127: Chapter 127 The King in the Darkness [Soul-Eating Beast]! The Invulnerable [Companion Ghost Beast]!

Amidst the flashing lightning, sharp Sword Qi, like Divine Punishment descending from the heavens, engulfed almost every monster within their field of vision.

Countless damage numbers, like high-energy barrage, almost drowned out everyone's line of sight.

With just two streaks of thundercloud Sword Qi, the dense and overwhelming horde of monsters that had been surrounding the four of them just moments ago was wiped out, wave after wave.

"You have gained 330 (+363) experience points."

"You have gained 660 (+726) experience points."

"You have gained 1650 (+1815) experience points."

"You have gained…"

System prompts flashed rapidly before Wang Fei and the other two like a scrolling screen.

The number of monsters they had lured all the way to the altar was staggering, at least over a thousand.

Although the experience from a single monster death didn't seem like much, at Zhang Jian's screen-clearing speed, at least several hundred monsters were dying every second.

In the blink of an eye, the experience points on their panels had increased by hundreds of thousands. This growth rate directly stunned them.

You have to know, if they wanted to level up from Rank 14 to Rank 15 right now, the experience requirement was only 75,000 points.

It might not seem like much, but for an average Professional, killing monsters of the same Rank would require over 300 of them. And that's only if they got the full solo experience.

If in a party, they would need over a thousand monsters. If clearing a Dungeon, they would need to clear at least two of the same Rank. If grinding in the wild, it was highly possible they wouldn't finish in a day or two.

But now? Following Zhang Jian, they hadn't even made a move themselves. In just an instant, it was equivalent to the harvest others would get over many days.

While marveling, they didn't just stand around. They quickly picked up the monster drops.

They had seen too many Rank 25 weapons and equipment of various qualities to be moved anymore. For this Dungeon, the most important things were the various war flag fragments.

Even though the three of them were agile and had fast movement speeds, it still took them a full few minutes to finish cleaning up the battlefield.

After tallying everything up, they had exactly 100 war flag fragments each from the [Ranger], [Wolf Cavalry], and [Catapult] monsters, which combined into three types of war flags.

According to the instructions, one could choose to insert one to three war flags at the altar. This would summon 1 excellence-grade BOSS, 2 excellence-grade BOSSes, or 1 legendary rank BOSS, respectively.

These three different qualities of BOSSes corresponded to the Normal, Hard, and Nightmare difficulties of this Dungeon.

In this situation, Wang Fei didn't even need to ask Zhang Jian for instructions; they unanimously decided to go straight for the highest difficulty.

A mere legendary rank BOSS—with Brother Jian here, could it really turn the world upside down?

The three of them each took an altar and simultaneously inserted the corresponding war flags.

Rumble! As the altars shook and the ground vibrated violently, the group experienced a dizzying sensation.

They saw a massive beast, resembling a leopard and covered in black scales, appear before them. This was a 25th Rank legendary rank BOSS named [Soul-Eater Beast].

As soon as it appeared, it swung its sharp claws, and a black shockwave rushed toward the four of them.

-1500! -1500! -1500! Their bodies stiffened.

They discovered that their own defense values had no effect at all, as they were directly hit by the opponent's so-called attribute-based shadow damage. Moreover, they were hit with a slow debuff called [Shadow Impact].

Fortunately, relying on the skill effect of Wang Fei's [Swift Gale Shadow Trace], they basically negated this negative debuff. Their bodies relaxed, their movements returned to normal, and they were barely affected.

Zhang Jian, with the blessing of his entries, didn't slow down but instead accelerated; he launched himself out and charged rapidly toward the BOSS.

Roar! The Ghost Beast let out a long cry. Instantly, the sky went dark!

"You are in the [Darkness Domain] released by the 25th Rank legendary rank BOSS [Soul-Eater Beast]. You take 750 shadow damage per second, and healing effects are reduced by 50%."

"Damn, I can't see!" Wei Donglai and Yan Han exclaimed.

Wang Fei calmly commanded, "Don't panic yet, everyone gather together."

"Wait patiently for a moment."

"Wait for what?"

"Wait for Brother Jian to make a move!"

Zhang Jian headed straight toward the BOSS in a straight line. Along the way, the opponent unleashed various types of attacks in succession. Normal damage. Critical damage. Shadow damage. But Zhang Jian had several shields protecting him, so he didn't care at all. His pace didn't stop in the slightest.

Even though he was in the darkness, thanks to the entry effects, his vision was only slightly limited. He could still continue his pace toward the BOSS's location.

Furthermore, once the opponent entered his attack range, he directly swung out a streak of Sword Qi. The Sword Qi brought light, illuminating the BOSS's position.

Now! Zhang Jian's eyes narrowed. [Sword Qi Slash] was unleashed with full force.

-20588! (Absorbed 8235) -144116! -144116! ...

Although the initial normal attack was absorbed by a full 40% due to the BOSS's own characteristic effects, the nine streaks of Sword Qi that followed erupted without compromise. They hit the BOSS, making it roar repeatedly and retreat uncontrollably.

Even though it was suppressed by Zhang Jian, the Battle Intent in its eyes grew even stronger. It continuously spat out several black beams from its mouth, striking Zhang Jian's body.

-3000! (Damage reduction 1980) -3000! (Damage reduction 1980) Seeing the damage effects significantly weakened, Zhang Jian felt relieved.

This was precisely the effect of the entry skill that had been continuously upgraded after experiencing several Dungeons and countless monster attacks.

[Sword Qi Field] (legendary rank) (+6) After entering combat, unfolds a Sword Qi Domain lasting 66 seconds, generating three layers of shields: ① Surface Shield (1100% base HP): 80% physical damage reduction ② Middle Shield (660% base HP): 66% magic damage reduction ③ Core Shield (440% base HP): 44% true damage reduction. When a single layer of shield breaks: 1. Triggers a 6-second invincibility-type super armor effect (immune to control) 2. After the final layer of shield breaks, gain temporary HP (value = cumulative damage absorbed by damage reduction, capped at 2200% of own max HP), lasting 22 seconds (Enters 120-second cooldown when the Domain ends) (To upgrade entry quantity: Need to use this entry to block 689 / 1,000,000 attacks) (To upgrade entry quality: Need 4 epic-grade defense-type skill books)

The magic attacks continuously released by the BOSS, after passing through the Middle Shield's 66% magic damage reduction in the [Sword Qi Field], only caused 1020 points of damage to Zhang Jian. However, because Zhang Jian's own HP was still too low, the shield value was only a mere few thousand points.

The BOSS's attack frequency was truly not low, and it still kept the shield shaking incessantly. Zhang Jian felt a bit nervous. This guy had some tricks up its sleeve.

But he didn't panic in his heart; instead, he took a step forward, sword in hand. He swung [Sword Qi Slash] again. This time, it slashed the BOSS's body, causing it to bleed incessantly, even exposing its bones. It looked like he was about to slay it directly.

Suddenly, several streaks of transparent black Qi rose from its body, enveloping it and blocking the damage from the last few streaks of Sword Qi.

Zhang Jian stepped forward again, wanting to follow up with a normal attack and press the advantage. However, he discovered that the opponent was in a strange state and could not be attacked.

As the black Qi on its body became increasingly dense, a wave of unsettling aura also emanated from the surroundings. Black Qi also began to dissipate from near the altars, slowly enveloping the four of them.

"This looks a bit creepy," Yan Han said worriedly. Wei Donglai, however, didn't care at all, "What are you afraid of! No matter how much it can pretend to be a ghost, it will eventually be slain by Brother Jian!"

Wang Fei looked at him with surprise, "Old Wei, your awareness is pretty good now." Wei Donglai smiled indifferently.

Ever since he met Zhang Jian, the strength the other party displayed time and time again was always even more powerful than he imagined. Every time he wanted to have any doubts or worries, he would eventually be slapped in the Face by Zhang Jian's performance. Now he understood. He just needed to blindly believe in Brother Jian!

While they were talking, the black Qi completely surrounded the entire area where the altar was located. The black Qi no longer dissipated but gradually stabilized.

Just at this moment, the BOSS finally made a move. It let out strange roars toward the sky, as if it was casting some spell. As its voice continued to sound, the black Qi fluctuated again. It began to transform into the shapes of animals. Eventually, they all turned into the same size as it, just looking a little smaller.

The four of them also probed the attributes of these monsters.

[Companion Ghost Beast]: A dark creature summoned by the legendary rank BOSS [Soul-Eater Beast] when it is in a life-threatening crisis by consuming its own ultimate energy. 70% immune to physical attacks, 90% immune to magic attacks. While this creature is alive, the [Soul-Eater Beast] will be in an invincible state; if it cannot be cleared within 10 minutes, this creature will turn into energy to replenish the [Soul-Eater Beast], increasing all attributes by 100% and HP recovery speed by 200%.

Wei Donglai tried waving his staff. -280! A small burning fireball smashed onto the monster's body, causing a pathetic amount of damage to float up. The group's expressions were grave as they looked at Zhang Jian. Facing such a perverted creature with Heaven-Defying resistance, how would Zhang Jian deal with it?

... Beep! Beep beep! Beep beep beep! Li Zhihai was outside the Dungeon, leisurely sitting and drinking tea accompanied by staff. The personal terminal on his wrist suddenly rang urgently. His heart tightened, and he hurriedly stood up and rushed back to his office. He locked the door tightly before answering.

The special calling frequency just now was the level he had set for important people he particularly cared about. It was basically set specifically for his older brother, Li Zhiyong. The other party suddenly calling must mean there was news regarding the situation with Zhang Jian he had asked about earlier.

"Big brother, how is the situation?" On the other end of the call, Li Zhiyong had a gloomy Face and directly cursed at the personal terminal, "How the fuck is your brain wired, daring to offend even a student of Galaxy Academy?"

Li Zhihai looked very aggrieved, "When I first met him, how would I know he could get into Galaxy?" "Even if I knew he had a chance to get into your university, I would definitely have considered it carefully and wouldn't have targeted him."

Hearing him say this, Li Zhiyong was a bit displeased, "The way you put it, is our school that bad?" "No, no, no, big brother, I was wrong, I didn't mean that." Li Zhihai apologized hastily.

"Forget it, let's not talk about this." "According to the news, this Zhang Jian and Wang Fei are not only two of the ten students of this year's Galaxy Academy but also existences ranked very high." "It is said that someone at the scene witnessed it, and even the Dean looks at him with special regard." "This time, you really kicked an iron plate!"

"Then aren't I finished… Brother, you must save me!" Li Zhihai's voice was trembling, clearly scared. Li Zhiyong sighed.

"You are my younger brother after all; even if I don't want to save you, I have to." "That Zhang Jian is said to not have reached Rank 10 yet, so whether it's equipment or skills, he should still have quite a few needs." "Galaxy Academy doesn't directly distribute such resources when you first enter, so we still have a chance."

"Big brother, how about we offer two or three legendary rank skill books?" Li Zhihai asked cautiously. "That's fucking useless!" Li Zhiyong was almost fainted by him in anger.

"With your big brother's Face, I had to say this and that to convince Director Hai to help plead for mercy." "Then I have to present heavy gifts to ask for forgiveness." Li Zhiyong scolded him twice, feeling a bit relieved in his heart. Only then did he narrow his eyes and say slowly.

"I just calculated it." "Based on the number of skills from Rank 10 to 30, we need to prepare a full set of six legendary rank skill books, plus a set of legendary rank gear for every 10 Ranks." He paused, then gritted his teeth and said, "Plus 50 million in cash, you go apologize in person."

The other side was silent for a moment, and Li Zhihai's voice was somewhat reluctant. "Big brother, isn't that too exaggerated?" "With your status, if you just say a word, and we symbolically offer a few things, can't we satisfy him?"

Li Zhiyong said, hating that iron wouldn't become steel, "You don't know shit!" "Just Zhang Jian, a lousy swordsman, even if he has some Opportunity, he might not necessarily be that powerful in the future." "But he represents Galaxy Academy behind his back!" "If the outside world finds out that you once had malicious intentions toward an official student of Galaxy Academy, even if you kneel before them and offer them how much money, it's useless!" "There are plenty of people who want to curry favor with Galaxy Academy who will come personally to take your dog head off!"

Li Zhihai was silent for a moment before reluctantly saying, "Then I'll listen to everything big brother says." "Collecting equipment and skill books isn't easy on my end, so I'll have to trouble big brother more." "As for the cash, I'll hurry up and scrape it together, and I'll transfer it to you once it's ready." Li Zhiyong's expression finally looked a little better. "Handle it as soon as possible!"

... Li Zhihai hung up the phone with a gloomy Face. He never expected. A little guy he thought he could easily manipulate had now grown into a figure that even his big brother had to fear. Just a lowly Rank 9 Professional at the very bottom, yet he actually needed his big brother to step in, and he still had to apologize. He felt a sense of humiliation. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became.

He glanced at the time on his personal terminal. He calculated that Zhang Jian and the four of them had been in the Dungeon for almost half an hour. According to his understanding of the [Wild Grassland] Dungeon, at this time, ordinary teams would usually encounter the elusive [Wolf Cavalry]. If they were not careful, casualties would occur. It was even possible for the whole team to be wiped out. Those few naive student kids might have insufficient combat experience and could have been taken out in one wave, right?

The more Li Zhihai thought about it, the more he felt it was possible. If that were really the case, not only would he not have to apologize, but he could also earn the 3-million deposit. He nimbly opened the door and walked quickly toward the Dungeon direction. The expression on his Face was a bit excited. Kids, I'm here to collect your corpses.