Chapter 42: Advancement: Quasi-Commander!

Boom!

A glowing yellow fist as large as an adult’s head crashed into an even bigger pincer of a monster scorpion, knocking it slightly to the dirt below.

Lu Zhishen heard something sharp moving across the air and quickly jumped away, avoiding the other pincer that almost hit his naked chest.

Ji Ye and Lu Zhishen’s current target was a massive scorpion that was as large as a taxi, tail not included. It was one of the three “seemingly Extraordinary” monsters discovered by scouts during those days.

Those scissor-like pincers weren’t the deadliest weapons on this oversized insect clad in yellow shell. It was the crystal-like stinger at the tip of its tail, which was capable of suddenly stretching several times longer than its usual length and catching its enemies off guard.

They found it the hard way when one of Lu Zhishen’s men was stung the day before. The victim’s serpent skin armor had been penetrated like paper. There were no obvious bruises or particular signs of poison around the wound. But still, the injured scout claimed that he was in too much pain to breathe and would keep going into comas and later be woken up by the pain repeatedly.

That was until Ji Ye returned; he fetched another mature Red Pip from the ape cave and used it to treat the man’s wound.

To get rid of such a dangerous foe, Ji Ye and Lu Zhishen decided to straight away go after him. It looked as strong as the Mandrill, so they couldn’t ask the other settlers for assistance.

“Careful with that tail, Chief Lu. It’s moving again!”

By using his new gloves and those fist moves, Lu Zhishen had successfully kept the scorpion at bay for a while. Meanwhile, Ji Ye had been providing support by standing at a safe distance with his crossbow. As soon as he was almost distracted by a loud rattling noise from the monster, he would called out to Lu Zhishen for support.

The moment he said those last words, the scorpion shot out its tail which went for Lu Zhishen’s chest like a hunting viper.

Ping!

At the same time, a bronze crossbow bolt knocked the tail from one side, preventing it from reaching its true target.

“Got ya!”

Lu Zhishen charged forward and grasped the tail before the scorpion could pull it back.

Using the unbelievable strength of a legendary warrior, he hurled the large arachnid into a boulder nearby.

Even though the creature’s shell looked as sturdy as ceramic plates, it couldn’t stay unharmed against the deadly force added with its own bodyweight. Upon the crash, many of its legs were snapped, while the impact point hollowed in, exposing its vulnerable, softer body.

A silver, burning crossbow bolt came and went inside the cracked shell before the scorpion could set its legs back on the ground.

Slowly but surely, the creature was entirely covered in an intense flame with no way to put it out.

The “fuel” on this Flame Burst bolt had been exhausted when Ji Ye used it on the Black Serpent. Thankfully, the bolt was the fusion product of a ZIPPO lighter, which could be conveniently refueled many times.

[Killed Topaz Pipa Scorpion (Extraordinary Rank-2, Quasi-Commander). EXP gained: 320. Honor gained: 2.]

The fire died down soon because Ji Ye had intentionally added less fuel to the bolt, as a way to preserve resources. Although it was still enough to roast the scorpion from the inside out.

The dead scorpion only yielded one “item orb” that contained something he totally wasn’t expecting. It was a lute-like instrument made from a beautiful yellow material that looked like a polished topaz gem, just like the scorpion’s glossy shell.

A musical instrument didn’t look too useful to their cause, although Ji Ye changed his mind as soon as he checked the item’s description.

[Topaz Pipa]

[Level: Extraordinary Rank-3]

[Rarity: Excellent]

[A magical artifact shaped out of the body of a Topaz Pipa Scorpion. A musician in sync with such a weapon is able to bring out the hidden Extraordinary power contained inside. Note: please be aware of the other hidden mechanism.]

Curious, Ji Ye and Lu Zhishen both tried playing the pipa but without being able to activate whatever “Extraordinary power” it held. This was probably because none of them was the musical type, especially Lu Zhishen, who seemed more like a butcher than a bard.

As someone who didn’t like being locked off from secrets, Ji Ye spent some time looking for the “hidden mechanism” and successfully discovered it in the end. There was a tiny, crystal blade concealed inside the pipa; it looked just like the scorpion’s stinger. He could either shoot it by using the strings, or wield it like a dagger, as long as he didn’t accidentally poke his fingers with it. It was painful… He found it out the hard way.

That was another Extraordinary Rank-3 weapon just like his Black Serpent Sword, which meant it would be just as deadly in the right hands.

Following their previous experience, they found an underground cave around the scorpion’s turf with a lot of hanging stalactites that produced another resource they could get their hands on.

[Earthen Elixir]

[Level: Extraordinary Rank-1]

[Rarity: Common]

[Enchanted liquid, generated in special environmental conditions that contains the essence of the earth. Those who drink it will enjoy improved stamina, spirit and physical fitness. Ancient rumors claimed that high-quality Earthen Elixirs can even grant immortality.]

“Good stuff.” Ji Ye read the description with gleaming eyes. That was another miraculous medicine that could induce the craze of rich people who wished to live longer.

In Ji Ye’s case, it would help him improve his Earth’s Boon skill greatly, since they were both related to the “power of earth.”

Meanwhile, Lu Zhishen also discovered something in the cave. He said, “Master, the place itself is also a treasure. The element of ‘earth’ is so rich here that it will speed up your Earth’s Boon training by a lot.”

“I see. If this is the case, allow me to stay here for a while, Chief Lu. Kindly watch the entrance for me.”

“As you wish, master.”

When Ji Ye was left alone, he sat down on the hard ground, then he took a sip from a puddle nearby and took out an “item sphere” that contained the instruction of Earth’s Boon skill.

“Fusion.”

Instead of spending EXP points to level up Earth’s Boon right away, he had decided to use the Fusion skill first to gain the full knowledge of the skill. According to his belief, he could then boost the skill to a high level rapidly by combining the new knowledge and the Earthen Elixir found in this cave.

He still had another tool that could potentially enhance his abilities, which was the Black Serpent Blood. He decided to hold that thought until he could determine a certain result out of it. According to the blood’s introduction, he couldn’t remove it from his body once it was integrated.

Controlled by the Fusion skill, the item sphere slowly floated into his forehead.

During his “virtual time training,” he would occasionally quit and have another sip of Earthen Elixir before continuing.

As seen from the outside, he had been sitting there for two hours, during which the invisible elements of earth around him would sink inside his chest as if vacuumed by an unknown force.

The training had exhausted all the EXP points he had saved up those days, but the result was well worth it. He felt the new strength ready to be unleashed and opened his eyes in joy.

He considered doing a small test and popped open the Amethyst Blade on his right wrist, then aimed the blade at his chest.

But on second thought, he chose to test the weapon on his left hand instead. Killing himself would be too lame.

Clang!

Upon hitting his finger, the sharp blade was bounced away by a faint yellow barrier that protected his skin like an armor.

[Alignment: Human (Earth)]

[Talent: Fusion (Extraordinary, Inheritance)]

[Level: Extraordinary Rank-1, Quasi-Commander]

[Skill: Primordial Chaos Force (Basic), Seven-Sided Mantis Fist (Greater Mastery), Earth’s Boon (Basic)]

[Item: Black Serpent Sword, Bull Leather Combat Boots, Amethyst Dual Blades, Mantis Stealth Cloak Mark-1…]

His level remained unchanged, except for the newly added tag, which was “minor boss.” This meant he currently had enough skills and strength to fight against a minor boss monster head-on.

“Done with your training, master?” Lu Zhishen asked when he saw Ji Ye coming back out. It seemed as if he had been sitting in front of the cave like a statue.

“Yeah, the study was successful. Thanks for your protection, Chief Lu.”

“Ha. I was right when I said you were a brilliant genius. Cultivation arts aren’t fist and footwork you can learn in two hours, yet you did it.”

And when faced with Lu Zhishen’s praise of him completely mastering the Primordial Chaos Force, Ji Ye accepted it with a smile.

Such an evaluation of a genius was very objective!

“I’ll humbly accept your praise then, Chief.”

A settler suddenly ran into their view while yelling something madly between his shortened breaths, “Ma—ma—ma—master! There are ‘Chosen Ones’ just like you said. They—they came to our settlement!”

After running for nearly half a minute, this villager who was already out of breath finally finished speaking!

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