Fang Zhou nodded slightly and then looked at Meng Hongzhuang. "Hongzhuang, you will be responsible for collecting Skills that can enhance the combat power of my Summoned Creatures."

"Just like with Xiaochan, if I can successfully deduce a new Skill suitable for Undead Creatures based on your research, I will give you at least 10 contribution points as a performance reward. As for sparring, there's no hurry. I'm a bit busy these days, and you need to focus on your Cultivation. Try to break through to the Apprentice Middle Rank as soon as possible. Only then can we have a truly satisfying fight."

Hearing Fang Zhou reject her request for a battle, Meng Hongzhuang looked somewhat disappointed. She bit her lip before finally saying, "Okay, Fang Zhou, I won't let you down. You're right. Compared to you, my strength is still too weak."

Fang Zhou chuckled inwardly.

He knew that Meng Hongzhuang was willing to be his assistant partly for the contribution points and the privileges of the research group, and partly because she wanted to spar with him and exchange insights on Summoning Skills. He had seen this Natural Summoner's battle footage. Although she was petite, she was a battle maniac at heart, just like Ye Fan. Given that, he couldn't easily agree to her request for a fight. Dangling a carrot would make the little assistant work harder, wouldn't it?

***

Another week passed.

Fang Zhou's life became even more packed than before. A day was 24 hours long. He spent six of those in his unchangeable military academy courses. Beyond that, he practiced Skills for two hours a day in the Skill Training Room and spent another six hours in the Concentration Meditation Room, focusing on controlling his Skeleton Clones. In the scattered time that remained, he had to sweep through the Simulation Battlefield, study the Undead Mage Cultivation insights Su Xinyan had sent him, and gather all knowledge that could benefit an Undead Mage.

Of course, he also had to constantly urge his two little assistants, Bai Xiaochan and Meng Hongzhuang, not to slack off. Occasionally, he was even "exploited" by Su Xinyan for his inspiration.

Lately, Su Xinyan had stabilized her cultivation at the Golden Lower Rank and had successfully Mastered iconic Golden Tier Undead Mage spells like [Summon Vampire King] and [Summon Dark Forbidden Guard]. Currently, she was trying to leverage her close connection with the Undead Realm to summon even stronger Undead Creatures.

Fang Zhou had concepts for many powerful Undead Creatures in his mind, such as Stone Golems, Terror Knights, Bone Dragons, and Corpse Witches. This undoubtedly provided a great deal of inspiration for Su Xinyan, who had been struggling for ideas. She mentioned that she had already sensed a very strong soul fluctuation in the Undead Realm and was striving to summon this brand-new Undead Creature.

Fang Zhou was naturally pleased to see this and often discussed and explored ideas with her. He was more than happy for Su Xinyan to pave the way for the Undead Mage Profession, saving him the effort.

Thanks to his training, his physique Attribute had also surpassed 5 points this past week. His body was now incredibly strong, allowing him to withstand such a high-intensity training regimen. However, hard work paid off, and his strength increased significantly.

Fang Zhou's time for clearing the [Horn Demon Outpost] on Abyss Difficulty had now been reduced to 18 minutes. He was currently ranked second on the historical speedrun leaderboard, only behind the three-person Team of the [Flame Dragon Knight], Wen Jiu.

After class, Fang Zhou hurried to the research lab. Today was the day his two little assistants, Bai Xiaochan and Meng Hongzhuang, were scheduled to report on their research progress. If they hadn't been slacking, he would soon be able to update his Skills.

In the research lab, Bai Xiaochan and Meng Hongzhuang were already waiting. To Fang Zhou's surprise, the usually lazy Bai Xiaochan wore a smug look, while the normally assertive Meng Hongzhuang seemed to be avoiding his gaze, appearing somewhat unconfident.

Fang Zhou sat down behind his desk, crossed his hands, and stretched out his long legs, looking every bit the part of the research group's boss.

"So, how did it go, you two? Who wants to report first?"

Bai Xiaochan's hand shot up immediately.

"Fang Zhou, I've searched through all the apprentice-level shield-type Skills for Magic Professionals. After eliminating those with serious flaws, I've compiled a list of 12 powerful shield Skills.

"First, [Mana Shield] is one of the Universal Skills. Its advantage is that it's well-rounded, offering balanced Defense against various forms of attack, but its downside is a high Spiritual Power cost.

"[Telekinesis Shield] is an exclusive Skill for a [Telekinesis Master]. It provides good Defense against indirect attacks, like the Magic-Devouring Talent of an Abyss Demon Child, but its weakness is an incredibly complex magic model that requires exceptional Talent.

"[Thorn Shield] is exclusive to the [Wild Shaman]. Its strength lies in its ability to reflect some damage from physical attacks, but its own defensive capabilities aren't very strong.

"[Mirror Shield Skill] is exclusive to the [Light Mage]. It has a certain probability of reflecting magic attacks back at the caster, but it's quite fragile against physical attacks.

"[Frost Shield] is an exclusive Skill for a [Frost Mage]. Its advantage is that it can slow or even freeze an attacker when hit, but it's easily countered by Fire Attribute Skills.

"The other Skills are..."

As Fang Zhou perused the research report Bai Xiaochan handed him, he listened to her presentation on the 12 powerful shield Skills and nodded to himself.

Not bad, not bad at all. Judging from this report, Bai Xiaochan put in a lot of hard work this week. The 12 shield skills carefully selected for this report were essentially the crystallization of her predecessors' wisdom. However, Su Xinyan had already told him that apprentice-level skills have their limits; he couldn't just aim for perfection. The [Skeleton Shield] could only carry a limited number of magical effects, so it was impossible to incorporate all 12 of these skills. Next, he would need to select the best of the best, picking only the most crucial magical effects to perfect his [Skeleton Shield].

Thinking this, Fang Zhou tapped the report in his hand, looked up at Bai Xiaochan's expectant face, which was practically begging for praise, and said with a smile, "Well done, Xiaochan. I already have a lot of inspiration and am quite confident I can perfect the [Skeleton Shield]. Once I do, the 10 contribution points for your performance will be transferred to your account."

Hearing this, Bai Xiaochan's face lit up with excitement. She made a "V" for victory sign, then turned to Meng Hongzhuang and taunted, "So, how did a certain shorty's research go this week?"

Meng Hongzhuang, losing her usual assertiveness, hesitated before saying to Fang Zhou, "Fang Zhou, I'm sorry. I underestimated the task. When it comes to Summoning or enhancement, Skeletons, as Undead Creatures, are vastly different from the beasts I'm familiar with. I might need more time to sort out my thoughts before I can report back to you."

Fang Zhou didn't push her. Seeing the dark circles under her eyes and her slightly weary expression, he knew this strong-willed assistant hadn't been slacking off.

In truth, he already knew it would be extremely challenging for Meng Hongzhuang to directly apply her experience as a [Natural Summoner] to an [Undead Mage]. It didn't matter if it took more time. As long as she eventually produced results, it would be a huge net gain for him.

So, he consoled her in a gentle tone, "Don't rush, Hongzhuang. If you have some general ideas, you can share those with me."

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