Returning to his senses, Fang Zhou continued, "As for the lack of Skills, I'll do my best to develop them. I've derived Skeleton Series Skills from skeletons. By that logic, could I derive Corrosive Poison Series Skills from zombies, Flesh and Blood Series Skills from vampires, Soul Series Skills from ghosts, and so on?

"However, that's all for later. It'll require a certain level of strength to even attempt. For now, my priority is to perfect the Skeleton Series Skill Tree."

Su Xinyan nodded; she naturally agreed with Fang Zhou's assessment. She then asked, "And what about the third problem you mentioned? How do we solve the issue of Undead Mana eroding the body?"

Fang Zhou countered, "Instructor Su, you don't seem to have such troubles. How did you resolve it?"

Su Xinyan waved her hand. "My method can't be replicated, so it isn't very useful as a reference. From the moment I was born, my father sought out numerous Heavenly and Earthly Treasures from the Mythical World to nourish my body. That's the only reason I was able to barely neutralize the erosion from the Undead Mana. Ordinary Undead Mages simply don't have access to such resources."

Tsk, having a Legendary father is quite the privilege.

Hearing Su Xinyan's answer, Fang Zhou stated frankly, "I don't have any ideas at the moment."

He wasn't worried about this problem himself, of course. He had a Skeleton Clone that could endlessly replenish his Attributes, so he didn't care about Undead Mana eroding his physical body. However, if the Undead Mage Profession was to become truly respected, this erosion problem definitely needed a solution.

At that moment, Su Xinyan stood up and handed Fang Zhou a document.

"This is a project proposal approval form. You can apply for up to three projects at a time. Based on what you just said, the first project is to perfect the Undead Mage Meditation Method. The second is to develop the Skeleton Series Skill Tree. As for the third project, if you don't have any ideas, I suggest you consider developing Universal Skills.

"If you can develop practical Universal Skills from the Undead Mage's professional Skills, it would be a powerful demonstration of the Profession's potential. It would significantly increase our influence and help us secure more resources."

Su Xinyan was highly experienced in this area, so Fang Zhou naturally had no reason to refuse her.

As for the direction of Universal Skill development, he was quickly reminded of the many physically disabled instructors he had met at Sea City Military Academy over the past month. He said, "Instructor Su, what do you think about making the focus of the third project strengthening human bones?"

Su Xinyan's eyes lit up when she heard this. "Your idea is excellent. It's better than... ahem. It seems great minds think alike. You've also met instructors like Chen Qingshan and Shen Hongyu, who retired due to injury. Although they received treatment from Priests, their lost limbs couldn't be restored, so they had to be replaced with mechanical prosthetics.

"This has greatly affected both their Cultivation and their combat effectiveness. If you can derive a Universal Skill from the Skeleton Series that can strengthen or even restore human bones, it would be tremendous news for everyone in the Human Alliance."

That was precisely what Fang Zhou was thinking.

Instructors like Chen Qingshan and Shen Hongyu were heroes of the Human Alliance. After being forced to retire due to their injuries, they could now only serve as instructors at the military academy, putting their remaining talents to use. If he could successfully develop a Universal Skill to regenerate lost limbs, it would allow them to regain their health and restore their combat power. This would be a massive boon to Fang Zhou personally and the Human Alliance as a whole.

Of course, the task would certainly be extremely difficult. But Fang Zhou was confident. With enough Skill Materials and a little help from his attribute panel, he believed he could overcome any difficulty, no matter how great.

Afterward, Fang Zhou asked Su Xinyan for more details about applying for research projects. Following her guidance, he submitted three project applications through his personal terminal and uploaded some of his preliminary results.

Soon, Fang Zhou received a response.

For the Meditation Method project, his Skeleton King Meditation Method successfully passed the results assessment. In addition to the original 100 contribution points, he received an extra 50% as a research fund bonus, for a total of 150 contribution points.

For the Skeleton Series Skill Tree project, his Skeleton Arrow Rain and Skeleton Wings each earned him another 150 contribution points.

Furthermore, the Skills he had previously uploaded—Skeleton Flying Spear, Skeleton Shield, Skeleton Shackles, and Domination Skeleton—were each granted a retroactive reward of 50 contribution points as research funding.

What delighted Fang Zhou even more was that the Apprentice-level Skill Materials he had exchanged from the Human Alliance Skill Library to help him derive Skeleton Series Skills—such as Fireball Skill, Touch of Corrosion, Aging Beam, and Mana Sprint—were also 50% refunded through a public expense reimbursement process.

The 11 Apprentice-level Skill Materials resulted in a refund of 55 contribution points.

After all these transactions, Fang Zhou's accumulated contribution points soared from 500 to 1,250.

Seeing the huge sum of contribution points displayed on his personal terminal, not just Fang Zhou, but even Su Xinyan—a Golden Powerhouse and a Legendary Woman—couldn't help but let her lips part slightly in astonishment, her eyes wide.

Of course, over 1,000 contribution points didn't mean much to the current Su Xinyan. But she remembered back to her days as a mere Apprentice, when she never had more than a double-digit number of contribution points to her name.

Looking at the vibrant yet composed Fang Zhou before her, the normally self-assured Su Xinyan felt an unprecedented pang of jealousy from deep within her heart.

Hmph. The new generation surpasses the old. It seems I, the old wave, am about to be washed up on the beach by this new wave named Fang Zhou.

She secretly ground her teeth, squeezed out a smile, and asked, "Fang Zhou, how do you plan on spending all these contribution points?"

By then, Fang Zhou had suppressed his excitement. He said humbly, "It'll be very difficult for me to derive any completely new Skeleton Series Skills before I advance to the Black Iron rank. So, even though I have a lot of contribution points now, they aren't a renewable resource. Could you please teach me how to make the most of this windfall, Instructor Su?"

Su Xinyan was clearly pleased by Fang Zhou's respectful, deferential attitude.

She narrowed her eyes slightly, considering the matter carefully on his behalf, and then replied, "First, you'll naturally need to exchange for a large number of Apprentice-level Skill Materials based on your project requirements. For example, while your Skeleton Flying Spear is already quite good, there's still room for improvement in its Skill Power, range, and Spiritual Power consumption. If you can study the mature Attack Skills of other Magic Professionals, like Wind Blade Skill, Ice Spear Skill, and Earth Spear Skill, and incorporate their strengths while shoring up your weaknesses, you will definitely see significant improvement.

"Likewise, your Skeleton Shield is quite effective against direct attacks, but it can't effectively defend against indirect attacks, like the Magic-Devouring Talent of an Abyss Demon Child. This is another area where you can learn from the Skills of other Magic Professionals. I remember the Telekinesis Master Profession has a Skill called Telekinesis Shield that can compensate for this weakness.

"The same applies to your other Skills, like Skeleton Shackles, Skeleton Arrow Rain, and Skeleton Wings."

"Hmm? Why are you looking at me like that?"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.