Chapter 45: Carry! Carry! Instance BOSS Horrific Knight? One‑Shot!

From day 74 of Awakening Day onward, Lu Zheng leveled up together with Yang Dong and Dan Tai Mingyue.

It wasn't until they were leveling together that Dan Tai Mingyue discovered Lu Zheng was actually a summoner, which left her speechless, since she and Dan Tai Chengfeng had always thought Lu Zheng was an assassin.

The so‑called leveling meant Dan Tai Mingyue assisted Yang Dong while Lu Zheng merely watched the show.

A few summoned beasts were released, giving the two a space to act.

Lu Zheng didn't expect to level up during this process; the real leveling happened with the divine and celestial pets he had placed in various instances to slaughter wildly.

Previously he constantly feared the celestial and divine pets might get hurt, so he kept them by his side.

Now he decides to let them strive to reach levels higher than his own; keeping them nearby would restrain their growth. He places them in suitable spots, recalling them immediately if their lives are in danger, otherwise letting them level nonstop!

The capitalist's black heart kicks in, and Lu Zheng fully enters a laid‑back, spectating mode.

Dan Tai Mingyue and Yang Dong are trained to exhaustion each day by Lu Zheng, yet the experience they gain is still only a fraction of the daily XP Lu Zheng, the lay‑backer, receives.

After all, not everyone can be a capitalist.

Under Lu Zheng's high‑pressure training, the two's levels skyrocket.

In the blink of an eye it's day 95 after Awakening Day; in five days they will start the national professional entrance exam.

By now Lu Zheng has already reached level 100, hitting the second‑turn limit; Dan Tai Mingyue is at level 50, Yang Dong at level 48, and both have seen a huge power boost.

Fu Cangli has found another resource for Lu Zheng.

【Team Battle Instance: Graveyard of the Dead】

【Instance Details: Enter the cemetery, kill the undead BOSS to obtain a title and a treasure chest; the chest may contain a team‑battle support skill book】

【Entry Requirement: Teams of 2–10 players may enter, with the highest player level capped at 100; each participant gets only one chance】

【Recommended Participants: Players above level 60 and below level 100, up to ten people】

The instance isn't hard for Lu Zheng; Fu Cangli is after the possible drop of a team‑battle support skill book, which is crucial for Lu Zheng the summoner.

Graveyard of the Dead isn't a timed instance; it's a periodic one that opens for three months each year.

It just opened these days, and Fu Cangli has been watching for resources Lu Zheng can use; upon discovering this instance, he immediately summoned Lu Zheng to tell him.

The next day the three set out together, and after two hours arrived outside Autumn‑Sere City, one of the main towns in the fourth district of Guihua County.

At the instance entrance, looking at the gray‑hazy interior, Lu Zheng said:

"Check the potions and scrolls you're carrying. Once we go in we must hold out at least an hour before the instance BOSS appears; killing it completes the mission and yields the chest and title. You only get one chance, so don't miss it."

Yang Dong, brandishing the gold‑grade equipment 'Demon Dragon Staff' he had just received three days earlier, handcrafted by Dan Tai Chengfeng, pointed forward and declared boldly:

"Boss, don't worry. Watch me shatter the darkness with thunder!"

Dan Tai Mingyue cut in: "Enough already! There are plenty of level‑70‑80 monsters in there, and you're just a little mage without even a second‑turn. Stay by the boss's side and let Jiao Jiao take the lead!"

During these days, Dan Tai Mingyue also got to know a few of Lu Zheng's summoned beasts; seeing those celestial‑grade summons shocked her, but she thought it reasonable—without such backing, Lu Zheng couldn't have leveled so fast.

And when she saw Tu Shan Jiao Jiao transform into a human shape, she instantly fell for the soft‑cute yet incredibly powerful little fox.

Whenever they weren't fighting, she would hug the little fox and harshly scold Lu Zheng for letting the fox give him massages, saying it exceeded a summoned beast's service scope.

Of course, as the boss, Lu Zheng ignored her rebuke, letting the fox massage him while urging her and Yang Dong to keep leveling.

Dan Tai Mingyue's remark deflated Yang Dong; this instance truly isn't a place for him to swagger.

Lu Zheng waved his hand and said, "You two are the same; get a title with me."

Hearing Lu Zheng say that, they stopped arguing; indeed, they were alike.

Both are dead weight!

As they spoke, the three stepped into the mist and a prompt sounded at their ears.

【You have entered the team‑battle instance 'Graveyard of the Dead'; please form a party!】

【Ding! You and Dan Tai Mingyue, Yang Dong have successfully formed a party!】

【Ding! Team‑battle mission issued: Kill the LV. 100 instance BOSS Horrific Knight! Countdown begins: 29, 28, 27…】

The light curtain vanished, and a series of 'crack—crack' bone‑rubbing sounds echoed through the gray mist; Lu Zheng raised his hand and summoned a white deer covered in milky‑white fur, which then unleashed a skill.

In an instant a milky‑white light sphere appeared in the sky, instantly dispersing the gray mist within several hundred meters.

【Skill: Holy Light Blessing】

【Effect: Consumes at least 500 mana to release a holy light sphere that creates a purification aura in its area, removing negative statuses from targets and increasing HP recovery speed by 50%】

This is the four‑star rare pet Holy Light White Deer's skill, which Lu Zheng also acquired. The skill's drawback is that the holy light sphere's position is fixed; it only works within that area, and to affect another area you must summon it again.

Resummoning and maintaining the holy light sphere both consume a lot of mana.

Of course, given the current situation, one holy light sphere is more than enough.

After the mist cleared, the surrounding monsters' forms became visible.

They were moving skeletal frames, most clad in white‑bone armor, wielding white‑bone greatswords or white‑bone staves.

【Monster: Silver Skeleton Swordsman】

【Rarity: Normal】

【Level: LV. 80】

【HP: 20,000/20,000】

【Mana: 8,000/8,000】

【Strength: 2,800】

【Agility: 2,500】

【Spirit: 2,000】

【Constitution: 2,500】

【Monster: Silver Skeleton Mage】

【Rarity: Normal】

【Level: LV. 80】

【Life: 20,000/20,000】

【Mana: 12,000/12,000】

【Strength: 2,000】

【Agility: 2,000】

【Spirit: 3,000】

【Constitution: 2,000】

They are all just ordinary monsters, but their level isn't low; within the Holy Light Sphere, because they are undead negative energy, their HP continuously drops, and their defenses and other aspects are also reduced.

Watching the eager Dan Tai Mingyue, Lu Zheng waved his hand and said, "Go up and fight; your attribute counters the undead, Yang Dong, you support her."

Yang Dong was speechless, "I, a proud Thunder Domain mage, become a support?"

Yet he obeyed Lu Zheng's command, and the two started cooperating to kill monsters.

The two of them could do little; Lu Zheng unleashed three‑tailed Spirit Foxes, a Cave‑Deep Azure Snake, and a Howling Moon Azure Wolf to slaughter all around. After about an hour, the dungeon boss finally appeared! In the black mist, a knight on a skeletal warhorse, clad in black armor, wielding a greatsword, burst forth, his eye sockets ablaze with eerie blue flame, full of disdain for life.

【Monster: Terrifying Knight】

【Quality: Boss-grade】

【Level: LV. 100】

【Life: 100,000/100,000】

【Mana: 20,000/20,000】

【Strength: 5,000】

【Agility: 5,000】

【Spirit: 3,000】

【Constitution: 4,000】

【Skills: Fear Aura, Death Charge, Dark Cross Slash】

Seeing this, Lu Zheng smiled; at last it appeared.

He raised his hand, and the adjacent Cave‑Deep Azure Snake triggered the skill Blood‑Shadow Divine Light, channeling 5,000 mana; any target hit with spirit below 4,500 would have its soul instantly shattered, deemed dead.

In an instant, the newly emerged level‑100 dungeon boss Terrifying Knight collapsed on the spot, turning into a heap of bone frames.

Killed instantly!

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