Chapter 45: Consecutive Advancements

“Level 1 Spiritual Source Wielder: Spiritual Source 8/10”

“Haha, done!” Ding Longyun suddenly let out a low roar on the other side, sounding extremely excited.

Su Li turned his head and saw Ding Longyun raising his arms and shouting. He understood that Ding Longyun had absorbed enough Spiritual Sources and had gained another advancement.

Ding Longyun was previously a Level 3 Spiritual Source Wielder. This advancement meant he had become an even stronger Level 4 Spiritual Source Wielder.

“Haha—” In his excitement, he swung his steel shovel and killed another Water Rat Beast rushing up from below. However, he suddenly noticed that the Spiritual Source he absorbed this time yielded no informational prompt. He immediately realized that since he was now a Level 4 Spiritual Source Wielder, the Level 2 Water Rat Beasts had a negligible effect on him, offering no benefit for his advancement. He needed to hunt stronger Spiritual Source Beasts.

“Su Li, come here quickly! These Water Rat Beasts are useless to me now.” Ding Longyun said this while rapidly moving to Xu Xuehui’s side.

With Ding Longyun watching over Xu Xuehui, Su Li felt relieved and rushed down the other stairwell. The stairs below were still swarming with Water Rat Beasts charging upward—the perfect target for him to acquire Spiritual Sources.

Killing these Water Rat Beasts yielded only one Spiritual Source, but killing them was much easier than killing the Advanced Corpse Beast. Su Li even felt that the Advanced Corpse Beast was harder to deal with than the Level 3 Marine Iguana Monitor, which granted him two Spiritual Sources upon killing.

For example, Su Li was a Level 2 Spiritual Source Wielder and gained one Spiritual Source from killing a Level 2 Water Rat Beast. Ding Longyun was a Level 3 Spiritual Source Wielder and also gained one Spiritual Source from killing a Level 2 Water Rat Beast.

This showed that the number of Spiritual Sources gained was not absolutely proportional to the strength of the Spiritual Source Beast.

Su Li had now roughly figured out some of the rules for Spiritual Source acquisition: A Spiritual Source Wielder gains one Spiritual Source for killing a Common species monster that is one level below or at the same level as themselves. Killing a Common monster that is one level higher grants two Spiritual Sources. However, killing a Common monster two levels lower yields Spiritual Sources that are ineffective.

As for Elite Spiritual Source Beasts, the number of Spiritual Sources gained is different. For example, killing an Elite monster of the same level grants two Spiritual Sources. Su Li hadn’t encountered killing an Elite monster one level lower or one level higher, so he didn’t yet know the exact Spiritual Source yield.

The fact that killing the Advanced Corpse Beast only granted him one Spiritual Source meant that the Advanced Corpse Beast’s rank in the Spiritual Source Beast hierarchy wasn’t high, yet its strength was formidable and extremely difficult to handle. From this point of view, the Corpse Beasts seemed to be slightly different from other Spiritual Source Beasts.

Su Li already had 18 Spiritual Sources. He needed two more to break through. He and Ding Longyun swapped positions. Two Water Rat Beasts immediately surged up the stairs. Su Li did not hesitate, swinging the iron rod repeatedly.

The iron rod accurately struck the head of the first attacking Water Rat Beast, killing it instantly.

A Spiritual Source flew toward him. Su Li calculated in his mind: “Only one more.”

The iron rod struck the second Water Rat Beast, but failed to hit its head, sending it tumbling down the stairs instead.

Dark shapes surged from behind; more Water Rat Beasts were appearing.

“Tonight is unusual. The emergence of so many monsters is quite unexpected.” Ding Longyun, holding his steel shovel, knocked a charging low-level Corpse Beast to the ground and handed it over to Xu Xuehui. He frowned, seeing the increasing number of low-level Corpse Beasts pouring into the corridor.

His biggest fear now was that Advanced Corpse Beasts would be mixed in with the low-level ones. A slight oversight could lead to him being struck. Therefore, he stayed close to Xu Xuehui, unwilling to be careless.

Su Li looked down the stairwell. Water Rat Beasts were still charging upward. He took a deep breath, gripped the iron rod with both hands, and swung again.

“The last one,” he murmured to himself. The iron rod successfully struck the head of a Water Rat Beast, sending it flying. A Spiritual Source appeared and flew toward his forehead.

As he absorbed this Spiritual Source, messages immediately appeared in his mind.

“Level 2 Spiritual Source Wielder: Spiritual Source 20/20”

“Beginning Advancement. Advancement Successful”

“Level 3 Spiritual Source Wielder: Spiritual Source 0/30”

“Basic Enhancement: Enhanced Lung Type I, Muscle Augmentation Type I”

“Special Skill: Peering Rune (Fragmented), Gluttony Fangs (Left)”

Su Li took a deep breath, feeling a surge of new power within him. As he advanced to a Level 3 Spiritual Source Wielder, all aspects of his physical abilities were improving: his strength, speed, sensory perception, internal organs, and nervous system were all undergoing changes.

“Choose one for enhancement: Enhanced Lung Type I, Muscle Augmentation Type I, Stomach, Kidney”

Immediately following, another message appeared. Su Li had no time to ponder. He continued to swing the iron rod, quickly killing two more Water Rat Beasts.

Two Spiritual Sources appeared, and new messages continuously surfaced in Su Li’s mind.

“Level 3 Spiritual Source Wielder: Spiritual Source 1/30”

“Level 3 Spiritual Source Wielder: Spiritual Source 2/30”

Because Ding Longyun had advanced to a Level 4 Spiritual Source Wielder, killing Water Rat Beasts no longer yielded an effective Spiritual Source for him. Su Li, however, was a Level 3 Spiritual Source Wielder, so killing the Water Rat Beasts was still effective.

Sensing the information in his mind, he chose to enhance Muscle Augmentation Type I without hesitation.

Su Li felt that the reason he was able to display strength nearly equal to Ding Longyun despite being one level lower was because he had enhanced his muscles, gaining greater power and speed. This was why he could compete with Ding Longyun, who was a higher level.

Therefore, he chose to continue enhancing his muscles once more.

Although enhancing other areas was important—for example, enhancing the lungs would give him a longer breath-holding time for underwater combat, and enhancing the stomach would allow him to drink the outside floodwater or eat raw monster meat without getting sick due to the lack of clean water and food—Su Li still felt that the top priority now was to enhance his muscles to gain greater strength.

Only with greater strength could he deal with more terrifying monsters and better ensure his survival.

Following his choice, new information appeared in his mind.

“Muscle Augmentation Type I upgraded to Type II. Gains greater control over all muscles, increases strike resistance by 50%, and enhances the maximum force that can be exerted by 300 jin while in Muscle Augmentation Type II state.”

With Muscle Augmentation Type I becoming Type II, Su Li felt astonishing changes in his body’s muscles. His power had increased to an incredible level.

Advancing from a Level 2 to a Level 3 Spiritual Source Wielder had already improved his overall physique. For instance, his lung capacity had slightly increased, extending his breath-holding time by about half a minute, and his base strength had increased by about 100 jin (approx. 110 pounds). If his previous base strength was around 600 jin, his new base strength after becoming a Level 3 Spiritual Source Wielder was at least 700 jin.

(End of Chapter)