Otherworldly Skeleton Evolution

*Boom!*

Mo You’s life force evaporated in an instant, his body crashing to the ground with a thunderous thud.

Suddenly, his corpse erupted in a dazzling fireworks display of multicolored light.

[You’ve slain Mo You, the Ninth Disciple of the Seventh Demon King. You’ve gained 10 million XP, 10 million Evolution Points, and 100,000 Enhancement Points.]

[Congratulations! You’ve reached level 40.]

[Congratulations! You’ve reached level 41.]

[Congratulations! You’ve reached level 42.]

[HP and MP increased by 250 points, Attack increased by 50 points, Defense and Magic Defense increased by 25 points.]

[Soul Power +40,000.]

[Blood Hell Forbidden Land Announcement: Mo You, the Ninth Disciple of the Seventh Demon King, has been slain by the team of Fist Sage – Zhen Shanhe, A Silly Cutie, and Yun Xiang. They’ve gained 40,000 Blood Hell Qi.]

[Blood Hell Forbidden Land Announcement: Due to individual team Blood Hell scores exceeding 500,000, the Blood Hell Scoreboard has been activated. Congratulations to the team of Fist Sage – Zhen Shanhe, A Silly Cutie, and Yun Xiang for claiming the top spot on the Blood Hell Scoreboard.]

[Blood Hell Forbidden Land Announcement: New human city Hope City added. New NPC Redno added. Blood Hell Score Shop activated. Players can exchange Blood Hell Qi for points with Redno to obtain desired equipment, Epic potions, XP, gems, skill books, and more.]

[Blood Hell Forbidden Land Announcement: The team of Fist Sage – Zhen Shanhe, A Silly Cutie, and Yun Xiang has incurred the wrath of the Seventh Demon King of the Blood Hell Forbidden Land by killing Mo You.]

[Blood Hell Forbidden Land Announcement: The Seventh Demon King has issued an execution order. For the next 90 days, the Seventh Demon King will lead the Killing God’s Thousand Army in a frenzied assault against players entering the Forbidden Land. Players, prepare yourselves.]

[Blood Hell Forbidden Land Announcement: The Blood Hell Wanted List has been activated. Congratulations to Fist Sage – Zhen Shanhe, A Silly Cutie, and Yun Xiang for claiming the top three spots, triggering the Blood Race’s Grudge effect.]

[The Blood Race will harbor 10,000 hostility points towards player Fist Sage – Zhen Shanhe, 5,000 hostility points towards player A Silly Cutie, and 3,000 hostility points towards player Yun Xiang.]

Mo You’s demise triggered six system announcements, a testament to his importance in the Blood Hell Forbidden Land.

Fist Sage, who had just recovered and was about to follow Jiang Cheng’s boss-killing route, was left slack-jawed after reading these announcements.

“Great, I’ve been caught in the crossfire.”

The Seventh Demon King’s Killing God’s Thousand Army, the Blood Hell Wanted List, the Blood Race’s Grudge, 10,000 hostility points – each term and number screamed one thing at him:

He was done for in the Blood Hell Forbidden Land.

“You killed the guy, but I’m taking the heat. Little Chengzi, you’ve really done it this time.”

Fist Sage quipped sarcastically.

Looking at the Blood Hell Qi in his inventory, Fist Sage found some consolation. “At least I made a little profit.”

“But tomorrow, when the Temple folks show up in the Blood Hell Forbidden Land, it might be a bit…”

Imagining the scene of countless blades pointed at them as soon as the Temple entered, Fist Sage couldn’t help but smile wryly.

…

“The Ninth Disciple of the Seventh Demon King? Mo You?! Holy crap! Did Skeleton Big Brother just wipe out a big shot from their home turf?”

Yun Hu, who was busy tossing rare equipment and searching for gems, suddenly changed expression.

“Skeleton Big Brother is freaking awesome! The Seventh Demon King is one of the seven great Demon Kings under the Blood Hell Demon Lord, second only to the Demon Lord himself. His disciple must be a level 500 boss, right?”

“Not necessarily. Judging by our loot-collecting route and timing, Skeleton Big Brother should have killed around 170 bosses by now. If he then killed Mo You in less than a minute, Mo You’s strength probably wasn’t that high, or at least his HP was low. He might just have had a high status,” Yun Long analyzed, earning nods of agreement from everyone.

“But this still proves that Skeleton Big Brother is a total badass!” Yun Yin suddenly exclaimed excitedly, clearly having become Jiang Cheng’s fanboy.

“Yeah, he’s a badass, but do you have to act like such a fanboy? Be careful, or Little Cutie might not carry you anymore,” Yun Long teased.

“Uh…” A Silly Cutie pouted upon hearing this. Why did it always come back to her?

“Little Cutie, seriously, when is Cutie Shakes the World hitting level two? I want to join,” Yun Yin said with a fawning expression, completely abandoning his dignity and ready to be shameless.

Seeing Yun Long about to stop him again, Yun Yin knew what he wanted to say and quickly waved his hand.

“Big Senior Brother, Master and Skeleton Big Brother are so close, he won’t mind us. Besides, after this wave, Master’s level has reached 41. I bet next time the rankings update, Master will be second on the level board. He’ll be too happy to care about our trivial matters.”

“What? How did Master suddenly reach level 41? Yun Yin, are you dreaming?” Yun Long and the others looked confused, not understanding how Yun Yin suddenly claimed Fist Sage was level 41.

“Eh, eh, eh, Big Senior Brother, you just don’t get it. While you guys were picking up equipment, I was observing Big Sis and Little Cutie.”

“What are you up to?”

Yun Yin explained, “You might not have noticed, but in this half hour or so, Big Sis’s body flashed with level-up light 8 times, going straight from level 31 to 39. And Little Cutie flashed 6 times, probably reaching level 42 by now.”

“What?!”

This statement left everyone stunned and somewhat disbelieving.

“No way, boss XP is only a hundred times that of normal monsters. Even if they killed 170 bosses, each giving 30,000 XP, that’s only 5 million XP,” Yun Zhi calculated, finding it hard to believe. It seemed too fast to be true.

“Brother, what are you thinking? Did you forget that XP in the Blood Hell Forbidden Land is tripled?” Yun Yin reminded him.

“Oh… right, I almost forgot about that. But even so, that’s only 15 million XP. How could that result in 8 level-ups?”

“Isn’t there still Mo You? I guess Mo You’s XP was around 10 million. Big Sis, am I right?” Yun Yin finished and looked questioningly at Yun Xiang.

The others did the same, as it was truly hard to believe.

A single boss giving 10 million XP?

Wouldn’t that mean the boss was around level 300?

They thought Skeleton Big Brother killing a level 60 boss was already the limit, but now he’s taking down level 300+ bosses? That’s too godly!

“Big Sis, are you really level 39 now?” they asked eagerly.

Yun Xiang didn’t speak but nodded in confirmation.

Yun Long and the others were left breathless, barely able to process it.

“Holy crap, that’s insane. Eight levels in half an hour, that’s faster than a rocket. What a loss, I should’ve joined Master’s team. Losing out on 8 levels, I feel like dying right now.”

“Is it too late to join now?”

Seeing Yun Xiang’s reaction, they were filled with regret and heartache.

Leveling up is a tedious and boring process, far less exciting than PvP or boss fights.

The ever-increasing XP requirements and the repetitive, dull leveling process constantly grate on players’ nerves.

Many players dislike games largely because they don’t want to endure the monotonous grind of leveling.

But leveling is the surest path to strength. Without it, they can’t equip higher-level gear or learn more advanced skills.

So, no matter how boring, they must repeat this process.

Eight levels – they’re currently around level 30. To gain 8 levels from there, at their current XP rate, they’d need to grind non-stop for about twenty days!

And now, they’ve missed out on the chance to gain 8 levels in just half an hour?

How could they not beat their chests in frustration?

But Yun Xiang ignored them and delivered another blow.

“It’s too late now. A high-level boss like Mo You must have dropped a guild establishment token. And with the wanted list out, Skeleton Big Brother should be back soon.”

Yun Long: “…”

Yun Hu: “…”

Yun Gao: “…”

“…”

“Just because of one wrong assumption, I lost out on 8 levels of XP, missed a chance to soar to the heavens. I regret it so much!”

“Eight levels, a full eight levels, 25 million XP! Just slipped through my fingers. Damn, even these legendary items in my hands don’t feel so good anymore.”

“Little Cutie, quick, give me a set of legendary equipment to soothe my wounded soul.”

“Cut it out, all of you. Keep picking up equipment, stop whining here. Have you forgotten? You’re the star players of the Shanhe Club, each with millions of fans. You’re embarrassing yourselves right now.”

Yun Xiang rolled her eyes at them and continued running towards the next loot spot.

After Yun Xiang left, they all gathered around A Silly Cutie, fawning, “Little Cutie, when you go out to level up in the future, can you take me along?”

“Yeah, Big Sis gained 8 levels herself, of course she can’t understand our pain. Pride isn’t as important as 8 levels, right? Little Cutie, you’re my idol from now on, please carry me.”

“Little Cutie, great god, please carry us!”

…

“Lord Mo You… is dead?!”

“How is this possible? Lord Mo You was the Seventh Demon King’s disciple, how could he die?”

Seeing Mo You’s corpse lying before them, the three leaders – the Frenzied Guard, Blade Guard, and Demon Guard – stopped their mad dash abruptly.

Their eyes were filled with disbelief and terror.

The Seventh Demon King’s disciple, hailed as one of the eighteen most brilliant magic prodigies of the Blood Race, creator of the ultimate technique Blood Star, Mo You, was dead!

Killed by a mere undead!

They never imagined a small undead could possess the power to kill Mo You!

This undead was simply terrifying!

“It’s over.” The three leaders’ faces changed drastically. They exchanged glances, each seeing a glimmer of fear and resignation in the others’ eyes.

Mo You was dead. They’d be dead too if they went back. Might as well make a last stand against this undead!

“Lord Mo You is dead, he can’t come back to life. We can’t possibly explain this if we go back. We’re dead either way, so let’s go all out!”

The three leaders, filled with a strong resolve to die, turned back with grim determination, ready to fight Jiang Cheng to the death.

But in the next moment, they saw Mo You’s corpse burst open by a powerful force. Then, a deep blue skeleton slowly coalesced, forming a deep blue skeleton that stood there, looking around in confusion.

Blood Hell Blade Guard Leader: “…”

Blood Hell Demon Guard Leader: “…”

Blood Hell Frenzied Guard Leader: “…”