Chapter 101: The Domain of Dark Magic!

At last, amidst the countless corpses of monsters, Li Ren’s spiritual flame evolved to crimson. The intense pain that had once overwhelmed him receded like the ebbing tide, leaving behind a comfort he had never known before.

What exactly had this crimson spiritual flame bestowed upon him? Li Ren was carefully sensing the changes. From this moment on, he stood on the same tier as the Skeleton King in terms of spiritual flame rank; the only remaining difference was the quality of the flame itself.

For the skeleton race, apart from their bony bodies, the spiritual flame was the most vital essence.

There were very few factors that could promote the evolution of a spiritual flame—the most direct was to devour a higher-level flame, as Li Ren had once done with that crimson spiritual flame.

It was precisely because of that crimson flame as a foundation that he could grow through his own efforts and the absorption of attributes.

In other words, from now on, he possessed the basic qualifications of a lord-level boss. What remained was to enrich his strength in all aspects.

To his surprise, Li Ren’s advancement also triggered Mao Mao’s synchronized evolution. He had never anticipated this.

Currently, Mao Mao was only level 50; by previous estimations, its second evolution should not occur until level 60. Yet now, looking at Mao Mao lying nearby, enveloped in crimson flames, and then at its attribute description, he saw that it had triggered its second evolution at this very moment—a joyous surprise indeed.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, he examined his own skills.

The evolution of his skeletal spiritual flame had brought about significant changes to all his abilities.

Character Name: Bone-By-Bone
Level: 83
Race: Lord Skeleton
Attributes: HP 1,000,000/1,000,000; MP 1,000,000/1,000,000
Strength: 30
Intelligence: 30
Constitution: 30
Agility: 30
Bone Marrow (1600)
Luck (15)
Souls Absorbed (195,411)
Class: Skeleton Warrior
Hidden Attribute: Free Advancement, Attribute Absorption (Level 1)
Upgradeable Skills: Blink (Level 8): Instantly teleports 500 meters, ignoring terrain, with a 10-second cooldown. Can carry other life forms; up to 5 at a time.

Self-created Skill: Crescent Slash.
Innate Skills: Summon Super Skeleton Guard (Guards possess 60% of main attributes; each summon consumes 10,000 souls, lasts 12 hours, max 10 at a time, upgradeable), Blood Essence Conversion.
Savage Aura: All humanoid targets under this aura have all attributes decreased by 5%.
Apprentice of Creation: Can freely combine skeletons below level 100, with a 30% success rate. Failure results in loss of original creatures.
Comprehended Skills: Rain Beyond Dust, Dragon’s Wild Battle.
Dark Magic Domain: Within this domain, all creatures’ shadow resistance decreases by 10%, allies’ shadow damage increases by 10%, attacks have a certain chance to absorb life equal to 10% of max attack, attack speed increases by 10%, and life recovery rate increases by 10%.

Examining his current attributes, Li Ren saw that while his minions were stronger, their numbers had decreased significantly. Of the five sword techniques he had learned, he could now use the second one, which the description indicated was a powerful single-target skill. These were all noteworthy, but what he valued most was the newly acquired domain.

It effectively boosted his power by 20% and greatly enhanced his sustainability in battle. Now, even without consuming blood essence, he could survive on this level simply by leeching life through his attacks.

Mao Mao’s flames finally died down. Now its body was nearly the size of a horse, standing beside Li Ren and only slightly shorter than him. Its attributes were formidable—each around 12,000—and at level 50, it possessed two skills: Devour the World and Soul Storm.

Though there was little explanation for either, Li Ren decided to test them in combat.

So, the two set off to lure monsters again. Li Ren gathered the creatures together and first commanded Mao Mao to use what appeared to be its more powerful evolved skill, Soul Storm.

Mao Mao opened its jaws wide, and a shockwave of the five elements burst forth, instantly sweeping through the monsters before them. In a single instant, every enemy’s health bar dropped to a quarter of its maximum. Li Ren was astonished and instinctively had Mao Mao use Devour the World.

What happened next shocked him even more.

This time, Mao Mao didn’t devour corpses, but the living monsters standing before them.

With one gaping maw, all the monsters—unable to resist—were swallowed whole into its belly and vanished into nothingness. Li Ren watched as Mao Mao instantly gained a level, and he himself received a significant boost in attribute points, understanding that the monsters had clearly met their end.

After using each skill once, a brief description was revealed.

Devour the World: Indiscriminately devours all units with less than a quarter health within 100 meters straight ahead. The level difference between Mao Mao and the target must not exceed Mao Mao’s current level.

Soul Storm: Unleashes a powerful soul attack, dealing large-area damage that ignores defense. Damage scales with soul strength (currently soul level 10).

Although Li Ren still didn’t know the exact damage of Soul Storm, he realized that even against these elite monsters, the skill dealt at least a million damage in one blow.

These were all elite monsters with at least 1.3 million health!

However, observing Mao Mao’s two skills, their cooldowns were both around 24 hours—a dauntingly long time. Li Ren nodded to himself; such overpowered skills required lengthy cooldowns, or else they would be truly unstoppable.

Thus, the pair continued hunting monsters. With their newfound strength, their efficiency improved dramatically.

In the player world, at the headquarters of the Peerless Legion.

Inside the City Lord’s mansion, a swordsman carrying twin blades faced a shifting shadow. The swordsman’s resolute face was tinged with disbelief and deep contemplation.

“Are you certain you can do what you just promised?” the swordsman—none other than Sauron, the top player—asked.

“If you don’t believe me, you can try it yourself. You’ve nothing to lose,” the shadow’s voice echoed from all directions. Though the figure stood right before him, the sound seemed to come from everywhere at once, creating a strange, unsettling dissonance.

“Tell me your purpose,” Sauron said grimly.

“My purpose is already achieved. As for the rest, it’s up to you to decide. I’ve said all I can—you make your choice.” As the voice faded away, the shadow vanished as well. Sauron clenched his fists tightly, gazing out at the bright sunlight through the window, new schemes already forming in his mind.