Within less than an hour of venturing deeper, the number of Skeleton Warriors under Fang Zhou's command had reached a staggering thirty-five.

When the number of minions reached his enslavement limit, Fang Zhou led the mighty Skeleton Battle Group behind him and continued to explore deeper. Further ahead, the Skeleton Warriors he encountered had Four-dimensional Attributes close to 30, not much different from his own skeleton clone. If Fang Zhou were still operating solo, he definitely would not have ventured into such a deep area so early.

However, with thirty-five minions willing to go through fire and water for him, bullying these Skeleton Warriors, who were already weaker than him, was naturally a pressure-free task.

The thirty-five skeleton minions were divided into three squads and began to hunt in the area. Each team of ten Skeleton Warriors ensured that even if they encountered stronger foes, they could rely on their significant numerical advantage to easily disable them and bring them to Fang Zhou for enslavement.

Fang Zhou, in turn, enforced a ruthless elimination system. He tearfully slaughtered the weaker and injured skeleton minions to free up precious enslavement slots. Of course, the minions' Skeleton Essence was not wasted; Fang Zhou absorbed it all, which could be considered another form of service to their master.

With Fang Zhou's own unit included, the four squads spread out, greatly expanding the hunting range and efficiently culling the Skeleton Warriors in the area.

After four hours, the skeleton clone's Four-dimensional Attributes had increased by nearly 5 points. More importantly, all thirty-five of his minions had been successfully replaced with Skeleton Warriors whose Four-dimensional Attributes were close to 30.

The feeling of being power-leveled by the Skeleton Battle Group is just too good! My main body spends money on Cultivation, while my clone power-levels for me. So this is how I, Fang Zhou, will become stronger!

Thinking about the Cave Hunting that would begin the next morning, Fang Zhou barely restrained his desire to continue the slaughter. He found a safe corner, commanded his skeleton minions to surround him, and then shifted his consciousness back to his main body.

After washing up, Fang Zhou lay on his bed and looked at his main body's attribute panel.

[Name] Fang Zhou

[Profession] Undead Mage

[Tier] Apprentice · Middle Rank

[Attributes] Strength 5.7, Agility 5.5, Constitution 5.5, Spirit 7

[Status] Soul Split

[Equipment] Apprentice Outfit (Full Set Refinement +1, Level 1 Gemstone *1), Moon Orchid Fragrance

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

Whether it was his unparalleled Four-dimensional Attributes or his dazzling list of Skills, Fang Zhou had already pushed himself to his limit.

With this much power, taking first place in the Cave Hunting shouldn't be a problem, right?

「The next morning」

Early the next day, Fang Zhou packed his bags and hurried to the previous day's meeting room.

The Cave Hunting was an extremely important event for all the seed candidates, so naturally, no one was late. Once all 180 cadets were assembled, Lu Hu verified their identities, took a headcount, and then directed them to board several military vehicles.

The night passed quickly, giving way to the faint light of dawn. The military vehicles twisted and turned within the expansive campus of Sea City Military Academy, soon winding into a military restricted zone that was normally tightly sealed.

An instructor on one of the vehicles took the opportunity to explain to the curious cadets, Fang Zhou among them, "Decades ago, when the Abyssal Demons first invaded Blue Star, our Sea City was heavily besieged for several years.

"The bloody, life-or-death battles between the experts of the Human and Demon Races completely altered the topography around Sea City. Many buildings were destroyed by the aftershocks of battle and sank underground, forming numerous caves.

"Due to the terrain and the arrays in place, these caves accumulated a great deal of Negative Energy, which in turn bred many demons. These include Fierce Beasts mutated from Blue Star's native flora and fauna, as well as otherworldly monsters that crossed over with the Abyssal Demons from their own worlds. A major reason Sea City Military Academy was established here was to make it convenient to organize elite forces to regularly clear out and suppress these caves.

"Of course, that's usually something senior students handle. For you rookies who just recently had your Awakening, going on a Cave Hunt now is actually a bit premature."

Noticing the cadets' serious expressions, the instructor added comfortingly, "However, you don't need to worry too much.

"The No. 1 Cave that has been opened for you can be considered a beginner's map. It only contains some low-tier demons, so they aren't too difficult to handle. Instructor Lu Hu already explained the specific details to you yesterday."

As he spoke, the instructor distributed [Hunting Recorders] to the cadets.

"No. 1 Cave is quite far, so you can use the travel time to familiarize yourselves with the recorder's operation. It provides a rough map of the cave, the locations of rescue points, and a bestiary of common demons with their point values.

"After many years of deliberate adjustments, the academy can guarantee that everyone in No. 1 Cave will start on a level playing field, regardless of your Profession. How you leverage your Profession's strengths will depend on what you've learned and accumulated over the past two months. As long as you're smart enough, you can always find a terrain and type of demon that best suits your hunting style."

Seeing the thoughtful looks on the cadets' faces, the instructor reminded them, "If you're a Mage, a Profession proficient in area-of-effect attacks but physically fragile, then don't charge brainlessly into narrow, complex terrain.

"If you're a Knight, a Profession skilled in defense but lacking in offense, you should pick off demons with weaker bodies to improve your hunting efficiency."

After that, silence fell over the military vehicle. All the cadets, including Fang Zhou, were racing against time to familiarize themselves with the map and demon bestiary for No. 1 Cave.

Fang Zhou scanned the information in the Hunting Recorder, reading ten lines at a glance. He pondered for a moment, then quickly selected a few types of demons that would allow him to best capitalize on his strengths.

Goblins, Kobolds, and Burrow Spiders.

Fierce Wolves, Fierce Rats, and Fierce Ants.

These six types of demons were a mix of mutated native species from Blue Star and otherworldly monsters that had crossed over from the Mythical World. However, they all shared one common trait: they were social creatures. They were rarely found alone, instead appearing in groups of a few to several dozen.

For cadets of other Professions, such social demons were a major threat to be avoided at all costs.

But for Fang Zhou, a master of the Sea of Bones Skill, he was practically hoping to encounter as many demons as possible at once. With his strength, as long as his Spiritual Power didn't run out, he had no fear of being overwhelmed.

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