Fang Zhou tightly gripped the Apprentice Magic Staff, his expression one of excitement.

[Night Watcher I] is just a Basic Level World Rune! If it can be advanced to Mid Level or high level, becoming [Night Watcher II] and [Night Watcher III], the enhancement effects will be incredible.

Oh, Instructor Su, Instructor Su, you've really got to come through for me and help me find more guides for World Runes.

After calming his excited heart, Fang Zhou swiftly swung his Magic Staff. As before, he summoned forty skeletons, forming a mighty Skeleton Army, and marched toward the outskirts of the Town Ruins.

Back at the hill he had occupied during the first half of the night, the Night Demons that had been fighting each other were either dead or had fled. Only a few heavily injured unfortunates lay wailing in pools of blood.

Fang Zhou commanded the Skeleton Army to mercifully grant them release, then grinned from ear to ear while tearfully looting their corpses.

Although the corpses of such a large wave of Demons couldn't be counted toward his Hunting Points, the Demon materials he collected were worth at least several dozen Contribution Points. Fang Zhou had managed to make a small fortune without breaking a sweat!

After clearing the battlefield, he had two new bags of loot, filled with Demon materials like the mouthparts of Fierce Mosquitoes, the tusks of Fierce Wolves, and the glands of the Fierce Ant Queen.

SQUEAK.

SQUEAK.

The skeletons tirelessly followed Fang Zhou back to the Bear Cave on the hill.

After a brief cleanup, Fang Zhou retreated into his tent to tally his gains for the day. Starting in the morning from the [Goblin Cave], he had traveled through the Kobold camp, the Roadside Tomb, the Foul Swamp, and the Frozen Tundra, finally arriving at the Town Ruins.

The Demons that had died at the hands of him and his Skeleton Army numbered well over a hundred. Among them were rarer, more powerful Demons like the Demon Swamp Frog, Fierce Crocodile, Troll, and Jackal Wolfman. These selfless Demons had not only propelled Fang Zhou's Hunting Points to 500 but had also yielded him nearly 200 Contribution Points' worth of Demon materials.

Fang Zhou contentedly glanced at the leaderboard on his Hunting Recorder. He firmly held the top position with an overwhelming advantage. Following him were other students like Meng Hongzhuang and Gu Zhiqiu, who had awakened Rare Professions. However, their increase in Hunting Points on the second day was noticeably lower than on the first. Meng Hongzhuang, in second place, had only 180 points, and the student ranked ninetieth had a mere 80. The gap between them and Fang Zhou was simply insurmountable.

It was also worth noting that nearly sixty of the 180 seed candidates had already been eliminated.

Fang Zhou touched the [Ring of Burning Fire] on his finger. He couldn't help but think of Shen Ziwei, who had been severely injured and had her arm severed, and he sighed and shook his head.

He then looked at the [Soul Realm] skill in the Skills Bar of his attribute panel, carefully reading the description of the skill he had comprehended from the Desecration Core.

[Soul Realm] (Apprentice, Beginner): Momentarily opens a window to the Soul Domain to perceive soul fluctuations in the surrounding environment. Perception distance and effects are determined by Soul Strength, Spirit Attribute, and Skill Proficiency.

Fang Zhou's eyes lit up. Could this be the reconnaissance skill he so urgently needed?

Thinking about it, those Desecration Ghost Fires seemed to have a naturally keen perception of souls, allowing them to accurately locate living beings within a certain range before hunting and devouring them. This [Soul Realm] skill was very likely derived from the Desecration Ghost Fire's innate Talent Ability.

He decided to test it immediately to see what kind of perspective [Soul Realm] could offer him.

Taking a deep breath, Fang Zhou closed his eyes. As his Spiritual Power coalesced, he felt an unprecedented force surging within him, as if a great door in the depths of his soul was slowly opening.

When Fang Zhou opened his eyes again, the world around him seemed to be endowed with new colors. What flowed in the air was no longer a simple current, but an interwoven tapestry of countless subtle soul fluctuations. They shone bright or dim, like stars twinkling in the night sky. Fang Zhou could clearly see that even the smallest life forms possessed their own soul auras.

He first turned his attention to the Skeleton Army beside him. Under the effect of [Soul Realm], their Soul Fire was exceptionally bright, displaying a faint, stable, and loyal soul fluctuation.

Next, Fang Zhou cast his gaze into the distance, attempting to expand the range of his [Soul Realm]. As he released more of his Spiritual Power, he could sense farther away, even capturing some faint soul signals hidden in the darkness.

In a crevice of the Bear Cave's rock wall, a small lizard was sleeping. On an old tree outside the Bear Cave, a Fierce Snake was coiled in a hollow. On the battlefield below the hill, there were even some lingering soul fragments from the Night Demons that had died earlier.

Fang Zhou was immersed in the joy of his new skill, but his exploration soon reached its limit. After all, he was merely a fledgling Middle-Rank Apprentice, and his [Soul Realm] skill was still at the Beginner level; neither its perception range nor its duration was very long.

Nevertheless, this method of soul-level perception was already many times stronger than his previous reliance on eyesight and crude Spiritual Perception. With the [Soul Realm] skill, enemies with a Soul Strength weaker than his would generally be unable to approach him unnoticed. This was the solution to his most pressing problem.

He opened the memo on his personal terminal and dutifully recorded his experiences and discoveries using [Soul Realm]. When he left the Cave, he could consult with Su Xinyan and also look for other reconnaissance skills used by Magic Professionals, taking their best aspects to perfect [Soul Realm].

With a few hours still left until dawn, Fang Zhou stretched, washed up, and then immersed his consciousness in his Skeleton Clone. Having gained the World Will's Attention earlier, his condition had been fully restored; going straight to sleep felt a bit too lazy.

「Deep in the Burial Wilderness.」

Including Fang Zhou himself, a total of eight Skeleton Squads were sweeping through the nearby Skeleton Warriors like a whirlwind.

「Time passed.」

Just as Fang Zhou slew a Great Shield Skeleton Warrior and was about to absorb its Skeleton Essence, a message suddenly surfaced in his mind.

"Servant No.1 Great Sword has died."

Fang Zhou's brow furrowed. One of his skeleton minions falling in battle was highly unusual. Although this was the deeper part of the Burial Wilderness, the creatures active nearby were at most Black Iron Lower-rank Skeleton Warriors. When he had sent his minions out to hunt, he had specifically ordered them not to venture any deeper, fearing they would encounter higher-tier Skeleton Warriors and suffer unnecessary losses.

Under these circumstances, how could one of my minions have been killed while moving together in a squad of five? Could it be that a high-tier Skeleton Warrior has appeared in this area?

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.