59: Chapter 59 Seven Days of Effort

Two items remained on the ground, shimmering with different lusters under the greyish-white light from above.

One was a uniquely designed firearm, lying askew on the stone slab. Its barrel was ridiculously short and thick, even shorter than Hu Jinsi's forearm. The entire piece was crafted from a mixture of black iron and green wood, with a coiled jade serpent carved into the grip. Two dark red gems were embedded where the dragon's eyes would be, casting a faint glow in the dim hall. The tip still retained unburnt sulfur and saltpeter powder; when brought close to the nose, a pungent smell of gunpowder rushed straight to the brain.

The other item was a piece of equipment resembling a string of prayer beads, though its condition left much to be desired. It consisted of 108 ebony beads, each looking as if it had been scorched by true fire, with cracked patterns covering the surface. The string was carbonized and black, yet remained surprisingly tough. It still retained a scorching residual heat to the touch, as if it had just been fished out of a furnace.

Hu Jinsi picked up the firearm first.

【Temple of the Jade Serpent Sentry Firearm】

【Type: Ranged Firearm】

【Damage: 8-18】

【Magazine: 1 Round】

【Close Quarters: Attack range is extremely short (approx. 5-8 meters). When attacking within close range, it sprays a high-pressure cyan flame, dealing massive fire damage to enemies in a cone-shaped area in front.】

【Negative: This firearm is quite old and complex to operate, requiring 15 seconds to reload each time.】

【Item Description: This firearm is crafted from a mixture of black iron and green wood. The barrel is ridiculously short and thick, and the tip still retains unburnt sulfur and saltpeter powder. A coiled jade serpent is carved into the grip, and two dark red gems are embedded where the dragon's eyes would be, casting a faint glow in the dim hall.】

After reading the attributes, the corners of Hu Jinsi's mouth twitched slightly.

How should one put it? The damage was high enough; 8-18 fire damage was quite a considerable value at this stage. The design was also domineering enough, feeling heavy in the hand with an air of archaic, lethal military craftsmanship. But the problem was,

"One round in the magazine? 15 seconds to reload? 8-meter range?"

Hu Jinsi held the firearm up to his eyes to examine it, then made a precise assessment: "Is this a gun or a fire poker?"

At 8 meters, is there even a need to fire a gun? A melee class could reach the target with just a few steps. Reloading one round every 15 seconds meant firing three or four times in a single battle would be considered decent. If encountering a high-speed enemy, one probably wouldn't even have time to aim.

Therefore, unless some special class could pull off some tricks with it, Hu Jinsi really couldn't imagine who would use this gun. In any case, Lin Rui and that Gunpowder Squad definitely wouldn't need such a lackluster weapon. They had rifles, submachine guns, and landmines; who would use such an antique-level single-shot firearm?

"Forget it, I'll take it back and throw it in the shop." He shoved the firearm into his backpack and turned to pick up the prayer beads.

【Flameheart Priest's Scorched Wood Prayer Beads】

【Type: Accessory】

【Pure Thought: The wearer gains a small amount (+2) of psychic damage resistance. When affected by mind control or fear effects, it automatically cleanses the effect, once every 30 minutes.】

【Item Description: 108 ebony beads, each looking as if it had been scorched by true fire, with cracked patterns covering the surface, and still retaining a scorching residual heat to the touch. The string is carbonized but remains tough, as if retaining some sort of stubborn obsession.】

Hu Jinsi looked at the prayer beads, his annoyance flaring up.

He had finally found a prayer-bead-shaped drop, hoping it would add some meditation experience or increase his Qi recovery speed, or at the very least add some Perception. But upon looking, it was all psychic resistance and control immunity effects.

"I am a dignified Monk, a being with 20 Perception; do I really need this much psychic resistance?"

Hu Jinsi twirled the prayer beads between his fingers; the residual heat of the beads made his fingertips numb. Who was this looking down on? The drops he was getting were getting weirder one after another. The firearm had an 8-meter range, and the prayer beads added psychic resistance. Up until now, aside from a psychic-type boss like the Sha of Doubt, he hadn't encountered many enemies capable of inflicting mind control on him.

"Whatever, having something is better than nothing."

Putting aside his complaints, Hu Jinsi shoved the firearm deep into his backpack. As for the prayer beads, since his accessory slot was empty anyway, he hung them directly around his neck. The cool sensation against his skin gradually dissipated the scorching residual heat, and a strange sense of tranquility began to spread from his chest.

After taking down Sister Liu, the door to the great hall where the final boss resided opened.

It was a stone door hidden at the end of the plaza, originally sealed by Sha energy. Now that the Sha energy had receded, the stone door slowly slid open to the sides, revealing the stairs leading to the inner hall behind it. The stairs were not long, only a dozen steps, and at the end was the great hall where the Sha of Doubt resided.

There was nothing much to say about the final battle. The mobs were still those Sha minions, distributed in twos and threes on both sides of the stairs. Their numbers were small, and they had no special mechanics. Hu Jinsi gathered them up, spun a few times with 【Spinning Crane Kick】, and wiped them all out. The Sha minions couldn't even mount a decent counterattack before being torn to shreds by the Qi energy, dissipating into purple smoke.

The final boss, the Sha of Doubt, was not its true body, but merely a projection within the dungeon. But even as a projection, it was a nightmare for ordinary Awakened. Its psychic attacks ignored physical defense, the fear effect could paralyze a person in place, and its clone tactics made it impossible to distinguish the real from the fake.

However, facing Hu Jinsi, who had stacked 3 points of psychic resistance in this dungeon run alone, combined with the Monk class's inherent high resistance to such psychic effects, the skills the Sha of Doubt took pride in were like mud oxen entering the sea—they didn't even cause a ripple.

When the Sha of Doubt summoned clones, Hu Jinsi would gather them up and wipe them out with 【Spinning Crane Kick】. The clones had extremely low HP and could be kicked to pieces in a few spins, making the clearing efficiency extremely high.

When the Sha of Doubt summoned a mirror image of Hu Jinsi, Hu Jinsi would beat the image to death. Although the mirror image copied his appearance, its attributes were less than half of his, and it shattered after a few punches.

When the Sha of Doubt released a ripple of fear, Hu Jinsi didn't even frown. With the Willpower save granted by his 20 Perception, plus the +2 resistance from the 【Flameheart Priest's Scorched Wood Prayer Beads】, and the Monk class's inherent passive psychic resistance bonus, the fear effect landed on him without even triggering a slow; it was directly immune.

The remaining time was spent beating up the boss.

Because he had stacked so much relevant resistance, this final boss posed the least challenge to Hu Jinsi. He even had leisure time to observe the Sha of Doubt's attack patterns and record its skill cooldowns to prepare for future high-difficulty versions.

About five minutes later, the Sha of Doubt let out a roar of unwillingness. Its massive body collapsed with a boom, turning into a mass of black mist that dissipated into the air.

The great hall returned to silence.

After the Sha of Doubt died, a hammer and a pair of shoulder guards were left on the ground.

Hu Jinsi picked up the hammer first.

【Rhythm, Soul of the Jade Serpent】

【Type: Magic Weapon/One-Handed Hammer】

【Damage: 8-15】

【Required Level: 11】

【Breath of the Jade Serpent: Your attacks have a chance to dispel 1 beneficial magic effect on the target (such as buff shields, speed buffs), and deal an additional 15% Holy damage to Undead and Sha enemies.】

【Item Description: Crafted from the pure essence of the Jade Serpent Yu'lon, the hammer body is warm and smooth like jade, yet erupts with blinding purifying light when striking Sha enemies. This weapon was once a ritual implement of the high priests of the Temple of the Jade Serpent, polluted during the invasion of the Sha of Doubt. Now, with the defeat of the Sha, the Soul of the Jade Serpent within has finally seen the light of day again.】

The hammer body was about the length of a forearm, with a warm, jade-white appearance throughout. Holding it in hand, it didn't feel as cold as metal; instead, a strange warmth emanated from his palm. The hammer head was carved with fine dragon patterns, which appeared and disappeared under the light, as if a small dragon were swimming inside the jade.

Hu Jinsi weighed it in his hand; it wasn't too heavy and could be swung with one hand. He tried swinging it through the air, and the hammer head emitted a low hum as it cut through the air, sounding like a dragon's roar.

The attributes of this hammer were quite good. Dispel beneficial magic effects was simply a god-tier skill when dealing with magical enemies, and the extra 15% Holy damage was a hard counter to Undead and Sha enemies. But the problem was, the style of this hammer didn't seem like it was meant for a Soldier.

Initially, Hu Jinsi thought of Lin Rui first, but after looking at the hammer's attributes, the more he looked, the less it seemed meant for melee classes like Soldiers. Instead, it seemed more like it was prepared for classes like Paladins or Priests. Those affixes—Holy damage and Dispel magic effects—carried the air of a cleric no matter how you looked at it.

"I'll ask Lin Rui later." He put the hammer away, "If he doesn't want it, I'll get rid of it; it should sell for a good price."

After all, the attributes were very attractive. Even if it wasn't for the most suitable class, there would be many support classes coveting it.

Then he picked up the shoulder guards.

【Shoulder Guards of Heavy Doubt】

【Type: Shoulders】

【Required Level: 11】

【Hunter's Mark: After entering combat, automatically marks the first enemy you face. Your first skill attack against the marked target is a guaranteed critical hit.】

【Item Description: This pair of shoulder guards is tanned from the hardened skin of the Sha of Doubt, and the eyeball patterns on the guards seem to always be peering at the enemy's weaknesses. The wearer must constantly resist the whispers of doubt remaining in the shoulder guards, but if one can harness this power, it will transform into the most lethal hunting instinct.】

The design of the shoulder guards made Hu Jinsi pause for a moment.

The overall material was a dark purple leather, with the surface covered in fine patterns. The most eye-catching feature was that there was a protruding eyeball-shaped pattern on the front of each shoulder guard, with two dark red gems embedded as pupils that rotated slightly under the light, as if truly watching everything around them.

"This design..."

Hu Jinsi held the shoulder guards up to his eyes to examine them; those two eyeball gems seemed to rotate with his movements, staring straight at him. A sense of eerie, Cthulhu-style strangeness washed over him, sending a chill down his spine.

As for the effect of the shoulder guards, it was passable; a guaranteed critical hit on the first skill attack was quite practical when soloing a boss. However, the design of the shoulder guards was a bit too Lovecraftian, because the patterns on the guards were eyeball-shaped; when you looked at them, you always felt like the armor plates were looking back at you. In short, the equipment dropped by the boss Sha of Doubt was just like its name—it made people feel paranoid.

"Wearing this thing, I always feel a chill behind my back."

Hu Jinsi pursed his lips but still equipped the shoulder guards. Fortunately, the advantage was that there were no armor type restrictions, so Hu Jinsi could wear them and use them for a while. Moreover, that guaranteed critical hit effect was indeed very valuable in actual combat, especially when combined with multi-hit skills like [Flurry of Blows]; the first critical hit could directly shave off a large chunk of a boss's HP.

He moved his shoulders; the shoulder guards fit quite well, it was just that those "eyes" kept swaying in his peripheral vision, which was a bit disconcerting.

Arriving at the entrance of the dungeon, Hu Jinsi suddenly thought of his immature idea. Since the monsters were all cleared and there was still plenty of time, he might as well give it a try.

He turned and walked to the right side of the dungeon gate, looking up at the lush, ancient pine tree. The trunk was thick, and the horizontal branches were about three meters off the ground—out of reach for an ordinary person, but for Hu Jinsi, who possessed [Parkour (Terrain Enhancement)], this was not a problem at all.

Quickly, he used [Parkour] along the large tree to the right of the dungeon entrance, tapping his feet against the trunk a few times. His body ascended like a nimble ape, and he jumped directly onto the wall of the Temple of the Jade Serpent dungeon.

The wall was about two feet wide, built from grayish-blue boulders and covered in moss, making it a bit slippery. However, Hu Jinsi had excellent balance and moved steadily along the top of the wall, his gaze scanning the entire layout of the dungeon.

Hu Jinsi walked along the eaves and the roofs of the side halls. The tiles made a slight "creaking" sound under his feet; some places had rotted and felt soft to step on. From time to time, he needed to use [lickers leg bind] to gain leverage on the vertical eaves, sticking to the wall like a gecko before flipping onto higher roofs.

Just like that, he walked all the way to the plaza where the third boss, Priestess Liu Flameheart, was located.

Looking down from the roof, the entire layout of the plaza was in full view. The statue of the Jade Serpent stood at the end of the plaza, and the traces of the recent battle still remained on the open ground on both sides of the stone steps. The female monk who had been entangled by the Sha energy was gone; with the defeat of the boss, she had dissipated along with it.

It actually works!

Hu Jinsi crouched on the roof, his lips curling upward uncontrollably. This route was completely feasible. From the dungeon entrance to Liu Flameheart's plaza, he could walk on the roofs the entire way without fighting any minor monsters. In other words, if he could clear the third boss first, then go back to fight the first boss, and challenge the final boss while carrying the [Purified Water] buff, it would be entirely possible to complete it within the buff's duration.

Hu Jinsi vented his excitement, pumping his fist on the roof.

If this worked, it meant that Hu Jinsi really had a chance to defeat the final boss before the Purified Water buff ended, thereby achieving the achievement. Hu Jinsi was quite looking forward to the achievement's reward, and he was certain that no one else had achieved it. On forums discussing the dungeon, Hu Jinsi had seen people discuss the issue of this Purified Water buff, but no one had ever mentioned obtaining the related achievement.

Just like this time, Hu Jinsi even had the Purified Water buff, but the buff disappeared before he even saw the second boss, that Lorewalker panda. After all, the buff only had a 5-minute duration. From the first boss to the second, then to the third and the final boss, there simply wasn't enough time if he walked normally.

"But if I fight the third boss first, then the first, and then take the buff and walk directly across the roofs to the final boss..."

Hu Jinsi quickly calculated the time in his mind. Clearing the third boss would take about ten minutes, then returning to the entrance from the roof would take about two minutes, fighting the first boss would take about five minutes, and then rushing from the roof to the final boss would take about two minutes. If everything went smoothly, the 5-minute duration of the buff should be just enough, provided there were no delays in between.

"I'll try it tomorrow."

After resolving the doubts in his mind, Hu Jinsi happily jumped down from the roof, landing steadily on the stone floor at the dungeon entrance. He brushed the dust off his clothes and turned to walk toward the vortex exit.

At noon, Hu Jinsi ate a special local snack in Daibei City, the famous local Pan-Fried Mianzi—chunks made from sweet potato starch, pan-fried until crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, mixed with sesame paste and minced garlic. After the tense battles in the dungeon, being able to sit down and have a good hot meal was simply the greatest enjoyment in life.

In the afternoon, after returning to his accommodation, he didn't rush to enter the dungeon again; instead, he sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion and began to meditate. His Qi pool slowly recovered during meditation, and his mental state gradually adjusted to its best.

In the evening, Hu Jinsi sent the musket, war drum, and the one-handed hammer he had obtained today into the small group chat, asking Lin Rui and Su Wan if they needed them.

[Hu Jinsi: Equipment farmed today, see if there is anything you need. [Image] [Image] [Image]]

The group was silent for a few minutes, then Lin Rui replied first.

[Lin Rui: These stats on the musket... a 15-second reload for a single shot? Are you serious?]

[Hu Jinsi: It dropped from the boss, I can't help it. You can think of it as the budget version of your shotgun.]

[Lin Rui: ...The hammer has good stats, but I feel it's a bit of a waste for me to use it. It's usable, but I don't really need a weapon like this, so let's just sell it.]

[Su Wan: War drum? Hu Jinsi, what do you mean? Can I even carry that? Do you expect me to be used as a living target on the battlefield? Sell it quickly, don't dirty my eyes.]

After checking the stats of the equipment, both felt that it didn't quite fit their current needs, so they politely declined, telling Hu Jinsi to list them on the Professional Mall himself.

[Su Wan: Did you put on those prayer beads? Mental resistance should be useful for a monk, right?]

[Hu Jinsi: I put them on, they're okay, it's just that they're useless most of the time.]

[Lin Rui: Let's meet up after the holidays to talk in detail.]

[Su Wan: Good night, take care of yourself.]

Hu Jinsi didn't say anything more after that, simply said good night, and listed all the equipment he had obtained today on the Professional Mall. The starting price for the musket was 3000 credit points, the war drum 3000, and the one-handed hammer 8000. These were all slightly lower than the market price, so they shouldn't be hard to sell.

After finishing all this, he stopped overthinking and threw himself into an all-night meditation.

The next day, Hu Jinsi entered the Temple of the Jade Serpent alone again.

This time, he changed his usual playstyle. After entering, he didn't head along the left side hall to challenge the first boss, the Jinyu, as usual; instead, he rushed straight toward the ancient pine tree on the right.

[Parkour] was activated, and in a few moves, he climbed onto the wall, then sprinted along the roofs of the side halls, heading straight for the plaza.

He was already very familiar with the route on the roofs; he knew which tiles were sturdy, where he needed to gain leverage, and which distances he could jump across. In less than two minutes, he had rushed from the dungeon entrance to Liu Flameheart's plaza.

He had already fought the third boss once, and the mechanics were firmly in his mind. In less than ten minutes, Liu Flameheart fell under his fists.

Then, he returned to the dungeon entrance from the roof and headed straight to the first boss along the left side hall.

The battle against the Jinyu Sage Mari was even more familiar; he lured the four pools of Corrupted Living Water to a corner and kicked them to explode, broke the shield, jumped onto the crossbeam to dodge the water spout, and then descended from the sky with a set of [Flurry of Blows], before circling the pillar to wear him down. The whole process took no more than five minutes.

The [Purified Water] buff appeared in his status bar—the 5-minute countdown began.

Hu Jinsi didn't hesitate, immediately rushing out of the side hall and sprinting toward the ancient pine tree. But just as he ran to the bottom of the wall, he suddenly stopped his footsteps.

Was the time on the buff... enough?

He hesitated on the spot. He had walked the distance from the wall to the final boss once yesterday, and it took about two minutes. But the prerequisite was that there could be no delays in between, he couldn't step on any slowing areas, and there could be no mistakes.

This hesitation cost him over ten seconds.

By the time he climbed onto the wall and rushed along the roofs to the final boss hall, the countdown for the buff had reached the last 30 seconds. And the battle against the Sha of Doubt, even with the fastest rush, required at least two minutes.

The buff disappeared.

Hu Jinsi stood at the entrance of the hall, watching the [Purified Water] icon disappear from his status bar, and sighed.

"Just a little bit off."

The time was still a bit too tight. Hu Jinsi didn't show much disappointment; the possibility of succeeding on the first try hadn't been very high anyway. He turned around, patiently cleared out all the bosses in the dungeon, and then left the dungeon.

Over the next four days, Hu Jinsi's wish to complete the dungeon achievement solo was never realized.

The first time, he stepped on a rotted tile while climbing the wall, slipped, and was delayed by nearly half a minute.

The second time, after finishing the first boss, he stepped into a pool of water and spent over ten seconds getting out.

The third time, after getting up the tree, he took the wrong route and went in a big circle.

The fourth time, everything went smoothly, but during the final fight against the Sha of Doubt, the boss continuously summoned clones twice, dragging it out for nearly another minute.

The fifth time, his movement speed on the wall was already much faster than before, but a minor monster he had missed earlier in front of the final boss delayed him for another ten seconds.

The reasons for each failure were different, but to summarize, it was one problem—time.

With a 5-minute buff duration, the margin for error was too low. Any delay in any part would lead to ultimate failure.

But these few days were not without any gains.

If nothing else, at least he had gathered enough of those robes he intended to give away. Every time he farmed the dungeon, the Jade Serpent scholars in the library side hall would drop those wide-sleeved robes, and Hu Jinsi never missed one, picking them all up. Now, there were over a dozen neatly folded in his backpack; it was plenty to distribute to Lin Rui, Su Wan, Su Qing, and Su Yu.

---

The equipment he had farmed over the past few days had gradually sold for over 10,000 credit points. The musket was bought by a sailor class professional, the war drum was taken by a shaman for 5,000, and the one-handed hammer was still listed for sale.

The [Licker's Ripping Knuckle] that Hu Jinsi had previously farmed in Raccoon City was also gradually falling behind in progress, so he cheaply transferred it to Zhen Jin, who was still struggling against zombies in Wei City, for 2,000 credit points.

The reason he transferred it to Zhen Jin so cheaply was also because this piece of equipment had less than half of its durability left. This type of equipment was different from armors and such; due to the special nature of the materials, it basically belonged to the category of equipment that could not be repaired, and once the durability was used up, it was gone.

Unless you were cruel enough to use those equipment repair vouchers rewarded from achievements—of course, no one would be so brain-dead as to use an achievement-rewarded equipment repair voucher to repair a low-level piece of equipment under level 10.

After receiving the equipment, Zhen Jin sent a string of thankful emojis in the communication software, saying that their progress in Raccoon City was good and they had already leveled up by 1.

Having some spare money, Hu Jinsi had originally planned to buy a pair of fingerless tactical gloves for himself. This would satisfy the requirement for the "Crane Form: Lonely Phoenix Style" fingertip cutting, and also allow him to avoid touching zombies or monsters with corrosive skin directly in future battles. For instance, he never dared to touch the corrosive living water summoned by the Jinyu, Sage Mari, in the Temple of the Jade Serpent with his bare hands, which was quite annoying.

Unfortunately, there weren't any suitable options right now. The dungeons Hu Jinsi currently had access to didn't drop this style of modern gear, and the items sold in the profession shop didn't seem appropriate either.

He would just have to wait until later.

Actually, regarding this piece of equipment, Hu Jinsi did have a preferred direction: gloves similar to the ones worn by Terry Bogard. Those black, fingerless leather gloves could protect his palms without compromising finger dexterity; they were simply the perfect gear for a monk. The problem was, Hu Jinsi had never heard of any dungeon—whether it was Fatal Fury or KOF—where they could be found.

However, in the profession shop, Hu Jinsi did see one piece of related gear.

[Hungry Wolf Soul Gauntlets]

[Type: Wonderous Item / Hands, Requires Attunement]

[Level Requirement: 45]

[Rarity: Rare (Can be upgraded to Epic)]

[Base Stats: Considered a +2 Magic Weapon, Unarmed Strike Damage +2, Accuracy +1]

[Elemental Awakening: Your unarmed strikes deal an additional 1-6 fire damage. When you use an unarmed skill, this fire damage increases to 2-12.]

[Supernatural Trait: Mark of the Hungry Wolf: When you crit or knock down an enemy with an unarmed strike, you gain one stack of "Mark of the Hungry Wolf". Consuming one stack allows your next attack to definitely have advantage (Accuracy +2), or restore 1 Chi.]

[Legendary Power: Energy Fountain (1/Long Rest): You release a 10-meter linear wave of energy. All creatures within range take 6-48 Force damage and are knocked back 5 meters.]

Hu Jinsi stared at the gear's stats for a long time, his mouth practically watering.

Damage bonus, accuracy bonus, fire damage, Chi restoration, area-of-effect ultimate... this was practically graduation gear tailor-made for a monk. But when he saw the price tag, he felt chilled from head to toe.

The number of zeros after the price alone exceeded Hu Jinsi's total assets.

Hu Jinsi silently closed the item details page.

Therefore, for Hu Jinsi, it was just something to look at. He didn't hold any expectations for at least four years. Perhaps when he reached level 45 and saved up enough money, he might consider this gear. As for now, he'd better honestly rely on his own hands.

---

Actually, Daibei City wasn't limited to just the dungeons Hu Jinsi was currently farming.

Over the past few days at the entrance of the Temple of the Jade Serpent dungeon, Hu Jinsi hadn't been completely isolated from others. Through casual chats with others, Hu Jinsi learned that there was another dungeon in Daibei City with a similar level to the Temple of the Jade Serpent, which was surprisingly also a place Hu Jinsi was familiar with—an old friend, the Deadmines.

It was just unclear if it was the early version or the post-Cataclysm version.

Unfortunately, Hu Jinsi had no way to solo that dungeon with his current strength. Because that dungeon was a place where one absolutely couldn't take shortcuts; inside the mines, there was only one path, the space was narrow, and the monsters were dense. A monk like Hu Jinsi who relied on agility couldn't utilize his maximum flexibility to dodge. In those narrow mine tunnels, there wasn't even room to maneuver, let alone talk about any kiting tactics.

Of course, Hu Jinsi could go farm with Zhen Jin's group of classmates; after all, they had asked Hu Jinsi over the past two days if he had any intention of joining them. Hu Jinsi replied that they should talk about it next week, as he wanted to take a look at these Eastern-style dungeons like the Temple of the Jade Serpent this week and try to find his own opportunities. After all, he had come here with this excuse, so he had to keep up appearances.

Besides the aforementioned Deadmines dungeon, Hu Jinsi also overheard people at the next table chatting while he was eating. A dungeon they were currently raiding in the supernatural stage was called the "Battle of the Five Armies".

At first, Hu Jinsi didn't catch on to what this dungeon was about. After all, there were so many dungeons in the world, and a considerable portion of them were ones Hu Jinsi had never heard of. As it turned out, while that group was chatting, they mentioned Mirkwood Elves, Lonely Mountain Dwarves, Orcs, and a melee-type wizard who only knew how to cast Flash.

If Hu Jinsi didn't know where they were talking about after hearing all that, then he would be truly too slow-witted.

The final decisive battle of The Hobbit trilogy—the Battle of the Five Armies. An epic battle where the allied forces of Elves, Dwarves, and Men fought against the armies of Orcs and Dire Wolves.

It was just a pity that this dungeon was clearly beyond Hu Jinsi's level. Not to mention anything else, he couldn't even beat a single Orc, let alone a Dire Wolf. Those Orcs were all two or three meters tall, wearing thick plate armor, wielding giant axes, and could easily split him in half with a single swing. Moreover, in a massive mountain melee with ten thousand Soldiers like the Battle of the Five Armies, what could a monk like Hu Jinsi possibly achieve?

The monk class was ultimately not a meat grinder for the battlefield, but rather a class suited for small to medium-scale skirmishes. For Hu Jinsi, a dungeon at this stage was just something to broaden his horizons and listen to for now.

"When my level goes up in the future, I can consider going there to mix it up." He noted this information in his heart.

Aside from the Deadmines mentioned earlier, it seemed that Moonbrook outside the dungeon, as well as that long coastline filled with Murlocs, had also appeared in Daibei City as dungeons.

Hu Jinsi was actually quite interested in that group of Murlocs at the Longshore. After all, taking advantage of the final stage where [Hot Boot Spike] could still shine, using the fire damage from the boot spikes to harvest a batch of Murlocs was still quite tempting for Hu Jinsi. Murlocs generally had low health, thin armor, almost no resistance to fire damage, and were huge in number, making them extremely efficient to farm.

However, all these plans would have to wait until Hu Jinsi obtained that achievement in the Temple of the Jade Serpent he had his heart set on.

"Achievement first, then Murlocs or Deadmines," he prioritized in his mind.

On the day Hu Jinsi entered the Temple of the Jade Serpent for the 6th time, he had basically succeeded this time.

Returning from the third boss plaza to the entrance, the timing was controlled perfectly. The speed of defeating the first boss was also much faster than before; the lure route for the corrosive living water had been optimized to the extreme, and the burst output after breaking the shield was even more precise. The moment the buff appeared in the status bar, he didn't hesitate in the slightest and charged straight out of the side hall.

Climbing trees, vaulting walls, sprinting along the rooftops... every movement was as fluid as if it were carved into his bones.

But when he rushed to the final boss hall and began to engage the Sha of Doubt, the buff's countdown was not even halfway through.

The boss still had a little bit of health left.

The buff disappeared.

"..."

Hu Jinsi stood in place, looking at the icon that had vanished from his status bar, and was silent for a few seconds.

It was probably over by 15 seconds.

He closed the panel, leaned against the wall, and began to review the entire process.

Hu Jinsi calculated that, actually, if he hadn't hesitated in place after clearing the Jinyu, Sage Mari, it would have been fine. At that time, he was checking to see if the boss had dropped anything good, which wasted a few seconds. If he had charged out of the side hall immediately after clearing it, and climbed the tree and wall directly, the time should have been sufficient.

"I just hesitated for that one moment."

He sighed, then stood up and patted the dust off his clothes.

It didn't matter, he would try again tomorrow.

This time, he wouldn't hesitate.

Day 7.

Hu Jinsi executed his plan strictly.

After entering, he went straight up the tree, vaulted the wall, and headed straight for the third boss, Priestess Liu Flameheart, in the plaza. The combat process was smooth, the plaza mobs were cleared with [Spinning Crane Kick], and the fight with Liu Flameheart was ground down at a 4-meter distance using the Crane Form; the entire process took no more than twelve minutes.

Then, stepping on the rooftops, he returned to the dungeon entrance, following the left side hall straight to the first boss.

The battle with the Jinyu, Sage Mari, was familiar. Four pools of corrosive living water were precisely lured into the corner, exploded with [Spinning Crane Kick], and the split bodies were cleared one by one. After breaking the shield, he jumped onto the crossbeam, dropped down for basic attacks, and circled the pillar to grind down its health—every step was precise to the second.

The moment the first boss fell, the [Purified Water] buff appeared in the status bar.

The 5-minute countdown began.

This time, Hu Jinsi didn't even look at the possible drops from the Jinyu, he charged straight out of the side hall. His footsteps made rapid sounds on the stone floor, and his figure shot toward the direction of the ancient pine.

Up the tree, [Parkour] directly up, climbing onto the horizontal branches in two or three moves.

Vaulting the wall, [Crane Stance], his toes tapped on the wall top, and his body vaulted over.

Sprinting along the tiles of the side hall roof, [Chi Torpedo] dashed him over 20 meters at once, his steps light as flight, each step landing on solid tiles without the slightest hesitation.

His heartbeat pounded against his ribs until it hurt, and the sound of blood flow buzzed in his eardrums. The buff countdown in the status bar decreased second by second, but this time, his speed was faster than any previous attempt.

The stone gate of the final boss hall appeared in his field of vision.

He rushed in.

The figure of the Sha of Doubt condensed in the center of the hall, and black Sha energy rolled in. Hu Jinsi didn't pause for a second, [Chi Torpedo] closed the distance instantly, [Crane Form: Lonely Phoenix Style] unfolded in an instant, and [Flurry of Blows] smashed out with a roar!

Sha of Doubt casts clones—[Spinning Crane Kick], cleared!

Sha of Doubt summons mirror images—[Flurry of Blows], shattered!

Sha of Doubt releases fear ripple—Immune!

Time ticked away second by second, and the buff countdown reached the final 30 seconds.

The health of the Sha of Doubt dropped rapidly. Hu Jinsi's Chi pool was already bottoming out, but he didn't stop. Every punch and kick was delivered with full force, and each one landed precisely on the boss's weak points.

The final 10 seconds.

The Sha of Doubt let out a hoarse roar, its massive body collapsed to the ground, and the black Sha energy dissipated like a receding tide.

With the final blow of [-17], the boss fell.

Almost at the same instant,

[System Notification]

"Congratulations to Awakened One Hu Jinsi..."