Chapter 41: Decree of the Yellow Turban Strongman

Soon, just as the army of skeletons in the plaza poured into the corridor and was about to rush over for reinforcement, Xiao Yang delivered his final strike with his club.

The skeletal knight collapsed heavily and resentfully. Until the very moment of its death, not a single one of the summoned attendants had fallen—it had been beaten to death by Xiao Yang, blow by brutal blow.

At this moment, Xiao Yang was extremely excited. However, noticing the densely packed, overwhelming tide of approaching skeletal warriors, he quickly suppressed his excitement, snatched the drops left behind by the skeletal knight, and abruptly darted into a nearby safe room. Once Xiao Yang stepped inside, these targetless skeletal warriors instantly reverted to headless flies.

Inside the safe room, Xiao Yang evaluated the battle with this verdict: "What a truly invigorating and satisfying battle!" Although, had the skeletal knight been able to speak, it probably would not have agreed.

The skeletal knight had dropped quite a few items for Xiao Yang.

A piece of new material of green superior quality: a piece of grievance iron, which was a cold fragment of armor. Of course, this was not the end; Bone Boy had also dropped the undead knight's elbow-strike skill, marking the first green-tier skill Xiao Yang had ever acquired.

[Shove
Quality: Superior
Effect: Conducts a strength check. If your strength exceeds the opponent's, you can push them back and cause them to stagger.
Description: In my entire life, I once delivered ten elbow strikes to this world!]

Another unrestricted universal skill, and a restrictive skill that Xiao Yang desperately needed. Without any hesitation, Xiao Yang chose to learn it.

To be honest, Xiao Yang was gradually realizing that his repertoire of combat tactics was somewhat lacking. Apart from frantically swinging his Staff of Righteous Condolences, there was basically nothing else he could do.

This was bad. He now urgently wanted to acquire a formal class and learn some cool, systematic skills. It simply wouldn't do if others went into battle flinging around elaborate sets of celestial Dipper footwork, feather-light sword techniques, or cosmos sleeve arts, while he could only charge forward brandishing a club—first a shove, then a heavy strike, occasionally mixed with a poke. Even a barbarian's combat style had more strategy than his.

This was not what he wanted to see, but unfortunately, rare class transfer certificates were simply not for sale in the Heavens Trading District.

As for ordinary classes, they held little meaning for Xiao Yang. The most precious thing an ordinary class transfer could provide was an additional growth bonus to specific attributes.

For example, the Hunter class provided an extra point of agility growth per level.

However, Xiao Yang did not need such attribute bonuses; they were not all that important to him. He could easily push his attributes to the limit of his current stage simply by relying on the Urn of Greed.

If possible, Xiao Yang's choice of class would likely tend toward three directions:

First, classes with strong passive abilities. Second, classes with strong skill effects. Third, support classes.

Classes with strong passive abilities, such as the Hunter's innate Wilderness Tracking, Swift as the Wind, and Beast Weaknesses—classes with such high versatility and functionality.

Classes with strong skill effects, such as Monks, Martial Artists, or outright Taoists and Mages. These classes could learn a sufficiently large and diverse range of skills, enabling them to handle various occasions and situations exceptionally well.

As for support classes, there was not much to say. Since everyone was stuck in the dungeons, potion production, equipment repair, forging, and material refining were also things that could greatly aid Xiao Yang's growth.

He would roughly choose one from these three categories. However, there was no need to rush into this decision just yet; he still needed to encounter a sufficiently good class.

The skeletal knight had also contributed a piece of equipment to Xiao Yang: a black helmet with its surface stained with reddish-brown rust, emitting a faint, lingering scent that smelled indistinguishably of rust or fresh blood when brought close.

[Helmet of Grievous Souls
Quality: Excellent
Requirements: 140 health points, 12 strength points.
Effect: Provides 5 defense, Skeleton Summoning skill.
Description: This is a beloved helmet among undead knights. Wearing it allows you to command those wobbling skeletons. Perhaps you could collect a few more pieces to enhance the effect, but be careful—do not wear this helmet while sleeping, as it will leave you sleep-deprived.]

This was a piece of equipment Xiao Yang could actually use. As soon as he got it, he put it on, replacing the pitiful leather cap that only offered a meager defense bonus. Xiao Yang's defense now reached twenty-five points.

I must say, this was a rather dashing helmet, but paired with Xiao Yang's eclectic mix of gear, it inevitably looked a bit comical.

A leather breastplate and leather trousers that radiated a cheap, low-quality vibe, matched with adventurer's bracers and adventurer's boots adorned with some patterns and feathers, holding a blood-stained black short club in his hand, and topped with a rust-covered knight's helmet.

It was a very bizarre combination, but this style was also uniquely "player-like." There was no help for it; Xiao Yang's current situation dictated that he had to equip whatever offered the best stats.

Xiao Yang experimented with the skeleton summoning ability attached to the Helmet of Grievous Souls. With a thought in his mind, a grayish-white magic circle appeared before him. Only, whether it was his imagination or not, Xiao Yang felt that his magic circle was much smaller and simpler than the one the skeletal knight had used.

Shortly after, a skeleton with grayish-white flames dancing in its eye sockets appeared before Xiao Yang. Indeed, Xiao Yang had summoned a skeleton—the most ordinary kind of skeleton, only level 3, with a health pool of a mere ten points.

It was completely incomparable to the squad of skeletal warriors summoned by the skeletal knight. Still, it would do; he would make do with it for now. After all, he wasn't a skeletal knight, was he? At the very least, using it to scout ahead was viable, and this summoning skill seemed likely to change once he collected more pieces of the Grievous Soul armor set.

Comforting himself with this thought, Xiao Yang tried to make his summoned skeleton move around the safe room. To his surprise, however, the creature had barely taken a few steps when it tripped over a table leg, lost its balance, and tumbled flat onto the floor, its bones scattering everywhere.

After a moment of silence: truly, just a completely ordinary skeleton.

Finally, after a frantic chase right upon entering the second floor of the Skeleton Dungeon, Xiao Yang was able to sit down and properly select his advancement rewards.

Two blue-tier items and one blue-tier box.

Unexpectedly, the advancement rewards actually contained something good—something he had just been muttering about: a class transfer certificate.

Passing over the bizarre music box that could lull people into a deep sleep, Xiao Yang fixed his gaze on the class transfer certificate.

[Edict of the Yellow Turban Strongman]