Absorbing the information in his mind, Su Li felt a shock. The super heart had doubled his physical capabilities. In his original state, if he went all out, using maximum force with every attack, he could sustain combat for two minutes. Now, the super heart extended that full-power state by an additional three minutes, meaning he could now maintain it for up to five minutes. This state was terrifying.
Beyond that, he gained another hundred jin, pushing his maximum strength to an astonishing 2,300 jin. In the span of a few fleeting seconds, a monumental transformation had occurred within him. Su Li took a deep breath, watching the retreating undead. He didn't rush to attack but instead continued to sense the information in his mind.
What caught his attention most was undoubtedly the "Source Art," which could only be unlocked and comprehended by reaching a Level 5 Source User. The "Source Art" he could grasp was also a choice.
Perhaps it was related to his consecutive muscle enhancements, but the "Source Arts" he could comprehend were both muscle-related: one was "Steel Muscle," and the other was "Demon Muscle." However, there were no detailed descriptions of these two Source Arts. He didn't know their specific effects and could only infer from their names.
"Steel Muscle," as the name suggested, should be able to turn muscles as hard as steel. Its effect might be similar to Chen Xiangyu's "Steel Skin"—once mastered, it would grant incredible defensive power, even making one impervious to blades and bullets. As for "Demon Muscle," judging solely by the name, its effect was hard to guess. It was likely on the same level as "Steel Muscle," but Su Li speculated its specific ability might be related to strength.
For a moment, Su Li found it hard to choose. The undead let out another sharp screech and charged at him again.
Su Li exhaled softly, his eyes gleaming as he fixed his gaze on the lunging undead. Activating "Spider Walk," his speed increased further with the upgrade and overall enhancement. His figure swayed, weaving between two advanced corpse beasts, and in an instant, he circled behind the undead. Clenching his left fist, he threw a powerful punch.
With a dull thud like leather striking leather, the punch, exceeding 2,000 jin of force, sent the undead flying, crashing heavily to the ground with a thump. Su Li stepped forward, pressing the attack. Two advanced corpse beasts rushed to block him. Su Li swung his blade with his right hand, perfectly combining speed and power. The two advanced corpse beasts couldn't react in time, their heads flying off.
Two Source Crystals entered Su Li's body, but unexpectedly, no information surfaced in his mind.
"Are the Source Crystals from these advanced corpse beasts useless to me now?" Su Li frowned slightly. Having advanced to Level 5 Source User, he needed a full 70 Source Crystals to level up again. Killing these advanced corpse beasts no longer yielded effective Source Crystals. It seemed he would need to hunt stronger monsters.
As Su Li dispatched the two advanced corpse beasts, the undead that had been knocked away scrambled back to its feet. Though its head bore four holes and its back had a fist-sized dent from Su Li's punch, it wasn't dead. It kept retreating, trying to put distance between itself and Su Li, clearly realizing that Su Li had grown stronger, completely different from before.
"Trying to run?" Su Li grinned, then suddenly lowered his body. Phantom leg images appeared around him as he entered "Spider Walk" state. The retreating undead sensed danger and let out a fierce roar. The advanced corpse beasts that heard it seemed to receive a special command, abruptly ceasing their attacks on Su Li, Ding Longyun, and Gong Xiao. Instead, they grabbed the corpses of arrow-snake beasts, water-monkey beasts, and corpse beasts scattered around and hurled them over the edge of the building.
This sudden turn of events surprised everyone. Su Li shot out like lightning, closing to within three meters of the retreating undead. Knowing escape was impossible, the undead wildly lashed out with its claws and snapped its head forward, trying to counterattack and buy time to flee.
Su Li crossed his feet, moving like a ghost to dodge the attack. Gripping his cleaver with both hands, he swung it down in a mid-air slash. The blade struck the undead's neck, stretched out like a spring, and with a sharp *shiiing*, severed the long neck cleanly. Blood sprayed as the undead's head, with its four bloody holes, flew far away.
The rooftop was swarming with advanced corpse beasts. They seemed to have gone berserk, continuously grabbing corpses and throwing them off the building. Ding Longyun and the others chased and blocked them but couldn't keep up. In just a short time, at least fifteen to twenty corpse beasts had been tossed over.
Su Li successfully killed the undead, and a Source Crystal entered his body. Finally, a piece of information appeared in his mind.
"Level 5 Source User: Source Crystals 2/70"
Killing the undead yielded two Source Crystals at once, equivalent to slaying an elite beast of the same level.
Meanwhile, Ding Longyun, Gong Xiao, and Xu Haishui were chasing down the frenzied advanced corpse beasts that were hurling bodies off the building. During the time Su Li fought and killed the undead, the three of them had taken down many corpse beasts, each collecting over ten Source Crystals.
In a flash, more than twenty corpse beasts had been thrown over. This was the undead's final command before death. Su Li re-entered "Spider Walk" state, his cleaver slashing out repeatedly. Though killing these corpse beasts no longer yielded effective Source Crystals, he had to stop them.
"This thing ordered the corpse beasts to throw so many bodies down—is it trying to lure out an even more terrifying monster? Even in death, it wants to drag us down with it?" Su Li thought. The only reason for the undead's command was this possibility, suggesting it possessed considerable intelligence.
One by one, the heads of advanced corpse beasts were severed by Su Li. In the blink of an eye, he had taken down over ten of them, all the while pondering his choice of Source Art.
"Steel Muscle" or "Demon Muscle"—which should he choose?
Earlier, Xu Haishui had said that breaking through from Level 4 to Level 5 Source User marked a qualitative leap, primarily due to the "Source Art." The Source Art was far more powerful than special abilities and could even determine one's future. So choosing the most suitable Source Art was crucial, and he had to be cautious.
"Steel Muscle is a purely defensive ability, greatly enhancing my survivability, like Chen Xiangyu. But while it seems strong, if I face an overwhelmingly powerful opponent, they could still injure me through sheer force, like I did to Chen Xiangyu..." Su Li mused.