Chapter Thirty-Seven: Skeleton Spirit Flame

“Eating this red one shouldn’t have any negative impact on us right now, right?” Li Ren asked.

“No, it shouldn’t,” the Shadow replied, “but it will probably make you stronger.”

“That’s good, then.”

No sooner had the words left the Shadow’s lips than Li Ren shoved the red skeletal spirit flame into his skull.

As soon as the red flame touched his original green flame, there was a sudden boom as the two fires collided violently, crackling in the void. Li Ren shuddered uncontrollably with every snap and crackle.

Amid these explosive sounds, his experience soared, rings of light descending upon his head one after another.

The Shadow watched from the side, showing no surprise at Li Ren’s condition. The reaction of the skeleton race to spirit flames was always this intense—it was like ingesting a supreme elixir. The energy contained within the spirit flame brought a complete transformation to the skeleton race.

If it had been only a green flame, with Li Ren’s current level, it would have been enough to ascend at least one rank. But this was a red flame—a hundred times stronger than green. Consider that even the Skull King’s might was just because of red flame, and the level 130 skeleton guards only possessed green. Now, a mere level 50 grunt consuming red flame would be catapulted to unimaginable heights.

It was as if Li Ren had swallowed the Skull King’s essence whole, though a spirit flame was countless times more potent than mere essence.

The flames burned fiercely. Under the influence of the red flame, Li Ren’s bones began to ignite, a layer of fire shimmering over him. Red and green flames intertwined, enveloping his entire body. Dust drifted continuously from his bones, dissolving into wisps of smoke within the flames, only to be replaced by even more fire fusing into his skeleton.

Just like steel forged a hundred times, Li Ren’s bones were being continuously strengthened by the flames, reaching an awe-inspiring state.

At last, the flames clinging to his body began to recede, shrinking until they disappeared into his two pitch-black eye sockets, transforming into twin orbs of dark green fire.

And after this forging, Li Ren himself had changed yet again!

His once coarse bones became more delicate, appearing as flawless jade, pure and white. The animated fire dancing in his eye sockets gave him an almost otherworldly beauty.

Another halo of light descended from above, enveloping him. As violet radiance flowed around him, Li Ren’s aura subtly shifted once more.

He had advanced yet again!

Skeleton Centurion!

Character Name: One Bone at a Time
Level: 68
Race: Elite Skeleton
Attributes:
HP 300,000/300,000
MP 300,000/300,000
Strength (300) +2000
Intelligence (290) +2000
Constitution (330) +2000
Agility (330) +2000
Bone Structure (999)
Luck (6)
Souls Absorbed (18,452)
Class: Skeleton Centurion

Hidden Attribute:
Free Advancement, Absorption Attribute (Level 0)

Upgradeable Skills:
Blink (Level 2): Instantly teleport 15 meters regardless of terrain; cooldown 40 seconds.

Self-created Skill:
Crescent Slash.

Innate Skills:
Summon Elite Skeleton Guard (Guard has 40% of host’s attributes, each summon costs 100 souls, duration 3 hours, max summons: 10, upgradeable); Essence Conversion.

He checked his inventory and, as expected, there were two new weapons:

Asura

Attack Power: 330–480

Special Effects:
10% of damage ignores defense
Chance to deal 1.5x damage
Attack speed +20%
(Non-tradable, cannot be dropped, soul-bound)

Asura Shield

Defense: 200–200

Special Effects:
50% chance to block frontal damage, reducing it by 50%
10% chance to block frontal damage, reducing it by 70%
All attributes resistance +10
(Non-tradable, cannot be dropped, soul-bound)

Li Ren, now fully awake, was stunned by his current state.

Leaping from level 50 to 68 in one go was truly difficult to accept. It would be shocking if he wasn’t startled. In comparison, the attribute boosts from advancement seemed almost trivial.

As he surveyed his attributes, a sudden idea flashed in Li Ren’s mind. He turned to the Shadow, who was still standing nearby, and asked, “Shadow, do you know the exact attributes of those three-headed dogs we encountered when we first came here?”

Shadow nodded. “Elite, level 80. They have about 1.25 million health, all attributes at 2,000. As for special skills—”

“That’s enough, I don’t need to hear about their skills.” Li Ren cut him off, quickly doing some calculations in his head and grinning with delight.

“You’re not planning to go after those three-headed dogs, are you? They’re no pushovers—just a single one is ridiculously strong, let alone a whole pack. What are you thinking? Even after absorbing the red flame, there’s no way you can handle them!”

All along the way, the Shadow grumbled in a low voice at Li Ren, but the latter remained utterly unconcerned.

“I told you, you’ll understand once we get there. Don’t worry about it,” Li Ren replied, brushing off the Shadow’s persistent objections with ease.

Having pledged himself entirely to Li Ren, the Shadow suddenly wondered if he’d made the right decision. Still, no matter how much he grumbled, he had already chosen to follow Li Ren. Yet, he couldn’t help feeling frustrated!

Under Li Ren’s pressure—or perhaps under the pressure of Li Ren’s apparent death wish—the Shadow had no choice but to carefully lead him back along the path they had come.

They had already traversed the perilous Black Earth Domain without incident, obtained what they came for, and reaped even greater rewards. The exit portal was now within sight, yet this companion insisted on doubling back to pick a fight with a pack of creatures several times stronger than themselves. If the Shadow refused to lead, Li Ren threatened to scout ahead on his own!

What kind of leader was this?

The Shadow sighed inwardly again and again. In his few remaining memories, his former boss had been just like this—if you wouldn’t go, he’d die just to prove a point, only to always come back alive in the end. If you wanted to know the plan beforehand, sorry—it was classified.

Infuriating!

The Shadow stomped ahead in frustration, while Li Ren followed behind in high spirits.

Li Ren, busy calculating all sorts of enormous numbers in his mind, ignored the Shadow’s grumbling entirely. As long as they didn’t run into any other monsters before meeting the three-headed dogs, everything would be fine.

At last, with the Shadow’s reluctant yet diligent guidance, the pair arrived once more at the edge of the vast depression.

“Out with it,” the Shadow said.

“Hm? Out with what?”

“What are you planning?”

“Oh, just wait and see. I promise you’ll be satisfied!”

The Shadow was so exasperated he was grinding his teeth, but there was nothing he could do. Back when he was only level 55, he’d already found it risky to take on Li Ren. Now, facing this level 68 powerhouse, there was simply no hope.