"Level 1 Spirit Source User: Spirit Source 8/10"
"Haha, I made it!" On the other side, Ding Longyun suddenly let out a low roar, brimming with excitement and exhilaration.
Su Li turned his head to look, seeing Ding Longyun shouting with arms outstretched. He understood—Ding Longyun had absorbed enough spirit source and evolved once more.
Ding Longyun had originally been a Level 3 Spirit Source User. With this evolution, he had become a more powerful Level 4 Spirit Source User.
"Haha—" In his excitement, he swung his steel shovel and killed another water rat beast charging up from below. But he suddenly noticed that this time, the absorbed spirit source came with no notification. He immediately realized that as a Level 4 Spirit Source User, these Level 2 water rat beasts had little to no effect on him anymore. He needed to hunt stronger spirit source beasts.
"Su Li, come over here. These water rat beasts are useless to me now." Ding Longyun spoke while moving swiftly, arriving beside Xu Xuehui.
With Ding Longyun guarding Xu Xuehui, Su Li felt relieved and headed down the stairs on the other side. Below the stairs, many water rat beasts were still charging upward, making them the perfect targets for him to gain spirit source.
Killing one yielded a single spirit source, and taking down these water rat beasts was far simpler than killing high-level corpse beasts. Su Li even felt that these high-level corpse beasts were tougher to handle than the Level 3 marine iguana he had killed, which gave him two spirit sources.
For instance, as a Level 2 Spirit Source User, killing a Level 2 water rat beast earned him one spirit source, while Ding Longyun, a Level 3 Spirit Source User, also got one spirit source from the same kill.
This showed that the number of spirit sources gained from hunting spirit source beasts wasn't strictly proportional to the beast's strength.
By now, Su Li had roughly figured out some rules for obtaining spirit source. A Spirit Source User killing a common spirit source beast one level lower or at the same level would gain one spirit source. Killing one a level higher would yield two. Killing one two levels lower would have little to no effect, essentially useless.
As for elite spirit source beasts, the number of spirit sources differed. For example, killing an elite spirit source beast at the same level gave two spirit sources. As for killing one a level lower or higher, Su Li hadn't encountered such cases yet, so he didn't know.
Killing a high-level corpse beast only gave him one spirit source, meaning these corpse beasts weren't high-ranked among spirit source beasts, but they were incredibly strong and hard to deal with. From this perspective, corpse beasts seemed different from other spirit source beasts.
Su Li already had eighteen spirit sources, needing two more to break through. He swapped positions with Ding Longyun, and immediately two water rat beasts charged up the stairs toward him. Without hesitation, Su Li swung his iron rod.
The iron rod struck the first water rat beast's head with precision, killing it instantly.
A spirit source flew toward him. Su Li counted in his mind: "One more to go."
His iron rod hit the second water rat beast but missed its head, sending it tumbling down the stairs.
Shadows surged behind him, and more water rat beasts appeared.
"Tonight's unusual. So many monsters popping up—it's really unexpected." Ding Longyun, holding his steel shovel, knocked a charging low-level corpse beast to the ground and handed it to Xu Xuehui. Frowning, he watched as more low-level corpse beasts emerged in the corridor.
His biggest fear now was that high-level corpse beasts might be mixed in among these low-level ones. One wrong move could spell disaster, so he stayed close to Xu Xuehui, not daring to let his guard down.
Su Li looked down the stairs, where water rat beasts kept surging upward. He took a deep breath, gripped his iron rod with both hands, and swung again.
"Last one," he muttered to himself. The iron rod hit a water rat beast's head, sending it flying. A spirit source appeared and flew toward his forehead.
As he absorbed it, notifications flashed in his mind.
"Level 2 Spirit Source User: Spirit Source 20/20" "Promotion initiated. Promotion successful." "Level 3 Spirit Source User: Spirit Source 0/30" "Basic Enhancement: Lung Strength Type 1, Muscle Enhancement Type 1" "Special Skills: Peep Rune (Incomplete), Gluttonous Fang (Left)"
Su Li took a deep breath, feeling a surge of new power within him. As he advanced to Level 3 Spirit Source User, all his abilities improved—strength, speed, senses, internal organs, and reflexes were all transforming.
"Choose one for enhancement: Lung Strength Type 1, Muscle Enhancement Type 1, Stomach, Kidneys."
Another notification appeared. Su Li didn't have time to think much; he swung his iron rod again, killing two more water rat beasts in quick succession.
Two spirit sources emerged, and new notifications flashed in his mind.
"Level 3 Spirit Source User: Spirit Source 1/30" "Level 3 Spirit Source User: Spirit Source 2/30"
Since Ding Longyun had advanced to Level 4 Spirit Source User, killing water rat beasts no longer gave him effective spirit source. But Su Li, as a Level 3 Spirit Source User, could still gain spirit source from them.
Sensing the notifications in his mind, Su Li didn't hesitate in his choice for basic enhancement. He chose to enhance Muscle Enhancement Type 1.
He had previously shown strength nearly matching Ding Longyun's despite being a level lower. Su Li felt this was due to his muscle enhancement, which gave him greater power and speed, allowing him to compete with someone a level higher.
So now, he chose to continue enhancing his muscles.
While enhancing other parts was also important—like strengthening his lungs to hold his breath longer for underwater combat, or his stomach to drink floodwater or eat raw meat without getting sick—Su Li still felt that muscle enhancement was the top priority for gaining more power.
Only with greater strength could he face more terrifying monsters and survive better.
With his choice made, a new notification appeared.
"Muscle Enhancement Type 1 upgraded to Type 2. Enhanced control over all muscles. Increases impact resistance by fifty percent. In Type 2 state, overall strength output increases by three hundred jin."
As Muscle Enhancement Type 1 became Type 2, Su Li felt the astonishing changes in his muscles. His strength had reached a remarkable level.
Advancing from Level 2 to Level 3 Spirit Source User had already boosted his physical abilities—lung capacity increased slightly, breath-holding time extended by about half a minute, and basic strength rose by roughly one hundred jin. For example, his original basic strength was around six hundred jin. Now, as a Level 3 Spirit Source User, he could exert at least seven hundred jin.