Chapter 62

On the massive stone bridge.

The skeletal troops stood in orderly formation, each holding blood-red spears, radiating a deadly aura.

But their hollow eye sockets held no soul fire.

"The Eye of Insight can't see their stats—they're all dead?"

Facing Ye Xingtong voiced her doubt.

"Idiot, skeletons are naturally dead…" Luo Chenyu corrected her, then strode forward, "We'll know once we get closer!"

The instant Luo Chenyu stepped onto the stone bridge.

A wave of blood-red light flared ahead.

Every skeletal soldier "opened" its eyes at once, crimson soul flames roaring fiercely within their hollow sockets, glaring vividly against the darkness.

"Heh, they're all elite monsters!"

Luo Chenyu sneered, these elite monsters' stats were clearly inferior to the previous 【Blood Skeleton·Giant Lizard】.

"Stop marveling—they're coming!"

Seeing the elite monsters charging, Facing Ye Xingtong instantly ducked behind Luo Chenyu.

"No rush, let them get closer!"

Luo Chenyu remained calm; since acquiring the 【Blood Yen Battle Armor】, his physical stats increased by 30 points, and his HP rose by 230 (minus the 7 physical points from his original clothing).

Add in the stat boosts from leveling up, and his HP has now surpassed 1000.

Not to mention his shield value!

Only when the elite skeletons entered the five-meter range did he act.

Barbaric Charge!

He surged through dozens of monsters, reaching the heart of the elite group.

He detonated both his own 【Steel Shield】 and Facing Ye Xingtong's shield simultaneously.

Double strike.

The elite skeletons between Luo Chenyu and Facing Ye Xingtong had no time to react before being blown to shreds, flung backward in all directions.

"Ding! Your party has slain Level 12 Hard Elite 【Dark Skeleton·Blood Spear】! You gain 40,000 experience points!"

"Ding! Your party has slain Level 12 Hard Elite 【Dark Skeleton·Blood Spear】! You gain 40,000 experience points!"

"Ding! Your party has slain Level 12 Hard Elite 【Dark Skeleton·Blood Spear】! You gain 40,000 experience points!"

…

Ignored all notifications.

Luo Chenyu picked up the gear before him—the 【Dark】 set's robe piece was clearly there.

"Complete! Just waiting for Level 10!"

He gazed at the remaining low-HP elites, a faint smile tugging at his lips.

【Steel Shield】 reappeared.

Boom!!

More elite monsters collapsed in waves.

Two beams of white light flared.

With the massive experience gain, Luo Chenyu and Facing Ye Xingtong leveled up again in quick succession, nearing the threshold of their next level.

"Awesome!!"

This is what leveling up should be!

Clearing elites like trash—outside a Special Secret Realm, where else could you find this?

In his line of sight.

Far across the stone bridge, more waves of elite monsters remained.

"Little Ye, ready to take off?"

"Ready!"

Facing Ye Xingtong stepped over piles of skeletal debris and walked over.

"Yu-gege, it looks like your admission to Donghai Naval Academy is settled!"

"Of course!"

Are humanities scores really important?

The answer is yes.

But for him, they weren't that important.

As long as his strength was sufficient, he could ignore all those rules and forge his own path.

"They're coming again—wait here!"

Luo Chenyu patted Facing Ye Xingtong's head, then faced the endless wave of charging elites and advanced steadily.

Defensive Stance!

Instantly, a dark-gold aura shimmered over his body, boosting his defense.

100% defense value, plus 25% damage reduction.

This exceeded Tier 1's limits.

Though the elites were Tier 2 monsters, they were only early-tier Tier 2—utterly incapable of breaking through his defense significantly.

The elites attacked, a dozen spears thrusting toward Luo Chenyu's body.

Most were blocked by his 【Wild Bear Battle Shield】.

The damage dealt was negligible—even less than the passive healing from 【Defensive Stance】 and 【Wild Bear Battle Shield】.

Most importantly, the more he was beaten, the stronger he became.

When the second round of spear attacks came, the 【Unyielding Resolve】 passive fully stacked.

The Absorb Damage shield reappeared.

Luo Chenyu felt the intense craving for 【Defensive Posture】 in his mind, and with a sigh, shattered the shield…

Soon, a swarm of elite monsters surrounded Luo Chenyu.

They brutally beat him from all sides.

"Hit harder—didn't you eat?"

With 75% pain reduction, those spear strikes felt like mosquito bites.

A few seconds later.

The 【Steel Shield】 cooldown finished, but Luo Chenyu did not use it immediately; instead, he first detonated the shield on Facing Ye Xingtong's body.

Boom!!

Experience flooded the screen again.

……

A few dozen seconds later.

A white light flashed over Luo Chenyu.

"Ding, your level increased by 1, current level LV. 10!"

"Ding, level reached maximum!"