Chapter 67: Rune Evolution

“Screech—”

The One-Eyed Frog King suddenly opened its massive, bloody mouth and thrashed violently, slamming into walls as it blindly tried to shake off the iron rod that had pierced its eye.

Gong Xiao, who had been tossed onto the living room sofa by Su Li, looked up and saw the astonishing sight of his attack: the iron rod flying out, piercing the monster’s single eye, and embedding itself deep into its skull. The force of the blow made Gong Xiao gasp, her cherry lips open wide, unable to utter a sound.

Su Li’s action surprised her again. She could never have imagined that he would launch such a fatal counterattack while in the middle of retreating and fleeing.

This was a truly fatal attack. The iron rod had not only blinded the One-Eyed Frog King but also penetrated deep into its brain. The madly thrashing monster, with its immense strength, slammed into the living room walls, shaking the entire apartment. Many pieces of furniture collapsed and shattered.

Ding Longyun had retreated to the doorway of the adjacent bedroom, holding his steel shovel, but dared not rush out yet.

Su Li also backed away, moving to the front of the fallen Gong Xiao. He suddenly turned and picked her up again.

Gong Xiao let out a cry of surprise and started to struggle, but Su Li was already sprinting with her into the kitchen. Right behind them came a thunderous “CRASH!” The One-Eyed Frog King slammed into the sofa, which immediately warped, tumbled, and broke apart.

Gong Xiao took a deep breath and stopped struggling. She felt that she was always one step behind Su Li. Just now, when the One-Eyed Frog King was about to charge, she hadn’t even known to dodge. If Su Li hadn’t carried her away, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

It seems he saved me again.

This thought was deeply frustrating for a strong-willed person like Gong Xiao.

We’re both Level 3 Spiritual Source Wielders. How can I be inferior to him?

Su Li let go of Gong Xiao, staring at the One-Eyed Frog King in its final throes of madness in the living room. After smashing the sofa, the monster consecutively crashed into the dining table, chairs, and two large vases in the living room. It then lunged one final time into the wall facing it. With a soft “thwack,” this last impact drove the foot-long section of the iron rod protruding from its eye socket entirely into its body. It stumbled backward, leaving a glaring red bloodstain on the wall.

The One-Eyed Frog King deflated like a punctured balloon. It fell onto its back, its limbs twitching slightly, before slowly becoming motionless.

A Spiritual Source emerged from the One-Eyed Frog King’s body, flew toward Su Li, merged into his forehead, and disappeared.

A message surfaced in his mind.

“Level 3 Spiritual Source Wielder: Spiritual Source 14/30”

“Incredible! I gained two Spiritual Sources. This Leader-class monster is truly formidable,” Su Li thought, secretly astonished.

He was already a Level 3 Spiritual Source Wielder, and this One-Eyed Frog King was technically only a Level 2 monster. Yet, because it was a Leader-class entity, he gained two Spiritual Sources upon killing it. What would killing a Level 3 or Level 4 Leader-class monster yield?

Ding Longyun, who could only confirm the monster’s death when the Spiritual Source emerged, walked out, looking shaken. “This is too bizarre, Su Li. Didn’t you say this was only a Level 2 monster? How could it be so terrifying? It’s worse than that Tyrant Crab!”

Su Li gave a wry smile. “Did you only listen to half of what I said? It’s Level 2, but it’s a Leader-class monster. I’d estimate it’s stronger than a common Level 4 monster. It was purely lucky that we managed to kill it. The space here limited its movement, and I struck suddenly in the chaos. It probably didn’t anticipate the attack. If we were in an open space, it wouldn’t have been easy to kill.”

Su Li spoke while approaching the corpse. He cautiously pulled the iron rod out of the One-Eyed Frog King’s eye and body. He was hopeful, as the information had indicated that killing the One-Eyed Frog King guaranteed obtaining the “Peering Rune.” He already possessed the rune, so could he acquire it again? If so, would it be a duplicate? Or would it be rendered ineffective since he already had it?

Just as he was speculating, he pulled the iron rod out. The large eyeball in the center of the One-Eyed Frog King’s head immediately began to shrivel and wither, shrinking rapidly. It eventually transformed into a streak of prismatic light that flew into Su Li’s brow and vanished.

Ding Longyun saw this and his eyes lit up. “A special ability! What is it?”

“It’s the Peering Rune again,” Su Li replied. He felt a slight heat in his brow. The vertical eye-like lines reappeared, but this time, the lines were much clearer. At the same moment, information flooded his mind.

“The fragmented ‘Peering Rune’ has acquired new rune energy and begun patching the fragments.”

“The patched ‘Peering Rune,’ although still possessing certain flaws, now has stronger peering capability than before.”

“The flawed ‘Peering Rune’ can now peer into the basic information of Spiritual Source Wielders, in addition to Spiritual Source Beasts.”

Su Li processed the consecutive messages in his mind, a look of surprise on his face. He hadn’t expected that acquiring the One-Eyed Frog King’s special ability would evolve his “Peering Rune” from a fragmented state to a flawed state. The peering ability had improved, and now he could view the basic data of Spiritual Source Wielders, not just monsters.

He immediately looked at Ding Longyun and activated the new “Peering Rune.”

“Name: Common Spiritual Source Wielder, Level: 4, Special Skill: One, Weakness: Unknown, Other: None.”

The message also prompted that if he could evolve the “Peering Rune” to a higher level, he would be able to peer into even more detailed information.

“This is incredible,” Su Li thought, truly shocked. The “Peering Rune” was astonishing. The information suggested that if he could evolve the rune further, he might be able to peer into the specific special skill and even the weakness of other Spiritual Source Wielders. That would be a terrifying advantage.

He then looked at Gong Xiao, and a similar informational prompt appeared.

“Name: Common Spiritual Source Wielder, Level: 3, Special Skill: One, Weakness: Unknown, Other: None.”

Hearing Su Li’s reply that it was the “Peering Rune” again, Ding Longyun said with some regret, “That’s a shame. If I had killed it, I could have gotten that ability. That ability is extremely useful.”

Gong Xiao, clutching the wound on her chest, slowly walked out. Her chest injury was severe, but she was still mobile. However, every movement stretched the wound, causing her to constantly frown with pain.

“Gong Xiao, you’re hurt. Don’t worry, I’ll lure some Corpse Beasts up.” Ding Longyun immediately moved the colossal corpse of the One-Eyed Frog King and threw it over the balcony.

(End of Chapter)