Chapter 280: Adventurer World, Dungeon Opening (Seeking Monthly Votes)

[Challenger Hint (All Channels): The game is about to undergo a major version update. This update will launch a special Cultivation Mode: Adventurer World.]

Adventurer World Introduction:

A special spatial scene created by the Blue Lamp Clan using the "Adventurer" component of the Divine Lamp Rules, transforming the original survival challenges of the Underground World into rule-driven dungeon proving grounds.

The original random exploration Cultivation Mode of the Underground World will be replaced by fixed dungeons; each dungeon is an independent space containing specific monsters, traps, and reward mechanisms.

Dungeons are divided into 32 difficulty levels; the higher the difficulty, the greater the yield from completing the adventure challenge.

Reward Pool Introduction:

Dungeon rewards in Adventurer World are divided into five types.

Divine Cast Coins: After monsters in Adventurer World die, they drop a random quantity; the higher the dungeon difficulty, the greater the number of Divine Cast Coins randomly dropped by killed monsters in the scene.

Resource Types: Spiritual Ore, Spiritual Plants, Spiritual Springs, and a series of other resources imbued with spiritual substance.

Flesh and Blood, Elemental Essences: After the war ends, the Blue Lamp Clan will refine the life energy of hostile clans, craft it into essence clusters for storage, which can be probabilistically dropped by killing monsters in Adventurer World.

Weapons and Equipment: Killing monsters drops equipment of random quality; the higher the dungeon difficulty, the higher the probability that killed monsters in the scene will drop high-quality weapons and equipment.

Rule Fragments: The rule frameworks left behind after the rule origin has been drained; they no longer possess rule power, retaining only their concretized portions, with a probability of preserving faint rule efficacy that the Divine Lamp Rules cannot absorb. Randomly dropped by monsters in dungeon scenes; the higher the dungeon difficulty, the higher the drop probability. They can be crafted into Pseudo-Rules.

After this update concludes, a new functional building will launch at the Underground World Novice Village spatial node: the Adventurer Teleportation Array.

Players can use the teleportation array to reach Adventurer World directly for trial challenges.

Comment Section:

Star Boundless: Dungeon enthusiasts are ecstatic. The reason I disliked the Underground World was that exploration relied too much on luck, with no guide content to discuss; after all, the Underground World is too vast. With bad luck, entering several scenes in a row means returning one's soul to Emperor Tomb immediately, wasting huge amounts of time. In contrast, I prefer Death Space, where guides can be shared and clearance methods studied together in dungeons, but spots in Death Space must be won by lottery. Finally, true dungeons have arrived.

Boiling Wine and Frying Tea: The forum's dungeon discussion section is finally about to rise. This is a victory for dungeon enthusiasts. In the future, we will be the strongest sect beneath the Hunting Sect, or even surpass the Hunting Sect to become the number one sect. The era belonging to dungeon enthusiasts has arrived!

Peppa Pig: Looking forward to your dungeon guides; preferably some speed-run guides. Reading the update introduction, it seems there are no restrictions on running dungeons. So, can high-level players run low-difficulty dungeons to gain high-frequency returns through speed-running competitions?

Liu Er Liu: Solo players are also ecstatic. I just don't like sticking with fixed teams. In the future, I can join random groups for dungeons, meeting different players every day. I just wonder how dungeon yields will be distributed. After all, outputs inside dungeons are given directly as rewards, which differs from hunting monsters outside where feedback is given directly.

The emergence of Adventurer World sparked heated discussion among players.

The topic gradually shifted from the dungeon settings of Adventurer World to issues of profit distribution.

Before this, the method of profit distribution for players was very simple.

It was all allocated according to schemes set by the system. Yields produced by killing monsters would be fairly distributed to every player in party Cultivation Mode. If the party included a Damage-Taking Sect player requiring extra profit distribution, then each player in the party would take a portion from their own yield to trade to the Damage-Taking Sect player.

But this model clearly could not be applied to the Adventurer World created by the Blue Lamp Clan.

The yield from killing is completely random and not distributed through the system; this is like the monster-killing-and-looting-equipment Cultivation Mode in early games.

Among friends' groups or guild groups, solving this problem is relatively easy.

One player collects all the yields from this dungeon run, lists them on the Trading Hall, and then distributes the obtained Sacrificial Power according to the pre-agreed scheme.

But if it is a random group, issues of trust arise.

Unfamiliar players take all the yields away, waiting to distribute them after selling. How much Sacrificial Power was sold cannot be judged solely by log screenshots.

Items listed on the Trading Hall have no lock-up period. Theoretically, the other party could have several players watch the Trading Hall and snatch up the resources the second they are listed, losing at most some Sacrificial Power transaction fees.

If the items are high-value, considerable profits can be earned through such means.

These potential profit distribution issues led forum players to ponder how to solve this problem before the officials launched related functions.

Amidst fierce discussion, four distribution schemes emerged.

The first scheme: Roll Point Groups.

The distribution method is: each time killing a monster drops equipment or resources, let the Guide assign a random number for distribution.

This is like rolling dice in early games; the one with the high roll takes the yield, while those who didn't roll high get nothing.

After one dungeon run, unless one's luck is exceptionally bad, basically everyone will win a few times.

This model is relatively fair, relying entirely on luck for distribution, with no possibility of cheating.

Among them, the "Divine Cast Coins" dropped by monsters serve as the currency in Adventurer World and are distributed fairly among the team's players. If there is a surplus after equal distribution, it goes to the group leader who formed the dungeon team, counted as the leader's extra yield.

For example, if 30 players participate in a dungeon together and the total yield for this round is 35 Divine Cast Coins, then after equal distribution, the remaining 5 coins go to the group leader or the Damage-Taking Sect player in the team.

The second scheme: Gold Groups.

Any resources produced by the dungeon must be distributed via Sacrificial Power auction, with the final proceeds split equally among team members.

For example, in a team of 30 players, killing a monster drops a Spiritual Plant. Ownership rights are auctioned internally, with the highest bidder offering a price of 1,000 points of Sacrificial Power.

Then this Spiritual Plant belongs to the highest bidder. Even if this Spiritual Plant can later be sold for a higher value, it has nothing to do with the other players in the team.

The 1,000 points of Sacrificial Power obtained from the auction are then directly distributed equally among the other 29 players in the team.

Each person receives 34.48 Sacrificial Power.

This distribution scheme is fully transparent. Even if players do not obtain dungeon outputs, they can still receive the Sacrificial Power bid by other players during the auction.

It is very suitable for solo players without guilds or friends' groups; yields are settled on the spot without waiting for a cycle.

The third scheme: DKP Groups.

This model is more suitable for players with friends' groups or guild groups; it can only be used by player teams with fixed members.

Players accumulate DKP through attendance and performance, using internal points to auction items.

For example.

Attendance Points: Participating in dungeon activities on time as required by the group leader grants fixed DKP.

Killing each dungeon boss grants DKP.

Serving as team commander or Damage-Taking Tank may grant additional subsidy DKP...

Suppose Player A liked nothing in this dungeon round and ultimately received 100 points upon the dungeon's conclusion. These points will not be zeroed out but will continue to be saved in the guild log, available for use in the next round.

Suppose a player failed to bid on any items with points for three consecutive rounds. Then, in the fourth dungeon round, a "Rule Fragment" drops. At this moment, the player bids 300 points. With no other players in the team able to compete, they can secure the highest reward in a manner akin to picking up a bargain.

This reward might even exceed the combined yields of the previous several dungeon rounds.

Players hoarding points lose money on consumables in the early stage but might become suddenly wealthy in the late stage by cashing in their accumulated points in one go; alternatively, they might never get anything good, causing their points to accumulate more and more.

If two players offer the same number of points during an auction, an additional roll point is conducted.

The player with the higher roll wins the auctioned item, while the losing player retains their points.

This model originates from early online games, distributing dungeon profits through a "more work, more gain" approach.

The only drawback is the high time cost; newcomers or occasional participants find it difficult to compete with other players in the guild.

DKP Groups and Gold Groups each suit different player demographics.

The advantage of DKP Groups lies in long-term stability, suitable for teams with fixed members. The distribution method is more detailed; players in the team do not need to hoard Sacrificial Power and can convert their Sacrificial Power into personal strength at any time, relying solely on point distribution.

Gold Groups lean more towards flexibility; for solo players seeking immediate yields, every round is a new beginning.

The drawback is that Gold Group players must hoard a certain amount of Sacrificial Power. If they do not carry sufficient Sacrificial Power, they are prone to having items snatched up as bargains by other players.

For example, a Rule Fragment drops during a dungeon trial round.

As a result, none of the 30 players in the team carry much Sacrificial Power, except for one player who carries 3,000 points of Sacrificial Power.

Then, according to the rules, the player who bids 3,000 points of Sacrificial Power will possess the Rule Fragment.

The remaining players can only distribute a pitiful 100-plus points of Sacrificial Power.

However, the selling price of a Rule Fragment on the Trading Hall must start at several hundred thousand Sacrificial Power.

The act of Gold Group players carrying Sacrificial Power is essentially to ensure their own interests are not harmed.

Even if they do not want the item, they can use bid-lifting tactics to raise the price of dungeon output resources to a reasonable level. Even if they end up winning the bid themselves, they can resell it on the Trading Hall.

But from the perspective of team coordination, the tacit understanding developed over time by fixed teams under the DKP model is far superior to that of Gold Groups composed of random individuals.

The fourth scheme: Mixed Groups.

This is a dungeon distribution model applicable only to friends' groups.

The distribution scheme can be flexibly adjusted.

Common items produced by the dungeon can use the roll point method to increase fun, or participate in auctions via the DKP method. For high-value items, they can be entrusted to a trustworthy team leader or a specific player within the team, to be sold on the Trading Hall before distributing the Sacrificial Power to team members.

This model requires absolute trust among the players in the team.

One can even use a rotation method to earn yields.

For example, in a friends' group of ten, all yields from the first round are distributed to Player A, all yields from the second round to Player B... As for how much yield this dungeon round can produce, it depends entirely on luck.

During their discussions, forum players gradually formed clear selection schemes.

Adventurer World was also perfected during this process, fully generated.

Underground World Spatial Node.

After a flash of white light, a five-person team led by Hong Yang walked out of the teleportation point.

Summoning the map, a mottled parchment map unfolded in their minds.

They discovered that a new icon had appeared to the north within the node space. This was the newly launched: Adventurer Teleportation Point.

The icon's shape resembled a dim blue Divine Lamp, its body entwined with spiral-shaped rule runes, and its base consisting of three interlaced black stone spikes.

Without hesitation, they immediately set off towards the Adventurer Teleportation Point.

Hong Yang walked at the front, holding an upgraded Rune Resonance Spear in his hand.

A Qi followed on his left, daggers flipping between his fingers; he was the team's only Assassin Sect player.

Old Wu carried a shield on the right, his steps heavy; he was the team's most reliable bastion.

Xiao Ye walked in the middle, hands in pockets, surrounded by a faint fluctuation of Qi and blood, with a hovering Flame Bow following behind his back.

He was the team's marksman, possessing the ability for long-range pinpoint kills.

Xiao Hua walked at the very rear of the team, wearing a floral crown conjured by a Rune Resonance weapon. She was the team's Magic Sect player with the strongest area-of-effect burst damage output, also teased by other team members as a "Glass Cannon."

This meant she was as fragile as glass, easily shattered, while "Cannon" referred to Xiao Hua's terrifying output capability, able to instantly deal tons of damage.

Before long, Hong Yang led the team to the teleportation point.

Before their eyes lay a teleportation point shaped like a bronze turntable branded into the ground, large enough to cover half a soccer field; its edge was etched with thirty-two grooves, each containing semi-solid crimson magma flowing within, while the center of the turntable was not solid but suspended with a phantom image of the Divine Lamp rules, where shattered scenes of light and shadow occasionally flashed within the vortex at its apex.

At this moment, the square was filled with player figures.

The regional voice channel was also filled with shouts calling for party formation.

Hong Yang passed through the crowd and stepped onto the Adventure Teleportation Array first, whereupon a prompt immediately popped up in his mind:

[Challenger Prompt: Dungeon Teleportation Function Activated. Open the function panel to view.]

Realizing this was a function usable only in specific areas, Hong Yang immediately opened the panel and clicked the "Divine Lamp Icon" that had appeared at the bottom.

What appeared before his eyes was a translucent bookshelf interface suspended in the void, allowing sliding selection, where each book represented an independent dungeon world.

The book covers displayed dynamic dungeon scenes, while below them were marked difficulty levels in blood-red.

In the bottom right corner of the interface was a clickable "Divine Lamp Shop."

Hong Yang's gaze focused on the first dungeon; its cover depicted a blood-colored throne piled high from countless skulls, upon which sat a figure clad in black armor who slowly raised their head to look at him, dark ethereal flames burning within their eye sockets.

Relevant information followed immediately.

"Throne of Bones":

Difficulty Level: 4 (Suitable for player teams with main Soul Rank 55 or above (30+ members) to challenge)

Background Introduction: The dungeon's architectural background originates from the Bone Clan's royal city; this race was born with the ability to manipulate the bones of the dead and once established a Bone Dynasty spanning five worlds. After descending into the Monster World... they were targeted by the Blue Lamp Clan for their "Undead March Rules." After their civilization was crushed, the Blue Lamp Clan fashioned the royal city into a dungeon framework; today, the black-armored figure sitting upon the throne is the lingering echo of the Bone Clan's last monarch.

Hong Yang shifted his gaze from "Throne of Bones," his vision focusing on the second dungeon as the suspended books drifted slowly like curtains stirred by the wind.

The cover of the second dungeon resembled a theater; the audience seats were filled with faceless puppets, while a twisted figure in the center of the stage simultaneously enacted both ecstasy and wailing.

All colors within the scene flowed slowly, as if an oil painting being washed by rain.

"Theater of Delirium":

Difficulty Level: 3 (Suitable for player teams with main Soul Rank 45+ to challenge)

Background Introduction: The Theater Grave Clan, which fed on emotions, excelled at harvesting emotional power generated by audiences through performance. After being destroyed by the Blue Lamp Clan, the clan's memories were trapped in an endless curtain call; every performance on that stage is a loop of memories from the Theater Grave Clan's painful struggles before their extinction.

His vision turned to the cover of the third dungeon.

Crimson magma churned violently as a giant hammer rose from the sea of fire; chains wrapped around the hammer's shaft, and at the end of those chains was bound some struggling living creature.

"Heart of the Furnace":

Dungeon Difficulty: 4 (Suitable for player teams with main Soul Rank 55+ to challenge)

Background Introduction: The forging clan known as the Ember Clan was once renowned throughout the Minor Worlds for their smelting techniques; their people treated scorching magma as a furnace and used chains to bind deep abyssal living fires as forging energy. In pursuit of the ultimate forging materials, after climbing to the peak of the Minor Worlds, the Ember Clan chose to shatter the void and descend into the Monster World....

While browsing, Hong Yang's gaze focused on the bottom left corner, and he was instantly startled by the number.

Number of Dungeon Scenes: 1592.

If the background of each dungeon came from a clan destroyed by the Blue Lamp Clan, then this number meant that 1,592 clans had already fallen beneath the Blue Lamp Clan's slaughtering blade.

This was merely the count of clans the Blue Lamp Clan deemed to have potential for dungeon creation; the actual number of clans they had destroyed was incalculable.

"What an evil race."

After making this remark, Hong Yang suddenly thought of the Black Black Tide Legion.

Compared to the number of destroyed clans, the Blue Lamp Clan was at best a toddler executioner in front of the Black Black Tide Legion.

The Black Black Tide Legion was the true clan crusher.

Without dwelling on this issue, he began selecting a dungeon.

According to descriptions by forum players, the Blue Lamp Clan's dungeons had two entry methods.

The first method required traveling to the teleportation array established by the Blue Lamp Clan within the original Underground Cave World, which also contained a mental visual template for selecting dungeons.

Their players did not need to go through such trouble; the village had a direct line.

For this first challenge, he chose the dungeon "Throne of Bones," which had a difficulty slightly lower than his team's comprehensive combat power.

Immediately, a Challenger Prompt rang out simultaneously in the minds of him and his teammates:

[Challenger Prompt (Squad): Team Leader has confirmed dungeon: Throne of Bones. Follow teleportation?]

Below the prompt box were five extinguished divine lamps.

After Hong Yang clicked confirm with his consciousness, the first divine lamp lit up, followed sequentially by the four lamps representing his teammates.

Instantly, a severe sensation of weightlessness swept over them.

The scene before their eyes became blurred and distorted.

When his vision cleared, Hong Yang found himself standing on a gray-white wasteland.

The sky was a suppressed dark red, resembling coagulated blood clouds.

Occasionally, pale white lightning silently streaked across, illuminating the towering black royal city in the distance.

This city was not built of brick and stone but stacked from countless giant bones; stark white bone pillars supported towering structures, while twisted spinal bones coiled into archways.

In the direction of the city gates, two hundred-meter-tall bone giants stood with hollow eye sockets in their skulls, within which burned ethereal green soul fires, silently gazing forward.

Crack!

The ground beneath their feet was not solid; walking easily crushed bone fragments, emitting crisp sounds.

The air was permeated with the scent of decay and the lingering smell of burning kerosene; occasionally a yin wind swept past, carrying faint whispers that sounded like countless dead souls murmuring beside one's ears.

In the distance, a road paved with countless skeletal arms wound its way toward the royal city; stark white bone fingers seemed ready at any moment to grab the ankles of passersby and drag them into a bone cage.

"So, there are no mission prompts in this dungeon?" asked Ah Qi, still twirling a dagger, with a puzzled expression.

"It's called the Adventurer World; naturally, adventurers focus on adventure. How could they give you clear missions or even a map to view? We are essentially pioneering this," said Old Wu, carrying a shield and grinning broadly as he walked to the front of the team.

Hong Yang immediately followed Old Wu's steps.

Just as Old Wu stepped onto the road paved with skeletal arms, the ground suddenly trembled violently.

Countless bone fingers suddenly erupted, grabbing at Old Wu like living creatures, while simultaneously, bone piles on both sides of the road churned violently; dozens of incomplete skeleton soldiers crawled out from the bone heaps, ethereal green soul fires burning in their hollow eye sockets, waving bone blades and tattered shields as they surrounded them.

"Here they come!"

Old Wu shouted low, slamming his giant shield into the ground; his Gang Qi suddenly expanded, shattering the grabbing bone fingers.

He then skillfully turned sideways to bash with his shield, forcibly crashing into the group of skeletons; runes on the shield surface flashed, causing the surrounding skeleton warriors to immediately roar and pounce at him.

Hong Yang also acted at this moment; he kicked the end of the spear in his hand, causing it to flip in the air before he caught it with a reverse grip. Gang Qi wrapped around the spear as he executed a horizontal slash, cleaving three skeletons in half at the waist. After activating his Speed trait, spear shadows fell like a violent storm, crushing the bone fragments completely into powder.

Ah Qi's figure also vanished into the shadows at this moment; a second later, the head of a skeleton archer suddenly flew off. The dagger's cold light flashed repeatedly, dismantling the skeleton into scattered fragments before the frame even hit the ground.

She moved like a phantom among the skeleton warriors, specifically targeting the skeleton mages in the rear; every time she appeared, it was accompanied by a fatal strike boosted by her Critical Hit trait.

Boom!

At this moment, Xiao Hua also acted; the rune resonance flower crown atop her head lit up, and with a light swipe of her fingertips, a tall tower constructed of elemental energy suddenly rose from the ground, spewing elements that instantly dissolved the attacking bone soldiers.

At the very rear of the team, Xiao Ye's vision jumped between the skeleton warriors; each time her gaze focused, she applied the "Mark" trait.

Her pupils contracted slightly; blue light dots appeared above the heads of all marked skeleton warriors within her field of vision.

She loosened her fingertips; the moment the bowstring vibrated, an arrow wrapped in Qi and Blood power shot forth, suddenly splitting apart mid-flight.

Dozens of streams of blood-colored light poured down like a rainstorm, each one precisely piercing through the heads of the skeleton warriors.

Wherever the arrows passed, the bones disintegrated, and the black qi was burned away by the Qi and Blood power before it could dissipate.

When the skull of the last shield-bearing skeleton was pierced by the stream of light, the bone blade it held high stopped exactly before Old Wu's shield, then scattered across the ground with a clatter, exploding into three gold coins that fell down.

The battlefield suddenly fell silent, with only the faint sound of rolling bone dust.

Ah Qi's figure emerged from the shadows, flicking her dagger in a flourish:

"Oh, Xiao Ye is really strong, isn't she?"

Xiao Ye lightly stroked her longbow, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly:

"With enough marks, the arrows naturally fly faster."

Ending the battle, their gazes swept over the items dropped on the ground.

They then moved to collect the loot.

After tallying, this battle had earned them 9 Divine Cast Coins.

Analysis showed that Divine Cast Coins were made from spiritual materials and could be directly sacrificed to Di Zhao in exchange for Sacrificial Power.

However, doing so was the most loss-making option; this currency could be used to purchase specific items in the "Divine Lamp Shop," which included Rule Fragments.

Secondly, they had also dropped one Level 2 Spiritual Plant.

The yield was not high, but this random drop setting instantly gave them a sense of anticipation.

According to the update announcement released by the officials, low-difficulty dungeons also had a probability of dropping high-value resources, though that probability was rather low.

"This is so satisfying; it's much more fun than the Underground Cave World. Let's hurry and pioneer this, then work out a speedrun guide," said Ah Qi, her eyes shining, clearly having fallen in love with the gameplay of the Adventurer World.

Old Wu also raised his shield at this moment, continuing to walk at the very front of the team, advancing toward the royal city.

Along the way, groups of skeleton warriors occasionally revived and attacked them.

However, the hunting levels of these skeleton warriors were all around level 45, posing no threat whatsoever.

As the squad ventured deeper, the cold aura of the Bone Wasteland grew increasingly heavy.

Scattered bone fragments on the ground gathered on their own, forming twisted bone spikes that protruded from both sides of the road, as if the entire earth was resisting their advance.

The outline of the distant royal city also became clearer in their vision.

"We're almost there; do you think the boss of the first scene will appear at the city gate?" Hong Yang gripped his spear tightly, Gang Qi extending and retracting from the spear tip, his body remaining tense and ready to deal with any sudden situation.

"It's quite possible; according to normal game settings, city gates are usually where the first-level boss appears, and then entering the city triggers the second act," Ah Qi nodded in agreement, then continued along this topic:

"Moreover, there's a high probability it will jump down from the city wall to block our path."

"You guys are really good at analyzing; this is pioneering. It would be strange if you could actually guess correctly," Xiao Ye couldn't help but retort.

Amidst the idle chatter, they arrived a hundred meters outside the city gate.

Just then, the ground shook violently.

Countless bone fragments on the ground seemed drawn by an invisible force, converging toward the city gate. Under the team's gaze, they rapidly stacked and reconstructed themselves, finally forming a giant skeleton knight standing five meters tall. Clad in heavy armor enveloping its entire body, it wielded a lance twisted from vertebrae. The skeletal warhorse beneath it reared on its hind legs, spewing ghostly green flames from its mouth. Its eyes, glowing with red light, locked onto the group, radiating a ferocious killing intent.

As Analysis swept over it, information about the Skeleton Knight flooded their minds:

[Skeletal Vanguard · Kalong]:

Hunting Rank: 71.

Target Introduction: Once the captain of the imperial guards for the Bone Clan's royal court, he guarded the city gate in his flesh-and-blood life. When the Blue Lamp Clan crushed the royal city, his lingering soul and his warhorse's bones were distorted and fused by the Divine Lamp rules, becoming an eternal wandering gatekeeper. His lance, "Wailing Vertebrae," was smelted from the spinal cords of seven defeated experts; when the spear tip trembles, it emits a soul-seizing shriek. He is the boss of the first act in the Skeleton Throne dungeon instance.

……

After reading the Analysis information, Xiao Ye immediately widened his eyes.

"Damn, you guys really called it. The boss actually appeared right at the city gate; you guessed half right."

"Here comes a worthy one!" A Qi licked his lips, his figure fading into the shadows.

Old Wu said nothing, slamming his heavy shield onto the ground:

"Get ready to fight. Xiao Hua and Xiao Ye, watch your positioning; don't get smashed apart."

Before his voice faded, the Skeletal Vanguard charged forward at full gallop, his lance aimed directly at Old Wu. The ground cracked beneath the iron hooves, leaving a long trail of ghostly green flames.

Boom!

The instant the lance collided with the giant shield, a shockwave exploded outward. Old Wu was forcibly pushed back several meters, the runes on his shield surface flashing alternately.

At this moment, Hong Yang had already flashed to the side. His spear, wreathed in crimson Gang Qi, swept fiercely toward the front leg joints of the skeletal warhorse.

Crack!

Bone shards flew as the skeletal horse's body tilted. Xiao Ye's arrows had already predicted the boss's trajectory of imbalance; three arrows wrapped in spiral air currents flew in a triangular formation toward the Skeleton Knight's skull.

The Skeletal Vanguard abruptly raised his arm to block, but A Qi leaped out from the shadows behind him. The dagger's cold light flashed repeatedly as he stabbed toward the soul fire within the cracks of the skull.

Roar!

The Skeletal Vanguard let out a silent roar; a mental shockwave instantly caused the team players' heads to throb with pain.

The bone armor surrounding the Skeletal Vanguard shattered, and countless bone spikes shot outward in all directions.

Xiao Hua was prepared; he decisively stepped behind Xiao Ye.

Old Wu reacted equally fast, raising his hand to release blood energy, generating a blood wall in front of Xiao Hua and Xiao Ye.

The bone spikes struck the blood wall shield, producing a dense sound like rain beating against banana leaves.

Seizing the opportunity, Hong Yang leaped into the air. The crimson glow of his spear surged violently as he thrust downward with both hands gripping the shaft in a splitting motion.

This strike instantly pierced through the Skeletal Vanguard's chest, penetrating the skeletal horse below as well and pinning it to the ground.

A Qi's figure appeared once more, swapping positions with his clone behind the Skeletal Vanguard. Empowered by his critical hit trait, his dagger suddenly chiseled down toward the head, piercing the skull before swapping positions with his clone again and vanishing instantly.

Meanwhile, Xiao Hua in the rear had already activated his Extreme Speed trait.

Countless jumping runes reflected in her pupils: Ink Flame, Running Thunder, Dissolution, and Freezing. Four types of rule-based elemental energy surged within her body.

Finally, a "Void Grip" hand formed from the fusion of various rule-based elemental energies suddenly materialized above the Skeletal Vanguard's head and slammed down violently.

By now, the other team members had already moved far away.

The Skeletal Vanguard, not yet dead, just attempted to lift his lance when he was met with the torrent of destruction released by Xiao Hua.

The Void Grip exploded the instant it touched the Skeletal Vanguard, pouring down as four spiraling, entangled streams of elemental energy: Ink Flame scorching, Running Thunder tearing, Dissolution liquid eroding, and Ice Mist freezing. The Skeletal Vanguard's body was immediately engulfed by dazzling four-colored light, then exploded into a sky-full of bone powder.

At this moment, Xiao Hua withdrew her remotely slapping hand and pretended to be calm:

"What a pity. If I hadn't adjusted that 10% of attributes, I wouldn't have needed any of you to act; I could have one-shot it instantly."

"Stop showing off, you glass cannon." A Qi, emerging from his Twilight Shadow form, couldn't help but roll his eyes:

"Without us, the boss could sneeze and shake you to death. Don't forget the last time you got pierced by flying rocks, rolling on the ground in pain."

"Nyah nyah nyah, you talk too much. This great mage will smash your skull with one palm strike." Hearing this, Xiao Hua stuck her tongue out at A Qi, then raised her hand to make a slapping motion, her expression vicious.

Just then, the Challenger Notification sounded:

[Challenger Notification (Team): Defeat "Skeletal Vanguard · Kalong" to obtain the City Gate Key and proceed to the second act of the Skeleton Throne dungeon instance.]

Simultaneously, a sphere of light appeared where Kalong had died, the film of energy flowing across its surface dissipating at a visible speed.

The instant the light sphere shattered, three streaks of light shot out, hovering for a few seconds before falling.

As Analysis swept over them, it revealed a total of three items.

The first item was a bone named "Wailing Vertebrae"; sacrificing it to Di Zhao could exchange for 1,300 points of Sacrificial Power.

The second item was a flower with a bizarre appearance; Analysis showed it was a Grade 4 Spiritual Plant, which could be sold in the Exchange Hall for over 2,000 Sacrificial Power.

When the team focused their gaze on the third item, the expressions on their faces instantly froze.

[Rule Fragment: March of the Dead (1/20)]:

Rule Introduction: One of the fragments of the "March of the Dead Rule," its origin drained. It can be infused with Sacrificial Power to complete the missing parts, but can only be restored to "Pseudo-Rule" strength, retaining partial rule power.

March of the Dead: Consumes Rule Energy (Sacrificial Power can be substituted) to awaken dead corpses, causing them to fight in the form of "Skeleton Servants." Duration: Permanent.

Hint: The integrity of the corpse and the power it possessed in life determine the strength of the revived Skeleton Servant.

……

After reading the Analysis content, they were surprised to discover that the third item was actually a Rule Fragment.

The team members immediately widened their eyes.

"Holy crap, something huge happened."

Even though this was merely a fragment with its origin drained, representing only 1/20 of the complete rule, its value was immeasurable.

"Hiss, the reward for sacrificing to Di Zhao alone is 468,000 Sacrificial Power. We're rich, we're filthy rich." Old Wu breathed heavily, unable to remain calm any longer; his hand gripping the shield trembled slightly.

"Hahaha, we got loot on our very first clearing battle. Allow me to take a screenshot and post it on the forum." Saying this, Xiao Ye moved his Guide Clone away from himself, took a selfie with himself and the Rule Fragment, opened the forum, and attached the Analysis screenshot to the photo.

[Dungeon Instance World Clearing Report: Sometimes, when luck strikes, even Di Zhao can't stop it....]

Hong Yang, as the team captain, said nothing. He screenshot the Analysis content and posted it in the Regional Channel.

Immediately, angry curses from irritable brothers rose one after another:

"You guys really deserve to die! Why couldn't it have been me?"

"Pah, disgusting. Couldn't you just quietly get rich? Did you have to show off? My three Sacrifice Crystals I just got suddenly don't smell so good anymore. You guys really deserve to die!"

"This thing is useless. Private message me to trade; I'll buy it from you for 500 Sacrificial Power. No need to thank me."

(End of Chapter)