Amid the uproar, Su Tiankuo's hand trembled as he lifted a teacup, silently taking a sip to swallow the mouthful of blood that had risen in his throat.

Just half an hour ago, he had been commenting to the other instructors about Fang Zhou's lack of mobility and life-saving skills, remarking how vulnerable he was to surprise attacks and decapitation.

He never expected that before his words had even faded, Fang Zhou would slap him in the face so harshly yet again.

How many times has it been? It seems I and Undead Mages are simply not fated to get along!

Meanwhile, on the training ground, Bai Xiaochan jumped up in excitement as she watched Fang Zhou sprout a pair of bone wings from thin air to escape danger. "Awesome! Fang Zhou, you're a living legend!"

Ye Fan, Gu Zhiqiu, and the others were also shocked, left utterly speechless.

He has offense, defense, crowd control, and mobility skills, not to mention a horde of Skeleton minions. How in the world are we supposed to fight a freak like that?

We can do without that No. 1 Seed spot!

...

In the outpost hall, the Horned Demon let out a despairing wail as it watched its thrown axe miss its mark. It then lowered its head and launched a final Death Charge at the fearless Skeleton Army.

Fang Zhou also let out a slight sigh of relief.

Fortunately, he had successfully devised the skill [Skeleton Wings] before the battle; otherwise, that last attack would have been devastating.

Relying on his [Skeleton Shield] alone might not have been enough to block the Flying Axe. If it had failed, the Horned Demon Boss would have turned the tables on him.

But now, disarmed, gravely wounded, and exhausted, the Horned Demon stood no chance against the combined assault of Fang Zhou and his Skeleton Army. It couldn't make any more waves.

With a final Skeleton Flying Spear from Fang Zhou, the Horned Demon collapsed, frustrated and helpless.

Fang Zhou steadied his somewhat agitated Spiritual Power and surveyed the battlefield.

Fewer than 20 Skeletons remained, his Spiritual Power was nearly depleted, and he had even been forced to use his newly devised Skeleton Wings.

In this battle, he had truly unleashed his full combat strength and revealed all his trump cards.

Fang Zhou shook his head. Compared to a main Abyssal Demon unit like the Horned Demon, his Skeletons were as fragile as paper.

If not for their sheer numbers and fearlessness in the face of death, they would have hardly posed a threat to the Horned Demon.

Thankfully, he was still the one left standing.

But if winning on Difficult Difficulty was this hard, what would the Abyss Difficulty be like?

"Task completed. Time: 19 minutes, 20 seconds. Clearance Rating: [Perfect]. Reward: 9 Contribution Points."

"First-time clearance of [Horn Demon Outpost] on Difficult Difficulty. Reward: 12 Contribution Points."

"Congratulations, Junior Sergeant Fang Zhou! Your team is the first in your grade to clear the [Horn Demon Outpost] on Difficult Difficulty. All team members receive a Grade First-Clearance Ranking Reward of 30 Contribution Points and the Achievement Blessing: Simulation Battlefield Loot Drop Rate +1% (Total: 8%)."

"Congratulations, Junior Sergeant Fang Zhou! Your team cleared the [Horn Demon Outpost] on Difficult Difficulty in 19 minutes and 20 seconds, placing 45th on the all-time speedrun leaderboard. Estimated monthly ranking reward: 9 Contribution Points."

"Loot drop triggered. Obtained: [Split Arrow] Skill Book*1 (exchangeable for 10 Contribution Points)."

"You may challenge the Abyss Difficulty after a 5-minute cooldown."

The [Split Arrow] skill was exclusive to Archers and of no use to Fang Zhou, so he casually exchanged it for 10 Contribution Points.

Fang Zhou did a quick calculation. This run of the [Horn Demon Outpost] on Difficult Difficulty had netted him 64 Contribution Points, a very substantial gain.

Looking at the devastated battlefield, Fang Zhou hesitated.

Should I continue and challenge the Abyss Difficulty?

He glanced at his attribute panel.

[Name] Fang Zhou

[Profession] Undead Mage

[Tier] Apprentice (Middle Rank)

[Attributes] Strength: 4, Agility: 4, Constitution: 4, Spirit: 6.2

[State] Soul Split

[Equipment] Apprentice Set

[Skills] Skeleton King Meditation Method (Perfection), Summon Skeleton (Perfection), Skeleton Flying Spear (Mastery), Skeleton Shield (Mastery), Skeleton Shackles (Mastery), Calm and Relaxed (Skilled), Domination Skeleton (Skilled), Resurrection of the Dead (Beginner), Skeleton Arrow Rain (Skilled), Skeleton Wings (Skilled)

As a Middle-Rank Apprentice, the skills he possessed were already quite comprehensive.

The current factors limiting his strength were his own Spirit Attribute and Skill Proficiency, neither of which could be improved overnight.

This meant that Fang Zhou's current power had already reached a bottleneck.

Tightly gripping the Magic Staff in his hand, Fang Zhou quickly made his decision.

I'll continue the challenge! I want to see where my limits truly lie.

However, the Demons on Abyss Difficulty might be too strong for him to handle head-on.

Perhaps it's time to use some tactics.

After paying 8 Contribution Points, Fang Zhou entered the [Horn Demon Outpost] once again.

Back in the training ground, the trainees erupted into fervent discussion.

"Fang Zhou is being too reckless! He struggled so much on Difficult, and now he wants to clear Abyss Difficulty?"

"Indeed, I admit his strength is far ahead of ours. But he's just an Apprentice who recently broke through to Middle Rank; his Spiritual Power can't be that high. It doesn't matter how many skills he has if he doesn't have enough Spiritual Power to use them. They're just for show."

"The teams that can clear Abyss Difficulty are all comprised of 'Seed' trainees who are at the peak of the Middle-Rank Apprentice tier with perfect skillsets. Fang Zhou is strong, no doubt, but he's only one person. Trying to clear it alone is just wishful thinking!"

In a corner, Ye Fan looked up at the live broadcast, his eyes burning with anticipation.

Fang Zhou, where exactly are your limits?

...

"Task: Kill all Demons and reclaim the Riverfront Outpost."

Stepping into the thick fog, Fang Zhou summoned his Skeleton Army but did not immediately hurry toward the outpost.

He spread out the 40 Skeletons and began to explore the fog-shrouded jungle.

In Fang Zhou's view, assaulting the [Horn Demon Outpost] on Abyss Difficulty head-on as he had before was likely beyond his current strength.

That being the case, he decided to proactively switch battlefields.

The Simulation Battlefield technology had only been developed a few years ago and wasn't very mature. The scene modeling had a cheap, cramped feel to it.

Therefore, the fog-covered jungle wasn't as large as Fang Zhou imagined, but it would suffice.

Fang Zhou commanded his 40 tireless Skeletons to dig a cleverly hidden pit trap near the road leading to the outpost.

The pit trap was both deep and wide. It took the Skeleton Army a considerable amount of time to dig and was lined with several exceptionally sharp Skeleton Flying Spears.

This trap was tailor-made for the Horned Demon Boss in the outpost, sufficient to trap it and prevent a quick escape.

Most ingeniously, Fang Zhou camouflaged the pit with a layer of solid branches, ensuring that lightweight creatures like Skeletons or Little Inferior Demons wouldn't trigger it when they stepped over it.

This was the battlefield Fang Zhou had chosen.

Then, with his Spiritual Power already heavily consumed, Fang Zhou took out a bottle of [Low-grade Spiritual Recovery Potion] and downed it without hesitation.

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