragon Fist¡¯s Terrifying Power The five-man elite team quickly climbed to the top of the mountain. They endured the high temperature of the flames and trekked forward with difficulty. In front of them was a wall made of flames. One could only vaguely see a human figure in the raging flames. ¡°Such fierce flames must have been created by a ferocious beast.¡± ¡°Is Lu Yu in the flames? He should have burned to death, right?¡± ¡°What about the beast? I can¡¯t see it.¡± ¡°I think Lu Yu is doomed. He¡¯s most likely dead.¡± ¡°Move forward quietly. Healer, get your healing ready at any moment!¡± The five of them moved forward slowly and cautiously. At that point, the human figure in the flames began to move and became more visible. Soon after, a figure emerged from the flames! When the five of them got a closer look, they realized it was Lu Yu! ¡°Wait, is that Lu Yu?¡± ¡°He walked out of the flames, unharmed?¡± ¡°Where¡¯s the beast? Where¡¯s the ferocious beast at?¡± ¡°Lu Yu! We¡¯re here to challenge you because whoever takes this position will be number one! We¡¯ll let you go if you retreat right now!¡± The tank made a threat. The flames gradually dissipated behind Lu Yu. Lu Yu did not respond, instead examining the five people in front of him with his Eye of Truth. There was no one among them who could stand up to him. Since that was the case, he could use them to practice his new skill. With this thought in mind, Lu Yu raised his right claw, his claws turning red gradually. Then he swung his hand out, and a firestorm erupted, with Lu Yu at its center! The intense flames brought a whistling roar, turning into a tornado-like storm! The firestorm quickly engulfed the entire mountaintop, engulfing the five-man team. When the five saw that Lu Yu swung his hand and turned the entire mountaintop into a flaming hell, they were terrified. The extreme heat assaulted them, burning their skin and causing excruciating pain. ¡°Shit, this is bad!¡± ¡°This flaming storm is too scary!¡± ¡°Run! Dodge these flaming attacks!¡± At that moment, the five were all inflicted with burning damage and began to lose health as every second passed. They were all terrified and scrambled for cover. One hid behind rocks, another discovered a cave, and the rest dug a hole and jumped in. However, hiding was futile in the face of this ferocious firestorm. They also had to endure the burning flames while looking for an opportunity in the dark Lu Yu did not take any further action after noticing that they were all hidden. He realized the magnitude of his attack when he fully unleashed his Flaming Claw skill. However, mana consumption was also at an all-time high. Lu Yu¡¯s mana would be depleted if he launched another Flaming Claw attack. When the five were hiding, Lu Yu took note of their positions. However, it was not good for Lu Yu to act rashly. Each of them was hidden in a different location. If Lu Yu attacks one of them, the other four will emerge from their hiding places and pounce on him. Even though Lu Yu¡¯s stats were much higher than theirs, the five of them attacking at the same time would be difficult to deal with. Lu Yu then thought of the dragon skill he had gotten, Dragon Fist. He thought to himself, ¡°How about I just cast it here once.¡± The surrounding circle had nearly shrunk to the center, almost to the foot of the mountain where Lu Yu stood. The other students had already finished fighting at the mountain¡¯s base, so the final champion would be decided at the mountain¡¯s summit! Since that was the case, there was no need for Lu Yu to save his skills! Lu Yu decided to use his Dragon Fist skill as a precaution! A surge of energy flowed into Lu Yu¡¯s right arm, causing the muscles of his entire right arm to expand! A faint dragon shadow circled Lu Yu¡¯s right arm. What happened next surprised Lu Yu. He felt an unprecedented, terrifying power emanating from his right arm! He retracted his claws on his right hand and clenched his fist. After gathering all his strength, Lu Yu released all of his power and smashed it toward the ground! Boom!!!! Lu Yu¡¯s fist struck the ground, causing the entire mountain to tremble! The violent trembling caused the five people hiding to go into a panic. ¡°Is¡­ is this an earthquake?¡± ¡°What a violent tremor! What¡¯s happening!¡± ¡°Look, it¡¯s Lu Yu! He hit the ground with his fist!¡± When the five looked up, they saw that Lu Yu had struck the ground with his fist. What was even scarier was that numerous cracks began to form from where his fist had struck the ground! The cracks spread, making the five of them nervous. Lu Yu¡¯s punch caused the entire mountain to tremble. The five of them thought this was something that should have been utterly impossible. Boom!!! Another loud boom sounded, and the mountain began to collapse! Like an avalanche, the outer part of the mountain was the first to shatter, turning into countless loose stones that rolled down. The outer part cracked, and next was the inner part of the mountain. The five-man team was shaken by what was happening. If the rocks behind them were gone, it would be their turn to fall. ¡°What¡¯s going on? The entire mountain is going to collapse!¡± ¡°Hurry up and run, or it¡¯s too late!¡± ¡°What kind of monster is Lu Yu? He destroyed this mountain with a single punch!!!¡± The five of them quickly stood up in a hurry, rushing toward the center of the mountain. However, the entire mountain collapsed at that moment, like a ruined building. It was quickly demolished into a pile of ruins. Lu Yu jumped twice into the air as the mountain collapsed. The five people fell with the collapsing mountain and were immediately eliminated. The live feed was fixed on Lu Yu, showing the scene of Lu Yu still suspended in the air. The mountain that his punch had shattered lay beneath him. Lu Yu¡¯s battle at the mountain¡¯s peak had ended so easily. Outside the arena, admissions officers from various prestigious universities witnessed the entire battle. At that moment, the audience was dead silent, with their mouths gaping wide open. ¡°Did Lu Yu just destroy a mountain with a single punch?¡± ¡°Yeah, couldn¡¯t you see that?¡± ¡°Oh my god, what did I see today? What kind of monster is he?¡± ¡°Mr. Li, can you destroy this mountain with a single punch?¡± ¡°Hey, are you trying to kill me? Even if my life was on the line, I wouldn¡¯t be able to do what he did.¡± ¡°This young man is insane!¡± ¡°It¡¯s a done deal, if I were to say so myself. If Clanorth University dares reject Lu Yu, I¡¯ll personally splash paint on their grounds!¡± In the middle of the school square, students walked out from the center of the array formation one after another. Some of them were ecstatic after receiving their predicted rankings, while others were depressed. However, they were all shocked to see on the big screen display the final winner of this examination, Lu Yu! The students were debating passionately about Lu Yu. They were astounded that Lu Yu had won first place yet again. Of course, the impossible feat of Lu Yu¡¯s punch shattering a mountain surprised them even more! Chapter 38 - State Champion, Respected Chapter 38 State Champion, Respected The massive screen in the square began to display the final rankings of this examination. The person who came in the first place was undoubtedly Lu Yu! Then Wan Guliu stood in front of the array formation and announced to the audience, ¡°The exam is over!¡± ¡°The first place goes to student Lu Yu. Let¡¯s give him a warm applause!¡± The entire audience applauded. ¡°Next, let¡¯s watch an exciting moment from student Lu Yu!¡± Wan Guliu continued. As he spoke, the big screen began to show a video of Lu Yu destroying half of the mountain with a single punch. Everyone was mesmerized by the scene and tried to replay it in their minds. The display of such raw power would captivate anyone. Numerous reporters swarmed in as soon as the exam ended. They all raised their cameras and began filming the big screen before them. The news of Lu Yu¡¯s getting first place naturally spread throughout Riverdale and even the entire Southen Railer State! Lu Yu was the last to emerge from the array, having won the Battle Royale. Countless media reporters rushed over frantically, trying to get an exclusive interview with Lu Yu. However, with a wave of Wan Guliu¡¯s hand, a barrier was set up to stop the reporters. Despite being stopped, the reporters continued to broadcast the news quickly. ¡°It¡¯s unbelievable. The state champion is from Riverdale City!¡± ¡°A dark horse! Riverdale City¡¯s champion is actually an F-level talent holder!¡± ¡°What a piece of world-shocking news! An F-level talent could actually get first place!¡± Various headlines appeared on various news websites throughout the country. Almost everyone in Riverdale City knew right away that the top scorer on the state exam was from their city! Admissions officers from prestigious universities stood up, waiting for an opening. They were waiting for an opportunity to speak with Lu Yu. It would mean a lot if they could persuade him to attend their university! At that point, a prominent figure emerged from the crowd. The person who stepped out was the principal, Luo Yue! He walked to the front of the array and stood beside Lu Yu. ¡°Today is the most important day in our school¡¯s history! Lu Yu, one of our students, has won first place in the entire state!¡± ¡°This is unprecedented in our school!¡± The principal said this with great enthusiasm, tears welling up in the corners of his eyes. ¡°Student Lu Yu, you are the pride of our school!¡± he said to Lu Yu. ¡°If you have any future requests, please do not hesitate to contact me. I will do everything in my power!¡± The principal¡¯s unexpected compliment made Lu Yu uncomfortable, but he didn¡¯t care much. He knew the school would celebrate his winning first place, but he was not interested in that. After all, his goal was to enter Clanorth University. At that moment, principal Luo Yue¡¯s phone rang. He quickly picked it up and nodded his head. His face beamed with delight! A short while later, a black car drove in from the school gate! The car door opened, and the person who stepped out was Liu He, the director of the city¡¯s education bureau! 0 He quickly approached Luo Yue and solemnly announced that he had something to give Lu Yu to commemorate his achievement. ¡°Lu Yu, the education bureau has specially gifted you a three-million-dollar scholarship and a city villa to further motivate you. Please keep up the good work in order to bring glory to Riverdale City!¡± When these words were spoken, they sparked the envy of a large number of people. The value of a villa in the city was priceless! Indeed, the treatment on getting a first place was good. Riverdale City had not produced a top scorer in the entire state for decades, so it was naturally crucial for their city. Of course, not only did the education bureau highlight Lu Yu¡¯s accomplishments, but major businesses in Riverdale City did as well. More than a dozen luxury cars arrived one after the other at the Riverdale City High School entrance. The relevant heads of the major enterprises quickly exited their vehicles, eager to meet with Lu Yu to discuss a partnership. ¡°Please support the Yan Cheng Group, student Lu Yu. We¡¯ll give you ten million dollars!¡± ¡°Endorse the Hu Group instead. As long as you show up, we¡¯ll give you a villa!¡± ¡°Student Lu Yu, if you appear in our advertisement, all you need to do is authorize us your portrait rights, and we¡¯ll give you two pieces of rare equipment!¡± The heads of all the big companies were fighting for Lu Yu¡¯s endorsement deal. The explanation was simple. The current Lu Yu was now Riverdale City¡¯s most famous person! Lu Yu was the number one trending topic on all of Riverdale City¡¯s social media! In such a short time, Lu Yu has gained millions of fans! In the comments below those top trending topics, countless fans cheered for Lu Yu. ¡°Our Riverdale City student, Lu Yu, is the state¡¯s number one! I¡¯m overjoyed!¡± ¡°He¡¯s so strong to be able to cultivate an F-level talent to such a level. I wouldn¡¯t have bothered if I had F-level talent.¡± ¡°You will be my idol from now on. I want to learn from you!¡± ¡°You all pay attention to his strength, but did you pay attention to his appearance?¡± ¡°I really want to go to the same university as him. This way, I might have a chance¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m a sucker for anyone who is both handsome and strong.¡± The video of Lu Yu destroying the mountain was very soon uploaded, causing an uproar. ¡°Holy crap, this punch is insane!¡± ¡°This video is so ridiculous it must be made up!¡± ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure if this punch lands on me, I¡¯ll just turn into a bloody pulp.¡± ¡°Is this the strength of the number one in the state? What an overbearing existence¡­¡± Because of Lu Yu, the entire Riverdale City was in a frenzy. At that moment, Lu Yu was standing in front of the array formation, surrounded by countless enterprises who wanted to work with him. There were also reporters from various famous media outlets present, as well as Riverdale City officials. ¡°Examinees, the examination has ended. The rankings have been sent to your mobile phones. According to the rankings, choose a suitable university that you like. It¡¯s safe to disperse now.¡± The array mages in front of Wan Guliu all came to a halt, and the other examinees followed suit. Envious looks would be cast at Lu Yu from time to time. ¡°I envy Lu Yu being able to accept so many endorsements. Just the endorsement fee alone would make him crazy rich.¡± ¡°Sigh, there¡¯s no complaining now. Let¡¯s just train harder.¡± It appears that Lu Yu will be admitted to Clanorth University for sure. Clanorth University will undoubtedly accept him based on his academic performance.¡± The crowd debated as they left the square. At that moment, Lu Yu walked through the crowd, planning to leave the school. However, those people did not plan to let Lu Yu leave so easily. ¡°Student Lu Yu, think about our endorsement.¡± ¡°Student Lu Yu, if you work with us, you will definitely earn a lot of money!¡± ¡°Lu Yu, come to our university. We will utilize the entire school¡¯s resources on you!¡± ¡°Lu Yu¡­¡± The people behind him pestered Lu Yu, making him feel annoyed. Lu Yu dashed out of the school and away from the crowd! Lu Yu¡¯s phone rang nonstop on the way home. Many of Lu Yu¡¯s former friends messaged him to congratulate him. Lu Yu turned on his phone and looked through his messages, but he couldn¡¯t find his aunt¡¯s message. He knew that if his aunt heard the news, she would immediately message him to congratulate him. His aunt¡¯s condition appeared to have deteriorated¡­ Chapter 39 - Increased Strength, New Skill, Dragon Muscles Chapter 39 Increased Strength, New Skill, Dragon Muscles Lu Yu rushed to the city¡¯s central hospital, planning to visit his aunt and tell her about his exam results. As he approached the hospital entrance, a system notification appeared in front of Lu Yu¡¯s eyes. [ Congratulations on obtaining first place in the state. Obtained reward: 30 free attribute points and 15 skill points ] Lu Yu did not expect the system to reward him for getting first place in the state! This was also a generous reward. These skill and attribute points could significantly boost his strength! Just as Lu Yu was delighted, another notification suddenly appeared. [ Reward Dragon Skill: Dragon Muscles ] ( Dragon Muscles: A special muscle that can accumulate dragon power. It is the basis for using dragon-type skills in the future. ] Lu Yu breathed a sigh of relief when he saw this new skill. He had finally found a way to gain dragon power. Even Lu Yu was taken aback by the Dragon Fist¡¯s power. He could continue using Dragon Fist with this new skill in the future! [ Dragon power accumulation process: Ten ox power equal one tiger power, ten tiger power equal one elephant power, ten elephant power equal one dragon power. ] Reading the description, Lu Yu frowned slightly. This seemed troublesome. It seemed that dragon power was not so easy to obtain. It would be best to use it more carefully in the future. Then, Lu Yu opened his personal attribute panel. [ Attack: 300 ] [ Speed: 200 ] [ Health: 350 ] [ Mana: 200 ] [ Defense: 220 ] Lu Yu began allocating the 30 attribute points he had just obtained. After pondering for a short moment, he decided to allocate all of them to his attack. Claw Attack was an offensive talent, so increasing his attack power would be more appropriate. Lu Yu then opened his skill panel. [ Normal Skills: Armor Penetration Lv5, Grappling Lv2, Split Claw Lv2, Double Jump Lv2, Strong Wall Lv1 ] [ Dragon Skills: Dragon Scales Lv1, Flaming Claw Lv1, Dragon Muscles Lv1 ] [ Special Dragon Skills: Dragon Fist (grows stronger with overall strength) ] Lu Yu now had 15 skill enhancement points. He would still have more than enough to upgrade his skills by one level. He had a bold guess. What would happen if he put all of them onto one skill? He clicked on Armor Penetration to check the effect of its next level. However, the effect was no longer to increase the reduction of the enemy¡¯s defense but to increase the damage dealt by penetration instead. This bit of damage was negligible to Lu Yu. Hence, Lu Yu looked at the Strong Wall. It could increase the defense timer by half a second after leveling up! He could avoid even more damage with 1.5 seconds of damage reduction. As a result, Lu Yu immediately upgraded the Strong Wall to level 4! [ Strong Wall: Block 90% of damage. Duration: 2.5 seconds ] The defense timer would not increase any further after level 4. Instead, it would block 91% of the damage. Only the first few times a skill was strengthened appeared to provide a significant benefit. It was most likely a rookie benefit¡­ For the time being, there was no need for Split Claw anymore. With his new AOE skill Flaming Claw, Split Claw was no longer as important. Grappling was also useless for the time being. Although it was very effective at identifying weak points, Lu Yu would not have to worry about the weaknesses of the enemies he was currently facing. Just like the Giant Flame Lizard from before, Lu Yu did not need to use Grappling at all. He could end the battle with just a few attacks. In that case, he needed to focus on strengthening his Double Jump. Double Jump was a very crucial skill, being Lu Yu¡¯s only movement skill. Lu Yu used this skill to avoid many fatal attacks. Lu Yu felt it was best to strengthen his Double Jump before his next movement skill arrived. Thus, Lu Yu allocated three points to Double Jump. Double Jump went from level 2 to level 5. [ Double Jump: The jumping distance has increased to seven meters. ] [ Double Jump Lv5 effect: You can hover in the air for one second after your first jump before performing your second jump. ] Reading this additional effect, Lu Yu immediately laughed happily. The effect of hovering in the air for one second was good. There would be more room for maneuvering in his future battles. With nine skill points remaining, Lu Yu enhanced each of his three dragon skills three times. ( Dragon Scales successfully strengthened. Current level: Lv4] [ Dragon Muscles successfully strengthened. Current level: LV4) ( Flaming Claws successfully strengthened. Current level: Lv4] The Dragon Scales Skill was strengthened for defense, while the Dragon Muscles Skill was strengthened for strength and attack. The Flaming Claw had two effects. One was a wide-area attack that would burn the enemy within range. This was also the effect that Lu Yu had cast on the mountain¡¯s peak. The other effect was similar to that of the Split Claw, which concentrates its attack on a specific range. The damage would be significantly increased, but the range would be reduced. As for the Dragon Scale skill, its effect was resistant to 80% of water and fire elemental attacks. However, Lu Yu was completely immune to fire damage after evolving the Flaming Dragon Claw. Hence, after three enhancements, the Dragon Scale obtained a new effect. [ Dragon Scale Shield: Generates a shield with 100 health. The shield can be broken. Automatically regenerates after one minute out of battle ] This new effect caused Lu Yu to exclaim in surprise. It was the same as boosting his health by 100 points! However, there was still some disparity between this shield and his actual health stats. The biggest difference was the damage reduction from his defense. Someone with 100 attack power could probably break the shield instantly. However, if that attack landed on Lu Yu¡¯s body, he would not lose any health. After all, Lu Yu¡¯s defense was too high. From the looks of it, 100 points of the shield value were not considered much. At most, it could block two attacks. Even so, it was still a very powerful expansion to his arsenal. Lu Yu¡¯s overall prowess increased once more after this round of strengthening. Lu Yu walked into the hospital, his heart full of joy. He came to Liu Yi¡¯s ward. Liu Yi was lying on the hospital bed in a coma in the spotless ward. Lu Yu was worried. The last time he came here, his aunt could still talk to him weakly. This time, however, she went into a coma. Her condition had worsened¡­ Lu Yu walked to the side of the bed and looked at his aunt lying on it. ¡°Hey, I¡¯m here to see you. I won first place in the state, so I didn¡¯t embarrass you¡­¡± Liu Yi was lying on the bed with her eyes tightly shut. A doctor in a white coat walked in at that precise moment. ¡°You must be the patient¡¯s family, right? I have some news for you.¡± The attending doctor walked over with a serious expression. ¡°Hello, doctor. Have you found out the cause of my aunt¡¯s illness?¡± The attending doctor nodded slightly. ¡°That¡¯s correct. We finally discovered the cause of your aunt¡¯s illness thanks to the efforts of our team.¡± ¡°This illness that she has comes from your family!¡± Lu Yu was stunned to hear the word ¡°family.¡±The cause of her illness was related to their family?