33: Chapter 33 The Undead Set and the Village Chief's Killing Intent

"Twenty percent off?"

Qin Ji looked at Between the Arms, who was floating in mid-air with a fervent gaze, a playful curve tugging at the corner of his mouth. He casually tossed the armor in his hand, which emitted a bone-chilling Aura, his tone nonchalant.

"For a Senior with such an elusive and high-minded demeanor, talking about money would surely hurt our feelings. How about this: I'll let you broaden your horizons, and you help me appraise these for free. Let's call it... an artistic exchange."

Between the Arms was choked up by these words, his beard trembling, but his eyes never left the pile of equipment. As a Grandmaster of appraisal who was obsessed with "art," he knew all too well the value of the items before him.

Equipment produced from an Abyss-Grade dungeon carried an inherent Aura of Law; in a Newbie Village, this was essentially a dimensional strike.

"You brat... Fine! I'll give it to you for your smooth talk!"

Between the Arms snorted coldly and tapped his finger in the air.

Buzz—

An obscure dark-golden light instantly enveloped the pile of equipment at Qin Ji's feet. Fine cracking sounds echoed in the air, as if some invisible Seal was being violently dismantled.

As Between the Arms muttered under his breath, the first piece of equipment shed its dull gray shell, bursting with a heart-palpitating eerie light.

It was a pair of combat boots entwined in shadows, the surface seemingly composed of flowing black mist, exuding a wicked vibe.

"Dark Gold Rank, Shadow Boots. You're lucky, kid; this thing comes with 'Ghost Step,' top-tier for running away."

With a casual wave from Between the Arms, the boots automatically floated toward Qin Ji.

Qin Ji reached out to catch them, and his attribute panel instantly popped open.

[Shadow Boots (Dark Gold Rank)]

[Category: Leather Armor/Shoes]

[Requirements: Rank 10, Agility 80]

[Attributes: Agility +35, Movement Speed +15%, Evasion Rate +10%]

[Special Effect - Shadow Step: Upon activation, enter a semi-stealth state, increasing movement speed by 60% for 30 seconds. Cooldown: 10 minutes.]

[Description: Put these on, and you'll be the ultimate street-drifter of the night.]

"Not bad." Qin Ji equipped them immediately. His original newbie cloth shoes instantly transformed into black-mist-shrouded combat boots, making him feel significantly lighter.

But this was just the appetizer.

Between the Arms tapped his finger again; this time the light was even more dazzling, even carrying a hint of deathly pale bone color.

Crack, crack.

Two pieces of equipment floated into the air simultaneously.

One was a piece of heavy armor stitched together from countless fine white bones, with two ferocious beast skulls as shoulder guards; the other was a broad bone greatsword, its spine interlocking like vertebrae, with a nauseating gray Death Qi lingering at the blade's edge.

"Tsk tsk, you actually managed to complete a set of 'Twin Skeletal Fiends'." Between the Arms smacked his lips, a flash of amazement in his eyes, "This was the life-bound gear of that Ice Flame Corpse General; I didn't expect you to strip it all off."

[Skeletal Heavy Armor (Dark Gold Rank · Growth Type)]

[Requirements: Strength 100, Physique 80]

[Defense: Physical +220, Magic +150]

[Attributes: Strength +40, Physique +40]

[Special Effect - Skeletal Armor: 15% chance to summon a bone shield when hit, negating 500 points of damage.]

[Set Effect (1/2): Not Activated]

[Skeletal Heavy Sword (Dark Gold Rank · Growth Type)]

[Requirements: Strength 120]

[Attack: 380-450]

[Attributes: Strength +60, Armor Penetration +20%]

[Special Effect - Heavy Strike: 20% chance to deal double damage when attacking, with an added 'Bone Shatter' effect (30% slow).]

[Set Effect (2/2): Activated! All attributes +10%, attacks grant 15% life steal.]

Qin Ji's pupils contracted slightly.

Life steal!

In this lone wolf mode without a priest to follow him, life steal was essentially the core component of a perpetual motion machine. Combined with his already freakishly high base defense, once he put on this set, he could basically take a bath in a mob of monsters.

He didn't hesitate to strip off his ragged newbie gear and put on the skeletal set.

Click—

The bone armor settled on him, with pale bone spikes protruding from his shoulders. Combined with the pitch-black greatsword on his back and the nine harmonies-evil slaying bow at his waist, Qin Ji didn't look like a player at all right now, but more like an undead monarch crawling out of Hell.

"There's one last piece."

Between the Arms seemed to be getting into the spirit of the appraisal, casually grabbing the final necklace.

The necklace's pendant was a miniature skull, with eerie green soul fire flickering in its eye sockets.

[Necklace of the Dead (Dark Gold Rank)]

[Requirements: Spirit 100]

[Attributes: Spirit +50, Spell Power +100]

[Special Effect - Undead Dominator: All attributes of undead creatures you summon are increased by 20%.]

[Special Effect - Fear Immunity: Immune to all fear-related negative statuses.]

This was practically a Divine Artifact tailor-made for his Skeleton Mage squad!

Qin Ji put on the necklace, feeling the surging power within his body. Now, even without relying on those freakish attributes he had farmed, this gear alone was enough to crush 99.9% of players at this stage.

"Alright, four Dark Gold pieces; your luck is truly something else."

Between the Arms clapped his hands, looking at Qin Ji with a pained expression, "If I were charging for this, it would be at least five hundred gold coins. You owe me a favor, kid."

Saying this, he turned to leave through the air, "Stop letting those broken bones wander around; it's ruining my mood for sketching scenery."

"Senior, please wait."

Qin Ji suddenly spoke, stopping Between the Arms just as he was about to take flight.

"Now what?" Between the Arms turned back impatiently. "One must learn to be content; insatiable greed will..."

Before he could finish his sentence, he saw another item appear in Qin Ji's hand.

It was a damaged robe stained with dried blood, but even so, it still exuded an Aura of intertwined holiness and depravity that made one want to prostrate in worship.

It was the unique item dropped by the final boss of 'The Lost Princess' dungeon—[Bloodstained Robe of the Fallen Imperial Princess].

Between the Arms' eyes instantly bulged.

He lunged closer, his nose twitching like a dog's. His previously nonchalant expression completely collapsed, replaced by a ghost-seeing mix of terror and fanaticism.

"Epi... Epic Rank?!"

His voice cracked, "You killed the true form of the Imperial Princess in that Abyss? That was a demigod projection!"

"Just lucky, I just landed the final blow," Qin Ji said calmly, handing the robe over. "I'll have to trouble you, Senior, to appraise this as well. And I still don't want to pay."

Between the Arms stared fixedly at the robe. His hand reached halfway out but suddenly froze.

After a long time, like a deflated balloon, he dejectedly pulled his hand back, his face a kaleidoscope of emotions.

"I can't appraise it."

"Hmm?" Qin Ji raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you claim to be the number one Divine Eye of the Newbie Village?"

"Reverse psychology won't work on me!" Between the Arms rolled his eyes irritably. "Even though I'm a Genius, my current state is under a Seal, making me just an Advanced appraiser. This thing involves divinity rules; unless I recover my strength..."

At this point, he paused, his gaze scanning Qin Ji up and down as if looking at a piece of unpolished jade.

"However, although I can't appraise it, you can do it yourself."

Qin Ji's heart stirred: "What do you mean?"

Between the Arms chuckled and pulled a tattered parchment notebook from his robes, tossing it directly to Qin Ji.

"I see you have a remarkable skeletal structure, a good prospect for learning to be bad... cough, for learning art. This 'Insight Manual of All Things' is yours. Once you learn it, you can appraise things yourself and stop bothering me."

[Ding! Hidden Opportunity triggered!]

[You have obtained a special skill book: "Appraisal Technique: Eye of Truth (Incomplete Manual)"]

[Learning Requirements: Spirit attribute > 200, Comprehension Ability > 10.]

Qin Ji glanced at his panel; his Spirit attribute had already broken five hundred due to monster-slaying plunder. He clicked to learn immediately.

A cool current instantly rushed into his mind, and his eyes felt a stinging pain, followed by the world becoming much clearer.

"Thanks."

Qin Ji put away the skill book without further pestering. He knew NPCs of this level had a lot of perks, but he couldn't drain them all at once; he had to let the rewards flow steadily.

"I'm off."

Between the Arms seemed afraid Qin Ji would pull out something else terrifying; a flash of Sword Qi appeared under his feet, and he transformed into a streak of light, soaring into the sky and vanishing into the depths of the withered forest in the blink of an eye.

The withered forest returned to its dead silence.

Qin Ji checked the time. It had been an hour since his agreed "delivery time" with Blacksmith Wang.

It was time to settle the grudge between that Old Drunkard and the blacksmith.

...

West of the Newbie Village, the precipice.

This was the boundary of the Newbie Village map, with a bottomless sea of clouds below and a perpetually biting gale.

Qin Ji's figure appeared at the edge of the cliff.

As he expected, a hunched figure was standing with his back to him, hands behind his back, seemingly gazing at the distant sea of clouds.

The Newbie Village Chief, Li Xuanji.

"Snow Emperor... oh no, I should call you Qin Ji now."

The old Village Chief turned slowly. That face, usually kind and benevolent, now held no expression, only a heart-palpitating indifference. "You arrived a bit later than I expected."

Qin Ji didn't waste words. With a flick of his wrist, the [Ice-Fire Demon Ore], emitting a red and blue halo, appeared in his palm.

"Encountered a minor problem on the way，I dealt with it casually.."

The moment he saw the demon Ore, the old Village Chief's usually calm eyes suddenly constricted, and his breathing quickened.

"It really is in your hands..." He took a deep breath, a smile returning to his face. "Good child, this item is of great use to the village. Give it to me, and I will give you unexpected benefits."

"Unexpected benefits?"

Qin Ji toyed with the demon Ore in his hand, a half-smile on his face. "Is it the Platinum Rank necklace Blacksmith Wang promised? Or the hidden class advancement manual the Old Drunkard promised?"

The old Village Chief's face darkened slightly.

He hadn't expected this adventurer to know so much.

"They can't give you what you truly want." The old Village Chief shook his head. "Blacksmith Wang is just a smith, and the Old Drunkard is nothing more than a down-and-out drunk. But I am the manager of this village."

"As long as you give me the demon Ore, I can give you a 'Saint-Grade Talent Awakening Stone'. This item can directly advance your talent; even a trash talent can become Divine-Grade."

Saint-Grade Awakening Stone?

If it were an ordinary player, they probably would have been groveling upon hearing those words.

But Qin Ji only gave a contemptuous laugh.

His talent, Greedy Grasp, was already a bug-level existence that transcended grades; he didn't need this kind of external force to gild the lily. On the contrary, this old geezer actually wanted to use something useless to him to pull a fast one.

"I'm not interested in Awakening stones."

Qin Ji refused directly. "I want a tangible increase in combat power. Two rings, Gold Rank or higher, with special control effects. Not a single cent less."

The old Village Chief's face instantly turned grim, the surrounding air seemingly freezing as an invisible pressure bore down on Qin Ji.

"Young man, being too greedy is not a good thing."

"Greed is the ladder of human progress." Qin Ji was completely unaffected, even taking a step forward to look the old Village Chief directly in the eye. "Moreover, if I give this to Blacksmith Wang, I think he'd be more than happy to forge a set of divine gear for me and, by the way... come find you to settle some old scores."

These words clearly struck the old Village Chief's weak spot.

The muscles at the corner of his eye twitched, and a thick killing intent flashed in the depths of his eyes, but it vanished in an instant.

Killing an immortal adventurer was meaningless; it would only push the demon Ore to the enemy's side.

"Fine."

The old Village Chief gritted his teeth and pulled two rings from his robes, throwing them over fiercely. "Take them! Here is what you wanted!"

Qin Ji caught them.

[Heavy Thunder Ring (Gold Rank)] x2

[Attributes: Attack +350, Critical Rate +30%]

[Special Effect: Attacks have a 5% chance to trigger Paralyzing Thunder, stunning the target for 1 second.]

[Set Effect: When dual-equipped, the paralysis probability doubles, and lightning damage increases by 15%.]

Good stuff!

Although they were only Gold Rank, that "paralysis" effect combined with his high attack speed made them a top-tier PK tool.

"Pleasure doing business with you."

Qin Ji tossed the demon Ore to the old Village Chief and turned to leave without the slightest hesitation.

"Wait."

The old Village Chief's sinister voice came from behind. "You think you can just take the items and leave? Aren't you afraid Blacksmith Wang will come looking for trouble?"

Qin Ji didn't stop, waving his hand with his back to the old Village Chief.

"That's my business. After all, I'm just a profit-seeking adventurer, aren't I?"

Watching Qin Ji's departing figure, the old Village Chief gripped the demon Ore in his hand, his knuckles turning white.

"Humph, greedy ant... The moment you leave the village will be the day you die."

...

Ten minutes later.

The blacksmith shop.

The furnace roared, but the atmosphere in the shop was as cold as an ice cellar.

Blacksmith Wang was bare-chested, holding a massive iron hammer, staring fixedly at Qin Ji standing at the door.

"You gave the demon Ore to that old geezer?"

His voice sounded like it was squeezed out from between his teeth, heavy with the scent of gunpowder.

Qin Ji spread his hands innocently and sighed: "I had no choice, Uncle Wang; the Village Chief offered far too much. Besides, he said if I didn't give it to him, he'd kick me out of the Newbie Village. How could a little newbie like me dare to offend the Village Chief?"

"Bullshit!"

Blacksmith Wang roared, his hammer slamming heavily onto the anvil, sending sparks flying. "What can that old bastard do besides make empty promises? You actually believed his nonsense!"

"But..." Qin Ji feigned hesitation as he pulled a fragment of Ore from his bag that emitted the same Aura—it was a small piece of scrap he had secretly knocked off the demon Ore using his [Gathering Technique] when he was handing over the quest.

Although it was only the size of a fingernail, the Aura was identical.

"The Village Chief said there was only one piece, but I always felt he was lying to me. Uncle Wang, look at this little bit of leftover scrap; can it count for the quest?"

Seeing that scrap Ore, Blacksmith Wang's eyes instantly turned red.

That Aura... there was no mistake!

"That old beast! He really wanted to keep it all for himself!"

Blacksmith Wang went completely berserk, his muscles bulging as a violent Aura surged. He grabbed the giant battle-axe hanging on the wall, ignored Qin Ji entirely, and charged out of the blacksmith shop, sprinting toward the precipice.

"Li Xuanji! I'm going to tear your bones out one by one today and turn them into nails!!"

Watching Blacksmith Wang's departing back, which looked like a bulldozer, the innocence on Qin Ji's face instantly vanished.

He slowly threw the worthless slag into a roadside trash can, his purple-gold pupils appearing exceptionally eerie in the reflection of the furnace fire.

"Fight, the harder the better."

Qin Ji lightly brushed the dust off his hands and turned toward the teleportation array at the village entrance.

The setting sun stretched his shadow very long, projecting it right onto the dying embers of the blacksmith shop. He tilted his head slightly, his gaze crossing layers of houses, seemingly seeing the great battle about to erupt on the precipice. A cold arc tugged at the corner of his mouth, like a mastermind who had just lit the fuse, waiting with great anticipation for the fireworks to bloom.