54: Kill the Wild Skeleton

Lin Chuping's eyes narrowed slightly. A thought flashed through his mind, and in an instant, the Divine Ability of Thunder Law roared forth once more.

“Boom—!”

Another even thicker purple lightning bolt struck down, carrying the might of destroying heaven and earth, directly hitting the Skeleton Monster.

This time, the Skeleton Monster's eerie skeleton trembled violently in the lightning, its bones emitting 'crackling' sounds of breaking. Black smoke continuously surged from its body, as if burning its Soul.

【Ding! Killed a Demon Soldier Rank Huang Skeleton. Reward: Incense Value +1000】

The System's notification sound rang out, and at the same time, a translucent light screen appeared, clearly displaying the detailed information of this Skeleton Monster.

【Huang Skeleton: A giant skeleton formed from resentment, it likes to wander in the quiet night, emitting spine-chilling 'creaking' sounds, searching everywhere for traces of living people. Once it locks onto a target, it will crush the prey with its giant skeletal hand and devour its living Soul.】

Lin Chuping secretly breathed a sigh of relief. His peripheral vision swept over the group of villagers below, who were either terrified or awestruck, and a hint of relief welled up in his heart.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, if it took him a long time to deal with just one Skeleton Monster, with continuous thunder bombardments, wouldn't his accumulated prestige be greatly diminished?

“Fortunately, just two basic attacks, and it's finally settled.”

However, after this battle, a warning bell also rang in his heart. The matter of upgrading Divine Abilities was indeed urgent and could no longer be delayed.

Of course, fortune and misfortune are intertwined. This incident also opened up a new idea for him—'fishing for law enforcement' to earn extra income!

Once the idea opened up, he felt his entire Soul become clear.

He only needed to employ a small trick, lure those demons into carefully laid traps, and then strike them down with thunder. This way, he could not only gain substantial Incense Value but also temper his Divine Abilities in the process, killing two birds with one stone.

As for the specific operation, as a lofty and revered God, he naturally couldn't directly order his subordinate rat demons to do the monster-luring work.

A more stable approach was—to give more rewards to Rat Spirit and Rat Chestnut.

With this thought, Lin Chuping's figure slowly disappeared.

* * *

The lightning dissipated, leaving only a pile of charred bone fragments on Barren Stone Slope, with wisps of black smoke scattered by the mountain wind.

Rat Chestnut sat slumped on the ground not far away. At this moment, it was frantically rubbing its two front paws on both sides of its mouth, trying to brush off the thick layer of dust on its furry face, but its two paws seemed to have had their sinews and bones removed, trembling non-stop.

“This Skeleton Monster… it's even more sinister than I imagined…”

“It was too shocking! It was, it was simply…”

After a long while, Rat Chestnut finally seemed to awaken from a dream. Just now, they had actually accomplished something earth-shattering.

Just those two bolts of thunder, Rat Chestnut felt dizzy and as if it would die just by looking at them.

This terrifying Skeleton Monster was actually able to withstand two critical hits based on its strength!

What did this mean? It meant that this thing could crush them like ants, effortlessly.

It was terrifying to such an extent.

Rat Chestnut couldn't help but shiver, filled with the fear of having narrowly escaped death.

Where did he and Rat Spirit get the courage to plot against such a terrifying existence at that time?

But who would have thought that it actually worked?

If it weren't for his trembling legs, Rat Chestnut would have loved to jump up and sing and dance.

“It's truly Lord Chuping's blessing!”

Just then, Rat Spirit limped over, also in a similar disheveled state.

“Brother Chestnut, did we… almost die?”

Rat Spirit's voice trembled, tinged with a cry.

Rat Chestnut nodded, his throat so dry he could barely speak.

In stark contrast to their disheveled state, Little Gray had no such worries. It excitedly scurried out of the cave, clutching half a charred rib in its paw, dancing with joy and unable to stop.

“Mom and Dad! We won!”

“Lord Chuping has manifested!”

Rat Chestnut finally recovered, slapping Little Gray on the head.

“Won my ass! If Lord Chuping hadn't intervened, our whole family would have become the Skeleton Monster's supper tonight!”

It stood up, shook the dust from its fur, and looked around—the rat children and grandchildren, though disheveled, were at least all alive.

“Listen up, all of you!”

Rat Chestnut straightened its back, its voice hoarse but majestic. “Today, Lord Chuping saved our lives. This kindness, the Rat Clan of Black Rat Mountain will never forget! From now on, whenever Lord Chuping has a command, our clan will do our utmost!”

The rats responded in unison: “We obey Father King's command!”

* * *

On the other side, the villagers who were originally eating were now stunned, their bowls and chopsticks falling to the ground, completely oblivious.

Especially the villagers from Prefecture City, this was truly an eye-opening experience.

From the moment Lord Chuping appeared, they had all knelt neatly on the ground.

“Today, I've truly seen something incredible! Look, this… isn't this a True Immortal descending to the mortal world?!”

“I said why he looked so familiar, but only after someone shouted his name did it click. This Lord Chuping looks exactly like the clay Immortal enshrined in our village's temple!”

“Our Lord Chuping has boundless Divine Ability, protecting our land. Even these rat demons, who usually cause trouble, under his grace, dare not act presumptuously anymore and even know to help out. They are truly good demons.”

“Those who moved away from our Chang Sheng Village before, saying they couldn't bear to part with the small benefits of Prefecture City. Look, if they saw this scene today, they'd probably regret it so much their guts would turn green. They wouldn't even get to see an Immortal manifest; they'll have plenty of time to cry later.”

“Alright, alright, don't mention those petty things. They spoil our good mood.”

“Did you all go offer incense to Lord Chuping today? He's our savior, you can't neglect your manners.”

“I went early this morning, but now I'm thinking, once isn't enough! I'll go again later and pray devoutly, asking Lord Chuping to continue protecting our village in the future.”

Once this topic was opened, it was like igniting a powder keg. The villagers rushed towards the Chuping Temple.

A long queue quickly formed in front of the temple. The wisps of green smoke from the incense burner curled upwards, mingling with the villagers' prayers, and floated towards the clouds.

* * *

As night deepened, it was time for post-battle settlement.

Rat Chestnut led the entire rat clan, standing in a neat row.

Each one copied human gestures, pressing their two front paws together, extremely devoutly.

Lin Chuping held a deep admiration for Rat Chestnut and Rat Spirit, the couple.

As the saying goes, do what you love.

These two rats, when they loved making babies before, were diligent and meticulous, producing thousands of offspring at a time.

Now that they were his subordinates, within a few days, they created a huge stir for him—they jointly annihilated a Huang Skeleton that was an entire Realm higher than their own Rank.

Putting all that aside, just take the matter of offering incense. This endless line of rat children and grandchildren before him were all his loyal believers. How much Incense Value was that!

With such courage and perseverance, they would succeed in anything they did.

“Hahahaha, so much Incense Value.”

“I'm rich! I'm rich!”

Lin Chuping rejoiced inwardly. He had a faint premonition that with this massive amount of Incense Value, it wouldn't be long before he could exchange for the long-desired God Cultivation Art in the System and officially embark on the path of Cultivation!