Chapter 31: The Rusted Great Axe

Xiao Yang had now reached level eight. Defeating the dungeon guardian had granted him a generous amount of experience. Leveling up was certainly a good thing, but for some reason, the first thought that crossed his mind was a strange one.

“Does this mean farming prisoner zombies will no longer yield any rewards?”

Indeed, that was the case. Suddenly, Xiao Yang found himself on the same level as the prisoner zombies that had once helped him level up quickly. Now, killing them probably only granted single-digit experience points. Perhaps this was the growing pains of advancement.

At present, Xiao Yang had accumulated four attribute points. However, he had no intention of using them hastily. The Greed’s Vessel was already more than enough to push his attributes to the limit at this stage. Saving these points for later would yield greater benefits down the line.

The newly acquired achievement didn’t provide any substantial rewards. Or rather, the achievement itself was a form of reward. Upon obtaining it, Xiao Yang naturally gained a title slot where he could attach an achievement to grant himself various beneficial buffs.

Currently, Xiao Yang possessed two achievements:

— The Extraordinary Pioneer
— Elite Slayer

The Extraordinary Pioneer offered no buffs. While displaying it as a title might look impressive, it was the Elite Slayer that truly stood out.

[Elite Slayer: When facing enemies five levels or more above the player, grants five points of unavoidable, irreducible true damage!]

The allure of five points of true damage was quite strong for Xiao Yang. Without hesitation, he chose to attach this achievement.

[Player: The Screaming Emperor (Elite Slayer)]

Thus, Xiao Yang’s player name now bore this somewhat embarrassing title. He chose to ignore this slight embarrassment for the sake of his combat power.

Aside from achievements, there was also the loot dropped by the dungeon guardian.

There were three items in total: two materials and one weapon.

The two materials included a purple club bone. Xiao Yang didn’t quite understand why a boss of the dungeon guardian’s level would drop such a huge bone, but since it was a bonus picked up by Little Bone, it was considered a free gain, so he didn’t dwell on it. Besides the large bone, there was also a Soul Residue.

[Soul Residue
Quality: Excellent
Type: Advancement Material
Effect: Raises the level and rank of an undead creature
Description: The lingering essence left behind by a powerful undead.]

Xiao Yang immediately used the Soul Residue on Little Bone. After a brief flash of faint blue light, Little Bone didn’t seem to undergo any significant changes, though the bones that formed its body appeared shinier and more lustrous.

This didn’t surprise Xiao Yang much. After all, Little Bone’s own rank was already excellent, nearly matching that of the Soul Residue. Failure to upgrade was normal. It wasn’t a big deal; if needed, he could always use several more Soul Residues. After all, since he was now clearing the Skeleton Dungeon, such materials shouldn’t be scarce.

Then came the highlight: the weapon dropped by the dungeon guardian.

[Rusted Great Axe
Quality: Epic
Type: Weapon, Heavy Weapon
Damage: 60
Requirement: 40 Strength to wield
Effect: While in a dungeon environment, ignores 60 points of enemy defense
Description: The passage of time buried forgotten tales, leaving all covered in rust.]

This was an extremely straightforward and brutal great axe—high damage, massive defense penetration, and only one requirement: 40 strength to wield. Simple yet powerful. Seeing this, Xiao Yang was excited. The righteous sword in his hand suddenly felt less appealing. Unfortunately, he still couldn’t meet the strength requirement to wield it.

Attribute restrictions meant that even if he obtained epic-grade weapons and equipment, it was difficult to make full use of them unless they were special items exempt from limits—like the Greed’s Vessel or the World Membrane Fragment.

Nevertheless, that didn’t stop Xiao Yang from stashing the Rusted Great Axe away for future use.

After tallying everything, there were only a few days left before the next Celestial Exchange. Xiao Yang wasn’t in a hurry to defeat the first-level dungeon boss, the Skeleton Warrior guarding the gate. Instead, he chose to clear out the skeletons, skeleton warriors, and prisoner zombies that were respawning intermittently.

After Redbeard left, acquiring spiritual coins wasn’t as easy anymore; he had to set up his own stall and sell goods. Given this situation, it was necessary to be diligent in sourcing supplies from vendors.

Of course, having established a stable route back, Xiao Yang no longer felt like a wild man. He now had a fallback and a safe place to rest. This change improved his condition significantly over just a few days. The only regret was that due to signal issues, Little Bone couldn’t manifest in this world.

Still, earning money was essential!

With one day left before the Celestial Exchange, Xiao Yang cleared his schedule to handle some personal errands—like getting a haircut, buying clothes, and picking up food.

Emerging from the dungeon, he immediately noticed how long and unruly his hair had become—more like a messy nest—and it was pink!

That damned unstable Life Essence Cluster had left this effect, dyeing Xiao Yang’s hair pink. How could he possibly tolerate that? He decided to shave it all off into a buzz cut.

Early in the morning, Xiao Yang crawled out of the Skeleton Dungeon, opened the door of his house, and pushed an old electric tricycle outside. He tried to start it; it worked but had very little battery left, so it needed a charge.

While waiting, Xiao Yang stretched lazily under the warm sunlight—a rare luxury after being underground in the dungeon.

Just then, a young girl carrying something approached.

It was Ling Yingzhen, Xiao Yang’s unfamiliar childhood friend.

From a distance, Ling Yingzhen spotted Xiao Yang and felt a bit awkward, perhaps because of his cold behavior a few days prior.

Of course, Xiao Yang noticed Ling Yingzhen and the items she was carrying.

She held several links of sausage, immediately catching Xiao Yang’s attention.

It was already December, the proper season for preparing sausages. Xiao Yang wanted some.

After some thought, he decided not to be too cold and took the initiative to speak to Ling Yingzhen.

“Uh…”

But upon opening his mouth, he realized an awkward problem: he had forgotten her name.

A brief silence ensued as they awkwardly looked at each other. Xiao Yang struggled to recall her name, which made Ling Yingzhen a little flustered.

“Uh, what! Ling Yingzhen! I still remember your name!”

Well, that was admittedly a bit rude.