Chapter 101: Encountering the Desert Fruit Again, the Opening Ceremony Arrives

This is the last time; Jiang Chen plans to finish this run and then call it quits.

This is already the ninth entry into the Baojun Shamo Fuben.

This time, Jiang Chen finally got the Desert Fruit as he had hoped.

His joy overflowed his words.

With the Desert Fruit, his two spell Skills will be able to reach their peak.

If everything goes as he wishes, the skill peak will rise in sync with his level.

At this point, he is only 1% away from leveling up; if he waits until Level 22 to train the Skills, he will need to grind an extra level.

"Desert Fruit!"

"This is the sacred relic for a mage to boost Skills."

"Haha, didn't expect we actually found it."

Someone laughed loudly, reaching out to grab the Desert Fruit.

Suddenly, a Skeleton appeared before him, blocking his path.

Jiang Chen said sternly, "We had an agreement long ago: the Desert Fruit belongs to me, and after I finish upgrading my Skills, the remainder will be yours."

Indeed, before entering the Baojun Shamo Fuben they had already made that pact.

Someone retorted, "There are so many Desert Fruits here; why must they all go to you?"

Jiang Chen's gaze turned icy as he looked at him, "Say another word and I will kick you out."

As Team Leader, he has the authority to kick members out.

Here, once kicked out of the team, one automatically leaves the Baojun Shamo Fuben.

That would cause the mission to fail.

The person fell silent instantly, daring not to speak another word.

Yet his eyes still revealed his discontent.

He was not alone; there were several others as well.

Jiang Chen need not heed their thoughts; the Skeleton Mage Group and Skeleton Guard have already secured every Desert Fruit.

No one can snatch his sacred relic for skill enhancement.

Truly short-sighted, that—

The only road awaiting him is death.

Looking at the Skeleton Warriors like an army, these people chose to remain silent.

As for how they will complain after the Baojun Shamo Fuben ends, Jiang Chen doesn't even care.

"Why did a strong wind suddenly arise?"

"This wind feels odd, carrying a chill."

"It must be Jiang Chen's spell effect."

Jiang Chen began casting the spell.

Bone Armor layered around his body.

Each casting triggered a gust of wind.

As the number of casts increased, the surrounding temperature began to drop.

A coldness swept in.

Level 1 Bone Armor only consumes 10 points of Spiritual Power.

Training it is quite fast.

After reaching Level 2, Spiritual Power consumption also rose to 20 points.

Jiang Chen devours the Desert Fruit, continuously casting Bone Armor, untroubled by mana depletion.

The Desert Fruit is truly miraculous.

Thus it is praised as the sacred relic for a mage to boost Skills.

Regrettably, it cannot be harvested or stored.

Moreover, the chance of its appearance is extremely rare.

Everyone watches Jiang Chen devour the Desert Fruit one by one, his spell continuously improving.

They each feel intense jealousy.

Yet no one dares to act.

The Skeleton Mage Group is not to be trifled with, especially since Jiang Chen is the Team Leader.

Once kicked out of the team, all effort will be wasted.

Some people's eyes showed jealousy, and even some bore hatred, as if Jiang Chen had stolen their belongings.

Jiang Chen ignores them; anyone who wants to snatch it, go ahead and try.

Without worrying about consumption, Bone Armor trains quickly; in just half an hour it reaches Level 21.

"Bone Armor (Level 21): summons bones to form armor, granting 2100 points of Constitution defense for 5 minutes; this Skill can also be used on others."

Level 21 Bone Armor can provide 2100 points of Constitution defense.

Even without talent enhancements, this Skill is extremely powerful.

Mages of the same level have a total Constitution attribute of just over 300.

Including equipment bonuses, at most 400 to 500.

But Bone Armor can provide 2100 defense.

It is stronger than a mage's shield, and it can also be cast on others.

It is stronger than a mage's shield, and moreover it can be cast on others.

If we also include the 30‑fold talent amplification.

It amounts to 63,000 points of defense.

Jiang Chen feels that even if he just stands there and lets the Tyrant strike, the Tyrant cannot break his defense.

Jiang Chen thinks that even without Skeletons, as long as he is given enough Spiritual Power, he can stand firm against the Tyrant.

The damage from Soul Burn is not low.

Bone Armor cultivation is complete, and next comes the cultivation of Slow Curse.

Crimson light flares up in patches, enveloping the sandy earth.

The Curse hums, sounding like a voice from hell arriving in the mortal world.

As the Skill level rises, the red light grows stronger, and the covered area expands.

Later, when Slow Curse is unleashed, it seems the whole world is shrouded within the Curse range.

Slow Curse (Level 21): Curses enemies within a 105‑meter radius, reducing their speed by 105 %, lasting 1 minute.

With talent bonuses applied.

A range of 3,150 meters, speed reduced by 3,150 %, a full 31‑fold slowdown.

Once the Curse is released, it can turn most enemies into complete slow motion.

And this range is huge—3,150 meters.

Even in an army‑vs‑army fight, this

range is enough to cover almost half a battlefield.

Jiang Chen tries to release Slow Curse into the sky.

A buzzing sound is heard, and the entire sky turns crimson.

It's as if the world is draped in a layer of bright red, terrifying everyone.

In others' eyes, regardless of the Skill's actual effect, it's at least terrifying.

Jiang Chen is satisfied; now the only remaining Skill is Corpse Explosion, still only at Level 3.

But there's nothing he can do about that; he needs corpses to train it.

Desert Fruit is down to one‑third, about sixty‑to‑seventy pieces.

It's of no use to Jiang Chen now.

He picks three more.

"Take the rest among yourselves; I'm entering the Ant Cave, you stay here and don't come in."

After Jiang Chen finishes speaking, he enters the Ant Cave, and soon explosions echo throughout the cave.

After being picked, Desert Fruit can only be preserved for five minutes.

Jiang Chen uses those five minutes without worrying about cost, blasting his way into the cave; when his Spiritual Power runs out, he eats one, then keeps blasting.

He spares no corpse.

The entire Ant Cave Heaven shakes, the tremors never ceasing.

Outside the Ant Cave, everyone hears Jiang Chen's words and instantly shows delighted expressions.

One by one they rush over, scrambling for Desert Fruit.

Desert Fruit is a sacred item for Skill cultivation; even one or two pieces are enough for them to raise a skill by one or two levels.

For a moment the scene is utterly chaotic.

These people even start fighting over the Desert Fruit.

Jiang Chen doesn't bother to pay them any attention.

He's too lazy to care what happens to them.

They're really just a bunch of clowns.

Both sides only have a trading relationship; he takes the money and the book, and discusses nothing else.

The next day, Lu Qingyu and Han Li leave the dormitory together.

After spending an evening together, the two's relationship quickly draws closer,

and they become able to talk about anything.

Han Li doesn't talk much, but compared with Jiang Chen she talks considerably more.

At least Lu Qingyu can communicate with her normally.

Unlike Jiang Chen, who can't even muster a single sound for half a day.

Han Li is very curious about Jiang Chen, the National Top Scholar, and most of their conversation revolves around him.

At the cafeteria having breakfast, Lu Qingyu is the one who invited the guests.

Lu Qingyu says grandly, "From now on, I'll cover your food expenses, miss."

As long as gold coins can be used, Miss Lu doesn't mind.

Having money at home, she's willful.

After finishing their meal, the two head to the School Plaza.

The opening ceremony will be held there.

At 8 a. m., there's still one hour left until the opening ceremony.

Many students have already arrived.

Everyone basically gathers by province.

After Lu Qingyu and Han Li arrive, they meet Feng Xiu.

Feng Xiu wears a long robe, carries a Long Sword on his back, looking dashing and possessing an extraordinary aura.

Lu Qingyu instantly sees that Feng Xiu's family background is equally affluent.

Temperament can't be cultivated casually.

Feng Xiu stood there, his temperament radiating, drawing everyone's eyes.

Several female classmates stared at Feng Xiu, their eyes shining brightly.

"So handsome."

"A swordsman, huh? So handsome."

"I think I'm ready to fall in love."

The girls' eyes were filled with love, but Feng Xiu paid no mind; he was already used to it.

Seeing Lu Qingyu and Han Li, Feng Xiu walked over to greet them.

"Hello there."

Lu Qingyu smiled as well: "You're quite popular."

Feng Xiu showed helplessness; this issue also gave him a headache.

Changing the subject, he asked: "Have you seen Jiang Chen?"

Lu Qingyu shook her head: "No, but that guy should show up, right?"

Feng Xiu

Looking into the distance: "He'll definitely come."

Outside the Dungeon Hall, Jiang Chen and the others left the Instance.

The last group also finished.

It was now 8:30 a. m., half an hour before the opening ceremony.

There's still time.

He checked his own attribute Skills.

After completing this round of Instances, he finally reached Level 22.

The Skills indeed improved as he expected, rising with his level.

Jiang Chen understood the traits of his profession.

As long as he cultivates a Skill to full level matching his own level, it will level up together when he levels up.

That puts him ahead of many professions.

First, he turned in a quest at the Task Center.

He exchanged all materials that could be converted into points.

Across eight Instances, all the materials belonged to him alone, amassing a large stock.

Each Instance required 2,500 points; the materials alone covered half of that.

Plus the six subsequent Instances where he led others.

Jiang Chen earned roughly 240,000 points.

Now his points have reached 350,000.

Definitely a wealthy tier.

In Jiang Chen's eyes, the points were still far insufficient.

An Intermediate Skill Scroll costs 80,000 points each; 350,000 is enough for four.

Four Intermediate Skill Scrolls are a drop in the bucket.

If bought with Gold Coins, it's 10,000,000 per scroll, an absurd price.

"It's still early; find a way to earn more points."

Jiang Chen thought it over, left the Dungeon Hall, and rushed to University Plaza, where the Freshmen were basically all present.

The opening ceremony was about to begin.

Lu Qingyu grew a bit anxious: "Why hasn't that guy arrived yet?"

"Only ten minutes left."

Feng Xiu suddenly looked toward a direction: "He's coming."

A tall, upright figure began to emerge

into the view of the few present.