As a series of skill projections appeared on his personal terminal, the skills bar on his attribute panel immediately changed.
"Sufficient Skill Materials detected to infer Unknown Skills. Estimated cost: 10 Soul Power."
"Begin inference?"
Fang Zhou confirmed immediately and once again entered the familiar state of a Burst of Inspiration.
[Aging Beam]: An Apprentice skill for an Undead Mage. Enemies hit by the beam will have their stamina, Energy, and movement speed slightly reduced.
[Vine Entangle]: Grows solid wooden vines from the ground to entangle the enemy, making them difficult to move.
[Mire Skill]: Creates a hard-to-traverse mire that greatly slows an enemy's movement speed.
[Earth Wall Technique]: Constructs an earthen wall that is difficult for enemies to cross.
[Spider Web Skill]: Mimics a mutated spider by shooting a web with strong adhesiveness, binding any target it hits.
In Fang Zhou's mind, these five Control Skills quickly fused with the Skeleton Clone's instinctive Bone Armament.
In a flash, inspiration struck.
"Inference of skill [Skeleton Shackles] successful."
[Skeleton Shackles] (Apprentice, Skilled): Condenses Undead Mana into solid skeleton shackles to bind an enemy, making it difficult for them to move or fight. The binding strength, duration, and casting distance are determined by the Spirit Attribute and Skill Proficiency.
A powerful control skill! Fang Zhou excitedly clenched his fists.
With Skeleton Shackles, another weakness in his combat system was finally covered.
Now, it would be absolutely impossible for that kid, Ye Fan, to use Fallen Heaven Strike in front of him again.
Fang Zhou let out a light breath.
My strength has improved again. Time to kill some skeletons to celebrate.
Clone, activate!
***
Time always flew when he was busy.
A few more days passed.
Under the Blood Moon of the Burial Wilderness, as a pile of bones turned to ash, the Skeleton Clone howled toward the sky.
After listening to Bai Xiaochan's [Lullaby] once a day, Fang Zhou's speed in leveling up the Skeleton Clone by controlling it to kill monsters had increased even further.
Finally, it advanced from Middle-Rank Apprentice to Upper-Rank Apprentice.
This advancement not only made the Skeleton Clone's body significantly larger, but its skeletal structure also became more solid and powerful, exuding a sense of strength that was impossible to ignore.
The originally pale bones now emitted a cold glow. It was as if every bone had been infused with an invisible power, making them more resilient and durable.
[Clone] Skeleton
[Tier] Apprentice · Upper
[Attributes] Strength 8, Constitution 7, Agility 7, Spirit 6
[Equipment] Skeleton Long Spear (Gray Inferior)
[Skills] Bone Armament (Instinct), Brutal Strike (Mastery), Charge (Skilled), Weapon Specialization (Skilled), Block (Master), Battle Cry (Master)
[Soul Power] 50
[Block] and [Battle Cry] were the new skills Fang Zhou had taught the Skeleton Clone over the past few days.
[Block] (Apprentice, Master): Adopts a defensive stance to block the next incoming attack, reducing the damage taken. The block success rate and damage reduction percentage are determined by the Constitution attribute and Skill Proficiency.
[Battle Cry] (Apprentice, Master): Lets out an inspiring battle cry, temporarily increasing the Strength, Constitution, and Agility attributes. The duration and attribute increase are determined by the Strength attribute and Skill Proficiency.
The current Skeleton Clone, armed with five Combat Professional skills, could stand proudly above all other Apprentice-level skeletons.
Therefore, it's time to explore deeper.
As the Skeleton Clone advanced, the skeletons it encountered were generally at the Middle-Rank Apprentice level.
The texture of their skeletons was tougher, and within the originally dim marrow cavities, faint points of azure light occasionally flickered, symbolizing the fusion of strength and undead energy.
However, no matter how tough their bones were, they couldn't withstand the Skeleton Clone's surprise attacks.
Not far ahead, a burly skeleton spotted the Skeleton Clone.
It roared and charged at Fang Zhou, waving sharp Bone Claws.
Fang Zhou remained unfazed. He gently raised his hand, and the Skeleton Long Spear instantly sliced through the air with a sharp whistle.
Brutal Strike!
With a flick of his wrist, the long spear shot out like an arrow loosed from a bowstring, accurately piercing the chest of the approaching Skeleton Warrior.
The Bone Claws hadn't even touched Fang Zhou before this Thunder Strike utterly shattered its attempted attack.
The Skeleton Long Spear punctured the enemy's body and was withdrawn instantly.
The entire process was clean and efficient, as fluid and natural as an artist wielding a brush.
The stricken Skeleton Warrior exploded in an instant, scattering into a pile of powder. The Skeleton Essence contained within was immediately absorbed by the Skeleton Clone.
Strength +0.1, Soul Power +0.5.
Fang Zhou's Soul Fire flickered with that familiar feeling of fullness.
At this rate, the next goal is to advance to Black Iron and evolve into a Skeleton Warrior! That day isn't far off.
***
「Another fulfilling day passed.」
On the training ground of the Demon Hunter research project group.
Ye Fan was once again tightly bound by Skeleton Shackles, sprawled out stiffly on the floor.
For the past few days, his duels had all ended with him in this exact state.
Therefore, onlookers like Chen Qingshan and Bai Xiaochan were no longer surprised.
Although Ye Fan was a Demon Hunter in ten thousand, the one he dueled against, Fang Zhou, was a peerless prodigy.
For Ye Fan, being thrashed so thoroughly by Fang Zhou was a blessing in disguise.
Seeing the duel had ended, Chen Qingshan motioned for the researchers to put away the testing equipment and asked with a smile, "Tomorrow is the Sea City Military Academy's semimonthly rest day. Are you guys going home?"
Bai Xiaochan replied without hesitation, "My home is in Sea City. Of course, I'm going back. After training for half a month, it's time for a break."
Ye Fan slowly climbed to his feet, his eyes burning with defiance. "I'm not going back! Instructor, I want extra training!"
Fang Zhou was slightly taken aback.
His days had been so packed, like a tightly wound clock, that he had completely forgotten the rest day was approaching.
After a moment's thought, a smile touched his lips and he nodded. "I should probably head back. There are a couple of little ones waiting to hear my school stories."
Having been around Fang Zhou for half a month, everyone present knew he was the orphaned child of a martyr who had grown up in a welfare institute in Sea City.
Bai Xiaochan pursed her lips, wanting to ask for the address of Fang Zhou's welfare institute. But before she could speak, Fang Zhou snapped his fingers, dismissed his skeleton soldiers, and nonchalantly departed from the lab.
In his dorm, Fang Zhou sorted through his inventory.
The Cloud Welfare Institute where he grew up was small, currently housing only a few children.
The director was an elderly lady named Wen Yun, whom the children all called Grandma Yun.
After developing the new skill, Skeleton Shackles, Fang Zhou uploaded it to the Federation Skill Library. As a result, he received another 100 contribution points, bringing his total to 200.
He thought for a moment, then exchanged 10 contribution points for 100,000 Longxia yuan.