Chapter 66: Skill Resonance, a brand-new killing move!

Tang Qiuyi never imagined that, having just become an official-level player not long ago, his first assigned task would be so challenging.

Seeing Qin Chuan display power that only an official-level player could possibly show, he went blank, to the point that the pen he was holding fell to the ground.

And what followed once again exceeded his expectations.

Currently, the demon beast population has only just stabilized; completing a single advancement yields a number of demon beasts comparable to Growth Tier Spirit Beasts that is extremely small.

Tang Qiuyi never expected that one would actually appear here!

Normally, he should have decisively aborted the assessment and moved to deal with the Demon Rat King right now.

But seeing Qin Chuan stride confidently and calmly toward the Demon Rat King, recalling his earlier performance, Tang Qiuyi's steps halted.

According to this assessment's rules, aborting the assessment would reduce the team's score by 40%.

Perhaps the assessment hasn't yet reached the point where it needs to be stopped?

"Zzz—"

Accompanied by the sound of an electric arc piercing the air, violent lightning compressed in Tang Qiuyi's hand into a spear.

Ripples reappeared under his feet; his steps were incredibly light, his speed astonishing, instantly he nimbly sprang back two meters, his upper body slightly leaning back, narrowly dodging the whip sweeping toward his face, after which he forcefully raised one hand and made a grasping motion in the air.

From the water, a hand shot out instantly, firmly gripping the Demon Rat King's tail as it tried to retract.

This stunning moment concealed terrifying power.

The astonishingly intense diamond powder, under high-speed rotation, turned into countless blades that cut iron like mud, slicing the Demon Rat King's body millions of times in an instant.

The water flowing on the platform surged up again, carrying countless specks of light that, under the headlamp, formed water snakes which, coordinating with Qin Chuan's movements, swiftly moved to bind the Demon Rat King.

The Demon Rat King's body swung uncontrollably in an arc, slamming heavily onto the platform with such force that it smashed the platform into a spiderweb of cracks.

"Turn… for me!"

Even with the physique of an advanced demon beast, it could not withstand such a terrifying slash; the Demon Rat King's violent struggle quickly weakened, and amid clouds of blood mist it finally fell completely still.

Before the Demon Rat King could react in any way, the Water Hand unleashed force instantly.

Before it could rise again, Qin Chuan already controlled streams of water snakes that tightly entangled its body, ultimately forming a mass of water that completely enveloped the Demon Rat King.

At this moment, Qin Chuan even felt as if he were facing Ji Huai's whip.

Under the headlamp, countless tiny glints of light in the flowing water, moving at extreme speed, left afterimages like bright strands of hair.

Qin Chuan's clenched fist twisted slightly, and the water flow, like a washing machine drum, spun the Demon Rat King within it at high speed.

Emitting a sharp hiss, the enraged Demon Rat King unleashed force with all four claws, its body lunging at Qin Chuan like a heavy cannon; its agile form twisted in midair, and a tail twice its body length whipped like a steel lash, instantly lashing toward Qin Chuan's face.

"Whoosh!!!"

【Resonance II】 further amplified the power of Dark Current Bind; even with the Demon Rat King's post-advancement physique, such a swing left its head buzzing.

Although he had not yet struck, he had already prepared to strike at any moment.

On the other side, Qin Chuan tossed off the line "Leave the other demon rats to you," as light blue ripples spread beneath his feet, his speed nearing an afterimage, and he instantly lunged at the Demon Rat King.

Fortunately, even if his opponent were truly Ji Huai, he certainly was not without the means to fight back.

"Squeak—"

When the spinning water turned into thick blood and crashed heavily onto the platform, only a skeleton remained in the blood.

"What a pity." Qin Chuan muttered softly with a hint of regret, "Contaminated like this, the diamond powder can't be recovered."

Meanwhile, while Qin Chuan fought the Demon Rat King, the other four also acted swiftly, disposing of the few remaining demon rats.

Hearing that, seeing the bone-white skeleton in the blood pool, the others' gazes toward Qin Chuan instantly grew complex.

You slayed a demon rat whose strength rivals a Growth Tier Spirit Beast, yet you're actually lamenting the consumption of that bit of diamond powder?!

Tang Qiuyi beside them gave a light cough, drawing the five's gazes onto himself.

"The assessment is over."

"The remaining cleanup will be handled by the Special Affairs Group."

"You can now leave the sewers."

——

The practical assessment ended, and the team members returned home on their own to rest.

As they left, Qi Fei and the three others looked dazed.

Although they performed very well in this practical assessment and likely would get a good score, for some reason they just couldn't feel happy.

Xiao Pang was called over by Qin Chuan; coincidentally, he also had a bellyful of questions.

"When did your Contract Spirit Beast advance?"

"Just these past couple of days." Qin Chuan spread his hands, "Fortunately I broke through before this practical assessment; otherwise, in that situation just now, even if Brother Tang acted, we'd still be in great danger."

"Yeah, really fortunate." Xiao Pang nodded in agreement, then his expression turned odd, "Earlier I asked you, and you said you'd obtained a low-grade resource."

"I wasn't lying." Qin Chuan chuckled, opening his mouth, "I really did obtain a low-grade resource, and it truly was dug out of the ground."

Saying that, he produced that Earth Crystal and waved it in front of Xiao Pang's eyes.

Xiao Pang's eyes widened sharply, his breathing suddenly becoming as rapid as a bull's; he stared fixedly at that Earth Crystal, unable to speak for a moment, "You… I… this…"

"You didn't say earlier that your uncle and aunt planned to wait until low-grade resources dropped to 100,000 to buy you two?" Qin Chuan handed the Earth Crystal to Xiao Pang, "100,000."

Xiao Pang's eye sockets instantly reddened.

According to the price trend of the Dream World Exchange, in a month the low-grade resource price will very likely fall below 100,000, and there will no longer be a situation of "no price despite market."

But that is a month from now.

Why are low-grade resources expensive now but will become cheaper later?

One reason is that low-grade resources are currently scarce, but will increase in the future.

Another reason is that, at this stage within the Dream World, time is everything.

At this moment, Xiao Pang is ranked within the top thousand on the Spirit Beast Ranking; obtaining a low-grade resource early strengthens his Contract Spirit Beast to a degree, making it possible for him to advance early into the top hundred.

This means his daily settlement can yield more experience gems, his weekly settlement can gain three extra fragments, and the previous five-week wait for a random low-grade resource will be shortened to two weeks.

After obtaining a second advanced resource, the contract spirit beast's strength will further increase; Xiao Pang will work hard to boost his battle record, making it possible to break into the top ten of the spirit beast ranking.

Once they enter the top ten of the spirit beast ranking, they can obtain another low-level resource within a week.

Not only can they complete the advancement in a shorter time, but they also need to purchase one fewer low-level resource.

If the extra benefits from the affected Transcendent Ranking and Achievement Ranking are also taken into account, it will only become more exaggerated.

And such a future only requires Qin Chuan to sell him one resource at the price one month later, and it will become within reach.

This is not just a resource; it is a huge favor.

(End of chapter)