Among the skills [Battle Qi Slash], [Vortex Strike], [Battle Qi Shield], [Vengeful Stance], and [Trample], he chose [Battle Qi Shield] without hesitation as his next target for learning.

The reason was obvious.

Through a series of intense, real-world battles, Fang Zhou had long since realized that his skeleton clone's Attack Power far surpassed that of Skeleton Warriors and even Zombies of the same Tier and attribute.

As the skeleton clone's Power Attribute officially surpassed fifty points and it successfully advanced to the Black Iron Middle Rank, Fang Zhou conceived a new hunting plan. He decided to lead his skeleton servants deep into the Skeleton Hills to challenge the other powerful Undead Creatures also at the Black Iron Middle Rank.

To ensure the skeleton clone could remain undefeated in the upcoming battles, Fang Zhou considered improving its defensive capabilities to be his primary task. Among the numerous defensive skills, Battle Qi Shield was undoubtedly the top priority. This skill could form an indestructible Energy Barrier that effectively resisted enemy attacks.

For ordinary human Warriors, they could only convert their physical strength into surging Battle Qi after breaking through to the Black Iron Tier, which allowed them to perform high-level skills like Battle Qi Shield. However, the skeleton clone's situation was different. Although it had reached the Black Iron Tier, it had not cultivated true Battle Qi like a human Warrior.

This, however, did not prevent the skeleton clone from using skills like Battle Qi Shield. According to Fang Zhou's past experience, the skeleton clone could perform such skills by relying on the powerful Undead Attribute energy within its body. This energy was different from the Battle Qi of human Warriors, yet it possessed equally strong protective capabilities, enough to withstand fierce assaults from enemies.

Fang Zhou manipulated the skeleton clone, having it stand in a corner of the thoroughly cleared Skeleton Hills. The surroundings were silent; only the sound of wind brushing over dry bones echoed in this Land of Death.

After completing his designated tasks, he withdrew his consciousness from the skeleton clone and returned to the Concentration Meditation Room at the Sea City Military Academy.

Fang Zhou didn't have high expectations for the Battle Qi Shield skill he was about to learn. After all, this was a completely new skill that the skeleton clone had never encountered. Even with the inheritance of experience from his predecessors, it was hard to imagine it could directly translate into substantial skill progression. But regardless, this was a necessary process, an opportunity to gradually enhance his strength along a predetermined path.

He skillfully opened his personal terminal and inserted the specialized Skill Key. When the key connected to the terminal, all the knowledge and insights related to Battle Qi Shield began to transfer. The process ended quickly. Without any hesitation, Fang Zhou immediately clicked on the skill projection to start learning the Battle Qi Shield skill.

As he did so, several prompts popped up on the attribute panel:

"Learnable Skill Materials for clone detected. Consume 100 Soul Power for a quick introduction."

"Start learning?"

"Skill Proficiency enhancement materials for clone detected. An estimated 100 Soul Power is required for perfect absorption."

"Start absorbing?"

Facing these options, Fang Zhou unhesitatingly chose to consume 200 Soul Power, entering a state of Burst of Inspiration. Although the skeleton clone, as an Undead Creature, did not possess the unique Battle Qi of human Warriors, the Undead Attribute energy filling the clone's body could entirely substitute for Battle Qi, allowing it to use skills like Battle Qi Shield and Battle Qi Slash.

With the consumption of Soul Power, Fang Zhou felt a warm current surging within his body. It was as if he could clearly perceive the transformation of every strand of energy, and the once-abstract skill knowledge gradually materialized in his mind. In the state of Burst of Inspiration, Fang Zhou quickly and completely mastered the Battle Qi Shield skill.

Fang Zhou's thoughts swept across the attribute panel like a gust of wind, his gaze landing on [Battle Qi Shield] in the Skills Bar.

[Battle Qi Shield] (Black Iron Grade, Skilled): Gathers Battle Qi from the entire body to condense an incredibly tough shield, capable of blocking attacks from any direction at will. Additional Skill Effects can be granted to the Battle Qi Shield based on the user's own Energy Attribute. The shield's strength, Skill Effects, and duration are determined by Battle Qi strength, physique Attributes, and Skill Proficiency.

The simple and clear skill description allowed Fang Zhou to immediately grasp how to use Battle Qi Shield. It was just as Instructor Lu Hu had recommended; Battle Qi Shield, a simple and unadorned defensive skill, possessed powerful defensive capabilities against both melee and ranged attacks, be they Physical Attacks or Energy Attacks. This was a Universal Skill for Combat Professionals, comparable to skills like Charge, Block, and even Brutal Strike.

Understanding this, Fang Zhou eagerly immersed his consciousness back into the skeleton clone in the Skeleton Hills. He wanted to field-test the practical effects of the Battle Qi Shield skill on the clone.

「On the Skeleton Hills.」

Using his dozens of skeleton underlings, Fang Zhou quickly located a few wandering Skeleton Warriors and Zombies. However, looking at these frail Undead Creatures, he shook his grim, bloodstained head with a hint of disinterest.

Although these Zombies and Skeleton Warriors were at the Apprentice Middle Rank, to the skeleton clone—whose Corpse Body had evolved several times, increasing its racial Combat Power Coefficient severalfold—their attacks were like a mere tickle, incapable of dealing any effective damage.

Nevertheless, standing atop the Skeleton Hills and surveying the surroundings, he could find no more suitable opponents for a real test in the area. He reluctantly chose the zombie with the strongest aura to be his glorious sparring partner. Although this zombie was far from powerful, it was sufficient for testing the newly mastered Battle Qi Shield skill.

As Undead Creatures, zombies were slow and possessed low intelligence, but their frontal Combat Abilities far exceeded those of ordinary Skeleton Warriors. They had sharp claws and fangs, as well as Corrosive Poison energy, making them a formidable presence on the battlefield.

For the skeleton clone, however, none of this was worth fearing.

The skeleton clone stood firm. With the activation of the Battle Qi Shield skill, a faint black light enveloped its body, forming an impenetrable barrier. Not far in front of it, the zombie launched an attack without hesitation. Its claws and fangs repeatedly struck the screen of light, but it could not penetrate the Battle Qi Shield's defense, no matter the angle of attack.

Every pounce the zombie made seemed utterly powerless, and its Corrosive Poison energy dissipated into nothingness the moment it touched the shield. The mindless, Low-Level zombie could only repeat its attacks mechanically, but each attempt was futile.

Fang Zhou silently calculated that, based on the energy strength within his skeleton clone, it could ignore nearly all of this zombie's attacks and maintain the shield for a long time without strain. If combined with the Block and Counterattack skill, then Low-Level Undead Creatures of the Same Tier would be completely unable to break through this defense. The skeleton clone cleverly nullified every one of the zombie's attacks, and even occasionally reflected a portion of the energy, causing minor damage to the zombie.

Although this field test didn't gauge the true upper limits of the Battle Qi Shield skill, Fang Zhou was already quite satisfied. After all, given his cautious and conservative personality, he wouldn't let his skeleton clone fall into peril by facing an overwhelmingly powerful foe without absolute certainty of success.

Having obtained satisfactory results, Fang Zhou did not continue the meaningless contest. He casually wielded the Corpse Long Spear in his hand, a black gleam flashing across the weapon's edge. With the activation of the Brutal Strike skill, an astounding force surged from the spear.

Fang Zhou swung it lightly, and the spear shot forward like an arrow, piercing straight toward the zombie's heart.

BOOM.

Accompanied by a dull thud, the Corpse Long Spear, which had been enhanced to its limits, carried the immense attack power of Brutal Strike and effortlessly pierced the zombie's heart, laying it to eternal rest.

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