Chapter Fifty-Four: Meeting the Skeleton King Again

After the news spread that Purple Mist Cloud Pavilion had established its guild headquarters in Falling Cloud City, it stirred quite a noticeable reaction. From its beginnings as an all-female guild that managed to found its own guild and quickly rose to become the third leading player faction to establish a guild, to now paying a hefty price to secure a storefront in the very city that had become the center of players’ attention—Falling Cloud City—the implications behind these feats were something that some players couldn’t help but ponder.

Meanwhile, Unsurpassed Legion and Star Alliance had both kept an unusually low profile of late. Whether it was internal affairs or the shifting winds outside, neither of these guilds made an appearance. In this vacuum, Purple Mist Cloud Pavilion’s reputation steadily climbed to new heights. With their latest entry into Falling Cloud City, their fame soared once again, and the number of members rose sharply.

On the advice of some veteran members, Luo Yue made the official decision to form an affiliated guild of Purple Mist Cloud Pavilion. Members of this branch would enjoy the same benefits as the main guild, and there would be no gender restrictions. After an assessment, they could join the main guild and receive elite status. From this moment on, it was clear that the guild’s power was finally on the right track—it was no longer the small-scale operation that Luo Yue and her companions had once managed.

As for how they managed to establish themselves in Falling Cloud City, that was naturally handled by Landis, who, under Li Ren’s suggestion, would ensure everything went smoothly.

After bidding farewell to Luo Yue and Roushui, and promising Roushui he would check his mailbox often, Li Ren set out on his journey alone. This time, his destination was Skull Mountain.

He hadn’t returned since leaving the Black Earth Domain last time. The Skull King had once tasked him with collecting skeletal soul flames, and Li Ren still had many in his backpack—the best of which, a red soul flame, he had already absorbed.

According to Shadow, the soul flames the Skull King needed were extremely hard to acquire, requiring countless monster souls from the Black Earth Domain to form just one. The blood essence and experience provided by these monsters alone had been enough for Li Ren to level up from over fifty to well beyond sixty.

Counting the days, Shadow thought it was about time and advised Li Ren to return to report. Before he left, Shadow instructed, “This time when you return, the Skull King will probably give you a new task. If he does, don’t refuse. No matter how unbelievable it seems, you must accept it.” Shadow repeated this warning more than once.

On the road to Skull Mountain, Li Ren pondered Shadow’s words. Though he found Shadow, this ‘pro,’ somewhat mysterious, he trusted him deeply. Without Shadow’s guidance, they would never have gotten so many treasures in the Black Earth Domain, nor would Falling Cloud City now be in their hands.

Traveling was both tedious and long. There were no teleport arrays in monster territories like in player cities. He had to traverse the vast map on foot, especially through the haunted and treacherous Misty Mountains, climbing peak after peak—a truly agonizing ordeal.

Though endless blinking had saved him much time, it still took him two full days to reach Skull Mountain from Falling Cloud City—almost traversing half the Misty Mountains, nearly the entire player faction’s territory!

The longer the journey, the more Li Ren felt the pain and nostalgia for the conveniences of being a player. Players didn’t need teleport arrays—they still had horses! Yet here he was, the lord of Falling Cloud City, still trudging along on two legs. It was almost laughable. He resolved that after this trip, he would definitely ask that ‘pro’ where to find the most incredible mounts to tame; at the very least, it would make traveling less torturous.

Skull Mountain, the place where he had been reborn and where not a single blade of grass grew, appeared peaceful and tranquil—though if skeletons could ever be described as peaceful, that would be perfect. In any case, there were no players here to disturb him.

Given that players’ levels were still low, it was impossible for them to break through the level 100 monsters in the front of the Misty Forest and reach this level 150 Skull King’s domain.

The moment Li Ren set foot on Skull Mountain again, he keenly sensed something was amiss. After careful observation, he found nothing, but that strange feeling lingered in his heart. Shaking his head, he chalked it up to nerves and calmed himself before heading toward the Skull Cave.

As expected, the moment Li Ren entered Skull Mountain, the Skull King became aware of his arrival. Noticing Li Ren’s current level—seventy-two—the Skull King was slightly surprised, though he did not show it much. Seeing the deepening green flames in Li Ren’s eye sockets, the Skull King nodded in satisfaction. “It seems this fellow has had another fortuitous encounter—excellent!”

The Skull King, who had been keeping an eye on Li Ren, watched as the two crimson flames in his eyes flickered, lost in thought.

Upon entering the Skull King’s great hall once more, Li Ren lowered his head respectfully—a gesture of deference from one of lower rank to a superior. The Skull King was very pleased with Li Ren’s display.

“How did the task I gave you go?” he asked.

“It’s done. I’ve collected a soul flame.” Li Ren took a cluster of soul flame from his backpack. Once revealed, the flame hovered silently in the air, burning without a sound.

The Skull King was even more pleased at the sight of the soul flame. He nodded. “Very good.”

Without any visible movement, the soul flame drifted from Li Ren’s side to the Skull King’s. Opening his mouth wide, the Skull King inhaled, and with a soft ‘swish,’ the flame was drawn into his body and vanished.

On closer inspection, the Skull King’s red flames grew slightly brighter.

“Since you’ve completed your task, you deserve a reward.” The Skull King tapped his brow, pondering for a moment. “Your hidden ‘absorption’ attribute is not bad, but its level is too low. I’ll raise it by one as your reward—how about that?”

Li Ren was delighted. His absorption attribute had never advanced, stuck at level zero, and its pitiful absorption rate had always been a sore point. Moreover, the current attribute level severely limited him: killing monsters of his own level yielded nothing, wasting countless potential gains.

With a grand wave of his hand, the Skull King sent a fine, sparkling thread from his fiery red soul flame. It instantly floated above Li Ren’s head and merged into his body.

Li Ren felt a surge of heat cascade from the top of his head, rushing through his entire body before gathering where his heart once was. The rush met what seemed like an enormous barrier, and only when the last bit of force remained did it seem to pierce a tiny hole in a sheet of paper.

A bone-chilling cold flooded his entire being.

After a long while, the feeling faded. He shook his bones, which let out a crisp clatter, and when he checked his attribute panel, his absorption attribute had changed from (Level 0) to (Level 1).

ps: Please recommend and add to your favorites~~