Gong Xiao said with some frustration, "I still need four more spirit sources." She was unwilling to give up, eager to level up to 4 as soon as possible.
Ding Longyun was even more dejected. "You all got new abilities, but I didn't get any."
Su Li chuckled, "Brother Ding, why the rush? Look at Xue Hui—she got nothing tonight, yet she's still calm and unfazed, taking it all in stride."
Ding Longyun paused, then said, "Well... you can't compare like that. Who can match her? She's just a kid, and we're here to protect her. It doesn't matter if she's strong or weak."
Hearing Ding Longyun's words, Su Li and Gong Xiao both laughed. Xu Xuehui pouted slightly, seeming a bit displeased with how Ding Longyun described her.
Su Li walked to the edge of the rooftop and looked down at the water below. Noticing it was eerily quiet with no monsters in sight, he said, "Since Gong Xiao only needs four more spirit sources, let's try again and see if we can lure up some more monsters to help her break through. And as for Xue Hui, jokes aside, she still needs to level up to 3 soon. The monsters are getting stronger, and if we don't evolve quickly, things will only get more troublesome."
"Right, that makes a lot of sense. By the way, Su Li, you're already level 4, aren't you? I saw you block that Spider Queen's attack just now—that's no ordinary strength." Ding Longyun turned to look at Su Li.
Su Li hummed in acknowledgment. There was no need to hide it.
After that, they started tossing the sea spider corpses down below. They threw down eight of them in a row, and faint shadows appeared in the water beneath, but they only dragged the corpses down without any monsters crawling out.
"Strange, something's off," Ding Longyun muttered. "It feels like there are fewer and fewer monsters down there. It wasn't like this before."
Su Li felt the same way. It seemed that ever since the Corpse Mother and the Nightmare Beast died, the area beneath the building had become unusual. Especially now that they had killed the Spider Queen, even throwing down sea spider corpses didn't attract any monsters.
"Let's try using the Mantis Shrimp's corpse," Su Li suggested, lifting the elite beast's body. Its flesh was different from ordinary monsters, and the effect would be different too.
When he tossed the Mantis Shrimp's corpse down, the previously still water immediately stirred. A large number of dark shadows appeared, fighting over it.
These shadows included corpse beasts and sea spiders, both sides scrambling for the meat. In an instant, the Mantis Shrimp's corpse was submerged. Some corpse beasts and sea spiders that didn't get any looked up, noticing Su Li, Gong Xiao, and the others standing on the rooftop, and immediately began climbing up the outer wall.
The fastest among them were a few corpse beasts. Su Li could tell at a glance that they were all high-level corpse beasts.
"It seems low-level corpse beasts are becoming rarer, while the proportion evolving into high-level ones is increasing," Su Li murmured to himself, observing how these high-level corpse beasts moved as nimbly as monkeys, scaling the building toward the rooftop.
Su Li and the others stepped back, clearing enough space.
"Let Gong Xiao handle these corpse beasts first. Help her break through to level 4," Ding Longyun said, glancing at Su Li. They were both level 4 spirit source users now and couldn't advance further for the time being, while Gong Xiao only needed four more spirit sources, so they wanted to prioritize her breakthrough.
Su Li replied, "No problem with me."
"Alright then." Ding Longyun gripped his short axe and stepped aside.
A high-level corpse beast leaped onto the rooftop edge. Gong Xiao, holding her baseball bat, charged forward first.
She swung the bat at the high-level corpse beast.
Right behind it, two more high-level corpse beasts climbed up. Su Li and Ding Longyun moved in quickly.
"Leave the final blow for Gong Xiao," Ding Longyun said as he swung his short axe.
The high-level corpse beast facing Su Li extended its right hand, a crack forming in its palm as it prepared to launch some kind of attack. Su Li's body shifted, as if he had sprouted extra legs, activating "Spider Walk."
Having just learned this special ability, Su Li took the chance to test and familiarize himself with it.
The high-level corpse beast only saw a blur before Su Li vanished. In the next instant, its arms flew off, severed by Su Li's blade, followed by its legs.
By then, Su Li had stopped behind it. He kicked its limbless body toward Gong Xiao, then lunged at the fourth high-level corpse beast climbing up.
"Spider Walk" had proven its worth in this small trial. Su Li could feel the power of this ability. Even if another monster like the Spider Queen appeared, he was confident he could defeat it alone—and without too much difficulty.
After Su Li cut off the limbs of the fourth high-level corpse beast, Gong Xiao used "Vine Bind" combined with her baseball bat to finish off the first one, claiming a spirit source.
She then noticed two more limbless high-level corpse beasts writhing on the ground.
"Thanks!" Gong Xiao called out to Su Li, bringing her bat down on them and securing two more spirit sources.
"Just one more left," Gong Xiao calculated, unable to hide a hint of excitement on her pretty face.
Everyone feels a surge of excitement when on the verge of leveling up, and Gong Xiao was no exception.
By then, Ding Longyun had also succeeded. He chopped off the leg of the high-level corpse beast he was fighting, then kicked it toward Gong Xiao.
Gong Xiao stepped forward and swung her bat, finishing it off.
With another spirit source in hand, Gong Xiao successfully broke through, advancing to level 4 spirit source user.
She then chose to enhance her muscles, upgrading from Muscle Enhancement Type 1 to Type 2, gaining an extra 300 jin of strength. Combined with the base 800 jin from being a level 4 spirit source user, she now surpassed 1,000 jin of power.
"How is it? Did you break through?" Ding Longyun asked with concern.
Gong Xiao nodded with a hum, her phoenix eyes gleaming with light. She could feel the significant boost in strength, and with it came a surge of confidence.
On the rooftop, behind the high-level corpse beasts, a swarm of sea spiders rushed up.
Su Li kept using "Spider Walk," his figure flickering like a ghost. The sea spiders and high-level corpse beasts couldn't even touch his shadow.
He broke the legs of the sea spiders and kicked them toward Xu Xuehui.
"Xue Hui, these sea spiders are yours. Kill one, and you'll get two spirit sources."
"Right, I don't need any more for now. Let's help Xue Hui level up to 3 first," Gong Xiao said as she charged forward. With a light swing, she smashed the legs off a sea spider, extended her left hand to summon "Vine Bind," tied it up, and tossed it toward Xu Xuehui behind her.