Chapter 28: The Awakening of the King

"Attention! This is the final wave of skills. If you can withstand it, we’ll make it through; if you can’t, you still have to hold on!" Luoyue shouted. Though their MP was almost depleted, everyone squeezed every second to recover as much mana as possible, striving to make each healing spell count.

Li Ren began to use the blood essence he had accumulated. This was the final burst when the Woma Lord’s HP dropped to 10%. From the altar, a dense surge of dark power shot directly onto the Woma Lord’s head. The ferocious energy seemed almost unbearable, even for the Woma Lord, whose body was forced to the brink, erupting in a mist of blood.

This was the Woma Lord’s last frenzy. Li Ren was already prepared to remove the Ring of Deceit at any moment. Although he couldn’t predict the consequences if he truly took it off, his safety was his top priority.

The furious attack speed brought forth relentless lightning. Li Ren’s whole body grew numb from the barrage, exhaustion weighing heavily upon him, yet his five-star combo never ceased.

The Woma Lord’s health continued to drop. Li Ren no longer knew how many strikes he’d landed, only that, at the moment the massive body of the Woma Lord collapsed, five consecutive numbers—each ten thousand—rose from its head.

It turned out the passive defense-ignoring trait had triggered again.

A resonant hum echoed—the instant the Woma Lord fell, Luoyue and her team’s levels surged up by two whole ranks!

"Congratulations to player Luoyue's team. For defeating the Woma Lord above your level, you are rewarded with one Dark Gold equipment, a Guild Creation Token, a level increase of +1, and 2000 Human Reputation."

The system’s reward reverberated in their ears like a spell, leaving everyone frozen in place.

A Guild Creation Token and a golden mask appeared in Luoyue’s hands—precisely the Dark Gold equipment and the token that countless players coveted.

Madness Mask: Level requirement 60, Defense 100, attributes: Each attack adds 50% lightning effect, a chance to paralyze and slow enemy movements, active use increases attack speed by 100%, duration ten seconds, cooldown 180 seconds.

Luoyue glanced at the mask’s stats. Without doubt, whether for swordsmen or thieves, this mask was a peerless treasure. Just its hundred defense points alone far surpassed the armor worn by their current level-30 shield warriors.

Wearing this mask was akin to outfitting melee classes in shield warrior armor—survivability guaranteed—while the attack speed boost and lightning effect would make them unstoppable in leveling or boss fights.

Luoyue carried the items over to Li Ren, handing him the Madness Mask without hesitation. Seeing the girl’s resolute expression, Li Ren didn’t waste words. Even if he might not use it, keeping it as a memento was worthwhile.

Looking at the equipment scattered across the ground, Li Ren shrugged. "You aren’t expecting me to take all this junk, are you? My bag isn’t big enough for all these things."

Luoyue shot him a look. These level 60 blue and purple items were hardly junk. If someone swapped into this gear upon reaching level 60, few could rival them within that bracket.

After all, this was top-tier gear dropped from the Woma Lord at full health; each piece’s attribute bonuses would spark a frenzy if released. Far from the trash Li Ren claimed.

But this was only true for players. For Li Ren, unusable equipment—no matter how good—meant nothing. He wasn’t a real player; these were mere illusions. Only his own strength was real.

Since he couldn’t use them, he handed them over to Luoyue and her companions, who seemed both skilled and trustworthy. Besides, he still needed their help searching for news of Mo Ran; the stronger they were, the better.

Despite Li Ren’s insistence, Luoyue had no choice. She sensed that this mysterious man genuinely felt nothing for the equipment, as if it were all worthless, though she couldn’t fathom why.

Li Ren did select two items from the pile, which was Luoyue’s bottom line.

One was a thin book, clearly a skill manual, with an obvious name—Divine Descent. It was a shield warrior’s universal defensive skill, usually taught by trainers, so its appearance here surprised everyone.

Li Ren didn’t care much; he’d never seek a trainer, but since he had the book, he’d learn it himself.

The other was a stone engraved with a skeletal hand, the carving so lifelike it resembled the desperate grasp of a soul dragged into hell—a vivid embodiment of pain, unwillingness, regret, and despair.

Luoyue noticed the imprint, but the skeletal hand’s design was unappealing, and with no attributes or description, it seemed a mere fragment from a statue in the Woma shrine—except it had undeniably dropped from the Woma Lord.

"Alright, the quest is complete. You have the Guild Creation Token, so set up your guild. Choose a good location. If you run into trouble, contact me," Li Ren said, converting the Woma Lord’s corpse into blood essence as he spoke to Luoyue.

Luoyue nodded, sending a friend request. Li Ren, surprised, accepted. To his astonishment, the Ring of Deceit had even generated a friend list—something his skeleton form never had.

Even so, Li Ren’s information remained blank except for his name. At first, Luoyue thought he was hiding his attributes out of vanity, but now she realized it was perfectly normal—after all, who could single-handedly defeat the Woma Lord? For someone like that, concealing information was reasonable.

"You won’t need me to accompany you on the way back to establish the guild, will you? Girls, you’d better work hard," Li Ren chuckled at Luoyue.

Luoyue nodded. This strong and beautiful woman gave Li Ren one last look. Even someone as powerful as he needed their help to find a person—who could that person be, what sort of individual would warrant such effort? Suddenly, she felt a deep curiosity about this unknown figure.

"Hey, so now that we’re leaving, what will you do?" Luoyue asked casually.

"I’ll come find you once your guild is established. As for now, well... that’s a secret," Li Ren shrugged.

Luoyue rolled her eyes and didn’t press further. Rou Shui called sweetly, "Bye-bye, Bone Brother!" Li Ren almost melted, his whole body trembling. "Ah, it’s so good having girls around!" Watching Luoyue lead her team away, he felt a slight emptiness inside.

Once Luoyue and her companions had departed, Li Ren took out the Woma Lord’s blood essence and swallowed it in one gulp. Instantly, a powerful energy exploded within him, transforming into a warm current that flowed throughout his body—so comfortable!

His attribute points surged by nearly a hundred, even his luck rising, eventually settling at six.

"Warning: You have absorbed the Woma Shrine BOSS-level soul. Activate?"

The sudden voice startled Li Ren as he was checking his attributes.

"BOSS-level soul?" Li Ren mused. He guessed it referred to the Woma Lord and High Priest—there were only two BOSSes in the Woma Shrine, and the soul count’s +2 used to be them and the demon wolf. Now, with the Lord, it was +3.

Li Ren chose to activate.

Two glowing spheres emerged from his palm, floating at his side. Soon, they transformed into forms identical to the Woma High Priest and Lord.

"Conditions met. Woma Shrine fusion begins."

The system prompted again. Each BOSS soul sent a strand directly into Li Ren’s body, intertwining to form a small imprint. If one looked closely, it faintly resembled the Woma Shrine’s emblem.

After sharing a strand, the two soul forms expanded and settled onto the ground. Two new Woma High Priest and Lord appeared before Li Ren.

Upon seeing him, both BOSSes knelt on one knee in salute. Li Ren paid them no mind, so they remained kneeling as the Woma Lord’s hall doors silently closed.

A vast stream of information flooded his mind once the imprint formed inside him. Li Ren could only slowly categorize and organize it, setting aside much without even glancing.

Finally, once he’d sorted through it all, he found himself returned to the form of a Skeleton Centurion, the Ring of Deceit peacefully resting in his bag.

He sat upon a throne not far from the altar, his dry fingers propping up his hollow visage, red spectral flames flickering in his eyes.

Under his gaze, the Woma High Priest and Lord knelt even more humbly.

"Huh? He logged off?" Luoyue noticed the name in her friend list had gone dark. She wasn’t sure what this sudden feeling meant.