As for the bloody and putrid smell in the cave, Fang Zhou had already prepared incense to purify the air, sparing his nose the torment.

Now, the Magic Energy Moss had gone dormant, plunging the cave into complete darkness.

In the wilderness, all sorts of Night Demons came out to hunt.

After eradicating the goblins and Burrower Monsters, the goblin cave was a temporary sanctuary.

But the night was long, and it remained unknown whether other Demons might come to disturb the peace.

Fortunately, as an Undead Mage, Fang Zhou had a significant advantage over other Professionals who could only fight solo.

The Skeletons he summoned only required Spiritual Power to maintain. They needed no food or rest, making them the perfect sentinels and guards.

Lying in the warm tent, listening to the eerie whistling of the unnatural wind outside the cave, Fang Zhou felt a rare peace within his heart.

After daydreaming for a while, he refocused his thoughts, drank a bottle of [Soul Calming Potion], then closed his eyes and centered his attention on his Skeleton Clone.

***

The Blood Moon shone down as a spectral wind howled.

In the depths of the Burial Wilderness, dozens of Skeletons were gathered together, defying their instincts to coexist peacefully.

CLATTER!

The Soul Fire in Fang Zhou's skull flared. He tightened his grip on his skeletal long spear, swiftly surveying his Skeleton Team and nodding with satisfaction.

With thirty-five skeleton minions whose Four-dimensional Attributes were all nearing thirty points, he could dominate this area.

At the command of Fang Zhou's Soul Fire, several Skeleton Warriors guarding him dragged over three Skeletons with dim, nearly extinguished Soul Fires.

These were the spoils from the day's hunt, captured by his skeleton minions from other Skeletons that had wandered too close.

Fang Zhou casually finished off the three Skeletons, then activated [Skeleton Armament] and absorbed the three piles of Skeleton Essence.

Feeling the abundant warmth flowing within him, Fang Zhou nodded slightly. With these skeleton minions around, my safety after "logging off" is much more secure.

The most troubling thing for him right now was his temporary inability to multitask; he couldn't control his main body and the Clone at the same time.

However, Fang Zhou had a clear premonition. As his Soul Strength continued to increase, it wouldn't be long before he could unlock a dual-operation mode. When that happened, the rate of his power growth would surely increase exponentially.

Pulling back his thoughts, Fang Zhou divided his Skeleton Team into seven squads and began to hunt in the area.

After directing his minions to spread out, Fang Zhou didn't rush to hunt alone. Instead, he activated the [Skeleton Monarch] skill and fixed his perspective on Squad No. 1 to observe its hunting pattern.

Squad No. 1, composed of five Skeleton Warriors—No. 1 Great Shield, No. 1 Giant Axe, No. 1 Great Sword, No. 1 Long Spear, and No. 1 Archer—was responsible for scouting the northeast.

Thanks to Fang Zhou's careful planning, each Skeleton Warrior possessed complementary abilities.

No. 1 Great Shield protected its teammates with a solid Bone Shield.

No. 1 Giant Axe shattered enemies with a heavy Bone Axe.

No. 1 Great Sword used its agility to slash in close combat.

No. 1 Long Spear specialized in piercing attacks from a distance.

And No. 1 Archer provided long-range fire support with Precise Shots.

On a hill of bones, they encountered their first prey of the night, and their Soul Fires immediately blazed brighter.

Following Fang Zhou's hunting command, Squad No. 1 launched an attack on a strong Great Sword Skeleton Warrior. No. 1 Archer reacted first. It quickly drew its bow, nocked an arrow, and took aim. The arrow shot out, precisely striking the leg joint of the Great Sword Skeleton Warrior, causing it to falter and lose some of its combat effectiveness. Next, the fastest of the group, No. 1 Great Sword, rushed forward to engage its counterpart in a life-or-death battle. Immediately after, No. 1 Great Shield, No. 1 Giant Axe, and No. 1 Long Spear swarmed in as well.

In just a minute, the unfortunate Great Sword Skeleton Warrior was reduced to a pile of shattered bones under Squad No. 1's assault, leaving only a skull with a dim Soul Fire.

This was one of Fang Zhou's orders: leave the prey for him to absorb after the hunt. The enslavement effect of the [Skeleton Monarch] skill clearly overrode the devouring instinct of the skeleton minions. Squad No. 1 suppressed its desire to kill and consume, perfectly executing Fang Zhou's command. They took the skull and continued their search for the next target.

Satisfied with what he saw, Fang Zhou nodded and chose a direction to explore on his own.

Over the next hour, an eerie liveliness emerged in the otherwise deathly still depths of the Burial Wilderness. Squads of five Skeleton Warriors swept through the area. Whenever they encountered a lone, wandering member of their kind, they would swarm it without mercy and easily dismember it.

These Skeleton Squads had high Four-dimensional Attributes and absolute numerical superiority. Their mix of melee and ranged units—axes, spears, bows, and shields—was also well-balanced. As a result, they could often take down prey without suffering any losses. Once they had accumulated a certain number of skulls, they would deliver them to Fang Zhou in a single batch, providing nourishment for his Skeleton Clone's upgrades.

With this hunting method, new system prompts refreshed on Fang Zhou's attribute panel every few minutes. His efficiency was more than five times greater than when he hunted alone!

An hour later, Fang Zhou halted his relentless hunting and looked at his Clone's attribute panel. His Four-dimensional Attributes had grown significantly, bringing him one step closer to advancing to Middle Rank Black Iron. What pleased him even more was that as his Attributes grew, the enslavement quota for his [Skeleton Monarch] skill had increased by one.

Fang Zhou looked up at the seemingly eternal Blood Moon. My time is almost up. My main body is still in the perilous Cave No. 1, so hunting for experience with the Clone can't be as reckless as it was in the completely safe environment of Sea City Military Academy. Besides, without the buff from the [Concentration Array] and Bai Xiaochan's [Lullaby] to enhance my Soul Recovery Speed, managing to squeeze in over an hour of hunting with my Clone is already quite an achievement.

Not wanting to be greedy, Fang Zhou summoned his scattered Skeleton Squads back.

Sifting through the trophies brought back by his skeleton minions, he picked a Skeleton Archer with the most robust Soul Fire. He then used the [Skeleton Monarch] skill to convert it into his new Servant.

Skeleton Minion +1.

Aside from this lucky one, all the other trophies were slain and devoured by Fang Zhou, becoming resources for his growth.

After gathering his skeleton minions in a tight defensive circle around him, Fang Zhou returned his attention to his main body. He began to rest his eyes, working to recover from his soul's fatigue.

I should take advantage of this window of calm to recuperate and conserve energy for tomorrow's Cave Hunting. This was the most sensible thing for him to do.

***

「At Sea City Military Academy.」

As night fell in the Caves, the battle livestreams of the students participating in the hunt went dark, making it impossible to see anything.

Reluctantly, the other students who were watching closed the livestreams. In twos and threes, they strolled towards the cafeteria under the starlight.

At the dining tables, they excitedly discussed the impressive performances of the seed candidates.

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.