Gao Wu: If this BOSS isn't nerfed, is it even playable?

Chapter 143 Acquires New Skills, Generals Set Up Camp!
Shi Ruifeng's arrival completely changed the situation on the battlefield.

He didn't even use any fancy moves, he just swung his knife.

The standard-issue longsword seemed to come alive in his hands.

Each slash was accompanied by an extremely refined crimson blade aura. The aura left the body but remained solid, creating visible ripples in the air.

The flames parted automatically before the blade's edge, and the putrid black mist was swept away.

scoff!

The blade struck the massive body of the Fungal King, but instead of a dull thud, it produced a sharp sound like cloth being torn apart.

The defense formed by the tough mycelium and bones was as fragile as paper in the face of the blade's energy.

Large swaths of decaying tissue were easily peeled away, leaving the wounds smooth as mirrors. The internal mycelial network didn't even have time to regenerate before being completely shredded by the domineering power contained within the blade's aura.

The other three military warriors were equally extraordinary; they were all at the Condensation Realm.

It should be the early stage of the Condensation Realm.

Shi Ruifeng and his three companions formed a battle formation, combining offense and defense. Every attack they made precisely struck the Skeleton King's joints and the points where energy flowed.

“Mmmm…”

The Fungi King let out a low growl filled with fear.

It could sense that these four humans who appeared later were not on the same level as the troublesome but manageable kid from before.

The four worked together seamlessly, without needing to communicate verbally, naturally dividing their respective attack zones and forming an impenetrable web of annihilation.

Lin Ye's figure suddenly seemed somewhat superfluous.

His continued presence here would only disrupt the attack rhythm of the four experts at the Qi Condensation Realm.

Lin Ye frowned slightly.

Killing this monster is a side quest issued by the system.

The reward for the mission is related to the permanent optimization and upgrade of his core mechanism, [Gluttony].

He was determined to get this reward.

He absolutely could not just stand by and watch this person's head be taken away.

With this in mind, Lin Ye no longer hesitated.

His figure became blurry and illusory in place.

Phase transition!

Berserk activated!
hum!
The air vibrated slightly, and Lin Ye's figure suddenly vanished from the spot.

The next instant, it appeared like a ghost in the only gap left in the encirclement of Shi Ruifeng and his three companions, filling the defensive blind spot created by the twisting of the Fungal King's body.

This scene instantly caused Shi Ruifeng and his three companions, who were exerting their full power, to freeze in their tracks.

So fast!

Shi Ruifeng's pupils contracted slightly.

Previously, when he saw Lin Ye's move that could unleash extreme speed in a short period of time through video replay, he was simply amazed.

But when he was on the battlefield and saw Lin Ye use it right beside him, the visual impact was far greater than anything he could experience through a screen.

This speed... is even faster than when he unleashes his full power!

Shi Ruifeng felt that this year was really strange. In every province across the country, prodigy newcomers were springing up like mushrooms after rain, one after another.

Even in a small third-tier city like Dongjiang, such an unreasonable monster can emerge.

His current realm is the mid-stage of the Condensation Realm.

The young man in front of us, according to his file, has only just entered the Qi Opening Realm!

There is a vast chasm between them, spanning an entire realm!

In an instant, Shi Ruifeng felt an absurd sense of defeat, as if all his decades of martial arts training had been for nothing.

He had subconsciously wanted to speak up and tell Lin Ye to step aside and let them handle things.

After all, even the aftershocks of a battle at the Condensation Realm are enough to pose a fatal threat to a Warrior at the Opening Meridian Realm.

But the words "step back" just wouldn't come out.

Shi Ruifeng was horrified to discover that Lin Ye's sudden burst of speed was not the only thing that startled him.

The fighting prowess this kid is displaying with every move is even more unbelievable to him.

Lin Ye's aura remained unchanged.

But his strength, reaction, and even his grasp of the opportunity seemed to have truly crossed a huge step, forcefully squeezing into the threshold of the Condensing Qi Realm.

Although the application of that power was still somewhat immature and lacked the special effects that a powerful aura should have.

But he had already truly integrated into their four-person combined attack formation and precisely filled that fleeting gap.

at least……

I will absolutely not hold anyone back!
Lin Ye actually managed to keep up with their pace!
"monster!"

Shi Ruifeng silently labeled Lin Ye in his mind, and then unleashed his full strength.

Lin Ye's forceful addition seemed to ignite the fighting spirit and the sense of crisis that the other three soldiers dared not even dream of.

If a junior at the Qi Opening Realm can be so formidable, how can we seniors be outdone?

In an instant, five figures weaved through the sea of ​​fire, their blades and spears flashing in unison, their attacks growing increasingly ferocious!

The size of the fungal skeletal king was shrinking rapidly at a rate visible to the naked eye.

Just a few dozen seconds later.

boom!
As Shi Ruifeng's final strike severed the last half of the Skeleton King's body, the outer shell composed of rotten flesh was finally completely stripped away.

It revealed its most basic composition.

It was a main body composed of countless hyphae that shimmered with a faint milky white halo.

These mycelia seem to possess their own life, and after breaking free from the constraints of the skeleton, they are resilient enough to survive briefly in the flames.

They were like thousands of wildly dancing white venomous snakes, lashing out in all directions, trying to drive back all those who attacked them.

Ding-ding-ding-ding!

Lin Ye was the first to be hit, as countless mycelia lashed against his body covered in shadow scales, producing a series of dense metallic clanging sounds.

But... it still couldn't break through the defenses!
After being enhanced to the extreme by the source crystal, the [Shadow Scale]'s defense, while not as rigid as the [Crystallization], still exhibits amazing toughness when faced with this flexible whipping attack.

Facing four genuine experts at the Condensation Realm, plus Lin Ye who had entered the P2 stage and whose combat power was almost equivalent to that of someone who had just entered the Condensation Realm.

The outcome of this battle is no longer in doubt.

The weapons in the hands of Shi Ruifeng and his three companions were imbued with a powerful aura, and each strike severed large swathes of milky-white mycelium.

They precisely controlled the force, not to completely destroy the mycelium, but to continuously weaken and restrain it, forcing it to expose its weaknesses.

"Lin Ye!"

Shi Ruifeng gave a low shout.

He and his three teammates exerted their strength simultaneously, their four weapons intertwining into a net, tearing a huge gash in the swirling mycelium trunk!

Lin Ye's heart stirred, and he looked in the direction of the opening.

Enveloped in countless layers of mycelium, a core about the size of a basketball, translucent in texture and filled with intricate patterns resembling the grooves of a human brain, was trembling violently.

This is the true Achilles' heel of the Fungus King!
Lin Ye immediately understood that Shi Ruifeng and the others were deliberately creating an opportunity for him.

Their intention was to resolve the crisis as quickly as possible, but this did not contradict the goal of allowing Lin Ye to complete his training.

Entrusting this final blow to me is both an acknowledgment of his strength and a profound trust in him.

Lin Ye did not intend to betray this trust.

The torn opening was being frantically entwined by countless milky-white mycelia, attempting to be covered again.

It's now!

At this moment, Lin Ye's internal energy and blood erupted without reservation!

The black scales that covered his body, perfectly insulating him from the high temperature, receded like a tide.

Instead, there was a dense, angular, deep purple crystalline armor!
[Shadow Scale] instantly transforms into [Crystallization]!
The instant the switch occurred, an unbearable burning sensation spread throughout my body!

Without Shadowscale's perfect heat insulation, the terrifying high temperature in the fire seemed to be baking his flesh and soul dry!
Lin Ye forced himself to endure it, clenching his teeth.

The next moment, the Piercing Star Spear in his hand also lit up with the same dazzling purple crystalline light!

Switch your spear stance to the Soul-Chasing Style!

Instantaneous!

Lin Ye's figure transformed into a streak of purple lightning that tore through the sea of ​​fire, the tip of his spear trailing a long, crystalline tail of flame, as he fiercely stabbed into the core that was being re-encased by mycelium with an unwavering and resolute attitude!

This is the strongest and most powerful strike he has been able to unleash so far!
Om-! ! !
Shi Ruifeng's expression changed drastically.

The other three also felt the terrifying energy fluctuations, filled with destructive aura, rushing towards them, and unanimously took half a step back, making way for a large enough space.

The next moment, a purple spear light, as solid as a physical object, exploded at the core of the Fungal King!

The entire core, along with the mycelium surrounding it, was instantly pierced and annihilated!
The terrifying power unleashed by this shot, with its residual force, carved a scorched trench half a meter deep and several meters long into the solid ground!
"Waaah..."

A faint cry, like that of a newborn baby, rang in the ears of Lin Ye and his companions, filled with resentment and bitterness.

Immediately afterwards, the wildly dancing milky-white mycelium seemed to have lost all its strength and instantly went limp.

Upon contact with the surrounding flames, it quickly curled up and turned to char, eventually turning into ashes that dissipated into the air.

[You have slain the LV30 Fungi King!]

[Due to the influence of the "Five Qi Guiding Techniques," the experience point multiplier is set at 50%!]

[Killing someone of a higher level triggers an extra experience reward, increasing the experience bonus by 150%!]

You have gained 48000 experience points!

[You have completed the side quest: The Mystery of the Black Stockings!]

[You have gained 30000 experience points and 3 skill points. Your mechanic: Taotie has leveled up!]

A series of crisp notification sounds rang in Lin Ye's mind.

The huge weight that had been hanging over his heart finally lifted.

Since the system has confirmed the kill, it means that the monster has been completely wiped out of this world and there is no possibility that it can be resurrected by other mycelium deep in the forest.

laugh--

Almost the instant the bacterial core was annihilated, the fighter jets hovering high in the sky immediately detected the end of the battle. Large amounts of white fire-extinguishing foam, like a downpour from heaven, poured down.

The terrifyingly high temperature inside the fire, which was suffocating, dropped at an extremely rapid rate.

However, Lin Ye was still inevitably burned.

In the few seconds it took to switch his temporary skill to Crystallization, he lost the perfect heat insulation of Shadow Scales, and his skin suffered burns of varying degrees all over his body.

It's burning hot right now.

But when Lin Ye looked up, he saw the giant mycelium net covering the entire Black Silk Forest disintegrating and dissipating at a visible speed, turning into black ashes that fluttered down.

It's all worth it.

Everything is over now.

But the next moment, Lin Ye's heart tightened.

It seems he... forgot something crucial?

correct!

Devour the core and use the Taotie to seize attributes and abilities!

But just now, in order to ensure a fatal blow, he directly used his strongest attack to blast that core into nothingness.

How can it be devoured like this?

Just as a surge of intense frustration welled up in Lin Ye's heart, a belated system notification calmed his agitated emotions.

[Ding! You have shattered the core essence of the Fungus King, and the Gluttony mechanism has been activated!]

You have gained 17.2 points of Stamina and 5.8 points of Spirit!

[You have gained a new temporary skill: Silk Puppets!]

Lin Ye was stunned.

He then let out a long sigh of relief.

fine……

He almost forgot that he had completed the side quest first.

In the mission rewards, the [Gluttony] mechanism has been upgraded, and the step of devouring the core is no longer required.

It will be triggered as long as you kill the enemy.

I don't know if it's because the probability of capturing skills and traits has increased.

Although it may appear that there is only one fungal offspring, Lin Ye actually killed thousands upon thousands of fungal offspring.

In short, he gained a brand new temporary skill.

"Let's go."

Shi Ruifeng dispelled the crimson aura emanating from his body, sheathed his longsword, and spoke to Lin Ye.

In the sky, the fighter jets had already descended, and several rope ladders were lowered down.

Three military personnel nimbly climbed the rope ladder and quickly returned to the cabin.

Lin Ye also felt the disengagement health recovery mechanism being triggered, and the burning pain on his body surface was rapidly subsiding.

He then climbed up as well.

The hatch slowly closed.

In the last instant before the doors closed, Lin Ye glanced down.

In the scorched forest below, amidst the extinguished flames, the source crystals he had used as bait still emitted a faint, eerie blue glow.

Pity.

He originally intended to use these source crystals to enhance his newly acquired temporary skills.

But now, in front of other people, that's impossible.

However, the Qiming General Training Camp should offer plenty of opportunities to acquire Source Crystals.

Lin Ye withdrew his gaze, found a seat in the cabin, and took advantage of the time on the way back to the camp to carefully examine the newly acquired skills.

Silk-Born Puppet

[Type: Active Temporary Skill]

[Effect: A black spore will be implanted into the corpse of every creature you kill. Under suitable conditions, the spore will grow rapidly, forming black mycelium that covers the entire corpse.]

You can manipulate these mycelia with your mind, share their senses, and perform simple actions.

[Note: Controlling the puppet will continuously consume its mycelium. Once the mycelium is depleted, the connection will be severed. The connection will also be severed if the distance between you and the puppet exceeds the limit.]

Current furthest distance: 1 kilometer.

[After this skill is enhanced, you will be able to implant spores into living beings far weaker than yourself, but their growth and parasitism speed will be slower. The agility and number of puppets you control will be increased, and you will be able to read some of the puppets' remaining memories.]

This is another active skill.

But Lin Ye was not disappointed. On the contrary, the potential for development of this skill was immediately apparent!

Both Crystallization and Shadow Scale can directly enhance his combat power.

While this [Silk Puppet] currently seems to offer almost no benefit in direct combat, it can provide Lin Ye with the most important thing—

intelligence!

This is a perfect reconnaissance skill.

In the future, if he wants to explore a certain area or track a certain target, he will not have to risk his life.

Just send a secondary account over.

The fighter jets landed smoothly at the temporary base.

Lin Ye followed Shi Ruifeng and the others off the plane.

He noticed that the base's rest area was much more lively than when he left, with many tents lit up.

Clearly, apart from a very few who were still fighting for a top-ten finish and those who were ranked ninth or tenth and dared not relax, the vast majority of participants chose to give up and return to the camp to enjoy a stable supply of food and water and a completely safe place to sleep.

The night is getting darker.

In the latter half of the night, Lin Ye quietly left his tent and once again sneaked into the occupied area.

He didn't go far; he simply dealt with a lone, low-level mutated beast on the outskirts of the camp.

He stood beside the corpse.

A strange sensation came over me, as if something inside my body had been separated into a small part and implanted into the corpse.

Lin Ye waited quietly.

He could feel a faint connection slowly forming between himself and the corpse.

However, this process is progressing extremely slowly.

Lin Ye guessed that the temperature and humidity of this wilderness were probably not suitable for the growth of mycelium.

He wasn't in a hurry, since the corpse was only a few hundred meters from the camp and was always within his sensing range.

He returned to his tent, lay down, and waited quietly.

A few hours later.

The sky was bright.

Lin Ye, inside the tent, suddenly opened his eyes.

His pupils seemed to be covered by a very faint black film.

The next moment, his consciousness seemed to be split in two.

A completely different sensory information flooded into his mind.

It's a wonderful experience of projecting one's own will into another body.

At first, the mutated beast corpses under Lin Ye's control moved unsteadily and swayed, even having great difficulty standing up.

But as he became more and more skilled at manipulating the mycelium, the mycelium gradually took over all the nerves and muscles in the corpse's body.

From initially falling down after just a few steps, to later being able to walk simply.

At the same time, the visual and auditory signals fed back by the puppet became increasingly clear.

Even the sensation of the wind blowing through his fur and the faint vibrations from the ground were vaguely transmitted to Lin Ye's mind.

Before Lin Ye could continue exploring the limits of this new ability, the connection suddenly ended.

The mycelium inside the puppet's body was completely consumed.

This ability is still too rudimentary. Without the enhancement of source crystals, its endurance is very poor.

But Lin Ye had already seen its immeasurable potential.

……

The next day, eight o'clock in the morning.

Lin Ye and the other nine contestants who successfully advanced stood in front of a large military transport plane.

Wang Lingchuan stood before the crowd, his gaze sharp as a knife, slowly sweeping over each young face.

"Congratulations on passing the selection and obtaining the qualification to enter the Qiming General Training Camp."

"But don't think that's the end of the story."

Wang Lingchuan changed the subject, his tone becoming serious.

"Don't let your tickets disappear before they've even had a chance to warm up!"

These words left the other nine people puzzled, but Lin Ye instinctively sensed something was amiss.

Could there be... some unforeseen changes?
Wang Lingchuan gave Lin Ye a meaningful look at the end.

He then said no more and waved his hand.

"Board!"

Ten people boarded the transport plane one by one.

The cabin door closed, and with a deafening roar of the engines, the plane took off and sped towards Ninghai City, the capital of Ninghai Province.

　Second update, 5K.

　　Two chapters totaling 1.1 words, please vote with monthly tickets!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)