58: Chapter 58 finally features a boss who has a natural advantage over Hu Jinsi.

After the boring storytelling session before the boss ended, the battle finally got to the point.

"Strife" and "Peril"—these two names spun around in Hu Jinsi's mind. He had accidentally remembered them while listening to that Pandaren Loremaster mutter earlier.

To be honest, having two Chinese names pop up in a story about a Yaungol clan—the dissonance of this cultural mashup was beyond words. But now wasn't the time to complain, because two three-meter-tall Yaungol illusions had already manifested on his left and right.

Hu Jinsi didn't rush in. He stood behind a bookshelf, his gaze sweeping back and forth between the two Yaungol, his mind racing.

He vaguely remembered the mechanics of this boss fight: continuously attacking one of them would cause that target to stack a buff. Each stack increased its damage, and upon reaching 10 stacks, it would enter a 15-second invulnerability state and unleash a massive screen-wide AOE, which would easily wipe the group.

If you completely ignored the other one, the neglected target would gain a debuff, its damage gradually decreasing until it faded away. However, if left unhandled for too long, the main boss, Loremaster Stonefoot, might unleash a high-damage skill.

"So the core is balanced DPS." Hu Jinsi summarized silently in his mind.

The Yaungol's auto-attack damage wasn't low, but they were Yaungol after all; just thinking about those clumsy hooves and thick bodies, their Agility stat couldn't be that high. Dealing with such slow, high-damage enemies required keeping distance and controlling the tempo.

Although Loremaster Stonefoot was casting high-damage Shadow skills from the sidelines that needed to be interrupted or avoided, Hu Jinsi was soloing and couldn't spare the energy to specifically interrupt him.

So the only strategy was: switch DPS between the two Yaungol to keep their buff stacks from exploding, while relying on movement to dodge the Loremaster's Shadow skills.

"Simply put," Hu Jinsi's mouth curled up slightly, "it's about finding balance between two weights and not letting either side tip."

He quickly planned his tactics in his mind: use his Ironwood Staff to maintain distance and whittle down their health, no bursting, no wasting Chi, just relying on Agility to maneuver the whole time, switching targets after hitting each one for a dozen seconds. Once both were at low health, he would finish them off with a burst.

"Simple."

He took a deep breath and stepped out from behind the bookshelf, his Ironwood Staff in hand, his gaze locked on the two Yaungol illusions still growling in place.

---

As soon as Hu Jinsi stepped into the battlefield surrounded by bookshelves, his brows furrowed. Two three-meter-tall, muscular Yaungol illusions, one named "Strife" and the other "Peril," were blocking the middle of the path, one on the left and one on the right. Add to that the old pedant Loremaster Stonefoot on the sidelines, holding bamboo scrolls and moving his lips as if he were about to start chanting again, and this situation was basically "one versus two plus a troublemaker."

As for the names of these two guys, Hu Jinsi had accidentally remembered them while listening to the storytelling earlier, mainly because it was just too boring.

If he really rushed in to engage these two brutes in melee combat, their heavy hooves swinging from both sides could trample him into meat paste, and he would have to worry about dodging that Pandaren's occasional Shadow Bolt—that would just be asking for death.

"Let's play around with some staff techniques."

He reached back and pulled out the heavy Ironwood Staff from his backpack. This item was the key to breaking the deadlock; it could whittle down health while maintaining distance, and most importantly, keeping a certain distance from the Yaungol helped Hu Jinsi observe the Pandaren's movements.

Hu Jinsi was soloing, so he definitely couldn't spare the energy to interrupt his casting actions; therefore, observing in advance was quite important.

Hu Jinsi took a deep breath, lowered his body, and cut into the battlefield like a wisp of blue smoke. He didn't use any skills that consumed Chi, relying solely on the extreme agility provided by his 19 Agility points to move frantically between the two Yaungol. The Ironwood Staff whistled through the air, striking their thick shoulder blades and flanks one after another, emitting dull "thump, thump" sounds.

He counted silently in his mind, and when he reached fourteen seconds, he immediately turned the tip of the staff and struck the other's skull. He didn't use any skills or bursts the entire time, like a patient old craftsman, slowly polishing two stubborn stones.

The red Sha energy on "Strife" had just started to emerge, and the black energy on "Peril" rose again. Hu Jinsi saw it clearly: these two were tied together; whoever took damage for too long would explode.

As for that posturing Loremaster Stonefoot on the side? Hu Jinsi hadn't taken a single step toward him. Besides, this old pedant couldn't be killed, and he could just dodge the "Arc of Pain" whenever possible; the Yaungol's back muscles were wide enough anyway.

Occasionally, when he couldn't dodge and had to tank a hit or two, he would glimpse the Renewing Mist lighting up under his feet during his maneuvers. He would walk over to catch it, and the greenish glow would flicker, slowly raising the health bar that had been chipped away by the Shadow Bolt.

This battle was boring enough to make one sleepy. Two minutes passed, and under Hu Jinsi's almost paranoid "health control," the health bars of the two Yaungol illusions were firmly stuck at around 50%, rising and falling, always remaining balanced.

In the third minute, both health bars dropped below 30%. Hu Jinsi's eyes sharpened; he knew he couldn't drag this out any longer. He had been dodging and weaving with these two idiots for three minutes, and his calves were starting to cramp; it was time to wrap it up. After all, his newly replaced staff was iron-wrapped Ironwood, and Hu Jinsi himself didn't excel in Strength.

He threw the Ironwood Staff heavily onto the wooden floor nearby, a crisp "clang" echoing through the empty library.

The next second, his figure flickered, [Misty Step] activated, leaving only an afterimage in place as he instantly flashed behind "Strife." He unleashed two consecutive Flurry of Blows in one breath, six kicks infused with powerful wind landing precisely on the Yaungol illusion's thick hooves.

[-9, -10, -8] * 2 [-4, -3, -2] * 2

The physical Heavy Strike mixed with the flame burn from his boot blades instantly shaved off more than half of their health. Hu Jinsi locked onto that sliver of remaining health, moved at full speed, and launched [Spinning Crane Kick] ferociously.

1.5 seconds later, the first Yaungol illusion wailed and crashed heavily onto the floor.

Loremaster Stonefoot on the sidelines seemed to want to open his mouth to chant a few more words, but Hu Jinsi couldn't even be bothered to turn his head. He tanked a Shadow spell impact, used the force to leap into the air, activated [Parkour], and instantly shifted to the side of "Peril," repeating the entire combo he had just used without any changes.

When the second Yaungol illusion collapsed with a boom, Hu Jinsi let out a long sigh, his forehead covered in sweat.

He pressed two fingers together and tapped his chest; the green light of Expel Harm flashed by, and a [+39] immediately popped up over his head, instantly restoring the health he had just lost. Looking at his remaining sliver of health, he casually cast Renewing Mist on himself again; the pale green mist slowly seeped into his skin, completely stabilizing his injuries.

Only after doing all this did he turn around. That chubby Pandaren who had originally been standing on the sidelines, shaking his head and spouting classical jargon, had disappeared without a trace, as if he had never existed, leaving behind only the scattered scrolls and the Ironwood Staff thrown on the floor.

---

Hu Jinsi didn't hold any expectations for the gear dropped by this boss. Whether it was that Pandaren who only knew how to talk, or these two muscular brute Yaungol, they were clearly not Hu Jinsi's style.

Expecting them to drop gear that Hu Jinsi could wear was clearly wishful thinking. Finally, the Yaungol dissolved into points of light, and the equipment appeared—just as expected.

[Yaungol War Drum] [Type: Magic Item / Musical Instrument] [Balance Shock: When you strike the war drum, you and one ally within 10 meters gain a minor (+1) Hit bonus (simulating the Yaungol's berserker aura), each lasting 30 seconds, with 3 charges per day.] [Effect: This instrument can serve as a spellcasting focus for classes such as Bard, Shaman, etc.] [Item Description: This war drum is not made of biological leather, but is crafted from lightning-struck wood soaked in Sha-corrupted black water and reinforced with bronze fragments from an ancient battlefield. The sound it emits when struck is not an ordinary noise, but a soul-shaking low-frequency vibration that seems to evoke the wrath of the earth.]

Hu Jinsi crouched down and picked up the war drum. The drum head was about the size of a washbasin, the whole thing a dull, dark ink-green, with a ring of bronze fragments reinforced around the edges, inscribed with fine runes.

He tried tapping the drum head gently with his finger; a dull "thump" sounded. It wasn't loud, but it carried a strange sense of vibration, as if it had struck his heart directly, making him feel refreshed.

It dropped a war drum, which was a musical instrument that many classes could use. Classes like Bard, Shaman, etc., could all use this instrument as a spellcasting focus. Of course, Su Wan could also use it, but Hu Jinsi couldn't quite imagine the style of Su Wan using this war drum.

In his mind, he pictured Su Wan holding a small hammer and beating a large drum—that girl who usually spoke softly and sang like a heavenly melody, standing in front of a war drum taller than herself, swinging the small hammer and beating "thump, thump, thump." That image was too beautiful; Hu Jinsi didn't dare to look at it for too long.

However, after leaving the dungeon, he could still take this war drum to tease Su Wan and see her reaction. Who knows, maybe one day Sister Su would have a berserker awakening and decide to change her career to drumming; after all, people's hearts can change.

Hu Jinsi stuffed the war drum into his backpack, a trace of mischievous amusement on his lips. He was already looking forward to the expression on Su Wan's face when he presented this drum to her after returning to Daibei City.

If Sister Su didn't want this war drum, and Hu Jinsi didn't know anyone else in Daibei City, he would just have to list it in the profession mall and wait for someone fated to take it away. However, Hu Jinsi felt that this war drum should sell quite well; after all, it was a drum, such a festive thing, right? Hu Jinsi comforted himself.

He hefted his backpack, confirmed the war drum was still inside, and then turned and walked out of the side hall..

---

After clearing the second boss, Hu Jinsi took a short rest on the spot to recover the resources consumed during the battle. He found a relatively clean corner of a bookshelf, sat cross-legged, took out his water bottle from his backpack to take a few sips, and ate some dry rations to replenish his stamina.

15 minutes later, Hu Jinsi stood up, brushed the dust off his clothes, and returned to his peak state. He exited the side hall and returned to the entrance of the dungeon once again.

At this time, the vermilion wooden door directly opposite the dungeon gate, leading to the second courtyard, had also opened. That door had originally been tightly closed, but now the doors were open on both sides, revealing the stone steps leading to the inner hall behind.

At this moment, it had actually been less than an hour since Hu Jinsi entered the dungeon. Just as mentioned before, this dungeon was surprisingly small, and the number of mobs wasn't that large; it was basically just some novel boss mechanics. Back when Hu Jinsi was still playing the game, this dungeon wasn't too difficult of a challenge.

Actually, if it were a full five-person team, even the team that Hu Jinsi and the others used to farm Burning Village with, Hu Jinsi was confident he could lead them to speed-run this dungeon in fifteen minutes.

Of course, if this high-difficulty version of the later Temple of the Jade Serpent turned into the Mythic+ version that Hu Jinsi had played before, then this dungeon would already be crossed off in Hu Jinsi's mind.

The mechanics of this boss were already disgusting enough, and adding the affixes of Mythic+ on top of that—Hu Jinsi didn't dare to imagine how one would fight this dungeon if it were stacked to over 1000%.

"Just thinking about it gives me a headache." He shook his head and cast this terrible thought out of his mind.

---

His gaze passed through the open vermilion doors, and the view before him suddenly opened up.

This was an open-air plaza even wider than the entrance. The ground was paved with blue-gray boulders, and every stone slab was carved with intricate cloud patterns, resembling some kind of ancient formation.

At the end of the plaza stood a massive statue of a Jade Serpent. The dragon's body coiled around a pillar that reached toward the sky, its head held high, mouth open to the heavens, with every scale clearly defined. Two cyan gemstones were embedded in the statue's eyes, emitting a faint, cold glint under the grayish-white daylight, as if it could come alive at any moment.

Beneath the statue, an agile female monk was wrapped in dark purple Sha energy, groaning in pain. She wore a set of red monk robes that had been eroded into tatters by the Sha energy, her hands clenched into tight fists, knuckles white from the exertion.

The Sha energy, like wisps of writhing black smoke, snaked up from her ankles, coiling around her waist and arms, even attempting to burrow into her mouth and nose. Her face was twisted in agony, yet deep within her eyes, a glimmer of unyielding clarity struggled to remain.

On both sides of the stone steps leading to her, several squads of dull-eyed temple guards and twisted Sha minions wandered about. The guards wore heavy plate armor and held gleaming poleaxes, their footsteps heavy and mechanical. The Sha minions floated in mid-air, their dark purple bodies constantly shifting shape, emitting a teeth-grinding hiss.

Hu Jinsi took a deep breath, withdrew his gaze from the female monk, and fixed it on the mobs: "I need to clear out these 'mobs' first, otherwise there's no chance of getting close to her." He gripped his staff, stepped through the vermilion gate, and entered the plaza.

Hu Jinsi felt a bit listless fighting this wave of mobs.

The air above the plaza was filled with the sickly sweet, rotting scent unique to the Sha, and several dark purple energy orbs floated eerily in the air. Hu Jinsi subconsciously reached up to touch his head. If only he had rolled for that Shadow Resistance hat dropped by the first boss, the Shadow Mage, back in the Burning Village, he wouldn't have to tank these insidious spells.

After this run was over, his Raccoon City police uniform would be ruined again. He had to scrap a set of clothes every time he ran a dungeon; no wonder his classmates who chose the tailoring profession didn't mind the life skills.

His gaze swept across the other side of the plaza, where a phalanx of Jade Serpent Defenders was approaching with heavy steps. Heavy plate armor, gleaming poleaxes—they were clearly standard heavy armored units.

He didn't need to test it to know that his meager martial arts skills would likely fail to leave even a white mark on them. Fortunately, when he cleared the Demon Cat Forest earlier, he had rolled for the [Thunder-Charged Bracers of Lightning Keno], otherwise, he would just have to slowly grind them down this round.

"Tsk, dragging this out is worse than just having a good fight."

Hu Jinsi grinned, his eyes showing a spark of eager excitement. He tapped his toes lightly against the ground, his inner energy circulating throughout his body. In an instant, he became ethereal and graceful, and his [Crane Stance] rippled outward like water.

The next instant, he pushed his [Unarmored Movement] to the limit. He left a cyan afterimage, and instead of retreating, he charged straight toward the nearest group of monsters.

Four meters!

Just as the two sides were about to clash, Hu Jinsi lowered his stance. He didn't use his staff; instead, he unleashed a standard-speed [Spinning Crane Kick].

"Bang! Bang!"

Two muffled thuds overlapped almost perfectly, and the two Sha minions and one heavy-armored guard at the front were kicked flying. Using the recoil, he spun violently like a top, rushing toward the next gathering of monsters without a moment's hesitation.

This wasn't a life-or-death struggle; it was clearly an unbridled solo dance party.

His figure drifted, carving a huge arc around the entire plaza. Behind him was a dense crowd of roaring heavy-armored guards and flickering Sha minions, while ahead lay a deserted, dead zone.

Whenever a monster was about to get close, that Spinning Crane Kick would suddenly pop out, exploding with a muffled thud against the heavy armor or bursting into a cloud of purple gas upon hitting a Sha minion.

The most ridiculous part was that while maintaining this high-speed spinning kick stance, the guy actually started whistling.

The tune was crooked and chaotic, yet it exuded a sense of careless nonchalance. The whistling echoed across the empty plaza, drowning out the heavy footsteps of the armored guards and the teeth-grinding hisses of the Sha minions.

Once all the monsters in the plaza had been aggroed by Hu Jinsi, he immediately activated the bracers' special effect—[Lightning Infusion]!

From that moment on, for the next minute, every one of his kicks was wrapped in blinding arcs of electricity. The Jade Serpent Defenders, who had originally relied on their heavy armor to tank the damage, now trembled violently as if electrocuted, sparks crackling and flying from their bodies as the smell of burnt flesh instantly filled the plaza.

"Heh, this feels much better." Hu Jinsi muttered to himself, his footwork remaining steady as he maintained that perfect circular motion.

Nearly twenty monsters were being led around by him alone like a flock of headless flies. He even had the leisure to glance at the time, calculating the duration of the bracers' effect. In any case, these clumsy guys could never catch his shadow; they could only be kicked to death, round after round, at the edge of his four-meter attack radius.

He even got playful, experimenting with different rotation speeds of his [Spinning Crane Kick] during the intervals of his high-speed spinning kicks to see how the damage effects differed on the monsters.

The battle proceeded without suspense. Less than a minute later, the last Sha minion dissolved into blue smoke amidst the electric light.

Hu Jinsi stopped his stance, and the whistling started up again, the tune even more cheerful than before. Looking at the carnage, he realized: as long as his Chi didn't run out, he, Hu Jinsi, was basically performing a dimensional strike against groups of melee mobs. His current combat power was likely a cut above what he had imagined.

The dozen or so mobs left behind less than thirty credits, three [Sha Minion Residues], and a pair of [Heavy Plate Boots of the Jade Serpent Guard]. They were white-tier items, but with an Eastern style.

Hu Jinsi bent down to pick up the plate boots and weighed them in his hands; they were heavy. The boots were crafted from deep cyan steel, with simple cloud patterns carved into the surface and thick soles—clearly designed for heavy infantry. Although they had no stat bonuses, the design certainly carried the flavor of ancient Eastern heavy infantry armor.

"Better than nothing." He curled his lip, stuffed the plate boots into his bag, and prepared to throw them into the profession shop later.

It was a pity that the real world didn't have a transmogrification system; otherwise, getting a set would be better than wearing the Raccoon City police uniform every day. Hu Jinsi looked down at his deep blue police jacket, which was already tattered and covered in scorch marks and corrosion, and shook his head helplessly.

He would have to browse the equipment market when he got back and get a sturdier Eastern-style monk outfit. He couldn't keep running dungeons in a police uniform; even cosplay shouldn't be worn every day.

He stuffed the plate boots into his backpack, then cast [Renewing Mist] on himself to restore the health lost during the fight. He then took a short rest to adjust his state.

After dealing with the group of heavy-armored guards in the plaza, Hu Jinsi turned his gaze toward the depths of the inner hall. The priestess, jokingly called "Sister Liu" by players, sat atop a lotus throne, her body wreathed in restless flames—Liu Flameheart.

This combat mechanic was a headache just to hear about; it was practically the natural enemy of melee classes.

Phase one and two involved applying fire DoTs and forced knockbacks, plus having to dodge fire all over the floor, and phase three required switching targets to that so-called "mini Jade Serpent." If it were an ordinary melee character, they would likely lose half their health bar just from dodging skills against these flashy tactics, let alone dealing effective damage.

But Hu Jinsi glanced at the [Hot Boot Spike] at his feet, and a cold, sharp curve played on his lips. Although he had reached level 10 and his fire resistance attribute had been halved, leaving only 22.5% resistance, the words "natural counter" were still clearly written in the outcome of this battle.

He couldn't even be bothered to make any extra tactical preparations; he just fished out a bottle of fire resistance potion he hadn't finished in Ragefire Chasm, pulled the cork, and drank it in one gulp. The next instant, his figure flickered, and he moved in close like a ghost.

Phase 1 was a flashy-free, close-quarters beatdown.

Hu Jinsi had no intention of using any major ultimates; he circulated his inner energy and directly activated [Crane Form: Lonely Phoenix Style]. Liu Flameheart was, after all, a humanoid priestess; her armor was as thin as paper, and the continuous bleeding effect hit her fully, without any reduction.

"One punch, two punches..."

Using his sharp fingernails, the sharp energy of [Unarmed · Finger Blade] sliced small cuts into Sister Liu's body. Watching the [ - 1 ], [ - 1 ] bleeding numbers pop up over her head every second, Hu Jinsi almost laughed out loud. This wasn't a battle; it was a one-sided bloodletting surgery.

Liu Flameheart tried to counterattack, summoning a Soaring Dragon Tail Sweep to knock back melee attackers. The first time, Hu Jinsi hadn't anticipated the woman's brute strength and was blasted seven or eight meters away, sliding a long distance across the stone slabs. But he quickly figured out the trick: the attack range of this move was only 3 meters.

"Is that all you've got?"

Hu Jinsi sneered, and from then on, he precisely stuck to the critical point of four meters. Just as Sister Liu was about to raise her hand, Hu Jinsi would retreat to the four-meter mark and activate [Spinning Crane Kick].

Poor Sister Liu, just as she was about to counterattack, she would get kicked square by those long legs from four meters away, completely on the receiving end of a one-sided beating.

As for the surging waves of fire on the ground? He would dodge if he could, but if he really couldn't, stepping on it didn't matter. With the double boost of fire resistance gear and fire resistance potions, that bit of burn damage didn't even amount to more than the healing he received from his Renewing Mist during the fight.

He even had the presence of mind to wonder what gear Sister Liu would drop, treating this like a pleasant afternoon stroll.

Phase 2, Hu Jinsi's pressure increased, but it was still under control.

Liu Flameheart's fire DoT became more intense, the knockback radius expanded, and the fire circles on the ground lingered longer, almost surrounding the entire lotus throne.

Hu Jinsi didn't even frown; he just waited for his skill cooldown to reset and casually topped himself up with a [Renewing Mist]. This green-glowing mist could restore a quarter of Hu Jinsi's current health within 20 seconds, enough for him to tank this so-called "Phase 2 Berserk." It was nothing more than taking a few extra hits; the boss was still using the same old routine.

Phase 3, high noon had arrived, and Hu Jinsi was prepared for his burst.

When Liu Flameheart's body glowed with an invincible golden light and she summoned the phantom Jade Serpent, Hu Jinsi had also finished his final warm-up. Throughout the entire first two phases of the battle, Hu Jinsi hadn't used a single point of Chi; all 7 points were saved for this final moment.

"Lightning Infusion" "Flurry of Blows!" "Flurry of Blows!" "Touch of Death!" "Flurry of Blows!" "Flurry of Blows!" "Touch of Death!"

Fists, feet, knees, elbows, shoulders—Hu Jinsi pushed his speed to the limit, his body becoming a weapon as he lunged at the so-called "mini Jade Serpent." The opponent had just opened its mouth to breathe fire, but after only one shot, it was beaten to pieces by this continuous onslaught, let out a mournful cry, and the phantom dissipated into the air.

Liu Flameheart then collapsed to the ground.

Hu Jinsi steadied himself, looked at the carnage, and let out a long breath.

"I love these soft persimmons without armor."

If it were the third boss from the Burning Village who was covered in plate armor, dumping all 7 points of Chi would probably fail to leave even a white mark. But facing a squishy target like Sister Liu, she took all his damage effects—bleeding, fire, lightning—without any reduction whatsoever.

When such bosses faced Hu Jinsi, they were the ones who were truly the vulnerable group.