Chapter 49: The Kill

Su Li frowned slightly and circled the Tyrant Crab continuously. The crab could not keep up with his speed. Su Li quickly reached its rear, extended the iron rod beneath its body, gripped the rod with both hands, and let out a low growl, using all his might to flip the Tyrant Crab over.

With a “bang,” the gigantic Tyrant Crab was flipped onto its back, its abdomen facing upwards. It struggled continuously but was unable to flip itself over. With its soft belly exposed to the sky, it became vulnerable to slaughter, like a turtle overturned.

Su Li, holding the iron rod with both hands, immediately brought it down onto the Tyrant Crab’s soft abdomen.

Although the crab’s abdomen was protected by a shell, this shell was very soft. Su Li’s first strike shattered it, and yellow matter splattered out.

The Tyrant Crab’s vital spot was not its head, but the organs inside this soft abdominal shell. Now that Su Li’s iron rod had shattered the outer shell and crushed the important internal organs, the crab was doomed.

The Tyrant Crab shuddered all over, and the frantic flailing of its chelae slowed down.

Su Li struck the crab’s abdomen repeatedly, completely pulverizing it. Seeing a large amount of yellow and white matter flow out, the Tyrant Crab’s chelae finally straightened and stiffened, moving no more. Quickly, a Spiritual Source emerged from its body and merged into Su Li’s forehead.

“Level 3 Spiritual Source Wielder: Spiritual Source 8/30”

He successfully killed the Tyrant Crab and gained two Spiritual Sources.

Looking at the crab’s corpse, Su Li let out a long breath. Despite successfully killing the Tyrant Crab, the ordeal was exhausting. Although his strength reached 1,000 jin, the stronger he was, the faster his stamina was depleted.

He had a faint feeling that after his muscle enhancement reached Type II, allowing him to exert over a thousand jin of force, the rest of his internal organs were struggling to keep up.

After all, the human body is an incredibly sophisticated machine with interconnected parts. His muscles, having undergone two stages of enhancement, were now far more powerful than the rest of his body, able to unleash immense power, but this, in turn, placed an increasingly severe burden on his system.

At this moment, the Spiritual Source he absorbed formed a warm current that nurtured his body. He felt his severely depleted stamina slowly recovering, and his violently pounding heart gradually calmed down.

Su Li stared at the dead Tyrant Crab corpse, but noticed no further changes. A feeling of disappointment surged in his heart.

According to the information acquired by the “Peering Rune,” killing this Elite species of Tyrant Crab offered a certain probability of obtaining the special ability “Tyrant Shell,” but the crab’s corpse showed no change. He had not acquired “Tyrant Shell.”

“A pity.” Su Li shook his head inwardly and turned to walk toward Ding Longyun and Xu Xuehui.

Killing Elite Spiritual Source Beasts only offered a chance to gain a special ability, not a guaranteed 100% acquisition. He had acquired special abilities from killing the One-Eyed Frog and the Gluttonous Dog. Unfortunately, he was unsuccessful this time.

“Su Li, you’re amazing.” Ding Longyun, who was slowly sitting up, was still clutching his chest. He had watched the entire process of Su Li killing the Tyrant Crab and was full of admiration for Su Li.

Su Li asked with concern, “How is your injury?” Seeing that Ding Longyun remained seated and hadn’t gotten up, he knew the man’s injuries were severe.

“A few broken bones. It’s quite troublesome.” Ding Longyun frowned. Although he was a Level 4 Spiritual Source Wielder and possessed powerful recovery abilities, which were several times faster than an ordinary person’s, the bone fractures would still take time to heal.

Su Li said, “It’s alright. Just absorb a new Spiritual Source, and you’ll heal quickly.”

Spiritual Source Wielders possess healing abilities far superior to ordinary people. If they absorb a new Spiritual Source, its energy greatly accelerates the healing process. Even severe injuries, as long as they aren’t instantly fatal, can be quickly recovered from.

By this time, with the Tyrant Crab killed by Su Li, no other monsters were visible on the roof. Su Li had Xu Xuehui help Ding Longyun up. He said, “Follow me,” and led the way toward the stairwell entrance.

Ding Longyun slowly stood up, using the steel shovel for support and leaning on Xu Xuehui’s arm. He managed only a few slow steps before the pain caused cold sweat to break out on his face.

“It’s all my fault. I should have listened to you earlier,” Ding Longyun said, feeling remorseful and a little frustrated. Just then, Su Li entered the stairwell and disappeared into the darkness.

Soon, a “bang” was heard. A figure fell out of the entrance and onto the ground. It was a low-level Corpse Beast.

“Brother Ding, it’s all yours,” Su Li’s voice called out.

Ding Longyun understood Su Li’s intent. He gritted his teeth against the pain, gripped the steel shovel in his right hand, and swung it out.

With a “smack,” the shovel smashed the head of the Corpse Beast lying before him.

A Spiritual Source appeared and merged into his forehead.

Although the Spiritual Source from the low-level Corpse Beast offered negligible improvement to Ding Longyun’s overall strength, the energy was absorbed by his body, forming a warm current that focused on his injured chest, accelerating the healing of his wounds.

Of course, the effect of the low-level Corpse Beast’s Spiritual Source on healing was far inferior to that of a higher-level Spiritual Source Beast.

Su Li continued down the stairs and spotted several Corpse Beasts. He quickly grabbed them and tossed them up to the roof for Ding Longyun to kill and absorb their Spiritual Sources to heal his injuries.

Ding Longyun killed four Corpse Beasts consecutively, absorbing four Spiritual Sources. Even though the effect of the Corpse Beast Spiritual Sources was minor, after absorbing four, the pain in his chest, while still present, was significantly reduced.

Ding Longyun let out a long sigh of relief, finally feeling recovered enough to function. His complexion looked much better. He then followed Su Li into the stairwell.

Meanwhile, Su Li, still descending the stairs, saw a Water Rat Beast. He swung the iron rod, breaking its two front legs. He then used the iron rod to flip the Water Rat Beast upward. The monster was sent flying toward the approaching Ding Longyun.

Ding Longyun swung his steel shovel and struck the Water Rat Beast with a “smack,” shattering its head and absorbing another Spiritual Source.

The Water Rat Beast’s Spiritual Source was much higher quality than the low-level Corpse Beasts’. Although it didn’t help Ding Longyun’s evolution, absorbing it had a great effect on his wound healing. He immediately felt a change in his chest.

The pain lessened further. Ding Longyun immediately left the roof and followed Su Li downstairs. He saw two more Water Rat Beasts rushing up the corridor. This time, he didn’t wait for Su Li to help. He swung his steel shovel and proactively charged toward them.

(End of Chapter)