Chapter 443: Chapter 443: Wizardâs Soul
Seeing Song Jian put on the âWinged Lionâs Featherâ directly, Zhang Hongâs eyes almost bulged out.
Zhang Hong, though a combat monk, was not a melee attacker, but a caster. His specialty was using various Buddhist spells. Thus, although he was only level 18, his Mental Strength had already broken through to 17 points, two points higher than Song Jianâs.
Naturally, Zhang Hong could also wear the Winged Lionâs Feather belt. After all, it was a level 30 silver grade equipment.
âWerenât we supposed to share the loot? Youâve already taken the best stuff for yourself.â Zhang Hong struggled to suppress the urge to roll his eyes and screamed inwardly.
Song Jian glanced at the remaining blue-green items, picked up a blue-quality âBloodline Essenceâ and put it into his inventory, then threw all the remaining materials over to Zhang Hong.
âI only took three items; the remaining five are for you,â Song Jian said with a smile.
Zhang Hongâs mouth twitched as he looked at the items Song Jian handed him: only one was of blue quality, and the rest were green quality. More importantly, all of these items were materials, not equipment. He doubted that current players in the auction house would be interested in such high-level materials.
âThankyou very much!â Zhang Hongâs face reluctantly showed a smile, and he accepted all the items from Song Jian.
Although these materials were high-level, playersâ trade skills would eventually progress, and these materials would become valuable after some time, especially since they were from magical creatures.
After killing the level 30 elite boss, Song Jian finally reached level 22 and even exceeded 6%.
Song Jian hesitated for a moment after looking at the three 100% proficiency skills, âKickâ, âSweeping Sword Styleâ, and âSword Shadow Stepâ. Eventually, he still spent the skill point on âSword Shadow Stepâ.
He had enough damage-dealing skills, but not many life-saving ones. So naturally, he would prioritize upgrading his escape skills.
Upgrading Sword Shadow Step to level 2 increased the movement speed from 30% to 35%, and the duration increased from 7 seconds to 8 seconds, a small improvement.
The Winged Lionâs corpse slowly decomposed and burned, and if they had the Dissection or Skinning skills, they could extract some materials from the body. However, neither Song Jian nor Zhang Hong possessed these trade skills, so they could only watch the valuable corpse turn into ashes.
It took them over an hour to kill the Winged Lion. The sky had become white, and the ghosts in the graveyard had gone back into their tombs. Only a few crows occasionally cawed, making the whole graveyard quite peaceful.
âAmitabha, Mr. Song, we shall part ways now. I hope to see you again in the future!â Zhang Hong returned to his high monk demeanor, his face serious as he clasped his hands together and bowed to Song Jian before leaving.
âWell, Master, we shall say our goodbyes then,â laughed Song Jian as he nodded in agreement.
As he watched Zhang Hong drift away, a cold smile crept onto Song Jianâs face. Zhang Hong had failed to steal the prize, and had instead lost more than he gained. If he had succeeded in obtaining the Winged Lion as a combat pet, his Combat Power would have at least doubled. Song Jian had sensed a threat from Zhang Hong in the woods when they first met â the look in Zhang Hongâs eyes when he first saw Song Jian was identical to when he first saw the Winged Lion.
âI hope that when I see you next time, youâll have become much stronger. Right now, you really donât even arouse my desire to fight!â Song Jian muttered softly.
Just then, an old voice spoke into his ear.
âYoung man, you made a grave mistake by letting him go like that. In the future, he may grow into a power that youâll be forced to look up to!â
Startled, Song Jian instinctively clenched the sword in his hand, taking a defensive stance as he looked around.
âWhoâs there!â Song Jian demanded in a low voice.
âCough, cough. Donât be so tense; Iâm just a captive soul, incapable of causing you any harm,â the old voice replied with a hint of weakness.
However, Song Jian remained vigilant, still tensely looking around. The graveyard was eerily silent with not a soul in sight.
â What kind of hero hides behind a veil? If youâve got the guts, come out and meet me!â Song Jian raged, even more anxious since he couldnât sense any presence whatsoever.
âHehe, I wish I could come out, but Iâm trapped in an impenetrable prison, unable to even moveâ¦â The old voice chuckled weakly. âIf you really want to see me, continue down the white stone path, take a left at the thirteenth step, and youâll find me in the sixth tomb.â
Song Jian hesitated. While battling the Winged Lion earlier, the conflict had spread around the area within a few dozen meters. The location indicated by the old voice was at the edge of the previous battle area. Song Jian had not found any traps or anything of the sort during the prior fight. So, after a moment, he followed the voiceâs guidance towards the tomb.
Upon arriving at the tomb, he looked at the tombstone. There wasnât much difference between this one and the surrounding ones, except for the faint golden Hexagram Array that appeared on this tombstone. If he hadnât taken a closer look, Song Jian would have thought it was just a blank tombstone.
âYoung deity, I was once a human mage with Tier 1 Combat Power. During a battle, I accidentally injured a civilian and was sentenced to death, with my soul exiledâ¦â
Seeing Song Jian coming, the old voice slowly recited its story.
Song Jian listened attentively. As it turned out, this mageâs soul, like the Beastman soldier George had guided Song Jian to recruit, was also a convict exiled to Doomsday City.
The soul had been lingering in the graveyard for more than twenty days, and if no one came to its rescue, it would turn into a monstrous creature that only knew how to kill once the time was up â something the mageâs soul did not want.
When Song Jian and the NPC professional players first arrived at the graveyard for the supply box, the mageâs soul had already spotted them. Instead of hurriedly summoning someone to save it, the soul patiently observed them.
If there was no choice, the soul would have urgently sought help from the first person it saw. However, since there were so many people, the mageâs soul naturally wanted to find the strongest person to ally with.
After observing for two more days, especially after witnessing Song Jian and Zhang Hong slay the Winged Lion with Tier 1 combat power, the mageâs soul finally made up its mind.