Otherworldly Skeleton Evolution

[Congratulations, your level has increased. You are now Level 16.]

Just as he was about to check the level rankings, the System suddenly notified him that he had reached Level 16.

The corners of Xia Dongli’s mouth curled up in a faint smile.

The Mad Magic Team could kill around sixty Blood Ants in one round of attacks, earning them 4200 experience points per round.

He refused to believe anyone could level up faster than him at this pace.

This boosted his confidence even further.

Xia Dongli opened the leaderboard page.

The first thing that appeared was the newly launched Attack Power leaderboard.

Since it was a new list, it appeared at the top.

Xia Dongli glanced at it, and to his surprise, the top spot was occupied by A Silly Cutie.

“132?”

He paused for a moment in shock.

“An Undead Mage with physical attacks higher than Xie Changkong, that show-off?”

With a meaningful smile, Xia Dongli sighed deeply, “Seems like that spar-obsessed maniac Zhen Shanhe has some lofty ambitions.”

First sending a 30-man leveling team to support a newbie’s grinding in Stone Forest, trying to snatch away his position as the top level player.

And now, piling all the best equipment on this newcomer to usurp Xie Changkong on the Attack Power chart?

“I wonder what expression Xie Changkong, that show-off, would have seeing this.”

Xia Dongli chuckled to himself. After scanning the other leaderboards and finding no other upstarts, he finally clicked on the Level Ranking.

It just so happened to be the moment the rankings refreshed.

He was actually quite excited.

The sense of achievement in thwarting Zhen Shanhe’s schemes was indeed quite satisfying.

Since becoming one of the Twelve Gods, it had been a long time since he felt this way.

But…he had given up the chance to advance his class and hurried here to level up, all for this very instant.

“Level 16, Xia Dongli, Mage, second place.”

“Second… second place? I’m second? How is this possible?”

Xia Dongli could scarcely believe it. Thinking there must be an error, he narrowed his eyes and double checked.

“Second, Xia Dongli, Mage, level 16, first place, A Silly Cutie, level 20?!!”

“Twe…twenty?”

Xia Dongli’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, a look of utter disbelief on his face, startling the two female gamers beside him.

“G-great one, what…what’s the matter?”

Ever since attaching themselves to Xia Dongli, they had never seen him lose his composure like this. Anxiety welled up in their hearts.

“Leave me.”

Xia Dongli’s expression was very ugly; he didn’t want others to see him like this, as it would damage his image.

The two female gamers hurriedly left the ant den with puzzled looks, not daring to utter a word, fearing they might offend Xia Dongli.

Gazing at the Mad Magic Team’s fervent DPS, Xia Dongli’s experience bar steadily climbed, but no trace of joy could be seen on his face.

The gap between Level 20 and 16 was simply too massive; he had no way to catch up in a short timeframe.

The leaderboard had refreshed, and it seemed he had missed his chance to be the Number One Under Heaven again!

“Zhen Shanhe’s Club doesn’t have the resources for this kind of rapid leveling with a thirty-person team, given the current strength of players.”

Top experts aren’t common, like his Mad Magic Team, with a hundred and eight top mage experts, costing tens of millions every month!

Average guilds simply couldn’t sustain that level of investment.

Compared to the financial backing he had, Shanhe Club was far too lacking. They clearly wouldn’t go this far just to mess with him.

“Who in the world is sparing no effort to support a newbie’s rise to power? Even outpacing my Mad Magic Team?”

Xia Dongli pondered endlessly.

…

In the Gloomy Marsh.

After exterminating the Blood Leeches, reaching Level 20, gaining another 10 points in Agility, and netting 370,000 Evolution Points.

Jiang Cheng rode his Skeleton Warhorse, crossing the Gloomy Marsh with Zhang Mengmeng to the Gloomy Woods.

A dilapidated and collapsed undead temple appeared before them.

It was deserted, stretching as far as the eye could see without a single soul, eerily quiet.

The air was filled with the smell of rotting corpses, reminiscent of long-dead rats, continuously assaulting Jiang Cheng and Zhang Mengmeng’s noses, making them frown.

“Natalie should be inside, let’s go.”

Jiang Cheng dismounted, taking a blushing Zhang Mengmeng by the hand, carefully stepping on the black weeds towards the temple.

“Rustle…”

“Gurgle…”

With each step on the rubble-strewn grass, their steps made rustling noises, occasionally punctuated by the eerie cries of some unknown bird, painting a most sinister scene.

Jiang Chen scanned their surroundings vigilantly while leading Zhang Mengmeng onward, ready to react to any sudden crisis.

Suddenly, a black raven landed on a nearby white pillar fragment.

Shaking its dark head, its black eyes gleamed curiously as it observed Jiang Cheng and Zhang Mengmeng.

Because this Skeleton was unlike any she had seen among the undead.

Cold and chilling, as if it had just emerged from a pool of blood, it was unnerving.

And the blood-red cloak it wore seemed to hide some secret.

Intrigued, she found herself curious about this Skeleton.

“Undead in the shadows, why do you trespass upon my temple?”